[ Oh! He is being pressed quite close to Marcel. The Viera is quite taller than him, yes. Still, he feels rather engulfed by the Warrior even now. It shouldn't make heat rise up on his cheeks. It really, really shouldn't. He has no right to react that way. And yet he's staring at the ground, reaching up to scratch a cheek.
Right. People. They will want to see him. Some will probably also want to quiz him to see what he knows and what he doesn't. How much Exarch is there in comparison to G'raha Tia and vice versa. ]
No, I don't believe that I am ready. Though I don't suppose that I have much say in the matter. [ A wry grin is followed by a chuckle. ] You might need to find me a comfortable chair to sit on and cotton to stuff in my ears.
[ He might be smiling, despite everything. A little. The change since he was here to clear threats from the tower is dramatic, but that might be the greatest one yet. He understands jokes! Somewhat. He understands at least 10% of jokes.
The Toll has grown a little since G'raha last saw it. In their time at the tower it expanded from a tiny outpost to a thriving community of people. The change isn't as massive as that they saw over the course of that investigation, but it is change nonetheless. New faces. New buildings. New stalls, filled with new wares. But the Seventh Heaven is where it always was, and he leads G'raha through to its back rooms. ]
What-? Oh! You're back. A moment, if you would-
[ It's an all-too-familiar voice. It calls out and then quiets into speaking to someone else. All seems normal. I don't expect you to suffer any ill effects, but- but I will be back! Don't even think of collapsing again while I am gone, you understand?
A warm laugh, Y'shtola's, echoes out from the other room. Her own voice sounds exhausted, a little too much to hear the individual words, but her tone carries the message clearly enough. Go. Have your reunion. ]
Are there three of you? I was only expecting-
[ Krile's face hasn't changed much. She emerges from Dawn's Respite and falls quiet. Her lower lip trembles slightly as she takes a deep breath, immediately discarding the mystery of why she can feel three people when there are only two. ]
Aye, you've the right of it. 'Tis a joke, the part about the cotton in the ears.
[ It's fairly amusing, to see which parts Marcel understands as teasing and joking and which parts aren't. That isn't something that he could have done even a year ago, G'raha believes. The Exarch has seen some more personality appear from Marcel, of course. Yet it feels entirely comfortable for him all the same.
The rest of the trip is done without any further words. There's a wince, of course, from the noise of the Toll. The bustling about of people. Far louder than the Tower, ears no longer accustomed to hearing such things. At first it makes him wince, but then he grows used to it rather fast.
Fast enough that they perk at the sound of a familiar voice.
And seeing Krile - seeing her truly - brings about a whirlwind of emotions that both the Exarch and G'raha Tia feel simultaneously. The heart aches and the chest starts to constrict. It's a good thing that Marcel is there to hold him up because all of the sudden his legs feel weak. Like they'll give out at any moment. Because she is there. She is there - here - and alive. And the guilt that the both of them feel - at leaving her behind by locking themselves up in the Crystal Tower disperses. A burden lifted with the realization that this meeting couldn't have taken place otherwise.
He feels weak. So weak and there's something that burns at the corner of his eyes. When he speaks, it's full of emotion. Voice thick and raspy. Shaky, even. ]
'Tis funny... Not a day went by that I didn't think of a hundred things to say to you. Now that I'm here, I can't seem to find words at all...
None at all? Goodness, what have- what have you done with-
[ The who are you and what have you done with Raha joke dies on her lips, interrupted every time she tries to speak it by a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob. She scrubs her eyes on her sleeve, collecting herself, then pulls a chair out from one of the tables. ]
Sit down, sit down. I shan't have anyone calling me a poor host.
[ It's as Marcel is carefully lowering G'raha into the chair that Krile tugs at his cloak. ]
Marcel? I think Tataru could use some help with the vegetables. I'm terribly sorry to impose, but we weren't expecting to be feeding so many mouths today. Would you?
[ It's fairly transparently a lie, but Marcel nods. He almost seems relieved by the prospect of dealing with vegetables instead of people. Krile smiles, patting his leg encouragingly. ]
[ Honestly, Raha is having a more difficult time keeping himself together the longer that he - they - hear her talk. The shakiness of her voice. Trying to give Marcel something to do as a means to distract him. Give him a graceful out.
And this is all happening as Marcel helps him into a chair. While he feels so weak and vulnerable. His eyes are watering and he's trying to be discrete about scrubbing at them.
But he has to wait for a moment. Raha doesn't think he can speak without his voice cracking. Maybe he can wait until Marcel has absconded. ]
[ Once the miqo'te is seated properly, Marcel bends to press his head against G'raha's. He holds it there for the length an an inhale and exhale, then moves on to Krile. To reach her and press his forehead into the cloth of her hood he has to kneel.
She laughs when he does, and it sounds as genuine as it does exhausted. When she clicks her tongue at him and pats his head, he clicks in response.
Already, he can feel it building in him, the sensation that he ought to be doing something. That something is needed of him. That something is wrong and ought to be made right. Krile cannot keep herself from wishing that he were happier, not any more than he can keep her from sensing his own emotions. ]
I will. Return. Once the vegetables have been made right. And I am better at thinking things.
I know. Now, off with you, Tataru will be happy for the extra hands.
[ As Marcel stands and leaves, Krile pulls herself up onto the chair opposite G'raha's, sighing. ]
Our echoes. They feed off each other, when he gets like this. Best for him to clear his head before one of us comes down with a headache. [ She tries to say it as casually as she can, as if she isn't speaking to a long-lost sibling. It almost works, save for how she bites her lip at the end of her sentence and swallows, fingers closing and opening around handfuls of the cloth of her skirt. ] Raha, I thought-
[ He, of course, returns the gesture. Unable to resist such an expression of affection. G'raha is a feline, after all. It only makes sense that he would do so.
And then his eyes open as Marcel does the same to Krile in return. His smile is there. Pained, but it is there. He doesn't have the Echo like the both of them do, but he knows Krile well enough to see things for what it is. The two of them can't be together in a room while the both of them are emotional.
Thus does he keep his silence. He waits until Krile turns and speaks to him. His ed eyes move to her as she sets herself upon the chair and nods. Waits for the scolding. Be it scolding for locking himself up in the Tower or for putting two souls through this entire affair he doesn't know. Both would be reasons to tell him off.
And yet. And yet she doesn't. Instead she just says -
I have missed you.
It makes his eyes water and he's using the palm of his hand to press harder against that offending eye. His throat goes tight against his command and the breaths that he take are more hisses through clenched teeth. G'raha doesn't want to cry. Does he have even the right? ]
I... [ He ducks his head further, for all the food it will do. ] So terribly. I thought I was...
Grandpa would be furious, you know. Even if he would have done everything the same. 'Do as I say, not as I do', and all that...
[ She trails off, looking down at her hands balled up in the fabric of her skirt, then looks up and tries again. ]
I hardly have the right to feel lonely, do I? It's only been a few years on this side, and I was asleep for the better part of one. The scions have been here for me since I woke...
[ No. Pretending to be fine doesn't feel in the least bit convincing. He closes her eyes and huffs, then flops down onto the table. Every bit the exhausted student taking on too much work for love of learning they both used to be before all of this began. And that? That feels right. ]
So- I've learned that there's an official protocol for what to do if one's thesis work is thrown into the aetherial sea. I can't imagine where that would have come up in the past, but they have a protocol. It is 'the student must start again from scratch'. I'm so tired, Raha.
I didn't think of it that way, but I suppose I followed in his footsteps, to a degree.
[ He's fussing with the straps of his bracers. Tail whipping back and forth behind him with nervous energy.
Then she goes and says that, the part about being lonely. And the thing is, Raha knows. He knows the feeling so well. It doesn't matter if there are people around that have taken you in when you're feeling like that. All that matters is the fact that you feel utterly alone, devoid of the people that fill your heart with warmth. There's a hole there that might be patched and, in time, mended. But a wound will remain.
His ears press flat against his head as he struggles to speak. As his chest aches because he feels as though he's betrayed her in all this. Would G'raha's decision have been different had he known?
But then Krile is the one that changes topics. It's such a dramatic display that it startles the Miqo'te. He sits upright, tail curling. Ears perking. ]
G-given the extremes our people and colleagues tend to go for their research? Is it really that surprising?
[ Tentatively. Carefully. As if to ask "is this really what we are to discuss?" ]
Not at all. Not a mote of it. And I could hardly have accepted a shred of leniency even if it was extended, not if the Students are to be taken seriously at all. I shan't have it said that Galuf's granddaughter was handed her qualifications upon a silver platter out of pity.
[ Another huff. She looks up with with a loud sniff ineptly disguised as a snort of laughter. ]
I only- I just havn't had anyone to complain about it to until this very moment. And it feels more right, doesn't it? To complain about silly little things that don't matter in the slightest. Than it does to say how terribly, terribly dearly I have missed you. Or to begin the conversation upon the topic of how I can hear two hearts - that can wait until after we have both had something to eat at the very earliest, thank-you-very-much.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2023-06-04 01:47 am (UTC)Right. People. They will want to see him. Some will probably also want to quiz him to see what he knows and what he doesn't. How much Exarch is there in comparison to G'raha Tia and vice versa. ]
No, I don't believe that I am ready. Though I don't suppose that I have much say in the matter. [ A wry grin is followed by a chuckle. ] You might need to find me a comfortable chair to sit on and cotton to stuff in my ears.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-06-05 12:49 am (UTC)[ He might be smiling, despite everything. A little. The change since he was here to clear threats from the tower is dramatic, but that might be the greatest one yet. He understands jokes! Somewhat. He understands at least 10% of jokes.
The Toll has grown a little since G'raha last saw it. In their time at the tower it expanded from a tiny outpost to a thriving community of people. The change isn't as massive as that they saw over the course of that investigation, but it is change nonetheless. New faces. New buildings. New stalls, filled with new wares. But the Seventh Heaven is where it always was, and he leads G'raha through to its back rooms. ]
What-? Oh! You're back. A moment, if you would-
[ It's an all-too-familiar voice. It calls out and then quiets into speaking to someone else. All seems normal. I don't expect you to suffer any ill effects, but- but I will be back! Don't even think of collapsing again while I am gone, you understand?
A warm laugh, Y'shtola's, echoes out from the other room. Her own voice sounds exhausted, a little too much to hear the individual words, but her tone carries the message clearly enough. Go. Have your reunion. ]
Are there three of you? I was only expecting-
[ Krile's face hasn't changed much. She emerges from Dawn's Respite and falls quiet. Her lower lip trembles slightly as she takes a deep breath, immediately discarding the mystery of why she can feel three people when there are only two. ]
Oh, Raha...
(no subject)
Date: 2023-06-07 12:11 am (UTC)[ It's fairly amusing, to see which parts Marcel understands as teasing and joking and which parts aren't. That isn't something that he could have done even a year ago, G'raha believes. The Exarch has seen some more personality appear from Marcel, of course. Yet it feels entirely comfortable for him all the same.
The rest of the trip is done without any further words. There's a wince, of course, from the noise of the Toll. The bustling about of people. Far louder than the Tower, ears no longer accustomed to hearing such things. At first it makes him wince, but then he grows used to it rather fast.
Fast enough that they perk at the sound of a familiar voice.
And seeing Krile - seeing her truly - brings about a whirlwind of emotions that both the Exarch and G'raha Tia feel simultaneously. The heart aches and the chest starts to constrict. It's a good thing that Marcel is there to hold him up because all of the sudden his legs feel weak. Like they'll give out at any moment. Because she is there. She is there - here - and alive. And the guilt that the both of them feel - at leaving her behind by locking themselves up in the Crystal Tower disperses. A burden lifted with the realization that this meeting couldn't have taken place otherwise.
He feels weak. So weak and there's something that burns at the corner of his eyes. When he speaks, it's full of emotion. Voice thick and raspy. Shaky, even. ]
'Tis funny... Not a day went by that I didn't think of a hundred things to say to you. Now that I'm here, I can't seem to find words at all...
(no subject)
Date: 2023-06-08 12:39 am (UTC)[ The who are you and what have you done with Raha joke dies on her lips, interrupted every time she tries to speak it by a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob. She scrubs her eyes on her sleeve, collecting herself, then pulls a chair out from one of the tables. ]
Sit down, sit down. I shan't have anyone calling me a poor host.
[ It's as Marcel is carefully lowering G'raha into the chair that Krile tugs at his cloak. ]
Marcel? I think Tataru could use some help with the vegetables. I'm terribly sorry to impose, but we weren't expecting to be feeding so many mouths today. Would you?
[ It's fairly transparently a lie, but Marcel nods. He almost seems relieved by the prospect of dealing with vegetables instead of people. Krile smiles, patting his leg encouragingly. ]
(no subject)
Date: 2023-06-09 03:25 am (UTC)And this is all happening as Marcel helps him into a chair. While he feels so weak and vulnerable. His eyes are watering and he's trying to be discrete about scrubbing at them.
But he has to wait for a moment. Raha doesn't think he can speak without his voice cracking. Maybe he can wait until Marcel has absconded. ]
(no subject)
Date: 2023-06-10 12:19 am (UTC)She laughs when he does, and it sounds as genuine as it does exhausted. When she clicks her tongue at him and pats his head, he clicks in response.
Already, he can feel it building in him, the sensation that he ought to be doing something. That something is needed of him. That something is wrong and ought to be made right. Krile cannot keep herself from wishing that he were happier, not any more than he can keep her from sensing his own emotions. ]
I will. Return. Once the vegetables have been made right. And I am better at thinking things.
I know. Now, off with you, Tataru will be happy for the extra hands.
[ As Marcel stands and leaves, Krile pulls herself up onto the chair opposite G'raha's, sighing. ]
Our echoes. They feed off each other, when he gets like this. Best for him to clear his head before one of us comes down with a headache. [ She tries to say it as casually as she can, as if she isn't speaking to a long-lost sibling. It almost works, save for how she bites her lip at the end of her sentence and swallows, fingers closing and opening around handfuls of the cloth of her skirt. ] Raha, I thought-
[ I thought I was alone. ]
-I have missed you..
(no subject)
Date: 2023-06-17 10:58 pm (UTC)And then his eyes open as Marcel does the same to Krile in return. His smile is there. Pained, but it is there. He doesn't have the Echo like the both of them do, but he knows Krile well enough to see things for what it is. The two of them can't be together in a room while the both of them are emotional.
Thus does he keep his silence. He waits until Krile turns and speaks to him. His ed eyes move to her as she sets herself upon the chair and nods. Waits for the scolding. Be it scolding for locking himself up in the Tower or for putting two souls through this entire affair he doesn't know. Both would be reasons to tell him off.
And yet. And yet she doesn't. Instead she just says -
I have missed you.
It makes his eyes water and he's using the palm of his hand to press harder against that offending eye. His throat goes tight against his command and the breaths that he take are more hisses through clenched teeth. G'raha doesn't want to cry. Does he have even the right? ]
I... [ He ducks his head further, for all the food it will do. ] So terribly. I thought I was...
[ He thought he was alone. ]
(no subject)
Date: 2023-06-18 12:10 am (UTC)[ She trails off, looking down at her hands balled up in the fabric of her skirt, then looks up and tries again. ]
I hardly have the right to feel lonely, do I? It's only been a few years on this side, and I was asleep for the better part of one. The scions have been here for me since I woke...
[ No. Pretending to be fine doesn't feel in the least bit convincing. He closes her eyes and huffs, then flops down onto the table. Every bit the exhausted student taking on too much work for love of learning they both used to be before all of this began. And that? That feels right. ]
So- I've learned that there's an official protocol for what to do if one's thesis work is thrown into the aetherial sea. I can't imagine where that would have come up in the past, but they have a protocol. It is 'the student must start again from scratch'. I'm so tired, Raha.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-06-29 02:14 am (UTC)[ He's fussing with the straps of his bracers. Tail whipping back and forth behind him with nervous energy.
Then she goes and says that, the part about being lonely. And the thing is, Raha knows. He knows the feeling so well. It doesn't matter if there are people around that have taken you in when you're feeling like that. All that matters is the fact that you feel utterly alone, devoid of the people that fill your heart with warmth. There's a hole there that might be patched and, in time, mended. But a wound will remain.
His ears press flat against his head as he struggles to speak. As his chest aches because he feels as though he's betrayed her in all this. Would G'raha's decision have been different had he known?
But then Krile is the one that changes topics. It's such a dramatic display that it startles the Miqo'te. He sits upright, tail curling. Ears perking. ]
G-given the extremes our people and colleagues tend to go for their research? Is it really that surprising?
[ Tentatively. Carefully. As if to ask "is this really what we are to discuss?" ]
(no subject)
Date: 2023-09-03 06:14 pm (UTC)[ Another huff. She looks up with with a loud sniff ineptly disguised as a snort of laughter. ]
I only- I just havn't had anyone to complain about it to until this very moment. And it feels more right, doesn't it? To complain about silly little things that don't matter in the slightest. Than it does to say how terribly, terribly dearly I have missed you. Or to begin the conversation upon the topic of how I can hear two hearts - that can wait until after we have both had something to eat at the very earliest, thank-you-very-much.