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

[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.

[tsuntrader]

[...Sounds like something Lance would hate. Go on.]

[imatreenow]

[When Silver says nothing, he takes that as a cue to continue. For the record, this is anything but a conversation. He is monologuing, alright?]

My sister and I had originally set out with the hope of fostering tolerance and acceptance for half-elves. We dreamed of a world where humans, elves, and half-elves could co-exist peacefully. This goal became linked with that of ending the war, because if the war continued to rage on there soon wouldn't be a world for anyone to live in at all.

[Here, he pauses. He won't share the day-to-day toil or the step-by-step - forward and backwards and and in endless circles - struggles along the way. There are too many intimate moments and personal nuances in these.]

...It took a long time and many tries, but Martel and I, along with our former companions, eventually got through to the kings of both countries. It was I who arranged for the conference that led to the signing of the peace treaty.

[tsuntrader]

So you saved the world. [But then Martel died.]

[imatreenow]

Ending the war was not enough. The Tree had been reduced to the Great Seed and its mana was too depleted to carry the burden of the entire world. Using the Eternal Sword, I split the world into two halves, arranged as in an hour-glass - mana flowed from one half-world to the other, and before the declining world could reach too dire a state the process would be reversed.

[Perhaps the precise details are unnecessary, but honestly his handiwork deserves some recognition.] In short, yes, I saved the world.

[tsuntrader]

...Suddenly I'm kinda glad that I've only ever dealt with your stupid Thundershocks and a few swings from your sword.

[imatreenow]

[A scornful tch. There's no point in saying that, stripped of his Cruxis Crystal and the pacts with the Summon Spirits, he's at only a hollow fraction of his full potential.]

[tsuntrader]

So did you do it for the world, or did you do it for your sister and friends?

[imatreenow]

For both. [A brief pause.] More than anything, I wanted to be able to share a peaceful life with my sister.

1/2

[tsuntrader]

[He wanted to be able to share a peaceful life with his sister. That's it. That's all he wanted.

...If he was in Mithos' shoes, what would he have done...?]

[tsuntrader]

...You know, I understand you enough to know why you act the way you do, but I don't understand you enough to still think it's stupid. [And he's not sure if he likes that.]

[imatreenow]

I wouldn't expect you to truly understand. [And half of the story remains untold...he would expect Silver to understand even less if he knew the whole of it.]

[tsuntrader]

To truly understand, I'd have to be you.