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 Posted: Fri May 12, 2017 12:05 pm
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Posted: Mon May 15, 2017 10:04 am
  It has been about six weeks since he found himself in the hospital. He wasn't surprised to find out that his jaw was broken during the fight. After all, the signs were there and he didn't think he'd come out with minor wounds. Everything else wasn't nearly that big of a deal. In the end, he had to have wires put in his mouth to restrict movement almost completely. He was given painkillers and antibiotics while being placed on a liquid diet. As long as he had a blender it would be fine. Ruven wasn't one for talking with the people he had come to know anyway. That didn't mean he was okay with the situation he was in though.
That first night out of the hospital might have been at Ian's place, but he didn't want to actually stay there for his recovery. That's why he opted for a hotel room that had some type of kitchen he could use. He also made it clear that he would buy and prepare his own food since he was perfectly capable of using his other body parts. Granted he only had the money that Ian gave him, like before, but he wasn't going to spend it on anything that wasn't needed. The elf didn't before so why would he now?
As far as the massive bomb he dropped on Ian, he didn't reveal much more before being left to his own devices for the most part. He probably would have said more if he could talk, but typing or writing out his words was too annoying. That was the main reason that he just told the other what was important: like their company name. Ian could do all the research about everything himself. It shouldn't have been hard to locate after all.
His parents owned an IT company called Technology Solutions. It was a simple name but many companies came to them for help. They provided solutions for customers that wanted to improve efficiency, increase performance and other business related things that needed improvement. The focus was definitely on things that were more technology based: like cloud hosting, system & network integration and so on. As far as Ruven knew, his parents ran an honest company with a goal they had since they were younger. They started from the bottom so to speak. Well, maybe not from the streets; but still. He didn't know everything that the company worked on though. At the time of the incident, he was focused on his studies and that's what his parents wanted as well. Anything related to the business was placed on the backburner for him. That just made it harder to think of another company or group that may have wanted to destroy his parents booming business. Then there was the feeling that it was all too insanely personal, but he couldn't think of someone he came across that would want to ruin him in such a horrible way. If it wasn't personal why did they go out of their way to make sure his parents were dead before they blew up the building and everything that could possibly be important. Why was he accused of the crime when he wasn't even close to the company building when it happened? It's not like he had any motive either. Of course, that was not how the prosecution laid it out for the jury. It just seemed too crazy to think that the system failed to realize that he had nothing to do with the disaster--unless something shady was going on. The bizarre nature of the situation was what made him focus so much on figuring out the truth despite the fact that he wouldn't gain his freedom regardless of the outcome. It might have been his way of coping with it all, but he would deny it if the idea was brought up.
Over the last six weeks, if Ian even sent him a text to ask a question related to his injury or the incident with his parents he was brief with the response. Anything he didn't deem important to mention about the company incident he wouldn't even bother replying to. They could "talk" about that in more detail when they met up--which was supposed to be today. Technically he was allowed to move his mouth a bit more than before after the sixth week, but he wanted to wait a couple more weeks just to be on the safe side. Still, he promised to have a deeper conversation about everything after six weeks and that was why he invited Ian over. Hopefully, the guy would have some information about what might have really happened in regards to the security that was put into place. Anything that could be a lead would be helpful. Ruven was more pressed to figure out the how's and why's more than anything else at the moment. What he did after he got that information was something he hasn't thought about.
While he waited for his guest to come over Ruven started to wash anything that he used for breakfast that morning--he didn't use the dishwasher since it would never get full enough and was better used as a drying rack. The elf already got ready for the day by washing up like normal and getting dressed in the clothes he had that were clean. There wasn't much cleaning he needed to do since he generally kept the place free from clutter. It was completely different from Odin's apartment. Even when he lived there his ways couldn't keep it looking good for very long. He would be lying if it didn't bother him, but no one asked and he never show his discomfort. What was the point? He was a slave that was bought for a purpose he didn't quite understand still. After all, Odin was gone most of the time and didn't really ask anything of him unless he brought someone home that he beat up or something else ridiculous. It just didn't make sense. That part of his life was behind him though--at least for the time being. He was still involved with Ian and they are related. He was well aware of the fact that he might have to go back: either to Odin or the shop. There was no way to tell which would be worse. That's why he didn't think about it too much.
Whenever Ian knocked on the door Ruven would have walked over in silence before he opened the door to let the other in. Compared to the last time they saw each other the raven looked rather normal; after all, the wires were hidden in his mouth. When the door was shut he would have gestured to the mini sofa so they could sit down while discussing many things.
LOCATION: In his hotel room with no one yet.
What would you do if your freedom was unjustly striped away from you?
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Posted: Sat May 20, 2017 5:03 pm
Alykia Ugh sorry. I swear I'll get a damn post format together soon. Lost all my Ian s**t and forgot to replace it. He sat over his desk gently wiping his brow. A sweaty mess. That’s what he’d boiled down to. Ian didn’t know what he was doing. He went to work everyday trying his best to learn one grunt job just so his father would move him to the next. It felt pointless at times, reaching that breaking point that was just around the corner taunting him. If he ran away or… ********. Who knows? There are so many things Ian could do that don’t have to end with his life being some copy of his father’s. His mom kept telling him that it was because the man was worried and scared. That he felt guilty about how Odin turned out… So as a result, the two smothered him. That was why they were always breathing down his neck and trying to be more involved now that he was probably too old for it. They didn’t want Ian to end up like his brother. How was it seeing Odin?Great, he’s great. He’s in therapy and has to attend counseling. I think it’ll really make a difference. Ian lied. No, he didn’t… But he did. ********. Ian didn’t want to see Odin fail but he was having nothing but nightmares. His mind had become one dark pit, his brain constantly flaring back to the moment he sprinted forward and got physical with Odin, who mind you, came back from prison looking like a brick wall. Ian didn’t think in moments like that. Growing up with Odin he learned to just act when things got bad. His face was all ******** up and he lied about getting mugged. God knows if they believed in that or not. They couldn’t be that stupid, but Odin didn’t get brought up much after. It was too difficult to discuss the werewolf. So Ian had been on his own the past few weeks, carefully trying to gather what information he could. First he started on his laptop reading up on newspapers, blogs, and forums discussing the incident. Technology Solutions didn’t have any type of security flaws. Someone knew the codes to disable it, hacked it in order to pause the systems, or they knew exactly what was installed and where and managed to avoid it with counter-enchantments or curses that made the technology within the building useless. How could they do it without a leak? Someone from inside the damn company had obviously spilled information. None of the evidence that was found suggested it had anything to do with a hacking. Nothing seemed to be tampered with. Ian just… He tried to get a meeting with the legal department without his father knowing but it was impossible. He had only been able to bring it up once and he was told that they had already testified and helped with the investigation as well as they could. That the systems weren’t faulty and it was a tragic fate. Ian didn’t know what to believe but… All the evidence pointed that Ruven was the criminal. Ian had no idea what the motive was, but he hated it. His brother had to pick someone accused of murder? Odin hurt someone who could be so dangerous? What if he slipped small amounts of poison in Odin’s food and slowly killed him over time? What if he was planning something diabolical? Ian was trying so hard to find any hint that Ruven was innocent, he really was. He wanted to believe it more than anything but if there had been a damn possibility it wasn’t Ruven’s fault he wouldn’t have been found guilty in court. Ruven already had a chance to prove his innocence. Ian sighed, leaning back and rubbing his brow. Another night that lead nowhere. The same bullshit. Ian closed his laptop and turned to take a shower. He needed to wake up early for work and then head over to meet Ruven. The lycan didn’t have time for anything else. First thing Ian did after his shift the next day was pack himself a bag and call an uber where he tried to mentally prepare himself. He was quiet the whole ride over, not engaging the driver as the car pulled up to the hotel room. Ian’s movements were sluggish as he went for the elevator and hit the correct floor number. The anxiety only got worse when he was finally knocking on the door to Ruven’s room. ”Hey! It’s me.” Ian called, waiting for an answer. There was none. Not until the door magically opened, Ruven had been sullenly silent on the other side. s**t. Ian hated that so much. He was having so much trouble trusting the elf. ”You’re looking much better.” Hell, Ian looked much better himself. He’d taken a few of the punches as well. ”Have you been alright? It’s been awhile since we last spoke. I would have contacted you sooner but I’m just getting swamped in work as of recently...” ********. Stop ranting Ian. He was making himself look like a damned fool.
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Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 11:13 am
Ruven sat down on the chair after he shut the door behind him without responding to the chatty visitor. He knew this would happen based on Ian's personality. That's why he already had a response written down on a flash card. The elf picked up the stack that he had on the side table. Then he showed him the first two. The first one simply said 'I'm fine'. The next one addressed a question the other might ask--which would most likely be why he was still using notecards.
I want to let it heal more
before I take out the wires.
Seeing that Ian didn't seem to know where to begin, Ruven pulled out another notecard to show him.
Did you find anything?
He wasn't specific with what the 'anything' was, but he was asking if Ian found anything that would help him. Of course, he knew everything about the case and how the company helped out. Ruven also knew that the other could very well think he did the deed. After all, he didn't expect the guy to do a bit of research and find some big secret that might imply that he was actually maybe not at fault for what happened. Someone went to great lengths to ******** up his life and there was no way incriminating evidence would be easy to find. That's why he pulled out more lengthy cards regardless of how the other answered the previous question.
I don't care if you think I am
innocent or not.
It was a true statement. Sure it would help the other to believe him, but what really mattered was that he knew the truth. Ruven could care less about what others thought as long as he could get the answers he craved.
I realize that any information I find that can prove I did not do what everyone thinks I did will not give me back my old life.
What I want are answers that I need you to help me find.
I don't intend to ruin your company or the people you care about like someone else did to me.
Ruven felt like all that was needed to be said because there was only one person that seemed to believe him and so he did not expect anyone else to now. Sure that could change if he found something that questioned the incident, but he had to get people to help him without knowing that first. That was part of the reason he added the last bit. Just because he was certain that something happened with the security system didn't mean that he would destroy the company if he found out some were heavily involved. He actually never thought about what he would do when he got closer to the truth, but he was not a killer and would not want to ruin someone's business without a good reason. It was possible that if he found out that the company, in general, was shady that he would want to reveal that to the public though.
If you didn't find anything different: I want you to look deeper.
The person that went through the effort to kill my parents, blow up the business and frame me for it when I was nowhere near the building must have an insane personal grudge. There is no way someone like that would want any chance of their plan failing.
Meaning that whatever happened to the system your company put into place was patched up as if nothing happened.
An outside source might have fixed it up before anyone could look into it after hacking into the system. There might have been someone in your company that helped with the whole scheme.
I don't know what it was but I want you to figure that out.
There was a possibility that the person that did it all didn't have anything against him and he knew that. It was just easier to use a crazy person than it was to admit that the one(s) involved just needed him to take the fall so they never would. Of course, that meant that either the company or his parents were the real target. That didn't sit well since it could imply that the business was shady in some way. Then again, the trail didn't dig up anything on the destroyed business or his parents being tainted or anything of the sort. Then there was the fact that his parents weren't killed by the explosion. Someone obviously wanted to make sure they were dead. How could that not be personal?
It would be good to get rid of someone that is shady within your company.
I'm sure you wouldn't want there to be someone like that walking around doing as they please.
He added the last one to give Ian a reason he might want to look harder into it for himself. The elf didn't get the feeling that the guy was bad. He seemed to love his brother and probably wanted to keep the company running in an honest way. At the same time, he obviously ignores things that he shouldn't as a way to hopefully help those he loves: like Odin. At least that appears to be the case. It was both useful and maybe a detriment to his cause. Only time will tell if Ian ends up causing him trouble or not.
Don't ask who might have a grudge against me
because I have no idea.
He added the last one almost as an afterthought even though he wrote it down ahead of time. At least it might have seemed that way because he showed Ian the card slower than the others. The last one that was put up at the moment was only done if Ian didn't ask questions after reading certain parts that made him want to. That would have merely said 'if you have a question then ask' or something similar. With what he wanted to say up to that point out in the open, Ruven leaned back in his chair and crossed one leg over the other. His elbows rested on the arms of the chair in order to let his hands dangle down a bit. The stack of notecards, although smaller, sat in next to him in the chair.
LOCATION: In his hotel room with Ian.
What would you do if your freedom was unjustly striped away from you?
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Posted: Fri May 26, 2017 10:01 pm
  
”No of course.” He quickly mentioned when Ruven felt the need to explain why his mouth was still wired shut. ”Just listen to what the doctors say. They’ll let you know when you’re ready to have them removed.” He promised. The next card was tricky, asking Ian if he managed to find anything. The lycan rubbed his arm gently as he slowly shook his head. ”I mean…” Of course he found things. Ian only heard about it all for the first time the last time they’d met. He had tried to educate himself to the best of the ability.
”So… I researched a lot. To the best of my ability.” Ian said nodding his head. ”I tried to do it without drawing attention to myself. They didn’t like me snooping around near the legal department. Those guys always have a lot of work to do.” Though Ian realized Ruven still had more to say before it was his turn to talk. Ruven didn’t care if Ian thought he was innocent or not. He explained that there was no going back to his family, and he wasn’t going to ruin Ian’s company.
Ruin it? Was that blackmail? Ruven was so hard to read. His cold uncaring exterior made him seem like an evil loan shark ready to bite out your jugular if you didn’t deliver what he wanted. There was a disconnect that made the man appear uncaring and unsympathetic even about his own family’s murder. There were no smiles or fear. There were no hints of gratefulness or compassion. Ruven was just cold. Ian found it impossible to read the male. Did Ruven even have the capability to ruining his father’s business? Was he using this to collect blackmail? Surely Ian knew Odin assaulting his slave would ruin his brother’s life all over again and send him straight back to prison, but that didn’t have anything to do with the family business. Odin had never been an active part of their company. Elves were smarter than the average joe. Clever. Ruven could be slowly collecting information to use as blackmail or release to the public making the company look bad. If Ian didn’t come out straight to his father and explain the situation he might be walking right into Ruven’s game. He didn’t want to end up being a traitor. That was the last thing Ian wanted to end up involved in.
His eyes dropped before reading the next portion ordering him to look deeper. To put in more work than he had already tried. Ruven was asking Ian to start hassling and harassing workers, wasn’t he? Ruven wanted Ian to do all his dirty work. s**t. What have I gotten myself into? Ian asked himself as he read about the maybe-but-maybe-not-lie about Ruven’s parents. About wanting to solve the crime. Learn the grudge. Figure out how it all took place. He couldn’t be serious, could he?
”Look… Ruven.” Ian stated very calmly. ”I’m sorry, about everything that has happened to you.” He pointed towards the door. ”But you’ve got to understand, I can’t be doing all this. My father has already got me working over 40 hours a week to try and teach me the company. Even outside of the office I’m still constantly reading up to educate myself on enchantments and laws about what curses our business has the liberty to explore. I need to have a clear understanding of our ethics and company policies.” His hand came up, slowly running through his shaggy head of hair.
”I cannot be snooping around my father’s company harassing the workers about your case and I can’t be taking out massive amounts of time from my life to become your private detective. I hardly have any time to myself lately.” Hell, Ian didn’t have the liberty to find out anything faster than Ruven could. ”I can buy you a laptop and you’ll have plenty more time to dedicate towards trying to find things out… And if you need something I can try to find answers to specific questions, but you can’t have me out there trying to piece together everything myself. I have no idea how to go about any of this stuff. The only things I even know about your case is what I’ve read from the papers and articles online.” Ian crossed his arms. He still had to be helpful and kind towards Ruven, of course, or Odin might pay for it. Ian knew that much. Of course he would still try to help, just not to the degree Ruven seemed to expect.
”You haven’t even explained your side or any details to me. You’ve just been ordering me to figure everything out for myself.” Which has been the most bizarre piece to Ian. It must have been the reason Ruven lost the court case. Surely if he had any desire to be understood he would have been able to bring forth proof as to how he had nothing to do with the invasion on his family’s company. The elf seemed to be the biggest enemy against himself if this was the way he had behaved with lawyers and inside of the court case. Innocent or not, he came off as a cold hearted monster to Ian. tab
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Posted: Mon Jun 05, 2017 3:54 pm
Ruven wasn't wrong in how he thought the other would react during this interaction. He was trying to be nice and saying things that weren't that important. The elf knew that the company wouldn't want someone snooping around even if it was the son that is next in line to take over. He didn't actually want Ian to get in trouble or do something illegal in order to get the information he craved. It might have seemed like he didn't care and he realized that. There was just a reason he didn't point something like that out. Perhaps it would have been better to even though he knew Ian wouldn't do anything that would cause problems within the family--if at all possible.
Then there was the way they were talking. Writing out what he thought needed to be said was annoying at best. He tried to be prepared even though he knew that such a conversation should have been discussed verbally. They promised to meet now though. Perhaps it was a bad decision since he could have probably pushed it back a bit more--maybe he was too antsy about it in reality. Ruven has been stuck in the hotel room for the most part. It wouldn't have been in his best interest to walk around after all. He did things though: like work out with what he had and borrowed books to read. Still, he wanted to hear some good news even though he knew that it wouldn't be that easy to find. Making Ian look most of the incident up was bad as well. His imagination and assumptions probably have taken a toll on him.The elf knew this wasn't the best way to handle it, but he jumped in and there was no turning back. If he was thinking completely straight after getting his face bashed in then maybe he wouldn't have used something akin to blackmail to get the information. In the weeks after he had time to think about it. That's when he started to question himself before forcing himself to try to make the best of the situation. Sure he was going to bring it up with Ian at some point, but not like that. It might have been a mistake. After all, he wasn't the blackmailing type and thus had no experience. That's probably why he was attempting to make Ian see that it wasn't what he was trying to do.
He knew things weren't going in his favor when Ian uttered his name and apologized for the situation. Then came the excuses. They weren't particularly surprising, but that didn't mean that they sat well with him. After all, if this was his brother asking for help it would be a different story. Ian had no reason to help him personally. Just because they got along okay didn't mean they connected on any type of deeper level. That's one of the reasons he wasn't planning on revealing all this information so soon. Ruven needed time and while sitting in the hospital bed he was too concerned with losing any chance at getting some kind of hint.
Ruven uncrossed his legs when the over ran his hand through his hair. He might have seemed calm and collected, but with each word the lycan said after that he couldn't stop himself from slowly gripping the arms of the chair harder and harder. It was obvious that Ian didn't understand. At no point did he ask for the man to harass the workers and play a detective that needed to figure out everything. He just wanted a lead that he could look into. Just something. Anything. Then the bit about the laptop came: it almost made him scoff. He's already done everything in his power, before and after he was sentenced, to find some breadcrumb. Unless Ian was going to give him access to the company there was no need for a laptop.
It was fine though. He would just have to explain what he meant. That's why he was attempting to relax without making it obvious. Most of his frustration was probably because of their method of conversation anyway. It wouldn't help to lose his cool. Ruven needed to remain calm and dissolve the misunderstandings while attempting to get some help in a way that worked for both of them.
Then came the last bit. He could barely stop himself from acting on his emotions. It was something that didn't happen in the past, but things have changed and he hated it. Instead of doing anything uncouth, he picked up the notecards that got hidden beneath his leg and started to write. Although he was thinking 'that's why I asked if you had any questions you ******** dumbass' he wrote down a response to the "explain your side" issue in handwriting that was not as neat as the others. When done with that notecard he leaned forward and slapped it onto the table with a little too much extra force before waiting for Ian to pick it up. He didn't even care if he was acting like a child at that point.
You want to hear my side? You mean the part about how I was on campus when my parents were killed and even talked to some of my friends. Those same friends that ended up believing that I did such a horrible thing and said that they never saw me that day. Or maybe the part where people lied about how I hated my parents for the stupid reason they decided to make up since they couldn't pin me for a heat of the moment act. How could they think I would be dumb enough to go through all that effort just to come out broke as ******** whether I got caught or not? Who would do something that stupid if it wasn't in the heat of the moment? Only dumbass people would believe such a ridiculous story--unless they were paid off.
Of course, the prosecution had weaved a very enticing story that swayed the masses, but there were some things that didn't make a whole lot of sense if you looked at everything a bit more. The main point being that there was proof that he was intelligent and thus he would have done things differently in order not to be suspected. The prosecution used some lame excuse for that as well though. It didn't matter. Those details didn't matter since it already happened. He wasn't trying to get his old life back. That was impossible. Ruven just wanted to know the truth--more specifically who planned it, how and why. The court stuff was easier to figure out: the trail was corrupt.
The next bit was on the back of the notecard--written in a slightly less aggressive manner.
Does that ease your worries? Was finding out that everyone screwed me over helpful? Do you even believe that I might be innocent?
The second one was obviously an afterthought and set on the coffee table in a normal manner. Apparently writing out the stuff about his backstabbing friends helped remove his anger. It was as he was writing out the 'unless they were paid' part that he started to calm down a bit.
I don't know anything about bombs and have never killed someone before. Just to put that out there.
It was said to imply that he wouldn't have been able to go through with such a crime in the first place. He didn't expect Ian to take anything he said as truth though. After all, the guy had no reason to trust him and every reason to believe in the evidence of a "just" trail. s**t. His lawyer didn't even seem to be on his side.
I'm not asking you to do something illegal. I just want a clue. Something. Anything. That I can maybe do something with. If you have actual questions that would help then ask them? I never expected you to do everything on your own. I've done all I've can and just want a hint that could lead me to the truth. That's all.
The next one confessed something that he was using as some sort of apology.
I didn't want to go about it this way.
Ruven leaned back and let out a tired sigh. He could have said that better and added more information. It wouldn't matter if Ian didn't want to help though. He honestly didn't expect this hasty plan he made up in the hospital to work now that he had time to think it over. It's not like he could just make the lycan care about him as a person in order to motivate him. That just doesn't happen all of the sudden. Sure he could have tried to act a bit friendlier, but he definitely has hardcore trust issues now. Ruven didn't want to reveal anything that didn't seem important. He just figured that they'd get used to him and vice versa. That required time--especially for people that were damaged.
LOCATION: In his hotel room with Ian.
What would you do if your freedom was unjustly striped away from you?
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Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2017 1:02 pm
Ian felt like he was standing in front of a crime boss, the way Ruven didn’t seem to react in the slightest to anything he was saying. Only his legs uncrossing as he brushed his hair to the side and leaned back into a comfortable position. The elf’s hands just gently holding onto the sides of the chair as Ian remained there near the doorway, standing since Ruven wanted to jump straight into business. No small chatting or drinks first. Just this mess.
By the time Ian had finished speaking there was more silence as Ruven began to scribble down… A lot. He could see the elf writing out a proper paragraph of text. The page was put down aggressively. Anger. Angry at Ian who hadn’t done anything but try to help. Why? He had tried to sympathize. Tried to empathize. Tried to be polite. Tried to help learn more about Ruven’s situation. His brows knotted together as he slowly picked up the page that Ruven didn’t even have the audacity to hand to him. His eyes began to run over the first sentence: You want to hear my side?
Ruven’s friends lied in court. All his classmates. Professors. No security cameras caught him anywhere away from home. He believed they were paid off. They were all convinced otherwise and turned against him. Ian had always believed the majority of humans were good. He had cried in front of his laptop crying into videos of someone taking the time to save a bird with a broken wing or abused dogs. He watched videos of people running into a pack of hounds trying to rip apart a fox in order to save the creature. He was the type of person who believed that good triumphed evil. That love outlived hate. Ian had always been a slave to positivity, the one thing that had always guided him through life. Trying to believe everyone Ruven know would simply get paid off and not stand up for their friend was ludicrous. Unless maybe they all absorbed negative vibes from the elf as well. The same crime boss mannerisms that made it seem like the male was hiding something. Maybe his friends thought they were doing what was best. Maybe Ruven was just an awful friend.
Ian had learned a lot growing up with Odin. He learned how to stay skeptical and forgiving. How to stay guarded without losing every ounce of hope. He wasn’t a fool, but he knew he wasn’t usually the smartest person in the room. With all that, Ruven was still trying to convince him he was innocent. He asked if Ian believed it. ”I don’t know.” He responded coldly. Trying to mimic the mood Ruven had set for them.
”You can’t just ask me to find something.” Ian still wasn’t backing down. ”I don’t know a thing more than anyone else off the street who keeps up with the news. Your lawyer left absolutely no reason to believe you didn’t do it though.” He crossed his arms. ”So if you want to be angry at someone, make it him. And if you’re looking to get answers from someone, make it him.” Ian takes out his phone holding it out as an example. ”No reason he couldn’t print out all your text logs and communications with your parents, have them read over by a professional to determine your relationship was a normal loving family with your parents. Find security footage with you on it to prove you weren’t near the location. If this setup was nonsense then it should have been easy to shut down their stupid made up theories and lies. If someone was paid off it sounds like the people who were working with you.”
Hell, Ian didn't know the first thing about the law or how court cases worked, but he knew well enough that it was a back and forth between trying to provide enough facts so people supported your claims over your opponents. ”I would be stupid not to hold a heavy caveat and concern when you're sitting here telling me to just believe you when you have been found guilty by everyone else." Ian shook his head. ”And that's where I am on this all. I don't appreciate your attitude, acting like I'm one to blame."
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Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2017 7:29 pm
He was failing. The whole interaction had gone up in smoke and no matter what he said wouldn't help at this point. Sure he could explain why there wasn't any real evidence of his positive relationship with his deceased parents or how the cameras didn't pick him up anywhere he was supposed to be. None of those details mattered now. They didn't matter before either--and Ruven knew that. He didn't bring that stuff up because no one would believe anything said if they didn't think that he could be innocent. Ian had no reason to think that he was falsely accused either--especially since they never made a deeper friend like connection. That probably would have helped quite a bit, but the fact of the matter was he didn't try to befriend the other. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He did make an effort in his own way. The problem was that he was a different person than he was before everything changed. How could he warm up to strangers when everyone turned their back on him when he needed them most? He wasn't an actor. Ruven couldn't just act like some friendly slave that has accepted his fate and made the best out of every situation. That's why he needed time. At the rate things were going he almost believed that Odin would take his word as truth more than his brother. Why? Mainly because he has definitely seen and been through some s**t.
The elf could blame this interaction on having to use cards, timing or possibly any number of things. What good would it do though? Sure he hated the fact that he tried to plan things so that it would work out only to lose control over it all. Not knowing how to proceed was frustrating, but he was positive that trying to explain his innocence was definitely not the way to go at this point.
Ruven listened quietly to the other has he responded. He had calmed down completely by that point. He wasn't even bothered by anything that came out of Ian's mouth. That might have been because of the tone he gave him followed by pointing out how he was obviously not swayed in the slightest. Of course Ruven wasn't trying to get the lycan to come over to his side. Most of what was written was emotionally driven--at least the part that probably mattered. The elf sat in the chair much like he did when he was listening earlier. He took it all in, analyzed what was said and started to think of the best way to respond when the time was right. The raven haired young man soon came to the conclusion that any more talk would be pointless. He even took the time to glance through the remaining notecards to see if there was something he could add that was already written down. Ian was right of course--at least about believing him.
I don't blame you.
Blame will get me nowhere.
My frustration lies with
the situation.
Ruven handed the notecard over that he had just written on before he leaned back in his chair to let out a sigh. That's when he noticed something on the next card. Curious, he picked it up to get a better look. 'Oh, that's right. I forgot about that.' The elf let the notecard fall back into his lap as he picked up the phone that was given to him at the beginning. Since it wasn't the target of Odin's rage it worked rather well still. He just didn't want to use it to talk about such a serious topic. While he was left to take care of his situation he had plenty of time to think. Some of the time it prompted him to use the hotel wifi to look things up. That's when he realized something that he maybe should have earlier. After shifting through his phone a bit he pulled up a folder that had a few pictures in it. Then he handed it over to Ian.
The picture was of Ruven with a green-haired boy at a much younger age: definitely no older than nine. They appeared to be at a school event or something of the sort. He had an air of coolness in the picture, but it was toned down by innocence. Even the slight smirk he sported had a more lighthearted friendliness to it. The person in the picture that one would assume to be his friend obviously liked him--at least as a friend. While Ian may or may not have been analyzing the picture, the elf spent that time writing something on a notecard. When he was done he handed it over again.
Look at the rest if you want.
You're in some of those.
I should have realized earlier.
That we crossed paths before.
If Ian would have taken the time to look at the others he would have found at least one with him in it. There was even one of Ruven laughing just like any child would--followed by one of him glaring at whoever took the picture. It wasn't malicious in any way though. Those pictures represented a younger version of how he was before s**t went down. Sure he wasn't exactly the same, but he wasn't all that different. Things change though. People change. Who he was now was a mystery even to him if he took the time to think about it.
Was he trying to prove anything by showing Ian those pictures? No. It just came to his attention that they knew each other growing up--at least to some degree. He really just showed him the pictures because it was a strange thing to find out. That and maybe to get their minds off the insane topic that had crashed and burned. Right now he didn't care anymore--maybe talk about the old days would be a more pleasant experience. Ruven passed him another notecard.
There is no point in continuing
our previous conversation.
I was lucky enough to be purchased
by someone in the Cypress family.
If you want to leave I won't hold it against you,
but if you want to talk about those days
I can give you a glass of water.
I have nothing else to offer.
Ruven remained hunched forward as he rested his elbows on his knees. He placed one palm over the other loosely before letting his chin sit on top of them both. He probably should have offered the water at the beginning. Unfortunately, he had other things on his mind. That was a moot point now. If Ian chose to stay and wanted a drink then he would get one. If he chose to leave then he would let him. It was as simple as that.
LOCATION: In his hotel room with Ian.
What would you do if your freedom was unjustly striped away from you?
Lyrca I remember us talking about them either being in elementary school together for a bit or maybe meeting a few times at social events with the family when they were younger. I tried to be a bit vague since I couldn't remember the specifics if we talked about them.
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