(no subject)

[facedthetruth]

Characters: Margulis and OPEN
Setting: The graveyard floor during the day and various floors at night.
Format: Either or.
Summary: Jin Uzuki has disappeared from the tower, leaving his sword behind on top of Margulis' trunk. Margulis is not as okay with this as their fight on Christmas might lead people to expect...
Warnings: Angst, violence, death imagery, things being set on fire.

[Graveyard floor]

Margulis wasn't usually one to give in to sentimental feelings, but Jin's disappearance, and especially leaving his katana behind as a memento, got to him in ways he didn't want to even try to put into words. His feelings for the man he'd always called his best friend had been complicated since their clash fifteen years ago, and coming here to find a version who had died as a result of that fight hadn't simplified matters. But finding his fellow swordsman's weapon on top of his trunk had cleared some things up.

Now he could be found in the tower's graveyard, standing in front of the headstone marked 'Jin Uzuki,' holding his newly obtained blade in one hand with a downcast expression.

"You always did know how to get under my skin, Jin Uzuki...even in a gesture of peace, you find a way to get on my nerves."

[Nighttime]

It had taken a not insignificant amount of self control, not to mention avoidance, for Margulis to remain mostly civil throughout the day. But now, as the tower darkened and the dangerous creatures that called it home began to emerge, he had an acceptable target for all the rage that had built up since he woke and saw evidence of Jin's disappearance. With the katana sheathed at his right side, he used his own blade to carve through the more common of the tower's monsters, his every movement wreathed in an aura of flame. Occasionally he would, instead, send a ball of flame hurdling straight toward a foe, or conjure a web of lightning to electrocute a group. But no matter what the method, the attack was still harsh and forceful, fuelled by a severe and dangerous temper.

Comments

[facedthetruth]

"I was having difficulty sleeping, so I decided to spend my energy on something productive."

Technically, he was telling the truth. He hadn't been able to sleep. And he was sure Pellegri knew why, but admitting it aloud was still difficult for him.

[pellegri]

"Is that so...?"

Well, she wouldn't press it any further than that. She was in the same situation, in a sense. She wasn't exactly jumping to share any of her feelings toward Jin.

[facedthetruth]

"Would you expect anything else?"

He waited, expecting her to steer clear of bringing up emotional topics. If she did, then he might be able to steer this conversation to something more comfortable.

[pellegri]

"No."

She smiled just slightly. Some would probably be annoyed by his unwillingness to discuss his feelings, but she found it nostalgic. In a good way.

"I should go to the dormitory." before I die or anything

[facedthetruth]

He tapped his fingers against the flat of his blade thoughtfully as he glanced at the staircase.

"I may as well accompany you, since there's no particular floor I was particularly interested in visiting."

And so that she wouldn't be travelling alone with only one good arm. Sometimes he did wonder if he should learn healing Ethers, just for how reckless his friends tended to be.

[pellegri]

"If you are sure. I do not wish to interrupt your... Activities."

Because really, she could make it past one floor.

[facedthetruth]

"It's hardly an interruption. I was considering taking the elevator down past those Ether locking floors regardless."

[pellegri]

"That would be wise."

In fact, it might have helped her out to know about those floors before she had gone exploring. But there wasn't much she could do about that. Instead she started back toward the stairs slowly.

"What are these?"

She was looking to the fluttering sheets as they passed.

[facedthetruth]

"I'm not certain. Though considering the rest of this tower, I have my doubts that it's anything pleasant."

[pellegri]

She nodded, but still gave the nearest one another glance before turning her attention to the path to the stairs again. She continued along quietly, and a little slowly as well. Mostly because of her injuries, but some small part might have been the fact that it really was nice having him back, the way he used to be years ago.

[facedthetruth]

He kept stride next to her, not at all against the slow pace. Despite his lingering guilt over her death on Michtam in his own universe, the simple fact of the matter was that he'd missed her. Fifteen years they'd been at odds, but he'd never stopped thinking of her as a friend. And now, just walking beside her as if they were on Old Miltia before the Conflict...it was nice, he couldn't deny that, at least internally. But the fact that it was just the two of them twisted the nostalgia of it, turned it bittersweet. Yes, he was happy to have Pellegri back by his side, but it only highlighted the fact that one of them was missing.

[pellegri]

HISSES She gave a quiet sigh and stopped. She turned to him with a frown.

"Margulis... It was not difficult for me to accept that you are different from the man I lost. The friend that met me with hatred, when I only wanted to show him the truth. It was not hard, because I wished for you. This version of you."

She paused, looking away again.

"So do not shut me out now. If something is weighing on you so heavily, tell me."

[facedthetruth]

He stopped walking just half a step after her, turning to face her but not quite meeting her eyes.

"...That's similar to my response when I met the version of Uzuki that was here before, and then when I found you as well. I had hoped that I could recover those friendships that had been damaged by U-TIC. Pellegri...I don't know how events transpired in your universe, but the last time I was able to simply spend time with you was before the Miltian Conflict. It's going to take some time to grow accustomed to it being the two of us rather than three."

[pellegri]

"I see..."

She had expected him to mourn Jin's loss, but she had not expected that his disappearance might come between them. She actually felt just the smallest bit hurt by that, not that she let it show on her face. Her own relationship with that man was strained, and her feelings toward him were so conflicted. The idea that he was somehow interfering with this relationship, even while absent... It only served to deepen that feeling of bitterness.

She turned toward the stairs again, her voice maybe just slightly colder than she intended.

"I will give you time then."

[facedthetruth]

He reached out and grabbed her shoulder, slightly more forcefully than was probably necessary.

"Don't take this to mean I want to avoid your company. Were that the case, I wouldn't have offered to return to the top floors with you in the first place."

[pellegri]

She winced a little, until she turned to face him again, of course.

"So then you will suffer quietly in my presence?"

[facedthetruth]

He lowered his hand to his side as his fists clenched.

"Fifteen years I spent in the hopes that both you and Uzuki would come to your senses, only to be forced to watch as you abandoned your life on Michtam. Now that I've found a version of you I have no need to be at odds with, do you honestly believe I would sacrifice that merely because the situation falls short of ideal? I've always placed you among my most important friends and while it's true that I would prefer to have Uzuki's presence as well, I don't suffer in yours."

[pellegri]

"Abandoned my life? What are you saying? What... is it that happened in your time?"

Keywords incredibly relevant.

[facedthetruth]

If meeting her gaze was difficult before, it's impossible now. He turns his head away, a tightness in his voice clearly showing how much it hurts to recount this story.

"The last thing that occurred to me before I arrived here was an ES battle between my group and you. We defeated the Issachar yet despite the fact that it was collapsing, you refused to exit your craft. You died rather than live with the idea that your actions since Miltia truly had been in vain."

[pellegri]

She averted her eyes as well. How did one respond to news of their own death? In another life, anyway... Especially when it was most likely something that put a strain on their relationship.

"Margulis..."

[facedthetruth]

"I've already lost you twice in my own universe. Now, I ask you again: now that I have you by my side here, do you truly believe that I would sacrifice that merely because I'm not accustomed to having you present and Uzuki absent?"

[pellegri]

"No... I am not a fool."

She could have gone on... But well, her own issues weren't somewhere she really wanted to venture.

"I will not speak of it again."

[facedthetruth]

He finally met her eyes, slight suspicion growing at her phrasing.

"And now that you've been so adamant about me sharing my own innermost thoughts, I should hope there's nothing of import that you're keeping to yourself."

[pellegri]

No, sorry Margulis, she turned away again. Because sometime they would make it to the stairs.

"Please trust me when I say that it is not something you would wish to hear."

[facedthetruth]

"I would have made a similar claim had you asked of your fate in my universe under calmer circumstances."