|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2023 12:38 pm
 |
|
|
 |
Backdated to 16 December, 2022
Kyrie stared down at the small, worn book she'd taken from her home. It rested on the table, one set far back from the rest of the bustling cafe. The sounds of life and holiday cheer from patrons, staff, and stereos contrasted painfully with the looming silence of the book. Blue fabric was long faded and frayed in sections, threading evident in spots along the spine where pages had begun to come loose and she'd had to stitch them back into place. No markings along the cover hinted to the contents, though swirling script along the spine in quick inked scrawl told her enough.
Solarian text, slightly faded in turn and clearly written over a few times to refresh the words, stared solemnly back at her when she glanced at the spine. The year she'd started that volume, followed by… nothing. She hadn't filled the book with tick marks. There was still proverbial sand left in the glass. Kyrie didn't need to see what was on the pages--a set number at the start were kept blank to allow herself space to write important notes. Then the pages were marked off by small strips of cloth, signifying a passage of a decade when filled with ticks, one for each day. She'd figured out the correct spacing she'd needed per line, per page, front and back, to equate for that time period.
Back in her home, she'd filled multiple books like that. By her approximation, the four books she had filled--and fifth she was working on--since the last of the major fauna had died off… it had been around two-hundred years. Thousands of ticks.
There were other books of notes. About different wars. Different eras. It'd been easier to keep track of time when settlements had been around, more people intent on preserving as much of Solarian life and knowledge as possible. Then they died, and she had to maintain a track of time herself, and--
Kyrie drew in a deep, shuddering breath, extremities tingling and chilled that she needed to wrap her hands around the warm cup of caramel coffee.
She'd asked Devyn to meet her there. Sure, it was in public, but they were far back enough that between the music and other patrons, no one would hear or even comprehend what they were talking about.
Not sure I'm doing good had been part of her texts to him a couple days prior.
Think I need to go back
Figure some stuff out
I'm not feeling okay about it
Can we meet?
When you have a moment?
Sorry, know you've got a lot yourself
They'd set up a time, a place. Kyrie wasn't sure who else she could speak to. Who else would get it, even slightly.
Metis, Cybele, Realta… Encke, they were all kind and friendly, yeah. But they didn't…
Kyrie took a sip of her drink, the sweetness and heat a necessity to push back the terror and guilt rolling inside her.
She didn't think they could ever fully get where she was coming from. But maybe that was just her own doom and gloom pity party talking.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2023 7:40 pm
|
|
|
|
Devyn hadn’t been here before, but with the help of a well-programmed phone, he had arrived effortlessly and without any difficulty. A little device that could show a map and tell you exactly where you were was particularly convenient for him, given his affinity for finding himself lost.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t read a map, it’s just that his feet were a bit overzealous and he often traveled so fast that he wound up in all sorts of places. Most of which he hadn’t meant to visit.
But this, this was deliberate.
He’d dressed for the cold, as fashionable as always. He took great pride in his appearance, and even the dreary chill and bite of winter wasn’t enough to dampen his spirits.
It took him almost no time at all to locate her; he’d hardly even seemed to sweep the room before he was walking in her direction. He didn't order anything; as much as he liked a good snack, this was a planned meeting and it was important. He wasn’t going to let himself be distracted with sweets.
“Kyrie,” he greeted. He smoothed out his outfit as he sat down across from her.
“It’s good to see you again.” It was, even if the situation wasn’t the most pleasant. He didn’t know where she wanted to start, but he smiled warmly all the same.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2023 3:07 pm
|
|
|
|
The sight of the well-groomed and well-dressed man brought a light to her otherwise gloom. Kyrie sat up slightly, her shoulders losing some of their tension as she offered Devyn a small smile back. "Hey, thanks for coming. Sorry for the short notice," she offered by way of greeting and apology--though the plan had been set for a few days, she still felt the need to do so.
The fact he didn't order anything both made her self-conscious of her own choice, and anxious to begin talking about.... the actual subject she needed to talk about. That she asked him here to talk about. Ugh.
Her lips pursed and twitched to the side, a faint scowl to herself as she considered how it'd been... a while since she'd felt the urge to run away from what she needed to do. Old habits die hard, as the saying goes, and she had to force herself to not ceased to the old temptation.
One of her hands left her warm cup to tap on the warn book on the table. "This is.... the book I brought here with me. I dunno if I mentioned it before." A quick flick of her fingers, and the aged pages opened, tiny tick marks covering the displayed pages in neat, strictly kept rows and columns. "I uh.... I used these to keep track of time. And notes about things, events... places, stuff... things I didn't want lost or forgotten, y'know?" It was a gradual babble, and she knew it, letting out a low breath that tossed about her bangs.
"....I'm dragging my feet here, sorry. I'm just... I'm... scared to go back. There's nothing there and it's empty and alone and I don't want to get stuck there and--" Kyrie closed her eyes, bringing her hand up to rub over them and take a deep, slightly shaky breath to attempt to ground herself. At times, it felt easier to keep her composure as Solaris. Falling back into the mentality of a soldier, rather than a scared civilian.
Without opening her eyes, or moving her hand away from rubbing at them as if she were trying to push away a growing headache, she asked, "How did you... handle going back?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2023 8:21 pm
|
|
|
|
Devyn waved his hand dismissively at first; it was no burden to be here, and it wasn’t like he had to shift plans to meet up with her. He listened as she spoke, and his eyes fell to the book she carried with her. Really, he didn’t mind letting her talk for as long as she needed, especially if it was to work up to something bigger.
He was patient, but she hadn’t needed as much time as he’d figured.
There was a weight he carried on his shoulders that seemed to lessen as he watched her. She was being vulnerable, he didn’t have the heart to sit here with any ounce of stoicism.
Her hand to her face hid it from him, but he didn’t think he needed to see her to imagine what she was feeling right now.
“With purpose.”
To be fair, he’d returned to his world to dissect a lie he’d been telling himself for–maybe centuries. He didn’t really remember when he started pretending like Percy was somewhere else, waiting for him. He wasn’t going to tell her that. If she came to him for strength, he didn’t know if that was the best approach.
Confronted with the truth, there had been a moment of emptiness. His sick, infected world was still home, so he’d retreated there.
It had been with purpose, though.
“I’d always intended to heal my world. I didn’t stay on Earth for long before I went back. Maybe a few days? You’ve seen a Mauvian about a phone, haven’t you? That’s what I used to get back to Earth. I took many trips back and forth before the Chaos was purged from my world.”
They were in public so he kept his voice low; he’d leaned in for a bit of privacy and so he could keep his voice soft, but he was attentive. If anyone had ventured too close, he was prepared to change the subject, but with no threat nearby there was no point in disguising the conversation.
“I’d been worried that it would get worse without me there. I don’t think it did. But I had strong defenses to keep it at bay. Every trip I took, I fortified something else. I suppose…I just treated it like a job. I’d been fighting for years, it wasn’t much different than any other day. Easier, maybe, because I knew I could come back to Earth if I got into a rough patch. If you’re going back, do you have anyone you can take with you? For your first trip, at least. Someone to have your back, just in case? It might help.”
He didn’t say it out loud, but the expression on his face said he was willing to accompany her if she didn’t have anyone else in mind.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
