halflived | second | voice + action

[The day starts like any other since he started working at Seventh Heaven a month back: go in, open up and prepare what he has to, make the food for the morning customers. Aleos has learned to take it all in stride, and once the number of people starts to dwindle down he takes time to rest against the counter, fiddling with his journal. There was something that had been bothering him since before he arrived, and now... It's a good time as any to ask, isn't it? So he takes a few deep breaths and starts to speak, hoping he doesn't sound too much look a fool.]

voice.

What does a name mean to you? Almost everyone has them, but it's not exactly uncommon to go by a nickname, or another name altogether. The latter part of the group interests me a little more—why did you not keep your original name?

... Why didn't you change your name? [He must sound so stupid with this, and he shakes his head a little in frustration. Public speaking wasn't his strongest suit.]

And if you've had enough hearing about that, I guess I'll take the time to ask about a fighting instructor, or partner. Self-defense, firearms and a little swordsmanship, that's what I know. But I'm not calling myself an experienced fighter.

[That should be good enough. Once he's received some answers and dealt with anyone lingering in the restaurant as his shift ends, he'll be heading out to go mill about the battle dome, observing anyone using the rooms but not in a hurry to go in himself, if at all.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Well... There was a handful of people who called him Dia mostly because of Pearl. Would that count? Mmhmm.]

My best friend... [Diamond misses Pearl. Still. He clears his throat, feeling Nala's continuous motherly warmth seep into him. He's not ready for her to leave.] Ah, he couldn't say 'Diamond' when we were kids, so he gave me the nickname Dia instead. Some people here have picked it up too but I don't mind~.

[The second part's going unanswered because if anything, he needs one.]

Heh, that kind of sounds like what my little brother does, giving people nicknames because he can't pronounce them, I mean. [There's something nostalgic about realizing that others had the same issue.]

So you don't mind it that much because it's a gift from one important to you?

Mmhmm! I wanted to call him "Pea" in return, but he turned me down since I could say "Pearl" just fine. I have a friend I call Missy, but hers is a title rather than a nickname.

"Pea" doesn't sound like the best nickname either, but sometimes those kinds of things just happen anyway. [Though—]

Why is it a title?

Missy's a Missy. Her family's very important back in our world, even though me and Pearl didn't know that until later on. [Diamond figured such class couldn't be a tour guide, but hey.

... Thinking on it, today's actually Pearl's birthday. Ha. How nice, to be talking about his friends on this day.]

Really? That must have been quite the surprise then, to figure out she's a Missy. [Hopefully there weren't too many repercussions for it like there would be in his country. Those were always a terrible thing to deal with.]

How did you and your friend find out anyway?

[It was a surprise! Kind of. For Pearl it definitely was.]

Her bodyguards told us before they were sucked into the Distortion World.

... Come again? [That sounded very strange, to put it lightly.

He said it so casually, too...]

[Diamond is constantly casual. Honestly, him having been in there for some amount of time probably hasn't helped.]

It's a world counter to our own, at least back home. There's no sense of time or space, and you can hang upside down on rocks floating around. It's very cold. But it was pretty calm and nice. Quiet.

[If he were a person from his world he would be commenting about maybe getting into trouble with how casually he's mentioning such a thing.]

Does... that mean you liked it? I'm sorry, it's just a little unusual to think about when you bring it up like that.

I guess you can say I didn't mind it, at least. I definitely like this world better! I suppose it is a little weird to talk about it like this though, heheh. It helps balance out the world.

[It's just important for people to realize that something as scary sounding as the Distortion World has a purpose, just like anything "bad," because it maintains a balance. So, in that sense, Diamond just can't see it as something harmful.]