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“Unavailable. Always.”
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username: Aurelius
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Date: 2025-03-15 03:47 am (UTC)
aneikonic: (087)
From: [personal profile] aneikonic
[ He sets his hand down on his knee after the bracelet is taken, but he doesn't close his fingers. Not yet. He sees the hesitation in Luca and understands what a big thing this is. What it means. He shifts a little to brush his arm lightly against the others, shaking his head with a small smile. ]

Then don't say anything. You needn't even wear it, if you don't desire it. But it is an option I can give you, until I can end it permanently.

[ Oh yes, he hasn't forgotten what his initial promise was. He'll figure out a way to take the Phoenix out of Luca entirely, either by breaking the connection or figuring out how to let Ifrit consume foreign Aether.

He finally shifts his hand up to reach up to curl his fingers against Luca's jaw, tilting his chin upwards, leaning in to place a soft kiss down against the corner of his mouth, his voice soft. ]


It's a start, but it's only a start when you feel comfortable taking it. All right?

Date: 2025-03-15 04:36 am (UTC)
aneikonic: (047)
From: [personal profile] aneikonic
[ He moves his arms as Luca moves to wrap them around the other man, tucking him in against him and holding him gently as he hides in against his chest. The words make him smile and he rubs his fingers lightly against Luca's back, his voice soft, a gentle rumble under his head. ]

I try.

[ And he nods, understanding that hesitation. But it will offer Luca the ability to shut the Phoenix out if it begins to hurt him. A warning that he won't put up with the creatures claws anymore. He lets him lean back, glancing down to the bracelet as it's presented, then back up to the smile.

Which gets his own out of him and he nods, carefully picking the not-so-delicate piece of jewelry up. ]


Together?

[ Because he can't use his right hand, so he carefully hooks his thumb into the latch and waits for Luca to grip the other end, so they can hook it around his wrist together. ]

Date: 2025-03-17 12:56 am (UTC)
aneikonic: (107)
From: [personal profile] aneikonic
[ Carefully he latches his end to the piece Luca offers, making sure it's secure and won't release before letting his hand go, so Luca can show it off. His laugh is a soft chuckle, and he takes Luca's hand to hold it steady. ]

It does but it doesn't nearly have the same lustre.

[ He admires the stone only briefly, he's seen it enough, and turns his attention to Luca instead, tilting his head a little and smiling at him. ]

Don't think I've forgotten my promise. [ Threat, to the Phoenix. Behave, or else. ] But this is the least I can do for now.

[ Maybe if they ever figure out ways to go home, he'll make good on his promise. Until then, all they can do is shut the door on the Phoenix's beak. A beat or two as he thinks, his brow furrowing a little. If the Phoenix decides not to give Luca it's aid in turn, out of spite... well, he doesn't know if he can give Blessings with the other Eikons, they're not his, not really.

But Ifrit is... ]


And I'll be there by your side for any other moments that might arise.

Date: 2025-03-17 07:02 am (UTC)
aneikonic: (Touch)
From: [personal profile] aneikonic
[ The yank and the whack makes him laugh again, and he playfully rocks with it like it did anything, his mouth turning up into a little smirk in return. ]

You? Stoic?

[ The cup to his cheek makes him close his eyes and lean in to it, relaxing into it like a touch starved animal, his hand coming up in turn to cover over Luca's. The soft touch to his mouth makes him smile and lean in to return it, a brief warm brush.

As Luca leans in to him, he shifts his arms to cradle the other, just letting him rest against him and making sure he's secure so he can just relax. They did just get done pushing each other to the limits after all, Luca deserves to relax. ]


I vow it. I will not fail you.

[ He turns his head to press his mouth into Luca's head, letting it linger there for a moment. ]

Do you need help returning to the Watchtower?

Date: 2025-03-19 12:17 pm (UTC)
aneikonic: (063)
From: [personal profile] aneikonic
And a hot bath.

[ His voice is musing but he's smiling as he says it, finally opening his eyes so Luca can see the sparkle in them. He doesn't say anything else as he shifts his other arm under Luca's legs to easily gather him up off the ground and into his arms proper. Then stands with him. ]

I did challenge you, it's only fair.

[ He pauses only to kneel so Luca can grab his Rapier and Clives sword for him, before straightening again and carrying him into the Watchtower proper. He will carry him up stairs, people watching be damned, and he WILL draw him a bath, see if he won't. ]

Date: 2025-05-20 03:28 pm (UTC)
From: [personal profile] cryopathy
[should polaris pay her a visit to check up, kiera has a snack of berries and a rolled and tied letter ready for her. it's clearly been ripped out of a book and written on the blank back pages of a table of contents and glossary on wagon wheel construction.]

Luca,

I believe the last letter I wrote to you was addressed "Ser Aurelius," quite some time ago. It feels almost ridiculous to communicate this way now, but I am pleased to note that even as I write, I am not overwhelmed with a sense of dread as I was in person. My hope is that this affliction is over with sooner rather than later. It pains me to leave you alone at this difficult time, so I suppose I will have to bother you sufficiently in this manner in the meantime. I pray that my meandering thoughts are, at present, a comfort rather than an annoyance to you.

Thanks to a generous (and entirely voluntary, I can assure you) donation from a new arrival, I needn't worry about feeding for some time. Even like this, it being physically necessary and all, I found the taste repulsive, which is a great relief. Nonetheless, I am doing my best to avoid anyone still in human form. I have taken to occupying my time with reading. There is an abundance of books in the school library and hardly any visitors at this time. I suspect that even if I had started at one end when we first arrived and read nonstop since, I would have hardly covered but a few shelves. My favorites thus far have been concerning subjects such as crop rotation, selective breeding of fancy pigeons, and farriering and hoof injury and disease, though I'm sure none of these come as surprises.

What did shock me is the existence of fiction romanticizing vampires. In this particular book, the human protagonist lusts after one and dreams of "being turned" by him. Can you imagine? As you might expect, disgust soon won out over my curiosity, and so that novel will forever remain unfinished by me or anyone in the Grove.

In the absence of the gentle giant (or rather, his inability to fit through the doors of the school) I have been looking after the greenhouse plants here. By the grace of some heretofore unknown benevolent god, indoor piping and tap water do not unnerve me as the river does. It is nice to bask in the presence of living things that do not cower from me on instinct. Do tell me how my beloved Pinto Grigio is faring, if you would be so kind. I miss her terribly.

I suppose I ought not push my luck, getting too long-winded about this. You needn't feel obligated to match my length, as I'm aware you're a man of fewer words than the boy in the barracks was. Even so, I must admit, it would comfort me to be privvy to your thoughts of late. Please do not feel guilt on my behalf should you be unable, however.

Your sister always,
Ser Kiera Canorus

Date: 2025-05-21 02:46 am (UTC)
cryopathy: (disgustion)
From: [personal profile] cryopathy
[oh, polaris is such a dear for carrying all of that. kiera offers her many scritches as they pen their next letter.]

Luca,

I must admit that I was uncertain whether you truly meant it. I know we have had many disagreements since Father's passing, and likewise have made efforts to mend our relationship, but deeply ingrained habits die hard. I have lived so long in self-imposed exile that sometimes I struggle to even comprehend that you might still care for me. Before you go blaming yourself, know I have always had such doubts. They are as much a part of who I am as my very bones. I will do my best to take your gesture of goodwill to heart, however.

As far as novels go, I have greatly enjoyed a tale about a lowly servant-groom who raises a stallion from its birth. The pair bond for life and endure many trials together, but it is a glad story in the end.

I regret teasing you about romance so frequently. As much as I don't welcome such things for myself, it isn't my intention to frighten you away from sharing important aspects of your life with me. Still, I fear I was neglectful. I should have realized something was amiss. For not noticing your pain, Luca, I am truly sorry. Knowing this only makes me wish all the more that I could reassure you in some way. Once I am freed from these invisible shackles, I would be most glad to help in any way you deem appropriate. I could join you in fishing at the river, or even sit through a game of chess sober.

Thank you for humoring me with these letters. True, it is not the same as spending time with you, but it is a way to speak nonetheless, and I think that is helping me to remain sane.

Hesitantly,
Ser Kiera Aurelius

P.S. I believe it will take me some time to grow accustomed to seeing it written once more.

Date: 2025-05-21 05:16 am (UTC)
cryopathy: (😒)
From: [personal profile] cryopathy
Luc,

Truth be told, I have known in my heart since then that he would have accepted me. There was always the fear of rejection, but he was not that sort of man, nor that sort of parent. My greatest regret is that I simply lacked the bravery to be honest with him, to give him the chance to prove his virtue, before it was too late. Perhaps, like you with Zahliya, I believed that I deserved to live in that pain.

Hah. It is pitiful how alike we still are, even after so much has changed.

I feel I should give you as much honesty as you have offered me. Last year, when we were trapped beneath the ocean, the Phoenix spoke to me through your body. I made a deal with the Beast that when we returned home, I would volunteer myself as its new host so that it would leave you be. I don't know if such a thing is even possible, but it agreed, and so I believed I was helping. Underhanded, yes. Behind your back, yes. I was afraid to tell you, because I know you would never approve of such self-destructive methods, and I did not know how else to ease your pain.

I swear to you, Luca, if I had known that it was possible to kill a Beast, I would have fought the wretch to my last breath. I would have made more blatant efforts had I been aware of any other recourse. I don't fault you your resentment of me, but still I beg your forgiveness.

You are everything to me. I will never give up on you, no matter the pain it brings me or the time I spend waiting on you.

If you will still have me, despite all of this, I would ask for nothing more than the chance to remain at your side.

Kiera

Date: 2025-05-21 03:58 pm (UTC)
From: [personal profile] cryopathy
[kiera fully expects to see singed edges on the letter. in fact, she wonders how many pages luca would have fully incinerated before he was able to calm his (entirely understandable) temper. her curiosity is best left unspoken, however.]

Luc,

I would that you never knew such despair. I will admit, when I first came to Renova, I felt both terrible jealousy and disdain for you. As far as I allowed myself to believe, you had never known hardship, you were impossibly naïve, and the entire world had been handed to you on a silver platter. But unlike those I had spent my earliest years surrounded by, you were glad to share in your wealth of both status and spirit, and I came to realize what a fool I was to resent your good fortune.

I wish that I could have kept you from this pain forever. I feel that I failed you. I am aware that there is nothing I could have done at the time to prevent the Beast from scorning you, or to dissuade Augustus from allowing his blackened heart to rule his judgment. I am aware that Castilla's and Cataega's agents will never stop seeking to harm us until we put them down.

To that end, I do not know why I am telling you this. My intent is not to add more guilt to that which already weighs upon you. Perhaps I feel I do not deserve your forgiveness, nor your acceptance. Maybe I would feel differently, had I the same memories of home that you do. From my perspective, I have done next to nothing to aid you, and it feels horrid to take credit for efforts I do not recall making.

Still, I am moved by your sentiment, even if the last thing I would ever want is for you to fall victim to the Monster of my birthplace. Though I should like to think that with your power being what it is now, that scenario is entirely impossible.

I would be glad to help, when the time comes. Far be it from me to wish death upon you, but I think it would be crueler still to suggest that you do not deserve rest after all is said and done. That said, I will under no circumstances allow you to expire before the age of one hundred, and in that I feel I am being quite generous.

We will have many, many years ahead of terrorizing our fellow Guardsmen once more, Ser Aurelius.

Also with love,
Ki

Date: 2025-05-24 11:30 pm (UTC)
From: [personal profile] cryopathy
[kiera is more than happy to take their time with polaris, gently scritching the feathers along her head and neck once she's satisfied with their hair. they have a couple more berries to offer, as well as some jerky. they are, sadly, fresh out of mice.]

Luc,

I have long wondered, myself, what he would think of the person I've become. I am under no impression that my long years of wasting away under the influence of the very thing that enabled him to give me a good life would allow him to rest soundly. Many days, the mere thought of breaking his heart thusly only makes me that much more desperate to muddle my mind with deeper drink.

It seems we are both trapped in pits of our own creation. As you said, it makes me feel less alone, but I regret that you know the feeling whatsoever. At least we have one another to prevent ourselves from backsliding too far.

There will be plenty of time to relearn all that was pleasant in Renova. Gods, the city alone will keep us occupied for years. I will have to show you the up and coming eateries and businesses. In fact, I can recommend a baker you would be tempted to hire on full time for your own personal consumption.

I ought to ask -- when you next send sweet Polaris, by chance could it be in the evening hours? I do so miss flying with her, and the interior of the school does not lend itself very well to aerial acrobatics.

Kiera

Date: 2025-05-27 04:07 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] cryopathy
[oh, bless polaris' little birdy heart.]

Luca,

I understand your reasoning. I suppose I feel that you have made greater strides than I of late, and I confess there is a part of me that has no desire to improve myself. It is quite uncomfortable, physically and mentally, the idea of finding complicated, exhausting alternatives to what is at present quite a simple and easy bandage on the wound.

Their pies are, in fact, what reminded me so vividly of you. Their ratio of spice to apple is superb, the filling delectably moist and the crust still so impossibly flaky. Hahah! I did not realize how awfully I, too, have missed the comforts of Aerea. I believe I will take that flight now, and finish writing once I have had the chance to spread my wings.

It was quite a lovely evening, in truth. We chased one another through the canopy before taking to soar on a pleasant breeze. I was careful not to exhaust Polaris, though I doubt I could come close. I would still prefer she has plenty of energy, should you have a need for her aid. She is both as feisty and as affectionate as ever; she must find it terribly funny to hover just above me and delicately pluck a single feather from my crown. I swear that bird can and does laugh.

With regards to my condition: Joshua has said that his form changed once more after a subsequent exposure to the spores that rendered me vampiric. While I cannot, at the moment, imagine a creature more wretched to be, I am hesitant to tempt fate and return to the fungi. At the risk of placing too much on your shoulders, what do you think I should do? I do not ask so that I may place blame on you should things go wrong, but because I value your insight. You may refuse advising me on the matter, if it makes you more comfortable.

Gratefully either way,
Kiera

sometime in late may

Date: 2025-06-01 03:39 pm (UTC)
kingincognito: (27)
From: [personal profile] kingincognito
[ For the past week or so, Joshua has been watching. Waiting. Holed up in his house, mostly, save for the occasional expedition back to the portal to the Library to look for the currently unnamed spirit there.

But the reality of his situation eventually settles in on him, and one evening, the silence of being alone in a house meant for many is too much to bear. So, out he goes.

He's different than the last time he'd stepped into the bar. A werefox now, rather than a vampire, so the click of low leather heels is replaced by the silence of paw pads. Despite the orange fur and the fox snout that have changed his face, his hair is rather unmistakable, though his ears are limp and folded back rather than perked and alert and his tail hangs motionless behind him.

The first thing he does is find Luca. Because Founder, does he need the company of someone he knows. But also-- ]


... might I have a bowl of stew? Please.

[ --he hasn't eaten in Founder knows when, and he's feeling it. ]
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