Welcome to Gaia! ::

Aphismet knew to expect the visit, but he figured it would be for the best if he didn't inform Rivener. Just like back when Delia had visited, although this time Aphismet doubted things would end on such a friendly note.

Lucia had written an apology to the chef a while ago, and she was now coming over to apologize to Rivener in person... While Aphi found himself unable to really hate the girl, he still didn't quite trust her. He'd be watching the Raevans while they interacted, just to be sure. She might try something again, but more than that, Aphismet worried about Rivener's reaction. Ever since the incident, Riv had been increasingly aggressive. It was winding down now that his wings were out of the bandages, but they still hadn't regained their strength after being forced into stillness for so long. Riv seemed to be trying to appear strong and tough, something Aphi easily saw through: the Scorpion had been wounded much more than physically by what Lucia had done. Sometimes the chef wondered if his ward would ever really recover? Or would Rivener think he needed to prove himself stronger than anyone else until someone finally took him out?

The white-haired man sighed, running a hand over his face. He reclined on the sofa, foot twitching up on the coffee table. The wait was almost unbearable. Thankfully Riv wasn't in the living room to see him act like this: the Scorpion was up in his room, as he was most of the time. Any minute now, that doorbell would ring, and who knew what would happen after that?... Aphi ran his hand over his face again, groaning. He just wanted to get this over with.

Aphismet would have startled had he not heard the car pull up. As it was he still jumped in his seat a little bit, the tension getting to him already. One final sigh, one final run of his hand over his face, and the chef was on his feet and walking to the door, opening it with a forced smile that dropped in nervousness almost instantly when Lucia appeared, the girl's guardian replaced by some blonde man. "Ah, uh... Lucia, hello. Come in." Aphi was clearly ill at ease, defensive... He attempted another smile with more success, although it fell just short of his usual warm grin. "I, ah... Riv and I are the only ones at home right now. I didn't tell him about your phone call, and he doesn't know that you were coming over... I thought he might try to just leave if I told him. He's up in his room. ...How did you want to do this? To be safe, I th-think I should be in the room when you talk to him. Just to be safe." Though to make sure who was safe from who was left intentionally vague.

The chef's chocolate eyes finally alit on Ty, Aphi offering a tentative hand to shake. "A-and you are?" Aphismet asked.

There was a pause between two songs, and Rivener had heard a car door closing outside. Now who could that be? Isi didn't drive, and Alex was slated to be gone for a few hours still... did they have visitors? The Scorpion removed his large headphones, throwing them onto the covers of his bed as he stood up from where he'd been reclining lazily. He floated to the front-facing window and peered down... A black BMW? Who did they know that drove THAT? Riv cocked his head to the side. "Hn." Maybe Ethan? Seemed his style. Maybe Vyn was here! A smile stretched Riv's features and he hurried to his bedroom door, throwing it open and bellowing to the floor below.

"Aphiiii! Whose car is that?"

"Sh-s**t!" the chef swore before he caught himself, flinching. "Ah, uh... What should I do?" he turned to Lucia, wondering if the girl wanted Riv down here or if she wanted to try and go up there...

Aphismet knew Rivener must be getting impatient at not getting an answer. The chef fretted, glancing over his shoulder and half-expecting Riv to appear there on the stairs, wanting to know who was here... "It's a friend of mine!" Aphi called back, before the Sigel could ask again. Dark brown eyes turned to Lucia then, softening with concern for the girl. She seemed so nervous.

Aphi took the offered bag, nodding lightly. "Alright, I'll take the bag up. You two just wait down here." With a final smile, the white-haired man turned towards the stairs, heading up to Rivener's room.

Rivener had bought into the explanation easily, figuring that if it was a car Riv didn't know, chances were it'd be someone he didn't know. The Scorpion returned to his bed, flopping down and putting his headphones back on. He had only just closed his eyes when a hand on his shoulder drew his attention.

Aphi was in the room? The Sigel frowned at his guardian questioningly, sitting up and pushing the headset around his neck. "What is it?" he asked, glancing at the bag Aphi carried.

"This is for you!" the chef announced, a slight tremor of nerves in his voice. "Here, can you open it now?" Aphismet held the letter in his other hand, ready to give it once the gifts themselves were opened.

Rivener raised an eyebrow, suspicious about the motive behind sudden gifts, but he reached for the present anyway. He was never one to refuse a gift after all. "Who's it from?" he began pulling things out as he spoke, unraveling thin colored paper from around the items.

"A, uh... friend."

Both men's eyes focused on the gifts as they were revealed. First was a dark, stylish shirt in tones of black and red that had Rivener whistling in appreciation. "Niiiice," he breathed, nodding. Next was a long leather coat, matching the shirt with its dark colors and zippers all over. Rivener grinned. Whoever bought him these must have asked someone what the Scorpion liked, because these were all great. A small box revealed a ring next, black with a red stone, looking somewhat like the one Zul had gotten him. Riv slipped it onto a finger; it fit where there'd been no ring before, great! Lastly was a pair of armbands looking so much like Zul's gorget that the Scorpion was nearly fully convinced these were gifts from Zul himself. "These are wonderful!" Riv said with a wide grin, admiring the gifts strewn across his blankets. "Who's it from, seriously?" He turned curious red eyes to Aphi.

The chef wanted to look happy and enthused, but by the way Riv's grin was slowly dissolving Aphi knew his smile was not very convincing at all. "Here," Aphismet said, giving over the letter. "That's from the giver. Read it."

Rivener frowned as he took the envelope. He didn't like where this was going. Something told him he should take the ring off, so he slipped it off the finger and put it back into its box, placing the thing on top of the coat. The Scorpion folded open the letter and began reading, Aphismet watching on.

Early on in the reading, Rivener's face settled into a stony mask. His eyes fell to half-closed, his lips drew into a thin line, and he barely moved saved for his pupils following the lines of text. It was beyond Aphismet to guess what the Sigel must be thinking...

And just like that the reading was over, Rivener folding the letter back up calmly. He got up and headed for his desk, searching only a moment before finding a pen. He bent over to scratch something slowly onto the back of the letter, and returned to the bed side.

Carefully he folded up the coat and the shirt, putting them back into the bag. He put the ring in next, then put the armbands in, fingering them for only a second longer. On top of everything he placed the letter. His face still set and stony, Rivener hefted the present and held it out for Aphismet to take. Once the bewildered guardian took the thing, Riv simply lay back down on his bed, pulling up the headphones and closing his eyes.

Aphismet got the message: get out. He sighed and shook his head, returning downstairs with the bag. It felt heavier, probably because of how heavy with meaning it had become... "I-I'm sorry," the chef muttered as he handed it back to Lucia.

On the back of the note, in Rivener's handwriting: You can be as sorry as you like. I have the right to hate you. R.

Aphismet wasn't about to refuse the poor girl the chance to talk to Riv, no matter how that would turn out. He nodded and stepped out of the way, motioning for them to go up... Ty's explanation was unnecessary, as Aphismet would have had it no other way. Yuurei's brother was doing a better job of being a guardian than Yuurei herself had been doing, the chef thought; or perhaps it was just that Lucia herself was treating Ty like her guardian, where she'd only ever held contempt for the blonde woman who raised her.

The trio walked up, Aphismet tagging along for safety just as he'd stated before. He didn't need to point out which room was Riv's, Lucia already knew that quite well. She hesitated in front of the door and Ty opened it for her, gently urging her inside.

Rivener was still reclining on his bed, arms under his head, eyes closed as he listened to the music. He'd turned the volume down after Aphi left, wary of this very thing happening. He didn't want to be caught by surprise. The Scorpion heard the doorknob clicking open, he heard Ty's prompting voice (who was that?), and he heard HER. He supposed he wouldn't have the luxury of just pretending he hadn't known she was here anymore.

With a deep sigh, Rivener stood up from his bed, once again nudging the headphones down around his neck. He crossed both arms over his chest and leveled a stoic, stony glare at those purple eyes. He would have normally flared his wings out already, but months in bandages had stymied that reflex; he kept the sharp wings tucked against his back, rustling only slightly. "What." His voice was calm and monotonous, obviously not impressed with the visit but not angry or hateful either. Not yet anyway.

Aphismet stepped into the room and to the side, somewhere between the two Raevans. He wanted to be able to jump in if the unthinkable happened and the two floating half-people attacked one another again.

She stared at him, and he stared back, both a neutral mask of nothing for a while. Eventually she bit her lip, then sighed. Rivener assumed that's when the talking would commence, and he was right: the kitten went on to apologize, pretty much stating what had been written in the letter, adding a little bit about Zul and her being depressed... mentioning the demon only served to remind Rivener that she'd had Zul's attention to herself half the time while Riv was injured, stealing away the Scorpion's most wanted, most important person on top of proving him to be weak and brittle. His wounded pride lashed out like a monster, and had any aura-seeing Raevan been present, they'd have been witness to quite a spectacle. The only outward display of his inner rage was the slight darkening to his red eyes.

Okay, so maybe the attack hadn't been HER fault, really. Maybe. MAYBE. So she said. And so Zul would probably say. But Rivener couldn't bring himself to forgive her anyway. It was THOSE hands that had broken him, it was that flimsy little girl's body that had mauled him nearly to death. Her with her thin arms and delicate frame. She'd beaten Rivener and he'd not been able to do much of anything to stop it. Even thinking about it now nearly drew tears of frustration and loathing to his eyes. He should have been able to stop it. He should have been able, but he hadn't been, and it was all HER fault. So maybe she hadn't been in her right mind, maybe she'd been possessed by some ghost in the spirit world. But it was her fault she'd been in the Spirit world to start with!!

"You said he possessed you in the spirit world. Why were you there in the first place?" he asked, eyes narrowing.

Aphismet was glad he hadn't just attacked the Frei, but Rivener was by no means warming up to the situation... The chef's eyebrows settled into an uneasy line. This might be a problem...

Rivener scoffed, turning his head aside. She could do it, she could do it... But why HAD she done it? Did she have a reason for going or was she just being curious? She didn't seem to say, and Riv grit his teeth at having to listen to her recount her wonderful fluffy-fun adventures in the god-damned place. Apparently it was all rainbows and butterflies there apart for this one time. And this one time, Rivener had paid for it along with who knew how many other Raevans, as Lucia proved too weak to deal with the situation she'd been put in.

"Tch," the Sigel spat lightly, refusing to look at the girl. Even if this wasn't her fault, even if she was sorry, even if she'd change it all if she could, Rivener just couldn't forgive. Not yet anyway. He clung to his anger like a protective cloak, tightening it around himself. If he lost it now, if he had no one to blame for what had happened to him... Rivener would just feel too lost. He wasn't prepared to deal with any of this just yet.

"You can't expect me to forgive you just like that. You come here and tell me all this crap about how it wasn't your fault, and what, you think I'll just start smiling and go Oh, okay, it was just a big misunderstanding, yay, let's have a teaparty? ...Get out of my room. I need to think. I'm not ready to face you. Get out. All of you."

He was shaking. The grip he had on his arms, crossed as they were, was beginning to hurt. Red eyes remained fixed on the wall to the side, glowering darkly. She shouldn't have the right to come here and make Rivener try to give a crap. She shouldn't have the right to not be at fault! It wasn't FAIR! And whoever had done this was GONE now, and Rivener would never have closure... He'd never be able to lash out at the one who'd hurt him, get even, and move on. It wasn't FAIR.

Aphi just sighed, running a hand through his hair and taking a half-step towards the guests, expecting them to exit. He'd follow on their way out.

Rivener's glower darkened as Lucia continued to speak. She was only repeating what she'd said before, with different words. What the hell for? Did she think it would help matters if she kept repeating the same stuff? Rivener just wanted to be alone damn it, he didn't want to hear her voice anymore!

At last, finally, Lucia said goodbye and left the room. Rivener just growled, turning his back to the door and rustling his wings. He felt... he felt violent. He wanted to ******** hit something, kill something. He needed to lash out! All this sharp, spiky pain was radiating from him, trapped inside his own body, and he needed to destroy something to let it out. But what could he do?...

Aphismet followed Lucia and Ty out when they left the room, closing the door behind them. Rivener was upset, of course, but he'd held himself civil enough. Perhaps the Sigel was maturing somewhat... Aphi could remember a time when Rivener would have just tried to poison everyone in the room, and screw explanations. A very sad smile tugged at Aphismet's lips.

"...You did do well, Lucia. I'm sorry things were so unpleasant, but maybe they'll get better someday." He didn't raise his hand to pat her shoulder, but Aphi offered a smile and a nod. "Thank you for trying to apologize to him."