aterat | [Open] Headache And A Half

Entry tags:

[Open] Headache And A Half

Who; Nida, Open
What; A New Voice In His Head and Chocobo Wrangling
Where; Scientia Household, Markets, Near Chocobo Ranch
When; September
Warnings; Discussion and depictions of talking to voices in your head.

I. The Statue | Scientia Home

It arrives at the door of the house, and just looking at the small statue, Nida knows it's for him. No doubt another one of those little finds that Raimon is good at, something on a list of them that Nida had prepared but never gotten around to coming back for. But he knows it's for him, because he recognizes it from home. Not this little piece, smaller than either of their pets specifically, was exactly like the ones he'd seen at home in pictures, but it was still something of home.

"Now if only I could figure out why you're here," Nida says as he picks the thing up and heads to the kitchen for his morning coffee. He puts the statue on the table to consider where it was almost immediately met by Julia leaping up and nuzzling against it.

"No accounting for your taste, Jules," he tells the feline before sipping at his coffee. What could this be? What could it mean? Why did every bit of his magical senses gifted by Siren scream that it was important?

"Why do you seem so familiar?" he asks after a sip of coffee. Then he reaches out for the thing once more and...

The mug breaks on the floor when he falls. Not that Nida, currently passed out on the floor, really notices.

II. The Arguments | Markets

Nida was learning a lot recently. Like how even a simple walk through the markets on his patrol shift was going to be a headache if he didn't know how to make peace in his own mind.

Oh! Grapes! We should have grapes. You like Grapes!

YOU like Grapes. He doesn't like grapes. There should be no grapes. Raisins instead I think.

Raisins are just boring grapes with wrinkles. Oh, that's why you like them. They're wrinkly. Like you.

And you clearly prefer grapes because they are bloated and much better crushed and fermented like-

"Will you shut up? I'm getting apples and that's final," Nida hissed under his breath, hoping no one else heard him. Which, given his luck, seemed pretty unlikely.

III. The Chase | Near Chocobo Ranch

"Kweh."

"I don't think I can argue with that," Nida said in response to the vocalization of the red chocobo underneath him. The chocobo shied one way and then the other, as if distressed, and Nida of course reached forward to pat her neck gently.

"I know," he says, his voice soft. "I know it's scary. You can smell them too. But I promise, we're here to help the other chocobos. And I won't let any wolves get you. I just need you to do me a favor and help get the other chocobos safe, okay?"

If it gets dangerous, I can shield you!

"That's not a helpful observation, Carbuncle, because she doesn't even know you're here," Nida noted as he nudged the chocobo into motion toward a blur of yellow in the distance. "Maybe save your protectiveness for someone who can understand the words when I relay a message."

And from the looks of it, there might be someone up ahead, astride that other chocobo. Nida raises a hand in greeting to the distant form.

"Well met! You helping out here too?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Mono was in between routes when he noticed Nida was out at the market. He liked that he sometimes ran into the man when they were both working, since they both walked the streets for their job. So the boy couldn’t help but hurry over to say hello and see how his day was going, the moth that had been rather glued to his side since its arrival trailing along behind in the air with delicate flutters.

Opening his mouth to speak up and greet Nida, he paused as he heard a rather sharp sounding tone in Nida’s voice as he spoke under his breath. Huh… Was Nida talking to someone? Himself or…? Maybe someone was bugging him. The market was kind of busy at this time of day. He adjusted his little postman hat and finally spoke up, “Apples are the best choice!” He offered in agreement, hoping the little supportive response to his decision made whoever was bugging him back off. “Hiya, Nida.” He ended, shuffling closer.

The voice makes Nida turn and he feels almost dizzy from the two GFs reacting in his mind. Siren with annoyance because the boy is so quiet and she doesn't know what to do with it. Carbuncle, though, immediately decides to like Mono immediately and out of spite.

Which gives Nida a headache.

"Hey Mono. Apples were what I wanted. And not grapes," he says, rubbing at his temples.

As you should.

No, I bet the little one will want grapes once he hears we can get them. And he's so smart.

You don't know him!

That’s right, it didn’t know Mono. Mono did, in fact, know what grapes were… And apples had been the boy’s favourite since he arrived in Aterat. So, Carbuncle would unfortunately be disappointed to find that out. “Yeah, ‘cause they’re the best. Grapes are okay… But not as good.” The kid nodded firmly, very confident in his oh so expert opinion.

He noticed Nida still seemed off, though… “You okay? You got a headache? Or was whoever thought you should get grapes just really annoying?” He asked curiously, keeping his voice quiet just in case it was a headache. He also kept a reasonable distance away, knowing Siren sometimes reacted to him.

No Mono. You were the chosen one.

I don't like him.

Because he correctly noted that you are annoying?

"Will you both just shut up?" Nida growled. Because the GFs were tearing his brain apart. They needed to learn to work together. Please. Only then did he process Mono's words. "I... Uh... I've got a horrible headache, and there's more than one person being really annoying."

My Hawk, you should not say such things.

“Um…” The boy hesitated as Nida seemed to growl out a rather annoyed ‘shut up.’ Was that meant for him or for someone else? There was no one else talking to them, though… Unless he meant the crowd?

He keeps his voice particularly quiet since it seems the headache is Nida’s final answer to that. “You want me to help you get the apples and go? I can do that. Headaches are really bad sometimes.” He didn’t like it when his head hurt, anyway. If Nida needed help, he wanted to do something! Or at least try to, if he could figure out exactly who was bugging him… Maybe he could make them be quiet!

Or tell them off.

Alas, there was no stopping it, but Mono didn’t know that.

"Apples, yes. To take home."

He rubs at his forehead and sighs at Mono. This is probably going to be confusing. Super confusing actually.

"Sorry, there are... more voices in my head than usual. And they don't like each other."

He is an annoying little pest.

She's bossy and mean!

"Could you two stop insulting each other?"

Nida is correct, it is rather confusing as far as answers go… But Mono does know about Siren, so he tilted his head a moment later and considered the other’s words carefully… As well as the request for two someone’s to stop insulting each other. “You mean like Siren? I know she’s in your head, but I didn’t know there was more than one.” He commented quietly.

At least the boy was naturally quiet, so he couldn’t assist in making the headache worse… But it was a bit of a problem, he thinks, if it’s what it sounds like. How do you help stop two beings from bickering in someone’s head?

"Like Siren," Nida confirms as he tries to keep his back straight, to not double over from the arguing going on in the back of his head. "Where I'm from we refer to it as 'compatibility'. Some GFs like different people a lot. And some GFs don't like each other very much. I'm inherently compatible with Siren, and Carbuncle, the new one, he doesn't like her. And vice versa."

Hag.

Skunk.

And they were fully of insults.

"They have to learn how to be good friends."

As confusing as certain things could be at times, Mono could at least grasp this a lot easier as Nida continued.

That didn’t sound good, though. How was Nida supposed to deal with two voices that didn’t like each other in his head? You couldn’t even tell them to go to a different room or something till they were calmed down! “That sounds kinda bad, then. If they’re gonna be in your head all the time, they better learn to be friends soon.”

He frowned a little, tilting his head. “How’d you get another one in your head after Siren?”

"I think it was Raimon. I asked him to keep an eye out for spirits like Siren."

Because Raimon had been amazing at finding draw points. And then the statue had shown up and... Wow, it's been a thing.

"I just didn't expect the one that Siren hates."

“Ohh… That makes sense. He’s always really sure about finding stuff if you mention it to him.” Mono often wondered if that was how his new friend had ended up here. He had talked to the man once or twice on his message carrying runs, and the boy did try to talk about the less scary things of his world around the adults here. Voicing his interest in seeing them in particular again.

So it made sense of Raimon had found the new spirit thing that was in Nida’s head for him if he was looking for one. “That kinda sucks, since Siren was around first, I guess. But if they both are gonna be in your head, they should stop being loud at each other and giving you headaches.”

Yes, Raimon was like that. The man was talented. But that talent hadn't been used to his entire benefit. Not while the two GFs were at odds. And Nida hadn't had time to introduce Carbuncle properly to Ignis yet, so he had both voices.

"She was, and she's always been my closest."

And I ever shall be, my hawk.

He looks more like a fox.

"Oh come on, that's a stupid thing to argue over!"

That would make sense if they were together for so long. Mono sometimes wondered what it was like to have someone always there like that, but at the moment it seemed… Super inconvenient to have had a second suddenly there. Poor Nida…

The boy’s face scrunched a bit with uncertainty as Nida seemed to have to scold the duo in his head again. “What are they arguing about now?” They got the fruit thing figured out! They should be nicer now, right?

"My nickname," Nida sighs. Which was a pain and a half of course.

"Let's get the fruit while I try and ignore them, okay?"

He'll try his hardest too. Hard enough to not think about the silly bickering.

Mono shook his head. That sounded like a stupid thing to argue about. “I dunno why they’d argue about that. Some people got more than one thing people call them, right?” So, couldn’t they just use whichever nickname each wanted and not argue? It wasn’t like Nida wouldn’t know they were talking to him.

The request gets a nod. “Yeah! I’ll help carry stuff back.” Mono wasn’t sure how easy it would be for Nida to ignore them, though. They were in his head, after all. You couldn’t plug your ears to stop hearing them.

"I think it's just... Have you ever watched little birds fighting over a whole fallen bun? Neither of them can eat all of it, but they still want to claim it all? That's sort of what they are doing. Though they aren't eating me."

Just his memories. But that might upset the kid to hear, so he doesn't want Mono to know that part.

"Could you keep talking to me? It will help me focus."

Considering Mono’s complicated situation with memories in that he had too many conflicting ones born of multiple cycles… It was best to stay away from that topic, anyway.

The boy instead focused on the subject of birds, buns and the spirits in Nida’s head, not eating him so much as fighting over being in him. “So they’re kinda dumb about sharing when there’s enough room for both of em.” He frowned lightly, that really sucked.

But talking? Talking Mono could do, even if he was a little quiet sometimes. His voice was just softer if he spoke for longer, and he was glad to help Nida out. “I can do that. What kinda stuff do you think would help to talk about, or do you wanna just talk about random stuff?”

Very much the best to do so. Nida didn't really mind keeping that from Mono, if it would keep Mono from being upset.

"Yeah," Nida says. "Just about any other spirit from home would be more agreeable, if it comes down to it."

But these two were just opposites, and that made things complicated. So complicated that he has a headache. "Right now it's sort of... tug of war between them. I'm learning how to make them work together, but it's hard to teach."

AS for what, he has to sigh. What would even be good?

"Random," he decides. "Or tell me about your day?"

“Yeah, especially if they don’t wanna get along.” He mused with a little frown. That sucked a lot for Nida, and Mono wondered if there were any way they could help… At least beyond just talking to distract him from their voices. That only worked for as long as Mono was there to talk!

The boy nodded, though. “I can do that. I dunno if my day was that interesting, though. I played at the park with my moth friend again before work today.” Moth friend was apparently still nameless. If the boy ever committed to naming it that would be a win. But he was still wary about the idea of them leaving or disappearing…

Looking at the apples they’d picked out, he continued. “And then we ran messages all over for work.” Which Mono really did enjoy. It was nice to be outside, and he liked that he could do something he was already good at. “Except the old lady that lives on the corner gave me a candy and called me cute again.” He added with a little wrinkle of his nose. Not that he didn’t like the occasional candy reward for a tip upon delivery… But boy didn’t think he was that cute, but some people really thought he was!

It was hard being a little guy.

"Just remember to keep being careful with moth-friend at the house. You know Ebony or Julia might not understand that it's a friend and may be... mean."

Cats were still, at the end of the day, cats. And bugs were things easy to hunt. Especially so big of one. Nida continued to worry about the larger than normal bug. Poor thing didn't need to get hurt and have that upset Mono.

"Old ladies do that all the time. Actually, she called me over for help with something from the Guard. And she gave me candy and called me cute. You never really escape it."

“I promise to!” Mono had a pretty decent idea of what Nida meant, even with the vague comment. “I try to keep an eye on them when we’re around the house, ‘cause I don’t wanna upset them either.” The boy agreed, since he’d been a little nervous about bringing the moth home with him because of that. He was getting better with the idea that he lived there and they wanted him to be happy, but he still sometimes worried about disrupting people’s lives.

The moth had since landed on his head rather than continuing to fly after them, nestled comfortably on top of his postman hat, like an even larger hat. A double-hat situation! “She really likes to stay up in the rafters in my room, I think.”

Mono looked up at Nida in surprise to hear that. “Really? I guess no one is safe from old ladies…” He murmured thoughtfully, and admittedly he supposed that tracked in any world. The teacher at the ‘School’ I the Pale City had been one of the worst things to deal with. But, here? The boy had to admit… “The candy is kinda good, though.”

As if he could disrupt their lives. They love him like a little brother in Nida's case, and like a son in Ignis's. He was family and if he left them behind completely they would both be very sad. Or if they left him.

"That's very smart of her," he says with a nod. "And like me. I love rafters."

Which Mono of course new, and underlined Siren's calling him a Hawk and now there was a new fight and Nida was groaning with his hand to his head. They had to bicker about everything apparently.

"Candy is pretty good. But remember never to accept candy from strangers if they are trying to get you to go somewhere. They are usually lying and trying to catch you. Ask your boss, he'd tell you."

And Mono felt the same about them, at least in his own way given family was an odd concept to him given his lack of experience. He was getting better at understanding it, though… It would probably be a bad day for Aterat if any of the people he’d come to care about disappeared.

“Yeah! I bet she’d be happy to share a rafter, and she makes really nice company. She’s good at listening.” Maybe that was because she didn’t make much sound at all, aside from the odd squeaking sound, but she was calm and looked like she really listened! So that made her a good listener in the boy’s books.

Mono tilted his head at the warning. “Yeah, that’s probably right. If anyone tried to get me to go somewhere, I wouldn’t do it though, even for candy. You gotta be careful when you’re a little guy like me.” He agreed, though anyone who tried would also probably deal with the nasty surprise of a child that tended towards retaliation and stubbornness to get away. “I’m used to running from people, and I’m getting better with my abilities kinda.”

Except it was… slowed down a little, more because he didn’t know how to explain how they worked and without more of an idea of what he could do, people seemed to not be sure how to proceed or help.

"Good at listening is perhaps the most important part of friendship," Nida agrees with a smile. The boy deserves that, because Nida knows his little brother doesn't bother to bring everything to him.

"I'm glad you're very careful," Nida smiles. "And when you're ready, I'm going to teach you how to use that little knife I gave you as a present for helping with the wedding. In case you need it. You're so good with our climbing and running that I know I can trust you to use it only when needed."

It was definitely something Mono needed to work on, but it wasn’t that he doesn’t bother to, so much as he was so afraid of some things that it was still a bit difficult to know how to open up to a lot of people because of it. But he could at least practice with his moth friend for now, and hopefully one day, if people actively helped him work on it, he’d be able to. “I guess it is, at least one of the important parts.”

Mono had kept the knife in a safe place since then. It had been a gift from Nida, so it was special in that way. But it was also very unlike the kinds of weapons he usually reached for. It was lighter and smaller for one. “Yeah? It’s kinda different from what I usually use.” Instinctively, the kid tended to reach for large, heftier things. More so than one would expect a kid his size to be holding on to, honestly. Hammers nearly as large as he was, large pipes, and other long, heavy things.

II. The Arguments | Markets

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