He paced the floors of the library with ease, cloak swinging gently back and forth over his shoulders. Celsus wasn't entirely certain what he was looking for, but there were many things to be found, at least; even after all this time, he still hadn't quite figured out all the secrets of his Wonder, and he rather hoped he never would. It was a cornucopia of interesting things, books, papers, drawings, sketches, anything and everything that could possibly interest him.
The time he spent there was precious to him, after all; he did not want it to go to waste, and so he'd taken his time getting to know the library, wandering about it with casual familiarity, fingers drifting along the spines of the books as he neared them.
On this particular day, however, he was eying one book in particular. It was thick and brown and carefully bound in leather, wrapped up in cords to keep it from falling apart. Celsus had turned it over in his hands multiple times, wondering if it was safe enough to open yet, or if it would fall apart at his fingertips.
He finally cracked it open with extreme care, and then was glad he had, because the little note at the bottom of the front cover had a name scrawled across it - a name strangely and distantly familiar to Celsus, the name of someone he had not heard from in quite some time. He closed the book, frowning a little, and then set it on his desk, the softly glowing sigil of his ring.
A message, that's what he would do - he'd send her a message, and hopefully she'd reply, hopefully things would be all right for her. Celsus felt a terrible amount of guilt for not being more in touch with the pages and squires of his own alliance, but maybe this would help alleviate some of it.
xIris_Virus
Message to Conchordia:
Requesting your presence on Celsus. I have something of yours I'd like to return, if you'd be so kind to join me.
Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 6:15 am
It wasn't the first time Menthe had received a message from her ring. It was however, no less unnerving than it had been the first time, the sudden strange intrusion causing her breath to hitch and hands to clench. It was the surprise that had got her at first, but even once the physical surprise had passed she looked at the message uneasily. Who was sending her messages...? After all this time? For a moment she wondered if it was Troy again and if she should expect a ton more. However a quick glance made it obvious that the message was in English. Not the.. strange mangled mess that Troy wrote in. Not that she should judge! Maybe he didn't know any better.
Celsus. The name brought a small smile to her as she recognized it.
The message was concise. To the point, but also with a bit of intrigue. How could he have something of hers..? She didn't recall ever giving him anything of hers or leaving anything with him? And where exactly was Celsus if she was supposed to meet him there? Presumably it was in the surrounding, just like her own wonder, Conchordia, was.
Menthe bit her lip a little as she pondered over the message and what her response to it should be. Her rarely used ring was pulled out and handled for a brief moment, before finally deciding on something, taking care to write politely and clearly.
Message to Celsus
Thank you for your message and the invitation. I accept and will be there shortly."
She was a little concerned that she couldn't provide an exact time for him of when she'd arrive. But considering that she didn't know exactly where it was... she didn't want to promise a time that she could not deliver on. That would be rude.
In a flash Conchordia powered up, and in moments she was in space once more, glancing nervously around her own wonder. She had only visited once or twice before, which made her feel a little guilty, but she couldn't help but worry at least a little about space whales and shadowy monsters. The room was actually quite a dusty mess and if she wasn't in such a hurry she might have stopped and begun to dutifully scrub at some of it. A task for another time she supposed. Thank goodness Celsus wasn't meeting her there at Conchordia at least.
Exiting her treaty room, the page paused, as if trying to search for the direction she should take to find the place she'd never been to. Her fingers touched her glasses lightly, adjusting them thoughtfully.
'Follow the path..' It she didn't know any better she'd have sworn it was an actual voice in the back of her head, but that was crazy, and she was still oblivious to the ancestor who lurked in room.
Her walk was tentative, cautious, eyes far in front of her. At least twice in the very short walk she considered the dangers of getting lost, gripping her hourglass as if it could actually keep her safe from anything. But then finally there it was.. a clue.
The page paused in her tracks, closing her eyes a moment to confirm. Yes.. there it was.. an aura like hers, except so much stronger and bigger. Was that Celsus...? He hadn't felt like that last time she'd seen him. Well.. even if it wasn't him, hopefully it was someone who could give her directions.
He perhaps could have given her more detailed instructions, or maybe even a set time and place to meet, but Celsus hadn't considered any of these, too lost in his own thoughts to actually think properly. He was excited to hear back from Conchordia, even more excited to hear that she was coming to see him, and it had been too long since he'd had contact with anyone. The distance between himself and his fellow knights was steadily becoming problematic; he didn't want to have it there any longer.
Celsus paced the floors of his Wonder rather impatiently, cape sweeping over the stacks of books and papers littering the ground. It wasn't exactly messy, per se, but untidy in a way that made sense, at least to Celsus. He liked things a certain way, and too much cleanliness was stiff and unpleasant, whereas too little was just plan unpleasant.
The faint trace of an aura reached him, shifting delicately around the Wonder. Celsus had paused at his desk and now lifted his head, red hair falling back against his shoulders. The power signature was growing steadily stronger with each second, and slowly he turned, his eyes widening with anticipation, his heart lightening at the very thought of her.
"Conchordia?" he whispered, and then it became a joyous shout as she drew even nearer, arms flung out to embrace her.
"Conchordia!"
iris_virus
Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 12:22 pm
He could have maybe been a tensy tiny bit more helpful in his directions, but there was no way Conchordia would tell him that. As it was he was returning something she never knew she left, so he was already going out of his way for her.
His aura was encompassing the closer she got until hers was almost swallowed up in it, a funny coincidence because as she finally neared his wonder there was a shout before she was actually physically swallowed in his cheerful embrace. Her breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening, until finally a bit of nervous laughter started to bubble out of her. Was this how friends were supposed to greet each other? It wasn't a horrible feeling, especially if it was someone you knew.
"Celsus..." She returned his greeting as she shuffled out of the quick embrace looking up only to be overtaken in surprise again. He looked SO different. His uniform was even more regal and elegant then it had been before. The flowing cape, the small bits of armor. But even more noticeable and surprisingly.. was he.. glowing? It looked almost as if delicate light glimmered from his cheeks. She was transfixed, barely breathing out her words. "You're beautiful...."
Until she realized exactly what she had said.
"I.. I mean handsome!" Backtracking, she didn't mean beautiful like a girl, she hoped he wouldn't take it that way. She had meant like a sunset or something.
"Or.. I mean.." She was still stuttering over her words, until her brows furrowed, uncertain where to go from there how to fix and arrange things back into the proper order.
Her voice had shifted lower in volume already as her eyes darted towards their surroundings instead. "Your wonder is lovely..." Untidy, but lovely. Surely she couldn't judge when hers was in much worse condition currently. It actually made her think a little of Aquarius' library. Stacking books, just forget everything and stack books. The secret mantra from her time at that library actually seemed to calm her down a little bit.
It would become quickly apparent that, in spite of Celsus' raised elevation in terms of his status and appearance, and in spite of his more serious attitude when it came to his work as a knight, that some things still remained the same - like his enthusiasm and brightness for his friends, as clearly evidenced by his squashing embrace to Conchordia's shoulders.
He let he go of her when he felt her squirming backwards, though Celsus hands remained lightly on her shoulders as he beamed down at her. The compliment took him a little by surprise, but he gave a laugh of pleasure and bent to kiss her cheek affectionately before letting her go entirely.
"Thank you, love, I am very glad you think so," he said, giving her a wide grin. "It's been so long, I don't believe you've seen me like this yet, and I certainly haven't seen you for much too long. Please, have a seat anywhere you'd like, or remain standing, whichever you prefer."
Celsus gestured to the chair at his desk and then gave a pleased smile to Conchordia.
"Thank you," he said brightly, and leaned against the desk, hands resting on the edge of it.
"Please, tell me how you've been this past year! I've missed so much, it's rather a shame."
iris_virus
Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 1:44 pm
Oh good, he wasn't upset because of what she said. That thought itself seemed to calm her immensely, she looked toward the offered chair thoughtfully. After a moment she headed over to it, sitting down dutifully before her eyes once again began to roam, though this time it was more out of curiousity. Were all the wonder's libraries and studies? That didn't sound bad to her at all, book and fact lover that she was.
"N. no, I haven't seen you like this. When did it happen?" She didn't even realize that it was a multi-step process and that the question could have multiple answers.
It was very nice to see him actually. It was strange after the length of time.. almost like a feeling of nostalgia. It was kind of like tira misu. She didn't have it terribly often, but when she did have it again, even after months, it was always the same. A beautiful nostalgic taste, a delightful treat that reminded her of the last time while still being new and fresh.
When he asked about what she had been up to, she paled a little, as impossible as that seemed given her already pale skin. And had it been anyone else she may have tried to backtrack or dismiss herself or just otherwise try to get out of the conversation. But it was Celsus.. Fritz.. and she distinctly remembered a conversation with him in which he shared his own short comings with her. And besides, he had said please.
A finger brushed against the top of the desk, drawing out a nonsensical path. "Well... I've been working mostly. It's very busy at the law firm I work for and we've had more and more people leaving Destiny City which leaves a bit of a workload... But I'm pretty efficient in picking up after them. I've done my best." She seemed pleased enough of that, proud even.
But she was a smart girl, she knew he meant more than that. Her volume lowered as she made her confession. "Ever since those.. shadow monsters.. the clones of people from the eclipse. I haven't powered up since one of the clones followed me home." The experience had terrified her actually, she'd ended up locked in her apartment for 3 days before she finally drew up enough nerve to step outside.
The confession felt terrible. And she felt guilty. Her advice of only putting your best foot forward and not admitting your faults was far better in her opinion.
kuuropii
((You're such a downer Conchordia. xp Hopefully she'll perk up a little in a bit. XD))
The Wonder had seemed strange to Celsus at first, but now it had grown into something much more meaningful, something he could not quite imagine any differently. It felt terribly special to him, a place that he had connected to, could be a part of, and getting to share that with more than just himself felt wonderful.
He caught Conchordia's frozen look before it melted away, concern appearing on Celsus' own face. He folded his hands together in his lap, half sitting on the desk, half standing on it, his green eyes watching her as she moved around the room.
"That's good," said Celsus, smiling at her. "You seem very successful in that regard, it's extremely impressive."
His smile faded a little, however, at her confession. Celsus felt his heart twist anxiously, and he pushed himself off of the desk and made his way towards her, reaching out to gently take both of Conchordia's hands in his. It was a loose grasp, in case she wasn't comfortable, but he gave her fingers a little squeeze of reassurance.
"Do you think of yourself as weak for that?" Celsus asked, expression one of concern. "Because you're not weak for being frightened, you're not weak at all."
iris_virus
/HOLDS HER
Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 9:42 pm
It was a day of strange new experiences, well perhaps not all completely new.. but not very common. Being invited to such a sacred special places, admitting her own failings out loud, and now Celsus' comforting motions. Her hands were encased but it wasn't a bad feeling. The warmth and gentle pressure.. it actually felt.. safe? She didn't pull away, simply peeking up through her glasses at him.
It was perhaps that feeling of safety and her ever growing fondness of her fellow Chronos knight that kept the admissions coming.
"I'm always frightened.." Even he must have gathered that from their previous encounters. "But it was different then."
"I just don't.. understand. W.. why me? Surely anyone would be a better choice then me for this. So why was I the one chosen?" It was a puzzle she'd spent the past year trying to decipher without any progress.
"I can't protect anyone.. I barely know how to take care of myself." It was rude of her to be burdening him with her problems, she knew it and yet... in every time she'd spent time with him he had always been so tender with her, as if he was trying to draw it out. She was in uncharted waters but it felt both nice and oddly scary to confide her secrets with him.
In spite of her having been gone for quite some time, Celsus could still remember Conchordia's kindness, her shy and timid nature not off putting in the slightest to him. Even the most softhearted of people had a reason for being called, and he had little doubt that it would benefit them in some way. He wished for nothing but their happiness, after all, especially those he cared for.
Celsus tilted his head to look at her, and behind the rimless glasses, his eyes were kind, gentle as they caught the unsteady tone of her voice.
"There is not another person like you in this world, Conchordia," Celsus reminded her. "I can't answer the question of why you were chosen, because I feel like that's something you need to be able to find out for yourself. But I don't doubt that you are needed here, and that your presence will help us all grow stronger, even if you can't see it."
He gave her fingers another squeeze.
"Protection and care comes in different forms," Celsus said gently. "It's not always fighting the bad guys and kicking and punching out way out of situations. It is not always the loud and the brash that are the ones that protect, it is the ones that hold the hearts of their family, their friends, their team, who can say to them come back safely, that are also protectors, even if we don't know the outcome of something."
iris_virus
Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2015 9:34 pm
Deep down she knew he wouldn't be able to give her the answer. But that didn't mean she wasn't disappointed. For someone who loved puzzles as much as her it was infuriating, but the truth all along was that she had been trying to solve a puzzle that she simply didn't have enough clues to yet. And she had been too scared all of this time to try and find the pieces she needed.
But Conchordia needed to at least try.
If something had really called her wasn't it her duty to respond? It it went to the effort to.. give her powers.. well.. it wasn't right to not do what it asked of her. Even if she didn't know yet what it wanted from her.
The knights words were soothing even if she didn't, couldn't, understand them fully just yet. But even the words, beautiful as they were couldn't relieve her fear entirely. She was a woman of logic, a woman who had always clinged quite firmly to self preservation.
"What do I do if they come for me again..? If I just.. run forever I don't think I can find the answers.." She felt selfish asking so much of him, when he'd been so kind to her and she'd given and done so little for him.
kuuropii
Soooo.. I had a really hard time at the end there so in the great likelihood I didn't convey my message - would you be a doll and point her towards learning some self defense or trying to work with a partner? heartheart
He could see the uncertainty in her eyes, the sense of confusion and frustration and fear on her face. Celsus had, in the beginning, gone through many of the same emotions when he'd first become one of the Knights of Chronos, but after a while it had become second nature to him. It was just a matter of getting to that point.
"You were chosen," said Celsus, smiling kindly down at Conchordia. "You. not the girl next door, not the superhero down the street, not the famous actor with all the experience. You may be questioning why it is that you were chosen, and in turn question if you're even worth it, but you were called, which is why you are already worthy, even if you don't feel it."
He gave a little nod at her question, and Celsus kept her hands in his, fingers wrapped loosely around hers. Every now and then he gave them a small squeeze, and his smile widened as he regarded his friend.
"Perhaps not," he said. "But here is what we'll do."
Celsus straightened, chin lifting, eyes sparkling with determination. "We'll find you someone to work with - be it myself, or another one of us, or just someone we can trust. But we'll find you someone who'll be able to help you learn to feel more comfortable with who you are, and why you were called to be one of us."
His brows rose, Celsus looking expectantly at Conchordia.
"What do you think?"
iris_virus
biggrinbiggrinbiggrinheartheart
Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2015 1:39 pm
Well that was that.
Ever since she'd been followed home by those scary shadows Conchordia had attempted, and slightly succeeded in convincing herself that there was no reason for her to power up. But as Celsus spoke the page was beginning to understand that there was no way she could pretend any longer.
She was the one. Little timid Menthe, whether she liked it or not. And she owed it to Chronos and now.. she even kind of owed it to Celsus, given the time and care he'd put into help her. Even now he was offering even more of his time and other people's time to help her again, pumping up in his determination. She was such a hassle for everyone!
"Thank you Celsus." She answered quietly, raising her head however so that she wasn't so buried within her hood. The sincerity in her tiny voice was quite clear. She even went so far as to offer him a weak smile. "I'll try my best. For Princess Chronos and you."
And maybe, hopefully, she could get to the point where she wasn't so much of a hassle for everyone. She doubted it, but nothing could be accomplished without at least putting in the effort to try.
Conchordia was a work in progress, but so was Celsus, even at his current stage of life. She was also one of the biggest hearts that he knew so far, and he found it necessary to have that in their little group of knights, because it couldn't always be all bravado and confidence all the time. The quiet were just as important as the loud.
She'd lifted her head, and it made him smile, Celsus catching her eyes and giving her an encouraging nod.
"You will do wonderfully well, I should think," he told her, meaning every word. "You may not feel it right now, but you are a very wonderful knight, as well as a very endearing and kindhearted young woman. Don't let your fear of what you think you should be take away from what you already are, all right?"
iris_virus
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2015 12:01 pm
The praise, though quite encouraging, was a little bit embarrassing, and the soft flush of pink on her cheeks was apparent thanks to her fairly pale skin.
Her smile even grew a teeny tiny bit before she tried to push away his praise and the attached embarrassment. "Did you say that you had something of mine..?"
"I don't remember giving you anything..." Or any situation where she might have left anything behind, unless it was that time they had the big zodiac party and she'd been super duper flustered by the huge gathering of people.
"I'm sorry if it's been taking up space or causing you trouble." She added for good measure. Because a Menthe conversation wouldn't be complete without a requesite amount of apologies.
Unfortunately - or maybe fortunately - Celsus was just one of those people who enjoyed other people and, more importantly, enjoyed letting people know just how much he liked them. Which probably meant that Conchordia would be subjected to many a praise from him over the course of their friendship.
"Ah!" His eyes lit up, and Celsus let go of her hands to turn around, stepping back towards the desk. "Not at all, it wasn't trouble at all, luv, don't worry."
He'd knocked several sheets of parchment and a few other books on top of Conchordia's in the process of moving around, and he brushed them all off now, Celsus' fingers gentle as he plucked it up. He turned around with a smile and offered it to her.
"I don't believe it's from who you are now," he said, with a little wink. "But who you were."
