hadriel | 003 [Video]

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003 [Video]

[Ikaruga looks serene as she pats her golden cyclops cat. It's visibly sparkling. She's learned this is what it does in lieu of purring.]

I hope everyone is having a lovely evening. I've decided to host a dinner party tomorrow night. The dress code will be semi-formal, and I ask that everyone who attends bring something to share.

[The conversation topic is light-hearted and ordinary enough, but she has an underlying purpose behind this that goes beyond simple socialization. Anyone who's spent much time around her can probably gather that, even if they're not sure of what that underlying purpose is.]

While useful, the network is a poor substitute for face to face interaction.

[Not to mention, the gods can see everything said over the network, and she'd rather they not be able to easily eavesdrop on this conversation.]

We can discuss current events, and toast to our loved ones. I will be supplying the main entree and two bottles of wine.

[She can supply other things as well, if need be, but she's curious what others might bring.]

Do let me know if you'll be able to attend and what you intend on bringing.

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I'm not bringing anything.

[Because he can't cook but she knows that by now. If it was something simple not fit for a party perhaps. He can chop but not prepare. He can kill but not slave over a stove. If his time was any different he might've learned but in his society men were not taught how to cook. Any open fire was one thing but that was different.]

Do you wish my presence that badly? [No joking tone. He's wanting an honest answer and at the same time a way out of obligation at the moment.]

I would like to see you, but if you would prefer I visit you at home once I've finished with my hunt and cleaned up, that can be arranged.

[She's concerned about him. She won't force him to be out in public if he doesn't wish to be, but she has her doubts about how much he's eaten in his current state.]

You can visit my home if you like but- [Well, it looks fine. It's pristine. It's exactly how the Earl left it. It's too quiet.] I'm not there. Not in my room.

[It's all he can give as to a hint. He's shown her his spots. The places he likes to go. That little nook at the top of the spire where the outside curves enough to give him a spot. It's just the matter of finding the right hole.]

I see. Expect me soon.

[Message received. If he doesn't want to be home because he's reminded of his family members, she'll set up one of the guest bedrooms in hers for him. She does have four rooms to spare, after all.

As for finding him, she's going to cheat and get the Tease he gave her to help locate him. If he doesn't want to do much talking, so be it. She'll simply hand him a knife and get him to chop some vegetables and herbs while she does some other prep work for the food. She simply doesn't think he should be alone right now. Tyki's never struck her as someone who does well with solitude for too long.]

I will.

[She's right. He's not the type to like to be alone. He hated it. Being alone made him dangerous. It made him brood. He was never possessive of people but liked the attention. It's why when he liked someone he didn't easily give them up friend or otherwise. Even enemies he could get attached.

Just right now he was a position he didn't want to think about. Being away from everyone else let him clear the air. He was even a little angry at her for reasons he knew were stupid. That wasn't really his Earl or his Road. Just something he remembered. And if it was he hoped they never remember.]

[It's not easy to get to his hiding spot, but it doesn't take her long to locate him. She's brought him an apple.]

I would ask how you are, but the fact that you are here speaks volumes.

[The spot he's made for himself is rather messy. Small bags of chips, a few assorted candy bars and a couple of bottles bound to smell like vodka scatter the area beside him. At one point he did wander to the lake but he's been wearing the same clothes since they left. It's not a pleasant sight. This one hit him hard.]

It's a nice view. It affords me some clarity.

[Wearing the same clothes for five days in a row isn't a good look for anyone, but it's particularly slovenly on Tyki, and such a stark contrast to his usual polished appearance. Even when the city was divided, he'd managed to make time for self-maintenance.

She passes the apple over to him before looking out from the vantage point. She doesn't know when the last time he ate was, or how much alcohol is still in his system. She might as well try to nudge him toward eating something healthy.]

It is a nice view, I will give you that.

[Dear god. If he was back in his small town or in the city he would be gawked at, ruined, shunned from certain places. He'd lose everything in a day without a single look at why it caused it. Tyki always looked his best. That is how things were.

He looks up at her from under his wrist where he's laid it over his face and he doesn't smile when he sees her. He is happy to see her. It's just hard to show. He'll take that apple and let his fingers glide over it as he holds it in his tips.]

One of the best. [Man, he just passed up an opportunity to compliment her or tease.]

[She's not expecting any compliments or teasing given the shape he's in. Good grooming has been driven into her, so for a noble to let himself go like this even for a few days...it's quite something to behold. Gingerly, she takes a seat beside him.

Whew. Up close, he's smelling a little ripe from wearing the same clothes that many days in a row, plus the limited food he did consume. She shows no outward reaction, though. Her priority is on taking care of him.]

Did you sleep here?

A little bit. Sometimes I'll moving back inside and sleep in the hallway. Depends on if I want the air on my skin more or not.

[A crunch of the apple sounds clear in the air. He's hungry and thirsty and hasn't eaten all day. It's worth it to taste something sweet for once. It's pleasant to his tongue.] Thank you.

[Oh wow he is pretty far gone if he's resorting to sleeping in the hallway.]

If you're truly adverse to being home, I do have four guest bedrooms in my house.

[Bedrooms that she'd held out hope that she might get to share with her guildmates one day, but that was seeming less and less likely by the day.]

[It's not comfortable at all. His room is filled with pillows and things of comfort and right now the aches he wakes up with from sleeping on the floor are more comforting than the ache in his heart.]

Your offer is greatly appreciated but I will return to my home in time. I might take up that offer in a few days.

Besides, what would our parents think.... [That is as best of a bad joke she's going to get.]

[Some attempt at humour is better than none. It indicates that even if he's not at all okay now, he'll get better with time.]

I suspect if my parents were ever to arrive here and start lecturing me about my life choices, inviting a lord to stay in my guest room wouldn't even make the top five.

At best I could explain that I was a chaperone so you could wander about but I'm sure by now you don't need their permission to do anything.

[He will need to be ordered to leave his post after a while. Who knows how long he'll stay there brooding. It'll have to take something fun.]

Needing their permission for things went hand in hand with needing their financial support. Once I no longer needed the latter, the former became irrelevant. My first few visits after leaving home were a little tense, but after my parents came to accept that I was not going return contrite and prepared to do whatever it took to get back in their good graces, things improved.

[Despite the horrible circumstances where her magic appeared, she's always been grateful that she was born to have power. It gave her options she otherwise wouldn't have had.

She glances over at Tyki after a moment.]

You should eat something other than junk food.

Smart people.

[In a way he really wanted to meet her parents just to show how better off she was without them. He might be a bit vindictive and cruel on that part but it was what most fathers did. He wasn't going to object. Even mothers tried to give their daughter away to him when he was prowling parties for good reputation.]

You are not the first and you won't be the last to tell me that. At least I know your words are out of concern.

My mother used to compare arguments between my father and I to an immovable object meeting an unstoppable force.

[Perhaps she wasn't a paragon of virtue, but she willpower in spades.]

I doubt I am the first to express those words out of concern.

Pointless yet amusing to watch until the frustration builds in. After that it seems pointless once more.

[Maybe that's why he's given her the benefit of the doubt.]

Maybe but I don't value the word of others as much as I do yours.

[Considering what happened, it's a very nice thing for him to say.]

Promise me you will not remain here for more than a few days.

[His teeth grit a little behind his jaw and an observant eye will catch this. He doesn't want to make promises right now but....]

I promise, my lady.

[She can see, and it's why she's not going to push him beyond this. He needs a little nudging, but too much will make things worse rather than help.]

Thank you. I might visit you briefly again to bring you better food.

I am also sorry for being angry with you. They weren't real.

[Which is all he'll say to that. He was angry because in the moment that was his family even if they were simply as he remembered them.]

Your anger was understandable and expected. I could feel that all of them were magical constructs from day one...and I still had trouble making myself do what was necessary.

[Including with Road. She'd grown to like the spoiled girl in the short time she knew her.]

Ultimately, it was realizing that they would die regardless that helped me decide. Admittedly, I thought they would die of starvation over a period of days rather than instantaneously when the person whom they were attached to died.

Hai, hai. Even I could tell they weren't real and when they died I didn't feel a thing. We Noah share a bond. We know when one of us has died.

[There was no connection. No tug. No tears he couldn't stop nor start without will.]

All is back to where it should be.

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