(Untitled)

[songofthedeep]

Who: Cerceus, Ark, OPEN TO ANYONE
When: Morning
Where: The Village
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Nudity, Language
Summary: Ark is naked. Naked!Ark needs clothes. Cerceus dislikes clothes, and likes naked!Ark, but is willing to show her to the shops anyway. Hilarity may possibly ensue.

Comments

[archive_sky]

Ark took in his posture - and his newly acquired pants - before threading her arm through his and offering him a smile. She was already in the process of deciding how she would behave once she met the other occupants of Sheol; Cerceus knew who she was and what she was and so there was no need for pretense. But the others, they would be a test... a chance to see if she could truly make use of the knowledge she coveted.

"Lead," she said simply.

[songofthedeep]

He walked her up the grassy hill and along the foot-worn path toward the village. The trees were clustered close around the path, but they broke as they emerged into the village... they had to walk the entire length of the settlement to get to the stores on the northernmost side. He passed the time by pointing things out.

"That cabin with the attached structure on the back, that's the forge. The blacksmith is a dark elf named Razzat. That one there belongs to Zack Fair... he's sort of elected himself keeper of chronicles for our little village here. That one belongs to my friend Axel, but he almost never uses it... you're more likely to find him wandering out in the woods. Akito lives there... we were lovers for a while."

And so on.

[unseeing_sight]

Hans was heading for the stores as well, his staff beating out a light tattoo on the path and cabin walls as he felt his way between two cabins. His keen hearing picked out Cerceus' voice from a way away. The words, the explanations indicated a new arrival, or that would be his best guess, at least.

He wondered if it was the girl he'd spoken to before, the girl who spoke German and wouldn't believe they were dead. He carried on in the general direction of the voices. Tap tap tap CRASH.

The crash was Hans catching his foot on a stone and dropping his staff as he hurtled towards the two walkers, blind eyes squeezed shut and bracing his arms to catch himself.

[archive_sky]

Ark moved like a striking serpent, pivoting on one foot and catching the falling boy by the neck; her thumb and index finger curved along the underside of his jaw. Her grip was more than enough to stop his forward momentum. Even without squeezing, though, the abruptness of the impact would have stung if such a feeling were possible.

...it had to be an uncomfortable way to be held, reducing airflow, and Ark realized that, using the palm of her other hand to take the boy by the shoulder and guide him back to stable footing before taking a step backwards. She glanced to Cy, waiting for an introduction.

[songofthedeep]

Cy had no bloody clue. If he'd seen the guy before, he'd forgotten. He just shook his head blankly.

[unseeing_sight]

Hans took in a deep breath, recovering from the shock, and bit his lip, scuffing his foot on the floor. "I-I'm sorry. That was very clumsy." He stepped back nervously, bending down and feeling for his staff.

He swallowed hard, his cheeks burning. These were the situations the shy boy was worst at dealing with and he would be able to leave if he could just find his damn staff.

[archive_sky]

"...it's okay," Ark said reassuringly. She recognized the voice now. "I was just startled. Are you okay? We spoke before, through the birds. My name is Ark."

...he was blind, that much was evident. She wondered why his eyes didn't repair themselves, the way Cerceus's arm had when he bit himself, but determined it would be rude to interrogate him. From his posture and the low tone of his voice, he seemed rather timid.

[songofthedeep]

Cy had nothing really to say here, so he just waited, eying the newcomer with a hint of curiosity just because he was a new face and a moving object. He thought the boy sounded familiar, but he was too lazy to try and place it, honestly.

[unseeing_sight]

Hans offered a small smile and nodded. "Um...you were the German speaker?" It sounded like a question, but it wasn't really. His voice recognition skills were pretty good, and it hadn't been long since they'd spoken.

He straightened slowly, vulnerable without his stick, and gave a slightly crooked, very nervy smile with the words, "Um, I'm Hans. Hans Stürmhimmel". A moment later, he added, "It's, ah, it's nice to meet you, Ark."

[archive_sky]

"That's me," Ark said. "It's nice to meet you too, Hans Sturmhimmel. Cerceus was just taking me shopping. Where were you going, if you don't mind me asking? Before you bumped into us, that is."

She was unable to tell if her speech was flowing naturally - this was only her second conversation after all - but if what Cerceus said was true, and she had no reason to doubt it, she would have plenty of time to practice and improve deficits. Even though she knew he couldn't see it, she smiled, practicing her expressions.

[songofthedeep]

[[you guys can go on without me, I'll jump in if I've got something to say.]]

[unseeing_sight]

"Um, I was going to the store as well..." he explained. His voice was a little less soft than before, but he was fidgeting madly with his long sleeves, his hands feeling empty without his staff. He wanted to find it, but it seemed like it would be very rude to just start crawling around in the middle of a coversation.

He picked at a loose thread on his cuff and looked at the floor. "Um, I'm sorry if I disturbed you, though..."

[archive_sky]

"You didn't. There's no reason to apologize, really."

Ark's gaze lingered over the way his hands played with the fabric of his sleeves.

"Were you... going to get a smaller shirt?" she speculated.

[[OOC: Aaaand a swing and a miss. XD ]]

[unseeing_sight]

Hans looked puzzled for a moment before he realised why she would ask that. As his face cleared in realisation, his hands stilled. "N-no. I was going for food..."

After a small pause, he added, "Ah...why were you going to the stores, Fraulein Ark? If you don't mind me asking?"

[songofthedeep]

"Our girl here decided to show up without any clothes," Cerceus supplied with mischeivous helpfulness. "As nice as she looks naked... pity you can't see that, by the way... she figured it might be more trouble than it's worth in the long run. So we're off to retrieve her some clothes."

[archive_sky]

"I'm still naked," Ark added, just to clarify. "I'm sorry. I didn't think it would be polite to mention that. But Cerceus is wearing pants. Would you like to walk with us to the stores, Hans Sturmhimmel? They are near each other, aren't they, Cerceus?"