folklorist | ϡ - Chapter ThirtyThree; An Unusual Return [Action|Voice] (backdated to early afternoon)

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ϡ - Chapter ThirtyThree; An Unusual Return [Action|Voice] (backdated to early afternoon)

[Action: Locked to Robert and Helios]

[ It’s a normal day and everyone has gone back to their own worlds. The cacophony of unknown voices over the journals has ceased and there is simply silence. But it’s not as if either of these two would have remembered. They were both taken by the droids just before such events took place, and were replaced with ones that looked and acted just like them. No one knew they were gone and no one would have to.

Except…except things weren’t exactly right upon their return. They usually never were, to be fair. But this, this was something beyond anything Helios thought the Malnosso were capable of.

He was… he was warm...and the pain... The pain was gone; that constant dull pain that had been a part of his life for as long as he could remember...for as long as Elise has been gone. It wasn’t right.

Something is so very wrong right now, and he doesn’t know what to do.

Helios looks over at the scientist lying off to the side and he finally realizes that they’re in some random, empty, unclaimed house. Robert is sprawled on his side, wings twitching a little under his lab coat, but he otherwise looks normal.

It's only when Helios stoops close to shake him gently awake that he realizes something is wrong with him, too. Robert's hands are deathly cold against his palms...just like his usually are.

...They're going to have to talk.]

[Later action: Open to all]

[Eventually, Robert and Helios walk out of the building together, composed (enough) and ready to face all the inevitable accusations...though they will be very careful and recalcitrant about any major questions. And also a little reluctant to leave each other alone...especially not in their current conditions. Feel free to run into either of them on their meandering way back to House 55...they'd love the company.]

[Eventually, however, they'll get inside and be able to fish out Robert's journal...and then Helios fetches the journal to say a few words.]

Where is it? Oh! Yes it's on. [ He's always a bit more absentminded when there's a lot on his mind, forgive him. ]

It's b-been two days? N-No…around three, I believe. Ah, well, we’re both back. We’re both f-fine and, and there’s nothing to worry about! [ Oh yes. Nothing at all. ] W-We meaning Robert and I. H-He’s fine and-and if you want to speak with him you can. The Malnosso left us in better shape than usual. Ha...perhaps they are learning how to be compassionate. [ A light chuckle. ]

Yes, well, d-did anything happen? Is everyone…is everyone alright? [ A lot can happen in two days in Luceti after all. ]

[ OOC: Robert and Helios return from their mallynap! Feel free to specify in the subject line of your reply where your character is and who you want your character to talk to – either will talk if asked, though most action replies will probably be three-way threads.]

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Giles w-wai- [ Helios sounds...tired when the other hangs up on him. He doesn't want to leave Robert alone. But he can't just leave the other like that. He'll say his apologies to Robert, tell him he'll stop by later, and possibly will continue to do so until everything goes back to normal. He'll leave a little while later from Giles initially hanging up on him.

After everything that's happened today the walk back to the house is very much welcomed by him. His thoughts are all but muddled and confused and so deeply sorry for what Robert is going to have to deal with. But everything will be fine again when he finally gets back that which he deserved.

He'll happen upon Giles walking back to the house green eyes widening slightly as he quickens his pace. He's all but out of breath when he comes up on the side of the other. He notes the look ] Giles. Y-You should head inside. It's-it's far too cold out for this. [ Helios himself sounds exhausted he looks it too along with being absolutely freezing. There's other emotions ones he couldn't even begin to feel anymore, surfacing now, painfully so. Those feelings are causing such a strain because he doesn't exactly know how to deal with them right now. This was all so jarring the emotions, the cold air actually being cold, the fact that he can't use his magic at all...

He blinks and turns towards Giles. ]

C-Come on. I-I think we could both use some t-tea, hm?

[What does it matter?

Such thoughts have been plaguing Giles all morning and afternoon and he doesn't know why, but they're taking their toll. And if Helios didn't sound so honestly awful, and if Giles didn't feel so horrible about how he reacted earlier, he probably would just keep sitting here.

He gets to his feet and, without looking at Helios, takes off his coat and holds it out.]

Y-Yes. Um, I th-think we, we probably could.

S-Sorry.

[ Helios takes a step back when that coat is handed out to him. Not entirely sure why he did just that he did. ] Y-You don't have to d-do that, Giles. I-I'll be alright. The house isn't that far away. I-I'd feel dreadful if you caught something because of me. [ Giles is not looking at him...Helios' stomach drops slightly. ]

What's wrong? [ Because you are seriously starting to worry him bro, a lot. After everything that happened before New Year's and now acting like this again? Helios is getting so very worried was it something he did? No. No. He didn't. If it's one thing Helios knows how to do it's put aside his own problems and focus on other's instead. It helps getting his mind off of things at least. ]

Edited 2012-02-01 00:44 (UTC)

Wear it. [Remembering himself, at least for a second, Giles adds in a tone a bit more like himself:] Please. I, um, I h-haven't been wandering about without a coat all day. [He manages to look up at Helios long enough for an affectionate, if wan smile, before even that is too much and he looks down at the ground again.] And I, I-I haven't just been a guest of, of the Malnosso.

[Besides, Giles is dead, after all. How much worse off can he get?

No, Helios, it isn't you. It's him. It's always his fault. He sees that now.]

I know you probably can't feel it, Helios, but I know you can still freeze.

[He turns towards Helios just so he can take hold of the other's good hand and press the sleeve of the jacket into it. And then he feels the other's skin.

And then he stops.]

...o-oh.

Edited 2012-02-01 00:52 (UTC)

I-I'm fine. There isn't...they left me rather well off. [ For the most part. It's Robert who got the short end of the stick in this whole confounding mess.

His reply back never escapes his lips and instead there is a small gasp from him. Feeling the other's hand brush against his own Helios pulls back almost as if he's been burned. He's not used to this yet. Maybe he never will be because when it's all said and done come a week or so he'll have that cold, icy, touch again and that pain. He opens his mouth to explain but nothing comes out. He bites gently on his lip as he looks away. ] Th-they. Ah. Y-You weren't...

[ You weren't supposed to find out. ]

[Giles pulls back at almost the same instant, just as startled. When all is said and done, despite Helios' aversions and phobias, Giles had come to expect that cold, had come to see it as a part of Helios and forget that there was anything strange about it.

For a second, he looks utterly at a loss. He looks more than a little wary besides, as though he was the one who was burned. Suddenly feeling warmth under his friend's skin after so long, it had felt much the same.]

...s-so they did.

Edited 2012-02-01 01:06 (UTC)

I-I don't...I don't know how. [ It's still a mystery to him. Taking his soul like that. Taking everything that he was and pushing it on someone. Not just his soul, no, this was deeper. They took his magic too.

And before he can stop himself, whether it be because of the rough afternoon they had and sheer jarring facts of what's transpired really have, he'll simply utter three words. ] They...took it.

[ He'll realize what he's just said and bring his good hand to his mouth. Damn, damn him and his tired absentmindedness! ]

[Giles finally, finally brings himself to look up at Helios, properly look at him, and if Helios can bring himself to look back he'll see all the pain and the concern Giles is suddenly feeling for him.

He takes a few steps forward, along the path to the house, and then reaches out to take Helios' hand just long enough to give it a faint tug.]

Come on. We, w-we should, should probably get you home.

[And, the second Helios has stepped forward enough to do so, Giles will swing his coat over the other's shoulders.

So there.]

[ A quick glance will do it. And Helios is rather appreciative of this. But he knows there will probably be questions. Questions he's not sure he wants to answer. Divulging something like this when having kept it a secret for so long...it's hard. Or perhaps there won't be, who knows at this point. Helios is far too cold to keep wondering and fretting about the possibilities.

Despite his skin being normal again his aversion to touch is still there. Helios might not outwardly flinch at Giles tugging on his arm though. He manages to curb much of it with a waning smile, blinking at the other's actions as Giles puts that coat over his slightly hunched shoulders.

Helios will look down at the ground as he walks a small smile on his face. ] Th-thank you, Giles.

[It's easier to fuss over Helios than to wonder about himself, wonder what did this to him and twisted him up so badly. It's easier to give the coat a needless little adjustment so that it hangs a little better.] You're welcome, Helios. A-Always.

[Collecting himself, Giles adds in a slightly more normal tone of voice.] I'm afraid that you are going to have to come up with something else to say, of course, because I'm never going to believe "I'm fine" out of your mouth again.

[ A wince. Ah well. He did try, didn't he? Still he isn't going to be outright and say anything. Besides...it's Robert more than him who is going to have difficulties for however long this lasts. ] I-I am though. Y-You don't... [ A sigh as he looks defeated slightly. ]

I'm-I'm just, just g-getting used to it. It's...it's strange. I've forgotten what...what it feels like. And I am fine. Really. It-it's just sudden. [ And he doesn't want it to go away. But he doesn't want Robert to have it either. He bites his lip looking at the ground a bit more intently. ]

[Speaking of the scientist, Giles feels another guilty lurch bad enough that it makes him feel briefly nauseous.]

...is Robert all right, at least? [He trusts Helios to be honest about that much, after all.]

[ Helios will share that guilty lurch with you Giles. Because, quite frankly, no, no he is not. At all. ]

He... [ he can't lie to Giles about this. They've been through too much together to outwardly lie. But he almost defaults to that phrase, he can't find it in himself to say it though. ] I-I don't think he is.

[ He certainly wasn't for a long, long time. It's said in a most uncharacteristic kind of way for him. Almost deadpan were it not for the utter sympathetic and dour tone strewn about in his answer. ] They're really rather horrible.

[ He looks at his hands going absolutely silent. ]

...I'll stop by to see him in a while, then. Before sunset, at least. [He doesn't remember that his transformations were suspended for a few days, just when he could have used a Night Fury's fire breath. Giles still doesn't feel remotely well, but he needs to see for himself what's happened to Robert.

Softly, he adds:] ...it isn't your fault, Helios. Whatever happened there, I mean. I, um, I hope you know that. Down there...w-we can't fight what they do to us.

It is my fault. [ He says that with some resentment. ] It's because I-I was taken with him and not someone else.

[ And now Robert bears his mistake. It's so very twisted and Helios feels like he's going to be sick just thinking about it. He finally looks back at the other his expression one of tiredness, sadness and a mixture of guilt. ]

No one deserves to have that done to them. E-Especially not Robert.

Stop that. [He hates himself for being quite so sharp, but at the same time...] You said it yourself. You never hear the droids coming until it's too late.

Besides. If you hadn't been with him? He might have gotten worse. It's always worse when you're taken alone. [Take it from him, Helios - Giles spent what he still has to remind himself weren't years alone, and doesn't wish it on anyone.]

And no one deserves to have the basic workings of their body undone and scrambled like you have. You've both suffered, and you'll both help one another.

[He hurries up the path to unlock and open the door, looking quite grim once again.]

Y-You don't. You don't know that. It could have been infinitely more easier if he-he wasn't stuck with me. [ He'll flinch at the harshness in the other's tone. He knows Giles is right to some extent. But he doesn't know about said inner workings either. Helios follows silently watching the other cautiously and with concern. His resolve diminishing by the second as those walls crack and crumble because for once there is no cure-all. There is no book or artifact or anything that he hasn't tried to help himself. ]

I-I don't...I don't know how. There's no way to help take care of it. There's no spell. There's no healing magic or-or power to ease the pain. There's nothing.

[ He sounds so much more upset than he wanted. So much more emotion is showing than he intended. But what was he saying? With this topic he knew it'd end up something like this. He lets out a shaky sigh fighting to compose himself as he stands in the doorway. ] There's nothing I c-can do to help him.

[Giles pauses a few steps into the living room and just sighs. For a second, once again, Giles finds himself feeling very, very old and very, very useless.

But it passes - a second later, he draws himself up and spins around to face Helios. Looking quite stern, he prods the other man quite deliberately in the chest.] What the hell are you talking about? There's you, Helios, for god's sake. You've lived with whatever he's enduring for years now - even if we knew some sort of magic to help him, there would still be no one in a better position to help him than you, magic or no magic.

You're talking nonsense. Sit. I'll fix some tea.

[ Some part of his mind responds with: that's how it should be. No one else should have to endure it. Instead he remains silent. Just a minor recoil with that prod. He doesn't say anything because Giles is right. Why was he always right? He just...feels so guilty about this entire thing even if he knows it is no fault of his own, but the Malnosso's. It was always their fault, here, but when it came down to it Helios was entirely responsible for the current state he was in. His own stupid mistake.

He takes a seat not really able to find it in himself to argue. ]

Edited 2012-02-01 03:46 (UTC)

[Giles waits until Helios is seated and definitely not getting up again until he heads off to the kitchen. He'll be a few moments. In the meantime, Edna takes advantage of the chance to welcome Helios back and beg some attention.

For his part, Giles is still all but vibrating with righteous indignation when he finally comes back out into the living room. One mug is passed to Helios. Holding the other in both hands, Giles takes a seat across from his friend, and lets several seconds of silence go by during which he just...stares into the tea and tries to think.

Finally:]

Can you, um, s-start from the beginning, then?

Oh! [ He's too lost in his thoughts to even register Edna at that moment. But when it comes to her he really can't help himself and so...all the attention he can muster will be directed towards the cat. The constant motion helps him ease his way back into some calm, indifferent, place. It's only when Giles sets that mug down in front of him that he snaps out of it and lets Edna go.

He doesn't say anything in those long seconds that pass between them. His hands in his lap clench and unclench. He's going to have to relive that day again, isn't he? He swallows thickly. If it's one person he'd be willing to tell this to it will and will always be, Giles. He just wishes he didn't have to. From the beginning then. ] S-September tenth. I-I was working on-on a summoning sigil. And it just. It just went so terribly wrong. [ He grips that mug in front of him with no small amount of pressure. ]

I never meant for it to go so wrong. [ There it is. That stinging in his eyes again. ]

[Giles wasn't expecting Helios to start quite that far back at the beginning, and he opens his mouth to stop him, but...no.

If they're going to deal with this, he needs the entire story. He needs the truth. As complete as Helios is capable of giving it to him.]

No one ever intends for things to go wrong, Helios.

[ You wanted the beginning and this is where it starts and ends. It's very short story only spanning but a few brief minutes. Or hours at it felt when it happened. A story that spans but a night. ] I sh-should haven't done it. I knew Giles. I-I knew it was wrong, that something could go wrong. And she...she told me not to do it.

[ He is trying so very hard not to let his voice crack or his look of utter pain to be exposed. He might not have the bear the scar right now of what happened but that doesn't mean it's not there. He's trying to hold back those tears that will most likely come as he tries to continue. ] And then she offered to help me. And that's when everything went wrong.

[ The ley line, Elise's power, it was a recipe for disaster now that he looks back on it. But it's too far gone to really make a difference now. Just past musings and nitpicking's of his utter lack of care. ] And when we-we tried to summon it...something else came through instead.

["You know all about me, and I know all about you."

Giles unconsciously rubs his hand as the memory of glass shattering, of eyes as black as the worst magic addict's are reflected a million times in the pieces of a mirror, come back to him after far too long.]

Go on.

[There's nothing he could say that would help, that wouldn't make the pain worse by the sole fact of interrupting.]

[ There's a small constricted sob from him as the most painful moment resurfaces so very quickly. ] Apep. He came s-somehow he-he took over the sigil's designated p-path. And Elise...

[ God he just closes his eyes as he hears her screams and then horrible sound of blood hitting the floor. There is no stopping those tears from falling at this point and Helios doesn't even try. He's too focused on trying to make his voice not crack but even that falls beyond his reach. ]

Ra. H-He killed Apep b-before he could get to me. But E-Elise...she... [ Well we know how the story ends. There is just a small sob from him as he looks anywhere but at Giles. ]

It should have been me. It only should have been me. I killed her. [ "It was all your fault she died! Any other person would have realized the dangers behind such dark magics and would have stopped." And Nero's words were right. He was such a horrible human being. ]

And n-now. Th-that cold, that pain...it's my m-mistake. My burden, my sin. It's what I deserve. [ Because he killed the one person who meant everything to him when she deserved to live and be happy and live out a long, beautiful life. But no. He ruined everything. ]

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consultmybooks - 2012-02-01 11:19 (UTC) - Expand

[Action] feel free to ignore this. I just wanted to reply~

folklorist - 2012-02-01 19:27 (UTC) - Expand

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ϡ - Chapter ThirtyThree; An Unusual Return [Action|Voice] (backdated to early afternoon)

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[Action] and now we progress into all the angst!

Re: [Action] ;~; Helios, why is your life so horrible?

[Action] ;~; because I'm a horrible person

Re: [Action] ;~; because I'm a horrible person

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[Action] feel free to ignore this. I just wanted to reply~