Relax... by any means necessary!

[Zeke Omoihake]

"Maybe I wish it wasn't." Zeke said after hearing Alex's account of the journey. "My father used to tell me when I was little that if you were patient and worked hard that your time would come. I lived in a world where my only gift was art, but I didn't have the money or the connections to move me past any of the hundreds of people that could do the same." Zeke watched the market place around them with dazed eyes. Eyes that were looking at memories more than reality.

"Here though, I have a destiny. I have a skill unseen by anyone else before and it's my choice how I use it. I guess what I'm saying is that Allorum feels like the place my dad talked about, while Earth feels like a bad dream." The more he thought about it the truer it rang. After all Zeke hadn't even been on Allorum for half the time since he'd been on his own on Earth. Yet he was friends with two members of royalty, had saved the lives of hundreds, and still managed to pursue his passion, albeit in a way he never would have thought of.

He scoffed at his own speech. "Yet for all that, my destiny isn't complete until I go back to Earth to resume my simple life. My power only lasts till I leave and with it goes everything." He looked back to Alex with that same expression intact. "That's why. If Earth were only a dream, I wouldn't have to lose any of this."

[alexanderthegreat]

Alexander was silent for a long moment as Zeke finished speaking, not sure what to tell him. On one hand Alexander selfishly wished that Zeke really wouldn't have to leave after the war was over, he'd become to be one of the best friends he'd ever really had in his life. On the other, Alexander also knew that it was nigh impossible for someone to escape their destiny.

"Something my dad used to tell me was that you can't change what you were destined to do. I never wanted to rule a kingdom, it was boring having to learn about everything and show that I cared about what was even going on. Yet somehow no matter how I managed to fight it I ended up here anyway," Alexander slowly said, a sympathetic smile appearing on his face, "and as funny as it is to say...despite all of the chaos and stress, I'm almost happy with what I have now. It's not my ideal life, but it's what I have to do and somehow things are working out. Maybe that's just what's going on with you, Zeke. You're being pulled to do something else and can't escape it, though maybe there's something you can do to make things better. If you don't know what, time will show you."

He shrugged then as he continued, "Come on. I was told to be a king and stand by Trucido, I thought I was doomed as I had no friends, no help, nothing at all. Things work out somehow if you keep your eyes open for an opening though, if it weren't true you and I wouldn't be friends right now."

"I don't think you going back to Earth is going to make you lose everything, as disappointing as it will be for me to see you go. You'll lose some but you should also look at all of what you end up taking with you."

Somehow he felt his words were just going to be nothing more than a band-aid solution, if it even helped at all. Alexander didn't have an answer that could make Zeke truly happy as much as he wanted to have one for him, the best he felt he could do was console him.

[Zeke Omoihake]

"Thanks a bunch Alex." Zeke said as he moved over and gave him a hug. "It means a lot to know you feel that way." Zeke pulled back after only a brief squeeze. After all he didn't want to go making anything awkward, not to mention the sight of an artisan hugging a man of stature probably looked as odd to anyone in the city as it sounded.

He's right though. Maybe I can't escape it, but I'm sure there's still a way I can do something to change it. After all, not everyone used the Game to get here. Zeke got up to his feet slowly and started to dig around in his pant's pocket. With a look of happiness he pulled out a small coin and held it tightly in his fist.

"I don't know about you guys, but we have a little myth back on Earth having to do with fountains. We say if you make a wish, and you toss a coin into the water while you concentrate on the wish that it just might come true. Of course it's a bit silly for us, but for your world where I've seen magic used everyday, maybe it'll really work." Zeke gave the coin a flick with his thumb and closed his eyes tight as it landed with a small splash.

Please, please let there be a way for me to stay in this world. I don't ever want to go.

His eyes fluttered open and he looked to Alex with a smile. With his anxiety put to rest Zeke was back to his old self and ready to do what they came out to do in the first place. "Come on, enough thinking. This is a day to do, and for us to have some fun! So what do you say? Wanna hit up a show? You guys got to have a good theatre around here."

[alexanderthegreat]

Alexander smiled as Zeke gave him the hug, his own arms raising for a brief moment to hold him as well before Zeke pulled away. His eyes followed Zeke as he got up and spoke of the fountains on Earth, pulling out a coin and throwing it into the fountain. He gazed into the water as the coin splashed and said, "I suppose we'll have to see, won't we?"

He'd never really thought of throwing money into a fountain for wishes, it didn't seem logical. But at the same time miracles were known to happen through wishes and praying to the gods, so why not? Alexander couldn't help but get up himself and turn to the fountain, digging out a gold coin himself and throwing it in.

His wish was simple, something not any different than what he'd been praying for for the last month or so - Trucido's demise. Alexander gave the coin a content stare before he looked back to Zeke, resting his hands in his pockets as he tilted his head to the side.

"They probably have some kind of a show going on. Lots of singing, dancing, and funny outfits. Dad used to say they were 'cultured' though I thought they were just silly; some of them I've found in recent years to be pretty interesting if you can get into the stories they tell rather than the hilarious look of it all," he chuckled, turning to take a walk down to the south end of the city, "it's down here if you'd like. It'd be nice to hear a little music; I may even get up and start dancing myself if I enjoy myself too much haha."

[Zeke Omoihake]

"Sounds like a blast. We have to check it out." Zeke spoke enthusiastically. He watched as Alex started to make his way down the street, and let his eyes wander for a bit of guilty enjoyment. With a bemused grin on his face he turned back to the fountain. "Hey, just wait one moment!" Zeke dug into his pocket once more and pulled out a second coin. As long as I'm asking for miracles... He thought to himself as he tossed the coin into the fountain before joining up with Alex.

Reaching the south side of the city they followed the sound of upbeat music and the jangling of bells. At last they reached a small pavilion where much of the sound was coming from. The entrance held a few spectators circled around it as a wildly costumed man bayed them to come in.

"...tis a most exciting tale my friends! Nay, the most exciting tale you shall see. Romance, war, and adventure. A tale of great love and greater tragedy." The promoter seemed to almost bounce from person to person as he went on. Zeke turned towards a banner hanging from the pavilion's roof.

The Twilight Affair: A tale of love during the Nerreza-Santo Luce War

"What'd you say Alex? Might be good." He turned to the young king, curious to see what Alex thought of the play. Zeke had often wondered about the two nations' bitter past, and to him it looked like a perfect chance to find out about it without pestering Alex.

[alexanderthegreat]

Alexander blinked up at the sign, great bout of confusion on his face.

"T-they play shows of war during wartime? That almost seems uncomfortable, I should probably look into speaking with the playwright about their poor choice in--" he caught Zeke looking at him and immediately Alexander's face flustered over, "I-I mean. Wow, what a great idea to do on my day off! Love stories are kinda cute."

He leaned in close to Zeke, whispering into his ear he added, "I'll be sure to keep you updated with the facts; this will most likely be very biased..."


He recounted learning about the Nerezza/Santo-Luce war and being told the very same all the time. Nerezza was full of evil, horrible creatures and Santo-Luce was blessed by the gods. Nerezza attacked them out of spite and after a great and bloody battle both sides had retreated and still waited for an attack today.

And not a lick of it was true. Alexander remembered having to venture to Crepusculum to find the royal library and dig through its records, finding the truth of what had actually happened.
Nerezza had vampires. Despite their need to feed off of people and animals, Santo-Luce and Nerezza had formed an alliance with each other. There were 'Hunters' who attacked these vampires, and when the Santo-Luce king died with no male heir the daughter married a man - Frexton - who changed everything out his hate for the creatures of Nerezza as he himself was a Hunter.
Since then both countries had been fighting for so long both long forgot the truth, and by then no one seemed to really care anymore. Alexander was hoping to revive it and restore peace again, though.

"It could be good, though. Should be an interesting story," Alexander gave Zeke a genuine smile, happy that he actually got his first chance to re-teach someone about the world.

[Zeke Omoihake]

Zeke gave a quick couple of nods as Alex recounted the two countries' history with each other. While Zeke had never been very strong when it came to historical details and such he did get the general gist of the real story, even though he nodded all the way through so he wouldn't make Alex feel bad about wasting his time.

"Well then, we'd best hurry in. Sounds like they're getting things ready." Zeke smiled as he moved past the promoter and past the tent's entrance.

"Yes wonderful wonderful. Clearly men of taste and refinement see our show for the greatness it will be." The promoter announced with a trill in his voice. "Come now, who's next? Who's next? Don't be shy people, you may not get a second chance."

Finding a mostly empty bench Zeke took a seat. The audience was sparse, mostly held with young couples and a few staunch theatre goers, many of them looking like merchants or lower middle class people. The stage looked small, as the tent was somewhat shallow and the platform looked low to the ground. Yet as he heard the testing notes of a few instruments and the clank of heavy shoes behind the curtains most of the others looked enthusiastic enough.

"I do really hope this is half as good as the guy outside said it would be." Zeke said to Alex when he entered, all the while rocking impatiently on the bench.

[alexanderthegreat]

Alexander shrugged as he sat on the bench with Zeke. It'd been so long since he'd been at one of these shows, he couldn't tell really what he should expect from it.

"Probably? I've found a lot of the shows done in the town can be quite different than what they play for us in the castle every now and then. Here they tend to play fun things, comedies and some tragedies, and from what I hear a lot of action. They play a lot of political things for us which Dad always found interesting but I hated a lot of them; they were boring, full of boring people watching it, and he always expected me to 'learn something from them.' The only thing that was ever remotely fun about the whole thing was I usually had a date and that was only ever fun if I got to choose rather than Dad pointing out some girl and saying 'take her and impress her'," Alexander got a little carried away by the end of his spiel, having started imitating his father in what used to be his very normal lecturing tone that he always spoke in when he spoke to him. Noticing this Alexander immediately stopped, laughing sheepishly and quickly fixed his stare on the stage ahead.

'Great, probably the best friend I've ever had's just seen how tactless I am as a human being and how even more petty I am as a king, complaining about a dead man of all people,' Alexander thought as he stared at the shuffling curtains on stage. He only took his gaze off of the scene before them to glance around, noting the great amount of privacy they did have on the bench they sat on; it would be nice that it wasn't full of people, it meant less chances of someone staring at them and recognizing him somehow.

Alexander was only too grateful when the show started. Horns were played in what seemed to be (to Alexander anyway) a very obnoxious way to grab the audience's attention before they settled into a calm melody so the cast could be properly introduced. He kept his attention on the actors as they stepped out. Surprisingly, they were very well-garbed, their costumes looked like they cost a lot more to put together than the simple tent they were sitting in.

The whole thing started out simple enough, just as Alexander figured it would they had to give a big speech on the severity of the war, the usual history lesson before they got into anything interesting. Alexander sat straight watching it, his fists balled up and sitting on his knees and waited patiently for the pace to pick up.

[Zeke Omoihake]

Zeke listened, not the least bit surprised by Alex's complaints. Thanks to copious time spent watching T.V. and reading fiction he'd come to expect that royalty didn't have it nearly as easy as it sounded. Alex's father had come up a few times before, and whether or not he tried to hide it Zeke could tell there were complicated feelings he had for his father. All the same, he didn't fault Alex for it. In a way, he was actually happy to have Alex open up to him.

As they watched the play go on, Zeke couldn't help but think idly about him and Alex. Indeed ever since he'd met the man there had been something about him. All the others he'd spent any real time with had been people that were...harsher than those back home. Whether from war, upbringing, or just Allorum itself most people seemed distant. Even the common soldiers he had enjoyed time with were at best buddies. Great for a night of drinking, but there was never a right time to get personal.

In many ways, Alex was the first real friend he had made since coming to the new world. Aside from Don, he was the only person Zeke felt he could be himself completely with. It was because of that that Zeke cursed his thoughts that could ruin it all.

Of course he wouldn't want to. He said it himself, he's had girlfriends. Not that I've seen him with any. Actually...he hasn't had one since I met him. Does that mean something? Could that mean... no. No that's stupid. His mind battled back and forth as the play went on. Every so often Zeke looked over to Alex, and each time he did his mind tried harder to argue going for it.

Face it man, you're on a date with him. You whisked him out of his home and you guys are on a date. You're at a play of all things, and you heard how fast he changed his mind about the play once he heard you wanted to go. It's because he wanted to spend time with you.

Maybe he's just... being nice is all. Friends do that for friends.He argued back weakly in thought.

Nah man, maybe girls do that. A guy friend tells you it looks stupid and that you should do something else. A boyfriend however...

"What am I going to do?" Zeke muttered as he placed his hands on his temples. Only forgetting who he was with for a second Zeke recovered quickly. "I mean, uhh what is he going to do?" Zeke pointed out at the main hero of the story as he fought through one of the many choreographed battles in the play(which were so lame by the way). "He's fighting through all these obstacles just to see a girl he fell in love with on sight alone. He doesn't know if she even thinks of him like that. That's just foolish isn't it?" He asked Alex, all the more interested as his question was something of a veiled nudge for what Zeke should do in his own situation.

[alexanderthegreat]

Alexander turned to look at Zeke, needing no time to think about what he was going to say as he answered, "How so? I mean, I guess it's a silly concept but it's a real thrill, something that feels fantastic in the moment. Sometimes it can end disappointingly..."

His pause was only brief as the first thing that came to his mind was Harumi. That was their story word-for-word right there. They met, he fell nearly instantly for her, and somehow he thought she really enjoyed being with him, too.
...He thought she did. She seemed to. Something didn't work, her father, and her need to just...obey him.

"...but you never really know, I guess. Both sides have to give for something like that--he goes out of his way just to get to her, and ideally she's touched by the fact that someone would do something like that just for her. You'd think that alone would convince her he deserves a chance."

He gave another silly grin as he added, "I do have to admit I'm a bit of a sucker for things like that; you're free to tell me how foolish I am then."

[Zeke Omoihake]

A grin no less foolish than Alex's sentiments appeared on Zeke's face, and he looked to the stage in his best attempt to hide it. He could feel his chest pound outwards, as if his heart wanted to burst out and give him an encouraging smack. Go for it bud! His own thoughts joined in as if his mind and body together were teaming up to beat down his fear and apprehension.

"Ha, when you put it like that... it doesn't sound foolish at all. It sounds almost, exciting. Like he's adventuring for the chance to have an adventure. Maybe..." Zeke turned to Alex, his face flush red as he looked over his regal companion. The way his hair draped down in strands over his eyes, like curtains holding a masterpiece captive behind them. The way his smile was untouched by wealth or privilege, like it could belong to anyone. It was enough to make Zeke blurt out almost anything stupidly.

"Maybe, I mean..." He stuttered. He paused to gulp a breath of air, taking the time to feel his bravery well up in him. The bravery to tell Alex how he felt, for better or worse. To say the words that might make Alex say yes, and let them be together as more than friends.

Till how long though...

The air that filled his lungs sank like cement with that thought. He quickly looked away once more from Alex before he would be able to infer anymore. "Never mind. I, kinda lost my train of thought." A weak chuckle escaped his lips as he watched the play continue.

[alexanderthegreat]

Alexander's eyebrows raised and he couldn't stop his own laughter, feeling pretty good about them having a good laugh over a silly, random topic. He had to admit that it was nice that he had someone (...around his own age--Holmes was 'cool' nowadays but he was older) to spend time with and really open up to. The only other 'person' who ever really heard everything had to say and knew Alexander's feelings was Foxy whom of which was a great listener and did whatever she could to communicate with him, though it was nice to have someone who could talk to him in the same language as he.

Alexander kept his eye on Zeke, having noticed how fidgety he seemed to become. The room was quite dim aside from the stage so it wasn't until he took a really careful look at Zeke that he saw a bit of a darker hue to his cheeks. He couldn't tell how recent or not this had happened but he still reached a worried hand out to his arm as he asked, "Hey Zeke, are you alright? You're not finding it too warm in here, are you? I could go get you something to drink if you want."

[Zeke Omoihake]

How long till the final fight? Zeke had hunched down to rest on his palms. How long till I have to say goodbye? It had been quiet for a while now. And when there was nothing to know, it could mean anything.

Zeke realized there was no way to win with his wish. He could ask Alex, and were he to say no, it would hurt. Hurt their friendship too. But were Alex to say yes, it would only delay the hurt, and in doing so affect Alex too. In the end, it all came back to Zeke wishing he could stay here.

"No, no I'm fine. Thanks Alex. Just had a bit of a hot flash is all." Zeke tried his best to put it all out of his mind. As he'd said before, it was his destiny after all. He could not change it. Save the world, live again. That was the rule.

[alexanderthegreat]

Alexander frowned.

"Zeke, you've no idea how upsetting it would be if I believed you and you passed out. Just let me know if you start not feeling too well, alright?" his smile slowly started to come back as he spoke, then suddenly turning into his usual silly grin, "remember, I'm a certified light magic user! I can look after all of your aches, pains, and--oh wait, that wouldn't work at all as fainting would be something internal and I'm not a doctor, I can't fix that."

He scratched his chin, ignoring entirely what was going on in the play as he continued, "I guess I'm more useless than I thought. I'll have to really start digging into those books--you know, those ones without the pictures for once."

He was half kidding with his last remark, though reading definitely wasn't one of Alexander's favourite past times. see: at all
Alexander fidgeted, looking back to the play and then stealing a glance over at Zeke. He really hoped he was okay. He was confident enough to believe that Zeke wouldn't lie to him...though he also kept in mind that Zeke may also have been that hell bent enough to get Alexander out of the castle that he put his own needs aside.

Alexander didn't want to take his chances and so ended up turning his gaze towards Zeke frequently from then on. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel that something was...off. Different. And it wasn't just now, it was the whole trip out. He couldn't quite grasp what it was, but something was definitely lingering and it almost bothered him.

"...L-look at that dork! How much you wanna bet that he'll bust in there and be told 'sorry, man, she's in another castle'?" yes, I just went there Alexander found himself blurting, a really uncomfortable laugh following promptly after, feeling just...right to do in order to battle the odd...air that seemed to be following them around.

[Zeke Omoihake]

Zeke stared at him with a dazed look as he spoke. Only once he was finished did a small grin appear on his face, and a moment later he began to laugh. He tried to hold it in or tone it down but all it did was just make him make weird sounds inbetween laughing. It was as if Alex had lifted all the gloomy thoughts Zeke had off of his mind. He didn't help that Alex had unwittingly made a gaming reference he was all too familiar with.

"No no, even worse than that is she's actually all the way in like Chalybs, and this guy goes through every kingdom only for each one to tell him the same thing. And it would be just his luck that he goes through every one till he comes to Chalybs at last, but another guy had already come and rescued her by then."

Damn he's too sweet. He just seems to know what to say. Zeke thought. He was aware that perhaps his fate was to let this whole world fade as merely a memory, but there was no sense letting it be anything but a good one.

"I'm sorry Alex, I've been a bummer. You don't need to worry about me at all though." He whispered as he put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Now come on, let's enjoy the rest..."

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" A loud, shrill squeal was heard from behind them as a large middle class woman leapt as the tent's entrance flared with white feathers. A large white bird clutching something in it's talon circled around the tent, causing men and women alike to cower or swing at it with canes and whatever else they happened to be holding.

"Whoa!" Zeke almost fell from the bench as he leaned back to avoid the bird almost dive-boming him. Yet merely inches away from him the bird rose up and dropped the object it his lap before taking to the support poles above.

Amongst the many audience members and actors muttering about what to do with the bird, or if they should continue right away, Zeke examined the strange object. It was a small circular stone, like a tile that was covered with a bound piece of paper. His curiosity peaked he removed the note and read it, then paused before reading it again.

"Oh no, not already." Zeke looked stunned, and looking to Alex passed him the note, which read "Trucido is preparing to attack. Use the clay seal as soon as you get this."