smash_logs | backdate train choo choo

Entry tags:

backdate train choo choo

Who: Caim [

stillawoman
What: So bad city stuff happened and oh no, what happened to our dainty flower Furiae?? [nothing]
Where: Furiae's room. Or around the academy if one Mako wishes.
When: 25th April.
Warnings: Caim fed 250 Empire rats to the ravens to get to this log. [no warnings possibly]

The unrest of the city had been alarming for many, but for Furiae, it hadn't need to be a part of her life. She rarely went out beyond the school, having little need to do so, and the times that she had were trips in the company of her brother more than not. If any looks had been spared their way, then it was for reasons unconnected to what had the people of the city currently rattled - if knowledge of the Prince of Caerleon's past violent activities at the academy was well known outside the gates, as well as his face.

It wasn't because as a human woman, she had the privilege to not care. It was true, certainly, but it was for her own selfish reasons that she never spoke up or showed any attention to the discord. What could she say or do that would mean anything at all? She may have been painted as a woman with God on her side back in her own world, but even then, she knew that there was little power that she had at all.

... but her heart was not unfeeling. It wasn't a fact she took much notice of, but the harm to her Home Economics teacher and other spoken of instances of bodily harm to the students of the school had troubled the woman. Perhaps it was an added part of the reason she desired to spend time with the sub-human; she was a kind being who placed her all in helping her students, but Furiae also found her kind nature that did not ask for much pleasing. Her progress in socialising as a princess might should do was slow, but still surely.

Her trip out to the city by herself had been somewhat to do with the teacher. Not by the teacher's request, but due to discussions that they shared outside of the class. Furiae, in an attempt to become more woman-like than a princess, had been trying to further her hand at crafts that one would expect from one in her own land. Cooking, sewing... Her understanding of any woman outside of her sheltered royal life was likely very laughable, but at least those two lessons were available for her to partake in.

She had been out to look at a fabric shop that the teacher had told her about, to look at what there was and also to think about building up her own personal kit. Furiae had only used the school's equipment so far, but the idea was not a bad one. It would be more easily accessible, and she preferred the thought of not having to rely elsewhere all the time. To become more... capable, even in the smallest of matters. She took a list with her, and what had only meant to be a short time out had turned into an unsettling wait. A fight had occurred right outside of the shop, not involved in any way with the tiny building, but the police - understandingly stressed and overworked as it was - had stopped any potential witnesses. She herself had not seen much of what had happened, the windows of the building hard to see out with their rolls of fabric, but the victim had been severely injured and the police were not having the scene contaminated by women who wanted to step outside.

It had left her frazzled indeed, and Furiae had not been able to leave until late. Under the night sky where voices could still be heard echoing was not the time she wanted to be out walking either, but once she had been finally excused, she only thought of returning back to the academy and the safety of her room. She was happy too, to see her roommate safe and sound inside.

With so little involvement, she had been given a taste of what the life she had been ignoring was like. Morning did not bring an end to the feelings or thoughts of the previous day, but she continued to do as she always did. What else was there to do? She missed breakfast, but had little want for it and decided to wait for for lunch. Perhaps then, she would be able to see her brother, and while she didn't know if she wanted to speak of what happened, the thought of his company was a comforting one.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He could have ripped doors off their hinges. He could have gone on a murderous rampage in general. The whole thought of being separated from Furiae seemed to strike a variety of reminders in the depths of his complicated mind. Already he was still tormented by his past, an infinite chain of events that he knew would continue to plague him, regardless of what he did to rid himself of them. Did he believe in redemption? No. Not... really. He wanted to, he supposed, but he didn't think it anywhere near obtainable for him personally.

Like many of the nights, he had made sure Ai was set down for a comfortable slumber before he left her to her solitude. Undoubtedly he'd be back to watch over her some more, but it was difficult to want to ensure the very safety of his flesh and blood while protecting one he loved at the cost of himself. Of course he hoped he'd never have to put himself in front of Ai. For if something happened to him...

...Well. That wouldn't make him a very good guardian at all.

Like many times before, he found himself in the girls' dormitory. Furiae's door. Akin to a man who would return to the scene of the crime. Except there was no felony committed. Just a brother who wanted to see his sister safe. If he could at least see that, he would be pleased.

Inside was the desired sister, alone for the time being. At her desk, she worked away on a paper with about as much care as she could fake - which was plenty enough, thankfully. Though, it bored her too, and she had grown into the habit of usually tapping the ink pen on the table and leaning against her head against a hand when she was alone. It wasn't a proper way for a lady to sit, maybe even a carelessness of graceful manners she would've displayed as a child much less protective of how she appeared when bored and alone. Who else would have seen her but family or servants? And even then, it was more likely for that older brother of hers to catch it. And she didn't quite mind any of his chiding.

Not that only boredom kept her from becoming too enthralled within the progress of writing down words right then.

She heard a knock at her door though, and she turned her head and eased down the hand it had been rested on. A visitor? Before, Furiae's thoughts would have been instantly upon Caim - but with the presence of a roommate, and one with a large... family of sorts, there was no knowing.

A sound could be heard from the inside, the shuffle of a chair, and soon after the door opened carefully. Furiae peered outside, saw her brother standing there, and looked at him with interest.

"Caim?" she questioned, moving from behind the frame and allowing it sit still freely without her hands on it. To what did she owe this pleasure, she wondered?

He wasn't sure how long Furiae had been there. Was it only just a few days? A few hours? A few minutes? A single look over her and he realised it couldn't be the latter. She looked far too relaxed as to have only just arrived.

So... she felt it wasn't pertinent to check with him, then? At all? Even when she had probably known he'd go looking for her? Furiae knew her brother than anyone else. At least, he thought that she did. And since that was the case, he would have expected her to respect him more. But he was being hasty and while he did consider chiding her, he hesitated for a few moments.

When his courage came back, however, he leaned forward hastily, one hand on her door frame and the other motioning towards her somewhat crisply. Could you not be bothered to update me with your condition, dear sister? And even if she couldn't read his lips, he doubted that his expression wasn't one plain as day.

That expression could not be lost in communication, and Furiae had already responded to it with a baffled look before even her mind could conjure together words for her mouth to speak. For what reason did he look at her that way?

"What you mean? Caim... I have been in my room."

Her voiced paused, hesitant only over her own confusion. It was true that she had been busy as of late with the attention necessary to her studies, but the thought that he brother might've been worry from not so many conversations as once before--

But her own heart returned to that of last night. Had she slipped into a conversation of her journey out, and Caim, being the watchful brother, waited on a word of her return? Which is why he now came, showing that disappointed face of his? The thought that he had been waiting on her had not cross the woman's mind.

"You are upset because I did not speak with you last night..."

Carefully, Furiae watched his face for an answer.

An audible sigh.
A muted immediate reaction of disbelief and irritation all wrapped into one.

Those were both of Furiae's 'gifts' from her elder. He could easily think up a few different reasons that would have kept her from even contacting him. It wasn't impossible, especially considering how the academy worked. And he could imagine very slightly that she didn't understand the impact she held on his life, especially with their parents long gone. No dragon, no other allies from Midgard, Furiae was all he had. And if he lost her...

No. He couldn't begin to think like that.

Except he could in writing, which was precisely what he moved to do. The pad from his belt removed and with it a pen, he furiously scribbled.

Do you take joy in tormenting me? Would you like to see me suffer at the mere potential of losing you?

And he despised having to be so open with her, to spell it out as if she was a child, because she really wasn't. No matter what the case might have been, whatever the possibility, three words could have been sent to him in any variety of ways. 'I am well,' would have sufficed and quelled the irrationally angry spirit within him.

Her emotions were being torn between two opposites- the desire to be the passive woman and to humbly please the one upset before her, and the want to snap back at the lecture she was beginning to receive. Neither were stronger than the other, nor at the point of being uncontrollable, but as Furiae stared the words that he had written for her to see, she could express nothing but upset on her face.

How could her own brother think that she would ever want to torment him, or to write so forwardly such nonsensical thoughts? She bit her lip and turned her head, displeased, but too hurt by what she read to be both only offended and insulted.

"I had no choice; I could not return until late," she responded, a slight strain in her voice. "I planned to speak with you soon, and to explain anything that you wanted."

It was hard to think that he could be angry over a single day -- no, it wasn't even that. She knew him to be protective, to be as concerned at her well-being as she was for his - but did she deserve this? But regardless of how unfair it felt, a guilt started to surface; maybe it was that she hadn't realised just how concerned he had been over her visiting a shop. At the time, she had thought it would be nothing - she would see him later perhaps, 'It went well' would be said, and then that would be that.

Some people just didn't care for e-mail.

A few words of your status would have sufficed. We are not lacking communicative methods here.

At least she hadn't been hiding from him intentionally. Although he supposed with how observant she was and how direct he often seemed to be, it wasn't as if she didn't have a reason to do precisely that. Still, to know that his only remaining flesh and blood would have want or desire to avoid him would have been minutely heartbreaking - even for a man who easily would have claimed he had no heart to begin with.

But rather than to continue chiding her, he found his actions would speak louder than words. And if she would have permitted it, he had every intent to lunge forward. Not to harm her. Never to harm her deliberately. Only to embrace her to him, not caring if her bedroom door was open. Not particularly interested in anyone who happened to wander past and see them being so familiar with one another.

It was a step in progress toward humanity, but as to whether he did it with Furiae's inescapable torment in mind was likely another non-deliberate action on his part. For his concern over her was of that overprotective brother for the sister he had not only lost, but the very same one that he would ask for a silent forgiveness from - even when she knew not what he was guilty of.

To argue that she was still unused to the quick methods of communication of the world they had been living in for a time now - it would have been pointless, and perhaps only showed her stubbornness. Furiae simply did not use it though, and barely remembered to check on it. Even with her work, she went to books before the internet despite the larger variety of choice it provided. She was old-fashioned.

It still didn't make her happy, and if left to that, she would have felt still a tinge of bitterness. But when Caim's arms went around her, like the fool she was - Furiae only eased into the embrace, soon putting her own arms around him.

She didn't think about the open door, nor, for once in her mind, did she ponder about how correct it was for a woman like her.

What a horrible man he could be; the thought was not absent from even her own mind at times. But when others thought of murder, she could only think of the brother who chided and teased her, and could easily swing her emotions around with even trying to.

But he was her comfort, and right then, comfort was what she had wanted even before he had arrived. It was a lingering feeling in the back of her mind, only being interpreted as wishing for his company later on, but she found her upset emotions slipping away when inside his arms, perhaps making her into a damned, simple woman who could only concern herself with the feelings of the man that she cared for.

Because she was sorry. Sorry to cause him worry, sorry to make him fret. And with her brother near to her, it was what made the guilt and shame stay.

"I am sorry..." She spoke against his chest, her forehead leaning upon him and sincerity in her voice and heart. "I will be more thoughtful from now on. I did not mean to cause you distress..."

It helped. The embrace. At least a little bit. Knowing she was physically in his grasp solidified that she really was okay. Nothing poor had happened. She had escaped unscathed. For if something had befallen her, Caim questioned his ability to remain disciplined. It would have been the perfect way to break his promise to Vianca and Ai.

Except there was no reason to.

His hands slid along the back of her neck and into her hair, the grasp never tight, but only a means of holding her to him. His neck craned, so he might press a kiss to her forehead.

I had lost you before. I can never lose you again.

And that was really all it was about. She didn't seem to know just how much he dreaded being apart from her. In this world, or in the next. Any world away from Midgard was one he wanted to be in.

She left any more words she had insire her, accepted his kiss with a tilted head that her eyes closed for. It was only when she moved a hand to touch the side of his cheek that her eyelids did flutter to see the face of her brother.

For only just a night she had been gone, and yet-- it was true that Furiae could still not comprehend how much he truly cared for her. But perhaps, looking up to his face, the one that she stroked her hand against momentarily before cupping the side and then letting it drop down to against his chest, Furiae did sense it.

He hadn't always been there in her later life, but when he had, he had been with many; all there to protect the goddess. And though she knew they shared a deeper bond than any of those people, the bond of siblings, with her heart that she understood to be filled with too much love, it was hard not to feel unsatisfied.

For there was no wrong for him to look upon her as a sister to protect - it was what she was. But it was difficult not to feel some coldness towards it, as if it was only an obligation he felt he needed to fulfil. It was a fear in her heart, along with the plenty of others that all came back to him, that perhaps she could only be that... an obligation.

It was the cruelness that her jealous and scared heart brought out in her.

But at least for now, with him holding her, she did not feel that way. Furiae moved her forehead against his body, allowed herself to feel the solace that his being provided, before looking to him again. Her other hand had since found rest against his arm.

"Let us spend the spend the day together... with Ai as well, if you wish." The mention of the Pikmin's name brought a soft smile to the woman's face. "I enjoy her company... and I know you want to keep close to her."

Knowledge of the girl sharing Caim's room was not unknown to the sister. It was true that sometimes the closeness of the girl had sunk Furiae's heart a little, but it had been a long time since that had been the case. The princess could not see her as a threat with how simple and innocent she appeared to be - and far too young, too.

Edited 2013-06-16 07:16 (UTC)

Did she make him nervous when she got brazen? Yes. Quite a bit, actually. It was always okay for him to make gestures of that sort, but when she did, he couldn't forget that night under the mistletoe with her. He couldn't forget how she looked at him, how her eyes practically plead with him for his compassion and forgiveness. And occasionally when she decided to be tender with him, he couldn't shake the very knowledge of her feelings for him.

The kinds of feelings that others weren't to know about. The kind they both had to keep hidden, lest such an ill reputation to befall her. Not to say Caim had not soiled that already. Only that it would grow worse with such an intimate discovery. But was there any reciprocation? How did he feel about his sister? And if he hadn't felt anything, then why would it matter if an unrequited romance was discovered?

Perhaps there was more to it than he wanted to admit. Or was willing to admit.

He seemed a little surprise when he heard her. Mostly at the idea of her inviting Ai along. And he wondered just what Furiae knew of him and the Pikmin. That was another situation that he hadn't wanted to give much thought to. It still haunted him a bit. Words Majima had said regarding Ai. Words he never forgot. But in the present time, that wasn't what he wanted to think about.

She is asleep right now. I would not wish to disturb her. He drew back just enough to get a better look at his sister. No. I will be staying here tonight. Regardless of what she thought, because he knew he'd rest easier if he could be in her midst. Just for a night. That would be good enough.

As used to reading his lips as Furiae was, she questioned what she saw in his next words after that of the Pikmin girl. Her hands moved from his person and onto her own chest, her mind replaying the movement of his mouth. He would be staying for the night...? Surely, the way his jaw moved seemed to suggest strongly staying and tonight, and all the rest she had become accustomed to translating right away in her head after months of plentiful real-life practice. And yet-- was it truly right?

"You want to stay the night," she loosely repeated, eyeing him with an uncertainty that read in her voice and her face. Her words were softly-spoken, as if being sure enough to speak more louder would, if wrong, would go beyond embarrassment and towards horrifying. Unacceptable.

Yet she tried not to give it away too much when echoing it -- at least, not how aware it made her of how close she stood to him despite having just a moment ago been embracing him, and how she could feel the weight of her own body. How she waited with bated breath for his confirmation. It hadn't been exactly a long time since they had slept a closer proximity together, yet it had been with some distance between them; travelling in her brother's presence had meant that he was only so far away, though still she had always been under the hierarchy Verdelet's watchful eye foremost. Still, for him to stay in her room was very much different, and it had been very much different when she had slept in his room when she first arrived.

He gave her a very curt nod in reply, seemingly pleased by the idea that she'd understood him. He really had no idea how difficult it was for her to interpret his odd fashion of muted speech. If anything, Caim likely expected more out of her than what was fair of him. All simply because they shared flesh and blood. But if his expectations hadn't been higher, that seemed unrealistic of him.

Almost an insult in some underhanded manner.

He could imagine part of what she'd thought of when he made such a firm decision. At least a part of it. Feelings and the complicated mess that they created. But it was another one of those things that Caim didn't want to ask about, because in his own little way, he wanted to continue living in his world of ignorance and bliss. If it wasn't so pointedly direct, he could overlook any conversation with Furiae that might involve scolding her.

For having a heart of all things. It just wasn't fair.

The nod was all she needed to answer that, and her eyes shifted down soon after it.

"... I will need to speak to Alorah; she is the girl I share this room with," she informed him; slowly, as her mind still tried to determine how conceivable the plan would be, "She is a quiet person, and I would not want to cause her any upset..."

Upset through his wants -- but that mattered little, for it would be her responsibility if he was to stay over. Still, if the Jumpluff did agree, the thought of Caim opting to sleep on the floor (where else could he?) did not sit well in her heart, and the troubled look that grew on her face perhaps made it evident.

That, and what Furiae said next, a topic that made her observe his face for what he might say in response;

"I do not want to see you sleep uncomfortably, if only it will be for one night... but if it will alleviate your worries, I will not stop you."

Unconsciously, her fingers gripped together. There was no other alternative she could give other than to deny him in her mind, but it was not one she believed she could put into place. Nor did she desire to try, when she knew that Caim could not be easily swayed; not without a suitable replacement, which the lack of one was the problem.

But partly, she hoped that he had one, one that he would reveal. She doubted it however, and doubted as well that he had considered her roommate either in this decision of his.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

backdate train choo choo

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject