A Sky to Hold Them – The Right Hand [2b/?]
anonymous
October 24 2010, 18:37:48 UTC
Ludwig opened the bottle, a little irked at having his own trepidation pointed out to him, and rolled out a single pill. He swallowed it and waited for the sledgehammer jolt of pain.
Instead, he only felt an uncomfortable pressure at his temples, a pounding rhythm that made him grit his teeth (which only made the pressure worse. He relaxed his jaw as best he could. Then he felt his skin contract, as if a cool, damp wind had raked across his arms. Ludwig felt the strange, peculiar calm fill him again and he could watch dispassionately at the blue fire flickering across his fingers.
“How do I control it then?” Ludwig asked, not particularly expecting an answer. “What is this for?”
The Japanese man tilted his head ever so slightly. “Well, depends on what you need.” He lifted his hand and blue flames flickered upwards.
Even as the tongues of fire licked up, they shuddered and shivered, looking peculiarly like sheets of water, the front of a smooth waterfall marked by rainfall.
“Think of your regret,” Kiku said, his voice pleasant and low. He wasn’t smiling serenely and just a little oddly but his face lacked the- tautness of most people’s. The sky could fall through the ceiling and he would barely bat an eye.
“Regret?”
“That is what feeds the Flame. Regret. Refusal to-” Here, Kiku hesitated, clearly groping for the right words. “To die. To leave business.”
“Fear?” Ludwig asked with just a shade of distaste. The flames on his own fingers fluttered erratically, as if a strong breeze had swept through the room.
Kiku did smile faintly now. “Fear is not bad. Fear of death is only natural, no?”
The thought that he had work to do warred with the thought that death was implacable, unable to be petitioned or halted for very long. It wasn’t that he was frightened of death, no more than any other person. But even the very idea of inevitability struck through the suddenly false, suddenly fragile calm that had filled his skull. With a final flutter, the flames on Ludwig’s hands faded.
“Try again, please,” said Kiku, with no sign of disappointment or disregard.
(ooc: Ludwig’s somewhat troubled (brief) meditations on death: remember he grew up in a very rough world. Death was pretty much an inevitability, he learned quickly. That’s the kind of thing that sticks to a person, even if his memory is pretty awful in other aspects.
Language: Pretty much everyone speaks Italian with each other. Ludwig got the immersion approach, the cultural equivalent of throwing someone in the deep end of the pool to see if they sink or swim. So his Italian is passable. The exceptions to the rule are Arthur’s conversations with Ludwig (which are in German) and Arthur’s… interactions with Yao, which I will get into further in the future.
Also… The storyline is going to seem a little- disjointed. It’ll be going along in a fairly linear progression but I’m writing this as a series of scenes more than anything else.)
Re: A Sky to Hold Them – The Right Hand [2b/?]
anonymous
October 24 2010, 21:21:37 UTC
your kiku. so lovely. it's hard to find kiku with a personality--it's really hard, that's my opinion, and you really did such a good job. he's so polite, so unobtrusive...really mysterious, i think. please keep writing!
not OP, but definitely a fan/follower
anonymous
October 25 2010, 05:38:20 UTC
Yay, an update!
I love the introspection and subdueness (is that a word?) in your narrative in general, and how it is influenced by the characters. For the most part, so controlled and entirely too much fun to read. Can't wait for Ludwig's interaction with the other Guardians (hmmmm, wonder how it would be like between him and Ivan?) Would Ludwig ever find out Feliciano is Feli in his memory?! Oh, the suspense, the suspense!
reCaptcha says "fantess CHAPTER" - is that a sign?!
Re: A Sky to Hold Them – The Right Hand [2b/?]
anonymous
October 25 2010, 10:42:28 UTC
...you know, when I saw this in the Fills list, I screamed. :D But now allow me to offer you a less embarrassing "thank you very much for continuing this!"
Instead, he only felt an uncomfortable pressure at his temples, a pounding rhythm that made him grit his teeth (which only made the pressure worse. He relaxed his jaw as best he could. Then he felt his skin contract, as if a cool, damp wind had raked across his arms. Ludwig felt the strange, peculiar calm fill him again and he could watch dispassionately at the blue fire flickering across his fingers.
“How do I control it then?” Ludwig asked, not particularly expecting an answer. “What is this for?”
The Japanese man tilted his head ever so slightly. “Well, depends on what you need.” He lifted his hand and blue flames flickered upwards.
Even as the tongues of fire licked up, they shuddered and shivered, looking peculiarly like sheets of water, the front of a smooth waterfall marked by rainfall.
“Think of your regret,” Kiku said, his voice pleasant and low. He wasn’t smiling serenely and just a little oddly but his face lacked the- tautness of most people’s. The sky could fall through the ceiling and he would barely bat an eye.
“Regret?”
“That is what feeds the Flame. Regret. Refusal to-” Here, Kiku hesitated, clearly groping for the right words. “To die. To leave business.”
“Fear?” Ludwig asked with just a shade of distaste. The flames on his own fingers fluttered erratically, as if a strong breeze had swept through the room.
Kiku did smile faintly now. “Fear is not bad. Fear of death is only natural, no?”
The thought that he had work to do warred with the thought that death was implacable, unable to be petitioned or halted for very long. It wasn’t that he was frightened of death, no more than any other person. But even the very idea of inevitability struck through the suddenly false, suddenly fragile calm that had filled his skull. With a final flutter, the flames on Ludwig’s hands faded.
“Try again, please,” said Kiku, with no sign of disappointment or disregard.
(ooc:
Ludwig’s somewhat troubled (brief) meditations on death: remember he grew up in a very rough world. Death was pretty much an inevitability, he learned quickly. That’s the kind of thing that sticks to a person, even if his memory is pretty awful in other aspects.
Language: Pretty much everyone speaks Italian with each other. Ludwig got the immersion approach, the cultural equivalent of throwing someone in the deep end of the pool to see if they sink or swim. So his Italian is passable. The exceptions to the rule are Arthur’s conversations with Ludwig (which are in German) and Arthur’s… interactions with Yao, which I will get into further in the future.
Also… The storyline is going to seem a little- disjointed. It’ll be going along in a fairly linear progression but I’m writing this as a series of scenes more than anything else.)
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it's hard to find kiku with a personality--it's really hard, that's my opinion, and you really did such a good job. he's so polite, so unobtrusive...really mysterious, i think.
please keep writing!
Reply
I love the introspection and subdueness (is that a word?) in your narrative in general, and how it is influenced by the characters. For the most part, so controlled and entirely too much fun to read. Can't wait for Ludwig's interaction with the other Guardians (hmmmm, wonder how it would be like between him and Ivan?) Would Ludwig ever find out Feliciano is Feli in his memory?! Oh, the suspense, the suspense!
reCaptcha says "fantess CHAPTER" - is that a sign?!
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<33333
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