Open Event !! Ball

[absolute_npc]

Who: Open! (so all of you should come right now)
What: Ball Event~!
Where: Ask me later, just pretend you know. It's a really nice hall somewhere.
When: This evening, January 17th :)

Comments

[undeify]

This was absolute hell.

And Caim made sure to remind himself every three minutes of this fact, even as he observed the others slowly pouring in. Like the other attendees, he had relented to the rules and dressed accordingly, although he went relatively simple-there were many options, but a suit would do and was the least hassle. Unlike the others, his mind was farthest from the party. When he wasn't quietly making note of who was here, he was looking down at his communicator, slowly typing away with one hand-because there was already a wine glass in his other. No, it just couldn't be early enough to start drinking for such an occasion.

Stopping his preoccupation with the screen, The Ice Magister glanced towards his partner standing not too far away from him almost sympathetically. If anyone didn't want to be here more than him, it was Ava. But, he said nothing to her for he knew anything he said would most likely be used against him. She was silent. She was unamused. She was best left alone unless spoken to.

So, instead he turned to the second person he was also near. It was an unsurprising event to see Ava and Caim near the prince, considering they were the only hounds left for the royal family. But, this was just as good a place as any, in his opinion. At least he liked Fallon and here he could stay out of Erielle's way of meeting people until she decided she wanted otherwise. "This is risky," Caim finally muttered from behind his wine glass, pressing it to his lips decisively as he stared off across the hall in favor of not keeping his attention directly on Fallon.

"-And yet, so many of them seem willing to attend, regardless."

[omoidezukuri]

As soon as he had a spare moment, Ritsuka made his way purposefully over to the Ice Magister's side. He hadn't seen him in person since the cave, and was mildly relieved to see that Caim at least looked physically better. Still, there were many subjects Ritsuka wanted to discuss, and so he greeted the three natives with a grave determination to his manner and looks. Ritsuka understood that a ball was hardly an appropriate time for serious discussion, but Caim had a bad habit of being scarce, especially when Ritsuka really wanted to talk with him. He had to take this opportunity.

"May I have a word with you?"

[undeify]

He wasn't sure when exactly during the night it was when this one approached him, but at some point Caim had realized it just didn't matter. This was going to end when it was going to end, so there was no use trying to count down the minutes. And while Ritsuka was asking for a conversation, at least a conversation did mean passing time.

That was why after a moment Caim would give the slightest acknowledgment and slowly step away from being in between Ava and Fallon and off to the side to allow Ritsuka to speak with him without an unwanted audience. It wasn't secluded by any means, and relatively speaking they were still close to the remaining two as Caim was not willing to stray very far at all from Fallon's side without good reason but, it was perhaps better than nothing.

"What is it?" He took another sip of his wine, eying Ritsuka expectantly from above the glass's rim.

[omoidezukuri]

Ritsuka leaned against the wall on the other side of Caim, casting his eyes down to stare hard at his feet. He was quiet for a long while, trying to pick just the right words for what he wanted to ask. If getting swept up in all the Fighter and Sacrifice affairs had taught him anything, it was not to underestimate the value of words. They had a power anyone could possess, whether a Fighter or not, and Ritsuka had just started to understand how important that power was.

"How is it your sister is alive here?" he asked finally, ignoring false pleasantries and immediately going to the heart of the matter. "I thought you told me that she died."

[undeify]

Now this was a topic Caim hadn't expected to evolve, but it was one that caused him to pause. He peered back over his shoulder as if to identify where exactly the topic of conversation was located, before looking back to Ritsuka. When he spoke, his words held the same underlying silence as his tone of voice-it was obvious he found this question strange, uncomfortable or both.

"It's...complicated I suppose. She died prior to Nuadoria's destruction. After it, when I was found and confined to Niflheim, I was also presented with her body and information on where her soul was rather than simply gone like most others. However... there was no way for me to help her and, therefore, what I said, was true."

It was quite a bit more complicated than that, actually, and Caim still didn't truly understand it. It had been bad enough that he had found himself alive. It had been bad enough to think he'd survived that disaster-alone. When Dai had showed up, it only made things worse. The idea of spending however long together that the two of them could keep their hands off one another before ripping each other into pieces was disheartening. Regardless, maybe just Dai would have been slightly more bearable somewhow-or slightly worse, but that was an argument for another time. But it hadn't simply stopped with Dai. Because Belin had appeared, too. But, at least Dai and Belin he could somewhat justify as being in a somewhat similar position to his own. At least Dai had been the last thing he'd seen before his "death".

If it was similar, who was he to ultimately question it?

But, then Ava reappeared. And as grateful as Caim was for the second chance with both her, and eventually Erielle, he could not argue that any of it made a hint of sense.

[omoidezukuri]

People didn't like telling the truth. Ritsuka understood this all too well, from countless struggles to pry an ounce of honesty from the lips of his supposedly dearest friends. He didn't blame them for it; if they would stay by his side, it didn't matter how many lies they fed him. But Ritsuka sought truth in all of his relationships, needed to know that he could trust people not to wrench his heart out and abandon him like so many had. He needed to forget that his very existence was a lie, needed to think he meant more than to be able to disappear without a trace.

Ritsuka knew that talking about what had transpired in the cave would bring him nothing but pain and frustration. But he hadn't wanted to leave this opportunity at nothing, and so he had ventured onto the topic he knew would draw some answers, whether good or bad.

Maybe if he asked the right questions, he could piece together these fragments of information, solve the puzzle and retrieve his stolen memories.

"Why wasn't she taken to Niflheim?"

Admittedly it had to be a sensitive subject for Caim, but Ritsuka trusted that if he didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't. There was something... reassuring about Caim's presence to Ritsuka. He had very little reason to trust Caim, even over the Inquisitor, and whether it was Caim's relative willingness to provide information or the faint weariness fraying the edges of his voice, he wasn't sure, but Ritsuka felt as though there was something about Caim that felt honest.

[undeify]

There were three things in this life Caim didn't like telling the truth on. All things he would avoid at all costs.

Yet, of those three things, if he was hard pressed, he'd only truly lie to everyone's face about one of them. Because only one thing in this world was worth lying about-was worth the trouble and impending consequences of being caught. What made something so special? So different from everything else? Perhaps it was the fact Caim never knew anything else. When it was worthwhile and important to him, he never said a word, quietly dismissing and ignoring its presence for those around him. When it was something vile and wrong to him, twisted and ultimately nothing more than a weapon against him, the man still felt the need to lie; to continue denying its existence.

But, it was only these things. And these things were never something a stranger-nor even a friend, really-would ever have to really worry about. Caim was not an open book, he did not talk about himself nor did he express how he was feeling. He didn't care to nor did he know how. In fact, the only person he could even talk to somewhat freely was Erielle, his own twin sister. The only person he really felt could understand. There was Ava, too, of course, and he could be and do nothing without her. But, even her there were things he felt he could not speak to her about-that he wanted to say sometimes or ask but already knew her answer and thus couldn't.

And then... there had been another person a long time ago, and Caim wondered if in the end, he told more to that person in his naivety than he should have-than he ever told his sister or Ava. Than he ever trusted to tell either of them. And where had that gotten him?

Well.

-Ah, yes, Niflheim.

"Because when she died Niflheim didn't accept the dead. Niflheim has never accepted the dead-any of the dead-until the lot of you appeared. It is the Childs' territory. Their land, their purgatory. It is not for lost and wandering souls. And it certainly isn't supposed to give a second chance at life. At one point, as you may have noticed due to the lack of people here, death was a very real thing here."

In a way, despite what was outwardly said, it still was. Caim didn't doubt the rules were different for him or any of the other natives. And, even for the foreigners, if they were reckless, he was sure death could also spell out permenant consequences for them, as well. Soul destruction was an easy example, but any one who thought they were immune entirely on this plane and it was all a farce was... well, kidding themselves. There was always a loop hole to everything. Caim had learned that the hard thing. Nothing was set in stone ever. Friends were not always your friends. Enemies were not always-but should be-your enemies. Circumstances were not always how they were portrayed.

And that was why he hesitated at the worst possible times.

His gaze was still lingering on Ritsuka, but it wasn't quite so harsh anymore. A bit softer, maybe if someone really wanted to analyze his attitude it was some form of sympathy towards the younger one. Caim was never known of his warmth or for caring (mostly, he was considered shy and only watched with great interest for his potential.). Not like Dai, who had always been able to charm others. Not even Ava, whom while similar to him in personality had long since gained the utmost silent respect in return. Not like Belin, whom while fell somewhere in the middle of the other two, was well liked, if only for her ability to give off such a fake feminine charm when needed to the courts. But, regardless of all that, it was never a secret of his concern over children being caught helpless in things they couldn't control. War was unforgiving, and the greatest regret Caim ever had for it was for the young people who suffered at its hands. Ritsuka was no exception, because while this was not a standard "war", this was circumstance beyond his control that the boy could barely defend himself in.

The worst part was Ritsuka was not the only one of this type in Nuadoria. "For whatever reason, you people are an exception to the rule."