Welcome to Gaia! ::

Elst nodded sympathetically, wishing there were some way to allow the boy to possess sight, yet knowing there wasn’t. “Yes, it is at least heartening to know there are people all over the world who live perfectly well without sight…and if he’s inherited any gifts from you, that’s bound to help plenty.” He considered his words for a short time. "You could always get him a seeing eye dog as well. I hear Farstep’s horses are well trained, I could only imagine how well you might train a dog.”

He smiled at the crack Fao made, though, and the somewhat sad air his voice had taken on was well past gone. “Ah, yes, thievery and alcohol, my favorite pastimes…” He even laughed a little as he lead his guests along the pathway, past the Lobby towards his home.

Aoi registered a bit of bewilderment before he could speak again. He hurt Lauss…too…that explains the cast…I…I’ll have to talk to him about this…I’ll get an explanation out of him…Believe me, I know there’s plenty of messed up things in his head…I sorta, well…replicated a lot of it in my own brain when I synched with him…And, you see…well…there’s a bit of a complication with telling Banning about all this… He scratched the back of his head, unsure of how to say it.

Elst grinned a bit, almost uncharacteristically so, as he laughed with Faolan. “Ah, yeah, I’m sure she’ll do a fine job ‘till you figure out another method…and Eli…Haven’t met him, but I’ve heard a few things. His Essentic…Uzi, right? But yeah, can’t help but think he could train a fine dog for you…either him or someone he’s bound to have met somewhere along the line…” They had arrived at the front door, and Elst rummaged through his pockets for a short time, until he produced a large, old-fashioned key to unlock it with, opening it for his guests. “Come on in…”

Aoi was silent for a little while, simply thinking. He knew…quite a bit about Vin, but…how could he have hurt Lauss like that? Perhaps some other sort of accidental injury? The Vin he knew would feel horrible for doing such a thing…hmmm… Well, Zia…I’ve been meaning to talk to Banning about him for a while now…but for a whole different reason. I’m not sure I can tell you just now, but…He and Banning have certain ties, though I’m sure Banning doesn’t know Vin still exists…And Longway already knows, too, so the EBI staff already have been prepped…but with Banning, it just needs to be handled delicately. It definitely needs to be handled, though, I agree with you there.

Elst nodded slightly, leading his guests along the long hallway. “Ah, happy to hear you like the fragrance…I find that most people, even those who claim otherwise, love the smell of flowers, they’re just the most natural in the world…Just helps us all relax.”

The hallway, as always, eventually opened to the comfortable, floral living room, and Elst led his guests to a long, comfortable-looking couch. “Just have a seat, I’ll get the drinks…Maybe some chips, too?”

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Aoi though for a long moment, sitting in an armchair, another twin chair right nearby. He…knew him, once…just…doesn’t know he’s still here…how to tell him, though…We need to approach it indirectly, make him admit he once knew him….

Elst watched the man so adoring of his child for just a moment, only a trace of sadness behind his eyes before turning away to walk to the kitchen.

Aoi scratched the back of his head for a moment, before his hand fell to the ends of his ribbon, tied in a loop round his neck. His fingers lightly traced over the shape of one of the larger gears. Well…it isn’t that easy, he isn’t just some psycho, and Banning used to know him…but things have changed, and there’s a lot of complicated reasons why just asking him would just make everything go wrong…

Aoi sighed a little. He isn’t…he isn’t like that…He tries to help, just makes mistakes. He would never kill any of us, and he doesn’t just attack people… He, too, spared a glance over to Faolan and Child. I know him a little better than you think…He just needs help. He needs Banning, but…there’s no easy way to provide that.

Elst smoothly walked into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator. A moment passed before he reached in, removing a new case of what looked like quality-brewed beer, along with two bottles of sarsaparilla. He knew Aoi would want it, and hoped Ziazan would like it as well. He grabbed a bowl of fresh guacamole from within as well, before closing the fridge and setting it all on the counter. From the cabinets he took three bowls, one of which he filled with half of the guacamole, before opening a bag of tortilla chips that had been resting on the counter, pouring its contents evenly into the two remaining bowls. Spreading his vines a little, he picked it all up and headed out of the kitchen.

Green eyes widened at Fao’s reaction, but relaxed a little after a moment. “Oh, my apologies…” He walked into the room, setting down the sarsaparilla, one chip bowl, and one of the bowls of guacamole on the small table between the oddly silent Aoi and Zia, then returning to Fao, setting the rest of the coffee table, beer and all. “Didn’t mean to give you a start, there…but, yes, I should have a nice place for him to rest…would you like me to set some soft blankets on another couch, or perhaps set him up nicely in one of the spare rooms?”

Aoi frowned just slightly. I…I understand your view, here…but notice, please, has he hurt anyone at all lately? We’ve…me and Dad, we’ve given him an anchor. Given him a place to call home, even if he doesn’t call it that. It’s a safe place for him. We still need to talk to Banning, of course…but we need to be careful.

A pleasant smile graced Elst’s expression as he stood once more. “Ah, allow me a moment to fetch the pillows and such, then…” He walked out of the room, along another hallway.

Aoi looked rather abashed, sighing. Well, he doesn’t live here, no, but…I’ve talked to him. A lot. I’ve come to learn a lot about him, too… His eyes saddened ever so slightly.

After a short while, Elst returned; in his arm was a massive quantity of cushy blankets and feather pillows. He walked over to another nearby couch, setting it all down, beginning to form it into what looked like an amazingly comfortable place to sleep. “This should do well…”

Aoi frowned a bit more. That…that isn’t what I’m trying to do, though…I’m just trying to think how to best say it all… He opened his bottle of sarsaparilla, lifting it away from Zia’s, and took a sip. He has a lot of ties to Banning that Banning isn’t likely to accept again, at least not accept them well. He, well, was Banning’s, once upon a time…