For a Quiet Place To Hide

[therewerefifty]

Who: The occupants and semi-regular houseguests of castle House #44
What: Conversation and tea! And maybe some other stuff.
When: Now-ish.
Where: House #44.
Summary: With the added houseguests taking refuge since the invasion, there's a lot of people under the same roof who haven't really met each other properly. Let's fix that.
Rating: G-PG I imagine.



[Way I figure it, throw up a tag of what your character might be doing when they run into someone else in the house. Others can react accordingly. \o/

Comments

[tsunderebunny]

...

Do you regret that choice?

[windandrain]

That...is a hard question to answer. My choice doomed my family but let me carry our family's honor on eternally. My choice gave me power, but took from me everything I cared about.

I've learned to care again, but...it takes more effort.

[tsunderebunny]

[It was an odd overlap, save for the fact that Barnaby's reasons weren't entirely his choice. He lowered his gaze and reflexively fiddled with the handles of the bag that he carried.]

That must be difficult. I'm sorry that you need to deal with that.

[windandrain]

[One could argue that the choices of a terrified nine year old girl weren't much different.]

I've had centuries to learn to cope. Honestly, I can barely even remember my family anymore. Just snatches of memory. It's hard to hold onto things like that after so long. Which I guess is why I was so happy you...understood...what I said the other day.

[tsunderebunny]

[No. In a weird way they weren't that different at all.]

Of course I would understand. It... [Fingers tightened around the bag as he thought about it.]

...There was a fire. If you were curious. There's no way that I couldn't understand what you were saying.

[windandrain]

A fire? [Saori visibly droops. Fire. A...hard way to lose family. A hard way to die.]

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...make you remember.

[tsunderebunny]

It was never a matter of 'remembering.' It's something that's a little hard to forget.

[It was a paltry attempt at a joke that was simply a flat statement of fact. There was no reason to keep it secret. He looked up, a little more willing to be open with her.]

But I think I do understand what you mean, a little. You lost someone the same way?

[windandrain]

That...I guess...is where we differ.

[Forgetting is easy...]

And no. Not to a fire. Nothing so natural. A curse.

[tsunderebunny]

[Maybe it would be after a few centuries. 20 years was no comparison to that.]

A...curse?

What happened?

[windandrain]

[Saori lets her hand twitch, a shimmering of magic following her fingertips.]

The short of it began when I was a child. A man sought shelter from a vengeful god in my family's home. He'd insulted the god's honor and denied him what was his by right. I let the god's servants into the house, where they exacted a price from him. He, in turn, placed a curse on me.

To be the last of my line, and to die alone.

[She lets the gravity of that statement sink in.]

A plague came the following winter and claimed my family for Yomi, the Land of the Dead. I was cast out. And taken in by the god who I'd aided. Piety was rewarded, even in children.

[tsunderebunny]

[Barnaby pondered her words in silence for a moment that felt like an eternity for him. The recount of her life sounded almost mythic in a way, like an old fairy tale that peole tell to teach wayward children a lesson.

But, what was the lesson here? Even horrible things can have an amazing end.]

I'm sorry to hear all of that.

[He kept apologizing, contrary to his words just weeks ago.]

Is that how you became...?

[windandrain]

[In a lot of ways, her story was a fairy tale. In Japan, though, it'd be seen as a nightmare and a blessing. Becoming a spirit was a strange thing, and it made you not the same as you were...]

It is. My...reward. The god wanted rest. So he retired, and left me his divine spark.

[tsunderebunny]

That is a strange legacy to leave...

[Also an odd thought. He never imagined that a god would want to retire.]

But, I suppose it's fitting. It just feels strange.

[windandrain]

His memory lives on in me, at least. I...don't let myself look into them too deeply. Tesshin was as old as time, and I don't know if I want to experience his life quite that way.

[She laughs softly, fingers stretching and flexing.]

It is strange. And even with all this time, I don't know if I should be honored or angry.

[tsunderebunny]

[It wasn't so dark a topic that Saori couldn't speak of it, or laugh a little. That, too, was interesting.]

With all of this, don't you have every right to feel both?

[windandrain]

Because neither is appropriate. It is what it is. And now I am what I am.

[Her fingers make a soft scratching sound on the wood as she keeps tapping.]

It's not something I can change, after all.

[tsunderebunny]

[His eyes strayed to her hands, focusing on the movement of her fingers instead of the look in her eyes.]

No, it isn't. It's a little hard to change the past.

[windandrain]

Exactly.

[She leans back again, a nostalgic smile lighting up her face.]

And if I hadn't, then I wouldn't have met the love of my life.

[tsunderebunny]

...

Yuuna.

[He should have known that it was true when he saw them interact. Even if it was a dream that he saw, he should have known that their emotions while they were together were as real as the strange wings they were all granted.

It was another thing that clicked into place and made sense in this strange little world.]

[windandrain]

...That obvious, yes?

[She sounds more amused than anything. But it was the one constant, at least.]

[tsunderebunny]

It's hard not to notice with the way you two talk about eachother.

[His vision may suck, but he's not blind. :|]

[windandrain]

We've been together for about thirty years, now. And we've only grown closer.

[Saori smiles warmly, opening up again]

She's the reason I am the way I am, now. That I can care about mortals at all.

[tsunderebunny]

Thirty--

[He cut off, suddenly confused.]

She doesn't look that much older than me.

[Then again, neither did Saori.]

[windandrain]

[Saori represses a laugh and gives him a jovial look.]

Do you honestly believe I'd let myself fall in love without finding a way to make my partner as eternal as myself? I'm strong, but to lose her would break me.

She's immortal, as am I. A ritual I can perform only once gave that to her. And a portion of my power, as well.

[tsunderebunny]

[Barnaby returned that smile, although his was far less bright.]

Of course. The two of you are lucky like that.

[They had no reason to fear losing the other.]