|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2023 3:09 pm
He really couldn’t remember much of the drinking, aside from the fact he had been drinking, he didn’t remember much of what he’d said or done that night. This was why he didn’t drink, he didn’t do well with alcohol, but he couldn’t pass up the rehashing of the past with Wolframite that night. It was good to see the other a General once again - where he belonged. They had both been around for so long, the other around longer, that they’d seen and done many thing including a drinking contest which they’d both walked away from as winners above the others.
He could still remember the pink haired General Queen singing and holding onto a cardboard cutout of Edward Cullen. How things had changed since then. Who would have thought she’d go on a starseed eating spree, consuming officers and others alike, till she’d lost her humanity and soon after her life.
These were things new officers didn’t know…hadn’t lived through and couldn’t understand. He had no idea it would be a rehashing of the past which Melody sought from him, as he’d gotten her text earlier. She wanted to meet at his place to talk, or so she said, he trusted her enough that he didn’t mind. He’d set out a tea set, all in silver and fine china, while he waited for her to arrive. The house was, as usual, clean and tidy though now as he finished preparing for her arrival he set out some small finger foods and other little things just incase. It wouldn’t do to be a bad host; now would it?
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2023 3:15 pm
Aloysius had shut her out without much of anything in the way of answers so the next logical thing would be to follow up with Alexandre about things. She had texted him while making her way over, she kept things vague to keep him from setting up a story or another set of vague riddles and half-spoken truths. It bothered her that she had been shut out of information after being told only the smallest bits of information. She wanted to know more about the whole thing, at this point for no other reason than she hated to be out of the loop.
Standing before the large doors of the Evans family home, she smoothed her coat and hair before fixing a smile on her face and knocking on the door. She would slip things in tonight to try and find out more about the past but she had to do it carefully. It would also be a nice opportunity to try getting some information about the others on the team that she met in passing at the party as well. That other General who he had been drinking with was interesting in a way, she might ask about him as well tonight.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2023 3:15 pm
Answering the door, he’d been shuffling about the living room when it rang, he stepped aside to let her in. His home was well kept and decorated in dark, rich, colors with heavy furniture giving the place an older feel than most his age would want for their home. Most liked that modern, white, look where there was a lot of open space and it was rather impersonal. Here there was character, if you asked him, and a certain warmth.
“I have tea set up and some food.” Motioning her into the living room where everything was set up on the coffee table. “You said you wanted to talk and I’m going to assume it’s about the other night. I can’t think of any other reason behind the sudden request.” Since it was so soon after the drunken night celebrating, though he hadn’t been really celebrating so much as partaking in a contest with Wolframite, he assumed he’d said or done something that night. Perhaps it had just been because he’d been drinking, when it was well known amongst people close to him, that he didn’t drink.
“If it’s because I was drinking there is a story behind that, one which Wolframite was a part of. If it’s something I did or said I’m more than willing to do my best to speak on it.” Or whatever else he might need to do.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2023 3:15 pm
Nodding and removing her coat, she hung it up in the designated area before following Alexandre to the living room. “Thank you, that sounds lovely.” Taking a seat at the coffee table, she inclined her head at his mention of the party. So maybe she was being a bit sloppy, following up so quickly on things but at least he was being pretty open about things. Thinking for a moment as she picked up the teacup and took a sip, she decided on how she would proceed.
“You are correct, there are many things about that that I found a bit out of the norm for you. But then again I am in no position to know about that kind of thing when I am still fairly new in the grand scheme of your service with the Negaverse. I do, however, want to know more about some of the other teammates I ended up bumping into there. As well as more info about that Crow.” Her tone fell flat and serious for a moment as the word rolled off her tongue like a drop of poison. “I forced out a bit of information from Aloysius but he was frustratingly putting up walls and becoming increasingly uncooperative to my line of questioning. I want a name if nothing else. If that individual is dead then I don’t see any harm in learning from past mistakes to prevent history from repeating itself.” There was no more playfulness in her voice as she looked at the other over her cup.
“It had to have been something drastic, he was visibly falling apart at the mention of it.” Part of her felt a bit bad but she knew that by now, Liam was helping pick up the pieces. Sometimes a rough hand was needed to get information and she wasn’t opposed to being that way at times. That and the fact that he had at least tried to divert the subject to one she might try and bring up tonight, about the availability of a single Evans family member. But that was very low on the list of her priorities this evening.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2023 3:16 pm
“He would, I can understand his reasoning but that’s not how I approach the past.” Having taken a seat he leaned back, calmly, and rolled up his sleeves which only a few knew was a reveal of the art inked into his skin as his way of handling the past and accepting it. “The person in question was a General named Bischofite. I brought them into the Negaverse, they were mine in that sense, but they gained their legs rather quickly.” He really wasn’t surprised that he’d somehow slipped and mentioned him, though what had brought up Bischofite he didn’t know. Now he’d have to answer questions about him…and that was fine.
“There are some things to understand when it comes to this topic, as a whole, in order to understand how this impacted some so drastically.” Not just her brother but himself as well, not that he was saying that right now. “Alois, who was Bischofite, had a strong personality and was magnetic in a way. He drew people in and made people want to help, it didn’t hurt that he was attractive as well. He wasn’t one to shy away from a fight….infact he was more radical than I was or your brother. He liked to set up traps and plot and plan things out. I’d rather go right for the killing and not waste my time planning some trap to kill senshi and knights with.” He was rather simple in that way. He just wanted to let the blood flow and be done with it. He wasn’t going to play games with it, not really, he enjoyed a good fight but that was it - a fight. It wasn’t some trap and a game.
“I don’t know what your brother's relationship with him was, how to what extent it went, I just know my own. But it was enough to allow us both to be lied to and used in some plot of his. He used us both, as fellow officers, to follow through with some plot which turned around and bit him in the a**, sort to speak.” Leaning forward to grab a cup of coffee he sipped it slowly. He didn’t like coffee, espresso was the preferred drink, but it would suffice for right now. At least he’d added flavoring to it so it was tolerable. He didn’t care to go through the process of making espresso for this meeting.
“I can’t remember the pitch I’d gotten, it’s been years, but in the end Bischofite was left beaten and weakened…and it allowed him to be possessed by a youma…to become a half youma - much like General Wolframite is. But Bischofite was part crow…or raven. I’m not entirely sure which bird it was but it was one of them.” Waving a hand about, in a vague gesture, as he spoke. “Your brother, and myself, as well as others left him behind in a burning building. I nearly got caught in the fire trying to help the idiot. I was carried out and still bare a scar from it.” And that hand of his, holding his cup, tightened for a moment. He was not pleased with that. His cars should have been earned in fights…not gained due to some convoluted lie and poorly planned plot.
“He lied to us both about his plan, about the goal, if I remember right he wanted to make a portal for youma to more easily enter the city…an open gateway of sorts. That was not the plan we were pitched and I was used to stand guard and help allow for the portal to be formed. That idiot listened to the plans of a youma…a beast who could think and talk on its own and he didn’t think it would have it’s own wants - like a human body. How stupid of him…his arrogance in that. He learned his lesson.” And if he were to ever somehow return from whatever hell he was in, a well earned place if you asked him, he’d personally put the other in the grave and bury him…alive or otherwise. He’d finish him.
“I think leaving him there, in a burning building, broke your brother. It hurt for myself as well…but to later find out it was a lie that we’d been told…that upset turned to anger. I don’t think it did for your brother.” He was certain her brother still blamed himself for what the other had gotten - what Bischofite had earned and deserved for his stupid plans…for his stupid arrogance in trusting a youma which could talk and think for itself. For thinking they wouldn’t try and get one over on him.
“Your brother was a good General before then…after that.” Trailing off he left it there. He wasn’t a bad General but he wasn’t who he’d once been; it was a shame.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2023 3:17 pm
Mel sat still as a statue as the answers came one after another, it was a lot to take in and she could tell in part from the initial wave of things, that she would in fact have admired the methods they used, at least in part. “He didn’t leave him there though did he, he left him somewhere else, somewhere where something else happened.” It was a murmur, mostly to herself for a moment as she thought about something she had heard while passing his room. Backtracking as she watched Alexandre’s reactions as they spoke, she took a bit longer to formulate the next line of questions. Her cup barely registered in her hand as she shifted in her seat, almost causing her to spill a bit of her drink.
“I can see at least, in part where I may have enjoyed some of the traps and games he set. Regardless that sounds like a less-than-pleasant way to go, however, it did go. It does explain some things though.” Taking some more time to digest things, she took another sip of her drink. “It leaves a bad taste in my mouth that someone would throw their allies into something under false pretenses though. But at least I know now, at least in part.” The idea of fires still made her stomach crawl, her own burns from that meeting with a Senshi were only now fading mostly away.
“Thank you for telling me all this at least, I might dredge up some more questions about it after I’ve had some time to think things over and make some connections between things that I’ve noticed.” She settled into her seat a bit more comfortably, letting some of the stiffness and seriousness fall to the wayside. She had enough of the pieces to get an idea of what may have happened, or at least what started everything.
“I’m guessing in your case, there was something going on. Since you so easily spilled the beans that you like guys during your bum rush to the floor via alcohol at the party. It was honestly surprising witnessing it. With what you said about them being half crow, does that mean that other General, Wolframite was it, is part wolf or canine?” She felt a bit sad that Alexandre was off limits, he was very good to look at.
“Youma are something I don’t really know much about or have experience with since I have a feeling that my position as a Senshi makes me a bit… appetizing to some of them. I read a bit about things in the database but it still is a lot to take in even if only piece by piece. I know I met one that reported to Arseno, they were… interesting looking.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2023 3:18 pm
“That was something even I didn’t expect from, Bischofite. To be lied to, used, and led into a game of his without knowing the truth of the plans he had. He didn’t even know the full truth - what the youma had planned. But if I’d at least known his plans it wouldn’t have stung so much.” And it had stung, it had hurt, and it had over the years become an anger for the other. It was a good thing, for Bischofite, that he was dead and gone.
He knew a lot about half youma, and even a fair amount about full youma, but some of those things he’d learned the hard way. They were things which left there marks on him, the ink he carried under his skin, but he wasn’t as against sharing what he knew and what he’d done and been apart of. “Wolframite was not always part youma, he has a past that goes back before even I was in the Negaverse. I know it was his choice…a sign of loyalty after he’d defected for a short time. Bischofite was different - he didn’t choose to become what he did. I sometimes think he hated it and other times he might have been ok with it. I think he had a love hate relationship, or view, of humanity and people.” Looking upward for a moment as he thought, as he tried to reflect on a person who had been gone for so long. “I think he enjoyed pushing people to make choice, to decide the fates of others, to show the darkness in the light. To show how even those who proclaimed themselves to be good weren’t all good. I don’t think I could ever hope to understand what went on in his mind, though perhaps I was once curious about it, I thought I could help him in some manner. I was a General then when I’d corrupted him, by force mind you. At the same time he was deadly in a way I was not…deeper in a way I wasn’t. I did find myself attracted to it - how could I not? I’m a killer just as he was…just in a more straightforward manner than he was.”
He would always wonder if Bischofite wasn’t something like a tortured artist or someone who grappled with humanity and certain things which he would never venture to ponder or think on. That perhaps the other sought answers to things which others just accepted. Other times he thought the other just a cat wanting to play with the mice before killing them. No depth to be found there…nothing more than a shallow puddle.
“Something did go on but I’m certain I was more invested than he was. I brought him into the Negaverse at a time I was dealing with a crushing loss - a mistake.” Setting his cup down he turned his eyes onto Melody, all seriousness in his slate eyes. “A General can corrupt, can bring someone into the Negaverse as an officer, we cannot awaken a person as a corrupt senshi and we cannot promote someone. I did not know this at the time, I did not know what would happen if I were to try and do the impossible.” Mostly because he didn’t know it was impossible. There hadn’t been a manuale at the time, unlike now, so it was learning by trial and error really.
“There was an officer, a rank under me, who begged that I promote him. He’d come to me, beaten by a senshi, who was trying to assist me with something because I could not do it myself. The senshi was hiding a civilian…someone who had shot my own mother in front of me. As you can imagine I was not emotionally stable. When he approached me and begged, pleaded, and threatened to go right back after that senshi…I did it. I snapped and tried to give him more power…but his starseed shattered in my hand. He became a youma and I blamed myself for the mistake. Bischofite came at the time I was grieving over my actions and he took delight in poking at me verbally. To remind me of my duty, that I needed to pull my s**t together, and so I clung to him in a way I never would now. But then…then I was too weak and too young.” And he hadn’t been so close to his family, too many secrets to hide, he had been adrift at the time and drowning in his own feelings.
“It was physical…emotional on my own end but likely not his, I doubt it anyway. He left a small trail of people behind with emotional damage due to this side of him.” Standing, and stretching, he lifted part of shirt with one hand and with the other tugged the waistband down just enough to show the tattoo which was low on his pelvic area. A fleur de lis and words - noblesse oblige or nobel obligation. “In memory of Bazzite, who I turned into a youma and who later purified into a knight. A reminder of my obligation as a General. An obligation to the Negaverse and to those under me…to my team.” A reminder of what he’d done and to not mess up again. Only he had…he’d believed and trusted in the wrong person. The ink was black, stark against his fair skin. But also there was all that ivy, and thorns, decorating his chest up to his collar bones and around his arms. It ended at his waist, right around the other tattoo, and right above his elbows was where it cut off. It was easy to hide. The language of flowers was something he was well versed in, something most weren’t, for him it meant a lot. It too was nothing but black ink against his skin, curling and wrapping about him, it was a message for himself rather than others. It was a reminder.
“Where your brother lets everything emotionally affect him I have learned to live with it.” He let it show on his skin rather than damage him emotionally. Seating himself again, his shirt still untucked and hiked up, he tilted his head and laughed. “Wolframite and I both helped the Negaverse via a drinking contest. We were just deciding who won, as neither of us could remember, by drinking once again.” As it was not something he normally would ever do. He was fairly certain he’d been underage then even.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2023 3:18 pm
It sank in a bit more as he spoke, sending a bit of a familiar chill down her spine. It felt all to familiar to things she had seen in the past. Things that she herself liked to aspire to and how she held most people like objects to push and pull information from. Her mouth flattened into a line for a moment as she felt sick against the familiarity. She felt even sicker hearing about what had happened to that agent and how it could happen if someone wasn’t aware. Part of her wondered if that was why the cat had to call such an important individual in to awaken her.
“I remember that shot, at least through degrees of separation from the circles my mother rotated through. Though of course I wasn’t involved with anyone related to them personally at that point in time. It had been quite an event though.” She set her cup down for a moment as Alexandre stood up and started pulling his clothes aside, she was shocked for multiple reasons. And it took everything in her power not to blush. She hadn’t expected him to have tattoos at all, given the social standing he had and his family. They contrasted against his skin so much she couldn’t help but stare as he spoke and explained their meaning.
“I think.. In part…it was the fact someone let him have emotions at all to begin with.” Again it was softly spoken and mostly to herself because she knew it was a lie she told herself to keep going over the years. She kept warm with the hatred she had held against him even if now the reasons were all explained and validated. Her eyes trailed down as he sat before she picked her cup back up and focused on that instead. It seemed the serious talk was finished, at least for now.
“How does one help the Negaverse via a drinking contest? I feel like if anything, it would be counterproductive.” She laughed a bit at that. “If it was anything like the party it’s no surprise that the both of you don’t remember the winner. Do you remember who won this time?” She joked a little bit as she slid back into the normal flow of things.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2023 3:32 pm
“Youma, they come in various forms. Some lack the ability to communicate with us, some can’t think much beyond beast like thoughts and behavior. Some are very powerful…that even a General King, or General Queen, would not try and tame. They are old, ancient, remains from the first war with the Moon’s Queen over a thousand years ago. We were set the task of gaining the parts of one such powerful youma, as it had been shattered into pieces scattered across the rift.” This was a tale he found amusing, fun, and something less serious but a reminder of the old times.
Things had over time changed and with it the faces changed, how willing to kill some were had changed. “Myself, Wolframite, and others were sent to a bar that the youma owned, ran and likely lived in. It was said they had a piece to this greater youma. The youma there wouldn’t give the piece over easily and wanted to give it to the winner of a drinking contest. Some was vinegar, some foul water, and there was alcohol as well. We drank, all of us, including a General Queen who decided that screaming like a banshee was singing.” He left out the cardboard cut out part, for now.
“Myself and Wolframite both got a piece of the youma, they’d had two tucked away in the basement. It was during the recent party that it came up and I claimed I won - and he claimed he did. So we decided to settle things.” Like all mature adults should - they drank.
“We did manage to gather all the pisces, mine was a claw if memory serves right, and we used the greater youma to get into space and attack the senshi who were there. Another sip from his cup, before it was again set down, and he sighed. “Things have changed. The Negaverse is not as vicious as it once was - most officers not as willing to kill as they had been then. It doesn’t feel like a war now as it did then. But then emotions were high, the war felt like a proper war, and Bischofite caused a lot of chaos and he made people feel things. He hurt people because of that.” He knew he made people feel things, he knew what he was doing, he knew who to pull strings and make them each dance for him. He was good…and it got him killed.
“If he were to somehow return from the dead…I’d happily run him through and bury him myself. For all the damage he caused, for the inability to trust him, I would kill him without a single issue. If it would rid your brother of guilt for leaving him where he did…I’d be even quicker to dispose of him - to have your brother watch…to let the guilt fall to me and off his shoulders.” Because there would be no guilt for him. He wouldn’t have an issue in removing that person. But they were gone and unable to return so he could kill them, to end things for her brother.
“Your brother needs to move past it - to realize Bischofite dug his own grave. He listened to a youma who could think, could feel….could want and desire. Like a human it had those things and like a human it too decided to take what it wanted and use someone to do it. He was his own victim because he thought himself above it…because the puppet master didn’t see his own strings and see the one pulling them. He got what he deserved and your brother owes his memory nothing aside from contempt; if you ask me.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2023 3:33 pm
Listening to the tale of a giant youma, she wondered at first if it was just a fairy tale with how it had been turned into a quest of sorts to gather the pieces. She tried not to laugh at the idea of someone so highly ranked making a fool of themselves while shitfaced. “So you settled things by trying to see who got alcohol poisoning first at the party.” And then the mood had dropped again as she listened to him talk of the past even more. It made her drift back to that question that had set her brother off when she had met him while powered up. Had he actually killed someone back then? It was something she wondered about but dismissed based on his current way of handling things.
Looking back at Alexandre, she let it really sink in. This gorgeously delicate-looking man really just wanted to kill, plain and simple with no planning or strings attached. For a very long second, she stayed silent as he went on about it because she wasn’t quite sure how she felt. She hadn’t been able to rip that knight’s starseed back then, had she? It was because she didn’t want real, actual blood on her hands. But then she thought even more as she looked at him, about how it was increasingly apparent why Aloysius had kept Benitoite away from his civilian life. There was no gentleness or forgiveness here and it started to make her realize that in the end she really would be a good fit for the Evans family. Just not for Alexandre, as frustrating as it was.
She wasn’t going to kill people herself if she could handle it but, she was more than willing to continue playing the game and pulling people into things if she could. The more bodies between her and senshi like that fire b***h, the better. Things might change, she might start taking starseeds but, she knew that she wasn’t in this for the killing. There was opportunity and many things she could get herself into as long as she kept these history lessons in mind. She decided it would be best to agree with the topic of murder, even if uncomfortable and theoretical.
“It would be interesting to see that.” Although she doubted it would make her brother feel better. “With everything tonight, it really is apparent that you watch his back even if you don’t have the same views on things.” Which was putting it lightly as she thought about it while finishing her drink. Setting down the cup, she checked the time on her phone. “Either way, I think something will happen along those lines tonight after I interrogated him. If only by someone with far gentler hands than the two of us. It will be good to see something change either way, although I wonder what will.” Thinking about it as she sat and looked at Alexandre, she realized that her brother was probably some sort of shell-shocked and she felt increasingly bad about kicking that hornet’s nest. She also made a note not to ******** around with youma, they sounded as if they were more trouble than they were worth.
“Just, please, don’t try and drag him into a drinking game. I quite like the fact he quit smelling of cheap liquor. Even if it is to remember old times.” She smiled at this even if she didn’t quite feel like smiling while she had all this to consider. She’d have to be very careful if she wanted to get far in the Negaverse, if she wanted to do things her way.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2023 3:33 pm
“I watch any agents back who needs it, provided I know it.” He might not like everyone in the Negaverse, he might not see eye to eye with everyone, but they were a military of a sort and they were fighting a war…be it a very slow moving war. It wouldn’t be wise to ignore members in need and not watch them, to keep them on track, he needed every officer safe and able bodied. It seemed that Aloysius might just become a bit more able bodied, judging from what his sister was saying, and that the smaller General would be happy to see.
“Mmm, I don’t plan on drinking again, especially like that. I wouldn’t dare to drag someone else into things like that. That night was a one off between two very old friends, it was Wolframite who taught me to kill…who buried the first body I left.” Even he, as a General himself, had a respect for Wolframite who had been through many things, things he hadn’t, and who had been around even longer than he had been.
“Your brother is safe, I’m not going to harm him. If anything I’d kill anyone who tried to harm him, especially on a battlefield or a fight.” Just like he still planned to hurt down the senshi who had hurt Melody, not that he was going to tell her that. Maybe one day she’d find out, when the body was long since forgotten somewhere, but that didn’t much matter to him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2023 3:35 pm
“It makes sense, given how all those people I saw look up to you at the party.” She thought to the other corrupts and members of his team she had seen in passing that night. Taking her choice of one of the tea sandwiches, she took a bite as she continued listening to the other. Even if she almost choked on the sandwich when Alex mentioned that that half youma general who had shown a bit of interest in her was the one who taught him to kill. That was something she would have to watch if she ever met the General alone.
“That’s good though, even if his partner would be more affected than I would be by his death.” It was the truth, everything went to here if he passed due to the contract he had signed when he dumped everything on her. Maybe it was bad but using that hate she had brewed up over the years as insulation against him had been the only way to cope. Thinking things through though, she started to wonder why they cared so much. Maybe there had been something, she wondered while she felt a bit jealous. “I do wonder about something though, what does my brother even do if he doesn’t fight? He mentioned youma and crystals, it’s not something like the Crow was right?” She couldn’t see him pulling people in that way, not as he was now. Maybe the way he had been in the past fit more in that line. It was just food for thought as she sat there.
“Either way, I just hope he doesn’t cause too much trouble for you. I know when it comes to the other work we do for your family, he has been fitting in quite well, almost better than I have. But that’s expected given that he’s been teaching and tutoring for years. That is, of course, leading to another topic we touched on in the past I want to revisit.” Leaning forward as she stared into Alexandre’s eyes, she smiled a bit more. Dropping her voice low, she continued. “ I think at some point if /she/ approves, I would perhaps prefer to join the family myself. If there are any suitors who she thinks I would fit, of course. Maybe not now, but at some point, to strengthen the alliance and maybe expand some horizons. I’ve been thinking of some business ventures to offer employment opportunities to other agents.” It was a long game she was playing, just as he mother had. Marrying up in social status through alliances and favors. There wasn’t any love in this, at least not at its core. Either way, she knew that her reputation had been spotless and she was known to be useful to Alexandre when it came to social matters and information gathering. But in the end, anything like that would have to go through the head of the family.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2023 3:35 pm
“No, your brother is nothing like Bischofite. I believe he’s working on finding some helpful uses for the crystals which can be found in the rift. I’ve been working on similar but in a vein that I’m far more comfortable in.” Plants, plants which grew down there with ground up crystals in the soil. He really wasn’t surprised to hear that she wouldn’t be so affected if her brother died, they didn’t seem so close…not like you’d expect siblings to be anyway. But he knew there was a lot there and it really wasn’t his business either.
“Your brother did fight more in the past, a lot more, his hands aren’t clean either. Though his hands are far cleaner than my own.” He was more than alright with his hands being stained in blood, proud even.
Laughing as things took a turn, as Melody laid out what she wanted, he couldn’t help but find it amusing. “I’m sure my grandmother could find someone but she’d need to know where to look. Also, we do marry for love…we dont’ cheat or find what we need elsewhere. So it would be a match of love as well…or at least where that would be a possibility.” His grandmother wouldn’t condemn someone to being miserable in a marriage, especially since no one would stray in the family, it wouldn’t be fair. But she surely knew this. “I can give her a hint, or have open words with her, and let her know of your interest. It might be wise to try and socialize with family members at events…see who you might find most appealing.” And who would find her appealing as well. “You also might wish to speak with my grandmother at the next social event. The children you teach may love you, and your brother, but if your end goal is to marry in than you’ll need to talk to those who are single and to my family head.” To appeal to those she’d wind up surrounded by if they did get lucky.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2023 3:35 pm
“Ah so that’s where he kept disappearing off to, I guess it makes sense then. I remember seeing plants sticking out of your office at one point so I assume that is the field your work is more aligned with.” She had never really seen him in action working in a garden but she had seen the aftermath of him working with her brother on fixing up the Sharp property on the edge of town. It made sense with the way she had seen others around him marked with ivy as well since he was marked with his own.
“So he had a pair still, for a while at least.” And there came another puzzle piece which slotted into place, adding more clarity to the ******** up puzzle her brother was. Even if she knew she couldn’t follow that line of questioning to the source, at least not without kicking the hornet’s nest even more. It may not hurt her by doing it but she didn’t want to stress Liam out any more than he already was for dealing with Aloysius. She actually liked them and wanted to make sure they kept in the family since they were working on becoming an accountant. He was also just the right level of polite and kind which made it easier for her to get along well with.
Thinking for a moment as Alexandre turned to the topic she was highly invested in for her own future, her face imperceptibly shifted. Love… there was never room for that was there? Not that she felt it was something meant for her either after her own body count had reached well into the triple digits, even if no one would be willing to confirm that number. She knew how to work them over, make it seem real even if she never felt anything during any of those encounters. Even now her hand tried to drift to where the scars were, nobody could love someone marked like this right? But then she looked across the table at the still visible tattoos and scars on Alexandre as well. It took a long moment for her to let the idea sink in because as much as she hated it, it also applied to her brother as well. He was even more ******** up than those present at this meeting tonight but he had someone who genuinely loved him.
Was she going to say it though, did she need to say it? Would it help or hurt her case if she did? All of these thoughts set up a pros and cons list in her mind in an instant before she decided to go for it. Alex might understand, in a way, about how ******** up everyone in the Sharp family was. She trusted him, which was rarer than most precious gemstones in this world. “I would never cheat of course but… love is something alien to me. Though I know it is important for your family, I feel it’s not something for people like me.” Trailing off for a moment, her face didn’t quite reveal the change in her mood. She was too prepared for that. “That in mind though, I feel otherwise I am a good fit for most. I have seen a few of them while I made my rounds hunting for that judge’s wife. I would like to meet some of them but I wish to not be caught off guard, you understand.”
Taking a moment to finish her snack, she thought about things some more. “I would ask for your guidance specifically because I feel like it would be best if both involved parties were aware of the war. If that can be kept in mind, there may be some room for things to change. But yes, the next time we all go out for an event, I will talk with her.” She’d play her part, so practiced that it was as easy as breathing to her. Figuring out how to manage after setting the bait was another thing though because she quite liked having her alone time after using all her energy to keep on her toes all the time in social gatherings. Watching the other’s face closely, she waited for their response.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2023 3:36 pm
Stretching in his seat Alexandre understood what she was saying, he really did, he wondered at times if he knew what love was or could feel it. He wondered if anyone could since it was different for everyone it seemed. How did a person know if that’s what they felt or if it was something else? How did a person put a name to such a feeling. He could have said this to Melody but he didn’t, it didn’t matter really, but he did answer her.
“It’s alien to everyone. You might wind up feeling it, might not.” Shrugging his shoulders as he spoke. “But you might come close to it as well. I suggest speaking with my head of family and if she fancies the idea I can introduce you to cousins of mine, to more distant cousins as well.” Since the whole of the family lived in and right around the city. They were close knit and didn’t leave the Destiny City area…they just kept buying condos, high rise apartments, building homes outside the city and more and more nests for them. If only people knew how they kept growing. He was a rare case of an only child. Most had siblings…several siblings.
“Most of the blonds at the social events…are an Evans by blood or by marriage. I’ll tell you that. Just look next time at an event…see how many you can find in a room. How many greet my grandmother before they go do anything else, even eat.” That would give her a good scope of his families size, something she would likely be getting an idea on with the lessons she was providing to the younger children.
“I’ll bring you to her at the next event - her first.” No one else, it was a respect thing and the family knew it. “About the war…that will be interesting if you want someone to know about it. I can try and bring someone in.” Like he’d done with Hudson, though his cousin was no where near as vicious as he was, he was good to have around. He could trust him - they were family.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
