spira_rp | Make my way back home

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Make my way back home

Their foray into the Vile Peaks had been fruitful and frustrating at the same time. Yylfordt had got the time the day after their encounter with the stupidly overpowered-for-what-it-was Hollow to go and mooch among the old ruins left there. He'd wanted to bring back a lot more than he'd been able to, in the end, partly because of the bulk of things. He'd got some very flat looks when he'd suggested just leaving some people behind so there was more room on the Ragnarok; fortunately, they'd known he was joking.

Or had thought he was, anyway.

They'd brought back what they could, and Even and his scary Aeon level ice powers had gone off to his laboratory, and Nel had gone back to doing whatever she did all day, and Yylfordt, Apache, Tayuya, Kadaj, and Grimmjow had been left to their usual devices again.

They'd got bored after two days, and Yylfordt had got round to wiring up their coffee machine. He'd been tempted to just steal it and wire it up in his workshop and then lord it over Szayel that he had one, but he hadn't wanted to annoy Apache and Grimmjow any more than he usually did by existing, so he was working on connecting in to the Palace's electrics, and running a cable to the Sunhouse.

Which was about when he'd decided he could really do with some more insulated wire, and connector pins, and another socket adapter wouldn't go amiss, really. He had things, of course, he was Al Bhed, he'd never not have things. But that was why he needed more things, because if he used these things then he'd be running low, and something about machina and the associated gidgets and gadgets brought out the hoarder in him. He could never allow himself to get down to his last thing, because then what if he needed to use that, and ended up with no things?

He'd got some funny looks when he'd tried to explain his reasoning for wanting to trip into Rabanastre, just to pick up some basics, even though he already had the basics. It was only Rabanastre, and it would only be a day. They'd proven they could go out and come back without getting in trouble. Anyway Nel had apparently told Aizen she'd been impressed with Grimmjow's leadership ability while she was out with them.

They'd been allowed to go to Rabanastre. It was only a short hop of a journey, a shorter hop than Nel usually made to get groceries, which was probably some of the reason they'd been allowed to make it. The Arrancar overall were being given that little bit more freedom, one outing at a time.

The girls had come, because Tayuya and Apache jumped at any chance to get out. Yylfordt had, if he was honest, taken a bit of pride in showing Apache around the Al Bhed quarter. Then he'd burned with jealousy when he'd seen Kadaj give an absently friendly wave to a cute Al Bhed girl in folded down dungarees and a bra, working in the Rockbell repair shop, and getting it returned cheerily. He'd been even more jealous when Kadaj, after being asked, had said simply that she was Winry, which caused a minor meltdown on Yylfordt's part.

He'd not been allowed to backtrack and talk to her, though, as much as he'd wanted to. Kadaj had refused to take him back and introduce him, too, on the grounds that they weren't here for long enough for Yylfordt to fanboy the Rockbells.

"Bro, can't we just--?" He asked again, as they were leaving. The intention was to get something to eat, but Rabanastre Al Bhed food was a little too authentic for some. You had to go to the peripheries if you wanted something everyone found palatable, funny as it would be to try and get Kadaj or Apache to try Desert Oysters.

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Kadaj frowned, looking at Tayuya. "Thanks," he said.

Things Kadaj had never needed to consider: the ins and outs, or lack thereof, of Even's sex life. They also had to tread carefully and not reveal to the Ryoka that Even had joined Khamja, although no doubt they'd work it out sooner or later.

If they didn't already know, that was.

Lea wrinkled his nose, disgust etched into every cringed up line of his face. He looked at Tayuya, his horror more than mild, and made a noise of revulsion.

"Eurgh," he said, not resisting a bit of a shiver. "I'm not sure about this truce taking physical violence and replacing it with psychological warfare, you know."

"Yeah, I did, and I don't care," Apache said, half to Yylfordt and half to Tayuya.

She was sick of being judged for sleeping with one guy. So what if he was the berserker? He hadn't been that when she'd slept with him and she hadn't known. He'd been charming and nice, not to mention extremely good for a one night stand with a stranger.

"He was nothing but nice," she snapped at Yylfordt. "Nicer than you've ever been. If you're trying to get me to say I regret it, acting like a dick about it ain't gonna make it happen, because I don't."

She glared at him again, the anger not leaving her face.

"I'm sick of your shit," she snapped.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, shaking his head but snorting with mild amusement all the same. "Now I have to stop those two from killing each other."

Well, it was kind of funny for the Berserker to be making jokes to somebody he'd tried to beat the hell out of the last few times they'd encountered each other. It wasn't like that had been one-sided, but it struck Grimmjow as amusing.

"We're only here for the food district," he said, jerking his head in the direction the food smells were wafting from. "Can't say we spend much time in Rabanastre."

Kadaj looked at Lea, and his slightly overblown and yet somehow understated reaction to Tayuya's taunting. "Psychological warfare is what she does best," he said, a statement which was true in many more ways than he hoped the Ryoka ever had to find out. "After swearing," he added, after thinking about it.

Tayuya snorted, looking at Kadaj out of the corner of her eye. He was friendly with Even, and boy did this kid have a weird knack of making even weirder allies if you took your eyes off him for five minutes, and he still thought the idea was fucking gross.

"Hey, at least it's not befriending random assholes I'm supposed to be fighting," she said. "How did you fuckers even meet?" She asked, looking between Kadaj, and Lea and the rest.

Saix couldn't have been with them. Kadaj would have recognised him for sure.

Saix nodded, agreeing with a simple, "It's a convenient port."

He wasn't about to say that they were based in Rabanastre. That the entire Order tended to use the Sandsea as a base of operations, and that they were, right now, essentially running the pub.

Mostly he wasn't about to say this because, as much as he and Grimmjow may have reached an understanding, and a peaceful conclusion to things, Grimmjow was far from the only Arrancar. They'd run into Arrancar all over Spira so far, and this was the first encounter in Rabanastre. They didn't really want to have more Arrancar encounters in Rabanastre.

Not all of them were as readily coaxed into the realm of amicable rivalry.

"We were headed the same way."

"He was trying to get in your pants," Yylfordt pointed out, largely oblivious to the bout of camaraderie that was being gently nurtured around him, "of course he was nice!"

The way he spoke he came across like someone had given Grimmjow Aizen's education, making him both a thug, and a snotty fuckwit at the same time. Yylfordt hated him. He hated him anyway because he tried to beat Grimmjow to death for a hobby, but he hated him more now because he was the sort of insufferable pretty Selkie asshole that got girls easily. And one of them had been Apache, and that sucked.

He threw his hands up in the air, giving up on her. "Whatever. You don't regret sleeping with the enemy. Fine." He clearly wasn't going to argue some sense into her on that front.

Aerith glanced at Lea following Tayuya's question. He'd been the first one to meet Kadaj, but she contributed, "Well, he bought a flower off me."

She'd thought he was buying it for someone special, but somehow, Grimmjow didn't seem the type you bought flowers for. Nor did Tayuya, for that matter, so that left her wondering who Kadaj had bought it for.

If Yylfordt wasn't as hopeless as he seemed, she'd have suggested he get some for Apache, but she couldn't decide whether she'd charge him double, or give him the flowers for free so long as he just gave them to her and paid her a compliment. He really needed to work on that.

Lea gave a shrug.

"His bike needed repairing," he said, nodding to Kadaj. "I pointed him in the direction of the Rockbell shop."

It had been casual, a friendly piece of help for a stranger. Lea hadn't know that he was an associate of Saix's best friend ever, nor did he even consider that he might be. Kadaj had been perfectly nice and the world was a big place, too big for him to be thinking that every random stranger was somehow an associate of his friend's rival.

"Am I not speaking clearly?" Apache asked, staring at Yylfordt with incredulity more than anger now. "I... didn't... know... who... he...was," she said slowly, pronouncing every word carefully. "Do I need to learn the fucking Al Bhed for that, or can it penetrate your thick skull okay in Common?"

She folded her arms, glaring at him.

"He's been nice today, too, unlike you," she pointed out, eyes narrowed. "He ain't trying to get into my pants now, is he? Funny how he's supposed to be the enemy and yet you're being the bigger asshole."

"Makes sense," he said, casting a look to the still arguing Yylfordt and Apache. He rolled his eyes, half unable to believe that Yylfordt was still being so incredibly dense that he was digging his heels in about Apache, somehow, being in the wrong.

Sure, so she'd fucked the Berserker. She had a point about not knowing who he was, she'd admitted that already. He'd not been an asshole here, yet Yylfordt was standing there acting like she should be retroactively embarrassed or regretful about it. Something about Saix being surprisingly nice and Yylfordt being a monumental cock made that unlikely.

"I'm hoping we can find something half decent," he said, scratching his head. "Something that ain't desert oysters."

Saix regarded Yylfordt arguing with Apache with a small frown. It was more than a little flattering to hear Apache say that she wasn't about to be made to regret their encounter, but he did have to wonder at what sort of relationship she and the Al Bhed had that he thought she should, or that it was his business whether she did or not. Amazingly, the Al Bhed seemed to be utterly immune to being punched in the face.

Perhaps Apache just wasn't doing it hard enough.

He was distracted from his thoughts by Grimmjow. "Not a fan of seafood?" He asked, recalling that Grimmjow took on a distinctly feline appearance towards the tail end of a battle.

Desert oysters sounded like something you'd obtain in the Sandsea. They'd faced enough Urutan-Yensa, and the things they rode, for the concept not be beyond reasoning.

"Great," Yylfordt said, his voice rising again. "You can explain that to the boss when he finds out."

Aizen was going to do his nut. Or not, and that would probably be worse. He might just get that face on him that said he sometimes regretted making Arrancar, or at least, making some of the Arrancar. They weren't all like Ulquiorra. Shit like this probably made him really, really wish they were.

"I just hope he doesn't vilgehk ground us."

Tayuya listened to Lea and Aerith explain how they'd met Kadaj. So, the fire elemental was to blame for upsetting Yylfordt with having some other mechanic work on the bike. She'd like him more for that if he'd known it would have that effect at the time.

She turned to Kadaj though, giving him a grumpy look. "You never bought me any flowers."

She knew exactly who he'd bought flowers for, but he'd apparently bought it in the middle of a damn desert. That shit was sappy.

Kadaj didn't look fazed. He just turned to Tayuya and said, "You'd just hit me with it."

Besides, he'd had some very careful creeping to do where Kuja was concerned. Things had changed, but even Kadaj wasn't sure how far those changes would go. Until he was sure, Kadaj wanted to make sure Kuja knew Kadaj was still on his side. Which had been succinctly done with a perfect desert rose as an 'I'm back' and apology gift.

"It would be a waste of a flower."

Aerith giggled into her hand watching Kadaj and Tayuya. When they weren't arguing about whether or not they should be killing someone, they had a very Lea and Saix sort of friendship, she thought. It was kind of funny.

"He said it was for someone special," she teased, with a bright smile. "If you needed more, you should have just said."

Although, thinking about it, Grimmjow didn't seem the type to accept flowers readily, either.

"They ain't seafood," he said, his expression slightly dark.

He didn't hate them, but he has a massive amount of other, better food ahead of them on his list of potential meals, either for today or another occasion. They were tolerable, but they weren't something he'd go out of his way to buy, not when there were alternatives on offer.

"If he wants to do that," Apache said, looking as unbothered as she dared, "he can ground me. I'm not sure I want to come out with you next time if you're going to be a little bitch about everything."

If he was going to hold this berserker thing over her for the rest of her life, she was pretty sure she'd rather stay at home in the company of Nel. Even Nnoitra, Szayel and Luppi were better company than Yylfordt when he had his arse in his hands about something.

Something about Tayuya's general demeanour made Lea fairly sure that she wasn't the flower type. Or, if she was, she'd act unimpressed about receiving one, glare a little, and then be secretly pleased about it when she thought nobody was watching.

That was sort of sweet, in a weird way, but it didn't tend to make anybody want to go out of their way to buy her a gift they were sure wasn't going to be appreciated.

"It's a shame we've gone and sold out," Fang said, amused.

Selling flowers wasn't her favourite ever thing, but it was easy enough to do in a desert city full of tourists. So long as they weren't priced too high, people would buy them faster than she would have imagined.

It was strange to her. Back where she'd come from, she'd had to fight for survival, going out and hunting food in order to get through every day and week and month. Here people actually spent money on decorative ephemera.

"You weren't even out with us," Yylfordt pointed out, testily. "You were out with Nel, and Tayuya, and Halibel." Two of the top three Espada, and someone else's underling. "That's gonna put paid to your little girl's nights," he snapped.

They had no excuse for not recognising the berserker, either. Apache shouldn't either, as far as Yylfordt was concerned. Yeah, they all just called him 'the berserker', but the hair, eyes, and scar combo made him pretty distinctive looking. She'd seen Ulquiorra's playback! Yeah, Ulquiorra had been kinda focused on the fire elemental, but berserker boy had still been there if she'd paid attention.

She just hadn't paid attention. And she'd slept with a random dude, and that random dude had turned out to be less random than that.

"I don't want a fucking flower anyway," Tayuya said, grumpily. Not that she'd object to being given a flower. Well, she probably would, depending on who it was from, and what it was for. "People only get you flowers when they've done shit wrong."

Like screw someone they weren't supposed to. Or, in Kadaj's case, murder your ally and run away for a bit.

Kadaj glanced at Tayuya. He could spot her deflecting from a mile off, and that hadn't been a particularly skillful deflection.

"Yeah," Kadaj agreed, flashing a faint smile at Fang. He still couldn't shake the association with Nel that was going on in his head. He found himself liking her. "Although it's probably better for my wallet."

He glanced at Apache and Yylfordt, who were still endeavouring to argue because apparently Apache hadn't knocked his teeth out, yet. "Better for his, too." If flowers were how you were supposed to apologise, he was going to need to get Apache so many.

Saix raised an eyebrow as he looked at Grimmjow. The dark expression and tone made it sound strangely ominous.

"Really?" He asked, wondering now what they might actually be. If it sounded like seafood, and wasn't seafood, it was probably some form of offal. That seemed to be a trend. Whenever the name of a food was misleading, it was almost always something of questionable palatability. "Dare I ask?"

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