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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Apr 8, 2018 11:40:57 GMT -8
/Lekalis/
He bit his lip hard at the mention of his Lordship, it had been a thorn that had never been pressed before, he'd thought it healed but as it came up, he felt it bleed anew.
Still, he held face. Relatively; he felt his nostrils flare and his face tense as he held back biting words. The arms around his waist flexed and curled around his stomach as though he'd been stabbed as he listened and nodded.
As Florence's rebuttal came to an end, he let out a sigh and relaxed again. He'd never seen her so vehement before, and it was exhilarating... Yet frightening. But not wholly unexpected. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, he knew something would come from his incessant prodding. And he'd always feared it would be anger... Perhaps from soiling an experiment or sample, but never did he think it would come from his love. Least, not until he'd found himself with Tilly.
"I didn't divide my attentions when it came to my Lordship..." He harkened back, as he gave her an apologetic glance before he seated himself on the bed.
"... I devoted myself wholly to saving my Sister because it was the right thing to do. As siblings we swore to care for eachother, and do as the other needed.
I lost my Lordship because I was her Older Brother, her guardian and protector. For the very same reason I should devote myself to Tilly... Because it is what Family demands. For that reason, I lost my Lordship." He explained as he put his head in his hands and ran them through his hair, taking a breath. Looking over to Florence with a risen brow,
"I've only ever pursued what Folk wanted to see. As a Bastard I'm meant to be salacious and scandalous..." He shifted in his seat again and noted Florence's bared arms. She looked right to beat him to a pulp.
"... But with you I felt I could be myself, and think for once. Of myself, for myself... With you." Lekalis' tone was soft, a steady pace like an unperturbed river,
"I wanted to know if you felt the same as I do..." He nodded, his eyes noted the wetness of hers and he stood up again, taking a curious step towards her. Worried she might run... He shook his head, offering a sorry smile,
"... I'm sorry... I don't want you to think foul of me. I just wanted you to think of me as... Me. Not a Lord, or Bastard, or Father of a Family... Or a patient. But as Lekalis."
His hand rose and reached out to touch her cheek.
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Post by Vanitypirate on Apr 8, 2018 12:37:39 GMT -8
"Don't touch me."
Florence's hand came up to grasp at his wrist, flinching as though it were hot to the touch.
Her eyes threatened to spill over, as a pot would be set to boil over its lid. S drew her other hand to mask over her face, stepping away from Lekalis.
"You cannot pretend that disloyalty to your family will not harm them. I refuse to be a part of it." She deeply inhaled a sniffling breath and parted her fingers so that she might look at Lekalis from behind them with smoldering anger and frustration.
"It matters not what title you give or don't give to yourself, or your emotions on the matter-- there are responsibilities you take on that you either fulfill, or don't."
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Apr 8, 2018 12:50:52 GMT -8
/Lekalis/
He stopped; his hand caught and his fingers splayed out as though he'd been shocked, his eyes were still set on hers and a pain choked at his throat as he saw her tears well up.
He wanted to say he thought he'd made a mistake, yet he knew he'd gone past that point already. As much as he'd thought on this, he'd never thought to make her cry... Much less, against such a stern face.
"And I cannot take on both." It was more an admittance than a query, as his features fell to sorrow at last and he shut his eyes, feeling unwanted tears spill free at last.
Lekalis took in another breath and sighed, breathing with purpose,
"I... Understand." He shrugged, and made to pull his hand back; almost letting his fingers curl around hers, before he pulled them free. His heart felt unnaturally cold and rotting in his chest, and a vileness made him cough. Though, only more tears came as he wiped them away with his sleeve.
The Ex-Lord devoted the Crowgazer's firey look to memory, as he clasped a hand over his mouth, cupping his elbow with the other hand as he nodded and put his weight on his back foot.
"I never meant to abandon my responsibilities." He defended himself morosely.
His eyes looked down to the floor once it was done, then to the table behind her. His hand moved away from his mouth, pointing to the wine and steak,
"Would you care to finish the wine with me..?"
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Post by Vanitypirate on Apr 8, 2018 13:43:54 GMT -8
Florence held her face in her hand for another quiet moment in a futile bid to dry her eyes and to keep her shoulders from shaking.
It seemed that what had begun to flow freely refused to be staunched; she could only observe as she was helplessly subjected to her own catharsis, pent-up frustration and anger and sorrow at a life into which she had been haphazardly thrust. It was only cruelly at the end of her life that she had known any better.
She'd upset him, clearly, but she hoped that in this case it was beneficial to have upset him.
They'd celebrate their successes tonight, to maintain morale. The next day would be when the true work began.
It seemed right to her.
"Let's... yes." She sighed into her hand, looking up from it momentarily, if only to backpedal towards a chair.
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Apr 8, 2018 13:49:41 GMT -8
/Lekalis/
His heart was wrung in and unto itself as he held himself back enough to let her attend to her chair, before he took to the table side and saw to refilling his glass of wine and made to fill hers before he realized she hadn't taken a single sip.
Perhaps it would have been better to let that much happen before he'd confessed to her... Or perhaps it was better this way. It would have been cruel to manipulate her to his dreams and wishes.
He didn't want to force anything unto her... No matter how much it hurt.
Lekalis set his cloak down onto the table and bared the steel from his falchion, not out of its sheathe yet but enough to pull the cloak to it, cutting a triangle from its side. A part of it unmuddied, he held it out to her,
"Do you hate me..?" He asked softly...
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Post by Vanitypirate on Apr 8, 2018 14:00:18 GMT -8
Florence took a breath and found herself settling down, at last. Though there was still some residual unease for her temporary lapse in her composition.
"No, I love you."
She squinted her eyes at the silk before taking it in her hands, which carefully folded it into a smaller triangle, before reaching for her wine glass and drawing a sip from it.
It was a depressant, after all.
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Apr 8, 2018 14:03:49 GMT -8
/Lekalis/
"I... Love you too..." He said simply, happily... Ponderously as he cocked his head at her for a moment, curious then... Satisfied. He took a breath and shut his eyes as he set down the wine bottle and picked up his crystal of wine.
He held it at his sternum and looked down at it with a smile,
"... Tilly and I are getting married in the fortnite." He stated matter-of-factly with a hum, looking out to the window, then to Florence.
\\
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Post by Vanitypirate on Apr 8, 2018 14:06:20 GMT -8
"I assumed so, or that it had already happened. You referred to her as your wife."
Florence watched the little pool of wine in her glass for a moment before she drank from it again.
It was time for calm.
"Are you excited?"
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Apr 8, 2018 14:17:32 GMT -8
/Lekalis/
"I was scared..." He admitted raising a brow as he looked to her with a smirk, raising the wine, motioning to her.
"... And worried about us." He explained with a somber nod as he reached out and clinked their glasses together.
"It was the one thing that... was nigh strangling me every time I thought of it." Lekalis continued with a sigh as he took another sip, he furrowed his brows as he thought,
"I would have... dreams of us, and only us, in a world turned to sand... The sun turned black in a sky of red. With massive gravestones piercing the heavens to infinity, where all the dead lay.
Besides us." He was happy telling the story, if not a bit somber come its end.
"I thought I'd be married to you one day... I was--" He chuckled, shaking his head incredulously,
"-- I was actually trying to figure out what your favorite color was. O-or your birthstone. Sign, anything." Lekalis smiled warmly at the memory, before shrugging, hoping the topic wasn't too tender, he felt happy to get it off his chest.
"But I am happy now... I'm sorry, again. For causing such fret."
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Post by Vanitypirate on Apr 8, 2018 14:38:16 GMT -8
"I was born in the month of July. My favorite color is a light purple. I was never meant to marry."
Florence found herself settling back in her chair, eyes cast to the window as she held the half-full glass in her hand.
It was intriguing that he expected them to last an eternity, when she was the most fleeting individual there.
"Are you still afraid?"
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Apr 8, 2018 14:46:45 GMT -8
/Lekalis/
"No..." Immediately he replied, with a soft smile as he looked out into the night sky with shared sombriety... He was happy she did it of her own volition. Delighting in the visual palette of the Hamlet's dreary decorum.
"... You're right, I've a responsibility. I know how to handle it." He sighed and shut his eyes,
"I'm building a home in a plot behind the Tavern. It'll have a labratory in the cellar, for you... A board and bath-house on the ground level, and a lord's hall atop that, where Tilly and I shall raise the child. It will have sturdy foundations." He laid it out behind his eyes, he could see it now. The stoney base, the stick and mortar upper stories, a tower. Florence below it all, studying and experimenting with vigor.
"If you'd like, at least." He remedied, opening his eyes and looking to Florence as he rested his rump on the table,
"You'll have to share accommodations with some wine barrels, but... well, I hope you won't mind." He smirked and raised his wine glass emphatically.
He couldn't help but smile at her immediate delivery of info on herself, he wondered if she realized the implication... Perhaps she did, it was but a small moment that kept the embers of his fantasy alive. Though, like a fire yet to spark, he kept his mind away from it for now... It would always be there, he was certain.
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Post by Vanitypirate on Apr 8, 2018 15:45:42 GMT -8
Florence had caught onto it; in truth, she had learned to look for it in her time as a budding doctor, under the collective wing of her mentors.
She never claimed to be as well-read on the workings of the mind, but she had found a little insight could go a long way.
"You keep mentioning 'the child.' However, it is 'your child.'" She pointed out keenly, "Refering to your child as such will aid with bonding."
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Apr 8, 2018 15:53:22 GMT -8
/Lekalis/
"O-oh, yes... It's... Well, it's new to me." He chuckled awkwardly and offered an apologetic smile, though, he supposed the apology 'ought to be more towards Tilly and the... His child.
Lekalis rubbed the back of his neck, then at the salty residue of what tears bled from his eyes but a few moments prior. He sniffled in some aftershock of the ordeal and sighed,
"... I've only ever tended to children in my Lordship. To think of one of my own... It's... Strange." He admitted with a chuckle, shaking his head,
"I'd never thought to have one. I'd thought myself sterile from my... Scarring." He sighed, smirking and shrugging,
"Perhaps I should have asked you for a proper examination sooner." He mused ponderously, with a dainty 'humph' as he sighed again.
"But, besides that, it just never seemed destined for me. What with being a bastard."
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Post by Vanitypirate on Apr 8, 2018 17:00:19 GMT -8
"Physiology cares little for societal conventions." Florence hummed with a sigh, reclining back in her chair. Content, if not a touch tired from an exhausting outburst.
She looked back, bringing the wine to her lips to drink from it.
It had been long since she enjoyed wine.
"The concept of bastardry is artificial; its purpose is only to control others. Despite what many believe, you are equally as human as anyone else."
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Apr 8, 2018 17:16:15 GMT -8
/Lekalis/
"I suppose but... well, I'd never fathered a child in tens of years." He shook his head skeptically with a frustrated huff, taking another sip of wine, glancing over to her... He drank from her enjoyment more than his own at the moment. To see her enjoying the drink again, it made him happy. Especially so after their exhaustive spat.
"I'm glad you think my bastardy is so artificial... Many here seem to think little of it, but it still weighs on me. You've helped me more than most in sharing that sympathy." He elaborated, shifting on his rump to face her,
"You're the only one who cared little for my dashing looks and silver tongue, listened to the real me, it felt." He shrugged, smiling a bit drunkenly before seeing to refilling both their glasses.
"You helped me cease my scandalous air, you know? Helped me realize I shouldn't mind what, err... Societal conventions demand." He tried to use the word she did, and he only hoped to have done it justice,
"I was... Like when an aqueduct, choked with sewage of civilization. I was going, always, downhill... Until I met you, and the sewage was cleaned, filtered; without you, I would never have been able to focus and... And help people. Like you do." He nodded happily, as he supped from his refreshed glass of wine.
"You know, you are equally human to me too... Even with your mask."
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