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| No title. |
| (2013-10-12 - Now) |
| No description. |
| Chita | It had been well over a day since the fight in Burmecia, and for that matter, since they arrived in Lindblum. Chita had, despite the healing heart-to-heart, seemingly not come out of his unconscious state. He'd been nearly comatose still and, unattended, would likely have looked to be in quite bad shape. Even with quite a bit of healing magic, the wounds that had come from Maleficent recent mixed with a week past still lingered, staining his body with the look of just how badly he'd pissed that woman off. Beyond that, though - he was showing no signs of pain. No restless slumber, no pained sounds... he was simply silent. Still. At least until a pained whine came from him out of nowhere, hand grasping for a spear that wasn't beside him. |
| Aerith | She sat on his bed, a hand running along his forehead, worry lines marking her otherwise tender features. For her, it had only been a few hours since she'd returned, having fallen into sleep during the journey here in order to try and recover the Viera from the darkness Maleficent had pitched him into. In the process, she was drawn into the darkness with him, heedless of the consequences the act entailed. The only thing that mattered was that he had to live. The things she witnessed within that space had burned themselves into her mind. She'd been deeper into his personal space than anyone else dared reach; indeed, she'd made her way into his very heart, something she didn't think possible. It was not the best of ideas, for she could have caused far more harm than good by forcing her way in. But now she was awake, and here to make sure nothing else plagued him. Aerith continued to run a hand along his forehead, as if it would do anything to help him speed his recovery along. The healers had insisted she let them take care of his injuries, and so she had. But she still felt she had to do something, and if this was the only thing, that was just fine with-- From the corner of her right eye, she noticed the twitch of his right hand. Aerith gasped, her eyes wide. "...Chita?" |
| Chita | The healers had left the bandages on his eyes, after changing them, and replaced the blindfold. It was an old injury and they didn't know enough of it to assume if it was necessary or not to be covered. Incidentally it was mostly just to keep his eyes safe as they healed but hey. The moment of confusion came mostly from the strange sensation of having something soft beneath him, warm... a bed. He wasn't even certain where he was. Last he knew it was raining in Burmecia and he was laying on the cobblestones. And suddenly a voice. Someone who knew him. Ever the reckless protector, he started to try and push himself upright, complaining to whoever was nearby, "You should... get somewhere safe. I cannot tell where that witch is..." Of course, she wasn't here, but he hadn't quite figured that out yet during the process of trying to sit up(and not doing too good a job of it). |
| Aerith | Aerith placed a gentle hand on his right shoulder, guiding him back toward the bed. "She's not here. You're safe in..." She gave her surroundings a good once-over. "...Wherever we are. I think they called it Lindblum." Aerith looked back down at him with a frown. "Do I even want to know how you lost your sight?" |
| Chita | Chita fell silent again, trusting whoever it was next to him before it clicked whose voice it was. "Aerith? ... how uncanny." Was that a dream he just had? A hallucination? Well, if he was in Lindblum, he must have been out of it for some time. Perhaps a fever dream. He allowed himself to be pushed back down though in response to the question, he said rather simply, "...the very same woman. A week past... in Baron. She attacked the city with Heartless. She hit me in the face with her magic..." And with that he was back to being quiet, trying to remember what happened. |
| Aerith | Aerith nodded. "I'm not going to ask anything else." She cleared her throat. "I'm going to assume that what just happened while we were both gone seems like some big... dream, right?" Well that was strange. How would she know what went on in there? That should have set off a few bells, and it was supposed to. She needed him to remember. |
| Chita | "..." His mouth opened as he started to speak, yet he stopped, suddenly confused. How did she... did that really... she saw... "...how embarrassing." And with that his head slowly turned away from Aerith, trying to hide his embarrassment. Some of the things he had said were quite embarrassing, to him at least. |
| Aerith | Aerith chuckled. "That which you are embarrassed about determines what's closest to your heart." She sighed. "We really have to fix that, by the way." She ran a hand along one of his ears. "Are you certain you don't want to tell me more about this woman? The one that told you about the keyblade?" She was almost sure that was Rhiannon now, the Shinra scientist. She was responsible for killing so many with that... thing. That Black Beast. |
| Chita | Chita was quiet for nearly a minute, not saying anything, his right arm slowly moving as he lifted it and 'looked' at it, trying to figure out what his current condition was. "It was not a keyblade. Not yet, from what I understand. In fact... that weapon /is/ the very creature. That is why I must maintain control over it. If... if it becomes unstable, it may return to how it was. And no... I will not speak of her. Please, Aerith... I am asking you not to do anything regarding this. I need you to trust me that I have my reasons." Had she seen his reasons? He couldn't remember. There was to hoping she hadn't. |
| Aerith | Aerith shook her head. She'd seen that too, but she wouldn't speak of it. It was for Chita to work through, because she wouldn't touch that with a ten foot pole. Still, the obvious concern was for why he had the weapon in the first place. He spoke of it as if he still had it in his possession. Maybe he did. "Please do not tell me that thing is linked to you now. If it is, she did you a disservice far greater than any promises she might have made." |
| Chita | "Linked?" That question confused him. It shouldn't be linked. "No, I simply have it in my possession. I took it from her as insurance that she was not lying to me." holding out his hand, Chita grasped at the air and the clothing-wrapped weapon appeared in his hand, holding it by the blade. As far as he was aware, it was entirely wrapped and thus safe to hold, but what he hadn't realized was the handle had become partially unwrapped, the sickly-black twisted-looking handle was fully visible, the dark evil sense of it just as sensed by those that could. "Do not try to touch it. It will... flood your mind with the last thoughts of those it consumed. It nearly drove me mad when I first touched it. This scarf I have wrapped around it allows me to handle it safely." |
| Aerith | A shudder passed along Aerith's spine as she beheld the sword. Oh yes, it was alive. Alive, and hungry. Every instinct within her screamed to back away, but she sat still and observed the one place where the weapon was not wrapped. "Um... I think you've forgotten something." She pointed toward the hilt. "If you're going to wrap it up to keep from going nuts, you might want to be a bit more thorough." |
| Chita | Forgot something? Be more thorough with wrapping it? "What are you talking about? I am blind... if you have forgotten." He thought about how to try and figure out what was and wasn't wrapped before hesitating, not quite wanting to grasp it now. "Are you comfortable rewrapping it? I do trust you, Aerith, not to do something rash like run off with it or try to destroy it." |
| Aerith | Aerith nodded. She would need to be extremely cautious not to touch the weapon itself. It would more than likely give her quite the nasty bit of whatever it could, just to get her to kill it somehow. She had the distinct feeling that it wanted events to play out like that. The fact that Chita wanted this thing to remain intact was boggling, but she wouldn't comment. No, he had to overcome this on his own. The least she could do was re-wrap it. She took the weapon by its blade, still trapped behind cloth, and unbound the weapon until it lay on the bed, fully exposed. The shudder ran through her again, but she ignored it. This was no time to be afraid, though the threat was legitimate. She had to make sure this was done right, at least until she could do something to seal it away permanently. Then again, she didn't have to mention that last part. Two minutes passed as she tried to calm the raging tattoo of her heart and corral her thoughts. Her vision fuzzed, enough for the room to blur in places, but her mind finally slowed... and then stopped. Aerith reached for the weapon and the cloth at the same time, and began to wrap it. |
| Chita | It was certainly a wicked-looking thing that, truly, was just a roughly sword-shaped object. It didn't look anything like a sword proper or keyblade, just the general shape. It was raw, and quite frankly, still not finished. Just a started product that was on the way. It seems he did fully trust Aerith as he didn't seem nervous. She could have done something already if she truly wanted to and... if she betrayed him, well, he would deal with that then. Until then... He simply laid there, quiet, trying to drown out the dull buzz of pain that was running through him from the lingering injuries that came from Maleficent. Her silence wasn't unexpected, but so long a silence did cause him to reach out with one hand to try and place it upon her leg to give a reassuring pat. Who knows where the hand actually landed, as he wasn't even sure which way she was facing or how she was sitting. "If it proves too much for you, I will put it away and... deal with it later. I wish you no problems Aerith." |
| Aerith | Now she knew why he'd never wanted to use this. The screams of torture from the death of her world echoed in her head yet again, even as her hands continued to move. But now she heard them in stark detail. Confusion, panic, fear, anger, regret, remorse, shock. Even hatred. Yes, people hated whatever did this to them. But even worse were the hearts in the Lifestream, those that were devoured by the Heartless as they flooded Gaea's very innards. Before the world was lost to the void, they'd almost gotten her. Aerith's hands continued to move in single-minded fashion, her face impassive save for the fact that it had an ashen look to it. His hand missed the mark, even as the weapon forced her to relive the moment, over and over again, looping in on itself. Something in the back of her mind, tortured as it was now... realized the trick, and laughed at it. Her pale complexion returned to a healthier shade as the iron walls of her mind closed on the feedback loop, quarantined it, and let it die on its own as the rest of her concentrated on binding the blade, hilt and all. She could hear a feral hiss of hatred and pain as the weapon failed to do its task, and her hands tightened the binding, silencing the malicious entity... at least, for now. She sighed, opened her eyes, and handed the weapon back to Chita with a smile. The air in the room cooled her skin, and she lifted the back of her right hand to her forehead, surprised at the thin sheen of sweat there. "Okay... that was something new.." |
| Chita | Feeling the cloth-wrapped weapon pressed into his hand, Chita had to force himself from reflexively snapping the weapon away from her and towards himself. He'd become a bit too protective of it, if only because he's worried about others. He trusted her, but that instinct was still there. "Thank you." Still fairly weak, he didn't fully lift the weapon, instead bringing his other hand up and touching them together with the weapon between, causing it to vanish into his inventory. As weak as he was, though, he had the sudden desire to get up. "Am I allowed to rise? Or am I forced to lay still for you?" His tone was teasing at worse, though it was a serious question on his part. Hell, now that the thought passed his head... he wasn't even certain if he was dressed beneath the cover, given someone had tended to his wounds. "...am I even dressed?" |
| Aerith | Aerith chuckled. "You're in a robe if that's what you're asking. And it's not up to me if you get up or not; I'm not the head medic. To be honest, I'm not even supposed to be sitting on your bed. They gave me orders to get some bed rest as well." |
| Chita | "Oh, I see." Pondering what to do, Chita slowly ran a hand up and down his chest a moment curiously before trying to push himself upright until he was sitting proper on the bed. He didn't quite make it, resulting in him dropping back to the bed with a sigh. "Well damn. In that case... if you were asked to rest as well, join me? I am not a bed hog by any means." Given his tone, the offer may or may not be teasing. But he didn't seem to be coming on to her so much as simply extending the offer to share his place of confinement. Might as well suffer together than alone. |
| Aerith | Aerith chuckled and lay right next to him, her arms behind her head. "I did say to be careful, didn't I? You may not like what you find if you dig too deep." She lay in comfortable silence for a few moments before asking him a question. "While you were within all that darkness... did you feel anything besides remorse or bitterness?" She shivered. "Fear, perhaps?" |
| Chita | Beneath the blindfold and gauze, Chita's eyes close and he nearly falls asleep again save for the question. "Aerith... I have no reason to lie to you. You've already been in my heart... my memories. You know what I have allowed myself to enjoy the company of. You are far and above better than they will ever be and... there is likely nothing about you I will not like. As for did I feel anything else..." If she looked towards him, she might notice he seemed to be trying to speak, like he wanted to voice it, but couldn't quite manage. "Daily... I live in fear that I will fail. That I am too weak... cannot protect others. Of being powerless... of not being able to control this damnable weapon. Yes, I felt other such things... but I cannot let it consume me." Once again Chita tries to move, this time managing to move onto his side before reaching over with a hand to gently pat at where he thought Aerith's stomach was. It was a good estimate given he had felt where she was sitting when she moved a bit, and felt about where her feet were from the same. "Did my ... mind bother you so badly? |
| Aerith | Aerith shook her head. "No. Your mind didn't bother me. Besides, if it were your mind I were in, then there would be too many images to properly shift through. Thoughts are tricky to read, much less control. Emotions are simple things, they're reactionary. The heart is easier to read, really." Aerith chuckled. "But then again, this is me after my first time doing it. Talk about irony." She cleared her throat. "Regardless, I am asking because all that darkness was just your shadow. And if there was that much to clean out, how much light are you giving off?" She turned toward him with a smile. "Think about that for a second." |
| Chita | "And yet... in the end... I am still powerless against that woman. What does it matter the light or darkness... if I cannot protect others?" The smile went unnoticed if only because he couldn't see it, but beyond that remark, he was still and silent again, one arm hugging himself with his other lazily stretched out, fingertips near her stomach where the hand fell when she turned towards him. |
| Aerith | Aerith frowned and reached out to grab his chin. Oh he couldn't see her, but he'd feel her, and she'd make him face her as she spoke, if only to drill those words through his ears and that thick skull of his! "See here. You will cease this at once, do you hear me? Yes, it was a tactical mistake to jump in, blind and uncertain of the strength of your foe. Yes, you had no idea of her bodyguard, far more skilled than you. I heard several call him hero and legend, and he proved it." She leaned forward. "But that is because he worked for it. We all did, even me. So don't you talk to me about how weak you are, you got that?" She let him go, but continued to speak. "We were all born with the same amount of potential. Some don't reach it because they don't work hard enough. Others don't because they are looking in the wrong places for it. But I don't think either of those are you. You don't reach it simply because you're afraid of what will happen if you do." She tilted her head to the right. "Am I wrong?" |
| Chita | The sudden hand on his face got a confused sound out of him, letting her do whatever she intended mostly because, truly, even if he resisted how good would that do? Then she speaks and Chita winds up quietly sighing. As her hand relaxed and started to let go of his chin he reached the hand up that was laying against the bed to grab her gently by the wrist and hold the hand still. "That was not a mistake. I will never consider what happened a mistake, or that I did something wrong by acting there. That woman, according to Avira, was responsible for the fall of Manhattan. She wanted something, and I don't know what it was... but even if I fell trying, I was going to try and stop her. As for her bodyguard..." He paused there again as if thinking about it. He didn't know anything about the man, but he did say, "He used a spear and intercepted me in the air. I can only think him a dragoon in training. I would bet my life on it if it came down to me taking him on in singular combat I would best him. I am not weak, Aerith... in fact, I know just how strong I am." His voice was soft, and it got a bit softer as he spoke further, finally whispering, almost scared, "But that woman... can tear me apart with a flick of her hands. How am I supposed to protect anything... from that?" |
| Aerith | Aerith shook her head. "Jumping in blind and heedless of the enemy's strength... on purpose?" She sighed. "You never used to be like this. But who am I to stop you? And think about what you just said. He stopped you in mid-air, with the back end of his spear, without killing you." She chuckled. "Anyone can kill in a fight. It takes true skill to understand how not to do so. Fratley's no rookie, Chita." She looked up at him again. "The way you defeat someone stronger than you is not to rush headlong, hoping that brute force will win. To win is to understand your opposition long before the battle begins." |
| Chita | No matter how much he wanted to argue all of it... he didn't. Some points he could, others he couldn't. And, in the end... he didn't want to argue. "You're right." he said softly, still holding her wrist gently only to bring the hand close to his face once again and loosen his grip on her wrist, instead moving his hand over hers to curl hers gently and press a kiss onto the back of her fingers, "I apologize. I would be lying if I claimed to not be an idiot at times. Will you forgive me?" Yeah, he was trying to put on his best attempt at charm to try and get her to forgive him. He could act cute and sorry after all, and he wasn't even being deceptive about anything. Quite blunt in fact. Perhaps Hades' curse at work on being unable to deceive. |
| Aerith | Aerith smiled. "You are not charming your way out of this one. I know you have things to say. I know you want payback for Manhattan, we all do. But we fixed Manhattan, and since nothing's gone wrong, that woman didn't find what she was looking for. We can assume that pretty easily." Aerith lay back down again. "You're going to have to promise me to be a bit more rational in the future. I bet you don't even know that woman's name, much less what all she can do." |
| Chita | "Oh, I am not?" The half-laughing response may have seemed like he took that as a challenge, but what she said next was quite correct. "You are right... I do not know. I... am not certain I want to know. Having trained half my life only to be taken apart like a childs doll... I freely admit my confidence was shattered nearly twice in a weeks span." When he felt her lay back down, his hand lingered atop hers a moment before he pulled it away and returned to laying on his back as well. "I think I shall try to sleep at this point. I... promise, though. I will try." And with that he simply fell silent. Depending on how adept she was at picking up on small things, such as body language and emotions, silent as he was - it may be obvious he was feeling rather powerless even still. Hell, that was probably obvious to anyone. That, and occasionally he shifted a bit like he was considering attempting to hug Aerith for his own comfort, but stopping short of it because of convention or some other thing. Still, regardless... he would probably sleep well enough. Hopefully. |
| Aerith | Aerith then rolled over to look at him. "Please try," she said under her breath. "I can't watch anyone else die in front of me. Try to understand her first... then see if you can fight her." |