[Video]

[loyalraven]

[Gilbert has made the mistake of taking a nap in the middle of the day. He hadn't meant to. He'd been reading, and drifted off. Further compounding this mistake was his choice to do such in the living room on the couch. But the fire in the fireplace was warm, and the couch was comfortable. And it's only now as he shifts and his communicator topples

Comments

[Video]

[watching_seven]

...are you all right, Gilbert?

Dreams...sometimes they're just dreams, but other times memories can influence them.

If you've forgotten things, I'm sure that somewhere in your memories they still exist. [He smiles faintly.] I've had dreams of my parents quite randomly... before then I could never remember their faces if I tried.

Re: [Video]

[loyalraven]

Ah... [Oh that question is harder than it should be. But he nods.} I'm fine.

Memories. [He echoes that word, brow furrowing, but he nods.] They must be... somewhere. It's been years since I've really worried about it. [A pause.] So then... you dreamed of memories.

[Video]

[watching_seven]

[He nods, even if he has a little doubt about that response.]

Yes, I guess you can say that. It just happened one night, I'm not sure what prompted it.

You can't remember things? Is it from your past too?

[Video]

[loyalraven]

[What now? Gilbert's exceptional acting skills aren't fully believable? ...probably not, huh?]

But... it sounds like it's a good thing, to have remembered.

[He pauses but then nods.] Mm. I have no memories of my childhood before I was nine.

[Video]

[watching_seven]

[It might be that, but it's also the typical, automatic response that people tend to give even when things aren't all that fine. Maciel's used it many times himself, but he's more transparent about it.]

It was... [He smiles sadly, trying not to think too hard on it or he'll end up crying again.]

Ah, really..? I couldn't remember very much from back then either. I was eight when I was brought to Cohseltel.

[Video]

[loyalraven]

[Gilbert recognizes that sort of smile. And he understands that parents can be a sensitive issue, that family makes people feel that way. He's overprotective of Oz on the subject, after all.]

I was found unconscious on the grounds of Oz's family's estate with no memory of who I was or how I got there. Why were you brought to Cohseltel?

[Video]

[watching_seven]

Oh...

[He's thankful he at least that he has some things he can remember, but he feels sorry for Gilbert for not being able to know anything of where he came from.]

Ekaterina found me floating along the river, alone. ...I'd set out to look for my uncles. They'd left home before I ever moved in with my aunt Lucy and other uncles, so I really don't know what chances I had of finding them at the time. I guess it was out of desperation though- since my parents were gone, I was living at aunt Lucy's, but there was a landslide...

[Video]

[loyalraven]

[Gilbert listens, though he frowns just slightly,. It's only pieces of a story, but it doesn't sound like an easy story, especially for the child that Maciel was at the time.] I see. It must have been difficult.

[Video]

[watching_seven]

[He nods. That part he can still remember well enough.]

I didn't want to be alone. At least I'm not, anymore. I have the dragonlings with me. Maybe one day I'll be able to find my uncles, but for now, I think this is okay...

Re: [Video]

[loyalraven]

[Gilbert nods as well.] It's... I think, in my experience, family is what you make of it. I hope you do find your uncles, if you seek them out again. But in the meantime, you have others you care about too. [A faint smile.] Maybe my opinion is a bit biased though.

[Video]

[watching_seven]

[He smiles back at that.] No, I think you're right. There's so many people I've come to care about in Cohseltel. But thank you.

I hope you're able to remember the things you've forgotten, but so long as you have memories of the things that make you happy, maybe it's enough for now?

Re: [Video]

[loyalraven]

It's more than enough, really. I haven't thought much about my childhood in years. I've... led a fortunate life, to have met the people I have, despite everything. [Granted, he'd change things if he could -- his failure to protect Oz that decade ago, for one.]

[Video]

[watching_seven]

Well that's good then, right? There's always things we regret, things we wish didn't happen, but having people you care about now... I guess I can't say that it really makes up for those things, but it makes you treasure being around those people all the more.

Re: [Video]

[loyalraven]

[Gilbert nods at that, looking a bit surprised with just how accurate and well-summed up that puts, well, his life in a nutshell.] That's it, yes. It makes the present and the people in it very precious.

[Video]

[watching_seven]

Ah? [He blinks at that look, tilting his head, but then he nods in agreement.]

Y-yes, exactly!