Who: Uten Tenjou, Titus Groan
What:
The night after Titus's unsettling discovery that he might share kinship with his worst enemy, Utena offers him some friendly consolation
When: December 21th, 2010
Rating: PG
Utena: *sits down, concerned* And how do you know that this is true? Your enemy could be lying to you.
Titus_Groan> :: Wags his head:: I think that he would deny it, if the evidence were not in plain sight... We look too much like we could be brothers for us not to be. It is a complicated matter, and I do not think he would try to dissemble me, not now, not at this stage.
Utena: Then tell me, who is your enemy... and your brother?
Titus_Groan> :: He breathes in through his nostrils audibly:: His name is Steerpike: I knew an older and more assured version of him in my world, but here, in this place, he is not much older than I am now.
Titus_Groan> He was the assistant to the Master of the Ritual, and for a time, was that Master of Ritual, who ordered my days, and so in some ways, he was the closest to me of the servants.
Utena: I haven't met him... how is he your enemy? Has he killed someone?
Titus_Groan> And I think now that he manuevered himself to that position because he craved it.
Titus_Groan> :: He goes on to relate the events of the weeks and month before his arrival: the attempt on his own and his mother's life, the death of Fuschia, the discovery of Steerpike's other crimes and his role in several mysterious deaths about the castle::
Titus_Groan> He was... as I knew him, a subtle yet dangerous man, but it would seem that the youth I met here has yet to commit those crimes.
Utena> *Looks down* I'm sorry for sounding merciful to your enemy, but... I think I have a idea why he's doing this. Does he want your title?
Titus_Groan> He does, and if it meant anything in this place, and if I could prove that he is of my blood, I would let him have it.
Titus_Groan> :: Emphatic, clearly wants to be rid of a birthright that might not even be his::
Utena> Thats a good reason, but... I think he's jealous of you. He probubly wouldn't admit it, but he is.
Titus_Groan> I do not doubt that for a moment, and now that my eyes have been opened, I do not blame him for feeling so.
Utena> But... that doesn't make what he is doing right.
Titus_Groan> He has had a hard life, as one of the lowest servants in the kitchens, when he could have had the title that was forced upon me at a young age.
Titus_Groan> I don't think that he is plotting to harm anyone here, I doubt that he has a reason to do so.
Titus_Groan> :: Then with a sour smirk:: Perhaps not until now. I made the mistake of confronting him for the crimes he has not yet committed.
Utena> *If only she knew that SP had a connection to that Silver haired doctor* Well, do not be hasty. I make that mistake all the time...
Titus_Groan> :: He snerks and glances away:: I have been hesitant for much of my life, and yet here and now, I committed that sin.
Utena> *smiles* Maybe we an learn from each other.
Titus_Groan> :: Managing a small smile of his own:: Perhaps that is why we were brought to this place, and why our paths crossed.
Utena> But... it's my job to protect you, Titus, so I may make mistakes for your sake.
Titus_Groan> If I might circumvent one: I would ask you not to confront him. I can't tell you not to speak with him, but I would ask you not to speak of this, unless he should chance to bring up the matter.
Titus_Groan> I would... make amends if I could, but I wonder now if it is too late to do so.
Utena> Your brother may be treacherous, but at least you still /have/ one. *Forlorn look*
Titus_Groan> Have you...lost family as well? :: asks this carefully::
Utena> I told you... /everyone/ tied into my family was killed in the invasion... even the ones that didn't exist yet...and that is all to say... *sorrowful*
Titus_Groan> That's right: It slipped my mind. Forgive me, I did not mean to oblige you to repeat that. :: Reaching out putting a comforting hand on her shoulder::
Utena> It's fine. One former princess survived.
Titus_Groan> And she grew up to be a knight who is more brave than some noblemen. :: Self-deprecating smile::
Utena> Thats why I chose to protect you, to make sure your sister doesn't have to go through what I did.
Titus_Groan> She would be grateful... she found her way to this place, have you heard?
Utena> Yes... she's your younger sister isn't she? *Met her during the kiddie crackplot*
Titus_Groan> My elder sister by fifteen years. :: Correcting her gently, but looks a bit puzzled, wondering if Fuschia had the same strange dream of being returned to childhood::
Utena> *Looks puzzled, she stayed the same age* But I thought...
Titus_Groan> Something strange happened some days ago, at the first snow: I'm not sure if it was a dream or a strange spell, but I found myself a child of nine or ten again. As did a woman who has become a second mother to me.
Utena> I stayed my own age, but nearly around me became children. It was strange.
Titus_Groan> :: Third, actually, if one counts Keda, his wet-nurse, who truly cared for him during their short time together::
Titus_Groan> :: Blinks:: How peculiar... Perhaps then it was a spell?
Utena> *nods her head* Most likely.
Titus_Groan> Helen, my foster-mother in this place, suggested that it might have been a dream, but I think now it was a spell. The question is, who cast it and why?
Utena> *Thinks for a while* Someone playful. *Knows her playful magic users, that use their powers to troll*
Titus_Groan> It was most certainly a playful spell: it made children of all who were touched by it, and it helped them to be innocent again for a time.
Utena> I just hope they remember it. Your sister is so cute.
Titus_Groan> She is a rare woman: I don't think she ever lost sight of her childhood, which can make her a delight and a source of exasperation. But her arrival here has given me reason to stay here, instead of trying to find a way out.
Titus_Groan> :: A bit embarassed, since he caught a bad cold the last time he tried to find a way out of the Mansion::
Utena> *sighs* It's nice to have a family, even one thats your enemy.
Titus_Groan> :: A dry cough of a laugh:: It is: I would hope to form some bond with him, if he wilkl so will it.
Utena> Well, I'll be here, no matter how it turns out. If he hurts you, I will hurt him back. I may go a little overbored. *mirthful, but still rather serious about this*
Titus_Groan> I will not let him, and I doubt he shall do more than mock me. :: especially since Steerpike already has, about the infamous books in the secluded nook in the library::
Utena> *And it's best that Utena does not know about that* Do you feel a little better?
Titus_Groan> :: Manages a more convincing smile:: Much better, now that I have unburdened this to someone whom I trust with my life.
Utena> *Smiles* Great.