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[REG] Sanctuary? (Ashanite + Mont Blonc) Goto Page: 1 2 [>] [»|]

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frayedflower

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PostPosted: Mon Nov 02, 2015 2:19 am


"I'm sorry it's so gloomy."

Ploutonion was the third person he'd taken to his wonder, and by now, Mont Blonc knew what to expect - the ash, the mounds of bones, the dismal greyness in every direction and the mountain itself looming tall and foreboding above them. By virtue of knowing, he knew enough to apologize for it in advance. And also, "Watch for the mounds of ash - they're all bones. Not fun to step on." He paused to flash the captain a slight, weak smile, trying maybe to lighten the mood a little. But he was no Scholomance, able to roll out jokes to ease his own discomfort, and it was clear the place unnerved him.

"The bodies are only outside though - there's uhm - a lot of halls and a library and an art room inside, far as I know." And ghosts. Unnerving spectres only Mont Blonc could see. "I haven't really gone too far, so... " But it was safe. It was safe from the negaverse and from prying eyes, and that was really all that mattered. If anything bought about a sense of relief, it was that.

"Oh, and uh, in case you're worried, I'm almost sure that ash is not made of people." Still holding his friend's arm, he began walking towards the entrance, flanked by crumbling dogs' heads and as intimidating as ever.

Noir Songbird
PostPosted: Tue Nov 03, 2015 12:06 am


Apologies about the grimness of his Wonder were waved off, with a shake of the head. "I've been to Scholomance. As I'm sure its Knight will tell you, there's not much more grim than that place. And my own Wonder has miles of catacombs underneath it. Bones everywhere? Even covered by ash? Not too terrible." He was careful to avoid the piles, though, because there was no sense in disturbing some poor ancient skeleton's rest just because he was clumsy.

"If inside is less, ah, full of skeletons, perhaps we ought to go inside?" He let Mont Blonc lead - this was his Wonder, his place. He exhaled. "I begin to suspect this entire planet is a graveyard." Talking about the planet, about Wonders, about anything else would all look, he was sure, like ploys to minimize his own problems. Let Mont Blonc think there was something to minimize - the more time he spent being concerned and anxious, the further he would pass along his concerns - and the easier it was for Ashanite to play the helpless victim.

It was almost too easy.


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PostPosted: Tue Nov 03, 2015 1:54 am


"Yeah... so I've heard." and Mont Blonc quietly took a moment of increasingly familiar comfort that came from someone who understood - someone else of Saturn who'd seen what it had to offer, and even if he was no longer connected to his wonder now, he'd been there. The bonds of a shared planet were not so easily discarded. "Scholomance and I wondered something similar when I bought him here."

Although he couldn't quite help a bittersweet smile. Even if it sounded just as eerie and haunting as the rest, "I wish I could have seen it - your wonder." He would've liked to have shared that with him. It was a stupid thing to wish for, he knew, but - he couldn't help but still feel the familiar pull towards his fellow knights as he always had. And for whatever reason, to date, it had been at its strongest with Ploutonion. He wished he knew why.

Not wanting to make him feel worse about his corruption, though, the squire smiled and warmly squeezed his shoulder. "But maybe someday, right?"

Whether he realized Ploutonion's ploy to try and make it seem like he was dodging the real issue at hand here or not, Mont Blonc had just so easily circumvented it, bringing the conversation right back around to the captain's situation. "By the way, I - " They stepped into the entrance, and as usual, the torches lit around them on their own - faster now this time than they had on his last visits. This was the third trip, after all, and some of the disuse was falling from them down. "What you said on the train, about - about being afraid they might come for you if - "

He looked at him, and although Mont Blonc's face flushed in discomfort, he was determined to meet Ploutonion's gaze. "Things would be different next time - if we had you back, I mean. I know you don't want anyone hurt, but - none of us, we - we don't want you hurt either. And we want you home."

Noir Songbird
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 11:47 pm


Ashanite sighed, fondly, thinking of his Wonder. "Have you ever seen Notre Dame de Paris? It looks like that. A grand Gothic cathedral, with miles and miles of catacombs beneath." He had found hundreds of graves. Including his own, in a way. Or Vincenzo's. Both, either. They were the same man, in many ways.

Mont Blonc's optimism surprised him, a little. "Maybe," he said, and as a completely noncommital answer, it worked. His fears about purification were honest, and frankly he was finding himself more comfortable in the Negaverse than he had expected. To go back was suicide, and his aim, at every step of the way, had been survival.

And of course he pressed, because the desire was obviously sincere. It was almost sad, how desperately Mont Blonc seemed to want him to come back. Magic torchlight seemed a feature - it reminded him of the eerie purple torches on his own Wonder.

He stopped briefly, and then exhaled. "You've seen Umber, and Xenotime. If I leave the Negaverse..." He wrapped his arms around himself, somehow shrinking in - even at over six feet and with an increasing muscle tone. "Umber has already had a go at killing me twice; Xenotime - she fights for a living. She's taught me things, but I'll never be on her level. And you can't protect me all the time." He held Mont Blonc's gaze fro a moment, and then broke it, looking down at his feet.

"If I go back, I'll die. I don't want anyone else in the crossfire."


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PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 6:19 pm


A knowing little smile etched itself across the squire's face at the mention of Notre Dame, a pleased flush of color etched across his cheeks. "Oui, j'ai été là, " he murmured warmly. "It's really too bad - if it was anything like Notre Dame, I would have loved to have seen it." Well, the catacombs part was still more than a little intimidating, especially here - but it was still a sight to behold, he was sure.

At the 'maybe', Mont Blonc's eyes briefly became distant, locking onto something far away - the flash of a figure stepping down one of the halls, the white-haired one - but he willed himself to focus on Ploutonion instead. Some things were more important than ghosts.

His friend's fear was palpable (or so he thought), and Mont Blonc frowned deeply, stopping with him and laying a hand across his shoulder, heavy and reassuring. Could I ever really protect him? some nagging voice of doubt quipped from somewhere inside of his head, and although it ached, it wasn't as though the voice had no reason to be there.

"Are you really any safer there, though?" he asked softly, tilting his head to a side, hair falling across his face. "You've said Umber tried to kill you twice already, and - and at least with us - I'm sorry, Ploutonion, but I think - I think in this case you're mistaken."

The squire smiled in his bittersweet way. "We lost you once already. We wouldn't make the same mistake twice. We - we really care, you know? All of us. And we've all gotten so much stronger than the last time, and we've gotten new members too! There's Thrymr and Scholomance and - we wouldn't let you die." He paused. "I wouldn't let you die."

Noir Songbird
PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 10:40 pm


Mont Blonc the man was French -- that was an interesting tidbit of knowledge. Or at least, he spoke it fluently - to slip into it like that, it was likely a first language.

Amazing what one could learn from so little, if one paid attention.

"Perhaps someday," he said, noncommitally. That was deeply unlikely. He couldn't see himself going back, ever, no matter what else happened. That he thought it would be his doom was sincere - Umber and Xenotime would not let him go. Nor would, he suspected, Laurelite.

He shrugged his shoulders, briefly, but not enough to roll Mont Blonc's hand off. "In fairness to Umber, both of those were while I was still Order, and the second wasn't attempted murder per se, or so he insists." He sounded dismissive, disbelieving. Which was somewhat honest. Umber had been furious at his little corruption party - it didn't seem too far out of the realm of possibility for him to have been a little homicidal, too.

He reached up, pulling Mont Blonc's hand off his shoulder, then - but he still held onto it.

"I know you mean what you say, but you can't make that kind of promise. And even if you can, and you'll get hurt, and I don't ever want anyone to suffer because of me again." His eyes were on the ground, shoulders slumped, posture less defensive and afraid, but more sad.

And if Mont Blonc looked, he might catch a glimpse of another man, with the same deep blue hair, but darker skin, laughing and pushing a piece of white hair out of a more familiar ghost's face.


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PostPosted: Sat Nov 07, 2015 10:04 am


In fairness to Umber, "Why do you defend him?" Mont Blonc asked softly, squeezing Ploutonion's hand in his own when he took it, his brows furrowed deeply with concern.

It wasn't an accusatory question, but one asked simply out of worry; worry, primarily, that their conditioning was beginning to pay off. That Ploutonion was maybe becoming a little less knight and more negaverse against his own will.

The thought made his chest ache. Though not as much as the sadness that wracked his friend's body visibly at his words, and Mont Blonc moved as if to comfort him - or started to. But just beyond his friend, he caught sight of someone so much like him, along with the white-haired man he'd seen so many times since his first trip.

It was strange, a bit like seeing the iconic masks of drama laid out, one sad, one happy; more than anything it was shocking, and the squire gasped harshly, clapping a hand over his mouth, color gone from his face, his hand clutching much harder at his friend's without him ever realizing.

Noir Songbird
PostPosted: Sat Nov 07, 2015 10:25 am


Ashanite winced, when Mont Blonc pressed. "I live with him, I -" he stopped. There was something on the edge of his tongue, something he would have regretted saying as much because it was to Mont Blonc as because it was far more honest than he was even willing to be with himself. "It's complicated," he said, instead, which was a wholly truthful and accurate summation of the whole affair anyway. Whatever else he might or might not feel for Shale (and it was ridiculous, anyway, that he felt anything at all, that this constant need for approval and praise even existed, never mind that it might be a want for something more) "complicated" seemed the best descriptor for all of it.

And there seemed to be a ready-made distraction, anyway, because Mont Blonc squeezed his hand almost painfully tight and went white.

"What is it?" He asked. He didn't think his admission was that shocking - perhaps if he'd said what had almost come out, but e hadn't. Which meant there had to be some other cause. "Did you...see something?" He pried, a little. A sudden memory, perhaps, if Mont Blonc was less comfortable with them - he remembered his own, those brief glimpses into the past.


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PostPosted: Sat Nov 07, 2015 9:15 pm


Mont Blonc wanted to pursue that, badly. He wanted to ask so many questions, wanted so badly to - but there was no chance. Not when he saw whatever that was, and not when it shook him so badly. Especially since, well - that was the first sign he'd seen of anyone besides the man he guessed was himself, possibly, probably.

"I, uh - yes, " he admitted quietly in a voice that was tight with nerves. The squire took his free hand and dragged it over his face, peeking out from between his fingers before his hand fell away again. "Sorry, I - did you have that happen, when you were - ?" Did he really want to ask? - would Ploutonion even be okay talking about something like that, considering?

"S-sorry, I - you don't have to answer that."

Noir Songbird
PostPosted: Sat Nov 07, 2015 10:30 pm


Ashanite gently ran his thumb over the back of Monty's hand, meant as a soothing gesture. "It's alright, they're just...memories," he said, gently. "Yes, I had them too. It's the reason I know a little about what my Wonder was for."

"What did you see?" He goaded, voice still soft and gentle, desperately glad for the distraction. Talking about Umber was uncomfortable, for reasons completely different than he expected Mont Blonc would assume. Much better to pull the conversation to ghosts of the past. "If you'd rather not tell me, that's fine." It might be something personal, after all.


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PostPosted: Sat Nov 07, 2015 10:41 pm


"I know, " and Mont Blonc had a bittersweet kind of smile on his face, grateful for the soothing gesture, quietly mortified of his own irrational fears and where they stemmed from. "I just - kind of - I've had bad experiences with - with seeing things that weren't there. In a sense. I-it's complicated." Again, there was no easy way to say he'd been a madman in a future that hopefully wouldn't come to pass. He was just lucky that both Aegir and Hver had been so understanding of the whole thing. Most people would think he was crazy just based on the explanation alone.

Still. The thought that he was not alone always bought him some small measure of relief. He squeezed the hand in his more gently this time, his gaze shifting to the empty space where the vision had stood. "Me. I think. The last me. And - " His brow furrowed. "Usually that's, uhm - t-that's all I see, but - there was someone else this time, too?"

He glanced at Ploutonion, out of the corner of his eye, his cheeks burning as vibrantly as ever as his gaze dropped. "T-they, uhm. Looked like - you, kind of?"

Noir Songbird
PostPosted: Sat Nov 07, 2015 11:00 pm


Ashanite didn't hesitate. He pulled Mont Blonc a little closer, so he could wrap an arm around the other man's shoulders in a further effort to comfort him. "It is real, for you, at least." He said, and his tone was still warm. "So you aren't seeing something that's not there." Whatever had shaken Mont Blonc, whatever made him afraid of his own memories, it had to have been terrible.

The description struck him, in its familiarity. "Me, with darker skin?" He suggested. "That's...well, it is sort of me. His name was Vincenzo; he was the last knight of the Ploutonion."


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PostPosted: Sat Nov 07, 2015 11:21 pm


Mont Blonc's eyes widened slightly with a hint of surprise as he was tugged in - but it didn't linger long. He flashed his friend a grateful smile and allowed it to happen, quietly taking solace in the closeness. This place - now, on his third trip, he was realizing more and more it was more than just intimidating. There was something about it, something acutely lonely about this place, playing into residual feelings that already plagued him here and there still when he was left to his own devices.

He was glad he'd never come here alone.

"Y-yes!" he said suddenly, and could have sworn he heard a whisper of a voice repeat the same name back to him like an echo. "It was you, o-or sort of you, a-and Vincenzo, he was, um - laughing...?"

The implications of whatever that might or might not have been began to sink in, Mont Blonc's expression, possibly for the first time, settling into something more thoughtful. The body language belayed closeness. - were they friends in the past then, too? - they had to have been.

Noir Songbird
PostPosted: Sun Nov 08, 2015 12:39 am


Ashanite nodded, and he found himself more and more curious about what Mont Blonc was seeing. Any of his own memories were long lost to him, because of his choice to corrupt - but Monty might see more, and he would be lying if he said he wasn't curious.

"I wonder if we were friends then, too," he said, his voice soft. "It would...make sense, in a way. Destiny?" It felt a little grandiose and romantic, but that seemed the sort of card to play with Mont Blonc anyway. He carefully slid his arm off the other man's shoulders, but held onto his hand, still. "Can we go a little farther? I'd like to see as much as I can; I don't know if I'll ever get a chance to come back."


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PostPosted: Sun Nov 08, 2015 5:54 am


Destiny.

For the first time in a long while, the thought of anything to do with his past life or his mountain made Mont Blonc smile. After so much of his life spent without any friends to speak of, now, the thought of having someone destined to be his friend from the start was kind of thrilling... regardless of how dire things seemed now. "We were; if anything, we had to have been friends, " and he felt like he could confidently voice the thought now that Ploutonion himself had said it. "You - I mean, he was, uh - they looked close, " and he could think of no better way to readily describe what he'd seen.

Dread still seeped into his veins like always at the thought of going further in, but for Ploutonion, and for his own curiousity's sake, in spite of his fear, he would eagerly do it. "Of course, " he answered readily, and kept a hold of that hand as he led him towards the multitude of halls that beckoned to them, each branching off into more further down the line - torches would light the way as they went, but as it stood each was just a beckoning hole of darkness. "What would you look to see first? - I think I remember my way to the art room, but I've only sort of seen... two places, so, " and he blushed again with that sheepish smile. "I don't exactly come here a lot."

The squire glanced back at his friend with a warm, shy smile. "But you - I mean, I'd take you here any time you wanted, you know. I wouldn't mind."

Noir Songbird
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Deep Space: Homeworld Exploration

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