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 Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2015 1:08 am
He wasn't exactly breaking his promise to Hvergelmir... okay, so he sort of was, technically. But not really. Mont Blonc had promised not to patrol alone, that was true. He wasn't exactly patrolling, he was - just taking some time, that was all.
Doing what, exactly? Just what did he hope to accomplish out here? The squire wasn't exactly seeking to get stronger or to prove himself or anything of the sort, not like he had been, just -
- was he looking for him? - did he really expect to find the captain wandering freely after what he'd seen at the train station? Or even to see him unchanged by what he'd probably endured afterwards?
Expect to? No.
Hope to? Yes. Against any and all odds.
He'd been wandering the park tonight, in his aimless way - and somehow, or maybe not somehow, but inevitably, he found himself back at where it all started. Mont Blonc bit his bottom lip hard as his fingertips traced the cool stone of the fountain, the last place he'd seen the captain as a squire, back before he - or any of them - had failed to help him when he needed it the most.
It felt like a tombstone.
"I'm sorry, " the squire whispered again, shutting his eyes. Everyone, even Ploutonion himself had said there was nothing to apologize for. But it was the only thing he could say, the only kind of peace he could offer. There was nothing he could change, not now, nothing he could do but keep searching and hoping and apologizing. If he couldn't apologize, than what was there for him? How else was he supposed to soothe this ache in his chest?
"I'm so sorry."
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2015 10:19 pm
To Ashanite, the fountain felt less like a tombstone and more like a crime scene. Perhaps because it was still so immediate to him - and perhaps because he still wasn't sure he counted this as a triumph. It didn't feel like a victory ought to. He should have been proud - he had put on a performance that on stage would have earned him raves and cheers, for its authenticity. But he wasn't pulling the kind of information he had expected, his operation with Victoria wasn't exactly going swimmingly, Shale didn't trust him, and he wasn't...actually accomplishing much of anything at all.
He might as well have gone over quietly and willingly, and disappeared into the Negaverse's ranks. Or just stayed Order and died.
He wasn't alone. He could feel a Squire aura, and he had a guess - or a hope, really, or a fear, he wasn't sure - as to who it was. A few steps around the fountain confirmed his guess.
Mont Blonc.
Of course it was him - of course it was the person who was most making him question his decision. And there he was bent over the fountain and apologizing. Again.
"I told you, you have nothing to be sorry for." Ashanite said, his voice warm and gentle. He walked over and rested a hand on the man's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault."
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2015 10:32 pm
When it came to Ploutonion, Mont Blonc would admit he got a little short-sighted. On some level, he was half-aware of the aura of a captain - and he should have been more aware, more careful, more cautious, but -
In this, in his grief, he was not. If it had been anyone dangerous, anyone worth worrying about, chances were he would have been dead. But he didn't think about that. He didn't worry about that sort of thing, because he knew he wasn't really worth the effort of sneaking up on.
Or maybe it was because a little part of him, irrationally, had hoped too. After the way Ploutonion had left... the way things had been left on the train, he'd...
A voice called to him, accented and familiar. Mont Blonc's eyes widened, but he did not look up at first - even now he was half-afraid of what might be real and might not, questioned his senses, feared the day when he heard that which was not there -
But a hand on his shoulder made him gasp, and the squire whirled. "Plou - !" he choked out the beginning, his hands shaking as they brushed his shoulders. Frustratingly, embarrassingly, his eyes watered. But even if a vibrant shade of red spread across his cheeks, he didn't hesitate to throw his arms around the captain, catching him in a surprisingly gentle, warm embrace. "Oh thank god, thank god, you're - are you hurt?!"
His arms loosened, just remembering the bruises from before. "Did she - are you - are you okay?!"
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2015 11:22 pm
The hug was unexpected. The hug hurt, a twist around his heart because Mont Blonc would regret hugging him like this, one day. He would hate him for everything he had done and would do, and Ashanite felt particularly disgusting for manipulating him.
And yet his arms wrapped around the Squire, holding him close, as he let out a tiny breath. "I'm alright. She didn't...Xenotime has put a lot of effort into training me, I suppose she didn't want to waste her time investment by breaking me." His hands were gentle and affectionate, one reaching up to play with the ends of Mont Blonc's hair.
"Are you alright? You're the one who got covered in acid," he said, and he stepped back, looking over the Squire for any signs of physical damage. "And I tend to find Knights are in significantly more danger than officers of getting thrown around by the other side."
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2015 11:36 pm
Hugs were getting easier for him, now that he was letting go and acting more without thinking too long or too achingly about what he was doing - the results, so far, had been nothing but positive. Still, it only applied to select people; Nadia and Colin were a given. The circle of embraces extended so far as his people, and he felt a little badly for thinking of it that way, because it wasn't as though he meant to be exclusive to other planets or senshi, but...
Isaiah. Auguste. Ploutonion. These were his people, his team, his friends, the people most precious to him. This, these embraces, they seemed like the least he could do. And it felt good. It felt good to hug people and have them hug back, even better when they could take something from such an embrace.
Although admittedly, he always took from the embraces too - in this case, especially so, because Ploutonion was here and still okay in spite of everything, in spite of the position he'd put his friend into.
His reassurances didn't stop the squire from pulling back, just a fraction, to look down and glance once over the captain's bare stomach and chest, seeking fresh bruises or worse. "I'm fine, I'm fine, " he breathed out. "Methone found me after, she took care of me, she - god I was so worried, Ploutonion, I - "
Mont Blonc inhaled sharply, suddenly. "Is it - it might not be safe, I mean, for you - if those people see you talking to me - will you come to my wonder with me? Please?" He might be uncomfortable on his wonder. But he'd gladly go there in a heartbeat if it meant the difference between keeping Ploutonion safe or not.
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Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2015 1:44 am
There were still bruises - Ashanite looked a little embarrassed when he realized Mont Blonc was looking, and he waved a hand. "I've started taking martial arts training. Krabi-krabong - it's Taiwanese. Useful, but a bit brutal." Which was true, but he suspected it would look like him deferring or minimizing injuries from something else.
"Methone - she wasn't there, was she? Or Aegir?" He was concerned for them, because well - regardless of what else happened he wanted them alive. "How are they? I haven't seen...not since..." He stopped, and exhaled. "You're the only one I've gotten to talk to, since. This. Happened." He gestured at his new uniform.
The offer made his eyes widen. He had seen more of Saturn since his corruption than he had before - and he was curious if Scholomance's proposed pattern of Saturn and death held for a third Wonder. "Yes - let's go," he agreed. "It's safer."
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Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2015 2:10 am
Not a single ounce of concern left Mont Blonc's face as his friend tried to explain the bruises away. "Oh. Well ... that's good. That you're training." Without really thinking, he traced the lines of one of the bruises on his stomach with the tips of his fingers, realizing too late how the gesture might be taken and allowing his hand to drop with a flare of red in his cheeks. "I - uhm - just wish you - please take care."
The concern for their shared friends, for people they both cared about, made Mont Blonc smile. "No. I mean - neither Methone or Aegir, no, but Scholomance was. He, uhm... told me you two have met?" he offered tentatively with a light arch of his brows. He didn't bother to mention that their fellow squire hadn't exactly been raving about him.
"You, uhm... should talk to them," he said quietly, not wanting to be too insistent but, "Aegir, he was - you two were friends, before. He'd probably be very happy to hear from you. - he misses you." He paused, fidgeting before he added quietly, "We all do."
His acceptance made Mont Blonc's eyes light up bright and vibrant, and the smile on his face was both grateful and enthusiastic beyond what words could describe. "Hold onto me, then, " he said as he offered his arm - and moments later, the two would be gone.
From one grave to another.
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Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2015 11:19 pm
Ashanite flinched, when Mont Blonc touched his stomach. It did actually hurt, a little, because the skin was still sensitive, and he suspected it would also look like him being unused to gentle or friendly touches. He was, sort of, but not to the extent he knew Mont Blonc suspected.
"I will," he said. "I am. As best I can." That wouldn't reassure Mont Blonc much, and he knew it.
"Ah - Scholomance, yes, I." He laughed, briefly. "I have met him." He waved a hand. Scholomance had been less than impressed with his story - but he thought he had redeemed himself a little with offerings of knowledge about Knighthood. He let out a tiny exhale, and shook his head.
"I want to, but I can't exactly..." He sighed, and trailed off, to let Mont Blonc draw his own conclusions. When an arm was offered, he rested a hand on it, and took a breath to prepare to be whisked away.
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