alone I could barely light a match

[soulbonder]

WHO: Astral, Yuma
WHERE: MAC
WHEN: August 2nd
WARNINGS: N/A
SUMMARY: They talk about stuff.
FORMAT: Prose
Astral waits while sitting on roof of the MAC, legs dangling over the ledge. He's not looking anywhere particular. What is there to look at? Everything in this world is so boring and gray.

It shouldn't take Yuma long to meet him here, a few moments at most.

Then they'll talk about... something. The Network? About Feferi's departure, about Klarion... Their most recent argument? Perhaps. Or they won't talk at all.

Comments

[soulbondee]

He takes the elevator, slow as it is, and for once doesn't tap his foot in impatience for each ascended flight. He doesn't know what Astral wants to talk about; it could be any numbers of things. Maybe it's something he doesn't want their roommates to hear, or he doesn't want to upset Tweema with their shouting — and only Tweema, of course, as Astral feels ever-increasing levels of loathing for their cats. Or perhaps he was already up here, and simply doesn't want to come down yet.

It seems as though Astral spends more time out of Yuma's sight than in it, these days.

The elevator reaches its limit, and Yuma quickly takes the remaining stairs up to the access door. The roof itself is long, wide, and dull as the pavement below. Against the blue sky, Astral's hard to spot at first, but eventually Yuma heads the right direction.

He doesn't need to announce his arrival.

[soulbonder]

He never does, not when Astral can feel his presence.

He sighs, the first of many to come. Will Yuma keep count again? Hopefully he won't. Astral can't stand it.

"I don't understand."

[soulbondee]

The first passes by without comment.

It'll be the fourth or fifth before Yuma starts to pester.

Yuma takes a seat on the raised ledge of the roof, one leg already dangling over the open edge. "About what?"

[soulbonder]

"The Porter brings many people that are very, very different from you and I."

If it wasn't evident in his posture now, it's definitely obvious in his conversation topic. Astral's depressed. The only time he questions the differences between himself and the people around him.

[soulbondee]

Something has him bummed out. Another ImPort, obviously, but just one person? Or many?

He could try to lead Astral around to getting to the point, but Yuma's too blunt for something like that. "Who is it this time?"

[soulbonder]

"Klarion wanted to eat souls."

[soulbondee]

"That guy..." Yuma had been talking to that person, trying to dissuade him from that very goal when he received Astral's message. "You know him?"

[soulbonder]

"Yes, I do. He is my friend."

He shifts, crossing his arms as if it would protect him. Astral doesn't exactly have the luxury of having his soul inside a squishy human body.

[soulbondee]

And there it was, Yuma realized. Back in Heartland, they had together fought an opponent with that power. If Kaito hadn't canceled the duel, Astral would have died on that day, and Yuma would have lost his soul to... some place not even Kaito knew. Someone that could be called 'enemy' with that sort of power was terrifying... but for it to come from a friend?

Yuma sits up a little straighter. "Astral..."

[soulbonder]

The feeling of fear is very different when its an enemy. He's not sure how to describe this one. There is some disappointment and anger, and...

"What if he succeeds?"

[soulbondee]

Yuma is reminded then of Shark, that upperclassman at his school. Because of Yuma's actions, Shark was driven to such a low point that he allowed himself to be used for the sake of a place to belong. He nearly committed an act that went against his duelist's heart, for the sake of belonging.

Is Klarion betraying himself by making this attempt? Is it only for the sake of fitting into some stranger's expectations? Yuma doesn't know. But he does know that Klarion is Astral's friend.

But...

"Are you frightened?"

[soulbonder]

Astral shifts from his position on the ledge, reaching out to take Yuma's hand. Physical contact isn't necessary to speak with Yuma through his heart, but it's easier. And... comforting? He recalls him holding his hand when he was upset as a human and that it made him feel better, anyway.

"Yes, only it's different." While his voice doesn't sound hollow, there is an undercurrent of sounds that aren't human in origin. "I feel more than fear, and I'm certain it is not hope."

[soulbondee]

It takes Yuma by surprise to feel Astral's hand -- Astral doesn't feel like a human, or quite like anything else in the human world, and even casual touch isn't something they practice with any regularity. Probably because they're fighting all the time. Yuma turns his hand in Astral's so he can give it a bit of a comforting squeeze, like he would a human hand.

"Does it hurt?"

[soulbonder]

"Yes."

It did hurt, it made his chest ache terribly.

[soulbondee]

He watched Astral's face, for any further clue as to what he was feeling, but... whatever it was, it was bad, wasn't it? He didn't really need to know the technicalities. Klarion wanted to do something, and it was something that frightened and hurt Astral. So the only real answer was to stop Klarion from doing it, or stop him from wanting to.

See through your opponent's motive, and stop it.

When he spoke, his voice was steady, in the way he got when things were serious and he had a path before him; he didn't look directly at Astral, even as he spoke.

"I want to go there and talk to him."