#interaction: arboriter

[jxrmngxndr]

🎄

“Hi, Kevin.” It is impossible for Su not to notice the sprig of mistletoe on the doorway. It’s a wistful reminder of the past, when the biggest concern could be passing underneath with a certain someone- or without anyone at all. But now it could hardly effect him. “Happy holidays.”

“I guess it’s a bit too early for that right now, though.” Su admits, wry smile forming. “But I wanted to say it to you again. It's been a long time.”

Ah, another one.

It would have been easier to be embarrassed if it had been anyone but Su, but there was a closeness they shared inimitable with any other, the thoughts and motions of one equal and opposite to the other's. He had thought, briefly, perhaps selfishly, that Su was merely a figment of his imagination, a construct of his best friend made incorporeal and only for him, not something to leave him again.

He sighed, glancing up at the sprig of mistletoe as though considering what to do with it.

"A joke, perhaps." It was not that he could not admit to having decorated for the holidays - he surely had, once upon a time, but that man was a fiction so long passed as to have been mythical, his own memories faded in sepia with the gilt edges of embellishment that was only natural after so long.

He paused, brow pinching. "Not too early. It's December 10th."

Rising, Kevin made to meet him halfway, but somehow did not need to, somehow overestimated the distance between them and felt the rush of something moving over his skin, the glance of his friend's cheek past his - in a way that it hadn't been for eons, for epochs, when they had once been merely young boys, arms slung over one another's shoulders and cheeks pressed together with the abandon of those who had followed one another from childhood into adulthood.

The words seemed muffled, his mouth opening before he had passed through the spectre entirely, too soft to be heard by any but their intended. "Happy holidays, Su."

[jxrmngxndr]

[FERRIS WHEEL]

Su is silent when he looks at the slowly spinning wheel, carrying pairs up into the air and back down again. There is no mention of its cyclical nature, on how those at the top never stay for long, nor on how it is such a perfect replication of something the two of them would have seen back on Earth- at home- in its structure and usage, pairs visibly closer as they stepped off the ride.

There is nothing said about the time he had jokingly suggested to Kevin to invite his crush onto a ride at the end of a date- through message, though he trusted that his tone would get across- it always seemed to work on TV, after all! And then, how he had briefly worried that Kevin had taken the suggestion seriously. 

Instead, he acknowledges his friend’s presence in the way he had become accustomed to, in MOTH, with a small shift in his position so that he would face the other, even if he remained turned away. A useless gesture, when he did not need to, but Su would rather remind himself of Kevin's path than ignore it.

Remaining silent for a moment longer, before he asks,

“Did you ever ride one with her?”

Kevin would never have admitted that Su did not need to acknowledge him - this was how things had always been, that he could simply expect that Su would be there, and then he was. It was the trust, implicit and indelible, wrapping its fingers around his eyes in a facsimile of his friend's cost, that he could move through this life, and the next, and know that Su would be at his side, if he could.

Even when he could not.

His steps felt heavy on the dais leading up to the ride, and somehow heavier for all the dozens of steps that he had taken on ones just like this, a lifetime ago. Su had been with him then, as well, although neither so directly nor so indirectly - a bright voice in his mind's eye, the buzz in his pocket, waiting for him at the bottom.

That he had ridden the same wheel with Mei merely hours before was not what Su was asking, and so he did not feel the need to confirm. It was that gentle prod, the quiet, thorny tone of warning in his voice - no longer there, now faded, now eroded away into something airy that was not quite despair.

Kevin tilted his chin upward, seeing the stars flicker in the sky, different constellations than they were both used to, but equally reachable for someone like them, if they merely decided to reach.

Or so they had convinced themselves.

"The view from the top is beautiful," he said instead. Then, after a beat; "If you would like to go, I will go with you."

[jxrmngxndr]

00:03, 3/7/∎∎ Su: Happy birthday Kevin!  Su: Haha, sorry. I wanted to send it on your birthday at least Su: See you this weekend

It’s strange, having to wait half a week before he can say anything in person. It had been over a semester since Kevin transferred, and eventually Su began to greet the new classmate that had since moved into his seat with some amount of familiarity.

Though even that familiarity was nothing in the face of how he had practically bounded out of the airport exit, his last message only a quick number as he searched the crowd for his best friend.

“Kevin! Happy birthday!” A gift is presented, having been quickly pulled out before he stepped off the shuttle bus, kept safe in a wrapped cardboard box. “It’s been a while. Here, before I forget-”

As if Su would, but still, that was enough of a transition to present the gift- copies of Eden’s latest CDs, bubble-wrapped and pristine. It had been a hassle to get, and it would be a lie to say that Su didn’t wish for one of his own, but the thought of Kevin’s reaction when he opened it would be enough. “How have you been? Ah, wait, what would you like to eat first?”

00:04, 3/7/∎∎ Kevin: What????? ( ´･･)ﾉ(._.`) Kevin: You don't have to stay up just for that! Don't you have a test in the morning? Kevin: Hahaha thanks buddy! Kevin: Still good to pick me up? Excited to see you!

The distance felt that much greater the smaller that it got. When he had moved cities and transferred schools, there had been that period, however small, of adjustment, of coming to acknowledge that Su wasn't there where he had always been, even if he was merely a text away.

And they did, often – the volume of conversation did not abate, but it was the medium that felt colder, quieter, despite the constant buzzing in his pocket.

His eyes watched the signs from the shuttle window eagerly, counting down the exits to the gate where Su waited for him, heels tapping against the ground, fingers beating a rhythm only he knew against the handlebar before he swung himself to standing in the same breath that the shuttle doors even began to open, using the momentum to propel himself forward onto the waiting platform. His eyes sought out the familiar shade of grey.

"Su! There you are!" Bag dropped from fingers, arms expanded to bring him into a familiar embrace, mindful of the gift that he cradled as they separated. He shook it gingerly, holding it up to his ear as though this might divulge its secrets to him, cracking a grin. "Oh I know that sound – you didn't get your hands on one, did you? You did! Oh man!"

They had both been bickering, if one could call it that, as to who would be able to get a copy of the disc first, given its limited nature. It was hard to be disappointed, that Su had somehow found the solution that granted them both the coveted title of first.

"Why don't we get some noodles? Is there still that pop-up shop around the corner from the convenience store? Man, you gotta tell me how classes are going! Did you ace your test?"

[jxrmngxndr]

🎲 :)?

4. A kiss to the top of the head

"Su! Hey, Su!"

It had been an astounding victory, the squeak of sneaker rubber against gymnasium linoleum and the thrum of heartbeats in time with the pound of the ball against the ground, rocking with the tide of voices that rose and fell in cheer and disappointment in turn.

It felt as though the points had flown from his fingertips, summoning the ball when he had needed it and depositing it neatly where it needed to go, and every time he had spun into the crowd to see whose eyes were there to witness, Kevin found that his grin widened and his heart ascended beyond his mortal body.

Kept elsewhere for safekeeping, he might have joked, but now that the final bell had rung and the scores had finalized, he wove through the crash of bodies making their way off the court and into the locker room, bounded up the bleachers two at a time and plopped himself just above his best friend, tipping his head forward to plant a firm kiss to Su's crown, laughing brightly as the other boy looked up at him.

"Knew you would come! My good luck charm!"

The crowds no longer gathered, but if he closed his eyes the wind almost mimicked that howling in his ears. It had been eons since that had been his life, but he could still smell the rubber of the ball in his hands if he thought only for a moment. Perhaps that was a consequence of the bubble universe that moved around him, the vacant memories furnishing what otherwise might have been empty space, but for the barest window that he could look out and see those same eyes, here to witness him once more.

He watched in firm silence, did not dare open his mouth, for fear that what might come out was, "I knew you would come…"

[bloodbxrn]

[GIANT JENGA] - While not necessarily a Liyue classic, a recent uptick amongst the younger generation has brought this classic game to the port, and with blocks bigger than ever! Will you best your friend, or will all the pieces come crumbling down?

“It’s going to fall.” The piece that Kalpas was eyeing- not that either of the two were particularly inclined to show where their eyes fell- was a keystone in the structure of the entire tower. Su’s image drifted to another side, guiding his gaze to another block. “You’re better off with this one.”

The entire tower was in a rather delicate situation already, with the first few moves having destabilized most of the base rather than playing more cautiously. Whether that was through the hand of Bodhi or Decimation was anyone’s guess, however.

"Like you're so smart," Kalpas huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning in perilously close to the mess that had been made of his tower. It swayed gently, merely from the heat of his breath beneath the mask, and his lips tugged into a scowl.

"Get away from it, Blind," he snapped, swatting at the air beside him, mindless of whether the remaining spirit of Bodhi currently occupied that space or not, then gestured aggressively. "If you knock it over with your weird ghost shit I'm gonna be pissed off at you."

He had no idea where Su was. The Seventh could have evaporated into the wind for all he knew, could have been as real as the sharp tug and steep dropoffs that occurred in the rest of his mind. Or Su simply could have been on the other side of him.

Fucking psychic, doing trippy shit.

"I'm gonna pull it."

The words were out halfway to pulling it, his fingers already having worked their way around the block before the initial I sound, and by the final t he saw the sway deepen, an alarming dance that it hadn't done before, the shadow it cast darkening over his head before, one by one, all of these blocks tumbled onto him, bouncing harmlessly off of the arms he brought up to shield.

"AARRGGGGH - !"

It was lucky they were on an open terrace, the heat he released in his frustrating having a place to escape, although a handful of nearby lanterns were launched a few hundred extra meters by consequence.

Whipping around, Kalpas snarled into the open balcony. "I told you to get away from it Blind!"

[jxrmngxndr]

[LANTERNS] - Like a sea, lanterns float up and flood the night sky. Meaning often dictated by color, they contain our hopes for the new year. Gather with those most cherished and wish for blessings.

“Can you make one for me?” If one didn’t pay attention, the voice was as drifting and ephemeral as the passerby’s conversation. If one looked through the corner of their eye, there would be a flash of someone’s form, leaning back over the railing, face turned towards the drifting lanterns. “There’s a wish I’d like to make.”

 Then, just as quickly, he is gone. As a ghost was- ever present, but only in the memories of those who remembered; ever distant, separated by time.

It was not so difficult an adjustment to make, listening for Su and not seeing him. There were days - upon days, upon weeks, upon years - when he had longed so badly to hear the voice of his best friend but could never quite conjure it in his mind to satisfaction, the memory warped and faraway, as muffled as it had been through the Sea of Quanta when he had heard it last.

That longing had not dulled, since his time now, awake and alive and in a world where he no longer had any place, not even with the frequency that he felt Su by his side but could not have reached out the hand to graze the tips of his fingers with a familiar starched white coat.

The nod came from him easily, as though it was instinct to agree, to set to work, and he did, hands moving mechanically, if a touch ungracefully, to shape the lantern, though he paused, hesitating at the unlit candle.

There was no flame in this, or any, universe which could withstand his cold. It was why he had been created, and it was not something that he could have afforded to regret, not with everything that had been at stake.

But here, now that he was merely a man at a festival, looking for a way to keep the light burning, Kevin felt his heart twist, and he sighed, his head dipping, considering the lantern in his hands, the culmination of what he could do, and what he could not.

Weaving his way away from the crowds, moving down closer to the shoreline itself, Kevin lowered, briefly, and launched the lantern upward, releasing with it a burst of icy wind that buffeted it up and up - farther than the rest of the traditional lanterns, but doomed to fall much swifter, his eyes tracing the path it took across the sky.

He did not have to ask what the wish was for.

He knew.