|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Dec 06, 2013 9:07 pm
Who: Cesc, Vivi, and Zurine
When: Two days after the meta conclusion
Where: Vermillion bakery (residence)
Weather: Hot and humid outside, but nice and cool within
Vivi fiddled with the phone for an extra moment after she dialed the number. All morning long, she'd taken it out of her pocket and looked at is as though waiting for it to ring, to give her some kind of answer. She took it out and slipped it back into her dress pocket throughout the day as she put on her smile, standing behind the bakery counter and tending to patrons.
When Cesc returned, she was unsure of the damage. That he was hurt was obvious, certainly. He had stitches and bandages and bruises, he moved like his body ached, and he touched things gingerly, as though afraid things would break in his hands.
She had seen pain before. Vivi knew that Rhedefre could bear pain. He'd broken glasses and burned himself on cookie sheets and knocked his antlers on the bakery shelves. It was more this time, yes, but the physical scars were not what bothered him.
Rhedefre slept through dawn. He stayed silent for hours on end. He shook his head when asked to explain and did not even attempt to force smiles onto his face. He seemed exhausted after waking and fed on twilight through the window with his head on the sill.
Shepard tried to soothe her. He'd come around, he said. He'd let them know what happened on his own time. He just had to get through the muck first.
Vivi didn't want him to go through the muck alone.
So she waited for her break, took the phone back out of her pocket, and called Phiel.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Dec 06, 2013 9:35 pm
It was quiet in the house when the phone rang. The summer had been quiet, both in work for Phiel and for Zuri's social life. The heat fainting over the seaside left the snowy owl frei melting-tired, exhausted, and she hadn't left the house much at all. She was in her room napping when the call came, and so Phiel came in from the fish room to answer the phone.
"Cereus residence," he said gruffly. "Phiel speaking. Can I help you?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Dec 06, 2013 9:40 pm
"Hello, good morning," said the Frenchwoman into the phone, her tone warm but not as exuberantly cheerful as normal. There was an undercurrent of solemnity that was unlike her, barely noticeable under the good-naturedness of her voice. She missed having a phone cord to wind around her fingers. Instead, she plucked at the hem of her dress, straightening what was already straight. "It is Vivi here, Phiel, what a very pleasure to hear you. I -- was wondering, perhaps, if Zurine was available, perhaps soon, to visit? I know she does not like the summer, I am sorry to ask. It is that this is, ah... perhaps necessary."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Dec 06, 2013 9:58 pm
Phiel had talked enough to Vivi that he could tell something wasn't quite right when the equivalent of verbal sunshine didn't radiate from the receiver as usual. His brows furrowed and he sat down. "Pleasure to hear from you too. Been a bit since we talked." He listened quietly, rubbing at his temples a bit.
"Necessary? Well... I'm sure she'd visit," he said, slowly. "She's been asking about Cesc. How... urgent is it?"
Zuri was, quite suddenly, peering around the doorframe, watching Phiel alertly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Dec 06, 2013 10:06 pm
"Oh, I do not mean to ... impose, of course," said Vivi, although there was not much of a true apology in her voice. There was a bit of urgency that snaked its way through the politeness. She looked up the staircase, toward the room she knew was still darkened within, and then lowered her eyes. How urgent was it?
"Do you remember, perhaps, last week? When they called us about the doctor Kyou, that he was missing? I am afraid that Rhedefre was forced to go alone to the jungle -- the Shepard was ill and I could not leave the bakery wholly unattended." There was a note of annoyance in her voice, a sense of a woman cursing her foul luck. It was gone as she continued, expelled in a short sigh. "But he was ... oh! I cannot but say. Rhedefre found him, the doctor, we heard, but he has been injured, and he is, I am sorry to say, much depressed. It is embarrassing that it is all I know, but he has been in and out of bed since he returned and I thought perhaps ... Zurine could help?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Dec 06, 2013 10:20 pm
He nodded, looking concerned, and Zuri floated over, not used to Phiel looking so worried. "All right..."
"Is everything okay?" Zurine asked, quietly. Phiel put a hand over the phone's receiver and explained the situation concisely and neatly, while she listened.
Almost immediately, worry radiated from her. "T-tell them I'll come now," Zuri said, urgently. She looked a bit ragged -- shedding feathers a little, her hair tied back to keep her cool -- but she puffed up, ready to protect her favorite friend.
"I imagine you heard that," Phiel said into the phone, unable to stop himself chuckling a very little despite the gravity of the situation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Dec 07, 2013 8:39 am
The sweet, if tiny sound of the frosty frei's voice brought a small smile to Vivi's face. Immediately, she felt her shoulders relax, like something had been lifted from them. Zurine always brought comfort and ease with her, and Cesc always smiled to be in her presence -- he unbent with her more than with any other Raevan, social as he was.
"I am embarrassed but to say I am relieved!" said the Frenchwoman, and her voice suited her sentence. There was a little mirth in her words, easily returned when her worry lessened. "Aa, I know this is an inconvenience, but, really, thank both of you. I will turn down the temperature upstairs to accommodate our lovely one, yes? And I will have the side door open for her to go straight into the residence and not through the bakery, to make it easier."
As she spoke, she walked through the back room to the side door, usually used for deliveries, and unbolted it. Zurine had been over enough times to know to re-lock it when she came in, and Vivi knew the dainty frei knew well how to get up to the second floor to Cesc's room by herself, if she herself was busy with a customer at when she arrived.
"Thank you both very much, merci, merci, merci," Vivi said. Were Phiel in front of her, she would have kissed both of his cheeks.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Dec 07, 2013 12:14 pm
"I'm sure she doesn't consider it an inconvenience," Phiel said with a soft chuckle, relaxing a little. He usually seemed stern, but he'd been around Vivi often enough through Zuri that hearing her relax made him feel a bit better too. If Vivi had faith that Zuri could help Cesc, then perhaps it was so. He rather thought he'd become a better person for having Zuri with him, too. "But thank you for accommodating her just the same."
Zurine had set about wriggling into her windbreaker as an attempt to keep her own cold in against the humid heat outside, and Phiel smiled. "I'm sure she'll be there very soon. She's already halfway out the door. You're quite welcome..."
Zuri kissed the side of Phiel's head and fled immediately out into the heat, despite his protest that he'd have driven her. It was wiltingly hot and humid enough to swim in midair, but at least there was a slight breeze coming off the water and the sun was half-hidden behind the clouds, a fact for which she was incredibly grateful. It wasn't too far, either, and it was a path she'd taken many times to and from the bakery and Cesc's home. It was one of her favorite places to be, and with Cesc ostensibly not feeling well, it felt to Zuri's instincts that she needed to care for him, nurse him back to health in any way she could, like an owl-mama might care for her chicks, though she didn't feel entirely maternal toward him. Still, everyone benefited from being nested upon from time to time and if she could do him good, then she was glad.
Despite her determination she was still unpleasantly overheated by the time she arrived, letting herself into the side door and locking it neatly behind herself. The temperature inside bolstered her a bit, but without Rhedefre's sunny demeanor, even the warm and homey feeling inside seemed somehow lacking. She sort of dreaded seeing him unwell, but he had certainly seen her at her lowest point so far, and she rather thought she owed it to him as she floated up the stairs to find him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2013 3:24 pm
There was a strange sense of being 'back of house' as Zurine entered, with all the warmth and conversation in the room beyond, snippets of voices coming through the doorframe but not beyond. She could hear Vivi's pleasant tinkling laugh as she addressed a customer and the sliding of the display case door, but all those sounds quieted as she made her way up the stairway. At the first floor landing, there was only silence.
Rhedefre's room was dark, although the door was ajar. There was a light in the bathroom, and that door was open wide.
Inside, there was a different noise. The swiff-snip clip of scissors cutting something, a familiar sound, slow and deliberate. As Zurine floated closer, she could see Cesc, standing over the bathroom sink, his hair between his fingers.
He was not a comforting sight. His hair was uneven, shorter in some places than others, mangled and matted from sleep. His eyes had dark bags beneath them and he wore a plain black tee that accentuated the darkness like eyeblack. The skin on most of his arms was unbandaged, gauze only covering a few spots on his fingers. His arms were a collection of bruises and scrapes and scratches, a few square patches of gauze over stitches on his bicep. On the junction between his neck and shoulder were two puffed puncture wounds, shallow but obvious, colored by iodine -- a bite. But worst was this face, his temple obstructed by a large bandage that his his stitches, his lips and stumbled jawline chapped and scratched. His motions were slow and tired as he took off half-inches of his curling hair with deliberate strikes. Snip. Snip.
His eyes unfocused as he saw motion in the mirror, and his golden eyes caught Zurine's there. The stag stiffened, like he'd been caught, and froze there, the scissors still half-opened in one hand. He looked at her as though he hadn't seen her in years, as though she'd come to him from the dead, half-marvel and half-fear.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 10:52 pm
The trip upstairs had left Zurine unsettled and unsure, but she followed the light and her own instincts to where her beloved friend was. She could hear that soft snipping sound, and her chest felt tight as she approached, looking in cautiously into the bathroom.
And if the sound and the trip had been unsettling, it was nothing in comparison to seeing Cesc himself, standing there like a sad and lonely specter. Zuri wasn't certain what she had expected, but the sight of him made parts of her heart hurt whose existence she'd never even guessed at. A small, quiet sound escaped her when those eyes turned to her, and the uncertainty she saw there was a little frightening.
"Oh, Cesc," she said softly, her dark eyes softening with compassion and sorrow, as she floated closer. "What's happened to you...? I am so sorry I didn't come sooner..." It was all she could think of -- how could she have not known this? If things were this bad, she should have known somehow, as if the universe could tell her itself that someone dear to her was in a terrible way, as if she could have picked him straightaway out of the jungle and soothed his wounds. Still, she approached slowly, feeling momentarily afraid he might flee like Ferdinand. "I-is... it okay if I come closer...?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2013 7:24 pm
For a moment, Cesc did not speak, staring slack-jawed at Zurine. He swallowed thickly and he closed the scissors, setting them down on the side of the sink. Immediately, his hands began to tug at his hair, to try to reorganize it, to make it look less uneven. He fluffed one side over the bandage on his temple, as though trying to hide it.
"Zurine," he said, and his voice was tight as he spoke. "What are -- how did -- what are you doing here?"
There was a strange light in his eyes, a panic, that clearly spoke: You weren't supposed to see this.
"I -- of course it is -- you --" he babbled incoherently, looking progressively guiltier, a blush warming his face and his eyebrows knitting together. What could he say? There was no excuse for this. He wanted badly to have saved her the sight -- to have at least been wearing long sleeves, a hat, something to have kept his injuries from her. She didn't deserve the worry. She didn't. She didn't.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2013 9:51 pm
Her heart broke a little more, and Zuri very nearly threw herself the last few feet to him. All she could think of was protecting him, soothing him -- the mother-owl in her (and the girl, of course) were in agreement on this particular issue. Nest, soothe, care for, it said, and she agreed. Almost immediately, she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him close. In this weather, she wasn't nearly as chilly as she might have been, and she was light against him, a slightly-chilly bundle of worry.
"It's... okay, isn't it?" Zuri chattered, shivering a little with tension, her wings flared wide as if she could hide him from the world. "Miss Vivi called me, she was worried, and I had to come and... and help, in any way that I could...!" Her dark eyes were enormous as she looked up at him. "I missed you so much and... I want to help..." It was a repeated word, 'help', but it was all she could think of, some way to help heal.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Dec 21, 2013 9:27 am
The sight of her nearly broke Rhedefre, or what there was left to break after the jungle excursion. He caught her up in his arms as she drew him towards her, his eyes reddening. Such gentleness she was made of, such soothing sweetness, such forgiveness ---
-- no, why forgiveness? He told himself over and over when he tried to sleep that surely, surely he hadn't done so badly, surely the guilt in his heart didn't need to exist, surely he didn't need forgiveness. But it ached in him regardless, and each time he thought of Anya wailing in the jungle, it hurt anew, and the thoughts soured. It went from he didn't need forgiveness to he didn't deserve forgiveness, and he wasn't certain how to turn one back into the other, like trying to preserve soured milk.
He buried his nose into the nook between Zurine's shoulder and neck, trying to hide his bigger body into hers, to tuck himself away in her. He let out a soft noise, a muffled groan, his brows knitting.
He just wanted the scent of her. The cool feel of her skin. Her sweet voice.
"I missed you," he gasped into her. "I missed you. I did not want you to see. I know it looks terrible. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 9:35 pm
She drew a deep, slow breath, as if by steadying herself she could steady him, her icy wings quivering as they came forward, trying to wrap around him, to mantle around them both instinctively, but they were too small. Her fingers rose to stroke the butchered curls, small and cool and soothing, fingertips finding scalp as she held him tightly as she was able with one hand. "I missed you too," Zuri said softly, trying to hide the tremble in her voice and the way his hurt made her want to cry, too. "A-and you don't have to apologize... but if you need to hear it, I can say that it's okay..." How could she fix this? How could she help? It felt too immense for words, but she could at least offer companionship. "Let me stay with you," she said, soft and impulsive. "Whatever you need, I'll... I'll do my best to be that, okay?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 24, 2013 11:57 am
It was selfish to want her to stay. Selfish to ask for it, selfish to acquiesce to it, but it was all Cesc wanted. He wanted to be stronger than this, to shake off the experiences of the jungle without letting it stain him, but it was too much. He'd learned things he hadn't wanted to: that he was not so strong as he'd hoped, or so competent, or even so good as he thought. The jungle took away so much of his self-assurance and replaced it with misery.
This wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to be able to pull himself up, to dust himself off, to continue. To see his faults and make better of them. To heal himself.
Instead, he wanted sleep. He wanted sleep and he wanted to steep in his misery until it evaporated, even though he knew this categorically to be the wrong answer. He wanted to stay down in the mud where he felt he was and lay there until he'd gathered the strength to come back up from it. A pause, a breath. One good night of sleep.
But he didn't want to pull her down with him there. Sweet, pristine Zurine. Beautiful creature, full of soul and light. Cesc wanted her so badly to be with him, to stay with her slender arms around him. To sleep against her, her cool skin frightening away the memory of the heat and humidity...
"You shouldn't have to deal with this," the stag said against her, putting his forehead against her shoulder. His eyes stung. "I can't ask you to."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
