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Drifter and the Operator cannot be in the same room.
He never really understood why but each time one tries to enter the same place, the other is thrown to another room or — sometimes in the Drifter’s case — to another timeline. There only have been two exceptions to this (three if you count the Lotus). The Sanctum Anatomica and the Dormizone.
The two theorized that they could meet in the former is because of the proximity to the Man in the Wall and the Indifference. Again, how is the question but they were satisfied with that answer. The latter is obvious: because of its proximity to the Void, which is an unknown in itself.
Nonetheless, when they learned that they could be in the same room in either of those locations, they took full advantage of it. Mostly it was just meals and tea together, where the two of them could air out their grievances without worries of outsiders (the kid’s words, not his.) It was nice, a moment to relax compared to the chaos that he and the kid deals with out there. But now, Drifter wasn’t sure what to think of now as he sat slouched in a chair, eyes locked onto the focused face of the Operator as the latter stood before him in the Dormizone.
He can feel the kid’s finger trail under his left eye and up to his left temple followed by another flowing motion just above his right eye. With each gesture, Drifter can feel the coolness of paint drying against his skin.
Despite his body itching to move, Drifter forced it still, locking his legs together and his hands taut in his lap. Although confused at what Vidal is doing, there was a glimmer in the kid’s eyes that the Drifter hadn’t seen in ages, a life that he hadn’t seen since he brought back a floof to add to the Operator’s growing collection. He didn’t want to ruin it, especially not after spotting dark bags under the Tenno’s eyes and their glow dim. Whatever the kid was going through, he needed this.
“There.” Vidal finally leaned away and taking a step back, “Finished.”
Drifter eased the tension from his body, let out a slow exhale, and then rolled his shoulders. After, before he could comment, the Operator picked up a small mirror and held it up to him. This allowed the Drifter to see silver paint floating above his right eye and another curling under his left. As he moved his face side to side, the light reflected off of the pattern.
“Looks good.” He commented, “Any meaning behind it?”
That earned him a blink from Vidal.
“Don’t you recognize it?” He asked.
Raising a brow, Drifter carefully took the mirror from the Operator’s hand before moving his face side to side. As the light reflected off the paint once more, it finally clicked.
“Vazarin?” He looked up at the kid; the latter’s eyes brightened, “Is that why you asked me to take a test earlier?”
Vidal nodded before subtly circling his hands, “I mean, we are the same person but we aren’t the same, you know what I mean? I just wanted to be sure.”
This made Drifter eye the paint on the Operator’s face; there were two jagged lines from the top of his head that stopped over the kid’s eyes followed by another line that started between his eyes and then curved down under and over his cheeks.
“That’s not Vazarin?” He asked.
Vidal shook his head, “No, I was in Zenurik.”
That brought Drifter to a pause.
Thinking back, the kid does fight wildly, rushing headlong into a fight and decimating all enemies with nothing more than brutal strength. In contrast, Drifter prefers being in the back, waiting until an opportunity to strike opens. It made him realize just how truly different they are.
“Looks good on you.” He decided to say and Vidal’s face lit up.
“Thanks.” The kid said as he slid into a seat.
And then promptly crossed his arms on the table and laid his head, face down, on it.
Concern lit up inside Drifter as he stood up from his seat, but as he approached, he heard gentle breaths, and his heart eased. The kid must have truly been exhausted, to fall asleep so quickly. But somehow, he exerted the effort to do this, to spend time with the Drifter, and all to paint his face. All for a bit of normalcy.
Feeling warm, the Drifter then pulled his seat next to the Tenno’s and hummed a song — one that was sang to him often back when he himself was a child when in Duviri — as he rubbed the kid’s back.
