aterat | Signal Interference

Entry tags:

Signal Interference

Who; Mono and whoever happens to be around
What; Log
Where; Harbor district sewer entrance to start
When; Mid September
Warnings; I will update if specific warnings are necessary. To start I would say: Mentions of solitary confinement/isolation, and abandonment
Note;Mono is now canon-updated to the end of game, and he is not going to be particularly rational atm, so it'll probably take a while for him to calm down and get both himself and his abilities under control depending on the way your character approaches. For more information, see his canon update here.

A young boy stumbled out of the sewers in the harbor district, looking disorientated and somewhat skeptical of the world around him. He shouldn’t be there, really. Not in the ‘children should not be in dangerous places in the dead of night’ kind of way, so much as the… he shouldn’t be in this world, kind of way.

This couldn’t be real, after all. He’d spent months in that room. Months feeling eyes on him despite the presence of the walls he’d built up around him with his powers. Months alone to ponder and let the hurt and anger gnaw at him after his friend… After Six dropped him. After she abandoned him to make her escape from the tower alone, letting go of his hand in the last moment. Just as he had thought that they were going to be free and could resume their joint escape from the city in search of a better place.

This had to be a wishful delusion of a place far better than the Pale City. A place he would much rather be, with people who cared about him (or could they betray him as easily as she had?).

But it wasn’t real, it couldn’t be real. The more the thoughts spun in his head, the more anxious and angry he got at whatever had changed the appearance of the space around him to look like something he couldn’t have. “It’s not real.” He mumbled, the light static that flickered in his sclera more pronounced as he frowned at the sight of the harbor district around him. “It’s not fair. It’s not. Stop trying to trick me.” He balled up his hands into fists. Seeing a place like this, it was too upsetting. He didn’t want to see something he couldn’t have. Mono needed to change it back, to stop being taunted by it. “CHANGE BACK!” He yelled in a desperate and unsteady tone. Energy rolling off of him in waves that seemed to thicken the air unchecked as the already small, rundown harbor buildings around him shuddered almost as though they might really change back.

If he had been more clear minded, he might have remembered that if he’d been in his world… he wouldn’t know or remember this place at all. That fact didn’t even begin to edge its way into the child’s mind as a few windows nearby exploded in shards of glass from the strain. The illusion wasn’t changing, the surrounding images weren’t changing like they should be… It was more like when he’d been outside the tower still and trying to get the hang of his abilities to get to the tower faster before everything had gone south.

Why…? This couldn’t be that place. This couldn’t be real, right? So why…? Was that thing behind this? Was it taunting him out of boredom? Could it even do that?

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"I'd like that," Nida said, his voice soft and fond. "And if you want, when we get down from our awkward positions, I'll give you a piggieback ride the whole way there. Or we can race. Or we can go slow."

Either way Ignis was So going to get a text.

Mono was definitely glad at the idea of getting down from the wall at this point, and had already started to move to make his way back the way he’d come carefully. It was a little hard to remember some of the things he’d learned, being rusty after a few months… But he was going to do his best.

The question gets a little pause, though… “Going slow? I… I think that’d be good.” He was a bit drained for a race, and the boy might need a little more time to warm up to the idea of being that close to or carried by people again. Which was a bit sad. He’d been doing pretty well with contact and stuff before he’d been sent back… But he’d get back to where he was again, hopefully sooner than later.

Nida moved back from his window sill and let himself fall to the ground on light feet. There, he was down and ready for Mono. From there he could go slow.

"So we got new cookie cutters. I got some that look like pumpkins. I don't know why they look like pumpkins. But they're nice."

Mono carefully made his way back down the side of the building, breathing a little sigh of relief to be back on solid ground. It was going to take him a little while to both adjust to his inactivity and growth spurt, as well as the uncomfortable feeling he got when up high after Six’s betrayal.

“Yeah?” He asked curiously, tilting his head up before lowering it again to hide his eyes. “I wonder why their pumpkin shapes, maybe ‘cause of pumpkins, grow at this time of year?” He thinks it was around this time last year that there were a bunch of pumpkins around. Not that he knew why, of course, but it was fun to wander around the pumpkin patch when some of them were easy to hide behind. “As long as the cookies still taste the same, I guess it’s neat to have em in different shapes.”

"Maybe. I also got ones that look like little cats. I've been making cat treats in that shape of course. Not that the cats are allowed to have a full one at the same time. Oh! And I've started to frost them."

Isn't that fun? It should be fun for the kid. Look at him, trying to talk about fun.

That does sound like fun, and little cat shaped cookies sounded pretty neat compared to pumpkins. Visually, pumpkins were just kinda lumpy. But cats were sorta cute and all, at least, he liked the cats Nida and Ignis had. “I bet they really like those, ‘cause they look like they’re made just for em right?” Though his little face scrunches thoughtfully, frosting things was fun because frosting tasted great… But… “Can cats have frosting?”

"You know, I'll have to research that, but I can't imagine why not. It's mostly just sugar. And cats can't taste sugar well."

So there isn't really any benefit to them with it.

This was all unknown to Mono, either way. So he was going to be curious about what their feline friends were able to eat, especially since he sometimes saw people sharing snacks with their pets around Aterat before. It was something worth learning about, just in case, after all! He nodded, though, “Okay, I guess that kinda makes sense.”

"And you know how picky and regal Julia gets. She barely wants anything other than her lovely sashimi."

Truly the peacock cat was the most spoiled member of their household other than Mono, in part because she would absolutely leave if she wasn't. And Nida loved her anyway.

“Yeah, I guess she kinda likes that best, huh?” Mono commented thoughtfully, remembering how very picky the peacock cat was. It kinda made sense with how pretty she was. She probably wouldn’t bother with something unless it was exactly the kinda thing she liked.

"Indeed," Nida confirms, and his voice is full of deep fondness. "Back where we first met her, my friends and I, we took her in as a kitten. You couldn't get the adults to spend time with you. And the kittens abandoned some people who didn't pamper them."

“Wow… So you had to show her how much you liked her, so she’d like staying with you, huh?” That was how it kind of sounded, but she seemed like a really good peacock cat, even if he hadn’t met one before. She was close to Nida, so that meant something.

"Yep," Nida said. "She accepts me, even though her mistress, and former master, aren't here. Even though it's just me. And now you guys."

Still, it leaves him thinking. He and Ignis both had a bird and a cat...

"Have you ever considered if you want a pet, Mono?"

Mono seemed to tilt his head at the question. In his world, the thought hadn’t even crossed his mind for obvious reasons. Well… That wasn’t strictly true. He’d found a building once that had strange creatures within that had been kind of sad looking, but survival and the goal of moving forward made lingering impractical. Then being here at Aterat… The boy shrugged. “Nope, I do think the animals are neat here, though. I like watching them in the park? But I dunno about having a pet. You guys already got pets, and… I dunno if I would do a good job taking care of something?”

It seemed like a big responsibility, after all. What if he didn’t do a good job, and they stopped liking him?

Well, that's fair. The guy knowing that he might not be ready to do it on his own was rather impressive.

"That's really fair. That's a really adult approach to it, Mono. Most people I knew when I was your age never would have thought of that."

“It is?” It was an adult way to look at it? That… Was kind of neat, actually. To think he had thought about something like the grownups might first instead of a little kid. Then again, it just seemed… Important to consider? Maybe it was because he knew what it was like to be unhappy with where you were, or maybe he was just afraid of not being good at taking care of an animal. “I just don’t wanna make something sad, there were animals that looked real sad in one building in the pale city… And if I don’t do a good job or they don’t end up liking me, they’d be unhappy here too, right?”

"Well, maybe you can start learning some responsibility for pets by helping us more with the chocobos?"

Sure they were large, but it was harder to make a mistake with the birds than with the cats.

Mono did like that idea. He could.. practice. And if the chocobos seemed unhappy, at least Nida and Ignis could follow up and make sure things worked out okay for the large birds. But maybe if he wasn’t terrible at it, he could revisit the idea of a pet later… Not that he knew what kind of pet would be good for someone like him. “Okay, if you guys show me more about what to do what and they like?”

"You got it. But starting in two days. Tomorrow you sleep in and I spoil you with games and food, got it?"

because he's pampering the kid now that he's home.

Two whole days? The boy wouldn’t have minded starting sooner. There were a lot of things the boy was rather determined to figure out and try to learn now that he had a reason to… But the mention of food gets a quick, eager nod. “Really? I don’t mind starting sooner, but I did miss food. Especially the food Ignis makes, I think.” He didn’t remember it to miss it, but now that he was back? He definitely felt like he’d missed out.

"He's going to want to spoil you," Nida points out. "A celebration of being home. You're our family, and we wanted you back so very badly."

Mono didn’t need a celebration, although that was probably because he wasn’t sure since the ones he’d seen here were kind of big and loud… And right about now he just wanted to spend time with Nida and Ignis and try to get used to being back. It still felt a little like a dream, even after being convinced of it being quite real… But he glanced at Nida quietly for a moment, still finding it a bit weird to hear that people had wanted him back when his world things would be quite the opposite. “Yeah… I guess. No one’s gotta make a fuss. I’m just glad to get to be here with you guys again…? And to eat the good food here, and the cookies too.”

"I'm glad you're here too. So... still got energy to walk back home, or would you want carried on my shoulders?"

Anything to make Mono feel happier and safer over being home.

Mono shook his head at the question. Maybe a little too quickly… “You don’t gotta carry me. I can walk.” But he was going to need a little time again on that front. The idea of being carried or being too close was going to be a bit difficult for a while. At least until he figured out if there was a way to completely silence the static or control his powers, at least a little better. Plus… Well, there was the betrayal and being dropped into an abyss to get over. That was a fear that they’d need to work on. So, for now, the boy was going to be stubborn about walking on his own.

(ooc: I think we wrap this here with them heading home together. Thank you for tagging! )

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Signal Interference

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gladly!