and they carried on like long division

[imatreenow]

Who: Silver and Mithos and maybe probably joined by Sayo at some point
What: ...who knows, honestly. Something akin to "bonding" except it's kind of awkward and one-sided-ly hostile.
When: August 14th-20th
Where: Building 2, room 1; the garden outside House 11
Summary: Frey takes a week off to cope with Kaori's departure and Silver steps in to assume his responsibilities of keeping an eye on Mithos. Things happen.
Rating: PG

Comments

14th

[tsuntrader]

[...He doubts that he could properly convey his thoughts and feelings on the matter, let alone in a manner that Mithos would be comfortable with.

So he doesn't.] If I said they had no reason to, I'd be lying. Still don't like it, though.

14th

[imatreenow]

[He's silent as he tries not to make sense of Silver's words, finding himself where he always ends up in their conversations - lost and in what has to be a minefield.]

...I have no reason to want to leave anyway.

14th

[tsuntrader]

[Right. He almost forgot about that part.]

Not even to Kaori's garden?

14th 1/2

[imatreenow]

[...That makes the offer tempting. The small garden is teeming with months of memories, ones shared with her by his side and ones with her firmly planted in his mind as he worked in desperation without her. His heart aches.]

[imatreenow]

[Quietly, but firmly, he answers.] I want to see it.

[tsuntrader]

[Good.] I was actually hoping that you could help take care of it this week. I don't know much about taking care of plants.

...I think that's what she'd want, too. [His expression definitely changes to some muted tone of sad and resigned. But with that, he turns and starts heading towards the door, stopping only to glance over his shoulder and see if Mithos is following him.]

[imatreenow]

[Hold on a moment - he needs to put his boots on, and then he's gathering up his neglected gardening tools. They haven't left their canvas tote bag in the whole time he's been back at Sayo's, with the obvious reason that he's barred from the outdoors. After a pause of consideration, he takes the panpipes from the nightstand and carefully tucks them into a side pocket of the bag before silently following Silver.

He questions why Silver would bother, but his last words are sticking with him. What she would want. Even with Kaori gone, he's still wired to think in terms of what would make her happy.]

[tsuntrader]

[And out they go. The walk is a rather short one and doesn't venture near any crowded areas, so they should both go relatively unnoticed. It's not long before they'll get to the garden.

...But before that, after there's been a minute or so of silence-]

Can I ask you something? [-Silver needs to speak up.]

[imatreenow]

[The few people who pass by at a distance will earn a hard, wary glance from Mithos as they walk their unbeaten path. His attention shifts to Silver when he speaks.]

...What?

[tsuntrader]

You had to have heard some of the things those trees were saying, right?

I heard one about you. I don't want to assume anything.

[imatreenow]

[His eyes narrow, apprehensive, not knowing where this could be going - he hadn't heard the trees whispering any rumors about himself.]

What did you hear?

[tsuntrader]

They said you're a hero that ended some huge war.

[imatreenow]

[...Oh. He had expected lies and accusations, not the truth. Still...] ...You don't believe that.

[tsuntrader]

It's not unbelievable, but I'm not making any assumptions. Everything's false until proven otherwise. Any other way of handling it just hurts people.[Like him. Like Rin. Like a lot of people.]

[imatreenow]

[He doubts Silver. Any notion of fair-mindedness reeks of suspicion to a mind that has been conditioned to see unfairness as the norm.] It's true, but I don't see why you would trust my word.

[tsuntrader]

Why wouldn't I? You always say exactly what you think.

[imatreenow]

I've been known to lie, when it benefits me. [This is Mithos hiding behind the self-destructive behavior of twisting away anyone who could possibly want to be on his side.]

[tsuntrader]

Are you lying now? [Might as well outright ask it.]

[imatreenow]

[What kind of--] Of course not.

[tsuntrader]

Exactly. Stop over complicating it.

[imatreenow]

[He just scowls, choosing to say nothing. Bitterness toward the ironies and double-standards in the aftermath of his heroism sits sourly in his mouth, but he thinks he prefers for Silver to know as little as possible. Disclosing his feelings in this setting might hint at too much closeness that isn't there at all.]

[tsuntrader]

So what happened? [Nope. We're still having this conversation. He knows Martel died, but...]

[imatreenow]

...It's a very long story. [And he still thinks it's strange to tell, when nearly every man, woman, and child in his world knows it. Or at least they know the falsified version of it that is still mostly true in spirit.]

[tsuntrader]

We've got time.

[imatreenow]

[A quiet sigh, eyes straight ahead.] Two countries, Tethe'alla and Sylvarant, each selfishly vied for power. For nearly a thousand years skirmishes dotted the land with blood, but it didn't grow into a full-blown war until shortly before I was born.

The war was fought with magitechnology, elaborate weapons that consumed large amounts of mana, the planet's lifeblood. The Kharlan Tree, the source of mana, was withering. It would not be able to sustain the warring world for much longer, but neither side showed signs of stopping.