[ it's more of a noise than an answer, subvocal - the shoulder to shoulder is welcomed, and after a moment, he leans into it. ]
A human attacked the village. First one ever. Seven... I suppose eight years ago, depending on how the time works in this place. My parents were the lords, so - they stayed behind to try to save anyone they could and fight off the thing.
[ seven years ago. huh. it'd be funny, she thinks, if it wasn't so terrible.
she keeps close, lets him lean. a steady force, a brick wall. and she listens, like she's good at doing. humans - the monsters he was talking about. his city, going up in flames, and his parents, which he's always spoken highly of, staying behind to fight that monster off. her heart aches briefly. ]
Sorry. [ she says, first, roughly. for your loss, mostly, but also that one of the first days in their new hellscape is the anniversary. jesus. ]
[ he agrees - voice just as rough, a soft noise. his parents were the best - everything he's ever aspired to be, as a noble, everything he never understood when he was young. ]
I took them for granted. I took all of it for granted, really. [ ... ] The whole thing was orchestrated, as it turned out.
[ just. gently loops their arms together. without calling attention to it, she just slides hers under his and over, flopped out lazily over his arm as she stares out at the void. ]
... Of course it was. [ bitterly. ] Fuck. By who? Do you know?
[ this gesture does not go unnoticed, but - he doesn't mind it. he's tense, frowning deep, now. ]
Louis. [ he says - it's with less vitriol than it might have been a few months ago, with something more focused in its simmering rage, instead. ] The same bastard we've been grappling with the entire time.
Said it was for the 'greater good', right to my face, a few months ago. It wasn't in the first place -but it turns out his "greater good" 's destroying the world.
Greater good my ass. [ she says, and his is simmering rage, but she's not good at simmering. it's straight to a hundred, every time. ]
You don't sacrifice people for any form of good. [ she really would fit in with their little ragtag team, thinking about it. she'd love will. ] He said it to your face? Did he know you were from there? -- Doesn't matter, fuck him.
[ her leg bounces in agitation. ]
Hulkenberg told me about it a little. His survival of the fittest thing.
Right before we ended up at the resort, yeah. Day of.
[ lol. the idea makes him mad again, just thinking about louis' stupid smug face, and he scowls a little, nodding with emphasis to vi's idea. yeah. you don't sacrifice people for any form of good, indeed. it was a part of why he'd been so furious with nathalie, too. ]
He knew. I told him. Didn't matter - he doesn't care. He's shown us his cards since day one. Since before all of this even started. [ the scowl darkens a little, over the survival of the fittest. ] Equality by destruction.
[ though there's a little voice somewhere in the back of his head, little traitorous thing, that often wonders. couldn't you have felt that way, too? ]
...You asked about the tournament, before - it's basically done, now. There're two left. Louis, and His Highness. Not that the tournament itself really matters, with the way things've gone. Louis already thinks he's lain claim to the title, and the world aside.
[ she still has so many feelings about nathalie and she will swallow all of them and die. ]
Asshole. [ it's not a strong enough word for what louis is, but. it's what she's got. she stays where she is, shoulder to shoulder. fumes, on his behalf. what she wouldn't do to crawl into strohl's world just to give this guy a punch to the jaw. ]
Well, he hasn't. You're still there, and so's your captain -- wait, hold on. His Highness? Since when?
[ he feels, for a moment, just so relieved again - relieved, affectionate, to know that vi's here. it's bolstering, and for a second, he looses some of that tension, closes his eyes.
and. ]
... Ah. [ a
right ] Erm. You know, I did say it'd been a few months, things've been - happening. Turns out Will... was the prince all along. Sort of? It's a bit - complicated.
Augh-- [ RATTLED ] -- tell me about it, how do you think that I felt?! I've been all up close and personal with the bloody prince this entire time!
[ not that that really bothers him because its ✨💖 will 💖✨ but also, his noble propriety!! ]
You get somewhere, you think all hope's lost because the bloody sycophant that was supposed to be dead shows up and decides to murder the prince when you've finally gotten him awake, and no, it turns out the prince's soul was split in two, and he's right there next to you, new colored hair and all!
okay, look, there was some tension in the air, but now she's laughing because jesus, that really is just a bomb to drop on someone. she stops rattling him, but keeps holding. ]
Up close and personal, huh. [ leers. stop. but also: ] I don't even know where to start with any of that? Congratulations I think?
Stop. [ STOP!!! ] ...Not sure if I understand it all still entirely, myself, but - it put things back on track, though it's far too early for congratulations.
[ a pause... ]
...Assuaged a lot of worries about what kind of ruler the prince'd be, that's for sure, though.
[ she will NEVER stop, because he gets so flustered about it and she thrives on this. regardless. ]
No kidding. I think that's the first time I've heard any sort of royalty be actually fair about anything. [ ... ] You put your faith in the right person. That's gotta feel good.
there's a beat, and then, finally, a smile starts to tug at the corner of his mouth. ]
... I told you before, yeah? I've a good sense for that sort of thing. [ just slightly, he shifts, knocking the toe of his shoe into hers. ] Right person, right time.
[ a huff of a laugh, and she resettles, silent for a minute.
then: ]
Seven years back, my dad got killed trying to protect me, too. So... I get it. [ she says, glancing at strohl. ] Nobody ever said it was for the greater good, but the guy who did it - I know that's what he thought.
... The hole never empties. But you can put a pretty solid bridge over the top of it with good company.
[ shock ripples across his face, briefly - vulnerable, visible, and then it crumples, and he shakes his head with a messy exhale. ]
...Bloody hell. Hate to have that in common, of all the things. [ for a lot of reasons, the weight of it all fizzling out like sparks. noble sacrifices, good parents, and what it means to protect those who come after -- and what it means to be the one left behind.
there's a beat, and - he leans a little further into her, solid, too. ] You've got that right. [ quieter. ] Bit by bit.
she wishes they didn't have it in common if only because she wishes they didn't have to have experienced it at all, but. solidarity, she supposes. ]
I thought he was an idiot when I was fifteen. I couldn't see why he wouldn't fight back. [ she rests her head on strohl's shoulder briefly, staring at the ground. ]
He was, though. A good man. He was what was keeping us all together.
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You're not exactly a closed book. It's all over your face.
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he smiles a little bit - guiltily, maybe, and looks down at his phone, then taps the screen with one fingertip. ]
First Flamesday of June.
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Yeah? That an important date?
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It's the day Halia was burned to the ground.
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a pause, as she looks over at him properly. and then, carefully, she slides a bit closer, shoulder to shoulder. mindful of the sword. ]
Halia? That's where you're from. [ softer, easy. like he doesn't have to talk, but she's listening. ]
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[ it's more of a noise than an answer, subvocal - the shoulder to shoulder is welcomed, and after a moment, he leans into it. ]
A human attacked the village. First one ever. Seven... I suppose eight years ago, depending on how the time works in this place. My parents were the lords, so - they stayed behind to try to save anyone they could and fight off the thing.
[ thus the name - da haliaetus. ]
As true nobles do.
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she keeps close, lets him lean. a steady force, a brick wall. and she listens, like she's good at doing. humans - the monsters he was talking about. his city, going up in flames, and his parents, which he's always spoken highly of, staying behind to fight that monster off. her heart aches briefly. ]
Sorry. [ she says, first, roughly. for your loss, mostly, but also that one of the first days in their new hellscape is the anniversary. jesus. ]
They really were good people, huh.
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[ he agrees - voice just as rough, a soft noise. his parents were the best - everything he's ever aspired to be, as a noble, everything he never understood when he was young. ]
I took them for granted. I took all of it for granted, really. [ ... ] The whole thing was orchestrated, as it turned out.
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... Of course it was. [ bitterly. ] Fuck. By who? Do you know?
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Louis. [ he says - it's with less vitriol than it might have been a few months ago, with something more focused in its simmering rage, instead. ] The same bastard we've been grappling with the entire time.
Said it was for the 'greater good', right to my face, a few months ago. It wasn't in the first place -but it turns out his "greater good" 's destroying the world.
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You don't sacrifice people for any form of good. [ she really would fit in with their little ragtag team, thinking about it. she'd love will. ] He said it to your face? Did he know you were from there? -- Doesn't matter, fuck him.
[ her leg bounces in agitation. ]
Hulkenberg told me about it a little. His survival of the fittest thing.
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[ lol. the idea makes him mad again, just thinking about louis' stupid smug face, and he scowls a little, nodding with emphasis to vi's idea. yeah. you don't sacrifice people for any form of good, indeed. it was a part of why he'd been so furious with nathalie, too. ]
He knew. I told him. Didn't matter - he doesn't care. He's shown us his cards since day one. Since before all of this even started. [ the scowl darkens a little, over the survival of the fittest. ] Equality by destruction.
[ though there's a little voice somewhere in the back of his head, little traitorous thing, that often wonders. couldn't you have felt that way, too? ]
...You asked about the tournament, before - it's basically done, now. There're two left. Louis, and His Highness. Not that the tournament itself really matters, with the way things've gone. Louis already thinks he's lain claim to the title, and the world aside.
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Asshole. [ it's not a strong enough word for what louis is, but. it's what she's got. she stays where she is, shoulder to shoulder. fumes, on his behalf. what she wouldn't do to crawl into strohl's world just to give this guy a punch to the jaw. ]
Well, he hasn't. You're still there, and so's your captain -- wait, hold on. His Highness? Since when?
[ DID SHE MISS SOMETHING ]
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and. ]
... Ah. [ a
right ] Erm. You know, I did say it'd been a few months, things've been - happening. Turns out Will... was the prince all along. Sort of? It's a bit - complicated.
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RATTLES HIM ]
That's a hell of a reveal!
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[ not that that really bothers him because its ✨💖 will 💖✨ but also, his noble propriety!! ]
You get somewhere, you think all hope's lost because the bloody sycophant that was supposed to be dead shows up and decides to murder the prince when you've finally gotten him awake, and no, it turns out the prince's soul was split in two, and he's right there next to you, new colored hair and all!
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okay, look, there was some tension in the air, but now she's laughing because jesus, that really is just a bomb to drop on someone. she stops rattling him, but keeps holding. ]
Up close and personal, huh. [ leers. stop. but also: ] I don't even know where to start with any of that? Congratulations I think?
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Stop. [ STOP!!! ] ...Not sure if I understand it all still entirely, myself, but - it put things back on track, though it's far too early for congratulations.
[ a pause... ]
...Assuaged a lot of worries about what kind of ruler the prince'd be, that's for sure, though.
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No kidding. I think that's the first time I've heard any sort of royalty be actually fair about anything. [ ... ] You put your faith in the right person. That's gotta feel good.
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there's a beat, and then, finally, a smile starts to tug at the corner of his mouth. ]
... I told you before, yeah? I've a good sense for that sort of thing. [ just slightly, he shifts, knocking the toe of his shoe into hers. ] Right person, right time.
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she reaches and shoves his head to the side, but gently, with zero force. the sincerity is sweet, and she likes it, but she's feeling tsun. ]
Quit it. [ she says, hiding a smile. ] Bragger.
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Hardly. [ it's - it's really nice. you've got me, vi had said saturday. things barely changed. ]
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then: ]
Seven years back, my dad got killed trying to protect me, too. So... I get it. [ she says, glancing at strohl. ] Nobody ever said it was for the greater good, but the guy who did it - I know that's what he thought.
... The hole never empties. But you can put a pretty solid bridge over the top of it with good company.
[ meaningfully. ]
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...Bloody hell. Hate to have that in common, of all the things. [ for a lot of reasons, the weight of it all fizzling out like sparks. noble sacrifices, good parents, and what it means to protect those who come after -- and what it means to be the one left behind.
there's a beat, and - he leans a little further into her, solid, too. ] You've got that right. [ quieter. ] Bit by bit.
Your father must've been a good man.
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she wishes they didn't have it in common if only because she wishes they didn't have to have experienced it at all, but. solidarity, she supposes. ]
I thought he was an idiot when I was fifteen. I couldn't see why he wouldn't fight back. [ she rests her head on strohl's shoulder briefly, staring at the ground. ]
He was, though. A good man. He was what was keeping us all together.
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