003. and in every raindrop... // open post.

[icarusalsoflew]

Take a prompt, take some time, drop in as you like. If you're from Eudio, though, mosey on down here.

Comments

[icarusalsoflew]

You never need 'too long' in order to do some damage.

[That statement is deceptively light, even as this one's sitting down beside you and fetching his cigarettes. He has a very strong feeling that he'll need them.]

[conscient]

[ Riley in turn is pulling out his own cigar case and the accompanying cutter to trim the end of so that he can smoke. All of this is done in painfully easy silence.

He doesn't know about you, Blade King, but he's enjoying just being in your company.

Eventually, though: ] What is it with the people drawn to you and pack-minded creatures?

[ Hiding a smile now, behind a puff. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

[There's a lifted eyebrow in your direction, Riley, at your words. This one's been smoking too, and enjoying the scenery. (Attempting to, anyway.)]

I dunno. I'm just that hot, I guess.

[Yeah, he's being difficult.

#sorrynotsorry]

[conscient]

[ He's going to resist the sigh that he wants to let out at that and meet you for your wit. ]

Well, that's not in dispute.

[ Taking another puff now. ]

They're charming children.

[icarusalsoflew]

I suppose they are.

[What are you getting at...

Yes. All of his heckles are up. You're probably the only one in this entire tram who could tell, though.]

[conscient]

[ A sigh. ]

Must you be so defensive, little brother.

[ That's spoken in soft Aramaic. This conversation is between the two of you, and while he trusts present company to leave you be, it will be better that what goes on in this exchange remain between those concerned. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

[He'll respond to you in kind, because privacy is a Thing.]

I don't know. Should I be, given how everyone seems rather intensely interested in my movements with them?

[It's not accusatory, at least not yet. He doesn't have a parameter at the moment for what you've been up to, and can only guess at what you might know, might not know, and what you might have pieced together.]

[conscient]

[ He doesn't have much. This is precisely why he decided to ask the Hounds to accompany him instead of anyone else he could have pulled for this trip.

Serenely smoking that cigar now. ]

It is just nice to see you making friends again.

[ Yes, he went there.

He's not blind, Hikaru. You've already adopted their Changeling, and he noted the shield the Promethean has on him, that sword that the Obrimos mage is carrying and those rings ( and Shoji's subsequent reaction ) that the Sin-Eater wears. He's also found it very interesting that he'd heard about you putting on your old Brotherhood uniform fairly recently, and that Bladian has your handiwork written all over her. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

['Friends'.

And now you're going to see that distinct set of tells that comes out when someone's close to crossing a line with this one: a slight twitch underneath the skin of his cheeks as his jaw tightens, a brief dark look in his eyes before they shutter over and turn away from the source. A long, long pause.

Yeah, he's getting really, really tired of the scrutiny. He's sorted his business out with Aidan as much as he could, but he can still feel the way they hover, the questions they're not asking directly, the ways they try to keep him at least an arm's length away from things that might be "harmful" to him, or "counterproductive".]

Perhaps it's because I'm starting to realize the need to keep better company.

[conscient]

[ And because he's seeing that, he's going to take a moment to go through his cigar and turn his eyes to where the Hounds are all gathered together, at the front of the tram.

He is getting weary of you pulling away, little brother. And perhaps the others have been wrong to watch you so closely, and perhaps too, it is timely that he is now awake and allowed, to some extent, to move about as he wishes.

Perhaps if things were better between you two, he would reach out to lay a hand on your shoulder the way he used to -- but things are not yet right between the Kings. ]

Tell me about them? [ Saying that now as he's looking your way. No scrutiny here, just curiosity. He can let his concerns lie for the meantime. He hopes as well, that you will take this as his proverbial olive branch. ] Please.

[icarusalsoflew]

[It's all of the love and respect that he still harbors for you (and will likely always have, because you have been together for so long and been through so much) that keeps him from ignoring that, even if a part of him wants to. Open wounds, see. Some things are a bit too fresh, and he hasn't been allowed nearly enough time on his own to process things for himself. That does, of course, include why this new group is starting to mean so much to him.]

What do you want to know?

[He'd normally volunteer information, but you're going to need to give him a bit of time to relax again.]

[conscient]

[ Passing you a small, sad smile before he turns towards where Brigade is speaking with Hawke. ]

How did you meet? [ You'll be able to tell that he is genuinely intrigued. From what he has managed to piece together, it as been a very, very long time since you last surrounded yourself with the likes of the three blades, and these six children seem to be well on their way to following their footsteps. ]

If I recall, you always did have a way of meeting new people in such interesting ways.

[ There's a fond tone in his voice. For all the terrible things that transpired in 2012, you both came out of it with an exceptional group of people that he is pretty sure you continue to love. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

I met most of them by chance. Them coming together, much less ending up in Netsach as a blade, wasn't initially in the plan.

[Not really, anyhow. That had partially been Liandrin Delacroix, testing boundaries with him after figuring the pattern out.

They had ended up having Words about that.]

[conscient]

[ A quiet and considering nod as he turns your words over in his head. ]

They appear to have their hearts in the right place. [ He's recalling a little bit of their exchange back in Falner, that first time he'd had the opportunity to speak with them. He's looking at Brianna now. ] She is charming.

[ A beat, and then: ] I am oddly reminded of our darling Tala.

[icarusalsoflew]

They do share some uncanny commonalities, beyond the fact that they're both Changeling.

[He's starting to relax in earnest now, and it's probably because the two of you are discussing Brianna.]

Bri's durance was terrible, and she spent most of her life living a lie, not realizing that she had never really left Arcadia.

[conscient]

[ This one's gaze is darkening just a little. He had heard. He had not been pleased about it. It does not help, as well, that he is reminded of your own Durance. And good riddance to the one that had done that. ]

It is good to see then, that she appears to be adjusting well. [ A curious look your way, ] Is her family...?

[ Alive? Well? With their daughter again?

Because he has not pried. The others may be moving of their own accord and he can do very little in placating their concerns, but he at least, can willingly give you space. These are your children, in a manner of speaking. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

Alive and well. Tala and Selene helped her kill her fetch before it could do any real harm to her parents and her siblings. She's their eldest daughter.

[He's not asking why you're pressing for details, because something tells him that you've done him the favor of not looking into every damned fact for yourself rather than consult the source.

No, he doesn't quite regret getting peckish with you just yet, but at least he knows that he doesn't have to be nearly as on guard as he originally thought now.]

[conscient]

[ And he's nodding to the information you've given him. ] That is very good to hear. [ Yes, even that she had to kill her fetch. And that the Vega sisters were around to help.

He's looking down at his cigar with the slightest frown on his lips before he brings it up for a puff. ]

What of the boy? Neeka's grandchild? [ Nodding to Kaz now. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

The Wings of Therion latched unto him for a time, and he let them. I think it's because he wanted to make something out of himself at all cost.

[Taking a drag for himself now, with a little shrug.]

Legacy angst. With his mother, and given who his grandmother is? It's expected.

[conscient]

[ Huh. Interesting. ]

The Wings of Therion, eh? [ Musing on that, and keeping his thoughts for himself. ] And they are no longer with him, by the looks of it.

[ He won't remark on the Legacy angst. It is something that the boy either gets over or learns to deal with. That and he has faith that Neeka knows how to deal with her family. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

Yeah. Alistair helped him decide to let them go for himself rather than have them wrenched from him. I think he's starting to learn to stand on his own two feet and not look for the fastest way to shine.

[Insecurity's a bitch, but everyone has to learn how to deal with it properly.]

[conscient]

A sound enough decision, on the boy's part.

[ There's a little smile on this one's lips at the mention of Alistair. He had found it interesting to hear that the Seer had taken on a pupil, even for a short a time as he had.

He's not going to press on how the two of you are though. You both have time to "sort your shit", as the phrase goes, and he knows as well that outside interference on that front will be unwelcome from both sides.

Alistair will come speak to him or Aidan if the need arises, and while you are a little less reliable with heart-to-heart conversations, the fact that you are speaking to him about this new blade is something he is all too glad to take. ]

Your new Bladian is charming. [ Yes, he's going to briefly tease you -- and hope that you take the friendly jab well. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

[The wan smile on Hikaru's end might tell you that he's getting better around you. For now.]

She can't People at all, but I can fix that. The only reason why she has a hard time dealing, after all, is because she's afraid of getting attached to friends that she might just end up losing again.

[conscient]

That is the predicament.

[ He's watching the way that one moves with the others, quietly noting the levels of comfort with each one. ]

At least she seems to be warming up to one of them. [ Tossing that out casually, because he'll get to the Sin-Eater in due time. Because really, those rings... ]

[icarusalsoflew]

Which isn't surprising. Josh is an easy person in general.

[And one of the few individuals who knows when to respect boundaries, and when to take things as they are. Granted, he is changing in interesting ways...

But that is, of course, Hikaru's opinion on the matter. He could be wrong. It's been known to happen.

Also yes, you may note how he said 'Josh', not 'LaRue', or 'Joshua'. Nicknames, already?]