Scene #2075:

Owner	Pose
Mizuki	If Arthur had happened to still be on the cruise ship, Mizuki would have dropped by there first to fetch him. Fetch him for what, though? Well, we'll say a trip that's far more worthy of his particular talents. Rather than passing through a warpgate or simply bringing him to another location within the confines of the world, she flies straight up with him until they breach the limits the Quiet World's boundaries. Then the myriad colorful, vibrant fabrics making up that realm's sky give way to the more calm void of space. Somewhere where only the pair of them could be so comfortable, especially considering that most beings would suffocate were they to come here! ... or would, if this place did not seem to have some arbitrary oxygen and physics equivalents that keep things ordered. Nestled there is Mizuki's shack, same as it's ever been. Her phonograph isn't playing any particular melody today, but a wind chime hung beside the doorframe may nevertheless play a tune spurred on by a breeze that comes from sources unwritten. Likewise, the grasses sway pleasantly as the sole resident opens her door, holding it open for her guest. By the time she does so, her appearance has likely changed to match this environ; she's wearing a more modest skirt and blouse, her eyes guarded by the glass of a pair of spectacles that one might never have presumed her to wear... if that one did not know her very well. She smiles brightly as Arthur steps inside, sliding the door closed before she takes a seat on the couch in the center of the room. She's a bit more liberal with how she spreads herself out when she's in Arthur's company, so she takes no qualms with laying an arm over the armrest -- that's what they're there for, after all! -- and resting her eyes as her head lays upon the pillow at her back. She allows for a tiny, contented sigh before she smiles back up at Arthur. Today her eyes seem to lack their catlike slant and their hint of mischief, and in so many circumstances before that might have been unnerving, but on this occasion at least it seems nothing beyond a very good sign. Perhaps even a sign of Apathy's success? One never knows for sure. "Thanks for coming, Arthur." And her speech seems more loose, too! Guess he might be seeing a bit more of where Palora stems from. "I think the last time I let someone come in here was when I saw Psyber last? And before that it was Faruja. That should tell you all you need to know, though -- coming here is a symbol of status! A sign that you're a part of my 'inner circle', or something like that~." She gives a decidedly teasing, yet also warm grin. "Really, though, I only let my closest friends come here. This is the first house I ever made for myself, so it has a lot of sentimental value. Oh, and it's the place where all the Seekers come after they're reborn. They wake up on one of the beds upstairs before they come to the world itself. It's supposed to be an intermediary or adjustment phase." "For now, though," She continues, "it's just a place where we can hang out. Maybe we can start writing that book? Or we could just wave our hands around and make some neat stuff to look at. Reality is really sensitive around this house, so it would be easy for us to make whatever we want. For example --" She quickly conjures a snowball, pausing only a moment before she chucks it right at him. As the saying goes, ain't no rest for the weary.
Arthur Lowell	ARTHUR LOWELL is here! And he's... Not doing his usual shouting, of course. Whenever he's alone with Mizuki, he lets some of that outrageous coolkid demeanor drop, still being rather cool about things, but not always forcing a grin, or pushing himself to emphasis. He won't even ask where Mizuki's taking him, he just knows it'll be somewhere nice because it's always somewhere nice. And so he follows along without any problems, drifting with a relaxed sort of posture, a weightless and unburdened sort of movement as he follows along, and shortly reaches Mizuki's shack without much spoken.
Arthur Lowell	Arthur knows the shack, though he's not seen it "in person", per se; all he's had to go by was someone else's memories. But he recognizes it, immediately. He remembers quite well who made it, and when. But he's not particularly aggressive about that, or agitated. His issues with Shiori are settled, at last. And so when he touches down, just ever so gently unsettling the grass, he is clearly giving the shack its due respect in his tone and attention to it, following in slowly and with an easygoing pace that lets him take in the ambiance gently.
Arthur Lowell	Mizuki's outfit in this particular little bit of the world is appreciated in its simplicity, but not for too long. Arthur, of course, remains in his god-tier robes, as boring as always with his outfits. He smiles back to her in a friendly way when he steps inside, and takes another seat -- or maybe just drifts weightlessly -- with that smile still on his face when Mizuki takes her own seat. He chuckles a bit when she thanks him. "Thanks for having me, Mimi. It's good to get to visit such an important place. Being any kinda friend of yours is great, but being a close one's best, and I'm glad I get to see it." He looks up. "Especially getting to see it without near biting the dust like the rest and needing you to yank me out of dream-bubble hell or something." Another few chuckles.
Arthur Lowell	The proposal of hangouts is regarded positively. The smile gets just a little more warm, just a little more bright. Gently, though, never too outrageously energetic. "Hangouts. Been too long. I'd really like that. Writing that book... Did you mean--" He starts, questioning, but there's an abrupt snowball! "Gah!" It faps him harmlessly, leaving him a little soggy, but laughing. He tries to do one of his usual objections. As always, when the coolkid is messed with, he has to make a show of resisting, getting pouty and such about it, but after a bit of flailing with the snowball, he's not really able to hide the smile. "Hahaha, I guess I'm pretty good at the waving hands and making interesting things to look at. Reminds me, I never did do the shape-change stuff." He sighs contentedly, and pauses a long time. "How've you been though? I've been cruising to lose the stress, but you, you, having an easier time of it, Mimi?"
Mizuki	"Oh goodness, the Book of Heaven." Mizuki cups a hand around her forehead, gingerly massaging it. "That... that was sort of embarrassing, honestly. I'm still not sure who does or does not hate me for how all that panned out, but I'm going to assume that you all have seen so much that you're desensitized to that sort of thing already. So at least until I know for sure, I won't worry about it." She maintains her smile as she adds, "But don't worry, I don't think you'll ever get stuck anywhere like that again. I mean," She gives him a -look-, "you've certainly been on that cruise for a while, but people seem to consider that innocuous enough. And Creation knows I'm never going to criticize you for wanting some time to yourself, so I'll call that a 'different thing' and leave it at that."
Mizuki	The snowball makes contact! Score~! She'd half expected him to dodge it, honestly, but she should've known that he'd be too caught off guard. He seems to chill out a lot when he visits her here. With regards to the book, though, "I mean that we could write something like Avery's novel, or Swan's. It would be akin to creating a small world, but it would lack many of the moral stigmas associated with that. For example, it would occupy no physical space, time would only churn there when we interact with it... that sort of thing. It would be a lot like a game." Sure, she would like it if 'creating a world' was an idea that could still shock him, but eh. There's something cool about being surrounded by people who aren't so shocked by that too. She cants her head when he mentions shape-change, but eventually emits a small 'Ooooh'. "You mean altering your appearance? Ah, well... you can do that at any time. If you so chose, you could look like a refrigerator for a while. It really doesn't matter here~."
Mizuki	But ah, has she been having an easier time? She nods! "Mmhmm. I've been relaxing since then. I went to aid Priscilla with something and returned with a shield which I intend to use when things stop being so restful, but aside from that I've been almost criminally idle." She pauses a moment before adding, "Ah! Though I've also been stalking the halls of the Palace of White Lilies. That large castle in which the Apostles arrived? It's really quite beautiful, and it's actually rather defensible -- like a small fortress. I might put it to use in the future should the need ever arise."
Arthur Lowell	Arthur swaps subjects very quickly, ignoring the talk of changing form. Why is that? The answer is obvious to anyone with a brain, of course. Mizuki has long forgotten the promise made on that subject. "Man, criminally idle? No way. You deserve a big vacation after that, nobody's gonna argue that." He says, smiling with pure friendly warmth. "You take all the time you want. The multiverse isn't going anywhere, and I'm pretty sure you'll wanna jump back in no matter what pretty soon anyway. And I'll look forward to it! We ought to go on more adventures where we can just... Adventure, real simply, you know?"
Arthur Lowell	Arthur then goes on to think about other topics. "Man. Writing a book? God, that'd be weird for me. I guess I can do the worldbuilding though, that much... Yeah. You saw what my writing's like, y'know?" He makes a brief, dismissive "pffft" noise. "Teenage writing, always goofy, right? A world, though, I can do that. Plenty of experience."
Arthur Lowell	Then he leans forward, tilting his head a bit, curiously. "So you found a nice fortress, huh? I admit, LOSAF's kinda like that for me these days. I don't... Really use it much. Shoving it around's kind of a pain, and it's a little heavy-handed for a lot of problems. But it's good to have stuff like that in reserve, y'know? Little but of safety. Long as you don't go trigger-happy with it, it's only more security. I'd like takin' a look around sometime, too, if that's cool! Sounds nice, if it holds your attention that long."
Mizuki	The intentional shift of subjects seems to pass well underneath Mizuki's radar. /Phew/! He's safe this time... or is he? He might be imagining it, but Mizuki -might- be narrowing her eyes just slightly, and her countenance -may- have contorted itself into the most maliciously amiable grin imaginable. Or maybe she's making that expression whilst maintain the other, more neutral one? It's possible that she might be able to duplicate perception that way, particularly if she wants to mess with him. But, meh! Just another day in wonderland. Once he's finished talking, though, she offers, "Yes, we should. I've had a particular taste for tropical 'scapes of late. Islands and oceans, you know? I feel that the resolution of things in my world has ushered forth a temporary change in my environmental preferences from 'Siberian Wasteland' to 'Idyllic Seas'. Go figure~." As she rests her cheek in her palm, she concludes, "But ah, whatever we happen upon will be just fine, I'm sure. As I'm sure you're well aware, I have varied tastes when it comes to vacation destinations."
Mizuki	Mizuki quite literally sweatdrops after the next statement. Yes, a literal, animated bead of water appears at the side of her head and lowers itself as her eyes awkwardly, almost playfully narrow. "You know you've wandered beyond all reason in the world once you've gotten to a point where you can say creating a world is easier for you than writing a simple missive. Though I suppose that's quite a thing for me to say -- I grew up with both world creation and writing. They're my favorite hobbies, really, and one might argue they -should- seem equally simple to me." She shrugs. "Eh. Perhaps I've spent so long looking in at worlds that I've begun to adopt the perceptions of some of the people who live in them. And maybe that's not such a bad thing." She widen her smile just faintly as if to say, 'Yes, I've changed a little'. You'll never get her to say that 'I'm more human and I'm glad for that' out loud, though, so this will have to suffice.
Mizuki	'If it holds your attention for that long'. Another sweatdrop appears, likely followed by a bit of a... blush? God, it makes so much sense for her to be blushing, but for some reason it might still look strange on her face. Either way, she says, "I... am fairly certain that it will. Its walls all seem to emit a sort of pleasantly nostalgic feeling; likely shreds of memory from times I can no longer remember. In the present, though, it gives it a sort of alluring mystique. Oh, and then there's the fact that Shiori's entourage -- The Apostles, as they call themselves -- are horribly reluctant to leave its walls. I very well may be -required- to go in after them if I'm to form any sort of bond with them which, considering the thing's size, may necessitate a good bit of exploration in and of itself." So she concludes with a nod. "I'd be glad of some company as I poke around there, sure. I think you'd find the aesthetic awfully nice. Its walls are all the most lovely ivory, and there's this 'floral' motif that you might have suspected given the pseudonym, and..." She continues on in that fashion for a while longer.
Arthur Lowell	"Hahahah, no offense Mimi, but you're sorta a walking tombstone of ol' Shiori and all to 'em, probably." Arthur says, smiling that good-natured smile. "Not surprising that they need to take you in small doses. Give them some space, be available for a long time, and they'll get over it. You were friends, once, or, I guess sorta-you were. You'll be friends with 'em again. You've got plenty of time to get to be friends with 'em again." He smiles playfully and gives a thumbs up. "Plus, I think mmmmmost of 'em are okay with me! I'm a dude who knows how to make friends. I can help, if you need it!"