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 Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2016 8:46 pm
Sailor Corvus returned to the castle playground now out of habit more than the need that had brought her there before. She worried less in knowing that the Knight she had crossed paths with several weeks before had others looking out for him as well. It hadn't been enough to make the worry disappear completely, but it had taken away the edge of desperation that seeing someone else so broken had left her teetering on. The cold snap had broken and while she didn't have a blanket with her this time she did have a bag of Twizzlers and a small thermos of an herbal tea blend. She had eaten two of the Twizzlers (the first as a snack, the second out of boredom) and was currently picking apart a third. Corvus wasn't hungry, but she had needed something to do with her hands. Nerves? Was that what it was? " Ar--gghh." The Senshi of Vengeance huffed, pulling herself up to her feet so that she could climb up onto the top of the tunnel connecting two sections of the castle together. She left the Twizzlers and the thermos just inside of the tunnel for the moment, balancing carefully while pondering just how long she was going to stay at the playground tonight.
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Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 7:44 pm
Powering up was still something rather difficult for Celsus to do as of late; but he couldn't avoid it forever, no matter how tired and exhausted he was. He'd made a commitment, and the truth of that was literally written in his skin now, glowing across his neck in gold and white strokes.
He tried not to think too hard about that. Or about anything else, for that matter.
It was a balmy, cool night, lacking the cold and snow from his last excursion to the park. Celsus made his way down the path, knowing she would be here - and knowing that, along with several other people, he owed her an apology that was a little more difficult to actually get the words out for.
The castle was just up ahead. As he had expected and hoped for, Celsus felt the power signature waft over him, and his stomach twisted, a bout of nerves gripping him. He made himself keep walking, his feet sliding across the little pebbles that littered the ground, and he saw her, standing at the top of the castle.
"Corvus?"
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Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 7:59 pm
Corvus had felt the energy signature approaching but had paid it little mind once it passed her senses as 'Order' and not a threat. She half expected it to pass her by, as other auras had throughout the various times that she had spent occupying the castle. It didn't, though. The aura paused and then the source of it spoke. Corvus. It was a familiar voice that said her name; stronger now than it had been when last she'd heard it. The Senshi of Vengeance turned slowly on her heels before flopping down to take a seat on the tunnel, watching the Knight of Chronos as her feet dangled down. Her actions were so simple, almost child-like for a brief moment as she let a tired smile replace her bored frustration. "Celsus. Coming up?"
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Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 8:09 pm
He was, admittedly, slightly hesitant to come closer. After the events in Negaspace, as well as his encounter with Labyrinthite and his subsequent stay in the hospital, Celsus had not had the time to properly communicate with those he had worked with. He'd had to call Fiona to get him out of the hospital (and had received quite the reprimand after), but had not managed the strength to talk to Corvus. Or Valhalla, for that matter, though Celsus was trying not to think about him.
He nodded in answer and then moved forward, Celsus climbing the steps carefully, his cape billowing out behind him. There were noticeable differences in his appearance since the last time he'd seen Corvus, but he was still the same man underneath it all.
Mostly.
He settled down beside her on the slide. For a moment or two there was silence, the only sounds that of the gentle clink of coins every time Celsus shifted.
Finally he said quietly, "I owe you an apology."
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Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 8:24 pm
"No, you don't." Her own voice was soft when she found it again after letting the silence settle between them. It wasn't as awkward as she thought it might have been; not for her, at least. It could have been much worse, but sometimes quiet was needed. Sometimes the space between said more than words did. She tilted her head slightly so that she could look at the Knight, shifting just a bit in order to properly face him. "You don't owe me anything, Celsus -- But I'll listen if you still want to apologize."
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 9:38 am
His laughter was low, softly bitter. "Kind," said Celsus, "And wrong. I do owe you an apology, no matter how you spin it."
He felt Corvus shifting to face him, turning slightly, but he kept his head down, away from her. Celsus looked at his hands instead, his face coloring slightly with shame, and twisted his bruised fingers together, his casted arm twinging a little with the movement.
"I only vaguely recall that night," said Celsus, after a moment. "But I remember you trying to help, and I remember...running away from you."
He winced a little at the memory. "And that whole bloody mess in Negaspace didn't help much either."
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 11:56 am
"Seemed more like you were running away from yourself than running away from me. I can't say that's something I haven't done before. Hell, depending on who you ask it's something I'm still doing." Her voice was soft, twinged with a touch of bitterness that lingered closer to sadness. She turned from him again, leaning back on gloved hands to peer at the sky. "You seem better. Closer to being whole and not as lost, if that makes any sense." Sometimes she wasn't sure if anything she said made sense, but she liked to try. "Do you like Twizzlers?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 6:51 pm
He couldn't help the flinch that passed across his face at her assessment, but he couldn't deny it either. Celsus shifted where he sat, lifting his good hand to rub at the back of his neck, fingers pressing against his oddly bare neck.
"I'm trying..." He took a breath, "to be better about that."
Running away is all I've ever been good at, after all, he thought, but Celsus didn't say that, his hand dropping into his lap again. A soft laugh escaped him, slightly bittersweet, but it was not the sort of hollow, empty laugh that he'd given before.
"I had a bit of...an awakening, I suppose," said Celsus, and he glanced sideways at Corvus.
"Yes. Why?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 7:09 pm
"Because I brought some with me tonight. Herbal tea too, if that's something you're interested." Corvus pushed herself up, balancing carefully before climbing back down off of the plastic piping and onto the castle platform. She ducked down to retrieve the package, holding it out to the knight with a sheepish smile. "I might have eaten one or two already -- I didn't know whether or not you'd come tonight. It's the first time I've brought candy with me. If I'd known that would work I might have brought some with me sooner." Her tone was lighter than it had been only moments ago, almost gently teasing. The smile that broadened came easily, even if it wasn't one she wore often anymore. She tried to hold on to it even as she glanced back down at the open package. "I'm trying to be better too. It's.. It's easier when there are others who are willing to run alongside of you, or after you -- When you have friends."
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 7:37 pm
"I never say no to tea," said Celsus, with a half smile, though he reached for the Twizzlers first, sliding one out of the bag and biting it slowly. He was distracted, however, by what Corvus was saying, Celsus half turning to look at her.
"Wait. Have you been coming here every night since - since that one night?"
He felt his face flush with shame, with embarrassment. Celsus turned away, his eyes fluttering shut momentarily before he opened them again, staring down at his casted fingers. He flexed them absently, felt the strain of them, the pull of muscle, of pain.
"There are people that are...there for me that I haven't really...been as kind to as I should have been," he said quietly.
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 7:52 pm
"Not every night." Corvus could feel her own face flushing slightly, teeth tugging at her lower lip for a moment as she made a point of looking anywhere but at Celsus as she continued to speak. "I... If there was a chance that you remembered anything I said that night and you remembered that I said to meet me here again I didn't want to not be here if you needed someone. It -- It was only every night for the first few nights." Then a cold snap had brought more snow with it and there had been a pause in her attempts to lure out the stray Knight of Chronos. "Then it became a habit to stop back every few days -- Then Caedus summoned us again, and I think you know how the rest of the story goes." She generally patrolled the park anyways for the memories that kept drawing her back. It had been easy enough to alter her usual routine to include pausing by the castle, even if it was just for a bit of quiet contemplation. "I just wanted to make sure that you were alright," she murmured, lightly fiddling with the bracelet cuff on her left wrist.
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 8:07 pm
He felt a wave of shame crash through him. Celsus was dimly aware of the coins on his uniform jingling again as he shifted, his head lowering; but he no longer had the hair to shield his face from view, his cheeks burning red in the dim light.
"I'm sorry," he said again, quietly. "I remember that night, but I don't - I only remember bits and pieces."
It had been too much, too many emotions clogging his heart and head. Celsus eased out a ragged breath.
"I'm...better," he said, after a moment. "Not great, but better."
He glanced at Corvus, lips quirking slightly up. "My brother's a Squire now."
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 8:25 pm
"Better is a start," she spoke softly as she glanced up, letting her fingers fall away from her bracelet so that she could reach out to let one hand rest lightly on his arm. "You still don't have to apologize for it -- Not to me, at least." Corvus was the last person who had the right to judge anyone for falling apart, especially given how her own crash and burn emotional roller coasters had turned out. The quirk of his lips distracted her from that train of thought. It was easy to be drawn away from darkness by a little bit of light. "He is? Chronos, like yourself?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2016 6:53 am
He was still sensitive to touch, averse to the physical sensation of kindness, because it almost felt like too much; too overwhelming, too obvious a thing for him to handle. But Corvus meant kindly, and though Celsus stiffened ever so slightly under her hand, he did not pull away as he would have before.
"Still," Celsus insisted. "It's...well, I could have been nicer to you. To all of you," he added, in a low mumble, and he eased out a breath again, his smile fading somewhat. His eyes had gone back to rest on his hands, the stupid cast making him wince.
"No, Neptune," he said quietly. "He was...a Lieutenant in the Negaverse. All this time, and I had no idea, but Eurydike - that's his fiance - he and I went and got him and we had Cosmos purify him, so now he's Emrys of Neptune. And he still remembers us," he added, sounding as though this was still an incredulous, wondrous thing.
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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2016 6:22 pm
Corvus drew her hand back when he tensed, mentally chastising herself for not thinking before doing so when she should have given how violently he had reacted to it the first time they'd met. Even if circumstances had been different then, she could have been more considerate. "Sometimes you have to be nicer to yourself before you can be nice to others. I'm not always the most pleasant person to be around either." A wry grin curved her lips as she watched him for a moment, the expression shifting into a lighter smile as he continued. "Celsus, that's wonderful! I-- I knew it was possible, that it's happened before, but... I'm glad that the two of you were able to get through to him. I'm glad that he remembers."
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