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 Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2025 3:48 pm
Luke was asleep, curled up and tucked in on the couch, and there was a small pile of pillows and blankets next to the couch for Jason, but Talia had signaled that she wanted to talk and was waiting in the garden with two cups of tea and a small plate of cookies. This was going to be uncomfortable, maybe even painful and the least she could do was make sure that they had something else to focus on if they needed to just….pretend that this wasn’t actually happening.
It made sense in her head. Picking up a cookie, taking a drink of tea? It let them have a break in conversation if it was needed.
When she heard the door, Talia looked up and gave a small smile. “Hey! I…figured you and I should talk. I hope that’s okay to presume…I made some tea and there’s some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies here for us, they’re really good. Um…but. Yeah…I uh. Figured we really should. If that’s okay?”
Uncertainty laced her voice and her brows were furrowed. This wasn’t…easy. Obviously.
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2025 3:57 pm
Pausing in the doorway, Jason looked at the cookies and tea like it was a firing squad, just waiting for the target to sit down for his untimely end. And then, after closing his eyes with a slump of the shoulders for a brief moment, he told himself to get over it and take what was coming like the adult he was supposed to at least try and be. "Alright." Sitting down, he lifted the cup of tea and gave it a sniff. It didn't smell familiar, but that was mainly because he didn't know a thing about tea. But it smelled okay, at least. He wondered what she knew. About...well, everything. About Faustite and why he would... Well if she didn't, then he guessed it was finally time to talk about it. "Yeah, I guess we should. It won't change anything, done is done, but," he shrugged, "...it's better to know."
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2025 4:06 pm
Talia’s heart sank slightly at his words that it wouldn’t change anything but she nodded anyway and drew in a breath. “I am so sorry that all I seem to do is let you down. First with not having the answers you wanted and needed and the…the worst with…with losing them. I…I don’t know…what else I could have done. I feel like there was no right answer…either I protected you who…it looked as though he meant to kill you, and I thought…”
This wasn’t making any sense and her words were coming out far too quickly. “I shouldn’t have…I mean. I should have just…attacked him right off but…my instinct was to protect you. I am so, so sorry that I failed you, Jason…”
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2025 4:18 pm
The apology bore down on him, heavy with a different kind of guilt. He took a sip of tea, it was uh...not as good as it smelled. But it wasn't intolerable, either. "That...I know I haven't been fair to you. I keep trying to treat you like the answer to everything, and getting disappointed when you're not." He took another drink as a small sort of punishment. "You don't owe me anything, and you try your best anyway. There's really nothing else I should be expecting of you, it's childish of me." But at the same time, it was hard to just turn off a feeling. It was better to just redirect it toward himself, as much as possible. "I'm sorry it's made you feel bad." Another sip, this one longer. "About...about Faustite. That was..." a deep breath, "...that was my fault. He had reason to get revenge on me. I brought that on, personally." Rather than feeling better by talking about it, Jason looked ready to throw up.
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2025 4:30 pm
Talia shook her head. “But…I…” She drew in a breath, in through her nose, out through her mouth. She couldn't be perfect, no matter how hard she tried, all she could do was her best…and she was doing that. She was trying. That was enough. For now. But.
She paused at his words. “Jason…what do you mean by that? Because I know for a fact that Faustite would like nothing more than to make my life a personal Hell. Since I abandoned him. What…happened between the two of you?”
Well…if Faustite was the real issue here…maybe…this wouldn’t be such a bad conversation after all.
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2025 4:45 pm
He raised his eyebrows at the thought of Faustite angry with Lysithea over abandoning him, but he supposed that sort of thing might be not be uncommon. With those that made the choice to purify. Had they been close or something? But...that would have been awhile ago. Shaking his head, "Then that would have just been...I don't know, the sprinkles on top for him, probably." Taking a deep breath, he began, "In December last year, a couple knights got information about a corrupt senshi's civilian identity. And..." Jason sighed, "...they kidnapped him. There's thing I want to know about him and about...well, myself, really." What he was willing to do. What were his limits. "So I visited where they were keeping him. Somebody leaked the information to the Negaverse, and there was a fight. Apparently, the one kidnapped was one of Faustite's people. maybe even someone uh..." he flushed,"...really close to him. Heliodor."
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2025 4:49 pm
Oh. This…was…interesting. But.
“...Why…” She hesitated. “You’re…” Talia hesitated again. “I had no idea. I remember that Faustite had a lot of um. People that he was close to…were you….involved in the kidnapping?” He was just a kid. She knew that some members of Order had…different ideas but…he was a kid...that…was worrisome…to say the least.
“I’m not sure…if I met Heliodor or not…things are still fuzzy and honestly, the person I remember most was Faustite. He took me in as his sister. It was a whole thing but…”
She broke off again. That was not the point. Not the right time, but her brain was filled with useless questions. “...Does Luke know?”
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2025 5:40 pm
"I didn't kidnap him, if that's what you're asking." He paused for what felt like, an incriminatingly long stretch and then finally said, "But I was one of the voices in the room when they were asking what to do with him. So he probably told Faustite that the Lysithea knight with the unicorn shield suggested that they use him as bait to catch Faustite and then leave them to starve and die in space." He gave her a wry smile. "No. I don't want him...I don't want him involved further than just...what proximity to me brings. And I don't want him to..." to be messed up and wrong, like me, "...he's really sweet, you know? And happy."
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Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2025 8:48 am
Talia nodded slowly and was quiet for a long while before letting out a long, heavy sigh. “Faustite is pure poison, Jason. I can’t…fault you for your actions…but I think…if that’s the case, then me showing up really sealed Lukomorye’s fate…it was a lose, lose either way…Faustite would have killed you both, I’m sure. He hates my Knights on principle, I’m sure of that too. But me showing up…”
She reached up and rubbed her face slightly, trying to stop the headache that was building behind her eyes.
“I was so afraid to face you, Jason. I was so afraid for what was going to happen. I was absolutely a coward but. I’m so glad you reached out, and I’m so glad that I could help…and I’m happy that we have had a chance to talk…I hope that you’re…feeling a little easier too.”
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