Would You Invite Me In Again?

[unheiring]

[Late in April, a note hastily appears within the netbooks. The handwriting is both shaky and heavy, and there are parts that almost look as if the pen had tore through the page.]

bar is closed.

[Sure enough, attempting to enter The Watchtower is a futile effort. The door appears to be barred, and a similar note has been left on the door. Peering in through the windows reveals an interior that almost looks ransacked. Keep looking, and you might even spot the spirit that would normally tend bar in his absence. The figure simply stares outside, unseeing but mournful all the same.

Linger any longer, and Polaris might swoop down. She won't attack or chase you off, merely tilt her head this way and that. Something has happened. She doesn't understand what.]

Comments

just before all of this

[kingincognito]

[ Clive being away from the house is nothing unusual. He'd been gone when Joshua woke up, and he'd chalked it up to taking Torgal for a walk. But the frost wolf was still in the house, sleeping on the living room floor, lifting his head when Joshua passed by and whining softly. He gets a pat on the head for his efforts, but Joshua doesn't have the bone ring on, so he assumes that Torgal might just be sad that he was left behind when Clive left.

Seeking out Ifrit's aether leads him to Luca's bar - which isn't odd, Clive spends a lot of time here. But what is odd is how faint it is. Like it's only a trace, rather than Clive himself.

Nonetheless, he steps into the bar, seeking out Clive's little corner.

Empty.

Frowning, Joshua turns his eyes to the rest of the bar. It's certainly coming from here... perhaps he's upstairs? Where is Luca? ]

[unheiring]

[It's early enough in the day that even Luca hasn't entered the bar, not yet at least. Joshua will probably hear the faint sound of steps coming down, but for just a moment, it is the Phoenix alone with the ghost that occupies the bar when no one else is around. He's there and then gone, but even he stops for a moment to acknowledge the other man.

Is it sympathy in his eyes? Fear? A mix of both? Either way, Cyrus seems to try and communicate something before wisping away, seconds before Luca steps onto the threshold of the bar. He's wearing shorter sleeves today, showing off the glint of his beloved bracelet.]

Joshua? [Comes his voice. He has no reason to suspect anything just yet.] It is a bit early for drinking, would you not say?

[kingincognito]

[ Brief as it is, that look in the ghost's eyes haunts Joshua, the moment feeling longer than it truly is. What... was that look? It's the sort of look that he can't fully understand, can't quite rationalize.

But then Luca is here, and Joshua glances back to the stairs. And then... to Luca, to his wrist, where the faint trace of Ifrit's aether seems to be stemming.

It's Clive's gift. It isn't actually Clive. His already pale face may seem a little more so for a moment, but he shakes his head. ]

I am not here for a drink, I'm afraid.

[ He pauses. Frowns down at the bracelet on Luca's wrist for a moment, somewhat thoughtful, a hint troubled, before looking back up. ]

Have you seen Clive? I thought he might be here, but I believe I was simply picking up on your bracelet.

[unheiring]

[He doesn't relish the way Joshua's gaze darts about. Nor does he like the abrupt shift in demeanor. He takes a step toward the other man, but stops at the sound of his words. Something like ice forms within his belly, and his breath seems to come just the slightest bit quicker.]

I have not. Not since yesterday evening.

[It seemed unlike Clive, to not tell Joshua if he'd deviate from his schedule. Surely, though, they were just misreading the signs. But if Joshua had only picked up a slight trace, it meant that there was nothing more to block it out. That -]

He - must be around here somewhere, yes?

[kingincognito]

[ Not since yesterday evening. At which point Clive had returned home, and then... Then what? Some time in the middle of the night, perhaps, or early in the morning, he'd just... vanished?

Joshua's fingers clench into his palms, and he takes in a breath. It shudders in his mouth, no matter how much he doesn't want it to. ]

He... He must be. He has to be.

[ His mind reels for a moment, eyes darting from spot to spot on the floor. Thinking. ]

When he died, I wasn't able to feel his aether return, not while he was out in the Garden. Perhaps he's gone into the forest. Perhaps the forest is masking it.

[ His hands tremble, just slightly. Clive wouldn't have gone out there without letting him know. Was he taken? ]

[unheiring]

Joshua.

[His thoughts follow a similar line. Clive was tactically minded. He would not go into danger without up. And if he truly felt he needed to, he would have left some sort of sign. He was not a fool.

His mouth feels dry. He puts a hand out, steadying himself on a nearby table. The room feels like it's beginning to spin.]

Will-? [His voice rasps. He forces himself to breathe deep.] Perhaps Clive is with him?

[Doubt twists within his abdomen even as he speaks.]

[kingincognito]

[ Luca's guess is a good one. It would have been Joshua's next attempt at tracking him down, honestly. But he has been able to sense his brother's presence. He's been able to track him down every time he'd gone to Will's room.

That's not the case here. ]

No. I... I would feel him. But it's like I've been completely cut off.

[ He'd think maybe his sense had been eliminated entirely, if he couldn't feel the signature of Bahamut lingering in Dion elsewhere in the Grove, and the faint traces of Ifrit, of himself in Luca's bracelet.

The leather of his gloves creaks as his hands ball into tighter fists. ]

The forest has him. It must. That's the only explanation.

[unheiring]

[It's the only logical answer, and Luca knows exactly what Joshua means. Nevertheless, as the air rushes from his lungs. He shakes his head rapidly, enough for his neck to almost hurt.]

What do you mean, the forest has him?

[His voice is almost a whisper. He looks out of the window. His hands are starting to shake, and it's taking everything in his power to not start running. He'll rip Clive from the Forest's hands himself if he must.]

Joshua, please -

[kingincognito]

That... that thing.

[ There's venom in his words as he spits them out. But it's a quiet fury, like a river that looks calm on the surface but will sooner drag you under and bash you against the rocks than send you floating gently along.

It's all he knows. The only thing he can think of to explain it.

But he can hear the desperation in Luca's voice, and it tempers it all down somewhat. He inhales deeply, closing his eyes. ]

I... Forgive me. I do not mean to unsettle you, I just...

[unheiring]

No, no, it's -

[The table groans beneath his grip. The only reason sparks don't dance along his fingers is the fact that the bracelet on his wrist remains. That reminder prompts him to lift his hand from the table and cup it against the metal circle. He feels its faint warmth, tries desperately to cling to it.]

You... should go. I need a moment. I'm - [He thinks to apologize, but can't force it out.]

[kingincognito]

[ It's... understandable. They're both rattled by this. They may be friends, but they are both taking this in wildly different ways, as any two people would.

They both need to separate. Just for now. Joshua, too, needs space. Or something. Founder, he doesn't know. ]

Right. I--

[ The words stick in his throat. A part of him wants to tell Luca to be safe. Another part wants to tell Luca that he'll return later. But a bigger part, one that clouds his senses and makes the ground feel uneven beneath his feet, eclipses the rest of it.

He swallow, nods, and turns to leave so quickly that he nearly stumbles out the door. He has to find Dion. ]