there's nothing more calming - and more peaceful - than time away from the city. nothing. to be able to get away from the bustling roads and the bright city lights is a blessing, and one that she welcomes with opened arms. though the sea offered the same respite as her room did (as much respite as it could, as an underwater submarine), it was suffocatingly cramped, and oh, so difficult to find the space to breathe. [break][break]

that, my friend, just isn't her cup of tea. no, the endless expanse of the night sky is much more up her alley. the sheet of twilight that sweeps overhead, with twinkling stars as far as the naked eye could see, and without a cloud in the sky is the perfect sight, especially on a night where the breeze is fresh, carrying the wafting scent of wild flora that bloom in the night. [break][break]

tonight she was to go to the regular spot and set up her telescope - a peaceful area just outside of fortree, yet close enough such that wild pokemon won't attack them - and the blankets stuffed into a backpack. over her shoulder is a duffel bag holding the components of her precious gadget, though maybe the load is a bit too much for a young woman like her to carry. she'll deal with it - even at the expense of her pokemon, whining softly at her to think twice about the heavy load. [break][break]

as she walks, she catches the sight of a bug pokemon laying in the grass, followed by the trainer who.. seemed to be relaxing. though she can't make out the features too much, she already knows (after all, who else is insane enough to come out in the nearing dead hours of the night to stargaze so openly?). maybe he's napping. it would be wise not to wake him up, or startle him.[break][break]

so she opts to walk closer, minding the grass, with the intention to approach and gently shake to rouse him awake. however when she arrives and gets a better look.. ah. [break][break]

narrowing her eyes, the platinum haired woman looms over a man, with locks of white falling over the sides of her face as she crouches, slightly, at his side. her finger gently pokes his arm. "hey." she greets, knees to her chest "did you doze off?"

Astor Heroux

☉

…Maybe he was getting comfortable too easily.[break]
Maybe that’s just what the scenery did to him.[break][break]

Though he’d let his eyes close, the intention had been to just…take it all in. Take in the sounds. Take in the air; the nature; the feeling. Much like a number of other experiences and activities, stargazing had always been a hobby that he’d always held clear and close to his heart. It was always so calming; so nostalgic.[break][break]

It always brought him back home.[break]
…Back to him.[break][break]

Back to days long passed, and back to thoughts of numerous lost opportunities— and after all that time, they seemed to deem that the best moment to whittle their ways back into his head was right there and then. The nature of the situation—of the serenity he seemed to lull himself into—was fortuitous to the endeavor. As he laid there, his breathing softened. It slowed. It soothed.[break][break]

He intended to give himself a moment of reprise from his thoughts with the sight of the stars above once more, though before he could have so much as a second to do so, his eyes widened as a speck of movement from the very distant parts of his peripheral. Within an instinctive manner, he turned his head in attempt to catch what exactly the source was, but seeing just a glimpse of white against the night skies was more than enough for him to make the connection.[break][break]

Shooting upward, he swiftly pressed a hand against the lower half of his face as the remaining reached out for the mask beside him, giving a forced, almost nervously wry smile against his palm as he side eyed her.[break][break]

”N-Nah, nah! Just…enjoying the moment, really~...”he started off, his tone complimenting the nerves he felt as he gave an equally unnerved and rushed laugh.[break][break]

Tilting his head down, he only pulled his hand away from his face once he’d pressed the headwear back onto the lower half of it. Inhaling deeply, he gave a tired sigh while reaching around to further secure it before finally lifting his head, all while the familiar, light-speckled smile stretched upon the digital mouth atop its build as it reacted to his lips beneath it.[break][break]

”...Y’know how it is. Stars~.” he gave another, more comfortable laugh that time around while shrugging. ”Night’s calm. Stars are nice. …Easy to get lost in it~.”

PERSEPHONE CARTIER [break]
mission: slumber party

☉

well. she certainly didn't expect that violent of a reaction. the sudden jolt up and the nervous laughter, and the way he's so quick to conceal the lower half of his face is enough too alarm anyone; hell, she's the only person at the brunt of his sudden urgency, and seeing him get so jumpy is enough to put her on her nerves. it wasn't something she'd seen before - at least, not from him. the usual, casual demeanour is more something she's used to, so needless to say, she grew.. slightly concerned. thinking about it, though, maybe it does make some sense (she just saw something that she felt like she shouldn't have seen, with the scars across his face being plain for her, though she ponders on her next words, and loathe is she to tell or act a lie). [break][break]

the air leaves her lungs as she lets out a soft, yet deep exhale into the night. her head lifts as her gaze is turned back to the distance, looking not-so-focused at the hills in the distance, at the horizon that separates the land with the heavens. ".. yeah." she responds, softly. coldly. just as she always does - not because of what she sees, or how she feels, but because of how she is, spending her time under the stars more often than people. people don't like coming out in the night, she's found. [break][break]

his sudden anxiety that quickly transitioned into his usual, upbeat demeanour sticks with her, however, and amethyst eyes soon move to gaze at the lights that dance in the shape of what his lips should be portraying. it's a smile, she sees so clearly in the night, and he's so quick to try and shift the conversation to the stars. alright, astor. she'll humour you and your attempt to move away from your face. only after a little bit of pensive thinking. only after she tucks the knowledge in the back of her mind. "yes, the stars are very beautiful tonight," she starts, "the night is very calming itself, too. i hope i didn't startle you too much." [break][break]

persephone lifts herself back up properly, moving to the duffel bag to unzip it, pulling out a stand and a folded in scope to begin setting up in the usual place (she's surprised that there's been no dent in the soil nor the grass, with how often she's come here to plant the telescope in the same area). deep breath, persephone. take in the fresh air and the smell of fresh grass in the night to soothe yourself, and to relieve yourself (of the never ending reminder that you've turned to a life of crime, just so you can appreciate and learn about this night sky for just another day. just another day). [break][break]

... she wants to stay quiet about it. so desperately does she want to pass by and brush it off, but there's a feeling that eats at her (telling her that if she doesn't speak about it now, he won't let her speak about it ever). so after a deep breath, she turns her head to meet his gaze and ask[break][break]

"did i startle you?"[break][break]

she asks, but she knows she wants to ask why do you wear the mask? but maybe she'll be pushing it too much. she's already pushed enough, seeing him without it.

Astor Heroux

☉

Needless to say, he had been well aware of how out of hand and out of character his…display was. Honestly speaking, it’s how he always found himself reacting in the face of someone that saw his face (take that as metaphorically or literally as you’d please, really), even if the times it happened were far less than the times it hadn’t.[break][break]

Did he consider it a bit childish? Yes, he did.[break]
If a child was what he was, then so be it, though.[break][break]

Sue him for being reactive, and sue him for being lost within his own thoughts. By no means was it something he found himself prideful of (and so his pride to smile through it all had always been one of his main, driving forces for perseverance, altogether), but it had always been part of what made him the man he was— and that, in itself, was something to be prideful of.[break][break]

So smile.[break]
Go along with it.[break][break]

As messy as the recovery had been, there had been some, unvoiced sense of relief that overcame him as she finally decided to move on with the topic— though the nerves that had built up throughout the vigilance regarding what her reaction would be, following those moments, had been far from sated and soothed by the look upon her face. She was skeptical. He knew that. Anyone would be, and despite the fact that he had a fair grasp on her personality by then (the coldness within her initial response had been expected, though within his fragile state, induced a soft sense of unease, nevertheless), he couldn’t help but find a gentle pit form within his stomach from sheer instinct.[break][break]

”Nah, you’re fine~...” he hummed, the discomfort settled somewhat. Inhaling deeply and slowly once more, he shut his eyes for several moments more before tilting his head up to gaze upon the stars above them, as well. ”Admittedly, yeah— ya did startle me a teeny tiny bit. But, like—...”[break][break]

The smile upon the mask remained as he thought to himself.[break][break]
…He was glad he was only able to program basic reactions and nothing that could indicate something was forced.[break][break]

”...It’s no big deal~.”

PERSEPHONE CARTIER [break]
mission: slumber party

☉

she's skeptical. [break][break]

... and she cares enough to worry about it, much to her chagrin. it's so convenient for him to be able to hide his lips behind a literal mask, in addition to the metaphorical barrier that is the seemingly casual, outgoing tone. it's so convenient that he can hide his emotions that way, rather than having to go through more of an effort to hide the more complex emotions. she sees a smile on the mask, but she has to wonder: what was he actually feeling beneath those two layers? he was so desperately trying to hide something (it's what the skeptic in her tells her, though she admits that it might make her a bit too stubborn and a little too eager to read between the lines. sometimes she has to remind herself that people aren't books she can pick up. sometimes she has to remind herself that people can't be close read like a cover or a novel).[break][break]

if she has to describe him, she'll attribute him to a book that was dropped after the rain, open booked. the cover may be perfectly unscathed, but the pages have become wet, the ink leaking and writing nearly illegible with the dirt covering it. then, when it dries, the pages become brittle, like the slightest movement will break them, and the crinkled pages can no longer return to their flexible state, forever frozen to be a statue of what they once were. and yet they still persist, holding onto the spine like their life depends on it, with no rhyme or reason, if only to fill the space between a perfectly fine cover. [break][break]

suffice to say that she's known him long enough to have an inkling on his personality - his surface personality - and knows that the pensiveness and quietness is rare. it's him thinking to himself, though what he's thinking about is another question. as the mask is smiling, she give him an unreadable gaze. cold to many people, and maybe a little dismissive to some. it's a piercing gaze without his goggles to block them, yet never quite reaches the level of a glare in the dark night. she grimaces. she doesn't like this lack of development. [break][break]

it leaves a stale taste in her mouth. [break][break]

humming, she turns her attention back to the telescope, eventually moving to peek an eye through the lens, hand on a knob as she adjusts the magnification on the lens. "hmm.." she's watches the stars, pensively, before turning her attention back from the lens and to the stars - and planets - themselves. her gut tells her that it's a big deal, and though she understands why he's trying so hard to push the discomfort away (she understands; she was once like that until she's learned otherwise), but she's at a crossroads as to whether she should respect it. [break][break]

so lifting her head from the telescope, she sighs. "why do you wear the mask" is what she wants to ask, but maybe that's the wrong question (she knows why he wears it; she sees why he's been wearing it) and instead she parts her lips. it's a lie too say her heart weren't beating, and the blood was so gradually rushing to her head in the anxiety that was to come, and the lump in her throat was beginning to form (she's never pried into someone else's life before; is this how you do it?)[break][break]

"you say that" she narrows her eyes, lowering her gaze from the stars unto him, making small steps to approach (to ignore the heavy beats) and raise her hand towards the mask, but sure not to touch it, or get too close "... but it look like it hurt. the scars."

Astor Heroux

☉

...She’s not gonna let me off the hook. I can feel it...[break][break]

And, of course, he’s far from wrong— but within the moments between shotcalling and the shot itself, he sought to revel within the calmness before calamity; the calm within the storm. He watched her as she eyed him following his own insistence, and he thought to himself with a silent, ...God, anyone would know she’s not gonna let me off the hook… in idle addition to his earlier thought. Even then,he still smiled; the lights upon the mask he donned speaking wonders of a guise that he donned.[break][break]

A guise that he preferred to don.[break][break]

She eventually glanced away. He did the same when she’d done so, and it was within those moments that he looked to the remaining part of his headwear. Just as he’d done in retrieval of the mask secured upon his face, he reached aside to press the tips of his fingers against the material of the goggles, pulling them over and giving the inner lenses a soft wipe down.[break][break]

He intended to put them on as easily as he had with his earlier headpiece, but yet again, he caught some movement from the corner of his eye.[break][break]

That time around, he turned to address the sight— and then he turned more, and then a bit more before beginning to shift back with a gentle furrow and crease of the rbows as he noticed her hands outstretched towards him. His eyes widened slightly all the while, and the mouth of his mask inherited a somewhat confused tug to the line it displayed in contrast to the earlier smile.[break][break]

Initially, he’d planned to stave her away and question her sudden choice of movement— and he’d come close to doing so as those same lines upon the screen resting upon his face parted, almost as if beginning to form some imagery of spoken words. Before he was able to properly provide the words to match the sight, however, the words she spoke to him met his ears.[break][break]

…And just like that, the lights danced to form a single, moderately straight line.[break]
It took a fair amount in him to control his expression enough in order to have it stay neutral.[break][break]

”Ehhhh… I guess…?” he spoke at first, an audible struggle and discomfort within his tone. He eyed her a bit more before beginning to scoot back in attempt to salvage his own comfort. ”I mean, like…it doesn’t hurt, now, obviously? But, like…it ain’t exactly something I like to talk about—”

PERSEPHONE CARTIER [break]
mission: slumber party

☉

comfort is a sanctuary, and everyone is so desperate to maintain it. so desperate to avoid misery, desperate to avoid pain, or anything that may tug at their heart. anything to avoid the setbacks that might make them face what they wish not to talk about, and hide their fears away in the shadows and creases where the sun cannot reach. but without the sun, there is only darkness, and night, and stars. if he wasn't going to speak on his setbacks, she'll take up the role; let her be a setback he hasn't faced in a while, wearing that mask. [break][break]

still skeptical as always, holding her hand up towards him - towards the mask - and now as her eyes meet the little lights upon his goggles he's just about to wear. still, she quirks a brow, and quirks her lips. she'll never judge someone for their decisions (no matter how her expression may make others think otherwise), but please do not mistaken the lack of judgement as lack of concern, or care, or curiosity. [break][break]

but what should she say, now that she's gotten closer? now that he's started becoming more guarded, and has started trying to brush her concerns away? what should she say now that the anxiety was beginning to catch up to her? now that her heart was starting to pound her hand was starting to shake, how ever slightly? "i--" she's stopping herself, feeling her voice become shaky. deep breaths, persephone. you're okay. just ask him. [break][break]

doubt has started to cloud her judgement, putting her on the verge of stopping and on the verge of letting him go if only for both their comfort and sake, but she's doing this out of concern and - for once - he'd be able to see it. her brows arch down, hr lips are parted, trying to find the words to say. trying to think of the way to encourage him to talk, yet she's at odds herself (because she's making her friend uncomfortable). [break][break]

"there's no one else here." she says, straightening her lips, holding them, pursing them how ever slight. it was only them, the night sky, and their pokemon. you can hide a lie using the beating sun and bright lights as a distraction, but not here. not in the darkness. "and i'm--" she starts, frowning slightly, turning her gaze down to the ground, slightly. [break][break]

".. i'm worried."

Astor Heroux

☉

Times like this are supposed to be my getaway. Please.[break][break]

”I appreciate it, but it’s…fine. Really~.”[break][break]

A smile to hide away contrasting thoughts, and a smile to be conveyed through the continuously dancing lights that spoke volumes of avoidance for him in his place. By then, though, it was admittedly a dismissal equal parts for the sake of deflection and easing her own demeanor. Though he hadn’t quite noticed the quiver at first, it became easily more apparent the longer he laid eyes upon her. For once, it was easier to tell what was on her mind, even if it was only subtly so. For once, there hadn’t been much of a need to read between the lines.[break][break]

…In retrospect, it was a bit obvious to tell, too; be it from the way she seemed in such a daze to properly collect herself and think of a means to respond altogether, it was almost painfully obvious to watch it all happen. Although he was still intent on putting some smaller amount of distance between the two of them, his gaze remained upon her and hers while doing so, and ultimately, he hadn’t moved too far after realizing the legitimate gravity of the situation at hand.[break][break]

She was worried.[break]
It was easy to tell before long, but hearing her voice it had a different ring to it all.[break][break]

Much like her, he found himself silent and in thought of what to say; his lips, physically, being unable to be seen, though the struggle in itself had been easy to tell by the way the display upon his face mimicked the motions, all the same. After several more moments, they returned to their singular, closed line as he absentmindedly relaxed and narrowed his eyes a bit and pursed his lips softly, shifting a bit to sit within a slightly straighter manner.[break][break]

”I—”[break][break]

Think again. That would only make her more nervous.[break]
…He sighed after a few more moments passed, all while the lights began to curve back into a smile, once more.[break][break]

”...I didn’t know you were able to be so nosy~...”

PERSEPHONE CARTIER [break]
mission: slumber party

☉

she thought that saying it will make it easier. it didn't. instead, it made her more anxious, and more self aware, and more upset and made her heart start to hurt as it beat. is her face starting to get red? it probably is, as she's trying to contain herself in the face of confrontation. she's not good at this (she never said that she was) but she wants to learn to confront, to face, and to get out of her own shell. it's just difficult sometimes. it's just frustrating when, in a perfect world, people will become easy books to read. she despises the polarity of her emotions; she hates it when she's stone cold, and an avalanche falls at the slightest scream into the canyon. [break][break]

oh, and she's aware of how nervous she was getting. she knows that he can tell, even under the darkness of the night sky (which conveniently lights just enough, with the moon and starlight illuminating her platinum locks easier). bright, amethyst eyes raise from the ground to try and maintain eye contact - she's trying her best, and she hopes that she's doing this properly as she's trying to regain her composure. if not for herself, then for the very gently, quivering pokeball that was her hatenna in the face of foreign emotion that the trainer rarely feels. [break][break]

the movements of the light upon his mask don't go unnoticed, and she tries to get a read on him - but it's so difficult when his face is covered by a mask that won't accurately account for his emotions, and won't express complex ones. rather than anger, or further anxiety however, her lips curl into a slightly larger frown. her fingers recoil back into the palm of her hand and, though she tries to maintain eye contact, she finds it increasingly difficult to push (even when there's something telling her to push harder, to get it out of him or he'll try to push it away. this place is a getaway from what's around them, but it doesn't need to be a getaway from themselves. she wants to say it). [break][break]

so she takes a deep breath, eyes shut momentarily before returning the gaze back up to him. she feels defeated? maybe a little bit, because there tugs a slight smile as she slowly starts to lower her hand. it's true, she's being nosy. she's rarely ever nosy, and she wonders why she's being so persistent about this when she normally wouldn't utter a word. [break][break]

normally she'd let this go. [break][break]

ah, she knows why she can't this time. it's "because.. you're my friend." the red comes to her cheeks, slightly, and she narrows her eyes to the grass. what's the best way she can word herself? how's the best way she can put it? "i'm concerned because.. i consider you my friend" she says, gaze fixated on his as her hands are held together to her stomach, a defeated smile still ".. should i not be?~"

Astor Heroux

☉

...Right.[break][break]

And friends always cared, obviously— the real troopers, at least. A lot of the time, you could tell the troopers from the fakers based on the general mood that they gave off; the sincerity that was always so, so unmistaken. It was something that he hadn’t always been good with seeing—still hadn’t been good at seeing, sometimes—but as he eyed her through guises both literal and metaphorical, his lip quirked ever so faintly from beneath the mask as the mask, itself, merely reverted into an idle and slight smile as its default function. The same applied to the eyes displayed before her.[break][break]

Friends cared. Good friends were genuine, and in times like this, they’d always be distraught when things didn’t exactly go their way when all they wanted to do was help.[break][break]

His lip quirked a bit more, that time reflecting upon the display as well.[break][break]

”...Nah. Nah, you’re in your rights to be~,” he murmured with a calmer tone, though traces of an audible (real) smile bled through within a natural manner. Just as the lights upon his visor had curled themselves into a bit of a pensive quirk, they swiftly shifted themselves into more of a smile, all while the visual of a raised appeared upon the upper half. ”It’s just—... Uhh…”[break][break]

How to phrase it, how to phrase it…[break][break]

”...I guess it’s really just something I ain’t ready to talk about?”[break][break]

Audibly uncertain out of instinct, but true nonetheless. The skepticism within his tone had been far from lost upon him, so as a briefly pensive hum resounded softly through the speakers, he clicked his tongue several times in added thought while taking a moment to properly relax and gather himself once more. Pullings his legs back towards his form, they soon found themselves within a comfortable cross; a cradle his hands sought out as they, too, folded within the space between.[break][break]

”Like—... Okay, well, go figure. It’s obvious I don’t wanna talk about it given, like, the whole damn Donphan in the room I just threw in…” Another hum sounded idly from him, and he tapped a thumb atop the other in thought for a smaller while more prior to turning his head towards her once more. ”It’s just, like…one of those things, y’know? Like…one of those things you’ll know you’ll be able to talk about in the future.”[break][break]

The lights fell idle as he eyed her.[break][break]

”Just…not now? …Especially when this was supposed to just be more of a lax kinda stargazin’ night, y’know?”

PERSEPHONE CARTIER [break]
mission: slumber party

☉

skepticism is such a good friend. it's always there, questioning your security, questioning others motives, making sure that you stay safe. sometimes it's a boon, where your gut tells you that something is wrong, and you narrowly avoid a horrible situation. sometimes it's a bane, where it just makes you paranoid for no particular reason. other times it's indigenous, and she's left with a sense of confusion. [break][break]

reading people isn't the same as reading books; they're complex, with layers and quirks and multiple variations of each trait and thought. and even then, after such intense analyzing and reading, she'll find more words between the lines, or maybe a sentence will change, or two, or a page will suddenly go missing. then she realizes that she's no longer reading a book; it's an ever-changing cluster of what is, what could be, and what has been. [break][break]

that's when you can see their faces. it's all the more difficult when she can't see his face, especially when he keeps it hidden beneath the gadgets that he so desperately scrambled to put on. she saw the scars - he knows he can't hide it from her - and so he's trying to push her away from pushing on it too much. under the twilight, their secrets are safe-- ... but even she knows that trying to push and pry will only have the opposite effect. [break][break]

'one day'[break][break]

.. but when is one day? she knows that many people will say that just to brush things off, she knows the excuses (she's used them before; lost track of the "i'm tired"s and "another time"s). but it's the night, and after a long day, she imagines that both of them would rather lay back and enjoy the stars as they usually do. perhaps she's pushed too hard. she should.. try to relax. he says that she'll hear it, one day (and though there's a bit of doubt, what is there to do asides from ease off? but she'll keep it in mind, and she'll seek him out once again. one day). [break][break]

a sigh of defeat escapes her lips, shoulders rising and falling at the sound of his voice. pushing any further wouldn't yield any results, she thinks, and he was more than reluctant to talk about it now. ".. one day, then." she reaffirms, and finally moves away and towards the duffel bag that holds her folded up telescope. just as easily as she brings the topic up, she moves to the bag to unzip and begin assembling the gear. [break][break]

the indifference in her eyes, on her brows and against her lips never falters, although her voice is soft, and only barely recognizable amongst the clinking of assembly. "i'm sorry for pushing" she says, though with her usual, slightly flat tone (and through it, you could hear the slightest hint of a frown of guilt for prying as she does).

Astor Heroux

☉

…Aw, now he really did feel a bit more guilty.[break][break]

He’d still stick to his own guns, of course, but both seeing and hearing the visual and audible sulk that she had to offer in defeat and acceptance only drove the knife deeper and twisted it all the more firmly. A softly pensive hum resounded through the speakers of his mask in light of the display, but before long could pass (for both of their sakes, he decided, ‘long’ was a concept that they could avoid for the next while), he tilted his head up towards the stars above them with a small shrug.[break][break]

”...Nah, don’t sweat it~.” His tone had been soft, though compared to just a few minutes prior, it seemed to be much more relaxed and comfortable as the lights upon his visor curled into a gradual grin. ”It just means ya care, is all. I’ll be a baby about this for as long as I wanna be, but I really do appreciate the concern. Really.”[break][break]

He paused for a moment, lifting a hand to fiddle with a small wheel lodged atop the temple of his mask and activating a zoom function as he peered above.[break][break]

”...That aside, though, imagine needing a telescope to see everything~.”

PERSEPHONE CARTIER [break]
mission: slumber party

☉

she doesn't mind that he's not telling her; she just minds herself, and maybe she's starting to care and over thinking a bit much. she was being too stubborn-- she knows she was. maybe she was being too sensitive? it's not like any of this was to be taken personally, especially considering that she seemed to.. come out of the blue about it. that would probably do it. ah.. god dammit, perse. [break][break]

her mind is racing at a hundred miles an hour (not a million, which is a bit of an improvement), as she devotes her attention to assembling the telescope. she's listening still, however, just nodding and humming in acknowledgement as she usually does. the night is dark enough for her to hide the slight pout and frown on her lips, dark enough for her to hide the disappointment in her eyes. thank goodness. [break][break]

halfway through assembly, she pauses and perks up momentarily. it's then when she gives him a glance, letting the words sink in, then shrugging as she continues to pull the gadget together. "i can see everything just fine without the telescope" she starts, expanding the main body out to start mounting it onto its stand "... but with it, i can see more than what you could, probably." she adjusts the lens, leaning over to the peek hole.[break][break]

"how much can you even see with your goggles?"

Astor Heroux

☉