icarusalsoflew | Waking the Dead 2.0 || May 16, Shin Yamatai || Coming Home.

[He had been... vague, whenever they had asked him exactly where they were going. Lenneth had known the moment he had oh-so-casually mentioned a detour now that the Hounds were done with their route. It had been in her eyes.

At least she is loyal. At least she respected him enough to say nothing.

He leads the War Hounds through a forest in the far reaches of the island, and they end up stepping out to a waterfall. A little further down, along the river, there's a beautiful house there. It's been restored to its former glory, properly furnished, renovated and modernized wherever it had to be. There's a garage, for one.

He takes just one moment out take the sight of it in, and try not to think of the ghosts. It never gets easier, coming back here, and yet...

Turning to them with a smile now.]

So. This was my old house. I think we can take a break here for now.

[OOC Notes:
+ The Shinta House is your typical traditional Japanese home from like, centuries back - furniture is all old and traditional. Yes, there are photos from lots of different life times here and there; if you want deets, lemme know. There's a garden out back, a small training hall, and a path into the forest that actually leads to the graves of his parents.
+ Feel free to make your own threads if you guys want to explore on your own and talk to each other! You're also welcome to tag Hikaru's thread, which I've put down there just because.]

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[Giving Brig a Look now. It's mildly disapproving.]

She kept Yamatai stable while the rest of Japan was too busy fighting itself. She did what she had to. That requires some compromise while you're still trying to figure out how to make things change for the better.

[And he doesn't fault her for it, not in the slightest.]

I wouldn't be the leader that I am today without her, Brigade. She was my first teacher.

[ Brigade acknowledges the look of disapproval and bows his head to apologize ] I know little of her history and the good she's done, Brother. So I can only really call it from what I know and what you've told me. I meant no offense.

[ Brigade lights up a cigarette and offers his brother one ] Tell me about her on the way to your parents' graves? Make me understand why you speak of her with such fondness.

[Taking that. Easing up now, just a little. Marrigan Crowe is one of the people he holds closest, after all.]

She's been around since the Roman Empire. Her sire was a part of the Camarilla, and wanted someone whom he could trust to establish a foothold for them in Asia. She loved him enough to obey. [A beat.] She loved him enough as well, to obey him again when he told her to stay where she was rather than go back and save him, when the Camarilla started tearing itself apart.

[A smile.]

The centuries between that can be seen in the work that she did in Yamatai. Then she met the Daywalker, and the rest is history.

She's been loyal to him ever since? [ Brigade notes the fondness in his brother's voice as he speaks about Marrigan ] She reached Golconda with his help or had she already achieved it before they met?

[ He veers back to the Camarilla, having read what little of it he could find. The largest clan of vampires, with the agreement that unity would allow them to survive. He did not know they tore each other apart from the inside ] I'm so sad to hear her loss, sir. I admit I would have been too stubborn to listen to a beloved friend telling me not to come back and save them. [ He would never leave a man behind, even at the risk of his own life. He'd fight to bring them both back alive. ]

She says that she's gotten over it already. I think I believe her.

[She made her own vampire, after all. That's a step.]

And she reached Golconda with Riley's help. The Daywalker had known her sire personally. Might be one of the main reasons why she eventually decided to follow him.

[ Brigade makes a mental note to take a walk and talk with Inquisitor Falner in the future, just like he did with Father Aidan Clayce ] It's hard not to follow a man of Riley Falner's mettle.

[ He observes his surroundings as they make their way along the path to Hikaru's parents graves. It's a very beautiful place. But it feels burdened with heavy sadness. ]

[Said surroundings would be a forest path at that moment, full of night flowers and fruits that glow like tiny moons in the dark. When they're breaking through, they're stepping out into a clearing.

Two old tombstones stand at the edge. The names on them are written in very, very old Japanese.

Hikaru's stopping some distance away from them, and turning back to Brig.]

Here we are. My parents' graves.

[ Brigade looks upon the graves, not really knowing what to do after learning some of the things Hikaru showed him ] Do you still fault them, brother? Or did you make their graves since you've already made some peace with it all?

I've made peace with it. We all did what we thought was right.

[Which was why he refused. He disowned them, walked away, trained hard, and stepped into the arena to rip through every single person who stood in his way in order to stand tall at Marrigan Crowe's side.]

That does not mean, though, that I love them, nor do I care to know where they are now.

[That died for him a long time ago.]

[ It answers for Brigade what he does, or, to be more exact, what he does not. He will not bow and pray to these graves.

He sighs and glances to his brother. ] Don't take it against me then that I don't bow to their graves. [ He thinks of the chains he'd seen and the prison Hikaru alluded to earlier ] There are just things that will never sit well with me. Like what you've shown me they did.

[ In Brigade's mind, there are just some things which are inherently right and wrong. It's not a rigid black and white. But it is that feeling inside that just nags that there's something wrong, no matter how much you try to defend it with rationalization. ]

Edited 2014-02-15 18:57 (UTC)

I won't.

[There's a small smile on his end before his gaze is going back towards the stones.]

You really are a straight up kind of guy, Brig.

I try my best, Brother. [ He instinctively puts an arm around Hikaru's shoulder and pulls him close ] You should go look check on the others. I'll busy myself. Don't worry.

[Easy affection always takes him aback unless he's the one dishing it out. Still, he's pretty good at not showing it --

(and yet one of us is always watching.)

I know.]

I'll try not to worry TOO much, then. [A crooked smile, and then he's turning away to head back.] See you later, Brig.

[ Brigade doesn't look back to follow his brother go. He just focuses his gaze on the two graves, and his thoughts on the recurring, yet inconsistent, pattern of how Hikaru deals with people.

One moment he's a dick. But a dick that watches out for everyone. Then he's an open book without a single bad thing coming out of his mouth.

Strong, harsh words. Soft, good heart. Brother Hikaru is so afraid of letting anyone in. He sighs.

He stays there for awhile and enjoys the breeze, taking out a cigarette to smoke. He'll head back when he's done. ]

Waking the Dead 2.0 || May 16, Shin Yamatai || Coming Home.

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just thought I'd place Brig's last thoughts.:) another thread done!