[CLOSED]

[claritatis]

Who: Ignis & Carlisle
What: Returning a lost pet
Where: Carlisle's garden
When: October 5th
Warnings: n/a

--

[He should be on patrol. That's what he's meant to be doing, but his mind is almost entirely elsewhere as he walks well-trodden, all but memorised routes across the northernmost island.

For the last few days, he's had an on-again, off-again sensation of being watched, followed, with flashes of shapes in the very outermost periphery of his vision causing constant distractions when they occur. Up until now, he's managing to ignore it, keeping his mind on other things for the most part and blaming it, mostly, on something that is inflicting them thanks to the gods. Keeping that in mind helps, for the most part.

He almost misses the animal that hops across the path in front of him. The size of a small dog, like a large, entirely hairless rabbit. It could have been dismissed, if not for the harness the animal was wearing.

It does, at least, offer him something to focus on that isn't the shadow flickering just at the corner of his right eye. He shakes that off, turning his attention to tempting the animal towards him so that he can scoop it up into his arms.]

Hm, now, where did you run off from? [Ignis murmurs, rubbing two fingertips against the soft skin between Rabbit's ears. Carlisle wouldn't have let him go far, but with the state of the man's health... perhaps he took his eyes off him for a few moments too long. He decides on checking the garden first, holding the nug comfortably up against his chest and continuing to pet between his ears as he walks.

His love of animals isn't one that's widely known, but one that is most certainly true.]

Carlisle? [He reaches the edge of the garden and stops, scanning for the man. Could he have gone in the other direction looking for his pet?] ... I suppose you and I will just have to wait for him together, won't we?

Comments

[tongueamok]

[No answer. Ignis and Rabbit are left waiting for nearly a quarter hour before Carlisle comes into view, plodding toward the garden, looking disheveled indeed. His usual tabard is completely missing, so ruined he's almost embarrassed to wear it. Signs of his condition remain on his clothes anyway, the front of his sweater dotted with ink just below the neck; there's also a trail of it smeared along his right sleeve, matching the bandage he usually wears on that arm. His hair is a dull grey, his skin a sickly white; his entire body is nearly colorless, save for the glowing blue of his eyes and the patches of red surrounding them, the irritation from desperate sobbing vibrant against his current pallor. There's a weight to how he walks, as though he's encumbered by his own despondence and ineptitude.

Some people maintain their emotional fortitude when faced with defeat, and Carlisle Longinmouth is not one of those people; if the way he immediately perks up when he spots Rabbit in Ignis' arms is any indication, he doesn't maintain it in times of elation, either.]

R- Rabbit!

[The stiffness in his joints works against him as he picks up the pace, nearly tripping over his own legs as he closes the gap between himself and Kate's bespectacled beau and reaches for his beloved pet. Rabbit, normally ambivalent to Carlisle's continued presence in his life, looks in his owner's direction, and gently wriggles in Ignis' grasp.]

Where have you been?! I looked everywhere, and you- you know better than to wander off when—!

[Carlisle catches that he's about to go into a hundred words all meant for Rabbit when his rescuer is standing right there, and belatedly remembers the manners he'd cast aside in his panic.]

S- sorry. I mean, thank you. For returning him. And sorry. But thank you, certainly, ah... Ignis. When I couldn't find him, I- I thought the worst.

[After all, that's just about what happened to him.]

[claritatis]

[Ignis has noticed Carlisle's declining health, and has heard as much from Kate as well as her concern about it, but he does not expect the man to look quite as ragged as he does when he finally appears. Rabbit, and Ignis himself, are both none the worse for wear for the wait, and though it would have made some measure of sense to contact Carlisle by message he finds that he hasn't at all minded the time spent.

He feels the animal begin squirming and gently pets between his ears to calm him until his owner is in a position to be able to take him.]

He didn't get far. I found him on a patrol route nearby. [Lightly, he gives the nug another pat on the head.] I'm reasonably certain he's uninjured.

[Ignis smiles faintly, dropping his hand and clasping them both behind his back. Something visibly distracts him for a moment, his expression faltering, but he seems to shake it off.]

You're welcome, of course. I couldn't have left him wandering.

[tongueamok]

[Carlisle's eyes land on the ground, albeit briefly.]

Well, you could have...

[And Carlisle wouldn't entirely blame him, given he's generally approached Ignis with the sort of polite disdain one might harbor for an awkward social outing or impending bad news. Well aware they will never see eye-to-eye on certain subjects, particularly those involving Kate, Carlisle has opted to not bother with anything more than distant acquaintanceship with Ignis, which is what he offers most people, if anything at all.

Despite that, he cannot help his relief as he holds Rabbit against him, so grateful his pet wasn't harmed -- not torn apart, not chased off a cliff, not dragged into the sea, nothing. He's been returned safely.

Carlisle reattaches the leash to his harness. Even if he was in better health, the nug would prove heavier than he could manage for long. He returns his eyes to the man before him, following his distracted gaze, but seeing nothing. Perhaps it was a trick of the light.]

You have my gratitude, Ignis. I wasn't aware you were good with animals.

[claritatis]

[In theory, he could have. In theory, he could have done a lot of things and no one would have been any the wiser in a place like this but Ignis is simply not given to those trains of thought, and is pleased enough to see the nug reunited with his owner.]

It isn't something I tend to make a point of telling people. [He replies mildly, though... why not? It's just never seemed an important facet of his personality, at least where his work and the things his life's path demands of him are concerned.] Though I'm more accustomed to larger animals taking a liking to me.

[Chocobos, specifically, and he quite likes them too.]

But think nothing of it. It... appears you could do without the stress.

[tongueamok]

Ah.

[He reddens as he sets Rabbit down, the color obvious against the terrible paleness of his skin.]

The times have been trying as of late, admittedly. Even without the occasional runaway pet. I assume Kate has told you what she is working on with Glacius, and why.

[More than him, hopefully. He knows the two of them are up to something regarding his condition, but has resigned himself to not ask the details as -- however touched he may be they are so diligent in their desperation -- he completely expects their failure.]

[claritatis]

Mm, she has, to a point.

[If he's being completely honest, he hasn't pressed for too many details. At least, not more than she's willing to give to him. It's certainly one of those things where he doesn't wish to push her away from him only for her to have need of him later but feel she can say nothing.

There's always been that freedom of movement between he and Kate, and his reward is that she comes to him more often with things that are on her mind.]

I do, at least, understand what they are trying to achieve. You have your own thoughts on it, I assume.

[tongueamok]

[He does have thoughts on it, ones he shares immediately, albeit quietly, as though they may hear him.]

They are wasting their time.

[claritatis]

They are?

[He may not know Carlisle terribly well... but the man has not ever struck him as the kind to put his hopes into things, particularly when those things pertain to himself.

Ignis has some faith that Kate's efforts will turn up something, even if through her own stubborn perseverance.]

What makes you so certain?

[tongueamok]

[As much as Carlisle would like to have faith in his friends' efforts, he finds it harder and harder to muster up even a modicum of hope when it comes to his curse, even in a world so vastly different than the one that damned him to this fate.]

My affliction affects my very soul, and now, there is hardly anything left to save of it. Were I to pass, I would not even die properly. A failure until my very end.

[He hears that bitterness in his voice, his eyes glowing brighter with it; his old wounds ache sharply, suddenly, drawing his hand to his abdomen as his expression becomes tinged with subtle, but undeniable fear.]

[claritatis]

[Ignis' expression is unreadable as he looks at Carlisle, his current affliction all but forgotten despite the flickering shadows encroaching on the corners of his vision.]

Easy... You should sit. [It's as gently as he's even spoken to the man - not pity, but a genuine concern for his expression and the way he moves as if in pain, the way the glow in his eyes suddenly brightens.]

You may have given up but she will not give up on you. I know she cares for you, as reticent as she can be in showing it.

[tongueamok]

[Carlisle leaves his arguments about Kate's conversational constipation aside for a moment to take Ignis' advice. He keeps a hand on his middle as he meanders unsteadily toward the cottage at the center of the garden, Rabbit trailing behind him. He motions for Ignis to follow as he pushes the door ajar, frustration wearing into his brow.]

Perhaps she should consider showing it, given these may be my last days.

[claritatis]

Perhaps she should.

[It is one of his own small, but persistent annoyances regarding Kate - how apparently impossible it is for her to be the least bit open about how she feels... even with him, at times. It's one thing to say that he knows how she feels, or why she acts the way she does, but another thing entirely to be on the receiving end of it.]

You've known her for some time, correct?

[tongueamok]

For years now. Nearly as long as I've been here.

[He steps aside to allow Ignis passage into the cottage.]

And she has always been like this, I am aware. I would insist that actions speak louder than any words, but even those have not always been considerate in regards to my own agency, particularly in matters where I should have, at the very least, the bare minimum. I have—

[He stifles a cough, but is admittedly grateful for the pause as it gives him a second to think over what honesty had been about to pour from him, much like the black bile; he decides to continue.]

I have... some difficulty in dealing with interpersonal relationships, and in discerning compassion from contempt when I believe someone to be... more than an acquaintance, I suppose. I am not a mind-reader. I prefer it when people speak earnestly with me, and I find it endlessly vexing when their actions contradict what they say, but... I suppose worse is to be treated as though nothing I say matters. As though I am defined by my frailty, and better left behind.

[claritatis]

[It's the most he and Carlisle have spoken to one another since their discussion about King Regis, and Ignis finds he's somewhat gratified by it.]

I think most of us prefer honesty. [He muses aloud. All of this is an ample distraction from the flickering in the corners of his vision, though he does pause just a moment too long before he speaks, his attention entirely elsewhere.]

But I can understand that feeling your opinion has no bearing on how people proceed with actions that affect you directly would be... [To echo a word--] ... vexing.

[tongueamok]

It is not merely feeling it. How often have I said something, only to have Kate ignore me, not even dignifying my question with an attempted answer? How many times have I insisted upon my discomfort, only to bend because I realized it was a fruitless endeavor? I have felt unimportant my entire life amidst famed magicians here and noble huntsmen there, and I'll be damned if—

[He cuts off his little tirade, his expression falling as he notes Ignis' distraction; in that instant, he chides himself for being so foolish as to think he held the other man's attention for even a moment. He is speaking ill of Kate, to whom Ignis' devotion has no end. Why should he listen?

His fingers pick at the bandage on his arm as he turns away, busying himself with two mugs and his kettle.]

Nevermind. It will not matter much longer anyway, and I would rather her last memories of me not be us bickering.

[claritatis]

You seem very certain of her failure. [Ignis mutters, a small frown on his face as he watches one of the peculiar shadows in his periphery. He's listening, but there's only so long those particular intrusions can be ignored.]

I'm sure you realise how important you are to her. That the reason she tries so hard for you is that you matter to her enough that she wants to.

[He flicks his attention up to Carlisle, focusing on him again with sharp blue-green eyes.]

She's difficult, we both know it well, but I have met few people more determined.

[tongueamok]

[As much as Carlisle would like to continue to argue -- well, maybe not like, but it is in his nature to do so from time to time -- he cannot help noticing Ignis' behavior once again.]

Is something the matter, Ignis?

[claritatis]

I... [He could lie, but it would be too obvious if he did. Ignis decides on not insulting Carlisle's intelligence, or this fragile bridge of communication they're currently building.]

Yes. I believe there is. More of Hadriel's nonsense, though it's bothering me more than I'd like.

[tongueamok]

The machinations of the false gods get to us all at some point. I am certainly no stranger to them, nor to the effects they can have on people like us.

[He grabs a second mug, just in case.]

I find a drink sometimes helps take my mind off them, if only for a while. How is it they choose to feed this time?