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Posted: Sun May 17, 2015 1:17 pm
She had gone to the lake after offering herself, wanting perhaps to find some solace in the willow trees that littered the shore. With a sigh, Hollandaise ducked under the low-hanging branches and sat at the base of the tree. It was an easy spot for her; she was small and tress just... trees were comforting in a way most people weren't. And maybe she was waiting to see if he'd appear, just like in her memory. Maybe he remembered too. But... maybe not. Slowly, she brought her knees up to her chest and stared out through the curtain of branches. And, just like many times before, she began to softly, creakily sing.
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2015 2:05 pm
"Will you really go?" Chaya pushed aside the branches and stood among the whispering leaves, looking at Holly with something unreadable and sad in his eyes. "I heard," he added, perhaps unnecessarily. He had followed after a while, full of conflicting feelings and unsure what to do with any of them.
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2015 2:14 pm
"I didn't know what else to do," she said softly. "I thought, maybe, that it is what knights were supposed to do, but I don't know." Now that she looked at him, Hollandaise wondered how, of all people, she could've forgotten him. She fiddled with the hem of her tabard for a moment. "I saw you - when I went down to become a knight. I remembered... did you?" And if he didn't, then what was the point anyway? "You always find me..."
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2015 2:19 pm
Chaya padded closer and folded himself down to kneel next to her. "I don't know what knights are supposed to do, anymore," he said sadly. "I thought knights knew what to do, but being a knight didn't really help me know what to do, and I don't think the great knights really knew either. So I don't know who does. I'm just guessing what I should do. I don't think I would be a good Great Knight, even if it was only for a little while."
He looked over at her. "I liked to make you smile," he said, very softly.
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2015 2:33 pm
"You would be a really, really good Great Knight." And Hollandaise knew that if Chaya had offered, he would've been an excellent great knight. He was kind and sincere and everything a white knight should be. She found herself bound up in rules and strictures of both her own making or not. And now, only after she had pledged and offered, she find herself doubting her decision.
She leaned against him. "But I don't want you to be one. I guess it's selfish..." Hollandaise sighed. "I feel like you made me smile a lot, Chaya. In my memory... we've known each other for a very long time. I wish I could remember all of it. You used to come find me when I was sad and you always helped me."
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2015 2:36 pm
Chaya shook his head just a little. "I don't really know how," he said. "Maybe if I had more time to learn I could learn enough to do the right thing."
Tentatively, he put his arm around her shoulders. "I remembered, when I went to the pool. I brought you to see the puppies, because I wanted you to be happy a while. I wanted to help you."
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2015 3:15 pm
She tensed for a moment as his arm when around her, but it felt alright, it felt right, and she relaxed. "I think you're fine as you are. I wonder... if I shouldn't have offered... " With another sigh, Hollandaise turned her face into his shoulder and pressed it there. "Puppies are nice," she said, her voice muffled into him. She could feel the way his body moved when he breathed and it was comforting in the same way a familiar blanket was. Hollandaise wondered about all of the memories she didn't have.
"I just wanted to find out where I fit in. But... I think... I think I would be happy with anything, if you were safe." She laughed a little, awkwardly. "It sounds strange, I am sorry."
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2015 3:19 pm
"Maybe you won't be picked," Chaya offered awkwardly. He fell quiet for a moment, then added, "I think I would be sad if you weren't safe, too. I hope we'll be okay ... " What didn't he remember? He didn't remember what he didn't remember, of course, but he wished he knew how much was gone. He hadn't missed it until he did.
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2015 5:26 pm
Hollandaise pulled away a bit and patted his arm. She had, of course, assumed a little too much. They were still functionally strangers, even if she tended to feel quite strongly about things quickly. Maybe they had been friends, maybe siblings. Perhaps they'd grown up together or they had only known each other for a season, running in the forest as autumn leaves crunched under their questing feet. She didn't know and she wouldn't know. And did it even matter anyway? "Maybe I will," she said a little sadly. After a moment, she got to her feet, dusting off her clothes. "There's no sense in thinking. Come, let's go swimming, Chaya." Hollandaise offered him a tentative smile and held out her hand.
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2015 1:02 pm
Chaya nodded and took her hand as he rose, quietly interlacing their fingers. "Let's go swimming," he agreed. He didn't have any further ideas, no way to figure out what to do, no way to protect her if she was chosen as the Great Knight, and that thought made his chest hurt a little. He didn't know how well they'd known each other, but he liked her, and maybe that was enough.
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2015 1:29 pm
She gave his fingers a nervous little squeeze at they walked down to the shoreline. A sort of sadness was trying to settle over her: the sense of history lost. Even with the sacrifices of the knights' memories... it hadn't been enough. Shadows had found their way into Camelot and even in her. Hollandaise's free hand pressed over the mark on her arm. Sometimes it burned a little, tingled, and she did not like it. "Chaya-" she began, but stopped herself. She wished she remembered more, but saying it was pointless. Hollandaise wished a great manyy things. But wishes were wishes and knights dealt in reality. "I wonder if it's cold," she continued instead. With a little, reluctant tug, she loosened her hand from his and started peeling off some of her many layers of clothing. She could not, after all, swim in leather and mail. Finally, she was down to her shift and carefully, she laid the cloth flower from her hair on the pile. Hollandaise was, as always strangely neat and had folded her clothing into triangles. And then, with a glance back at Chaya and another smile (this one mischeivous), she ran into the lake and dove in.
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2015 1:56 pm
He squeezed her hand before letting go. For now they would pretend that everything was okay. "I like cold water," he answered, and turned a little away, politely not looking as she undressed. He undressed, leaving only his breeches on, and piled his own clothes in a rather more untidy pile, though the mail was draped neatly across a log; clothes were easy to untangle but mail took much longer and was worth being neat with.
He looked up in time to see the odd butterfly mark on her arm as she put the cloth flower down. Had that always been there? He had no idea, and he wasn't sure what he felt about that. It had been hidden under her sleeve, anyway, and perhaps he wouldn't ever have seen it anyway.
Her smile distracted him, and he laughed and dashed into the water after her, toppling over deliberately to create a huge splash.
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2015 2:18 pm
Hollandaise let out a small, creaky shirek as he splashed his way into the lake. "What terrible form!" She giggled and dove back down under the water. They didn't have much time left, maybe, but they could enjoy it like this.
It was a little hard to swim with her shift billowing annoyingly around her, but Hollandaise had a purpose. With an outstretched hand, she caught hold of Chaya's ankle and yanked.
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