It's about time we get the ball rolling with Tyki and Tara's relationship~ I hope you all enjoy!
In stark contrast to the plainness of her previous room, the one Tyki had brought her too was beautifully ornate in furniture choice, color, as well as all around layout. It was by far one of the nicest bedrooms she'd ever had the pleasure of stepping into. The overall color scheme, while dark, was fitting to the rococo esque forms etched masterfully onto each piece of furniture. There wasn't a plank of wood in the whole room that hadn't been been touched by an artist's hands, and it wasn't as if the room was minimally furnished either. To one side of the room stood her bed, a massive four poster structure that was flanked on either side by identical bedside tables. It looked incredibly plush, with a set of pillows and matching comforter laden with intricate designs and stitch work. A similar level of skill could be seen in the dark persian rug that lined the floor below the bed. Also seated atop of rug where a matching bench and seat, facing each other with the bench pressed against the food of the bed and the rather regal looking seat against the wall. Clearly, Tara had found herself in the lap of luxury.
"Is it too your liking?" Tyki asked simply, stepping inside and motioning for her to follow. "Our rooms all tend to default to look like this, The Earl has... interesting tastes."
Default definitely wasn't the word for it, Tara thought as she caught sight of the large armoire, dressing table, and dresser.
"I can tell." Tara murmured, finally finding proper the words to respond with as she continued to admire the room. She caught sight of a rather empty looking set of shelves that seemed rather peculiar. Before she could voice her curiosity Tyki had already keyed onto her expression.
"You can request anything for that." Tyki explained, "Games, decorations, toys, jewelry, -"
"Books?" Tara asked quite simply.
"I don't see why not." Tyki said with a smile, " I pick a book from time to time."
Tara chuckled.
"What?" Tyki huffed, a bit surprised at her response.
"I suppose I didn't see you as the reading type." Tara said in an amused tone.
"Well I didn't expect you to take to your new room so keenly." Tyki retorted, leaning against the chair" You seemed so happy back in the other one."
Tara rolled her eyes and continued to wander about the room, "Well, I may be a bit impressed, but I'm not one to turn down such a nice change in scenery."
"You could've fooled me." Tyki shrugged, "Change doesn't seem to be your cup of tea."
Tara rolled her eyes and walked over to the sliding door on the opposite end of the room.
"It's the balcony." Tyki explained getting to his feet to move to her side.
"O-Oh." Tara stumbled to say, inching her hand away from the door.
"Hmm?" Tyki inquired at her sudden repealing actions.
"I've never been to fond of balconies, the height and all." Tara said quickly, moving to shift away from the door. But Tyki cut her short with a hand on her shoulder.
"You mean you've never been on one before." Tyki smiled.
Tara's grey skin became dusted with a shade of red. "I-I Um.."
"Like I said, you're not one to court any sort of change." The Noah grinned, sliding open the door and tugging Tara out into the cool night air.
Tara closed her eyes as Tyki pulled her outside, only to have her stumble over the threshold. As she fell forward, the former exorcist managed to grab hold of the railing.
"Oh.." Tyki apologized, sounding a bit distraught, "I can assure you it isn't usual like this."
Once Tara regained her bearings, she caught sight of, or lack thereof, that caused Tyki to make a comment. The world outside her room was a barren and black void. All but for a few crackling strips of white that flickered along the edges of the void.
Tara looked on with astonishment, gripping the ornate railing as if she feared being pulled into the vast expanse of darkness.
"Road's been holding off on the final download." Tyki said simply, paying no mind to Tara's speechless expression. "She should be starting in the next few weeks, but for now she managed to transfer our residential part of the ark. There's still a whole empty city just waiting to be moved."
At his words, Tara recalled the cold metal golem that clung around the back of her neck, hiding in her dark brown hair. This is what she'd been waiting for.
"That has to be quite the feat." Tara said, "No wonder she's held off"
Tyki shrugged and turned back toward the door, "I suppose so, but I don't think either of us want to stand out here all night and admire her unfinished work."
Tara opened her mouth to reply, but, to her frustration, Tyki had already slid open the door and stepped let out a frustrated sigh and trailed inside behind him, closing the door behind her.
"I'll be certain to inform the Earl that you've moved, and I'll send an akuma up with the rest of your things." Tyki continued, moving to exit. " I'm he'll expect to see you at breakfast tomorrow."
"Wait," Tara replied too quickly for her own good, " I um…" She struggled to think of an excuse, " Would you remind me how to get there?"
Tyki turned to her, his face expressing a keen curiosity toward her request.
"I expect you'd know it by now. But, it's down the hall, left staircase, two floors down, and on your right." He answered promptly. "Is there anything else you need?" He finished in a rather amused tone.
Tara swallowed, she couldn't think of another reason to pry for more information.
"Then I'll bid you goodnight." Tyki added with a brief smile, pushing open the door.
"Please don't forget to request those books." Tara added quickly before the Noah was out of earshot.
Tyki glanced back at her and gave a nod, " Of course."
God the bed was comfortable, it was like the warm embrace of a lover. The sheets were just as soft as she perceived it if not more. When she was finally roused from her cocoon of silk, Tara feared she may had already missed the morning meal. However, the sweet hold of sleep had been abnormally kind to her. Yet, she still had reason to keep a keen eye on how long it took her to get down to the dining room. Still, she couldn't help but curiously gaze upon the now full shelf of literature. Their spines stood tall and proud in formation across the shelves, leaving not a single sliver of space between the glossy wooden walls of the shelf and the hardback covers of the books at either end of the row.
Tara grazed a finger across the spines of the middle shelf , many of the titles were familiar to her, others not so much. She began to wonder exactly who decided on the selection. Nearly all of the pieces were fiction, but they expressed stories from the simplest plot to more complex commentaries. Tara lifted her finger above a particularly thick piece of literature and pulled it out from the row. The cover was absolutely stunning. The bright blues and reds along with the sharp black lines and forms evoked emotion of courage and power. But, Tara knew the book well and it was quite miserable. The next book down the line was a similar situation, featuring a massive creature rising from the waves in a gloriously illustrated fashion, but again, the book's content was far very different from it's cover. Tara's eyes narrowed as she quickly inspected the other titles she was familiar with, and her case was made. There wasn't a single book without an awe inspiring cover. Before Tara could draw any conclusions about her discovery, she took note of the time. Tara settled on addressing the more idle matter later and headed out to the dining room.
Tara wouldn't be keen to admit it, but she was thankful that she'd asked Tyki for instructions. Since, without them, she would have been hopelessly lost. The ark was still nothing but a massive dark maze to her. Tara considered attempting to snoop about in hopes of finding an exit. But she feared she may never find her way back. So, for now, Tara stuck to her path, arriving at the familiar dinning room door. Before she moved to go inside she heard a soft jingle of a bell. Tara instinctively looked down to see the small black form of Lulubell, who stopped promptly at the door and looked up at Tara, the cat's golden eyes were quick to lock on just above her shoulder. Tara quietly prayed that the Noah hadn't caught sight of the golem. But, to her relief, Lulu simply sat down and groomed her paw, looking rather impatient as her tail flicked against the door.
"Oh!" Tara said, realizing exactly what the feline was asking for and politely opening the door for her.
Lulubell then simply padded inside with a swish of her tail.
"Tara! I'm glad to see you've made it to our little gathering!" The Earl beamed, catching sight of her as she slid inside behind the Lulu. "We were worried you might get a bit turned around since you've moved to your new room."
"I managed." Tara said politely.
Tyki gave an amused nod as she took a seat, but did not mention he'd provided her instructions.
"Though soon, our meetings won't be so little." The Millennium Earl continued, " As soon as Road completes her scheduled download."
"It'll get done." Road sighed, lounging back in her chair. "It just takes a while, and it isn't any fun."
"Maybe you should just get it done already!" Devit piped up, You're making our jobs a hell of a lot harder!"
Jasdero's head bobbed in agreement. " We've gotta follow follow the Cross bastard on foot!"
"It isn't like you two don't need the exercise" Tyki chuckled.
"You're one to talk, Tyki!" Devit huffed, " Road's been transporting you every which way!"
"That's because I have more targets than you." Tyki retorted, " And I had to pick up our latest family member," He added, motioning to Tara. "I couldn't have continued on my route with her in tow."
Tara rolled her eyes, humoring the thought of trailing behind her captor for an obscene amount of time like an ornery mule on a lead. But her rather idle thought was interrupted by a dark scheme that seemed to pass across Road's expression.
"You know," Road spoke in a sly tone, addressing the twins, " I could always help you two get where you need to be. As long as Tara doesn't mind lending a hand with Tyki."
"Excuse me?" Tara said, a bit taken aback by her sudden addition to the topic.
"You heard me," Road mused smiling," I'll be able to focus on transporting the twins as long as you travel alongside Tyki and help him get where he needs to be."
Tara blinked. This was a golden opportunity, freedom handed to her on a silver platter. But, before she could open her mouth to practically shout "Yes!" to the proposition, the Earl made his opinion known.
"I think that's a splendid idea Road," He beamed to the petite Noah, "But," He continued, turning to Tara, " We need to make certain you can hold your own. I'll need to see you demonstrate your abilities against Tyki."
Tara's heart sank. She hadn't been able to defeat the Noah, let alone land more than a few hits. Still, the former exorcist knew she had to try. While Tara was busy battling her hopelessness, she noticed Road and Tyki exchanging looks of suspicion and bemusement, and could only imagine what the two were thinking.
One last little training session between Tyki and Tara, we'll just have to wait and see how it goes!
Special thanks to Rainbowrunner01, and MySoulIsTainted for following!