Like thunder screaming out for a flash of lightning

[flawed_immortality]

[Cor's not great at this whole party thing, especially as this time it's not just a family gathering but intended for the friends they'd made here as well. The video starts with Cor sitting in a cushy white and grey striped armchair, a stone fireplace beside him glowing warmly. It's a classy set up and far above the townhouses they've been in.]

It's New Years, celebrations are in order. His Majesty, Ignis, and I have obtained a larger space and we'd like to offer our home for the festivities. Feel free to stop in, have some snacks, and await midnight with us.

[Locked from Regis]
[He looks a little paranoid at first, double, then triple checking that he's done this right.]

It's also his Majesty's birthday. He's always eager to sweep it under the New Years celebrations but he has no reason to shy away from any such celebrations here. Don't let him.

[Action - Party Start~]
[The new house is really very nice. It's nothing compared to the Citadel but it is very nice. Clean and homey with the accents of warm wood that, if Cor didn't know better, he'd have thought was reclaimed.

There's a fire in the hearth, hor d'ouerve trays laid out on the kitchen counters. The replicator is of course available to anyone who wants something specific, though you might be surprised to find she responds to voice commands and is distressingly cheerful to talk to. The house is open for examination! Go on, explore folks, mingle away.]

[Action - Midnight]
[As chill as the night is Cor makes a point of slipping through the crowd throughout the evening. There's a number of Lucis Caelums and other magic users as well. So when the time comes near he does his best to usher everyone into the backyard, or at least onto the back porch.

He's certainly not the one to lead the countdown, no someone more energetic can do that, but at the final count a series of spells get fired into the night sky. They may not be traditional fireworks but a few Flares, Thundaras, and spells he has no names for will work well enough, don't you think?]

Comments

smoochums :*

[astralera]

[ Era is keenly aware of Hades' presence all throughout the night, and tired as she is after mismanaging her aether so thoroughly (it was worth it; satisfying in that way only evoking primal aether can be) she is anything but blind to his approach.

She is, however, caught off guard when she finds herself lifted and spun, though it is a delightful surprise that pulls a laugh from her. Once settled against his hip, Era leans her weight into him, smiling. ]

Happy Heavensturn, Architect.

[unsunderworld]

A magnificent Heavensturn, and may the sunless sea keep you.

[Perhaps a bit odd, to hear an Ascian of the Source invoke a faith of the First - but faith in the Dark, as a concept rather than a specific entity, is perhaps one of the few to which they can agree without compromise. There are still reefs beneath that sunless sea that will throw them into conflict unwary, after all.]

[astralera]

[ It is not so odd to Era, though the sentiment was yet another she hadn't expected from him. It feels far too long since someone last said that to her, and she is suddenly struck by how homesick she is for the First.

Era shifts so she can wrap her arms around his neck, pulling herself up by her own strength until she is face to face with her significant other. ]

May it keep you as well, dearest Sinner.

[ She kisses him, and while she keeps it chaste (she isn't one for such affection in public, but will make an exception—) it is no less passionate for it. Her tail curls behind her, her Carbuncle brushes against Hades' legs, and Ardbert stays where he is around Era's neck for the moment since her arms are occupying his preferred perch on the Ascian. ]

[unsunderworld]

[He returns the kiss, similarly chaste, though he has little in the way of embarrassment as a result of their relatively public venue. They are, after all, among friends, and friends of friends, if the way that even Ardyn seems comfortable is any indication.

When their kiss does finally end, he is smiling still, in the more quiet way reserved for his moments of memory.]

And beneath it, you fairly gleam.

[Those first words he spoke to her of a city long lost - they are no simple thing to echo. Words none would appreciate but them, from a memory beneath another, starless sky.

It is, not quite, a declaration of love. It is something far simpler, from echo to Echo, a sentiment none would understand the depth of but her.

I would miss you, when you are gone. I would never forget.]

[astralera]

[ While certainly not a declaration of a love she isn't sure he's capable of, the sentiment is more than she had ever expected to receive. Era looks up at him, momentarily stunned, though her smile turns soft and fond; the emotion in her eyes turned bittersweet.

Era shifts her weight again, spreading it throughout one arm across his sturdy shoulders so she can lift the other to his brow, tucking a loose curl away from his pretty eyes and back with the rest. ]

If I gleam, it is only because you make it so.

[ Because there is no denying that in this dying world she has changed, largely for the better (though Era would hesitate to admit to it), and largely in part to Hades' patient persistence. He has lifted the woman in her from her lonely mantle, allowing her to see life beyond being a mere weapon.

She is not so naïve as to trust his actions as selfless, knowing that her feelings can easily be used to his advantage. To Zodiark's advantage. It is why, even now, heart as full with emotion as it is, that Era keeps things from him. He has become her weakness, and she knows that he knows it.

So she loves and trusts as wholly as she can as a woman, but the weapon in her does not. She will keep it sharp and ready to strike if need be... Until then, however, Era will enjoy what experiences she can with the man she has claimed as hers.

Her eyes drift across his face, lit by the myriad of spells that linger in the sky. When they reach his lips her smile quirks and her eyes go bright with amusement. She runs her thumb across them, though not with enough force to smear the layer of lipstick that has stained them. ]

I daresay this isn't quite your colour.

[ Ardbert, connected to her as he is, scrambles up her arm to activate the camera app on her FLUID, wrapped around her wrist like a bracelet as it is in this moment. Era then presses more of her weight on Hades' shoulder so she can prop herself up high enough to take a proper selfie with him. ]

Smile for these new memories we make.

[unsunderworld]

[The comment about his coloration gets a bit of a chuckle.]

Something a bit more towards plum would be better.

[He raises his eyebrows at her device, but obligingly puts on a smile for her. It looks almost masklike, or would if not for the genuine amusement he gets from humoring her.]

An unimpeachable record, is it to be?

[astralera]

[ She hums a note of agreement, presses another kiss to his lips, quick as a flash, then turns to her FLUID and has Ardbert snap the picture.

Era allows herself to sink back into a less strenuous position, both arms linking around his neck again, and resting her head near his (with care not to knock him with her horns). ]

It is worth a try, is it not?

[unsunderworld]

Nothing lost for the attempt, surely.

[Smiling, he leans his head into hers, long neck bending a bit more than one of more Hyuran proportions would.]

What but the memories separates who we might be now from any other incarnation?

[astralera]

[ His words hit a bit too deeply, and while not cruel or painful they do cause Era some discomfort when she thinks on them. Her tail shifts, moving to curl around his nearest arm, and she sighs against his skin. ]

Memories are important. These memories are important... I am grateful for the chance to photograph such moments, lest I forget.

[ The 'again' goes unsaid, though with Hades there is no need to voice it. ]