prismatica | audio; un: adagium

But where on Level 3.
Are we about to play some Hot and Cold?

:')
Cold.

I see you're going to be keen on playfully frustrating me. My favourite kind.

[And some five or so minutes later...

What Midna had said was entirely true. If this was a game they were going to play, while she wasn't fully keen on rules, she had enough of an adventurous spirit that she could certainly humour him. Which meant leaving the rest of her garb at her residence and relying that she would, for certain, be able to worm her way into his coat once she found him.

No matter of 'if.' Simply an inevitability. She'd sniff him out practically, if she had to.

She had not visited Level 3 as much as she likely should have, though she was familiar enough with it that she didn't feel uncomfortable walking around at her leisurely pace, eyes occasionally dropping to the device she used as a semi-navigational assistant. (In truth, it was his responses that would serve as GPS.)

Ignoring the eyes she suspected would be on her, she stopped at the place she found most familiar to her—the Tsukiyo teahouse.]

Do you like tea.

I do, as a matter of fact!
However... though warm in terms of what I enjoy, you're still a touch chilly as to my location.

[She squinted.

Perhaps he was not only speaking in terms of location, but also a bit more... literally. Midna's next stop of potential business was the ice cream shop. She'd not eaten there personally, but she'd heard good things about it.

And admittedly, she was curious as to whether they would do a wine ice cream or not. Maybe take one of the ones Ardyn had such a tongue for.]

What about ice cream, Ardyn?

Why, Midna, are you at Gelatiamo?
If so, then you are - rather ironically - getting warmer!

[Ding, ding.
Score 1 for Midna.

But where to from there...?]

Give me a hint. For all I know, you could be holed up in one of the brothels.

[Gods knew there were more than enough of those. But that also would have been a plethora of brothels to check.]

Oh, very well.
I'll give you...
'Water'.
:)

Well, now. Isn't that vague. You're being deliberately difficult, aren't you?

[Water.

Well...]

Caihong, then.

[They met there once, she remembered. When Charon was being out of hand. Took his hat and everything. The memory made her smile.]

Warm.

Wait. How is that only warm? Tell me you aren't rooting around in the sewers.

[Egging him on.
Truthfully, she'd need to figure out where, exactly, in Caihong.]

Well, you have to get there and find me before it can get more than 'warm', don't you?
Warm.

Well, yes. I guess that's true.

[She already established that it wasn't a teahouse he was in.
Her feet carried her and she finally stopped at a shop she wasn't particularly familiar with.

...But it smelled nice.

Poking her head in, she texted him, right about the time she spotted a... chicken.]

I found a cucco. Are you in the store with the cucco.

A 'cucco'?
Like the clock?

No. The bird. Cuccos are birds. Or maybe it's a chicken? That's what some people call them here, I think.

Oh my!
Warmer :')
But not in the building.
I've said too much!

Not inside, but... outside?

[Head lifted, Midna scouted around quickly. Surely to the objective eye, it would look a little silly. Or at least incredibly transparent that she was looking for something.

So perhaps somewhere in the same area. What was he doing—shopping?]

On the contrary, you never say enough for me to find you. Just enough to whet the appetite, as it were.

Close by.
Look... over water.
And now really mustn't give more of the game away, lest I wish to give up my coat!

I thought you were giving me your coat anyway?

[The water again. That was among the first things that he had made mention of.
Either way, eventually she made her way toward the nearest body of water, thinking the chicken and its store to be a memorable landmark, if anything.

Holding her device to her protectively, eyes narrowed as she sought him out.

Where, o' where, could Ardyn have been?]

[ The pond was large and fed into by a stream. Koi flicked lazily under the water, occasionally obscured by the reflected lights in the water. The neon still buzzed in the background, but it was less prevalent here.

On the bridge, Ardyn's shrouded shape could be seen. He was leaning over the side, looking down into the water, his wrist shining with the messages he was sending to Midna. ]

I can hardly give you it if you can't find me, now can I?

[She followed along the perimeter of the fond, taking a moment or two to appreciate the fish. It was no Twilight, but beautiful all the same.

Her ears twitched ever in thought and when she took note of his... Well. Solitude? It looked like solitude. Brooding perhaps?

Deciding it was too much effort to simply walk the entire way (not that Midna was ever much a walker, she floated right across the way to get a closer look at him. And for a moment, she thought about messaging him once more. Instead, she waited until she was actually in his physical presence.]

Found you.

[ It was hard to miss a beautiful woman floating across a pond towards you. Ardyn looked up when she was a few feet away from him. In the dim orange lights of the lamps down here, with the faintest halo-edge from the thinned out neon signs, she looked absolutely stunning. Beautiful. Not of this world, and he didn't mean this planet.

Ardyn smiled indulgently and leaned up. He sighed and started to remove his coat. ]

You did. And with not a stitch upon you. Here. Let me warm you up.

[ He held the coat out for her to slip on, not letting go of it. The invitation was plain. ]

[A woman of her word it seemed. At least for the rare occasion.

Offering him a coy smile, she gradually made her way to him.]

I did say I would come in nothing to find you. Did you think I was teasing?

[If he did, he wouldn't have been far off the mark. Midna had certainly developed a reputation for that kind of thing.

She turned just so to snuggle into his coat, didn't bother to use the sleeves.]

What are you doing out here?

[ He draped the coat around her shoulders. She was a tall woman, and he didn't have to bend to do so. Instead, he briefly raised his hand to stroke her cheek and jaw, the lingering touch of Chroma a thrill of contanct. ]

Sometimes I enjoy a peaceful scene. This is one of the most pleasant ones, wouldn't you agree?

[Fighting the temptation to press her face into his hand, she simply enjoyed it for what it was. Her smile grew as her hands lifted to better keep his coat resting atop her shoulders.]

It's pretty. [Buzzing aside. But it could be worse.] Do you come out here often? I thought maybe you were trying to brood. But if that were true, you probably wouldn't have humoured me.

audio; un: adagium

Tentatively I'm gearing this toward action...

If you're up for it! I know the thread is quite old now so it's up to you <3

There's no such thing as 'old' to me!

<3

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