Content warning: This rp deals with delivery of a death message (this rp takes place after the events on Mistral)
"This, is my wedding ring. You take it to the address in my wallet and you give it to my wife Carolyn. You tell her I love her very much."
Those had been close to the last words that Old Man Pluto had spoken before he had disappeared into a machine in order to help what had appeared to be a sobbing figure holding the device piece that they had entered Mistral's labyrinth to find. Labyrinth? More like Deathrinth, for out of their party of nine only two had survived - himself and a red-haired Page, Sarras.
Six had died, killed by Mistral's 'little' death doll, but one - the Mars Squire - had died because of him.
He hadn't slept well since that night - could still hear the tortured scream of metal on metal and the Mars Squire's screams.
Marlin looked towards the half-open dresser where a wallet and ring lay. After Mistral's death doll thing had claimed it's final victim, little Menae, he had as Falias, eventually picked up the device piece that so many people had died for and then he had picked up Old Man Pluto's wallet and wedding ring. The night onwards was something of a blur for Marlin, although he remembered wanting to get stinking drunk and vaguely remembered making the walk over to Babylon - perhaps in pursuit of the goal of getting stinking drunk.
Heck he still found himself wanting to get stinking drunk since alcohol helped somewhat, drowned out the memories - at least for a little while. They still came back though - they always came back.
He wasn't sure what made him decide to open up the drawer tonight, but after staring at the wallet and ring lying accusingly in the drawer for a few, long moments Marlin walked over and snatched them up between turning and walking briskly to the door leading out, making the decision that tonight would be the night that he did the deed - tonight would be the night that he honoured Old Man Pluto's final wish.
On powering up to Falias, he had looked in the wallet, the address contained within pointing to somewhere in the suburbs but he had hesitated before heading out and had eventually pulled off his ring. The pen was easy enough to find, he had conveniently had one with him - paper however was less so, although Falias had eventually settled on using the back of a half torn flyer advertising an upcoming sale at a local shop.
The message he wrote was brief,
Sarras, I am going to honour Ankh's last request. If you are out and about and want to come then I'll be at the bus stop closest to the Earth and Space Museum for the next 30 mins. Falias
He looked at the written missive for a moment more and then touched the paper with his ring, watching as it disappeared.
He wasn't sure if Sarras wanted to come along, but of all those who had survived Mistral's deathrinth, Falias thought that he had the most right - after all the blue and red-haired man had been there too.
ChibiGingi
I'm really sorry about the length of time it's taken for me to start this Gingi, hope this works as a start but let me know if I need to change anything, spoiler tag has some background on where Ankh (Harry) lives
Background for Ankh closure rp
Ankh lives in the suburbs of DC -- he and his wife own a tiny first-floor walkup condo. It has a little yard out front with a garden of petunias and impatiens, and a frog statue with a crown on it, plus some of those glow in the dark garden globes. Carefully weeded.
From the front walkway, the house has a low chain link fence (overgrown with morning glories) and a small patio with two swing chairs on it. There's a big bay window in the front of the house, through which can be seen the outlines of mute forest green curtains.
Harry's wife is tiny and pear-shaped, with a button nose and grayed-brown hair. She drinks chai and dresses in L.L. Bean stuff.
Is that helpful? You can also just make up stuff as you like <3
Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 12:44 pm
He wasn't even sure why he had powered up at all this evening, though he had a feeling that it would have eventually enlighten him soon enough. Fate had a way of messing with him like that, but for now, he was simply tracking a nearby Chaos aura, perhaps hoping to pin him or her down and force answers out of them. Perhaps it was a selfish reason, but all he wanted out of this powered life he was granted was the ability to find Buddingtonite and slay him on the spot.
The Codex had laid out other plans for him and the rest of the knights, but Sarras' love for the Codex, and the rest of the knights, was estranged at this point. In truth, he had yet to forgive Mistral and the catastrophe that occurred there, and the least amount of reminders in his life he could get to that horrific event and the page that tricked them all into becoming lambs to the slaughter, the happier his life would be.
He was just about to close in on the target he was stalking when sudden movement caught his eye, and he watched as a letter seemingly appeared out of no where, materializing before his very eyes and fluttering down. He wasn't even sure why he reached for the letter, but the seal that kept the letter closed and the words reading 'SARRAS' quelled any suspicions as to who the letter was for.
"Great, another letter. At least it's from an Earth knight and not another Mercury fetch death quest..." He muttered to himself before breaking the seal and reading over the letter. His expression soured, but with good reason... no, not because he held any anger or disgust with the sender. In fact, quite the opposite... Falias had endured everything along side him, and if there were any other knight besides Hvergelmir that he would have rushed to the aid of, it would have been him. What he didn't like was the memories that came with the message... and the continued reminder of that grotesque mission he foolishly volunteered for.
Before the memories could threatened to consume him, he made his way towards the Earth and Space Museum. He didn't want to do it, honestly, but he knew that Falias didn't want to either. Nor should he have done it alone... no one should have to do that alone.
When he arrived, he found himself at a loss for words, but he knew he couldn't get away with saying nothing. So, he gave a half-hearted, "Hey."
Falias had been expecting a Page aura, because Sarras had still been a Page during the events that had gone down at Mistral and so when the Squire aura had first pinged on his consciousness, he hadn't paid it much heed except to note that he wasn't the only Squire out and about.
Instead he had waited, leaned up against the bus stop, looking over at the big clock from time to time as he found himself wondering whether Sarras would come and more to the point whether the other would even bother to read his message.
Not that he would blame the other if he chose not to - could understand if the other man wanted nothing to do with him down to the fact that he too had been a part of the events of Mistral. Unwittingly yes - but still a part of them...
And to be honest he didn't particularly want to be out here and doing this either, did not want to be the one carrying out Ankh's last request - but he also knew that he had sat on things long enough and knew by his actions that he would be giving closure.
Because he was - at least to his mind - waiting for a Page and not a Squire. It was only when the other voice hailed him that he realised that at some point the Squire aura was now virtually on top of him and that said aura belonged to Sarras who it seemed had ranked up since he saw him last.
He had greeted the other man with a half wave and a "Hey" of his own and then because he really hadn't wanted to take the trip on his own had added a quiet "Thank you for coming." He had stopped there, not sure what to add, uncertain of whether anything he did try to add would end up coming out as trite which was the last thing he wanted.
He had ended up giving Sarras the address he had found out after his earlier look through the wallet, reciting it from memory, not wanting to open up said wallet again.
ChibiGingi
Apologies once again about taking so long to tag this Gingi
Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2014 6:18 pm
It was hard to look at Falias and not succumb to the memories of what happened on that wonder, so Sarras only offered him a glance more before forcing the eye contact to break. He didn't want to be consumed with the memories of the event... he needed to remain strong, even if only for himself. No doubt Falias was feeling the same way and if the Earth Squire looked closely he could see the distress in his crimson eyes, but he didn't mind so much. Falias deserved to see the real him, or would have, if he wasn't so damn prideful. Curse of the Moreau family, it seemed.
In response to his gratitude, Sarras scoffed, knowing it'd come off as either rude or insincere, but he felt that there was simply no need to genuine enthusiasm, especially given what the two of them were going to do. No smiles. No true pleasantries. Sarras didn't mind meeting new people or being the first to approach and initiate a conversation, but this wasn't a business deal, or a blind date. This was delivering bad news, and the worst part of it all was that neither one could tell her everything that had happened. They couldn't even give her the full truth... so immediately, right off the bat, the idea of offering condolences was pointless.
What good would that do it she wasn't even privileged to the full truth? What was the point of any of this if there was no body to bury? Would she even believe them? Sarras tried in vain to shut these troubling thoughts off, but he knew it'd do him no good. He and Falias weren't the ones that sent Ankh to his death. They weren't the ones that requested lives to be sacrificed for some trinket that couldn't be guaranteed to be worth the effort. Mistral should have been the one to tell the widow the news, but of course, no sign of ******** all Mercury pages... except the ones that died for her.' Sarras thought bitterly, as he made his approach. Despite his bitter mood and the swirling sense of dread within him, he admired the appearance of Carolyn's home, and he wondered if the house could maintain such beauty after he and Falias gave the woman the tragic news. Would it wither away to depression or would it only become more extravagant as some sort of busy-work memorial for her husband? Time would tell, but Sarras wouldn't see it. After he gave her the news, he'd want nothing to do with anything with Mistral... ever.
"Lights are on inside... you want me to knock, or would you like that honor?"
He scoffed again. As though there was any honor in any of this?
Content warning: This post contains delivery of a death message and has references to past deaths and a bit of past gore
The address was located almost across town to their current location and yet the trip had gone quickly - almost too quickly - this one situation where to Falias' way of thinking powered speed was not a benefit.
The yard out front had been turned into a garden, small but beautifully weeded and Falias couldn't help but think that it was the sort of garden that Lisa would have glanced enviously at before lamenting on her endless battle to tame the hordes (Lisa-speak for annual weeds that she removed with extreme prejudice - well okay make that extreme organic prejudice) as he walked past the glow in the dark garden globes that someone had inserted here and there.
He reached a stone statue of a frog wearing a crown and stopped, the whimsical nature of it lost on him.
He didn't want to be here.
He really didn't want to be here. Didn't want to continue making his way through this beautifully kept garden or to make his way towards the door he could see just past the patio with the two swing chairs.
"This, is my wedding ring. You take it to the address in my wallet and you give it to my wife Carolyn. You tell her I love her very much." Ankh's final words before he disappeared into a machine after a sobbing figure that held the thrice-cursed device piece that they had gone to find. A machine that that ended up being his tomb, murdered by the sobbing 'figure' that had turned out to be Mistral's murderous toy.
A part of Falias knew that he was probably being unfair to Mistral, knew that she had looked as shattered as he felt when he'd stumbled out of her deathrinth with the device piece that they'd been sent to find - a device piece that not so long prior he'd pried the severed hand of the group's second Squire from.
The Squire you killed his mind reminded him.
He could still hear the tortured scream of metal on metal, could still remember scooping up the broken pieces of the remote from the floor and desperately trying to mash the buttons on the two broken bits .
Ankh's body had still been in the machine when he'd broken the machine - like Pigfarts, Piggy his mind reminded him. She wanted us to call her Piggy - like Piggy there was no body to bury, even if he could have been brought back.
Falias wasn't sure how long he'd been standing by the frog statue, but at some point it penetrated that Sarras was speaking to him, enough so to catch that the red and blue-haired Squire was asking whether he wanted him to do the knocking.
Falias wanted to say yes, really wanted to say yes because he didn't want to walk past the swinging chairs and up to the front door and he didn't want to knock on the door. In fact he really didn't want to knock on that cheerfully painted door that matched the cozy looking swinging chairs and the crown-wearing frog statue particularly given the fact that from where he stood he was close enough to see that there were lights on and lights on suggested that there was someone at home.
Instead he said "No, I'll do it" because Sarras had done enough in coming here with him. More than enough - he couldn't ask the Cosmos Squire to do yet more. "And I'll do the telling too."
Even so it took a few moments before he could make himself walk those last steps and then it took a few moments before he could pick up the frog knocker and use it to rap on the door. Tap. Tap Tap.
He had no idea how it sounded to Sarras' ears, but the sound sounded abnormally loud in his ears or maybe that was the beating of his heart as he found himself wondering panicked what the hell to tell Ankh's Carolyn if she turned out to be home - after he sure as anything couldn't tell her the truth.
The door was opened by a small woman, with a button nose, grey-brown hair and laughter lines at the corner of her eyes.
"Are you Carolyn?" He asked round a lump round his throat, the voice sounding like it came from a stranger rather than being his own.
She nodded, eyes quizzical, mouth opening perhaps as if to ask a question.
Then Falias showed her the wedding ring and it was like she knew because the colour drained from her face.
How he told her he didn't know, the words continuing to sound like they came from a stranger rather than from himself, however although he kept out Mistral and Knights and the Code, he did tell her that Harry (the name he'd found on the driving license) was gone. Managed to tell her that he'd ask that he return the ring and the wallet. Well technically it was ring only, but Falias was long beyond making such distinctions.
And he did manage to tell her that her Harry had loved her very much, even though his voice cracked and shook in the telling.
ChibiGingi
wasn't sure if this needs a content warning but sticking one in just in case, will stick one up on the first post too
Shazari
I hope that I've managed to do this justice Shaz
Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 11:25 pm
He didn't want to be here. He never wanted to be here. It went beyond what he was being forced to witness now, it went beyond what he and Falias had survived on Mistral. It went all the way back when his idiot of a brother decided to fly to far away from the nest and move to Destiny City, despite having everything he could possibly need or want in Sugarland. He needed to get out, away from the family, away from the insanity that would inevitably take him if he didn't find new nesting ground. He didn't want to leave Texas, but he followed after Richard because he knew... he just knew that he'd need someone to keep that head on his shoulders.
He never wanted to be here, and this was only a painful reminder of just how much he didn't want to be here. He didn't want Richard to be here, but he could not convince Richard to leave. He had set up shop, made acquaintances and friends, made a name for himself (so he proclaimed) and had enjoyed what Destiny City brought, even when it began to drain him of the sanity that he was so worried about losing back in Texas. Here? It only got worse. He tried to convince Richard to leave Destiny City when his store was destroyed and their beloved cousin went missing, but the stubborn fool refused to budge. 'Destiny City is my home', he had said. 'I have an obligation...'
Now, as he watched Carolyn's face contort into horror and sorrow, he fought down the urge to scream out his frustration. He didn't want to be here to comfort this woman who had lost someone so dear to her. How could he possibly think to comfort her now when he couldn't comfort his own brother, or his old man? Her expression had an uncanny resemblance to Richard's when he found him a day later in the ER, and he imagined that was how his father's must have looked when the police notified him of Victoria's death. He hadn't seen it- he was too consumed with helping Richard and trying desperately to wrap himself up in all of the grim, legal affairs that came with one's death to see, and during the funeral, he couldn't look anyone in the eye. He was angry. He was beyond angry, but he had to keep his head, had to be strong when others needed him to be.
Now? Mistral had all but broken him, and the sight of Carolyn taking the ring and collapsing at Falias' feet... that was it. He wasn't sure how he managed to speak, but there was no use in trying to control his emotions now. Anger, rage, pity, sorrow, terror, all of it managed to coat his words, despite having little to say, and he turned away before he could risk letting his tears being seen. "I'm sorry for your loss, ma'am... I wish we could tell you that it was for a noble cause, but... then I'd be lyin'..."
He had done enough lying in one lifetime, and he felt no need to lie to her now. He turned away and hoped that Falias wouldn't hold it against him. He couldn't take this... this shouldn't have been put on their shoulders!
litian
Yeah, I believe the warning was definitely needed. Thanks for adding it! crying
Falias stared at the crumpled figure of Ankh's Carolyn.
What the hell had he been thinking when he thought that coming here was a good thing?
Closure?
That this was the right thing?
"I'm sorry."
This wasn't right.
"I'm sorry"
This wasn't right.
Ankh... Her Harry should have been able to come home. All of them should have been able to come home - for Christ's sake three of them had looked like they were high schoolers ! Kids - just kids...
But instead of being home doing high school kid stuff they were dead on a planet light years away having died for a mission that that he just couldn't convince himself was justified.
Sarras had put it clearly when he said that the cause was not a noble one. Because no ring upgrade was worth the price that Mistral had taken - that Mistral was still exerting.
"I'm so sorry," his green eyes were wet with tears as he turned away, the image of Ankh's Carolyn, crumpled and holding onto the ring one that had burned into his mind just as the deaths of the seven who had died had burned.
No sorry could make this right though - no sorry could bring Carolyn her Harry back.
ChibiGingi
Falias hates himself right about now, oh and he also hates Mistral at this particular moment
Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2015 11:49 am
It hurt him, to know that Falias was trying to pick up his slack and was trying to comfort the broken woman, but he knew he'd fail. Not from any doubt in his ability or conviction, as he knew Falias to be a strong squire. He had to have been to survive Mistral. He had to have been to willingly take Ankh's belongings and deliver them as promised. Falias was strong, but even he was faltering... and Sarras couldn't take anymore.
"Stop apologizing," he said with a sneer, and he was ashamed of himself. He prided himself in being able to keep his composure and keep his head during a crisis, but what crisis had occurred to him to prepare him for this? Arguments with the family, personal tragedies, keeping his family tethered, keeping business deals from going sour, none of it prepared him, none of it compared to having to do this. Not even facing off the Negaverse or surviving Mistral prepared him for THIS. And poor Falias, to be the one to have to deal with him. "Stop apologizing this instant! It's not your fault... nor is it mine! It's hers... it's Mistral's fault, and if anyone should be standing here and apologizing to the families' whose lives she ruined, it's her... so stop it!"
He wanted to scream, he wanted to grab Falias and shake him, but he just barely contained himself. He broke his pact and turned to Carolyn, knowing that he needed to calm down and stop, but unable to. This is what Mistral unleashed, and his only regret was that she wasn't the one to have to stare this enraged beast down. "Your husband died thinking he was doing something right. He died trying to save someone, he died trying to do what he felt was the right thing, when the rest of us couldn't fit or wouldn't go. And his death saved no one... everyone else on that mission died, and each and every one of their deaths did nothing. They didn't save us... sheer, dumb, stupid LUCK saved us, and they all died for nothing. I wish that wasn't the case, but it is... and you..."
He softened up, looking at her and only now actually seeing her, and he almost regretted his words. Almost. "You need to leave. You need to grab whatever the ******** you can and get the hell out of this city, because it's toxic. It's lost and those that try to defend it are only going to be cut down, and their families are going to follow immediately after. Get out of here, Carolyn. Take what you can, when you can, and just go. GO!"
He wasn't sure what he was expecting when he screamed at her, but her tears broke his heart, and he stopped. He couldn't do it. He wanted to grab her and push her into the house, maybe even offer to collect her things, but her broken expression repelled him. Moments ago he was berating Falias for what he was about to do now, and that was the final straw. "I'm... I'm sorry."
He could take no more. He turned and stormed down the road, abandoning Falias, abandoning the broken and sobbing Carolyn... wishing he could just keep on going, so that he could abandon this doomed city. But he knew he couldn't. He couldn't abandon Richard... nor could he abandon his own quest for revenge. He was such a hypocrite...
If it had someone else sneering at him, Falias probably wouldn't have taken it too well.
To be honest he probably would have snapped back or done something to show his lack of appreciation.
But it wasn't anyone else - it was Sarras - the one person out of the lot of those who had survived Mistral's Deathrinth to have been there. And perhaps he was being unfair, in fact he probably was being unfair given that he and Sarras weren't the only ones to have witnessed party members die.
He didn't care.
They weren't the ones there.
Weren't the ones that had pulled on that piece of rope whilst Ankh screamed at them to run.
The rope that had come back bloodied.
And they weren't the ones that had been stuck in that room whilst Mistral's murderous 'toy' cut down most of what had been their party.
Or the ones who had mashed on the buttons of that remote frantically and futilely while metal screeched.
None of the others had been there - just him and Sarras, all that was left of what had once been a nine strong party.
And they certainly weren't out here with him, even if Sarras wasn't really out with him either - not any more.
Falias didn't blame Sarras for abandoning him, he couldn't - the other Squire had done more than enough in staying for as long as he had.
And to be honest he couldn't say that he'd been much other than the other Squire given that he had stayed only long enough for Carolyn to finally recover enough to shut the door and then he in turn had fled.
Not to head home, or to head anywhere to be honest - his feet taking him in directions without him really thinking on it.
Although alcohol was looking good - real good - because if it was strong enough and hard enough then perhaps it would be enough to drown out the night because god knew he needed something to.
ChibiGingi
Sarras gets a pass, it's not like Falias handled stuff any better. Thank you do much for rping this out with me though
