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 Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2026 5:29 pm
Honestly, the circumstances Madriu found himself in could best be described as "embarrassing." He wasn't one to care much about decorum anymore, not now that the people who could make him care were all dead, but every once in a while something happened tat had to qualify as shameful, and...well, tonight was that kind of night.
He'd been dragging a little in the heat, and he wanted to believe that was what had made him sloppy. Certainly he knew that pondering taking a dive into a carefully curated park pond was not the sort of focus he needed--and he'd paid for it, because the youma--about the size of a large dog but with the general shape of a spiky, very pissed off bear--had rammed into him, sending him tumbling in face-first.
He'd managed to scramble out and dust the thing, but it had left him sopping wet and deeply unhappy.
So he sat on a bench, miserable and sopping wet, the picture of an unhappy dog who had stumbled into unexpected water, and shivered, briefly considering powering down and back up, but then, that wouldn't exactly solve all his problems. Besides, he could feel a tinge of Chaos nearby--best not to risk letting someone on the other side see Lex Wysten, however briefly.
At least he wasn't hot. That was a positive.
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Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2026 6:58 pm
Bélénos hummed to herself as she strolled along, enjoying the crisp summer night. It was one of the cooler ones; her favorite kind. It felt so damn good after the oppressive heat of the day. The Earth cooling itself off. The hint of fall on its way. At least, hopefully. She collected her mirrorwraiths, almost calling up more when she felt a familiar aura nearby. And... a peculiar smell. Wet dog? Wrinkling her nose a bit, she headed towards the aura carefully, staying in the shadows to confirm her suspicions before fully approaching—yep. That was a sopping wet Madriu, sitting on a bench, and looking like the entire world had just decided to dump all its woes upon him this evening. "Well, don't you look miserable," she said dryly, sliding onto the bench next to him. "How'd that happen?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2026 7:17 pm
Madriu looked up, and sighed. At least this was someone he knew, and who he could trust to probably not make too much fun of him. As he sat, he shook his head, tossing it like it might help dry off his sopping wet hair and ears, but mostly just succeeding in splattering water on the bench.
"Got tackled into a pond by a youma," he said, ears flicking down. "I took care of it, but. Well. Wet." He gestured at himself a little helplessly. "Glad to see you again, though, Bélénos."
Strange, to consider someone theoretically an enemy to be a friend, in truth. But perhaps there was hope for Bélénos. Perhaps one day she would see what was wrong with what Chaos was doing to the universe. and even if not, it was useful to have friends and allies everywhere.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2026 8:37 am
Bélénos felt a little warm at that. She liked it when she made pals on the other side like this. Even when they could douse her in wet dog smell. "Youma suck," she declared firmly, reaching into her subspace and rattling around. "Here, I know I don't have a full on towel in here, buuuut..." Making a triumphant sound, she withdrew a pair of small washcloths from her subspace. "Hah! Here, you can at least dry off the worst parts. I keep clean washcloths in here in case of, uh, weird emergencies. I'm sure your face and ears are the most unhappy when wet."
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2026 9:21 am
Madriu nodded, wearily. "Miserable little creatures," he agreed, shaking off again as if that would help much more. But he did perk up when she produced the two cloths, and gladly extended a hand to take them.
"An actual towel would have been welcome, but these are just as good," he said. "Maybe I ought to start carrying one, anyway. I would certainly be having a less terrible time right now." He laughed, rubbing the cloth first over his face and then moving it to start drying his ears. "Honestly, I rarely keep anything in there. Except for snacks." Which was simply a reasonable consequence of having spent a lot of time with little access to food and then finding himself on an abundant planet. It was reassuring to know that some jerky or those delightful little "pizza crackers" were always waiting for him, if he were to get hungry on patrol.
"Once again, it seems I owe you thanks for your assistance," he said. "You do have excellent timing, I must say."
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2026 9:53 am
"Maybe at least carry around a good water bottle, too," she suggested with a little laugh. "Not that you appear to need any more water right now, but..." She chuckled a bit, shifting to sit sideways on the bench and pulling one of her legs up on it in a half criss-cross position. "It's no big deal, really! I just... Y'know, try to be kind and helpful to everyone. You never know what people are going through, and the Dark Mirror just kinda wants to be left alone. I think most of us are happy to be friendly to everyone. As long as they don't try to kill us first."
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2026 10:10 am
Madriu looked thoughtful for a moment, and then nodded. "A water bottle, yes," he agreed easily. Probably a better use of his space than the can of "Limited Edition Beer Cheese Burger Pringles" (whatever that series of words meant, they were delightfully snackable little crispy potatoes) that was currently in there. So, some alterations to what he was currently carrying. Perhaps a good idea.
"You are a kinder soul than Chaos deserves," Madriu said, honestly. "I hope it does not change you." But he could hardly predict its effects on a human heart, he only knew what it had done to his world.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2026 10:31 am
"Well," Bélénos began, thinking a bit, "I don't feel like I've changed, really, and I've been kicking around like this for... holy s**t, almost five years now!" She sounded surprised even to herself, blinking in shock, as she processed that. "Damn. Wow. Okay. And, uh, yeah. I mean, I still love my horse and my dad and all of that. I'm just... magical." She shrugged. "But, y'know, thanks. You're pretty cool. Hey, since you're new to Earth and all, why don't you tell me what's your favorite thing about it? Besides the, uh, 'not dying anymore' thing that most of you aliens have got going on?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2026 12:43 pm
Madriu tilted his head to the side, thoughtfully. Perhaps it really hadn't changed her, but that seemed...odd. Or perhaps he simply didn't understand the mechanics of Chaos. That was also possible.
"Five years, hmm?" Chaos had certainly been swift and aggressive on his world, but perhaps it worked differently in a human heart. "Well, I can't say I know everything, anyway." He shrugged, but her question made his ears perk up.
"Oh, easy. Your Internet. I know that not everything I read is true, but--I was denied access to information when I was younger. Having so much of it at my fingertips is a blessing that it's difficult to articulate. Also, the way you handle libraries here." He sighed, fondly. "I love your libraries and I am so pleased that it was easy to get a library card."
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2026 1:23 pm
"Oh, gosh, yes! Libraries!! I mostly read silly fiction novels, but I did get to have a good education here and all that," Bélénos replied. "Let me know if you ever want any recomendations. Oh! If you've got a smartphone, you should make an account with the Libby app so you can read ebooks and listen to audiobooks with your card, as well. Unless you prefer the physical copy, then by all means."
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2026 1:35 pm
Madriu nodded along eagerly, tail swishing behind him and smacking into the back of the bench, though he seemed entirely oblivious to it.
"The librarian helped me set one up, yes. She seemed to find my mild ineptitude with the device entertaining." He shrugged. "But it was easy enough. But tell me more about your silly fiction, I haven't branched much into novels yet."
Perhaps he ought to. And perhaps he was glad to learn more from a strange friend.
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