[It's a testimony to the state of his mind that those words do little to calm him down. Three days. Three days he'd been searching for any trace of her. In that time he hardly ate or slept, and barely remembered to leave food for her pets. If it wasn't for his vampire side that kept him going past his human limitations, Zero would have dropped from exhaustion, but instead he was standing there, looking all the worse for wear, unableh to let go of the girl his mind had all but started mourning even when he told himself she was okay.]
Ishtar.
[He finally managed to pull himself back, to let go of her, if only a moment.]
[ She's trying her best. There's not much else she can say to him at this point. He was worried sick and she could imagine exactly how his behavior was in regards to her being missing. Even if he did change a little, Zero was Zero and still is Zero. He wouldn't stop worrying and he would continue to worry and exhaust himself.
She's sure he's exhausted, and she's more worried about him than herself. He was the one spending sleepless nights wondering what happened and thinking the worse. She just looked down at his words. ]
I remember a research tower of some sort and a few people that I was with. We were inside, investigating it for information.
[ Also, some things are a bit weird to Ishtar but she's not going to explain why her eyes are doing weird things and stuff. ]
Research--- [ Tower?!! Those words immediately hail a red flag as images of the doctors at the Facility sharply came into focus drowning out all reason for a moment. The Doctors?! Did they finally come back??!! How could he have become so complacent?!! Sharply, Zero turns his eyes to her, searching for anything out of place.]
C-Calm down it was the CERES stuff. There's no Facility here, and no Doctors
[ She replied. She doesn't know the exact details but she knows that that tower was involved and she went in with people. The Doctors weren't here but it was hard to reason with him in that regard since he's in panic mode. ]
I don't... really know.
[ Death... probably, but she's not going to even mention that right now. ]
[She didn't know.... Zero stares at her, he knows there's more. Something she's not telling him. What that is he can only imagine and already he's had too much time imagining the worst, so instead of insisting on the matter, he pulls her inside and drags her to the living room where her cat and bat are currently stuffing their mouths with food.]
[ Ishtar really didn't know but she did know. Also, because there was so much magical energy that she was momentarily overwhelmed with it. She remembered Sidia responding to it as well. The sparks were bad and things were sent into explosions. She didn't even get to see what else was beyond that point.
She kept her eyes on him, but after a moment, she adverted them. Ishtar wasn't good at hiding her emotions, and Zero was always good at reading them. She didn't want to expose to him anything just yet, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to tell him if he asked her to. ]
E-Easy!
[ She let out a soft yelp as she was being pulled inside his home and towards the living room. Eventually, she saw the state of her pets and couldn't help but smile even a little. ]
I'm sorry you two for leaving you. I hope you didn't give Zero too hard of a time.
[ She walked over to pick up Bells who meowed at her as she cuddled him tightly. Of course, Pico knows the drill and is settling himself in her head with the piece of fruit he was stuffing his face with. ]
[Zero watched as she reacquainted herself with her pets. She was hiding something from him, what it was, he didn't know, but he saw it in the way she averted her eyes away from him. The way she tried to focus the conversation on him rather than what had transpired in her absence. At this point, he didn't even know if she'd been kidnapped, held hostage, any number of things could have happened to her, and yet.... she kept it to herself. Secrets.... How many was she keeping from him? How many had he kept from her?]
........
[They couldn't keep going like this. He couldn't, not after everything that had happened in the facility, back in his world.... All the secrets that had come to light... he couldn't live with lies anymore.]
It was easier to take them than to listen to you complain about the mess.
[ Ishtar played with them for a little bit, before letting them do their thing. She knew that she could only advert the conversation for so long. She was pretty sure that Zero had already figured out why she was asking about him more than herself. Though, in her defense, she always cared about him and everyone else above her own self. She didn't really value herself as much as she should at times, but the same thing could be said towards Zero, who seemed to do the same thing Ishtar did. They were both a bit careless with their lives on that matter sometimes.
There wasn't anything too awful that happened with her, but she wasn't sure she was ready to tell him about the deaths she encountered during her stay in Facility and now in Cerealia obviously. She didn't want to keep secrets, but she wasn't fully lying to him either. She just seemed to twist the truth a little bit so that he wouldn't worry about her too much. Not that it mattered. She was sure he figured it out now and looking at him was a bit hard because she knew he would see through her if anything. ]
...
[ She looked up at him as he said those words, with a smile on her face. ]
Ah, I guess that's true.
[ She replied with a nod of her head. ] I'm sure you spooked the neighbors if anything since you're never too discreet about entrances.
[ She replied half laughing. Right now, it was a matter of time before the topic would be brought to light. She just would have to endure it when it came forth. ]
[He watched that smile closely, listened to the laugh for signs of deception. He knew she forced those gestures, knew they weren't genuine but what was he supposed to do about them? If she didn't want to tell him the truth, then he wouldn't hear it. He couldn't force it out of her, so he kept his demeanor still.]
[ Ishtar continued to smile at her own pace. Of course, with her animals, she smiled pretty calmly and genuinely. There were other situations where she seemed to be hiding things, but naturally it was just her personality. She didn't want to worry those around her, thus she would rather keep things to herself than bring them to light.
At the moment, maybe she needed a push to start talking, since she wasn't good at bringing up these kinds of things. ]
Hahaha, I will probably be hearing it from the neighbors then.
[ She laughed softly at the thought. ]
Still, thank you for everything. You're always here when I need you the most.
No one said that and since when did thanking you become a problem?
[ Since, well Ishtar's always been saying it as long as she remembered, but maybe the tone of it or the way it was delivered was odd? She didn't think so.
Ishtar sighed. ]
Who said you were a stranger anyway? If that was the case, we wouldn't be here talking right and you wouldn't be worried out of your mind about me and I-- well-- I'm kind of not sure what I'm suppose to say anymore.
There was a huge amount of magical energy at the bottom floor. They also sprayed some weird sensory gas or something. My sense of touched got screwed up.
[His fingers curl at his sides, his skin whitening at the exerted pressure at that single point. It takes every ounce of self-control to keep him from moving forward to capture her hand and check for himself. But he's here to listen to her, not to take the information like some brute. If he wanted that, he'd just take her blood and be done with it. But Zero would never do that, so he stayed in place, his anger smoldering underneath the surface.]
[ There's weird glitches every so often, but it probably had to do with something else and not the gas that was released. ]
When you hugged me earlier, it was warm.
[ She explained slowly. Ishtar noticed the whitening of his skin, and the change of his demeanor. She knew him well. He was probably slowly fuming at everything she was saying to him. Even if he chose to jump at her to make sure, she wouldn't stop him. Ishtar wasn't aware of how vampires of his world worked. Even if he chose to act like that as well, she wouldn't stop him. Ishtar was pretty tight lipped about things that she didn't want to be said and maybe it would take some force for her to actually talk. ]
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Date: 2015-09-15 05:00 am (UTC)It's okay, I'm not going anywhere. I'm not gonna leave you if I can help it.
[ She takes a long moment before she replies. ]
I'm not entirely sure, but... I know I've been out for three days since.
action
Date: 2015-09-15 05:20 am (UTC)Ishtar.
[He finally managed to pull himself back, to let go of her, if only a moment.]
What. Happened?
action
Date: 2015-09-15 05:41 am (UTC)She's sure he's exhausted, and she's more worried about him than herself. He was the one spending sleepless nights wondering what happened and thinking the worse. She just looked down at his words. ]
I remember a research tower of some sort and a few people that I was with. We were inside, investigating it for information.
[ Also, some things are a bit weird to Ishtar but she's not going to explain why her eyes are doing weird things and stuff. ]
action
Date: 2015-09-15 05:57 am (UTC)Did they do something to you?!
[If they did anything--]
action
Date: 2015-09-15 06:11 am (UTC)[ She replied. She doesn't know the exact details but she knows that that tower was involved and she went in with people. The Doctors weren't here but it was hard to reason with him in that regard since he's in panic mode. ]
I don't... really know.
[ Death... probably, but she's not going to even mention that right now. ]
action
Date: 2015-09-16 03:02 am (UTC)They've been waiting for you.
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Date: 2015-09-16 06:13 am (UTC)She kept her eyes on him, but after a moment, she adverted them. Ishtar wasn't good at hiding her emotions, and Zero was always good at reading them. She didn't want to expose to him anything just yet, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to tell him if he asked her to. ]
E-Easy!
[ She let out a soft yelp as she was being pulled inside his home and towards the living room. Eventually, she saw the state of her pets and couldn't help but smile even a little. ]
I'm sorry you two for leaving you. I hope you didn't give Zero too hard of a time.
[ She walked over to pick up Bells who meowed at her as she cuddled him tightly. Of course, Pico knows the drill and is settling himself in her head with the piece of fruit he was stuffing his face with. ]
Thank you...really.
action
Date: 2015-09-18 02:57 am (UTC)........
[They couldn't keep going like this. He couldn't, not after everything that had happened in the facility, back in his world.... All the secrets that had come to light... he couldn't live with lies anymore.]
It was easier to take them than to listen to you complain about the mess.
action
Date: 2015-09-19 04:06 am (UTC)There wasn't anything too awful that happened with her, but she wasn't sure she was ready to tell him about the deaths she encountered during her stay in Facility and now in Cerealia obviously. She didn't want to keep secrets, but she wasn't fully lying to him either. She just seemed to twist the truth a little bit so that he wouldn't worry about her too much. Not that it mattered. She was sure he figured it out now and looking at him was a bit hard because she knew he would see through her if anything. ]
...
[ She looked up at him as he said those words, with a smile on her face. ]
Ah, I guess that's true.
[ She replied with a nod of her head. ] I'm sure you spooked the neighbors if anything since you're never too discreet about entrances.
[ She replied half laughing. Right now, it was a matter of time before the topic would be brought to light. She just would have to endure it when it came forth. ]
action
Date: 2015-09-20 05:10 pm (UTC)They called the police on me.
[Said dryly.]
action
Date: 2015-09-21 12:05 am (UTC)At the moment, maybe she needed a push to start talking, since she wasn't good at bringing up these kinds of things. ]
Hahaha, I will probably be hearing it from the neighbors then.
[ She laughed softly at the thought. ]
Still, thank you for everything. You're always here when I need you the most.
action
Date: 2015-09-21 12:26 am (UTC)Did you expect me to abandon you here?
[A pointed question as he kept his eyes on her. What are you hiding Ishtar?]
action
Date: 2015-09-21 12:32 am (UTC)That's not what I meant and you know it. You're the last person that would do that to me and even then I'm pretty sure you wouldn't.
[ She shook her head. Maybe the way she said it sounded off? Either way, it didn't seem to stop her much from retorting. ]
action
Date: 2015-09-21 12:39 am (UTC)[He's lounging against a wall, looking casual even if his words and eyes are nothing of the sort.]
You keep thanking me for petty things like I'm some stranger you need to thank at every turn.
action
Date: 2015-09-21 12:45 am (UTC)[ Since, well Ishtar's always been saying it as long as she remembered, but maybe the tone of it or the way it was delivered was odd? She didn't think so.
Ishtar sighed. ]
Who said you were a stranger anyway? If that was the case, we wouldn't be here talking right and you wouldn't be worried out of your mind about me and I-- well-- I'm kind of not sure what I'm suppose to say anymore.
[ She paused. That gaze was really troubling. ]
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Date: 2015-09-21 12:53 am (UTC)Say the truth.
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Date: 2015-09-21 01:02 am (UTC)[ She replied, keeping her gaze on the ground. ]
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Date: 2015-09-21 01:52 am (UTC)action
Date: 2015-09-21 02:08 am (UTC)There where?
[ Ishtar doesn't get what he's trying to ask really. ]
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Date: 2015-09-21 02:16 am (UTC)[His voice is calm, patient. For now.]
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Date: 2015-09-21 02:25 am (UTC)[ She replied softly. There's not much to it. ]
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Date: 2015-09-21 02:33 am (UTC)Screwed up, how?
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Date: 2015-09-21 02:54 am (UTC)[ She's not even sure how to explain it, really. ]
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Date: 2015-09-21 03:14 am (UTC)[His fingers curl at his sides, his skin whitening at the exerted pressure at that single point. It takes every ounce of self-control to keep him from moving forward to capture her hand and check for himself. But he's here to listen to her, not to take the information like some brute. If he wanted that, he'd just take her blood and be done with it. But Zero would never do that, so he stayed in place, his anger smoldering underneath the surface.]
action
Date: 2015-09-21 03:22 am (UTC)[ There's weird glitches every so often, but it probably had to do with something else and not the gas that was released. ]
When you hugged me earlier, it was warm.
[ She explained slowly. Ishtar noticed the whitening of his skin, and the change of his demeanor. She knew him well. He was probably slowly fuming at everything she was saying to him. Even if he chose to jump at her to make sure, she wouldn't stop him. Ishtar wasn't aware of how vampires of his world worked. Even if he chose to act like that as well, she wouldn't stop him. Ishtar was pretty tight lipped about things that she didn't want to be said and maybe it would take some force for her to actually talk. ]
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