Who told you so, dilly dilly, Who told you so? ‘Twas my own heart, dilly dilly, That told me so.
ouch is one of the most intimate, romantic ways to be close to someone else. The Town knows this very well -- the Town wants everyone to be as close as possible.
Perhaps that's why this bonding is so...aggressive.
Because you're in for quite the shock on this otherwise peaceful day when you brush against the next person on your path.
Maybe you're going out of your way to touch people. Maybe you've got a terrible urge to just see what's lurking in someone's heart. Maybe you trip over a conveniently placed rock -- whatever the cause, you're getting an up close and personal look into someone else's heart.
Welcome to Awash's eighteenth event log, everyone! Further information on this event can be found here at the OOC post. You are welcome to make your own logs and posts for this event!
If there are any questions, please ask them here. Thank you!
[ Closing the gap between them, Berkut sidesteps an incoming hand to catch the one snaked around Pyra's leg in a kick. ]
Look around you. The garden is on the brink of collapse, and the way back holds nothing of value. [ If they can even make it back. Very little of the ground remains. Unless they leave straightaway, there won't be anywhere to go. ] Safety? No such place exists! Your only recourse is to fight . . . and if we die here, then so be it.
[ All it would mean is that he was weak, after all. Then he would truly deserve to perish. ]
[ She draws a steady breath as the hand snaps away form Berkut's kick.
"If we die here, then so be it." She looks at him in disbelief at first... and then frowns. ] Those... aren't the words of a would-be king of this castle. [ So can only guess that this garden, this monstrosity that's before them must truly be something that shakes him. ]
Lord Berkut, draw your weapon. [ A flame ignites within the palm of her hand. He's making it seem like this is a fight that they cannot win-- but she refuses to let him perish in a fruitless battle, at least not all on his own. ] I want you to show me... [ She had traveled with a prince, with an emperor, with a few of their attendants, their weapons, their knights. She had seen their bravery in battle-- although at the time, she had thought their fighting was pointless.
She no longer things it's pointless. ] ...just how the Knights of Rigel fight!
[ The flames within her hand will be exactly as he saw the last time they fought; bright, vibrant, and without a trace of smoke or disturbance from the air around it.
Pyra looks to what remains of the path away from the garden, and then back to the broken mirror. She widens her stance, passing one flame from one palm to the other as she prepares her attack. ] ...Can you do that?
[ With pursed lips, he locks his gaze onto her flames. Unable to look away, he seems to seriously consider her offer, yet his mouth quivers when he opens it to speak.
To accept her power is the same as admitting that he is weak. ]
No.
[ Another voice permeates the garden, momentarily halting the hands' writhing advance. It is none other than Berkut's, tinged with mad desperation: What could you possibly know?! From childhood, all that's ever been asked of me is strength. I even debased myself by making use of that deviant's powers . . . And it's still not enough!? I was meant for greatness! But you, you’re just a . . . just a . . .
[ She sends a jet of flames across the garden, searing and melting through the hands it strikes in a volcanic flare. Her "fire" may not be actual flames, but it is hot enough to ignite them secondary to them. If the limbs that are not obliterated with the attack are able to be used as fuel for combustion, they will add to the inferno. ]
Then let's cleanse these monsters from the castle-- as much as we can!
[ Berkut expects Pyra to argue, to make a big show of shaming his inadequacy. After all, did she not sharpen her tone earlier in the castle courtyard? It's what everyone else does. They jeer. But she does not, and that surprises him.
Her flames sweep across the garden while he watches, entranced. Schooling his features, he takes a step forward when a wave of light washes out from under their feet and over the abyss, wreathed in Pyra's inferno, like a blanket.
The same warmth that greeted them upon arriving at the garden wraps around both Berkut and Pyra. It seeps into their very being, as well as what remains of the nature around them as the flowers' decay halts. At the heart of that tenderness, a woman's voice speaks kindly: You are safe. That's all I need to be— ]
Rinea?
[ —Berkut's vision goes white. When he reopens his eyes, it is to the sight of Chroma's colorful sky. ]
What--....happened? She had been entirely prepared to fight that-- whatever those monsters were-- on his behalf, if he was not capable, but then a warmth surrounded them, a voice called out to him, and suddenly they're back.
She blinks at the sudden change, extinguishing her flames.
--And then looks to Berkut. First thing is first. ] Are you alright?
[ Closing his eyes, Berkut brings a hand up to his forehead. It's been weeks since he last heard Rinea's voice. He can't say how he feels about that. A myriad of emotions start to well in him, only to be crushed under the domineering heel of pride as he opens his eyes. ]
[ The more he thinks upon what transpired, the more his mood sours. At Pyra's smile, he turns away. He just said that none of it was real, yet she insists on these comments. ]
[ Now she mocks him? This is humiliating enough. Jedah could laugh about this for years to come, were he here to witness the sorry drama. Pursing his lips, Berkut says nothing. ]
[ She sounds baffled that he even needs to ask! What sort of life has his man lived up until this point, that he needs to as why someone would care? But she smiles softly at him regardless.]
This world is..--full of so many wonderful things. Mysterious things, strong things, beautiful things. [ ... ] I care... because you're a part of this world, too. It's important for you to be here.
[ She looks at the world with such warmth. For Berkut, the world—regardless of here or there—has always been a cold, harsh terrain to overcome; to dominate with righteous pride . . . except for that one place.
He supposes, in a twisted sense, that garden did represent something dear to him.
His initial answer is silence. When it seems as though he's gone quiet again, he tentatively offers: ]
[ She... wouldn't have thought he'd offer any more information than needed, especially now that the trial is over. But since he is-- ]
Rinea... [ She repeats the name, respectful. ] Who... is she? [ Her voice remains soft and careful. Clearly, this Rinea must be important to him. And seeing how disgruntled he is now... perhaps speaking about her can help ease his mood, or so she hopes. ]
[ He doesn't say anything to Pyra's intention. If he can have it this way, Rinea will stay far away from Chroma. All the humiliation he's endured thus far has no business being anywhere near her. ]
She is a fine noblewoman of Rigel . . . and my betrothed.
Well, that's.... not something she'd expect!! ] Then, she is lucky to have you. [ Just as she thinks it is lucky for him to have her. However his heart may have been, revealing of a broken castle and a catastrophe just waiting to burst beneath the surface... it had that garden. It had her-- his heart had this Rinea within it. And she is what saved them both. ]
That garden in the castle... did it represent her? She must be even lovelier in person.
[ Did it, he wonders. With how quickly everything had gone downhill, Berkut has yet to register all that he'd seen. Even now, he's unsure as to why the garden had been there at all. ]
No such garden exists in Rigel Castle. It belongs to the grove behind Rinea's manor, though I've only seen it a few times.
[ If he were in a better mood, he'd confirm that no lovelier woman exists in all of Rigel—perhaps even crack a confident smile to match the assessment. For the time being, he keeps such a response to himself. He's too . . . at a loss. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
ouch is one of the most intimate, romantic ways to be close to someone else. The Town knows this very well -- the Town wants everyone to be as close as possible.
no subject
Look around you. The garden is on the brink of collapse, and the way back holds nothing of value. [ If they can even make it back. Very little of the ground remains. Unless they leave straightaway, there won't be anywhere to go. ] Safety? No such place exists! Your only recourse is to fight . . . and if we die here, then so be it.
[ All it would mean is that he was weak, after all. Then he would truly deserve to perish. ]
no subject
"If we die here, then so be it." She looks at him in disbelief at first... and then frowns. ] Those... aren't the words of a would-be king of this castle. [ So can only guess that this garden, this monstrosity that's before them must truly be something that shakes him. ]
Lord Berkut, draw your weapon. [ A flame ignites within the palm of her hand. He's making it seem like this is a fight that they cannot win-- but she refuses to let him perish in a fruitless battle, at least not all on his own. ] I want you to show me... [ She had traveled with a prince, with an emperor, with a few of their attendants, their weapons, their knights. She had seen their bravery in battle-- although at the time, she had thought their fighting was pointless.
She no longer things it's pointless. ] ...just how the Knights of Rigel fight!
[ The flames within her hand will be exactly as he saw the last time they fought; bright, vibrant, and without a trace of smoke or disturbance from the air around it.
Pyra looks to what remains of the path away from the garden, and then back to the broken mirror. She widens her stance, passing one flame from one palm to the other as she prepares her attack. ] ...Can you do that?
[ . . . ] If you do, I'll lend you my power.
no subject
To accept her power is the same as admitting that he is weak. ]
No.
[ Another voice permeates the garden, momentarily halting the hands' writhing advance. It is none other than Berkut's, tinged with mad desperation: What could you possibly know?! From childhood, all that's ever been asked of me is strength. I even debased myself by making use of that deviant's powers . . . And it's still not enough!? I was meant for greatness! But you, you’re just a . . . just a . . .
He exhales heavily. ]
I won't make the same mistake twice.
1/3
no subject
Oddly enough, it comforts her more to know that he refuses. ]
no subject
Then let's cleanse these monsters from the castle-- as much as we can!
no subject
Her flames sweep across the garden while he watches, entranced. Schooling his features, he takes a step forward when a wave of light washes out from under their feet and over the abyss, wreathed in Pyra's inferno, like a blanket.
The same warmth that greeted them upon arriving at the garden wraps around both Berkut and Pyra. It seeps into their very being, as well as what remains of the nature around them as the flowers' decay halts. At the heart of that tenderness, a woman's voice speaks kindly: You are safe. That's all I need to be— ]
Rinea?
[ —Berkut's vision goes white. When he reopens his eyes, it is to the sight of Chroma's colorful sky. ]
no subject
What--....happened? She had been entirely prepared to fight that-- whatever those monsters were-- on his behalf, if he was not capable, but then a warmth surrounded them, a voice called out to him, and suddenly they're back.
She blinks at the sudden change, extinguishing her flames.
--And then looks to Berkut. First thing is first. ] Are you alright?
no subject
I'm fine. None of it was real.
no subject
Ah... you're right. We're very lucky; it felt almost as if someone had saved us, right at the end.
no subject
[ He could die from shame where he stands! He never asked to be saved. A terrible urge to scream gnaws at him. ]
We were the only ones in that garden. There was no one else.
no subject
If only for a moment, it was like we weren't alone. [ That warmth she had felt just then-- ] And that voice...
[ "Rinea", maybe? Ah, well.
She shakes her head, then smiling at him. ] Well, I'm just glad to see that you are unharmed, Lord Berkut.
no subject
Spare me your pity. I've no need for it.
no subject
no subject
1/2
no subject
"You are safe". [ A smile, as she repeats the words. ] I agree with them.... I'm glad that you are safe, that's all.
[ How else is she supposed to just simply say that she genuinely cares?? Aaaa ]
no subject
Why should that matter to you?
no subject
[ She sounds baffled that he even needs to ask! What sort of life has his man lived up until this point, that he needs to as why someone would care? But she smiles softly at him regardless.]
This world is..--full of so many wonderful things. Mysterious things, strong things, beautiful things. [ ... ] I care... because you're a part of this world, too. It's important for you to be here.
no subject
He supposes, in a twisted sense, that garden did represent something dear to him.
His initial answer is silence. When it seems as though he's gone quiet again, he tentatively offers: ]
That voice. It belonged to Rinea.
1/2
Rinea... [ She repeats the name, respectful. ] Who... is she? [ Her voice remains soft and careful. Clearly, this Rinea must be important to him. And seeing how disgruntled he is now... perhaps speaking about her can help ease his mood, or so she hopes. ]
no subject
[ Because she probably was the key to letting them escape that near-catastrophe, whether illusion or not. ]
no subject
She is a fine noblewoman of Rigel . . . and my betrothed.
no subject
Well, that's.... not something she'd expect!! ] Then, she is lucky to have you. [ Just as she thinks it is lucky for him to have her. However his heart may have been, revealing of a broken castle and a catastrophe just waiting to burst beneath the surface... it had that garden. It had her-- his heart had this Rinea within it. And she is what saved them both. ]
That garden in the castle... did it represent her? She must be even lovelier in person.
no subject
No such garden exists in Rigel Castle. It belongs to the grove behind Rinea's manor, though I've only seen it a few times.
[ If he were in a better mood, he'd confirm that no lovelier woman exists in all of Rigel—perhaps even crack a confident smile to match the assessment. For the time being, he keeps such a response to himself. He's too . . . at a loss. ]
1/2
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)