[OTA] Feb/March events!

[claritatis]

Who: Ignis Scientia (claritatis), Julie Grigio Cabernet (redwinekindofgirl) and Nil (atravellerwithabow).
What: Top levels for the Feb and March events, as and when required.
Where: In the city, outside the city, wherever.
When: Feb/March for the duration of the Kiss Me Kill Me/Field Trip/Flu Season events.
Warnings: Nil.

((ooc: anything welcome! bring me your travellers, people being chased by monsters, anyone needing help, sandstorms, anything at all c: ))

Comments

[tongueamok]

[The relief that crosses Carlisle's face is immediate -- and obvious. He sighs, muttering a "Thank the Clarity" under his breath before sidling over to the chair, eyeing the bundle. He hesitates only a moment more before he starts unwrapping.]

I have been a little apprehensive as to what it was you were forced to see, but I am glad the false deities saw some restraint with these visions. I can't imagine what it was they thought they would pilfer from my estate now, but—

[He stops as the sheet falls away, revealing the hide of a kalugra, one mounted to be worn as a mantle. The capelet attached is still torn, the leather straps worn away in places where they rubbed against the wearer long ago. Carlisle glances to the coat rack by the door, where his own cloak hangs, the head on it the same kind as the one before him; down his eyes go to the mantle once more, his shoulders slumping as quiet melancholy colors his features.]

Oh. I... I suppose this is mine, isn't it?

[He lets out a single, humorless laugh, one soft enough it might be mistaken for a breath. Whatever brought it forth isn't funny at all, really.]

[claritatis]

[There are a number of things that he would certainly not wish to see Carlisle doing, and if the situation were reversed, he could think of several he would not want anyone else to see either.

He watches the man in silence, arms loosely folded, while he unwraps the bundle on the chair. Ignis hadn't been certain of what to make of it on the whole, save for that it was of a kind of magic that he had no knowledge of.]

You don't look terribly pleased. [He comments mildly, giving a quick glance to the cloak by the door.] ... Carlisle, are you alright?

[tongueamok]

[Carlisle remains silent for a moment more following Ignis' question, his brow tightening, mouth stretching into a thin line across his face.]

This belonged to my uncle, Boris. [His voice is small, hidden somewhere in the back of his throat.] I didn't believe I'd ever see it again.

[claritatis]

[The young man doesn't move to interrupt the line of thought that Carlisle's mind is taking. It's a show of empathy - he can't imagine that he would find words easy, should something important to him show up in the hands of another person.

He doesn't touch Carlisle. No, he has already surmised that such a gesture would not be welcomed. What he does, though, is move just that little bit closer - only a step - his voice slightly softened in concern.]

Something happened?

[tongueamok]

[The clergyman doesn't move as Ignis steps closer, his eyes still fixated on that mantle -- on what its appearance means. It's something he's known for years now, but has always struggled to accept. In the back of his mind, he always hoped he was wrong.]

He was wearing this years ago, the last time I saw him -- him or Uncle Benistad. It's not that- it's not that they hadn't been away for long stretches of time before, but...

[If the mantle is truly his now, it means they're not coming back. Ever.]

[claritatis]

[Ignis keeps his hands clasped behind his back. Whatever magic Carlisle uses isn't one that he yet understands, but now... does not feel like a time to pry into it.]

You think him dead. [There's no easy way to ask such a thing, though knowledge of etiquette at least lends it proper tone and allows it to be far less of a callous remark than it might have been from another.]

For this to have come to you.

[tongueamok]

I would have been a fool to think otherwise.

[And yet, his tone and the tension in his shoulders says he did think just that. He takes it in both hands; the beast's head alone seems to dwarf him. It could never fit someone of his stature. He's hardly fit to be a Longinmouth himself as it is, figuratively as well as literally in this case.]

Do you have people you care about, Ignis? Here or otherwise?

[He asks as if he doesn't know.]

[claritatis]

[He looks slightly taken aback by the question. It's not a strange one, by itself, but coming from Carlisle..? The man has always seemed so reserved, not given to asking those kinds of things and much less from people he barely knows. Perhaps, Ignis thinks, he misjudged him in that.]

Of course I do. [Back home it goes without question. And here..? It would be a difficult and lonely thing to go so long without finding people to care about.

But...]

Do you mean to ask me about Kate?

[tongueamok]

[The forwardness of Ignis' question might have surprised Carlisle if he weren't so mired in his own, private sorrow. He passes a thumb over the nose of the kalugra, brushing some of the worn fur back. What a waste it was, sending such a splendid item to such an unworthy heir. Perhaps it is his disgust that allows him to be so candid, for a change.]

There are times I do not believe that she appreciates what she has.

[claritatis]

Oh, I believe she does.

[Ignis' smile is very faint, but there, muted for the sake of the gravity of Carlisle's own personal situation. He watches the motion of the man's fingers and finds himself wondering, once again, just how these mantles work.

And, again, he reminds himself that it's a question for another time.]

She's just bad at expressing it. Particularly at times when she ought to.

[tongueamok]

Then she should learn to do so.

[That comes out sharper than it should. The mantle shakes, his hands trembling.]

She has been given more time than some of us will ever have. Afforded more life than some will ever know. She has gone home and returned here, been able to see her family again. Worse is when she acts as though her death wouldn't matter, or worse, that such a sacrifice would be acceptable, despite those she would leave behind.

[claritatis]

[Ignis holds back an immediate retort, briefly tightening his jaw in an expression so fleeting it might not have been there at all.]

This isn't a debate to be had with me. [He replies after a moment, calm and measured.] I can't speak for Kate in matters like those - only for myself.

[tongueamok]

[Carlisle, on the other hand, doesn't hold his tongue in the slightest.]

I'm not debating you. I am informing you.

[claritatis]

[Ignis closes his eyes for a moment and takes a breath. In, out, so quietly and professionally that you might never know he was performing a small ritual purely to keep control over his temper.

(Not one easily lost, but when it comes to matters concerning people he cares about, Ignis' fuse can shorten considerably.)]

My thanks for the information, but I believe I'll keep my own counsel. It seems to me that you have made up your own mind about Kate's thoughts on the matter, with little care as to what her opinion might be if it doesn't align with your own.

[tongueamok]

[His shoulders stiffen, fingers tightening on that mantle as tension mounts him.]

Don't assume you know me.

[claritatis]

I wouldn't do you the discourtesy. [Is the curt reply, though still wrapped in that infuriatingly polite decency.

For a man accustomed to dealing with royalty and visiting dignitaries, Carlisle is little challenge.]

But I do know Kate.

[tongueamok]

[No one has ever described Carlisle as easy to get along with, and with good reason.]

You have not known her as long as I have.

[claritatis]

Given the terms we're on, I wouldn't necessarily take that to mean I don't know her better. I'm well aware of her proclivity towards considering the lives of others to be worth giving her own for. I'm afraid you'll be disappointed to find that I share it.

[Ignis smiles, then, sharp as a razor-edge.]

But this is not an argument that I will be drawn into, out of respect for her when she's isn't here to answer for herself. [He makes a small gesture to the mantle in Carlisle's hands.] I only came here for one reason. I imagine you have a lot to think about.

[tongueamok]

Hmph. Terms you're on, indeed.

[He mutters that quietly, but perhaps not quietly enough. Still, he doesn't turn to look Ignis in the eye, his own expression twisted with some mixture of despondence and disgust. Had his uncles known it would be the last time they saw him when they left that day? And how long will it be until he opens his eyes for the last time himself? Who will mourn his loss?

He knows. He already knows too well. That is one reason he is always so unsettled by Kate's stance. He has been the one left behind far too many times; it is not the better option, and it is one his partner is damned to all the same.]

I appreciate you bringing this back to me. You may take your leave.

[That's as much of a farewell as Ignis is going to get today, it seems.]