Ӿ 08 Ӿ

[grandbellknight]

[Croix was already at the Observation Deck when the fire pit appeared. ... Thanks for that. He probably would have had a slightly more comical reaction if he wasn't still a liiiittle on the angry side - as it was, he simply twitched, glared at it, and then looked around for any other changes in the room. And that scribbled message on the wall? Was definitely a change. Since then, he'd tried to make his way out, suspicious about what staying there could mean. No escape, huh? It figured.

So, he's been here. Pretty much just waiting for everyone else to show up. He's standing, arms crossed, leaning on his shoulder against the glass, and just looking out at the stars. Every once in a while, he glances back at that message on the wall.]

I think it's a safe guess that more trouble's on the way.

[And he is not looking forward to whatever is coming up next...]


((OoC: Do please come bother him! Or poke him via CAT if you're not quite there yet! Hell, if you want to mingle with others using this post, we can make this a mingle post. I don't care~ have at it, yo. o/))

Comments

[fortune_sought]

[it doesn't take long for Sophie to join him] Mr Croix! Have you found anything here? [she eyes that message on the screens, her expression dark]

[grandbellknight]

[He shakes his head.] No. Just the writing there, and this... fire. [He gives said fire another look.] I don’t even see any wood. How exactly is it burning?

[fortune_sought]

[off-handedly] Magic, I would imagine.

[she mutters softly to herself:] What have you done? Hmph! As if we're the ones responsible for any of it.

[grandbellknight]

Heh. Not the kind of magic I'm used to.

[After she asks, Croix answers, just barely keeping from speaking right over her tacked-on statement.]

I joined the Grand Bell Army to escape where I grew up.
I took in an orphan because I knew what it was like to lose your parents at such a young age.
I let an entire continent fall in order to save Luca's life.

[What in the--... Croix gives Sophie a very confused stare for a moment, and then decides to look out the window instead djfkalsj]

S-Sorry?

[fortune_sought]

[she gapes at him] Are...are you quite all right?

[grandbellknight]

Y-Yes. ... [He frowns, obviously still confused.] I'm not really sure why I actually answered the question.

[fortune_sought]

Ah...quite. [she shifts uncomfortably, shooting a nervous glance at the words on the wall before she says, sourly:] Another of this town's games, I'm sure.

[grandbellknight]

I guess so. I can’t say this is one I’m willing to play along with. [He looks at the floor, runs a hand through his hair. Geez, awkward... Also, is it just a little bit colder in here, or what...? ] So... what do we do with it?

[fortune_sought]

With...the writing on the wall? [she shakes her head, frowning sourly] I've no idea. It's not as though we even know the rules of whatever game this is. [she sighs] I know the fire is nice, but...perhaps it would be safer if we left? Before anything else happens.

[grandbellknight]

[He shakes his head.] The snow storm is way too heavy. I don't know if it's really worth the risk to try leaving.

[fortune_sought]

But if this place is just... [she gestures at the writing on the wall] Perhaps the snow would be better.

[the statement sounds desperate even to her, though. she rubs her hands together in their mittens]

[grandbellknight]

[He knows that tone, and he just frowns at her.] Miss Sophie...

[Meanwhile dear Goddess why is it colder in here?! He pulls his coat a little tighter.]

Y-You know, I don't feel any wind in here, but is it... colder?

[fortune_sought]

[surprised] Colder? I think it's been quite cold enough for a while!

[grandbellknight]

Well, yes, but I feel like it's gotten... worse. [Another sigh. Wow, he didn't remember being able to see his breath that well before...]

[fortune_sought]

[she reaches out a hand to his arm, concerned] You should move nearer to the fire, Mr Croix.

[grandbellknight]

Yeah. That's probably a good idea. [And as he moves toward the fire and away from the window, he gives her a small smile that's meant to be reassuring, but it probably falls a little flat.] Thank you.

[Hopefully this will help... right?]

Oh, and... if it matters? [He shakes his head.] I didn't join the Grand Bell just to get away from where I grew up. Actually, I was pretty sad to go, and homesick for a while. [He frowns.] I'm... not sure why I blurted any of that out, but I'm even less sure of why I lied.

[fortune_sought]

[she frowns] It didn't look as though you did it by choice. Perhaps there's some significance to sharing some information that's true and some that isn't? Or this town is simply being incomprehensible as always...

[uncertainly] Mr Croix...were the other things you said true?

[grandbellknight]

As always. [Sigh.] Who knows what they're after with this...

[He nods. No sense in hiding it. Besides, those two truths? He would own up to them any day.] Yes. They're true. Cocona lives with me. I'm her legal guardian. [He gives a small, fond smile at the thought of her.] Honestly, she's like my little sister.

As for Luca... [He rubs the back of his head with one hand, trying to figure out how to begin.] She and Lady Cloche were trying to use song magic to create a new land, but something went wrong and Luca lost her soul. It became part of the new land. We went there to see if we could rescue her, but to get her soul back meant letting the land fall.

[fortune_sought]

Goodness, I didn't know. [she smiles] You're a very kind man.

[but she frowns at that story. she doesn't understand the details, but she gets the overall idea all too well] Then I'm glad that you could save her. But you mean to say...you brought up land? Out of the sea, perhaps? Or in the air? Was there anything there besides the land itself?

[grandbellknight]

[He returns the smile.] I... Heh. Thank you, Miss Sophie.

In the air. In my world, the surface of the planet is covered in poison. We've always lived on land constructed around the Tower. The new land was the same way. It just... wasn't entirely real, and it definitely wasn't the land we'd hoped for anyway. The only people on it were figments of Luca's imagination, and the only places were... warped. [He frowns. It still kind of hurts to remember, a little.] She was confused, angry and hurt. So that's how things became.

[He sighs, hoping any of that made some amount of sense to anyone who doesn't live in Metafalss.]

[fortune_sought]

Oh... [that world sounds very strange to her--not to mention horrifying, as she pictures a surface of poison, followed by this new land of warped shadows. she's silent briefly, taking it all in]

I'm sorry, Mr Croix. But if it means anything, it does sound like you made the right decision. You saved Luca.

[grandbellknight]

[He nods once, firmly.] You're right. And it does mean a lot to hear someone else saying it, too. [He smiles a bit.] Luca's alive now. She and Lady Cloche can try again to create the new land. Well, after we fix what made it all go wrong the first time.

[The chill is considerably less now, though Croix isn't really sure why. Maybe it's just his mind playing tricks on him...]

Well, if nothing else, I guess all of that answers the question of "What did you do"...

[fortune_sought]

[she smiles] I'm glad to hear it.

[but before she can say anything else, Croix mentions the question, and she finds words pouring out]

I killed the Witch of the Waste.
I held my husband's heart.
I distracted Howl during the crucial moments before the Djinn arrived.

[she gasps, wide-eyed, putting a hand over her mouth]

[grandbellknight]

[His eyes go wide as well.]

I'm sorry, Miss Sophie, I didn't know it would-- I didn't mean to...

[Words. what are words. djkal]

[fortune_sought]

[she shakes her head, a hand still over her mouth. at a sudden chill, she shivers] It wasn't your fault. It's this confounded place!

[she lowers her hand, wrapping her arms around herself against the cold, and she doesn't mention what she just said. even so, the sadness in her eyes is clear. she didn't need that reminder about what's happening back home]