[It definitely feels like the both of them are treading delicate, slightly strange ground here--but the usual smirk is slipping back in place on Zelos' part, and somehow that adds to a general sense of incremental relaxing. A bit less awkwardness, anyway, and it loosens something tight and anxious in the back of thoughts--a tightness Jack hadn't even realized was there.]
[Talking to friends is so different.]
[Which is an odd thought in itself, considering it's taken all this time for it to actually crop up like that--but that doesn't matter anyway, at the moment.]
[It's easier to smile back for it, one way or the other.]
--Yeah, guess you might, huh? Then again, everybody's had to deal with their fair share around here... [Jack ducks his head and shrugs slightly; but the question has him glancing back up again, smile actually widening incrementally at the question.] And what d'you mean, you weren't expecting the beard? Everybody knows North by the beard back home. Wouldn't be him without it.
[And there's definitely a fondness there, even as Jack shakes his head a bit with another slight laugh.]
He's doing pretty good though, now that you mentioned it. --He's pretty happy to be back to normal again. Guess when you get to be as old as he is that makes sense, though...but I'm not surprised.
Haha, I don't know... All that talk of wonder and whatnot, I couldn't help but imagine him as a kid.
[That's his honest answer in response to the beard thing, a small laugh bracketing the thought as he shrugs. Known for the beard though, huh? He's used to the fact that spirits and the like could take many different appearances, but that didn't stop the human part of him from making assumptions on what he already knew.
He wondered how old that guy was.
And his thoughts on North's relief automatically bring up a few thoughts of his own, but he decides against sharing them and laughs a bit himself, arms stretching before settling behind his head casually.]
Well, I gotta say, it's nice to be back, myself. I'm not sure I could've handled it if I accidentally animated something else one more time... [Seriously weird stuff. He pauses, arms dropping again in his slow but noticeable constant shift in motions.]
It's not always that easy, though. [Just being happy to be back.]
[A kid? Oh, man--North without a beard is one thing, but the idea of North as a child is actually enough to have Jack laughing outright, genuinely, possibly for the first time in a little while; he shakes his head as it gets out of his system, glancing back up with a smile that's more wry at length.]
A kid, man...I never could. But I guess the wonder thing kinda does do that, I keep forgetting--s'why he's so great with kids in general, I think. But no, he's been a Guardian for a really long time...
[Jack settles back on his heels with a sigh, tilting his head a bit. Animating...he's seen North do it a few times, and can't really imagine how anyone would not like being able to do that. Seems dead useful, if anything. But the package comes with so many other things, of course...and imagining Zelos taking on the role of Father Christmas is still a stretch his mind almost refuses to adjust to. No, that still makes sense.]
[But now they're seguing back to...the original topic, again, but in such a soft transition Jack finds he doesn't mind it quite so much. Rolls his shoulders in a bit of a shrug, with a slight nod of agreement to accompany.]
--Yeah. Not easy at all for a lot of people, probably. ...S'just--especially, ending up as something you never thought would happen again....
[And he glances away, because even getting that much out is difficult, but--progress. Slowly. (He owes Zelos this much, after all, even if it's terribly difficult finding the right words...)]
[It is progress indeed. Progress Zelos appreciates as he glances over, keeping it casual and his expression neutral. Pity doesn't help anyone. It doesn't make anyone feel comfortable or aid the situation-- it just gets in the way, so he doesn't waste time with expressing it.
He's more logically thinking on how he can help. The answer that comes to mind? Not really talking so much as far as the words go, but the casualty of it all. The sincerity and the attempts. Those seem to mean something.
And so he rolls his shoulders in a bit of a shrug as he goes on.]
Yeah. I mean, coming back to life, having a living body again... Those sorts of things have hit more than a few people around here. [Okay, in fact, the things he says are kind of depressing. But.]
But they don't take a lot into account here. You can put people through all sorts of hell, break them down to the bottom, but things like that... when they have people who count on them or believe in them, it only makes them stronger.
[Jack finds himself glancing back over to Zelos again, as he speaks...and at length he turns away again, shaking his head slightly. --At that first bit there, anyway, and he shifts his attention more to the stretch of city rooftops off to the side of them as he draws back a pace and then sinks down into a crouch. Elbows prop on knees, staff stays planted on the rooftop but propped against his shoulder, and it's--a sort of quiet invitation for Zelos to sit down again, if he wants to. It's about as close as Jack's going to get to sitting down, but for now...]
[He stares across the rooftops, all the way to where the sky touches down on the horizon impossibly far away, and he sighs.]
Well. No, it's not so much--the living part, I don't think. I'm still alive right now. I never left. [Some part of Jackson Overland had fallen away in that lake, with only fragments preserved in a tiny gold box in his pocket, that's true. But what he stood for, who he was--Death had never quite gotten hold of that, Jack doesn't think. (That's what makes a ghost a ghost, or a spirit a spirit...) Fingertips worry absently at a patch on one of his knees.] But--being there, y'know? Just like that. ...Not having to fight just to be around anymore.
[It's still almost a bit funny, really. The countless decades he'd spent watching and wondering and dreaming about what it must be like, to do what humans could--to exist so easily. To never have to bank on the attention of others, just to keep two feet on the world at all. And in the end, when it actually happened, there'd been--nothing particularly special about it, the most natural thing in the world...]
[But Jack already crossed that bridge with North a little while ago, now, well and properly. And he shakes his head again even as he speaks, a slight smile slipping back onto his features as he shifts his head around to look over to Zelos again.]
But--that's not why I didn't leave in the first place. And you're right. Like--stuff about learning from the worst kind of experience? ...Something like that... [Alas, Jack can't quite pull of Zelos' brand of smoothly corny sayings, but well. Close enough. His eyes shift back forward to the cityscape ahead, again.] ...It shouldn't have happened at all, but--I guess, that I can be happy it did. Might as well make something out of it, right?
[The crouch speaks enough, and as hesitant as he is about it, Zelos steps over to have a seat himself. One knee stays up for him to lean on while the other leg dangles over the side of the roof. As Jack opens up and speaks for a bit, his position slowly shifts so that both legs dangle over instead.
He could say a lot of thoughtful things. But Jack seems pretty resolved with the whole issue after all, so Zelos is sure he was able to speak to someone about it. Maybe that North guy? Who knows. Even still, being able to hear him talk about what was on his mind himself was nice. He hoped it was nice to get out, too. It always was an awkward, freeing feeling when he managed to do so himself...
His reaction probably isn't what's expected, though. Even in a serious situation, Zelos is still Zelos. And Zelos will do whatever he damn well wants to if it means fun times and laughs. So he doesn't feel strange at all leaning over just enough to loop his arms around Jack's shoulders and pull him into a hair-ruffle that's borderlining on a noogie.]
Exactly, exactly! That's the spirit, Jack! Besides, the way you are right now... I think a lot of people would value relationships a lot more if they had to go through that. It gives you a perspective on things.
[It...is sort of nice to get out. Or maybe it would be, if the novelty of being able to ever wore off. (It hasn't quite yet.) Unfolding to North had been the hardest part, but afterwards it was as if a gaping uncertainty had finally been filled, and after that...it's a bit easier. Hashing over it again. Being more certain as to why and how, and with friends that he can actually maybe sound off against for once...]
[Figuring out how the normal back-and-forth usually goes after that is still kind of tricky, though, and things might have actually gotten pretty awkward if Zelos hadn't taken the course of action he does now. After this long, Jack should be used to it--really--but it still manages to catch him completely off-guard anyway. Doesn't see it coming, looking the other way as he is, until there's warm arms wrapping around and a hand in his hair--]
--Hey, what the--! [Jack splutters, immediately struggling (somewhat ineffectually) against the grip, staff tipping to one side as he tries to swat Zelos' hand away. Or at least get an elbow properly lodged in the guy's ribs, because really...] That'd better not be a noogie, 'cause that's just asking for payback, y'know--
[GOD DUDE WHY MUST YOU ALWAYS RUIN NICE MOMENTS but it's for the better, because otherwise Jack's not entirely sure how he would have responded to what Zelos actually did say, even with the ridiculous gestures to accompany. He had heard it, though. And he appreciates it--the understanding there.]
[The staff does little to pry Zelos away, but the jab to his ribs lodges in just enough for a loud, exaggerated whine as he pulls away his hands, letting them hover in the air just above where they'd been before.]
Oww, hey, hey, those twiggy elbows are payback enough! Come on!
[The elbow was enough to stop him from leaning on Jack, but he's moving forward again to pinch at his cheeks from behind, stretching them out a bit. His sing-song voice is quick to follow.]
Don't be so cooooold hu~n~ny!
[And then he promptly releases Jack's cheeks and erupts in laughter. (You can bet he's scrambling to his feet and away if he needs to dodge staff swings or slaps, too.) This conversation has gone out the metaphorical window. But then, they'd gotten out what they'd needed to, hadn't they? Wallowing in it wasn't going to help. His main reason for calling Jack out here was a desire to cheer him up and distract from things, anyway. Remind him of his friends here and now.]
[It's the little things that still manage to strike as the strangest, really. If Jack even knew the thoughts at hand on Zelos' end, there, he might have been objecting a bit--he should have been the one trying to make others happy, and that's a point of insecurity that's been eating away at him for awhile now, around here. If he actually allowed himself to think about it enough (something he hasn't yet), there was something rather selfish about it--being so preoccupied about his own problems that he couldn't even spend the time to try helping the problems of others better.]
[Even centuries of isolation aside, Jack's never actually--engaged in stuff like this, very often. Being on the receiving end of joking and cajoling that he usually tries to be the one doling out.]
[But Zelos doesn't give him any time to consider that, and it's good. Because it's nice. Even as it is completely embarrassing; just when he'd almost thought he was free of the hands, there's a pair pinching his cheeks and--puns now, really--?]
Oh, that's it-- [Zelos lets go, and Jack twists around; it's a good thing he's already scrambling up and away indeed, as Jack does very nearly clock him over the head with his staff, misses barely. Quickly enough he's on his own feet too, though, and he's most certainly not letting Zelos get away with all of that if he can help it--! To the point that he actually drops his staff, just for a bit, letting it clatter and settle on the rooftop tiles in favor of lunging forward and snatching at the nearest snatchable article on Zelos' person with both hands. Incidentally, this happens to be the front of his vest.]
[Don't mind Jack while he attempts to haul you down at least to eye-level, the better to try wrapping one arm around your neck and put his free hand to good use mussing that great head of hair you've got there, yes. ...Admittedly Jack hasn't actually had the chance to put anyone in a headlock before, and this one's a bit wanting, but hopefully the discomfort of an icecube administering a noogie will help override that. Which is the main point here. ...Though even despite vindictive words and gestures, Jack finds himself laughing all the while.]
[In his taunting with his run, he's clumsy and his vest is caught. Being dragged down to eye-level is a startling enough motion in itself, especially when his thoughts were so properly interrupted.
Because this? This was fun. This was the sort of messing around he loved to do but never expected to get to do so genuinely. Always tried for even between the sadness and the lies, but didn't always manage to quite get there— but now he seemed better at it. Opening himself up more meant experiencing this more, and this was something he really, really liked. Just laughing and goofing off no matter what was going on around them because they had their friendship and enough hope to face what was coming.
Even in the moments when his head is locked into a hold like that, he's still laughing and it's as genuine as ever.]
He has to fight to stop laughing, even still, but his whining comes out loudly as he swats and struggles against Jack, grabbing his arms and turning in an attempt to wrestle himself free.
He probably only manages to get them to fall over in the process.]
[Either way, he's laughing more and eventually giving in to his hair being a loss in this battle. In revenge, he slumps, putting all of his weight on Jack in whatever position they've landed themselves in.]
Okay, okay, come on, you're freezing—! [Not that he minds, clearly, with all this extra physical contact.] Let go!
[Honestly, Jack was half-expecting to get thrown off or something, and so it's actually a pleasant surprise when he realizes he can get a noogie in.]
[(It's something he's never done before...)]
[The feeling of victory's still fairly short-lived, though. Jack realizes Zelos' attempts to shake him off have resulted in actual loss of balance a bit too late, yelps a bit when they both hit the rooftop tile, but somehow he still stubbornly manages to keep one hand planted on the guy's head, which is a high success as far as Jack's concerned.]
No, never! Not 'til you say Uncle, and that definitely didn't sound like--ah-- [Wait what why are you flopping on top of him no what are you doing--Jack wheezes a bit, grip around Zelos' neck loosening in favor of attempts towards pushing him off, but it's not particularly successful. Puffing out a huff, Jack settles with trying to wriggle his way out instead, keeping one fist firmly planted in Zelos' hair all the while and adding a bit of extra ruffling just for the principle of the thing.] --Hey, this is cheating! Don't make me add ice to this too!
[Insulted by the thought of ice becoming involved, Zelos recoils more than he had with the light pushes and shoves. He retorts by snagging Jack's hoodie that had so perfectly fallen beneath his head and tugging it over his forehead further as he pushes off. Falling back out of Jack's grip, he brings his own hands to his head as he falls on his back on the roof tiles, sighing in exaggerated exasperation.]
Ahhhh! My hair's all messed up thanks to you! [Hardly, honestly. Just a little crazy at the top and now his headband's lopsided.] Let's call it a tie! A tie!
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[Talking to friends is so different.]
[Which is an odd thought in itself, considering it's taken all this time for it to actually crop up like that--but that doesn't matter anyway, at the moment.]
[It's easier to smile back for it, one way or the other.]
--Yeah, guess you might, huh? Then again, everybody's had to deal with their fair share around here... [Jack ducks his head and shrugs slightly; but the question has him glancing back up again, smile actually widening incrementally at the question.] And what d'you mean, you weren't expecting the beard? Everybody knows North by the beard back home. Wouldn't be him without it.
[And there's definitely a fondness there, even as Jack shakes his head a bit with another slight laugh.]
He's doing pretty good though, now that you mentioned it. --He's pretty happy to be back to normal again. Guess when you get to be as old as he is that makes sense, though...but I'm not surprised.
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[That's his honest answer in response to the beard thing, a small laugh bracketing the thought as he shrugs. Known for the beard though, huh? He's used to the fact that spirits and the like could take many different appearances, but that didn't stop the human part of him from making assumptions on what he already knew.
He wondered how old that guy was.
And his thoughts on North's relief automatically bring up a few thoughts of his own, but he decides against sharing them and laughs a bit himself, arms stretching before settling behind his head casually.]
Well, I gotta say, it's nice to be back, myself. I'm not sure I could've handled it if I accidentally animated something else one more time... [Seriously weird stuff. He pauses, arms dropping again in his slow but noticeable constant shift in motions.]
It's not always that easy, though. [Just being happy to be back.]
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A kid, man...I never could. But I guess the wonder thing kinda does do that, I keep forgetting--s'why he's so great with kids in general, I think. But no, he's been a Guardian for a really long time...
[Jack settles back on his heels with a sigh, tilting his head a bit. Animating...he's seen North do it a few times, and can't really imagine how anyone would not like being able to do that. Seems dead useful, if anything. But the package comes with so many other things, of course...and imagining Zelos taking on the role of Father Christmas is still a stretch his mind almost refuses to adjust to. No, that still makes sense.]
[But now they're seguing back to...the original topic, again, but in such a soft transition Jack finds he doesn't mind it quite so much. Rolls his shoulders in a bit of a shrug, with a slight nod of agreement to accompany.]
--Yeah. Not easy at all for a lot of people, probably. ...S'just--especially, ending up as something you never thought would happen again....
[And he glances away, because even getting that much out is difficult, but--progress. Slowly. (He owes Zelos this much, after all, even if it's terribly difficult finding the right words...)]
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He's more logically thinking on how he can help. The answer that comes to mind? Not really talking so much as far as the words go, but the casualty of it all. The sincerity and the attempts. Those seem to mean something.
And so he rolls his shoulders in a bit of a shrug as he goes on.]
Yeah. I mean, coming back to life, having a living body again... Those sorts of things have hit more than a few people around here. [Okay, in fact, the things he says are kind of depressing. But.]
But they don't take a lot into account here. You can put people through all sorts of hell, break them down to the bottom, but things like that... when they have people who count on them or believe in them, it only makes them stronger.
[corny]
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[He stares across the rooftops, all the way to where the sky touches down on the horizon impossibly far away, and he sighs.]
Well. No, it's not so much--the living part, I don't think. I'm still alive right now. I never left. [Some part of Jackson Overland had fallen away in that lake, with only fragments preserved in a tiny gold box in his pocket, that's true. But what he stood for, who he was--Death had never quite gotten hold of that, Jack doesn't think. (That's what makes a ghost a ghost, or a spirit a spirit...) Fingertips worry absently at a patch on one of his knees.] But--being there, y'know? Just like that. ...Not having to fight just to be around anymore.
[It's still almost a bit funny, really. The countless decades he'd spent watching and wondering and dreaming about what it must be like, to do what humans could--to exist so easily. To never have to bank on the attention of others, just to keep two feet on the world at all. And in the end, when it actually happened, there'd been--nothing particularly special about it, the most natural thing in the world...]
[But Jack already crossed that bridge with North a little while ago, now, well and properly. And he shakes his head again even as he speaks, a slight smile slipping back onto his features as he shifts his head around to look over to Zelos again.]
But--that's not why I didn't leave in the first place. And you're right. Like--stuff about learning from the worst kind of experience? ...Something like that... [Alas, Jack can't quite pull of Zelos' brand of smoothly corny sayings, but well. Close enough. His eyes shift back forward to the cityscape ahead, again.] ...It shouldn't have happened at all, but--I guess, that I can be happy it did. Might as well make something out of it, right?
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He could say a lot of thoughtful things. But Jack seems pretty resolved with the whole issue after all, so Zelos is sure he was able to speak to someone about it. Maybe that North guy? Who knows. Even still, being able to hear him talk about what was on his mind himself was nice. He hoped it was nice to get out, too. It always was an awkward, freeing feeling when he managed to do so himself...
His reaction probably isn't what's expected, though. Even in a serious situation, Zelos is still Zelos. And Zelos will do whatever he damn well wants to if it means fun times and laughs. So he doesn't feel strange at all leaning over just enough to loop his arms around Jack's shoulders and pull him into a hair-ruffle that's borderlining on a noogie.]
Exactly, exactly! That's the spirit, Jack! Besides, the way you are right now... I think a lot of people would value relationships a lot more if they had to go through that. It gives you a perspective on things.
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[Figuring out how the normal back-and-forth usually goes after that is still kind of tricky, though, and things might have actually gotten pretty awkward if Zelos hadn't taken the course of action he does now. After this long, Jack should be used to it--really--but it still manages to catch him completely off-guard anyway. Doesn't see it coming, looking the other way as he is, until there's warm arms wrapping around and a hand in his hair--]
--Hey, what the--! [Jack splutters, immediately struggling (somewhat ineffectually) against the grip, staff tipping to one side as he tries to swat Zelos' hand away. Or at least get an elbow properly lodged in the guy's ribs, because really...] That'd better not be a noogie, 'cause that's just asking for payback, y'know--
[GOD DUDE WHY MUST YOU ALWAYS RUIN NICE MOMENTS but it's for the better, because otherwise Jack's not entirely sure how he would have responded to what Zelos actually did say, even with the ridiculous gestures to accompany. He had heard it, though. And he appreciates it--the understanding there.]
[Noogies are easier to put into words, though.]
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Oww, hey, hey, those twiggy elbows are payback enough! Come on!
[The elbow was enough to stop him from leaning on Jack, but he's moving forward again to pinch at his cheeks from behind, stretching them out a bit. His sing-song voice is quick to follow.]
Don't be so cooooold hu~n~ny!
[And then he promptly releases Jack's cheeks and erupts in laughter. (You can bet he's scrambling to his feet and away if he needs to dodge staff swings or slaps, too.) This conversation has gone out the metaphorical window. But then, they'd gotten out what they'd needed to, hadn't they? Wallowing in it wasn't going to help. His main reason for calling Jack out here was a desire to cheer him up and distract from things, anyway. Remind him of his friends here and now.]
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[Even centuries of isolation aside, Jack's never actually--engaged in stuff like this, very often. Being on the receiving end of joking and cajoling that he usually tries to be the one doling out.]
[But Zelos doesn't give him any time to consider that, and it's good. Because it's nice. Even as it is completely embarrassing; just when he'd almost thought he was free of the hands, there's a pair pinching his cheeks and--puns now, really--?]
Oh, that's it-- [Zelos lets go, and Jack twists around; it's a good thing he's already scrambling up and away indeed, as Jack does very nearly clock him over the head with his staff, misses barely. Quickly enough he's on his own feet too, though, and he's most certainly not letting Zelos get away with all of that if he can help it--! To the point that he actually drops his staff, just for a bit, letting it clatter and settle on the rooftop tiles in favor of lunging forward and snatching at the nearest snatchable article on Zelos' person with both hands. Incidentally, this happens to be the front of his vest.]
[Don't mind Jack while he attempts to haul you down at least to eye-level, the better to try wrapping one arm around your neck and put his free hand to good use mussing that great head of hair you've got there, yes. ...Admittedly Jack hasn't actually had the chance to put anyone in a headlock before, and this one's a bit wanting, but hopefully the discomfort of an icecube administering a noogie will help override that. Which is the main point here. ...Though even despite vindictive words and gestures, Jack finds himself laughing all the while.]
1/3 gay tags
[In his taunting with his run, he's clumsy and his vest is caught. Being dragged down to eye-level is a startling enough motion in itself, especially when his thoughts were so properly interrupted.
Because this? This was fun. This was the sort of messing around he loved to do but never expected to get to do so genuinely. Always tried for even between the sadness and the lies, but didn't always manage to quite get there— but now he seemed better at it. Opening himself up more meant experiencing this more, and this was something he really, really liked. Just laughing and goofing off no matter what was going on around them because they had their friendship and enough hope to face what was coming.
Even in the moments when his head is locked into a hold like that, he's still laughing and it's as genuine as ever.]
2/3
He has to fight to stop laughing, even still, but his whining comes out loudly as he swats and struggles against Jack, grabbing his arms and turning in an attempt to wrestle himself free.
He probably only manages to get them to fall over in the process.]
Hey, hey, hey, not the hair—! Jaaaaaack!
ok done jesus this is gay
Okay, okay, come on, you're freezing—! [Not that he minds, clearly, with all this extra physical contact.] Let go!
off the charts tbh, slowly shakes head
[(It's something he's never done before...)]
[The feeling of victory's still fairly short-lived, though. Jack realizes Zelos' attempts to shake him off have resulted in actual loss of balance a bit too late, yelps a bit when they both hit the rooftop tile, but somehow he still stubbornly manages to keep one hand planted on the guy's head, which is a high success as far as Jack's concerned.]
No, never! Not 'til you say Uncle, and that definitely didn't sound like--ah-- [Wait what why are you flopping on top of him no what are you doing--Jack wheezes a bit, grip around Zelos' neck loosening in favor of attempts towards pushing him off, but it's not particularly successful. Puffing out a huff, Jack settles with trying to wriggle his way out instead, keeping one fist firmly planted in Zelos' hair all the while and adding a bit of extra ruffling just for the principle of the thing.] --Hey, this is cheating! Don't make me add ice to this too!
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[Insulted by the thought of ice becoming involved, Zelos recoils more than he had with the light pushes and shoves. He retorts by snagging Jack's hoodie that had so perfectly fallen beneath his head and tugging it over his forehead further as he pushes off. Falling back out of Jack's grip, he brings his own hands to his head as he falls on his back on the roof tiles, sighing in exaggerated exasperation.]
Ahhhh! My hair's all messed up thanks to you! [Hardly, honestly. Just a little crazy at the top and now his headband's lopsided.] Let's call it a tie! A tie!