waking the dead 2.0 | 3rd of samhain, de sathairn (saturday)

[clayce]

WHO: Aidan and whoever wants to drop in.
WHAT: Courtyard shenanigans
WHERE: The Main Square of Northern Gardens, Imperial Palace, Lightless Lands
WHEN: 3rd of Samhain, De Sathairn (November, 3, Saturday) - Between 3 PM and 7 PM
SAFE FOR WORK? Yep.
OTHER NOTES: '^'


[ This one ambled downstairs, shifted out and simply sprawled over the Main Square, prompting many curious - and awed - looks. It wasn't too long before curious fae were coming around to admire him, to have a quick word, or leave an offering. He is, after all, a functional god, especially in a place like Arcadia.

He'll be here, moon-bathing until dinner time. The lanterns in the area have all been lit, and anyone else in the gardens is giving Aidan his space. ]

Comments

A little before 6PM.

[larue]

[ He elects to crash in Brianna's bed to the sounds of the Hounds drinking and the mess of his emotions quietly tucked away in a box for review a little later on. When he wakes up, he feels rested but just enough for him to excuse himself to freshen up and wander along the castle's halls. He spots you though one of the large windows, nearly chickens out and instead takes one deep breath before he wills his feet to head your way.

This is what you'll see, Father: one Josh LaRue with his shoulders hunched the way he used to when he first arrived at Balamb, one hand rubbing awkwardly at the nape of his neck as he walks up to you. ]

Good evening, Father Aidan. [ He's going to try and not wince too much over how small and young that sounded. Truth be told, now that he's had time to sort of think it through, there's nothing too mortifying about getting tucked into bed by someone who's much, much older than him -- besides, he doesn't feel much like a grown-up right now. Not after, well... That. ]

[clayce]

[ Blinking at you, as serene and amiable as ever, right down to the slight grin on his face. Trust in the Voidseeker to be able to smile rather nicely in this form. ]

Hello, Josh.

[larue]

[ Yeah he's... going to come to a stop right beside your eye. His hands are awkwardly hanging from his sides. He doesn't exactly have back pockets with what he's wearing right now. ]

I, um. I saw you from the upper floors. Wondered if you needed company.

[ There aren't any kids crawling over you here the way they would back in Falner. He'll admit that's a bit... strange fo him, since he's associated the dragon on the lawn with kids, but the people of the Lightless Lands might say that was strange. Maybe. ]

[clayce]

[ There's a slight upward turn of those lips. Sure, it means baring some fangs, but it'll somehow look non confrontational, and all shades of pleased. ]

I always welcome company.

[larue]

[ There's a smile right before he decides to settle down on the grass in front of you. The courtyard is beautiful, and maybe it's just that so much of the Lightless Lands puts Hikaru to mind, but there's a brief look crossing Josh's features that holds a little bit of anxiety.

You were there, sir, when he asked if he could have a brief moment with your brother. He doesn't really have to elaborate on how he wears his heart on his sleeve for that one, does he? ]

[clayce]

[ Quiet for a bit, as his thoughts turn towards the same direction that your own mind is meandering through at the moment. ]

He's all right. [ A beat. ] A little wound up and very concerned, but that will fade.

[larue]

[ He's glancing up at you at that, lips pressed together in a worried line before he nods quietly. ]

I think I've developed a habit of chasing after him when something doesn't go right.

[ He isn't proud of the moments leading up to the Hounds' fight, but he does have that terrible habit of being harder on himself than anyone else.

A shake of the head now. ] Sorry, Father. I guess it's post-engagement jitters.

[clayce]

NO need to apologize over something that is perfectly natural.

[ Amiable and understanding as ever. ]

If you need someone to talk to, though.

[ This dragon's all ears. ]

[larue]

[ A sheepish chuckle now: ] Thank you, Father Aidan.

[ He falls quiet for a bit, content to bask in your steadying presence. He knows it hasn't been a very smooth year for you, but he can't exactly say that you haven't been -- at least, as much as you've tried -- a solid presence all on your own.

Hiccups aside, of course. ]

I guess I'm just worried about him. [ A weak laugh. ] I do that a lot, apparently.

[ He even worries that his worries can be smothering ( which he likes to believe that he tries hard not to do ) and that others might think that he frets too much that it's almost indulgent. ]

But... yeah.

Sigh, accidental extreme capitalization in that last tag of mine, u_u

[clayce]

[ While you're getting comfortable, he's settling down even more in the spot that he has comandeered for himself. He rather likes the Lightless Lands, inasmuch as he could like any part of Arcadia.

Cracking an eye open again, though, and peering at you when you speak. ]

It's normal to worry about someone you care for. [ A beat. ] I have also learned, though, that one tends to worry about their loved ones even more when one isn't feeling all that stable himself, particularly if the party in question happens to be rather compassionate.

[ Like you. ]

itokai ilu all the same

[larue]

[ That is one Joshua LaRue ducking his head rather helplessly now, but his shoulders have relaxed a notch. ]

Is that how you feel sometimes?




[ Wait.

He probably should not have voiced that thought out loud? ]

[clayce]

[ Blink.

In retrospect, he should have expected you to say something like that. ]

Yes. Sometimes, I do feel that way.

[ It's been worse as of late. You've probably seen the effects of that firsthand. ]

[larue]

[ His shoulders relax a little more still when you say that, but his eyes remain on his hands. He has seen the side-effects of it, had been there to overhear, thanks to Brianna, what he and the Hounds could of the fight from weeks ago. ]

I... don't want to smother him, you know? [ He says that earnestly and hopes that you understand that he's not implying that you do -- even if... well, you did, rather. ] And I know I don't have the monopology of caring about him, but I'd like to able to do more for him. Prop him up and share the weight of things, because I do love him.

[ He knows it was spoken in the heat of the moment, but sometimes truths come out that way. ]

Around 4 PM

[ktotheatothez]

[ He's still sheepish when he moves around the castle, avoiding people as much as he can, because that's the way he moves after he's been in a compromising position. Everything plays again in his head, and it's not fun.

Seeing you at the main square makes him lean out the window. It's almost as if Kaz was at Falner. Which is why your big dragon ears might hear the light thump, and the sound of shoes scuffing at the ground before a Kaz in his full seeming steps into view. ]

H-hey, Father. [ And it sounds more like the 'hi, dad' of a kid who's been caught doing something he shouldn't. ]

[clayce]

[ Eyeing you on your approach, and responding as amiably as ever. ]

Hello, Kaz. It's been a long time.

[ktotheatothez]

It's felt like forever.

[ Did he just speak his mind, Aidan? Yes, yes he did. Although the embarrassed smile remains. #Arcadia ]

I'll admit to being a little shocked to see you here, Father. I thought you'd be mobilized with the other Kings.

[ There's curiosity in his voice where there used to be worry. He's sitting down now, a few feet away from your snout. In his seeming, the tracks of feathers on his skin, and his hair glow with a shy little light. ]

[clayce]

[ Lifting one ridged eyebrow at that. ]

I have been, which is part of the reason why I'm here.

[ This mission is one of Pax Deorum's major engagements, after all. ]

[ktotheatothez]

[ Oh yeah... Welp. It slipped his brain, which still tingles a tiny bit. ]

But you're okay, right? S'not draining you or anything to be here, or having clones in other places to help, right?

[ He swears he doesn't mean to sound like a broken record of worry. ]

[clayce]

No, it's not. [ A beat. ] Not this time, at any rate.

[ Might as well tell the truth, yeah? He's had plenty of experience, as of late, with what happens when he chooses not to. ]

[ktotheatothez]

[ He smiles at you then, more relieved than anything, really. He's been worried for you (and he knows you can handle yourself) since things changed. ]

We... That is, Josh and I and Yulia and Taning... Kind of had it out.

[ That's what he offers by way of explanation. ]

Siblings fight all the time, right? S'just that... We've never fought like that before. I've never fought with my own siblings like that before either.

[ It sounds more like he's thinking out loud and trying to make sense of it all. ]

[clayce]

[ And even though he's listening to you rather intently, your words also bring him back to all of the fights that he and his own "family" - the other Malice Kings - have had over the centuries. Some of those fights broke each one of them, even as it made things "better".

Growth is a difficult thing, but it must happen. Else... ]

What started it?

[ktotheatothez]

[ Like most sibling fights, there's hardly any thought about it once it passes. Kaz rolls his shoulders and begins the story of how he reacted to the presence of one of the Nalimutan: Cetus. ]

It was uncomfortable. My ring kept me grounded, but it was difficult to resist. Yulia and Taning weren't helping, and Josh retreated.

[ This is the part where it gets icky, so he turns around and lies back, head tilted backwards to Aidan's snout as he lights up a cig, careful to blow away from the Dragon's sizable nostrils. ]

I went for Yulia's throat and got Words from Maistir, then dinner came and we all had Words for each other. I may or may not have earned Oswald's disappointment when I thought ending myself was a solution.

[ He blows out a few smoke rings and sighs. ]

We bottomed out from screaming at each other, smoked up, and then I woke up in my bed with no memory of how I got there.

[clayce]

[ Hmm.

He's quiet for a moment. Then, rather softly: ]

Why did you think that you needed to kill yourself in order to make things right?

[ktotheatothez]

[ He has to lie there quietly for a little while. Because why did he think that way that night? ]

It was like...[ He starts, after a while. ] like all I could ever do was get it all wrong; South Korea, South America, and South Africa. I made mistakes each time, and it was like all I could remember was being a screw up.

[ He has to stop, because his voice is cracking a little. ]

Like all I could ever do is hold the rest of them back. I thought of myself as a liability to my Blade, that's why I thought I should die. Past tense. They'd probably bring me back just to kill me for even thinking it.

[clayce]

Mm.

[ He could have returned that with a witty comment of his own, and get right on lightening the mood. However. ]

Arcadia pushes people down roads that they never thought they could take. More often than not, though, it can only do that if it had something to work with in the first place.

[ Perhaps you will understand why he is telling you this without him having to say it straight. ]