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 Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2010 10:49 pm
He gently pulled her closer and let his arm relax. "Let me guess, you just want something to call a normal life, right? Something like a family?" He really had no idea what she just said. French was... not his strong suit. He might be able to ask for wine, but beyond that? Nothing.
"It's going to be hard for you now, Aila." He said softly. "this is something you're going to have to cope with for the rest of your life. And this is something that won't get easier in time. You just become better able to cope."
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Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2010 11:07 pm
Mau's shirt became Aila's new hiding place. As long as her eyes were closed, she couldn't see him, and that meant he couldn't see her, and so there would be no proof that this ever happened. For the time being, though, she could only marvel at how wonderful it was to just surrender. "I don't know. Maybe." 'Yes' was the more correct answer, but admitting that would mean that it was nothing more than jealousy for her niece that had found her in such a living hell.
"But I promised. Leon... I promised Mother. I promised I would kill him. Before she died. I promised her." It was a vow that terrified her now that she was aware of the repercussions, but she couldn't just turn her back on her mother's dying wish...
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Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2010 11:31 pm
"Would your mother be happy to know you're so upset?" He asked softly. Of course he was a fine one to talk of mothers. But revenge was something he did know. And he knew it quite well. He found himself gently rubbing Aila's back, trying to calm her down. "Remember... Even though you feel isolated you're really not alone."
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 12:29 pm
The question gave Aila pause. Why was it so hard to find a response? The answer wasn't yes, but... somehow no didn't seem right either. "I'm... not sure..." It was all she could think to say, and it was the truth. Her mother would be delighted to know what she had done. If anything, she would be disappointed in her daughter for not feeling similarly. She was sure of it.
Small hands tightened into smaller fists in response to Mau's assurance. She could only take his word for it. After living so confidently for so long, it was frightening to suddenly feel so stranded, and she could only hope she would come to some proverbial shore soon; it was a tiring fight to keep her head above water.
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 3:25 pm
Mau sighed slightly as the girl seemed to tense up. "I know how you feel, Aila." He said hesitantly. "At least, for the most part." His mother had been a very small part of his existence, and she had not been among fond memories, but...
"I've been down this road before." he murmured softly. "With someone I knew all my life." Mau offered up a little information. Perhaps, knowing she wasn't the only one to have gone through this would ease her mind even a little.
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 9:51 pm
A shudder shook her at the very imagination of his circumstances, and she moved meet Mau's gaze directly. "How...?" How could have moved on from that? Or coped with it, as he had mentioned earlier. She hadn't even known her niece for longer than the brief moments she had spent eavesdropping on her at the hotel, and it was difficult enough that way.
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Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2010 1:20 am
"I..." He thought back on the event, his blood-honey colored eyes thinning as he thought about it. "I shut it out of my mind for so long it that it began to tear me up inside. It was affecting everything I did. It essentially ate me alive. The grief, the guilt. It left me a very hollow person." He was looking sincerely into her eyes, a sort of hallowed look on his face.
"You should not have to suffer like that." He wasn't completely sure how to help her, other than to offer her a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen. "If you should ever desire it, I will... be here for you. Do not bottle this up until it kills you inside."
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Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2010 7:14 pm
She stared almost unblinking as he spoke. It was very nearly impossible to imagine him behaving the way he described, but the gravity of his expression affirmed that the impossible was indeed truth.
A slow realization stirred in the back of her thoughts, bringing with it a question. This was the same man that she had berated in the museum, had scowled at in the desert, and had been working to triumph over completely and absolutely in battle. Why was he so kind? She tucked her chin down, lowering her gaze. "...Thank you." The words were small, scarcely audible, and Aila simultaneously hoped that he had and hadn't heard her.
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Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2010 9:04 am
Hearing Aila's soft whispered word made Mau's features soften into a smile. "You're welcome." He studied her face for a moment. "Aila, though I don't know what brought you down this road in life, I'm sure that you're destined for greater things than what awaited you in the life you didn't get to have. You're bright and tenacious. Everything you strive for and more are within your grasp."
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Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2010 4:07 pm
Aila failed to suppress a small laugh. "I'm not sure I can believe it," - those words were a little too bright and hopeful to hold much truth for a criminal - "but I appreciate the sentiment. Thank you, really." She kept her gaze from Mau's, but she made no effort to conceal her words this time.
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Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 4:20 pm
Mau smirked and gently pat her back. "Don't mention it. If you ever feel you need to speak with someone, my door is always open to you." He knew that talking would often ease the pain. Even now, Aila had stopped crying.
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Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 7:33 pm
Her own troubles at least temporarily quelled, a certain curiosity tugged at the back of her mind. Who the man was that Mau had killed, why he had done so... but she could find no excuse to pry so far into his personal life, and so she stared pensively at her hands as she sought the words the ask.
"Why--" she cut herself off, thinking better of her words before left her lips, "...Why do you care how I feel? I've never been kind to you. Not even polite." Her question came as a murmur. It wasn't what she wanted to ask, but it was a thought that had been bothering her for a while.
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Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2010 3:37 am
Mau had to think for a moment. "I don't really know." He replied. "Perhaps because I've never once seen you smile. You always look so serious. Or perhaps I just couldn't allow a lady like yourself to be so distraught." He shook his head slowly. "You've never done me wrong." Mau added. Polite, nice, they were, technically, a criminal organization. Such things should rarely exist.
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Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 3:54 pm
His response caught her slightly off-guard. She was used to criticism that she was too serious or too arrogant, but she'd never heard anyone express concern over her limited range of expressions. Aila fought to make sense of it. Why should Mau care when no one else did, not even she herself? But some small part of her was grateful, and an even smaller part was afraid that if she continued to press him for explanations, he would realize just how silly he seemed.
"I'm... sorry. For being such a bother." A nervous hand fidgeted with the corner of her sleeve; she really had embarrassed herself, hadn't she...
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Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 8:48 pm
Mau shook his head slowly, his fingers playing with the ends of her hair absently. "No, you're not being a bother." If she had been, Mau wouldn't have stopped to speak with her. "But you can't hide in this corner forever." His fingers stilled and he thought a moment. She was welcome to come to him if she ever needed it. It's not like Mau had a reason to speak of her faults. She was, after all, only human. And still young at that. Though in this situation, he wasn't sure exactly how to express those thoughts.
"... Remember, you aren't alone. If you feel as such, you're welcome to find me."
With that, Mau had little more to day, and would remain with the girl until she felt well enough to dismiss him.
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