Day 29: Courtyard

[traitors_smile]

Though he hadn't been able to stomach much of the cafeteria food, as the day went on, he did feel marginally better.  The fever seemed to have broken and he'd held down what little he'd eaten.  It made him a little anxious, to sit around so much, and even if it was difficult, a walk outside sounded like a nice break from the usual.  He had no

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[notmyfather]

The Courtyard was the closest thing to anywhere familiar that Valyn had found in this place. It reminded him of the gardens back home, if less elegant and expansive. It was still a relaxing, pretty place.

And ancestors knew he needed to relax. His nerves were up again, as they tended to be when he was faced once more with how completely hopeless their situation was.

And he couldn't make Shadow understand. It frustrated him that his cousin couldn't seem to grasp that it was impossible to compare this place and these adversaries to anything they knew. Oh, Valyn knew he'd done the same in the beginning, and that Shadow would realize, but...

He shouldn't have to learn the way I did.

At least it took his mind off of Shana. That was something he had no desire to deal with any time soon. Sighing, the young elven lord stretched out on a bench and folded his hands behind his head.

At least he could rest some.

[notmyfather]

"I hope so."

Honestly, this was no way to idle away the shift. Valyn shook his head. "Ancestors, I didn't mean to bring the mood down like that. I have a great deal on my mind and I'm afraid I spoke without thinking. but it's too pretty a day to think about things like that." His smile returned, ever elegant and charming, regardless of company.

And he wondered why Shana was always in a jealous fit.

[black_ageha]

"Well then, perhaps I should thank you instead for speaking your mind so freely," Kikyo said with an encouraging smile. He rather liked this youth, who seemed to carry much in burdens, but still had the hopeful nature to find pleasure in a pretty autumn day.

A bright red maple leaf fluttered down from the tree, and Kikyo reached out his hand to capture it. Maple was often a subject he used in his flower arrangements back in Sendai, when he was still working under Shion as an ikebana instructor.

"I've no gardens to return to, myself. But there is at least a memory of one," he said as he glanced at him warmly.

[notmyfather]

Valyn only smiled. He never truly spoke freely, but he saw no reason to correct that assumption. There was far too much in his mind that could never be spoken.

"Memories can be powerful and comforting things," he commented. When he had first come to this place, they had been all he had.

[black_ageha]

"Yes," he murmured, settling his gaze down on the leaf in his hand, which he held on his open palm. It looked so stark and red against his pale skin. "And surely you will have occasion to make many more to come. But I..."

I...?

Memories were the only thing allowed for the dead, were they not? What more could he seek? Yet if he could have the real thing in his hands once more, he would take it. That he had passed through death's door once already didn't matter.

And he had met just one other here who could understand his nature.

You would not waste away your ghostly existence in nostalgia would you, Seishirou-san..?

Kikyo smiled coldly.

He rose to his feet, letting the leaf slip from his fingers to drift off into the wind. "--I fear I have kept you from your private comforts for far too long.."