Tales of the Abyss :: 50 Sentences :: PG :: Asch/Natalia
Title: 50 Sentences
Fandom: Tales of the Abyss
Pairings: Asch/Natalia
Rating: PG
Genre: General; drama; angst; humor; action; AU; vague sort of romance?
Word count: 2,060
Spoilers: Yes. For the entire game.
Summary: My Asch/Natalia claim for 1sentence.
Note: Because I have to be complicated, most of these sentences refer to Asch as Asch, but a couple refer to him as Luke. At the same time, several feature Luke Luke, so don't be confused. |D;
#01 - Ring
Susanne placed the ring in Natalia's hand and gently closed it, smiling weakly and distantly up at her, and murmured, "It was to be yours... when you and Luke were married - please... take it, Princess, as an inheritance... as well as a thank you."
#02 - Hero
Natalia's arrow had just plunged into the thick tentacle around his neck when she set another to the string, but the monster released him just as quickly and Asch hit his knees with an irate scowl as he quickly gathered his sword.
#03 - Memory
"...Did you know him - did you know Largo very well?" she asked finally, hesitantly, and for a moment Asch didn't react, looking as though he'd anticipated the inquiry.
#04 - Box
Like Luke's, it was gorgeously adorned, but while Natalia had hope that Luke would return one day, she possessed no such expectations of fortune for Asch, and throughout the service his empty casket was just a painful reminder.
#05 - Run
Asch practically threw the reins at her and rushed to open the gate; Natalia hesitated, but he looked up and reminded her firmly, "You're going to ride for Belkend, and don't look back - I'll know if you do."
#06 - Hurricane
Beneath the pounding rain, Natalia could barely hear him yell at her to get down, but a second later Asch had grabbed hold of her with the hand that wasn't anchoring him to his sword, stuck deep in the ground to try and keep them in place.
#07 - Wings
"Just do what I say and we'll be fine," Asch told her as she slipped hesitantly into the copilot seat of the Albiore III.
#08 - Cold
"Oh," said Natalia near his elbow, sounding surprised as he placed the pan of batter over the fire, "you're not supposed to serve it cold?"
#09 - Red
Once he was gone, Natalia looked back to where her hands were clasped tightly in her lap, watching the scarlet color crawl its way further up the fingertips of her white gloves.
#10 - Drink
"...Thanks," said Asch in a half-mutter, half-grunt as Natalia handed him some water, and then he blinked and scowled and colored as everyone turned to stare at him with surprised looks.
#11 - Midnight
"Sneaking off to meet someone in the middle of the night unescorted is quite rebellious for a princess," said Jade's voice suddenly, making Natalia start, "even if it is only Asch - or is that more reason for concern?"
#12 - Temptation
"Meryl, wasn't it?" Luke inquired; the common girl smiled, pleased that he had remembered.
#13 - View
Watching Asch's face in the morning light, Natalia was suddenly struck by his appearance, by the reality that nothing, and yet everything, about his features had changed since he spoke those same words and wore that same expression seven years ago - they were sharper, more distinct, older, but the same thoughtful determination, the same dedication and love for his responsibilities, everything was there, unadulterated, and for the first time in days, she felt truly encouraged.
#14 - Music
"Of course I can play," Natalia replied proudly as she handled the viola with care, "just as Asch likely still can - it's a tradition for the royal family, but I heard you complained so much that your teacher gave up," she added, earning an annoyed look from Luke.
#15 - Silk
It was the first time in years that something other than steel or rough cloth had touched his skin, but even if it was just the soft touch of her glove, Asch shortly retreated from it out of independent habit.
#16 - Cover
After helping her to a chair, Asch pulled the heavy mantle from his shoulders and wordlessly draped it over Natalia's lap, concealing what was left of her tattered leggings just as the replica and the rest of the group hurried into the room.
#17 - Promise
Standing there between them, almost beaming in light of this first tension-free moment and not having to worry about separating them like children, it suddenly occurred to Natalia that she couldn't possibly choose between Asch and Luke, should it come down to that - she was promised to both of them, she loved them each for their own reasons, and at present that was all that mattered.
#18 - Dream
At seventeen, Natalia dreamed of Luke remembering his proposal and sweeping her off her feet to a romantic, fairy tale ending; by twenty, she only prayed for his return and dreamt of what could have been for Asch.
#19 - Candle
After reading the letter over once more, Asch hesitantly and finally held the yellow parchment over the candle, watching the small flame spread and devour the elegant handwriting as the smell of burning paper swallowed up the distant scent of her sweet perfume.
#20 - Talent
Asch glanced at Natalia's hands as she spoke, watching the fluid, automatic movements of her fingers as she restrung the bow between her knees.
#21 - Silence
Strange, Natalia thought suddenly as she hit her knees, warm blood already seeping down her back, that she'd never seen him struck speechless before; was he really so surprised that she would take a blow for him?
#22 - Journey
Rather than becoming irritated at Natalia's persistence as he did with the replica's, Asch would only explain with a rare patience and a half-truth why he couldn't travel with them.
#23 - Fire
Natalia suddenly pulled her scarf from her neck, making him stare, and began tying it around her arrow shaft just below the steel head, speaking as she worked: "I have a plan - Asch, light this with a fonic arte, quickly."
#24 - Strength
As soon as she was certain his condition had stabilized, Natalia took Asch's pale face in her hand and steadied him against her shoulder, too weary from her wounds and her artes to do anything other than clutch him to her tighter when he began to slip.
#25 - Mask
There was some pained color in her face, but Natalia was surprisingly composed as she set to healing her broken leg, hardly seeming to need the supporting arm Asch had put around her shoulders to keep her up.
#26 - Ice
"Don't move!" Asch ordered the instant before his spell finished - Natalia obeyed and froze, even when the conjured icicles rained down all around her, some missing by inches, to pierce and crush the advancing monsters.
#27 - Fall
"I'm sorry, my lord, my lady, but Asch also fell - he defended Luke long enough for him to go on," said Guy solemnly, and beside him Natalia tried not to react, suddenly wondering if she had been wise in coming along.
#28 - Forgotten
As Luke - as Asch turned to retreat with Van, he paused just long enough to steal a final glance at the insulting scene behind him, lingering longest on his mother's face; Natalia, beaming at that damned usurper, was the last he saw before turning his back on his life.
#29 - Dance
"Oh, please, Luke!" said Natalia excitedly, clasping her small hands together, and he looked almost helplessly up at the dance instructor, who smiled and motioned for the two of them to get into position.
#30 - Body
"What are you wearing?!" he snapped as he quickly looked away, and Natalia, puzzled by his anger, could only assume that Asch didn't approve of dressing up as Malkuthian fairy tale characters.
#31 - Sacred
"...I'm sorry," she said quietly, the ring on her left hand suddenly cold and heavy, "but my people - our people needed a leader... and I couldn't wait any longer."
#32 - Farewells
Fully aware that this was the last time he would speak to her, Asch brushed off Natalia's concern and turned to depart, intent on making his exit before he went and did something stupid - the pressure of time was part of it, but he didn't want to give himself the chance to think too hard on just what he was leaving behind.
#33 - World
"...I'm not trying to save the world just because it's the right thing to do," Asch told her, and then felt her stare as she finally looked at him, "so don't be careless with the life our people risked their own to protect."
#34 - Formal
Even with their past, even with their future, such a gesture was not entirely appropriate - but Natalia touched his shoulder, took his hand in hers, too relieved at finding Asch alive to care for civilities.
#35 - Fever
Natalia didn't have to touch his skin to recognize a fever - the Seventh Fonons scanning Asch's system told her enough, and she frowned at his having pushed himself this far.
#36 - Laugh
When Natalia smiled and laughed and that dreck put a comfortable hand on her back as they passed, Asch faltered and in a split-second's worth of thought decided against showing himself.
#37 - Lies
"...It's... tolerable," said Asch finally, and handed the plate back in hopes that it was all he had to force down for her.
#38 - Forever
"Remember what Asch stood for - he wouldn't want you to mourn forever," said Guy gently.
#39 - Overwhelmed
Natalia had barely made it to her room when she burst into noisy tears, forgetting every lesson in poise and manners and only flinging herself onto her bed with a loud sob - but self-control was the last thing she cared about, because Luke, her Luke, didn't know her name, her face, and what was anything else compared to that?
#40 - Whisper
"Asch... I still..." she began quietly, haltingly, but he cut her off before she could finish - although whether she would have, she couldn't say.
#41 - Wait
It's that one word, low and beseeching, that makes him pause - not simply because it's her who says it, but because there's a frailty in it, fear, that coming from anyone else would aggravate him; from her, it adds to his stirred guilt.
#42 - Talk
Even if the tail end ramblings of some forbidden love hardly made for the best conversations, Noir found the Kimlascan princess a better topic than nothing, as barked orders and flat looks were the most she could hope for from Asch otherwise.
#43 - Search
When the search party returned from Eldrant, it reported directly to Natalia that it had found no one, living or dead, among the ruins, but the captain presented the one thing his men had found: the bloodied broadsword of an Oracle Knight, which Natalia didn't know whether to hate or cherish but kept all the same.
#44 - Hope
Asch was eleven when he gave up entirely on any lingering hopes of returning to what had been, but the word in the air among the Knights occasionally brought a familiar name to his attention, mostly Duke Fabre's but frequently Natalia's - and with the latter so often accompanied by the status of her engagement, it frequently only served to agitate him.
#45 - Eclipse
Natalia turned aside a little more sharply than she'd meant, the same tears she'd let the others see before now vainly hidden in shame from Asch as he appeared not to notice.
#46 - Gravity
As he watched, Natalia actually let go and jumped and she plummeted from her window; surprised, Luke had just enough time to outstretch his small arms before she fell into him, knocking him backwards and landing heavily but safely on his chest.
#47 - Highway
Natalia grabbed the motorcycle's handlebar and determinedly stared the masked mercenary down through the tinted plastic of his helmet, ignoring the roar of passing cars on the highway behind them.
#48 - Unknown
When Luke told them of Asch's decision to stay behind, an unfamiliar feeling settled over Natalia that she could only describe as bad; it was a cold, unsettling feeling, a weight in her stomach that she couldn't shake, and had she stopped to think more about it, she would have realized she knew exactly how Largo had felt.
#49 - Lock
The low click of the lock unlatching was like a sound of thunder in the silence of her room, but the window opened without a creak and Natalia climbed onto the ledge, peering down through the darkness for the familiar sight of him waiting to catch her.
#50 - Breathe
For the first time, Asch surrendered his sword, tossing it to the feet of his enemy, and as promised the man eased up on Natalia's throat enough for her breathe and cry to him to keep fighting.
Fandom: Tales of the Abyss
Pairings: Asch/Natalia
Rating: PG
Genre: General; drama; angst; humor; action; AU; vague sort of romance?
Word count: 2,060
Spoilers: Yes. For the entire game.
Summary: My Asch/Natalia claim for 1sentence.
Note: Because I have to be complicated, most of these sentences refer to Asch as Asch, but a couple refer to him as Luke. At the same time, several feature Luke Luke, so don't be confused. |D;
#01 - Ring
Susanne placed the ring in Natalia's hand and gently closed it, smiling weakly and distantly up at her, and murmured, "It was to be yours... when you and Luke were married - please... take it, Princess, as an inheritance... as well as a thank you."
#02 - Hero
Natalia's arrow had just plunged into the thick tentacle around his neck when she set another to the string, but the monster released him just as quickly and Asch hit his knees with an irate scowl as he quickly gathered his sword.
#03 - Memory
"...Did you know him - did you know Largo very well?" she asked finally, hesitantly, and for a moment Asch didn't react, looking as though he'd anticipated the inquiry.
#04 - Box
Like Luke's, it was gorgeously adorned, but while Natalia had hope that Luke would return one day, she possessed no such expectations of fortune for Asch, and throughout the service his empty casket was just a painful reminder.
#05 - Run
Asch practically threw the reins at her and rushed to open the gate; Natalia hesitated, but he looked up and reminded her firmly, "You're going to ride for Belkend, and don't look back - I'll know if you do."
#06 - Hurricane
Beneath the pounding rain, Natalia could barely hear him yell at her to get down, but a second later Asch had grabbed hold of her with the hand that wasn't anchoring him to his sword, stuck deep in the ground to try and keep them in place.
#07 - Wings
"Just do what I say and we'll be fine," Asch told her as she slipped hesitantly into the copilot seat of the Albiore III.
#08 - Cold
"Oh," said Natalia near his elbow, sounding surprised as he placed the pan of batter over the fire, "you're not supposed to serve it cold?"
#09 - Red
Once he was gone, Natalia looked back to where her hands were clasped tightly in her lap, watching the scarlet color crawl its way further up the fingertips of her white gloves.
#10 - Drink
"...Thanks," said Asch in a half-mutter, half-grunt as Natalia handed him some water, and then he blinked and scowled and colored as everyone turned to stare at him with surprised looks.
#11 - Midnight
"Sneaking off to meet someone in the middle of the night unescorted is quite rebellious for a princess," said Jade's voice suddenly, making Natalia start, "even if it is only Asch - or is that more reason for concern?"
#12 - Temptation
"Meryl, wasn't it?" Luke inquired; the common girl smiled, pleased that he had remembered.
#13 - View
Watching Asch's face in the morning light, Natalia was suddenly struck by his appearance, by the reality that nothing, and yet everything, about his features had changed since he spoke those same words and wore that same expression seven years ago - they were sharper, more distinct, older, but the same thoughtful determination, the same dedication and love for his responsibilities, everything was there, unadulterated, and for the first time in days, she felt truly encouraged.
#14 - Music
"Of course I can play," Natalia replied proudly as she handled the viola with care, "just as Asch likely still can - it's a tradition for the royal family, but I heard you complained so much that your teacher gave up," she added, earning an annoyed look from Luke.
#15 - Silk
It was the first time in years that something other than steel or rough cloth had touched his skin, but even if it was just the soft touch of her glove, Asch shortly retreated from it out of independent habit.
#16 - Cover
After helping her to a chair, Asch pulled the heavy mantle from his shoulders and wordlessly draped it over Natalia's lap, concealing what was left of her tattered leggings just as the replica and the rest of the group hurried into the room.
#17 - Promise
Standing there between them, almost beaming in light of this first tension-free moment and not having to worry about separating them like children, it suddenly occurred to Natalia that she couldn't possibly choose between Asch and Luke, should it come down to that - she was promised to both of them, she loved them each for their own reasons, and at present that was all that mattered.
#18 - Dream
At seventeen, Natalia dreamed of Luke remembering his proposal and sweeping her off her feet to a romantic, fairy tale ending; by twenty, she only prayed for his return and dreamt of what could have been for Asch.
#19 - Candle
After reading the letter over once more, Asch hesitantly and finally held the yellow parchment over the candle, watching the small flame spread and devour the elegant handwriting as the smell of burning paper swallowed up the distant scent of her sweet perfume.
#20 - Talent
Asch glanced at Natalia's hands as she spoke, watching the fluid, automatic movements of her fingers as she restrung the bow between her knees.
#21 - Silence
Strange, Natalia thought suddenly as she hit her knees, warm blood already seeping down her back, that she'd never seen him struck speechless before; was he really so surprised that she would take a blow for him?
#22 - Journey
Rather than becoming irritated at Natalia's persistence as he did with the replica's, Asch would only explain with a rare patience and a half-truth why he couldn't travel with them.
#23 - Fire
Natalia suddenly pulled her scarf from her neck, making him stare, and began tying it around her arrow shaft just below the steel head, speaking as she worked: "I have a plan - Asch, light this with a fonic arte, quickly."
#24 - Strength
As soon as she was certain his condition had stabilized, Natalia took Asch's pale face in her hand and steadied him against her shoulder, too weary from her wounds and her artes to do anything other than clutch him to her tighter when he began to slip.
#25 - Mask
There was some pained color in her face, but Natalia was surprisingly composed as she set to healing her broken leg, hardly seeming to need the supporting arm Asch had put around her shoulders to keep her up.
#26 - Ice
"Don't move!" Asch ordered the instant before his spell finished - Natalia obeyed and froze, even when the conjured icicles rained down all around her, some missing by inches, to pierce and crush the advancing monsters.
#27 - Fall
"I'm sorry, my lord, my lady, but Asch also fell - he defended Luke long enough for him to go on," said Guy solemnly, and beside him Natalia tried not to react, suddenly wondering if she had been wise in coming along.
#28 - Forgotten
As Luke - as Asch turned to retreat with Van, he paused just long enough to steal a final glance at the insulting scene behind him, lingering longest on his mother's face; Natalia, beaming at that damned usurper, was the last he saw before turning his back on his life.
#29 - Dance
"Oh, please, Luke!" said Natalia excitedly, clasping her small hands together, and he looked almost helplessly up at the dance instructor, who smiled and motioned for the two of them to get into position.
#30 - Body
"What are you wearing?!" he snapped as he quickly looked away, and Natalia, puzzled by his anger, could only assume that Asch didn't approve of dressing up as Malkuthian fairy tale characters.
#31 - Sacred
"...I'm sorry," she said quietly, the ring on her left hand suddenly cold and heavy, "but my people - our people needed a leader... and I couldn't wait any longer."
#32 - Farewells
Fully aware that this was the last time he would speak to her, Asch brushed off Natalia's concern and turned to depart, intent on making his exit before he went and did something stupid - the pressure of time was part of it, but he didn't want to give himself the chance to think too hard on just what he was leaving behind.
#33 - World
"...I'm not trying to save the world just because it's the right thing to do," Asch told her, and then felt her stare as she finally looked at him, "so don't be careless with the life our people risked their own to protect."
#34 - Formal
Even with their past, even with their future, such a gesture was not entirely appropriate - but Natalia touched his shoulder, took his hand in hers, too relieved at finding Asch alive to care for civilities.
#35 - Fever
Natalia didn't have to touch his skin to recognize a fever - the Seventh Fonons scanning Asch's system told her enough, and she frowned at his having pushed himself this far.
#36 - Laugh
When Natalia smiled and laughed and that dreck put a comfortable hand on her back as they passed, Asch faltered and in a split-second's worth of thought decided against showing himself.
#37 - Lies
"...It's... tolerable," said Asch finally, and handed the plate back in hopes that it was all he had to force down for her.
#38 - Forever
"Remember what Asch stood for - he wouldn't want you to mourn forever," said Guy gently.
#39 - Overwhelmed
Natalia had barely made it to her room when she burst into noisy tears, forgetting every lesson in poise and manners and only flinging herself onto her bed with a loud sob - but self-control was the last thing she cared about, because Luke, her Luke, didn't know her name, her face, and what was anything else compared to that?
#40 - Whisper
"Asch... I still..." she began quietly, haltingly, but he cut her off before she could finish - although whether she would have, she couldn't say.
#41 - Wait
It's that one word, low and beseeching, that makes him pause - not simply because it's her who says it, but because there's a frailty in it, fear, that coming from anyone else would aggravate him; from her, it adds to his stirred guilt.
#42 - Talk
Even if the tail end ramblings of some forbidden love hardly made for the best conversations, Noir found the Kimlascan princess a better topic than nothing, as barked orders and flat looks were the most she could hope for from Asch otherwise.
#43 - Search
When the search party returned from Eldrant, it reported directly to Natalia that it had found no one, living or dead, among the ruins, but the captain presented the one thing his men had found: the bloodied broadsword of an Oracle Knight, which Natalia didn't know whether to hate or cherish but kept all the same.
#44 - Hope
Asch was eleven when he gave up entirely on any lingering hopes of returning to what had been, but the word in the air among the Knights occasionally brought a familiar name to his attention, mostly Duke Fabre's but frequently Natalia's - and with the latter so often accompanied by the status of her engagement, it frequently only served to agitate him.
#45 - Eclipse
Natalia turned aside a little more sharply than she'd meant, the same tears she'd let the others see before now vainly hidden in shame from Asch as he appeared not to notice.
#46 - Gravity
As he watched, Natalia actually let go and jumped and she plummeted from her window; surprised, Luke had just enough time to outstretch his small arms before she fell into him, knocking him backwards and landing heavily but safely on his chest.
#47 - Highway
Natalia grabbed the motorcycle's handlebar and determinedly stared the masked mercenary down through the tinted plastic of his helmet, ignoring the roar of passing cars on the highway behind them.
#48 - Unknown
When Luke told them of Asch's decision to stay behind, an unfamiliar feeling settled over Natalia that she could only describe as bad; it was a cold, unsettling feeling, a weight in her stomach that she couldn't shake, and had she stopped to think more about it, she would have realized she knew exactly how Largo had felt.
#49 - Lock
The low click of the lock unlatching was like a sound of thunder in the silence of her room, but the window opened without a creak and Natalia climbed onto the ledge, peering down through the darkness for the familiar sight of him waiting to catch her.
#50 - Breathe
For the first time, Asch surrendered his sword, tossing it to the feet of his enemy, and as promised the man eased up on Natalia's throat enough for her breathe and cry to him to keep fighting.