IC Inbox for isleofavalon

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You've reached Azul Ashengrotto. Please leave a message with your name and the reason for your call, and I'll get back to you soon.

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[Azul did in fact hear him, but he wasn't expecting to be touched so when Taichi slaps his hands down on his shoulders...

Well. That sure was a screech.]

Taichi!

[arf]

[ Taichi also screams, because Azul screamed and scared him!? ]

What?!

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Why did you do that?!

[arf]

Huh? It was a healing spell! Don't you feel refreshed and awake?

[ Taichi only knows how to do contact-based healing. ]

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I--

[A pause as Azul takes stock of his everything. Yeah okay he does feel better but!]

I don't like being touched without warning by most people.

[arf]

Oh. Sorry. Heh, I can only heal through contact. I'll be sure to say something first next time!

[ At least he's a trainable dog-- ]

Are you ready? Do you need me to do something?

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[Taichi please.]

Just...let me up, and if you would get my hat from the stand over there.

[Let him feel useful? Azul guesses? Might as well? The fuck is going on again?]

[arf]

Got it!

[ Except Taichi's going to go get the hat and try it on. It's so cool, he couldn't help it. By the time he comes back over, he's grinning. He'll give it back in a sec. ]

How do I look?

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[Why does everyone like wearing his hat!]

I don't think Octavinelle grey suits you.

[Yeah it's just a ribbon, but Taichi your hair.]

Maybe a different color, though.

[arf]

Eh? Maybe not in this outfit.. I look good in gray if I have accent fabrics and color splashes. I may not be a fashion designer or anything, but back home I was the assistant for our costumer Yuki-chan and Hikaru... [ His throat closes up for a brief second before he just tries to move on and forces himself to smile through it. ]

I've picked up enough to know how to work any color, you know?

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[It's...weird, really, being faced with this? Azul's helped people get the person they like, sure, but he's never had to deal with someone so clearly in love with another person and that other person not being here or otherwise not with them. He deals with teenagers! He'll be one of the first to admit that he doesn't expect anything deep from other teenagers! Seeing Taichi like this at just Hikaru's name...

Hm. He'll have to deal with this later.]

I believe you, but absolutely not with that outfit. Or that size hat.

[That is his hat!]

Though now that I'm looking at it not in the mirror, I'll need a new one made soon...lovely.

[arf]

Can I take a shot at it? It's usually the smaller stuff Yuki-chan assigned me to do anyway.

[ Granted, he's never made that kind of hat before but... Well, Taichi is nothing if not the kind of person who works hard until he gets it right. Especially when he wants to focus on something he can do something about.

Either way, he takes it off, gives it a good look, then goes over to put it stop Azul's head instead. ]

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[The hat is crooked. Azul will just let that be for now.]

Why not. You did--still do?--theater, right?

[And Azul knows nothing of how to make hats so if Taichi says he can do it, he's inclined to let him try. It'll be cheaper anyway.]

Well, lead on. You know where this karaoke place you want to go to is, after all.

[arf]

Yeah! I'm an actor, and one day I'm going to be super popular! I can't give up on that, since it's my dream.

[ Taichi only really heads out of the building, picking up a rolled up carpet that he left near the host station. It was Hikaru and Kaoru's from the fairy queen, but with them both gone, Taichi figures it will go to waste if he doesn't. ]

Do you want to be in the front or the back?

[ No real explanation. There's a reason Izumi calls him "Hurricane Taichi" sometimes. Hope Azul enjoys magic carpet rides. ]

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[Suddenly getting flashbacks to Kalim...he's doomed.]

The back. I apologize now if I grab on to you, I am afraid of heights.

[More or less, anyway.]

You can't fall in the ocean, after all.

[arf]

Eh? [ He hadn't thought about that... He doesn't think much of new experiences and he loves roller coasters himself, but... ]

We can walk, it'll just take longer! Sorry, I didn't know!

[ ...Taichi cares about his friends more than anything. If Azul is actually afraid he's not gonna make him. He seeks fun not terror. ]

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[In response, Azul just. Gets on the carpet.]

It'll be fine, carpets are better than brooms at least. I just wanted to warn you so you don't do anything that might end in me falling off.

[NO LOOPS]

[arf]

If you're sure! I'll go at a leisurely pace!

[ So he won't do any roller coaster moves. ;-; His favorite. But that's ok!! He wants Azul to have fun. ]

Hold on tight though, there aren't any seatbelts! [ Taichi gets on too and tells the carpet where to go and to go slow!! He's not really sure how it works so he just talks to it and assumes that's legit. The carpet seems to listen, though. ]

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[Thank you, Taichi. It's actually a pleasant enough trip, for once. Much better than the damn brooms, that's for sure.]

Are we going to Ren's establishment?

[arf]

Yeah. [ Now that they're not facing each other, Taichi's voice lowers a little bit. He's energetic a lot of the time, but.. not all of the time. Even when he's not sad, Taichi can be surprisingly calm often. ] Is that okay? We can go somewhere new instead.

[ It's the only karaoke place he's really familiar with.. but he has been feeling a little anxiety about talking to all of his friends lately. He doesn't want to worry anyone. He knows everyone is worried, but he doesn't want to be a burden and it feels like everyone's tiptoeing around him. Probably because he can't 100% keep himself together still, but he's an actor- he knows he can do this.

Azul hasn't been treating him differently so far, and moved on with him when he caught up on Hikaru's name. He appreciates it, but he wouldn't mind just being with one friend at a time until he's ready to stop acting like he's okay a little bit more. So if Azul wants to go somewhere else, he's okay with taking it slower. ]

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[Azul's not treating Taichi any differently...simply because he just doesn't do that if there's nothing to be gained from it. There's no reason to baby Taichi (anymore than "arranging for a regular pick up of saltimbocca alla romana" and "somehow allowed himself to be talked into karaoke", anyway) so he won't. Simple as that.

But asking "is that okay" is pretty obviously a hint that maybe he doesn't want to go to Ren's karaoke place, and it's not like Azul himself wants to go to somewhere so public, so Azul digs out his phone to go looking for other options. There's ]

There's a smaller one on the other side of the city with decent enough reviews, if you want to try something new.

[arf]

Something new might be fun.. I'll have to apologize to Ren-san later for cheating on his business!

[ He lets out a little whimper, but the carpet's already changing direction to the opposite of where they were going in a swoop of a turn, like it's annoyed they haven't made up their mind. ]

I think you have to tell the carpet where it is. This was Hikaru and Kaoru's so I'm not super sure how it works but that's gotten me around so far!

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[What even was that sound.

It's easy to direct the carpet, at least, and once it knows where they're going:]

I have to ask. Why me?

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We're friends, right?

[ Taichi's answer is simple, and though there are deeper down reasons for certain, he didn't think about it consciously much before texting Azul. Azul probably won't accept such a simple answer though, so Taichi hums a little as he thinks. ]

You kept making me Hikaru's favorite food. I wish I'd known you could make it before he was gone... but, I'm glad I was able to taste it. It helped me feel closer to him, even though he's gone. I know everyone's worried about me and doing everything they can to check on me, but besides that, you treat me normally. I was apprehensive that when I got here, you'd look at me like I was broken or you weren't sure what to do with me, but it feels nice being able to try to do normal things. I want to be a good friend for Azu-chan, like you've been for me.

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[That.

That is a lot. Literally no one has ever told Azul he was a good friend, at least not in so many words (and the Tweels are. Well they sure are). Someone just outright calling him a friend, and a good friend, is different and a little unsettling and oh God he can't even vent about this to Jade because then Floyd'll know and he'll never hear the end of it--

Azul may be having a moment. Or several.

Eventually:]

I didn't realize it was Hikaru's favorite. Hyodo just asked about it, calling it "salty boy" like you had that one time, and I figured it was related to that breakdown you had earlier. A friend getting another friend their favorite food to make them feel better...

[He shrugs.]