queenoflogs | Sol's Dream Valentine

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Sol's Dream Valentine

Characters: Ky Kiske and Sol Badguy
Date: February 14th
Summary: Event post, Ky and Sol are going to fail at bonding
Warnings: None currently or anticipated beyond language. They'll be added if they come up.

Ky had been working on getting settled into the gardens as much as she could, because as much as she disliked the idea she was trapped here for now. She had quickly established a routine: upon waking she exercised for a while, going through her sword forms and feeling her magic inside of her as she made sure she practiced the concentration necessary, then she took long walks around the gardens, looking for anything unusual or unexpected.

Today, Ky found herself growing uncomfortable towards loop three, so she headed in a little, pleased to find that the feeling of discomfort faded before she had to return to her room to rest. She found herself unwilling to return to her task after lunch, instead staying in the building. As the day wore on further, she found the feeling of discomfort returning, even though she wasn't currently exerting herself.

She eventually felt herself tugged to Sol and Dizzy's door, and she decided to knock. She'd been wondering how Dizzy was settling in, after all, and maybe Sol knew more about this place, or how she'd come to be here. And even more unlikely, but still worth trying, maybe Sol would share what she knew.

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Sol had been restless as well, but alone that wasn't unusual enough to cause her concern. Some days she felt as settled as she possibly could, but others... She still had difficulty keeping herself from climbing the walls from time to time. Earlier in the day, she had done her best to work off the sense of needing to be somewhere that had settled into her mind, wandering the Gardens with an admirable amount of purpose to her step considering she didn't actually have a destination in mind; when that hadn't worked, she returned to her room in a sour mood, hoping to be able to sleep off her sudden need to find a place she had only the vaguest sense of.

Predictably, this hadn't worked, either, so when the knock came it was almost a relief. This didn't help her look any less grouchy when she opened her door, of course, but considering her usual mood... At the sight of Ky on the other side, Sol cocked an eyebrow, more out of surprise than anything. Of those who might have been knocking at her door, she had figured Ky the less likely of the two. "Need something?"

Had she bothered to keep proper track of the date, she might have been a little suspicious of the timing of this whole scenario. Alas.

There was a feeling of slight relief that Ky never associated with seeing Sol before when the door was opened, but Ky kept any signs of it -- or how it confused her -- off of her face. "Not specifically from you. Is Dizzy in?" Because certainly Ky would rather see her than Sol.

Ky thought that Dizzy probably would have come to the door if she were, though, so she fixed her blue eyes on Sol. "I was wondering, however, if you'd perhaps thought of anything about this place that I would like to know and that you neglected to mention last time."

Ky had heard some very confusing contradictions about this place -- as to whether it was supposed to be the place for a l-lesbian orgy or not -- but she wouldn't ask Sol for clarification about them, and she wasn't doing so. Ky was rather more interested in anything that would explain why they were here, or help them not be here.

"Nah." Normally, seeing as Ky had asked for Dizzy and not her, Sol would have followed up that response by closing the door right in her face. This time, however, the idea to do so didn't even occur to her. If Sol realized that was especially odd, though, as much didn't show on her face.

Either way, with Ky going on to ask another question, that point wasn't of particular importance. Everything Sol knew about Ky said that if she wanted something, closing the door on her probably wouldn't have been enough to deter her. She leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow again.

"What's there to know? We're stuck, bullshit happens sometimes, and the Queen is hoping for hook ups."

Whether Ky wanted clarification on that matter from Sol or not, it seemed she was getting it.

"There's a lot more than that to know. Like all the actual realities of the situation, rather than the simplest way to describe what's doing on. For instance, what does it mean to say that the Queen is hoping for hook ups? Does she just sit back and wait, or is that part of the...unpleasant events happening sometimes?"

Ky studied Sol, not sure why she was persisting in this, other than the fact that even a brick wall would budge if she ran up against it enough times, and Sol always seemed to know more than Ky did, no matter which form or world she was in.

For Ky, the good news would be that Sol seemed more willing to talk about this than the topics she usually tried to discuss. The bad news, of course, was that her replies were just as frustratingly vague as always. "Sometimes. Sometimes not." Even if it wasn't the most helpful answer, though, it was an accurate summation of the situation. "When she's not screwing things up, she's pretty half-assed about it." Sure, as aggravating as being trapped under enchanted mistletoe with a stranger was, it was far from the best way to encourage anything more than a one time kiss.

If Sol realized how hypocritical it was for her to accuse someone else of being half-assed about anything, she didn't show it. Romance was supposed to be a big deal to the Queen, right? She at least exerted some effort when it came to the things that mattered.

Ky realized how hypocritical it was, and it made her frown at Sol. Since she was already frowning at Sol, her disapproval wasn't really apparent. "I think in this it's surely better for her to only put a little effort into it, given the result that she's trying to achieve isn't one that is surely good for the people here."

While Ky wasn't opposed to romance for everyone she didn't like the idea of people being pushed into it, and liked it even less when she'd been kidnapped by someone who seemed to have a desire to coax the unwilling into it.

"But perhaps examples of past behavior she's done would be better than your...analysis."

Sol wouldn't have cared even if Ky's disapproval had been obvious, so perhaps it was for the best it wasn't particularly noticeable. She hummed out a thoughtful noise at that reply, for once agreeing easily with Ky's response. "Probably." Trying to play interdimensional matchmaker was definitely more harmless than other things she could have been doing with her apparent abilities, but it was still pretty damn irritating.

When Ky pressed for more details, Sol huffed out a vaguely irritated noise, but she didn't try to dodge the question. "...When I first arrived, we were all given roses to take care of. If we neglected 'em, they turned into monsters." She frowned faintly, apparently vexed by the memory. "Apparently, that wasn't meant to happen." Really, that was probably the best summary of this place as a whole: Something seemingly harmless or even innocent turning dangerous through sheer incompetence.

...Thinking about it, that incident must have been a year ago now. As much had managed to slip her mind, seeing as her own stay had been interrupted. "Seems she at least learned her lesson there, since she's not making us do the same thing this year." But... It wouldn't be like the Queen to let this holiday pass without comment, so something must have been afoot...

"I see." That does seem to be particularly poor-planned, although Ky wasn't quite sure why the queen would want everyone to take care of roses in the first place. Just for the symbolic romantic content that they contained? She didn't expect Sol to go explaining anything like that to her, and Ky didn't actually wish to waste both of their times.

"Perhaps it's her incompetence that allows some people to return to their own worlds." Ky considered it for a moment, it wasn't an altogether unreasonable explanation, and it would explain why people leaving seemed to happen almost randomly.

She inclined her head to Sol, deciding that it was better not to push it when she didn't need to find out anything else right now, and they had both managed to be civil. "Thank you for your time." She found it difficult to turn her feet to go, however, and nearly impossible to actually take a step away. Her brow furrowed in concentration.

"Probably." That explanation for the way people came and went made more sense than anything else. It could have been that the Queen let people go when it seemed the weren't establishing bonds with others the way she wanted, but she seemed far too optimistic for that, and if that was the case — why the hell had she been yanked back here, then? Ridiculous.

Sol tilted her head as well, humming out a quiet, acknowledging noise. And then... She had intended to take a step back and shut the door, but her feet didn't seem to want to listen to that command, and she scowled ever-so-slightly. A year ago... In this place, a year ago had been Valentine's Day. Which meant today...

"...Ky. You know what the date is?"

Sol had the sinking feeling she knew where this was going.

"Locally? I believe it's sometime in the middle of February." The fact didn't mean anything to Ky, who was rather oblivious of non-religious holidays, particularly those that focused on romantic attachments.

"Why?" Ky fixed Sol with a suspicious look. "Does that make it your birthday?" Well she couldn't help being curious about that. That sort of thing only became a mystery when she realized how well it was concealed.

It wouldn't explain why Ky didn't want to seem to leave, but as far as Ky was concerned not much could.

For a moment, the only reply that answer received was an incredulous stare. Was Ky messing with her? (Odd, but not impossible.) Or had Valentine's simply ceased to be a thing at some point after she had stopped been paying attention? (Not unlikely, now that she thought about it.) Or did Ky really not... Whatever. Even at the risk of showing her age, she had to say something.

"That makes it Valentine's Day." She pursed her lips together, looking serious in a way that was unusual for her. Earnest, almost. "No way the Queen would let this pass without something happening." And in the absence of roses...

A hundred years of war did tend to make candy hearts and preprinted cards a little less relevant. Ky drew upon her knowledge of St. Valentine and after a moment the cultural knowledge clicked in some manner or another.

Ky fixed Sol with a frown. "What kind of something do you mean?" Her hand went to the pommel of her sword. "You mean like monsters?" After being trapped here, it would be a bit of a relief to fight something concrete, so Ky was quite hoping that Sol would agree that it was monsters.

"...We'd probably have a little more warning than that." She would have agreed with Ky that it would have been nice to at least have something concrete to do, had she known her thoughts had turned in that direction. As it was, she just huffed out another sigh and rubbed the back of her neck. How to handle this... After a moment or two, she decided to leave it (somewhat cryptically) at, "Look. Just be on guard." Then, with that said, she forced herself to take a step back and shut the door.

She was really, really hoping the timing of the mood that had gotten into was just a coincidence. For now, doing this seemed like the best way to find out.

Ky frowned as Sol closed the door, and leaned against the wall, feeling deep within herself the need to follow, she can physically feel Sol stepping away. ...They definitely had a problem. Or at least Ky did. She sighed, forcing herself to take a step away, using her hand against the wall as an anchor to draw her that tiny portion away.

Her breath came in a rush, feeling the air around her turn to the viscosity of honey, nearly impossible to push through. Sol could tell her to be on guard, but Ky could no more do that than push further away, although she stubbornly continued to try. It wasn't like she was going to turn back to ask Sol for help, after all.

Sol felt it too, but she wasn't about to give up so easily. She forced herself over to her bed, feet dragging like her shoes were full of lead the whole time, and flopped down again. So that was how it was, huh? Stuck together like magnets, and with Ky of all people. Ugh. What a pain in the ass...

She tried to be stubborn. This lasted all of five minutes. Then, she grit her teeth and growled somewhere deep in her throat, swinging her legs off the bed and standing again. What did it matter? Easier to get whatever the hell they had to do over with than to resist and be miserable for it. She strode back over to the door with a little more haste than she really wanted to admit, flinging it open again and all but barking, "Ky. Get back here."

So what if she was the one who had wanted to split up in the first place?

Ky had made it a little further, but not yet out of sight, when she heard the door open again. She turned immediately and started heading back, before Sol even spoke. She looked down at the hallway she'd come back through, noting how much easier it was to return back there with more than a little worry.

"Do you know what's going on, Sol?" Her eyes narrowed. "Other than the fact that apparently I can't leave your side by very much." Ky was slightly amused, if only because she was sure that Sol hated this much more than she did.

"Tch... Think so." Considering that whoever was in charge of rigging up these incidents had had a month and a half to improve upon the damn mistletoe that had sprung up around Christmas, Sol at least thought she had a pretty good idea of what the Queen expected of them now. Sure, it hadn't been triggered by a physical object this time around, and it seemed the exact effects were a little different, but it was Valentine's Day. How different could the solution be? "Hold still."

And then, with that said, she leaned forward to plant a kiss square on Ky's lips, the action swift — like pulling off a bandaid.

Ky was still tense, trying to figure out whether or not Sol was planning on attacking her to sever whatever was going on -- surely that would convince the queen there could be no Romance or whatnot. That didn't mean that Ky would simply stand still and let Sol do it without defending herself, so she was ready to go for her sword if Sol went for hers, when suddenly she felt a brief press of lips against hers.

Ky made a protesting noise and pushed at Sol's shoulders, feeling her cheeks pinken unconsciously as she took a quick step back. "What was that for?" Her hand dipped again towards her sword, Sol couldn't possibly have a good reason other than that she apparently wished to play with Ky, and Ky wasn't going to let her get away with that.

Sol crossed her arms again and gave Ky a patronizingly exasperated look. Surely she couldn't have thought she had done that because she had wanted to, could she? "'Round Christmas, something similar happened. That was how to get out of it." Then, with that said, she waved a hand at Ky, apparently shoeing her off. That should have taken care of the issue, so the damn brat could get out of her face now.

Obviously, she hadn't taken a step back herself because her room was closer. Obviously.

Why else would Sol go kissing Ky? Just to be difficult? Because it seemed a ridiculous way to prove a point, or anything. At Sol's explanation, Ky forced herself to take a step back, before fixing her eyes -- blue and serious -- on Sol.

"Looks like your assessment of the situation was at least a little off," Ky remarked, mildly enough even as she glared at Sol.

"...Tch. What a pain in the ass." She sounded irritated, but that irritation was directed at the situation more than Ky. Not like she would have been so much as talking to Ky otherwise, so credit where credit was due and all that. Drumming her fingers against her arms, she took a moment to think before speaking again. "We might just have to wait it out." It was Valentine's Day, after all. Maybe the Queen was just pairing people up for a...date?

No matter what explanation she came up with, the situation didn't become any less absurd.

"Wait out...being unable to leave each other's sides?" Ky grimaced at that. It was hardly her ideal way to spend the rest of the day, or anything close to that. And it seemed likely that Sol would be even more irritated by it.

"Right. I suppose that's what we'll do, then." Ky considered it for a moment, the tenseness of things between them, and the fact that Sol had kissed her. "Do you want to spar?"

Sol grimaced too, even if only mentally. Sure, it wasn't like she'd had anything else planned for the day, but this was still pretty damn far down on her list of ways to spend it. As unappealing as the prospect was, though... "Unless you have another idea?"

At Ky's suggestion, Sol hummed out a thoughtful sound. The fact that she was even considering agreeing to this surprised her, but fighting would at least be something familiar, and chances were things would come down to it sooner or later anyway. At least for now, saying yes seemed like the path of least resistance, and so she replied, "If you think you're up for it."

Something familiar indeed.

Ky frowned, glaring at Sol. "Of course I'm up to it," she said with a miff.

She wouldn't be surprised if Sol hadn't been practicing much here, or if Sol thought that she was going to be able to fob Ky off with a couple of exchanged blows. That wasn't what Ky wanted, it never had been, and she was probably getting as tired of it as Sol was.

Probably not unexpectedly, that glare was met with a condescendingly amused smirk. "If you insist." Truth be told, her practicing had been intermittent at best, and swinging her sword at nothing wasn't nearly as useful as having an actual opponent. Still, she wasn't about to admit as much — and considering the amount of time she had spent trying to keep the Ky she knew out of her hair, there was no way in hell she was going to voluntarily fight this one with any kind of regularity.

Ky was sure it would do both of them a lot of good to fight regularly. Sol didn't want to get weak, did she? Ky knew that she didn't herself.

"Of course. Do you think we're trapped her, in the hallway, or could we find a more appropriate sparring area?" Ky wasn't sure quite what she'd do if they were trapped here. It would be extra irritating, but they shouldn't spar anywhere that someone else might get hurt just because they were walking by.

She certainly hoped they weren't confined to this one hallway. Being stuck with Ky was bad enough on its own. She didn't need the places they could go limited on top of that. Still, no matter how groan-worthy the thought was, Sol continued to play it cool, simply shrugging a shoulder in reply to Ky's words. "Who knows? We'll find out."

It really was a shame the Arena seemed to be built for cooking competitions rather than actual fights...

"Right." Ky glanced over Sol, a little amused. If Ky headed out now, then Sol would have to follow or keep them both trapped there. The reversal of that old role would be good for Sol, Ky thought, so she turned and took the single step back that she could, clearly waiting for Sol to either say that she needed to prepare or to start walking.

When Ky started to move, Sol's feet followed almost without any thought on her part, and she almost groaned as she shoved one hand into her pocket. Like being led around on a leash... She did wonder how well they could actually spar like this, but she supposed they would find that out, too.

They would simply have to spar...in very close combat, and be careful about how far they threw the other one. It would be almost as much an exercise in control as it would be in power, or at least that's how Ky imagined it.

Ky trotted ahead to an outer area of the garden, pleased that Sol was keeping pace, where they could have some space and some privacy, but where anyone coming up on them would have plenty of warning ahead of time for what they were doing.

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Sol's Dream Valentine

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