[open]

[marmoron]

Who: Keith and YOU
What: August catch-all
Where: Infirmary, The Arena of Trials, various
When: August 4th - end of August
Warnings: None anticipated


1. Infirmary - July 31st - August 8thth

A. Wake Up - closed to James
[Well after a slightly disastrous mission that did not go as planned, Keith's been knocked out cold in the infirmary for the last couple of days. His head is wrapped in bandages and though his vitals are alright, he still hasn't regained consciousness from his run-in with the necromancer. On August 4th though, he finally stirs and immediately attempts to get up, despite feeling disoriented and dizzy as all hell.]

What... happened? She dead?

[Important questions first, apparently.]

B. Contemplating
[Well just cuz you're awake doesn't mean you're allowed to leave the infirmary, apparently. Keith's still got a few more days to spend in here, looking bored as shit though he doesn't actually complain about being here. He's been doing a lot of staring out the window, looking glum as he fidgets with various items in his hands. He'tenses up immediately if anyone comes to stop by for a visit.

C. Why is this happening
[But when he's not reflecting on his life choices, he's got his space doggo nestled on his lap. The wolf absolutely should not be in there, but good luck telling a teleporting concerned doggo to stay out of the room. That said though, there are definitely moments when anyone passing through the infirmary can overhear:]

C'mon buddy. Get me out of here and I'll get you some peanut butter.

[The response to this is just a disgruntled noise.]

2.The Arena of Trials

A. A Bonding Moment (??)
[After he's been discharged from the infirmary on afternoon of the 8th, Keith's wasting absolutely no time heading towards the Arena of Trials. He's quiet for a long moment as he stands outside the complex, eyes shut, frowning and muttering under his breath.]

Come on. We have a connection. I know it.

[And for a long ass time, it looks and sounds like he's just been stood up by a date or whatever. It probably looks very silly.]

B. Patience yields focus
[Who knows how long he's been out here, but apparently Keith hasn't budged from his spot at the arena for quite some time. He's determined and won't let the Red Lion get the better of him, damn it. Whatever it is that made it work, be it the frustrated shout he lets out (that probably echoes hilariously down the Alps) or the punch he throws at the ground, something seems to have heard him.

A Lion shaped something.

Keith looks up as the mecha lion roars, and it's probably the first time he's smiled in days.]

3. Wildcard
[If you've got another idea, go for it!]

Comments

[marmoron]

[He's just... going to sink a little lower into his bed at that first comment.]

Yeah, well. Don't expect to see it again any time soon. It was a one time deal.

[Grumpy grump. But he does sigh and answer the question more seriously.]

Feeling about as shitty as you'd expect.

[highelves]

How disappointing.

[ she's joking, of course. on a more serious note, though, she frowns. she wasn't expecting him to feel all that great after presumably just waking up. ]

Is there anything I can get for you? Water, food?

[marmoron]

You could sneak me out of here.

[Ha ha ha what a funny joke, Keith why are you not joking.

But since she's obviously not going to give him that, he sighs. He'gives the potted plant in her hands another glance, then at the others in the room.]

....was this all you?

[highelves]

No.

[ :| ]

And yes, it was. I suppose I went a little overboard, but...one for each day you were out.

[marmoron]

[LOOK IT WAS WORTH A SHOT.

But he's also entirely unsurprised. Nonetheless he seems to deflate a little, shoulders sagging as he looks back at the array of potted plants.]

... I think between us we're at least half the business for the florist in Soleil.

[highelves]

[ was it. was it really. ]

You might actually be right about that. I would have kept on buying them too. You may have woken up to a garden if you were out much longer, you know.

[marmoron]

[That's getting a weak kind of laugh.]

...guess I appreciate the sentiment. Dunno what I'm gonna do with all of these though.

[But when he falls silent again, he's clearly tensing up. Kinda like he's bracing himself for some kind of lecture.]

[highelves]

Use it to spruce up your dorm, maybe?

[ she did get to see it when james invited her over for a talk. it's got a lot more character than hers, to be fair, but!! she's just going to throw that suggestion out there.

though why he's tensing up is anyone's guess. ]

Is something wrong?

[marmoron]

Huh?

[Well now that he's being called out on it, he's taking a deep breath and forcibly trying to let the tension out of his shoulders.]

...No, not really. [Which is ... okay pretty obviously a lie because someone's a bad liar, but.]

I haven't really decorated anything before.

[highelves]

All you'd need to do is set them near your window to give them some sunlight. I have watering instructions in my bag so you may tend to them.

[ aka please take care of these fellas, they weren't cheap. except phrased a lot more...nicely. ]

I will admit, this wasn't how I was expecting to see you next, but I'm mostly just pleased that you're finally awake.

[ her smile turns a little softer. no, she's not here to lecture keith unless the time calls for it. he's feeling bad enough as it is. she's not going to add more undue stress onto him. maybe she'll scold him for this later, but for now, she'll take it easy on him. ] I would love to hear some of your stories from the Outlands.

[marmoron]

Alright. I'll do that.

[He ... almost asks if they need fertilizer or something, but you know he'll just read those instructions rather than ask something potentially stupid. But as she shifts the subject to something that's aaaaaalmost disappointment, he drops eye contact again and looks down at the sheets.]

.... yeah, well. I'm guessing James probably told you about what happened with the necromancer, so uh.... guess I should fess up that I'm probably indirectly responsible for your new roommate.

[highelves]

[ almost. not quite, but almost. ]

He did, yes. Allura also mentioned that you contributed to her enrollment.

[ wow, look at that! both of your bases are covered, keith. at least ana's still smiling though and not giving him the same look she did when he went after adelaide. ]

Tell me more about that, will you? Your encounter with Allura, that is.

[marmoron]

[okay but you have to understand he doesn't REGRET going after adelaide, but it is perhaps for the best that this is left unsaid...]

Well. [He clears his throat, sitting up a little. Meanwhile Cosmo's gonna make a nest for himself in Keith's lap because he's being a total lap wolf right now. Keith scratches the good boy's ears idly as he talks.]

I was exploring the Outlands. [...] Obviously. But uh.. there was this energy that I could feel somehow that led me towards this enormous castle. It looked really futuristic and had these robot lions guarding it outside.

[Brow wrinkling a lttle:] Lance was there for some reason. Anyway, I don't know what we did, but there was a monster that attacked us. I don't know if it was that or if us bonding with two of the lions that broke the spell keeping Allura asleep, but after lance went back, I stayed behind to try and get inside the castle.

Allura saw me and yelled at me for trespassing.

[highelves]

[ :| keith. ]

...Robot lions....

[ it's said quietly, under her breath. her eyes visibly get larger, the more he talks. she's well-acquainted with a robot lion herself, and when he mentions lance? yeah, that's a big surprise. she hasn't told keith about her new relationship yet, and she's not sure if she should, given what lance said to him at prom.

...she also asked lance to apologize to him, though. maybe it's worth seeing if that happened yet before they get into a discussion about allura. ]

So. Lance. [ she's awkward about this. it probably weird for keith to see. ]

What do you think of him?

[marmoron]

[He's raising an eyebrow at the subject change from Allura to Lance, but for now he'll go along with it, sure.]

You know him?

[Not surprising given they're literally at the same school, but all the same he half wonders if he ought to be offering his condolences.]

We were in high school together. Was mildly annoying then, gotten worse since. Why?

[highelves]

...So I've heard.

[ this is. well. just about what she was expecting. ]

He didn't happen to apologize to you for a certain thing he told you, did he?

[marmoron]

[This is getting a blink and kind of an incredulous laugh. Like pfff, Lance, Apologizing. For the asshole things he says. Good one, Ana.]

Pretty sure the only way to get an apology out of Lance is to be a pretty girl.

[highelves]

[ oh my god. SHE IS DISAPPOINTED, but well. she's going to give lance the benefit of the doubt here and assume he'll apologize eventually. he promised her that he would, after all. ]

If it helps at all, he did acknowledge and express some guilt over some of the things he'd said to you.

[marmoron]

...which things?

[It's bad that he legit can't keep track anymore. A beat, then he furrows his brow.]

Why is he telling you any of this stuff anyway? [Eyes narrowing!!] Is he flirting with you?

[Of course he is. Why is that even a question.]

[highelves]

What he'd said to you at prom, mostly.

[ and surprisingly, it wasn't even lance who told her about it initially.

there's a long pause before she answers keith's final question. ]

...Lance and I are dating.

[marmoron]

[There are a bunch of things he'd say to just that first part, but the rest of what Ana has to say immediately sucks all the attention.]

Excuse me?

[highelves]

We're dating.

[ she says it again, this time with more confidence. she's not ashamed of it. she's just. unsure of how to approach this otherwise, given their history. ]

That doesn't mean I'm going to excuse how he's treated you, though.

[marmoron]

[Okay give him a moment to rearrange his face from outright skepticism to ... slightly more toned down skepticism. He's long since stopped idly skritching Cosmo's ears and the pup is looking up at him all expectantly which Keith doesn't register until the doggo licks his hand.]

Oh.

[He resumes the headpatting.]

Well... con -- [Don't say condolences, don't say condolences don't say condolences.] ...grats?

i'm laughing my ass off

[highelves]

[ well that's...a reaction that's more promising than what she was expecting. my condolences was honestly more along the lines of what she thought he'd say, so she's pleasantly surprised. ]

Thank you.

[ there's another awkward pause. ]

I haven't told James yet, so try not to mention anything to him just yet, please.

:3

[marmoron]

[Um, yeah, that whole "don't tell James" thing is absolutely not happening, but he'll keep that to himself.]

...so why are you dating him?