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 Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 11:56 am
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Today was the agreed day. Oh what a bitter mistake. When Erylia had woken up earlier that day, her eyes had still been puffy from tears, her silken gold hair in tangles. If she had known two days ago what she knew now, she would have asked for more time.
Her mother. Her poor mother.
No. It had taken two hours to smooth her face and make herself presentable, she wasn't about to ruin her hard work. She couldn't let anyone else see her cry. It was unbearable for Raken to know as it was. "I'm heading out!" Erylia called into the cave as she moved to leave. Her brother was kind enough to let her stay as she picked a place in the City. And he had Grandkids! Oh she never thought to see the day that happened, keeping Dyas locked up tighter than a bluejay and her eggs.
Erylia left without a response, knowing everyone busy doing their own things. She turned towards the promised beach, thinking of her second issue. Bouncing back and forth was beginning to become exhausting. The demonic simply wasn't used to all this seriousness. She liked playing and having fun. Her life was one gigantic party when younger and she was tired off all the emotional muck. But that's what it meant to be an adult.
Her mellon flittered about her head as she walked before setting on a shoulder to play with her long hair. "Are you going to ask him today?"
More seriousness as a prelude to the drama of the day. What was worse is the little fairy knew how she felt. "I...don't know."
Such a tiny sigh never sounded so exasperated. "It's the bear in the room Erylia! How long do you want to be stuck?"
Cursed thing was right. Didn't stop her from glaring at the pipsqueak. "I know. I know ALL of that. But it's been a bit of an overload this week, don't you think? I only just got out onto the surface!"
A glare right back. Maybe that was the reason she was assigned this mellon - a fairy that wouldn't put up with her excuses. "Well, you better decide on what you want to do it. Because we're almost there."
Wait, wha? She suddenly stopped as her eyes went from the weight on her shoulder to in front of her. How did she manage to unconsciously walk through the forest without hitting a tree or bush? No matter, apparently her feet had already hit the sand. "I guess it's show time." The female grumbled right before lighting a smile on her face. She'd do what she did best and put the unpleasantries behind her. At least for now. Those would be waiting for her soon enough.
Seiana_Zi Since I had it that she sought out Raken right after Criofan, this'll take place after the Solo I'll be typing up shortly |
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Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 6:18 pm
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 Today was the day he was going to 'catch up with Erylia.'
Criofan was almost positive there was only one way this could really end up going... Badly.
From Kheliot, his step-son, he had asked for a small lucky charm. Perhaps because his last event with Erylia had gone well, this would too, so long as he kept the item on him. He strung it through a rope and placed it around his neck, letting it sit comfortably on his chest. After Kheliot had given him the necklace, though, he promptly swatted him off to his room. ... Not that was hard. The kid was a shut-in except for Zaria.
Couldn't have Erylia see him before he clarified what had happened since she had left though. For that matter, he needed to make sure Ei-Kal and Zaria stayed away ... Well, Ei-Kal was busy picking up some stuff from the markets in the City, so that mainly meant--Zaria!
"There's someone coming towards our house, Da~ad," offered Zaria, sing-song, leaning in close to the door and peering out the window. "Can I go say Hi? I wanna go say Hi!"
Criofan sighed.
"That's Erylia, Zaria."
"Erylia! She's a pretty lady." Thoughtfully, Zaria turned back towards her father and tapped her chin. Oh! she knew that name. Her eyes lit up as she zoomed in, slapping her hands on his shoulders. Criofan coughed from the impact. "Wasn't she the one who tried to make ya' date her on some kinda' bet?"
"Yes, her."
"Are you gonna go on a date with her?" Zaria's eyes widened. "You got Ei-Kal!"
"No, Zaria..." Criofan grabbed her by the shoulders in turn, forcefully steering her away from the door and to another room of the house. "She's coming over so we can catch up. Like old friends do. Also, she doesn't know you exist yet or that I have Ei-Kal, so can you--"
"Ooh, Daddy's keeping a secret!"
"Zaria!" Criofan was convinced that he had some kind of child wearing an adult's skin at times. "Not for long. Will you just... bug your brother? He looked lonely." Sorry Kheliot. He opened up the door to his son's bedroom and pushed Zaria in there, slamming the door before she could protest. Or, well, more accurately, Kheliot could protest. He fled back to the front of the house, hopefully in time for Erylia to arrive.
And hopefully she would arrive soon, before Zaria got any funny ideas.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 8:56 pm
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For Erylia, that was an awful quiet knock.
Criofan almost missed it.
It was lucky he knew she was coming, but of course, when was he not lucky? He was listening to the door, then, and caught the quiet sound of her knuckles tapping against it. Right. Time to get the door. This would be fine. Their last meeting was fine. There was no reason this one would not be. Besides, if it wasn't, he trusted in Kheliot's powers to make it so it was fine.
It really did seem like Ei-Kal and Criofan were meant to be, didn't it? Both of them somehow had ended up with powers that were associated with luck in some manner, those Ei-Kal's boosted externally and Criofan's boosted internally...
He needed to get the door.
Centering himself, Criofan walked over to the door and opened it, a genial, friendly smile on his face. Honestly, for Criofan, he almost seemed a little too serene. Sure, he wasn't one to worry, but gentle happiness wasn't necessarily his style. "Erylia. Just on time! Come in. I was boiling some water for tea if you'd like some?" Tea was soothing. He wasn't sure how much she liked it, but it was probably best that they didn't get to drinking alcohol.
Criofan's tolerance was high, but he was fairly certain Erylia's was too, and the last thing they needed to do was start drinking so much that Criofan spilled words before he meant to.
"You can sit at the table if you want ... or in the lounge."
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 1:06 pm
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Seconds ticked by anxiously after her knock, and the thought of maybe he wasn't home entered her mind.
She wouldn't mind that actually. Just as she thought it though, the door swung open. "Hello Criofan! Thank you very much." Erylia spoke brightly, belying her real feelings. "Tea would be nice." Had she ever had tea? It was always such a calm drink, and she vaguely recalled her mother partaking in it. But she herself had never had a cup.
Time to see if she liked tea. "The lounge sounds comfier...You've got a beautiful home." It was an actual home. Furnished and warm and everything. Not just a bed and a mountain of gold. While nothing had exactly expected, this certainly still came as a surprise. Criofan never struck her as the 'decorating' type.
So did he do all of this himself? The thought pricked her curiosity, as her eyes flicked around to see if she could find any clues left about. A toy, a picture, something obviously not his. Subtly of course, as if just admiring the place. Couldn't have him knowing her true intent.
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Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 1:28 pm
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Of course his house wasn't just full of gold!
... That would be too obvious.
Criofan seemed relieved she came off almost as friendly as normal, though she still seemed a tad subdued. Considering how long she had hidden herself away, that wasn't terribly surprising, but at the same time, it seemed off. He was used to so much more energy from Erylia... or at least some kind of sign she was up to something. Was she up to something?
The faerie glanced back at her for a moment, watching her behaviors to see if she was doing anything suspect. She didn't seem to be, just looking around. Criofan wasn't sure what she expected to see. His house wasn't exactly fancy, but it was certainly comfortable, and warm... and occasionally assisted by the generator he had picked up from the Headquarters wreckage a while ago.
Then again, maybe she wasn't expecting anything. Maybe she was just looking around.
"Thanks," offered Criofan, offering a confident grin, before moving over to the teapot. So Erylia did like tea. Good. Made his life easier. After a few minutes, he moved to the lounge, holding two cups of tea. Carefully, he handed one off to her.
Overall, while Criofan and Decorating did not seem to mesh, there wasn't anything in his house that particularly stood out as not-his-stuff. In the room they were in, there were a few comfortable places to sit, a book sitting on an end table, another end table, and a jeweler's table nearby.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 2:14 pm
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"Fah." Criofan laughed, sitting down with his tea. The warm liquid felt nice going down, and the faerie closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the way it spread. Sure, it was not exactly chilly outside, but that didn't make the warmth the tea created any less enjoyable. It was a good way to help soothe him, because he knew the so-called elephant in the room had to come up eventually.
Whenever that would be.
"This? I was lucky. Grabbed a few things from the ruins of the Headquarters." He set the cup he was holding to the side, on an end table, and leaned forward. His wings fluttered a bit. "Others were things I found or traded for. Eventually, I ended up with a house I'd call livable. If you keep looking around, you'll eventually find stuff that works for you."
After a pause, he licked his lips and offered, "I'm glad you were able to find your family. It's good to have family. I'm close to Texas and Magnus like family." Yes, be careful not to name the other portions of his family...
Yet.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 2:37 pm
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... Dead?
Well, that admittedly explained a lot of why Erylia seemed a bit off. She was a bit off. Her mother was dead. Could anyone really blame her for that? He knew if anyone of his family had died, he probably would have freaked out and become somber in his own right ... well, not before hunting down whatever had caused the death, first. And maybe trying to figure out if there was anything he could buy that would reverse it somehow...
Center, Criofan. Find the center. He knew he was nervous but he needed to stop chasing the butterflies of his mind all over the place. That wouldn't get anything accomplished.
Though he wasn't sure if he really wanted to tell her that she didn't have a chance in hell with him if she was already this upset. Maybe she didn't have a crush on him anymore? That would be helpful. Would make the news a little less harsh, especially since he still wanted that treasure room from her. Well, if it hadn't been looted already. He wasn't sure if had been in the Headquarters or not.
"I'm... sorry to hear that." Criofan offered a frown, patting Erylia on the back. "I hope she went peacefully, at least."
He wasn't very good at this comforting thing, was he?
"Don't know what I'd do if I lost family," offered Criofan, attempting to add a little more empathy to his words.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 2:53 pm
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Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 3:03 pm
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Even after all this time, he knew Erylia and what she was doing. She was trying to avoid what was hurting her in the same way she always did: swallowing it down and dealing with it. It wasn't the healthiest move, and Criofan couldn't help the small frown he gave off, but he couldn't exactly stop her from doing that. It would be hypocritical. He was pretty sure, in her place, he wouldn't want to talk about it either.
So he shrugged it off.
"Accepting it will come with time. If you need to talk about it, let me know." And he left it at that, letting Erylia move on as she was going to no matter what he had said. That was the Erylia way.
Texas and Magnus ... He was surprised at her questioning about them, but he would answer. "Texas is the same as always. He's got it a bit differently now, though. He's got two sons, you know? Bigger family than ever over there. Magnus is a bit of a shut-in, though, but he's coming outside more than he used to. I think he's finally starting to wake up to reality again, which is nice. Can't have him being such a damn stick in the mud."
Tartara Seabreeze 'round and 'round they go...
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 3:21 pm
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Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 3:27 pm
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Erylia, a mother? He could never picture it.
Of course, he had never pictured himself as a father, either. Yet, there he was, out-of-relationship children and a step-child later...
Vaguely, he placed a hand on the luck charm, running his fingers along it, before he answered her own question. Had he ever felt more inclined for kids? Well, no, but that didn't mean he hadn't ended up with them anyway. And in the end, it wasn't quite as bad as he thought. (Okay, in some ways, it was worse.) He supposed there was a way he could answer this that didn't give anything away. "They don't bother me as much as they used to," responded Criofan, a fairly innocuous answer.
The keys of a good lie (or omission of truth) was to not talk too much, so he would leave it at that and try and see where she was going with this line of discussion.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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