voidtreckerexpress | Party Time

Entry tags:

Party Time

Who: Everyone who wants to attend.
What: It's a party for all, but the pairing up part is for singles only.
When: Day 19 of Fiddlesticks
Where: Gym Carriage
Warnings: Who knows atm just Minako being Minako will add more as things happen.

[Minako figured she did the best she could for the party. Though she also wondered if perhaps she might not have that many people come. Sure she wanted to put singles together, but at the same time, she simply wanted people to have fun.

In the dressing carriage, people will find costumes and masks that were more gothic in nature. There was food and hopefully some forms of sweet treats for those looking for it as well as a variety of drink, mostly non-alcoholic.]

OOC: Examples of the type of outfits and such can be found here: costumes and
masks]

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Oh no, of course Maru just had to use the most powerful argument possible against Madoka. Who could she be to deny him his enjoyment? That'd be way too cruel! It's why his pout is instantly met by guilty puppy eyes on her end.

"W.. Well, that's good.."

But then again, who knows, maybe he'd enjoy himself even more if he realised the wonders of friendship and had some friends to hang around with rather than a bunch of snacks..

"But.. isn't there anyone you want to talk to here..?"

Maru looked around the room at all the people gathered, eating and dancing, having fun seemingly. He watched them with a look that was both curious and bored, before he turned his attention back to Madoka. "... Not really. I'm happy here where I am. If someone wants to stop dancing long enough to say hi, I'm here. But I don't wanna dance."

It wasn't as if he was hiding or anything. He was off to the side but he was still visible. He just wanted to enjoy some of the interesting snacks while not being in everyone's way.

He held out the plate of sweets to Madoka. "Want one?"

".. Okay."

There's some hesitation. Not because she's not sure whether or not she wants sweets - of course she wants sweets, Madoka is always up for that! - but for a moment she's still contemplating whether or not it's better to encourage him to be comfortable like this or to step out of his comfort zone a bit..

Right now she feels too rude and too worried about making him unhappy to do the latter though, so instead she sits down next to him, putting one of the sweets into her mouth and thoughtfully chewing on it.

It gives them a quiet few moments before she speaks up again.

"Hey, Maru.. What kind of things did you usually do back home? Was it always just like this too?"

Maru's shoulders slumped a little, though it was hard to tell given he naturally slouched. He was getting the feeling that Madoka was disappointed in him somehow. Upset? It was hard to tell. He knew what she wanted of him. Knew that she wanted him to go and meet new people and make friends. But... he kind of had already. He'd met a lot of people he would normally have stayed away from. He didn't know if he could call them 'friends' because he'd never really had those before, but they were people he'd spoken to and gone out of his way to do so.

He wasn't looking at her but down at the plate in front of him.

"... Depends on when you mean." He replied just as quietly. "Before Mahiru, or after him?"

"Um.. Either of those, I guess.."

Though she has to wonder how much he was capable of at all before meeting Mahiru. She remembers the way he looked on the platform, after all. Was he always like that whenever he didn't have an Eve? Or did it maybe have something to do with being away from his last?

"B-But if one or the other is easier to talk about, then it's fine to just mention one of them instead..!"

Maru gave a heavy sigh and leaned back against the wall behind him, he still didn't look at Madoka though. He supposed he should explain a few things. At least tell her more about himself. Not that there was really that much to tell.

"Before Mahiru... I was alone." He spoke low, Madoka would have to lean in closer to hear him properly over the sound of the music. But being off to the side as they were, luckily the music wasn't that overpowering. "I dunno how long. Hundred years... hundreds of years? Time gets away from me. I didn't have an Eve or subclasses like my siblings." And he didn't drink blood. He had lived a hermit life for as long as he could remember. "... When Mahiru found me I'd been caught in the rain. I was a cat, wet and weak. He took me home with him. Did what you did. He gave me a collar and a name..." Another sigh. "Might have ended at that except everything went wrong and he forced me to bite him... so he could protect his friends."

Thankfully Madoka has very little complaints about having to lean in close to Maru. She's already physically affectionate enough with him even when there's no real reason to be - so there's no problem with having to stick close by him even now. She just scoots over a little more until she's sitting next to him very directly, seeming to pay close attention to each word he's saying.

She's never heard about his past before, after all. Not like this. The girl can't help but note the similarities between his story about Mahiru and her. It sounds like they wanted his help for very similar reasons, huh.. and they even both accidentally contracted with him at first before making it permanent.

She wonders if Maru was reminded of all that back on his first day here on the train.

But Madoka doesn't mention anything about that out loud. Her focus is on another part of his story once she speaks up.

"Wasn't it lonely..? Being by yourself for that long?"

For a moment it seems almost as if Maru is trying to melt into the shadows. As if somehow he's pulling the around him like a blanket, like a shield, to hide him away from Madoka's questions. From the conversation. From his past.

Was it lonely? Of course... At times. Sometimes he would go out and watch people. That's what had happened when Mahiru had found him, only he'd been caught in a sudden downpour and had been forced to change. Weakened, he'd been picked up by a boy who thought he was a stray...

"... It was for the best." He finally said in that same low voice, hollow now. "A monster has no place in the world." It was bad enough his siblings had been around... How many people had they killed? How many subclasses had they made? He thought of Lawless and his habit of engineering the deaths of his Eves. Maru wasn't like them. He didn't feed on people. He had refused to hurt anyone.

But that was just the extreme. The fact he was the Servamp of Sloth didn't help him at all. He'd been created this way. Low-energy, he found people hard to deal with. Crowds bothered him. He was happy just laying low.

Madoka's expression only turns more worried when he says those words. It's already sad enough to think Maru was alone for so long - he may be more used to being by himself than her, and probably more comfortable with it, but she can't imagine being by yourself for that long of a time could be fun for anyone.

And for him to think it's better that way.. It doesn't sit right with her. Everything inside of her instantly protests against the idea.

Thankfully she's so close to Maru now - and thankfully his hands are devoid enough of snacks for the moment - that she can reach out to grasp both of his hands in hers, tightly holding onto them.

"That's not true."

Both of those things. He isn't a monster, and--

"There's always a place for you, Maru. I don't personally know that Mahiru you talk about, but he must have liked you enough to give you a place by his side like that. And I.. um, well, I don't want to be forceful or presumptuous, but.. you always have a place by my side, Maru. You're not a monster at all. You're my important friend.. my special partner."

For a moment the shadows around him seemed to have deepened and darkened and he wanted to fade into them, away from her eyes, away from everyone's eyes...

But warm hands grabbed for his and Maru looked up, startled as the darkness around him faded slightly. His hands were limp within hers, but his gaze was fixed upon Madoka. He clung to her words. It was hard for him to believe them... Just as it had been when Mahiru had wanted them to be partners. It was so hard to think there was a place for him anywhere, when he had tried so hard to pull himself out of the flow of the world.

And then she said it. The same words Mahiru had said. Partner. Friend.

Little by little this girl, his Eve, had chipped away at the walls he'd surrounded himself in, much the same way Mahiru had tried. She had taken up where his first Eve had left and bit by bit he could feel it all crumbling around him. And it scared him. But there was a small part of him that was strangely excited... He didn't really know what was beyond those walls. Who was he, but a monster? What could he be?

What he did know for sure, was that he loved this girl. He loved her kindness, he loved how she could look through him and see things no one else, not even he, could see. He loved the earnest way she looked at him as she held his hands, willing him to believe her. And when he looked into those big, pink eyes, he could almost believe her.

Finally he tore his gaze from hers to look down at her hands on his. Slowly he turned his hands until he could hold them in return.

"I can be happy with that." He spoke, quiet but loud enough for Madoka to hear him. "I can learn where I stand in this world if I stand by you. If I'm not a monster... I wanna know what I am. And I think you can help me. I think I can learn..."

Honestly, she's not too sure if she'll get through to him. Madoka doesn't think she's particularly convincing, after all, even though she really does want him to understand this much. The idea of Maru considering himself a monster hurts her way too much otherwise. He's doing so much good, and he's been so sweet to her.. So what if he's not 100% a human? Does that automatically make someone a monster?

But then she waits.. and he turns his hand to hold hers, and when Maru speaks up, he actually agrees.

For a moment Madoka looks surprised, but then her face breaks out into a smile she couldn't supress even if she'd try to. He agrees. He's willing to try. Of course it can't be easy if he's lived for so long with the thought that he's a monster, but just him saying that he thinks he can learn is enough for her.

"I want to help you."

She knows that's obvious. She's rather vocal about it, after all. But Madoka thinks it can never hurt to say it again as she brightly smiles at him.

"You've helped me so much ever since you showed up here. And.. um, I don't just mean during the mission, but in general. I'm really happy whenever you're near me. So the least I can do is try to help you figure out all of that, right..? After all, I want you to be happy too."

She squeezes his hands.

"More than anything."

It would take more than words. Hundreds of years he had felt the way he had. Hundreds or years he'd built up walls around himself as a shield, to protect people from him, and him from them. But Mahiru had started chipping away at it, had made cracks and holes in that wall. Madoka was doing the same, carrying on where Mahiru had left off.

And if he had any doubts, her smile washed them away. She deserved to have things that allowed her to smile that way.

Maru nodded and gave her hands a little squeeze in return.

"I'm... happy." As happy as he could be. There were moments of contentment. Happy was a weird emotion that had never really made sense to him. But for Madoka he could say he was happy.

"I'm glad you are as well. But... um... I'm happy sat here, you know?" He turned them back around to what had upset Madoka originally. "I'm not bothering anyone. I'm slowly meeting people in my own way..." And he had, there were a few he felt he could tolerate now. He had just wanted to enjoy some snacks.

"Okay."

There's not much slowness to her agreement anymore. After all he's said so far.. Madoka is willing to believe him. Sure, she wouldn't be happy sitting by herself in some corner of a party, but if Maru is happy this way, then who is she to disturb that happiness?

"As long as you say you're happy, I believe you." She lets go of his hands, but it's mostly just so she can instead sit side by side with him, leaning against his side and trying to make herself comfortable. Sure, there's quite some people for her to talk to, and then there's her girlfriend to dance with, but Madoka feels like she has enough time to quietly spend a few moments of it with Maru like this. "You're still happy even if I join you here like this for a bit, right..?"

Maru half expected her to leave then and go back to enjoying herself at the party. It surprised him when, after she let go of his hands, Madoka moved to his side. He moved his arm so that she could get herself comfortable. Slowly he lowered it again to rest just behind her back.

"Um... yeah. I'm still happy if you sit here with me." He did want to tell her she should go and be with her friends, but if she wanted to sit with him for a little bit he was more than happy with that. He wasn't sat where he was because he wanted to get away from people. He didn't mind the company at all.

She smiles at him.

"Good. Because I'm happy when I'm with you." Not that she isn't happy around her friends! Of course she is. But despite the fact that most people would probably say Maru isn't exactly the most fun or interesting company with how lazy he can be, Madoka always greatly appreciates his company all the same. It just feels special because of their bond, even when it isn't always necessarily super exciting.

"Can I try some of your snacks too?"

He made a show of thinking about that, it was almost comical, but then he gave a soft breath of a laugh and reached forward for the plate of snacks he'd brought with him. Mostly they were small cakes and sandwiches, but he was happy to shake with Madoka.

"Yeah, you can have some. You don't have to ask." He could always get more, after all. And if he couldn't share his snacks with his Eve, then who could he share with? Madoka was always nice and shared with him.

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Party Time

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