003-- Wonder how long I'll beable to see the moon like this?

[stillshinigami]

Duo sighed, crunching into the fish he'd cooked over the fire that he built out in the court yard. It'd been working well since he'd decided to reduce the ammount of that gruel in his diet, but he knew the fish wouldn't last. Not if people started eating in his example. He finished his meal quickly and lay back, crunching on an apple and looking at the sliver of a moon in the sky.

"Strange. Last time I looked at the moon I could see home." He said to himself through a bite of his apple. "Not like the moon even looks the same when it's full."

He grimaced, looking back up to the stars. There was a little pain there, homesick. The thought of never getting home? Turned his stomach inside and out. A hand falling on his stomach to try and quell that sensation, and he looked back up to the crescent thinking back to the days of his youth in that church. What would the old Father tell him to do at a time like this? Pray for guidance and answers? Pray that he'd get home in one piece? Sounded like just another lost cause to him.

But then again, wouldn't it be ironic if he were wrong? If all he had to do to get out of here was to pray to the lord on high?

"Dammit." With that thought cycling through his mind, he planted both of his palms against his closed eyes, then pulling down at his face. So damn this whole place to hell. He didn't know how much more he could take.

Comments

[sakedrinking]

It had been a strange couple of days since arriving in the castle, with little in the way of explanation as to how and why they were there. Some others that Haku encountered later spoke of strange shadows that moved, pools of darkness that came with them, and a fountain that granted wishes, but Haku herself had seen little of this.

Mostly because she'd been following Quatre around like a lost puppy dog whenever she saw him. She didn't mean to, but not having her family around left her feeling strange and constantly uneasy. Quatre was a source of calm she needed, much like Luka was back home, and she hated being out of his presence for very long.

Which was why when she found herself suddenly away from him this night when they were walking together and she'd stopped to fix her shoe only to realize he'd wandered off... somewhere else, she felt something in the pit of her stomach drop hard.

"... W-Winner-san... ?" she called out somewhere near the door that led out to where Duo was currently, voice meek but loud enough to echo. She walked forward, thinking he may have accidentally gone on without her, only to find some one else entirely outside.

"O-oh!" She said after a startled yelp, quickly bowing to the stranger with her hands clasped in front of her.

"I-I-I'm terribly sorry, b-but did you see a blonde man come this way?"

[stillshinigami]

Winner.

That name snapped him out of his thoughts and he sat up from laying on the ground, leaning forward on a hand then looking around. Was he dreaming that?

Well no. It sounded more like Winnersand. What? So then he turns around to see this woman walking towards him with long hair, Japanese accent. He's just stunned by the sudden arrival at first and he turns around fully to look at her, then pulling to his feet.

"Uh. Actually? I haven't." Duo said, scratching the back of his head.

[shadeofawinner]

He'd thought Haku was right behind him, but the moment he turned around to ask her about something she was gone. He stopped and started to back track, hoping that she hadn't gotten too far behind him. If she got hurt because he was too inconsiderate to notice she was gone, he wouldn't forgive himself.

"Miss Haku!? Haku? Where are you?" He called out, nearly running back the way he had come until he ended up in the small courtyard as well, and stopped dead in his tracks.

[stillshinigami]

Was that? Wha... Was that who he thought it was?

He didn't mishear after all! His eyes lit up with excitement at the sight of the boy he could recognize even in the flickering candlelight at the entrance.

"Quatre!"

He dashed forward and closed the distance, wrapping his arms around the shoulders of the man in a hug.

[sakedrinking]

"Winner-sa--!"

Haku's cry was cut off by Duo's, the man she'd met seconds before rushing past her to embrace his apparent friend. She stood there, obviously dumbfounded at what had just happened.

Dumbfounded, and a little hurt. So... he had a friend here, but none of her family had made an appearance yet...

[shadeofawinner]

Quatre let Duo wrap his arms around him, not sure what to think. "Duo...? You're..." Hesitantly he hugged Duo back, almost not sure if he should believe his eyes and ears.

[stillshinigami]

He barely acknowledge Haku for that moment, pulling away after Quatre hugged him back. Just to see a familiar face was...

He pulled back and placed his hands on the other man's shoulders. "Quatre. Man. Sorry. Just..." He smiled broadly, then glanced back to Haku as she spoke. Hm?

"It's just really good to see you."

[sakedrinking]

"Ano..." Haku mumbled to herself, watching the two of them and only vaguely aware that she was being glanced at briefly. She was already a third wheel here. She fidgeted for just a second before starting to shuffle backwards in to the hall, intending to return to the common area. They needed time to talk, right? She didn't need to be there for that.

Just as she made it past the doorway, though, a voice came at her from the slight darkness of the hall just as something very solid collided with her.

"Hey, bro, did you-- GYAHH!"

"AIE!"

Both parties went crashing to the ground hard, the younger Duo now laying firmly on top of Haku's back with the Vocaloid's face pressed to the ground. She let out a groan the same as him, though hers was distinctly more pained.

"... p... please... please get off of me..."

"Eh? The hell--" Duo muttered, pushing himself up on his hands to look down at the girl, obviously confused as to who she was or where she came from.

[shadeofawinner]

"Its really good to see you too Duo..." He said, watching Haku from over Duo's shoulder and wincing when she was practically run over by someone who looked remarkably familiar.

"Sorry, give me a sec. Haku, are you alright?" He asked, going over to her.

[stillshinigami]

With his bro's arrival he whipped his attention over to the boy some how falling over with that girl for... reasons?

He was dumbfounded at the sight of awkward placed hands and the like, then just turned his attention back to Quatre, his teeth gritting nervously.

"Eeeh. Oi! Quatre. Don't freak out, okay?"

[sakedrinking]

"I-I'm okay..." Haku groaned once Duo was off of her, on his knees and shaking disorientation out of his head. She sat up, rubbing her face where her nose had impacted with the ground, trying to not do the same to her chest despite how much it was hurting from the same.

She stared at the small gathering for a moment, though, realizing something even in the dim light. Though they looked fairly different, there was something odd about the two brown haired men near her.

"... there's... there's two of you!" she cried out, pointing at them as though she'd seen a ghost and some how completely ignoring what one of them had said about not freaking out to Quatre.

[shadeofawinner]

Quatre was staring at the other Duo, not moving. "But..." He turned around and looked at the Duo he knew then back again. "How am I not supposed to freak out over this!? Duo, there are two of you!"

[stillshinigami]

Duo heaved a heavy breath, both arms going to clutch at the hair in back of his head. How is he not supposed to freak out?

"Well I was hopin' it'd be because you're in a magic castle in another time period, that that would kinda... You know. Be a little more important than the fact that I've got a time lost double." He shrugs like it's no big deal.

"Come on Quatre. He's just... Me."

[duomaxwell]

Since he'd been down on the ground and more focused on the busty girl he'd landed on, Duo had failed to recognize Quatre's voice as quickly as he would have otherwise.

"Cat--!"

Or maybe it wasn't that. Maybe it was the fact that this one was obviously older, and more familiar with his short haired double than himself. This wasn't his Quatre, and that part only took a second to sink in. Momentary happiness shifted in to a bit of a pout as he looked away, stuffing hands in his pockets now that he was standing.

"... hey..." he grumbled.

Haku, meanwhile, continued to feel like an outsider and wasn't really sure what to say or do. If she tried to leave again some other random person they knew might wind up coming through the door and knocking her down!

[shadeofawinner]

"Duo! There are TWO of you! Magic castle or not! What the hell is going on here!?" This was a little too much to be dropped on him all at once. While it was great to see his friend, seeing two of him was just bizarre and wrong on so many levels. He had enough trouble dealing with his feelings towards one of his friend.

[stillshinigami]

"Yeah. I know." There was a struggle in his voice to keep it level. The repetition was frustrating, as if it was so impossible to believe.

"I don't know how it happened, it just is." He caught the look from his double and flashed a bemused smirk very briefly. The look on his face? He knew what it meant. Don't be jealous, shorty.

"So... Yeah. Quatre Duo, Duo Quatre."

[duomaxwell]

It was hard not to be. He still hadn't seen much of his Heero, but that was par the course, so the thought that maybe, just maybe he could have had a friendly familiar face there...

But... it was still Quatre. In a sense. He managed a weird, awkward smile and waved a bit stiffly. He bit back an urge for a potentially tasteless joke and instead focused on the poor quiet girl he had run in to.

"And who's the chick?" he asked, motioning with a thumb at her. She let out a squeak at being noticed, shrinking back even further and earning a raised eyebrow at her shyness. Wilting flower indeed. Shame for some one so unconventionally attractive.

[shadeofawinner]

"That's...Haku Yowane. We met in the room with the coffins." He said, still trying to wrap his mind around this place and its strangeness. It was strange seeing Duo as he was when they'd first met all those years ago. When he'd first had...that yearning in his heart.

[stillshinigami]

'Yearning' eh Quatre? Very subtle. Be glad Duo couldn't hear your thoughts.

"Hey Haku." He waved, then gestured to his young double. "Him an' me met there as well." Duo glanced over at the embers in his fire pit, taking a few step over to it.

"If I'da known you were comin' mighta come down to see ya out of those. Still tired, Quatre?"

[eldritch_princess]

"Hello. I hope I'm not intruding, I simply happened to be in the area and noticed..."

Cordelia spoke after slowly closing by, her curiosity awake by the faint smell of fish. Not that she was particularly hungry, she had eaten, but the smell of food implied people, and Cordelia had been somewhat lonely. She liked company, after all.

She carefully stepped closer, but stopped several feet away, still not wanting to "enter" uninvited. Well, it wasn't really a room, but still.

[stillshinigami]

"Heh." So damn proper. He'd have to rectify that at some point. He waved her in, hand slipping back behind his head as he stared up at the night sky.

"How's that gardening project working out for you?"

[shadeofawinner]

"Yeah I am, but that's nothing new, is it?" He said, still looking over the other Duo. Standing side by side they could have been twins. "So no one knows why we're here? And considering the ilk of other persons here it can't be some move by what's left of the Barton Foundation or some other faction."

[stoicperfection]

The last time Heero saw Duo, the older version, he had stressed interest in going outside to the courtyard. So that was where he decided to look for him. He made his way from the common areas to the exit leading outside, then looked around for a moment to take in his surroundings.

He walked out into the courtyard, keeping his ears open and listening people. However he ended up smelling something cooking and noticing the remnants of smoke just a little ways from his location. Following that, he eventually made his way to the small crowd gathered around a fire pit.

[duomaxwell]

Haku had bowed politely to the two doubles, but remained quiet as they talked. She didn't want to interrupt their meeting, however odd it may have been. Which meant when she realized there was some one else approaching (this time, thankfully, NOT in a way that they were going to run in to her) she didn't say anything then either. She simply moved off to the side so he could join them.

Duo, however, didn't notice that Heero had arrived, focused on Quatre's question at that moment.

"No clue. Been here a while and still haven't come across much more than a lot of empty space and... weird, freaky shadow... things."

[shadeofawinner]

"Haku and I managed to avoid a few of those..." He scratched the back of his head. Nothing about this place was adding up.