Lᴏʀᴛᴇʟ Kᴇʜᴇʟʟᴀɴᴅ | Tʜᴇ Gᴏʟᴅᴇɴ Dᴀᴜɢʜᴛᴇʀ (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
richesse) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
cultmirror2025-07-01 02:53 pm
richesse) wrote in cultmirror2025-07-01 02:53 pm
oo1 ✦ let’s begin.
[ There’s a whisper through the murmur, more a breath of feeling than a fully formed thought. It’s sweet, and warm, and laughing—though it is not gentle, nor kind.
A voice follows the whisper, chased by darkness and shadows, the very suggestion of a nightmare. ]
Do you think we’re still dreaming? Or is this a living nightmare?
[ a hum, and another brush of teasing laughter, there and gone like a brief burst of memory, the last moment of summer that you can taste on your tongue before it’s irretrievably gone. ]
You’ve changed, haven’t you? We all have. What are you thinking, right now…? Who are you?
What are you?
A voice follows the whisper, chased by darkness and shadows, the very suggestion of a nightmare. ]
Do you think we’re still dreaming? Or is this a living nightmare?
[ a hum, and another brush of teasing laughter, there and gone like a brief burst of memory, the last moment of summer that you can taste on your tongue before it’s irretrievably gone. ]
You’ve changed, haven’t you? We all have. What are you thinking, right now…? Who are you?
What are you?
no subject
[Absurdly enough, after all this place has obviously been through, the bell still works.]
To be quite frank, I'm not used to it either. I usually keep my emotions on a tighter leash than this. I have to, but they broke free when I had to make that choice, and they are fighting quite hard to stay that way.
[His voice drops to something softer and warmer.]
I'm glad I didn't scare you away.
no subject
You couldn’t scare me, Ignis. Not even if you wanted to, I think. [ and there’s a gentle, muted brush of fondness in her words. ]
I’ll be there soon.
Murmur --> Action
Emotion tends to be the enemy of the logical mind. It clouds what otherwise may be a clear picture, but it seems like you are navigating that cloudiness I've shown you quite well.
[It's a testament to her inner strength, even if she is just walling herself off until she is better able to handle it. Knowing one's limits is important for survival.]
I await my Lady's arrival.
[Since she's very close now--Ignis can feel the change in the strength of the connection it seems with every step she takes--instead of risking their connection sharing something he doesn't want it to again or even just himself slipping up, he starts talking about the things he's found around the store. The seemingly ever-hot flask and the stash of sports card packets that the manager (?) had hoarded in his desk. If nothing else, perhaps it will make the store stand out to her even if she is approaching it from a bad angle.
Soon, the moment he was sensing through their connection becomes movement he is sensing with his ears instead. Without even waiting for Lortel to verify who she is, Ignis turns a smile up at her from where he's sitting on some rubble. His words hold as much warmth and welcome as his smile does.]
You are here and the world is brighter for it.
[It's true he can't see, but he's felt so much lighter since she helped him admit the fear was what was making him feel so messed up that the word "bright" is still accurate.]
no subject
she adores him, a little. sweet fondness and shaken disbelief coil uncomfortably together.
and then he starts talking. distracting their scattered, fierce feelings with practical things. a repreive.
she pauses once she’s finally before him. only because he is blind does she smile the way she wants to: small, spellbound, scared, sincere.
without speaking she approaches and sits beside him on his piece of rubble, hooking her arm through his and resting her head on his shoulder. another person. warmth. comfort that won’t reject her. ]
I’m glad I found you. [ she sighs out slow. ] This city is enormous. What I wouldn’t give for a horse. … a normal one, [ she laughs, a little shivery. ]
no subject
For just this moment, they are both safe.
Ignis reaches over with his free hand and gives her hand a gentle squeeze.]
Why horses?
[It might sound like a silly question, but it's actually not. While Eos does have some run of the mill horses, they are not ridden nor do they haul things. Another beast does that.]
Chocobos are a much better option.
no subject
What in the world is a chocobo?
no subject
As for the chocobos, the strange connection between them gives him an easy way to explain what they are.
So what are chocobos?
They are really big birds.
The last image he sends to her comes along with some irritation. It's a black version of what he's already shown her but with a pair of glasses clamped in its beak.
Black chocobos. Glasses thieves every single one of them!]
no subject
what a strange, interesting man.
the last image makes her laugh again, though it’s more a huff of breath than a true laugh. still, she meets his demonstration with amusement. ]
Were those yours? What thieves.
[ … ]
I’d say we should go, but … to where, one wonders.
no subject
[It takes Ignis a few moments to answer her question. Part of him wants to stay where he is because he's coming to know the space and it's been safe so far, but the rest of him knows he can't. There are dangerous animals around and it's only been through some kind of twisted luck that they haven't turned on him yet. Plus, he's fairly sure that even with someone who can see just fine helping him, he isn't going to be able to find much more salvageable food in this area.]
Not here. There is too much risk with no reward.
[That part is easy to admit. It's just logic. This place was tapped out even before he spent the time he did here.
He turns more directly toward her then, his hand giving hers another gentle squeeze, unbothered by the claws on hers.]
My dear Lortel, I am eternally grateful for all that you have done for me. I don't know if you can understand how much just hearing your voice today has brought me joy, but I can't risk bringing you down with me if things get truly bad. We need to find other people, no matter where they may be. No one person should be burdened by someone in my condition in a place like this no matter how strong and resilient they are. Eventually, I will be able to contribute again, but it is going to take time.
[And that is time he's not sure they are going to have.]
1/2
no subject
[ … ]
I refuse.
[ is she so cold hearted that she’d leave a man alone to die?
maybe she was, once. but she isn’t so weak that he’ll bring her down.
her claws flex. ]
I don’t doubt you’ll contribute again. Besides, I want to keep you in my debt.
[ she’ll stand, and reach for his hands. ]
Let’s at least find you shelter. Someplace you can get warm and stay away from the animals.
no subject
And here I thought it was my wit that made you want to keep me around.
[First and foremost, he's a protector. He always has been, and so he had to try one more time to protect her even though she doesn't need it. She's made her choice clear now, though. Indeed, if he thinks about it, she made her choice clear a long time ago. He's just not been letting himself accept it.
He accepts it now because not doing so would be an insult. Besides, it's nice to be wanted even with his vision gone.
A warm, fond feeling radiates out from him toward her across the bond, then Ignis reaches down to the side of where he was sitting and picks up a small bag. He had to find something to safely carry his heated flask in, and that task was the only thing that had driven him from the store. The bag barely holds the flask and the tin of tea he found, but it's not like he has anything else to put in it.
With that slung over his shoulder, Ignis takes her hands and stands.]
Do you have any idea where we should head? I'm afraid I can't give you much information about the area.
no subject
… I do, but the place I’m thinking of is not close. We might be walking for a while. [ like, a WHILE. ] Still, it should afford you shelter and some access to food, if my intel is good.
[ she releases his hands to loop an arm through his, instead. ]
no subject
This body didn't come from sitting behind an office desk all day, though I have done plenty of that. I'll have you know, it takes a lot of training to be able to accurately kick a dagger.
[Ah, but he won't be doing that again anytime soon, will he? It will be very impressive if he can learn to do it again, though. Goals.]
As long as you are good for the walk, I am as well. If we get too cold, I found the oddest thing when I woke up: a flask that is always steaming hot. It makes boiling water for safety sake a snap. I also found some odd tea bags in the store.
[Apparently, the last scavenger who came through didn't see the value in them. Their loss.]
no subject
Kick a dagger? Now that I’d like to see, someday.
[ such is her quiet faith in him—that one day he will learn again.
the mention of his flask wins a blink, and she again gazes at his face. what a useful item, and to share knowledge of it so freely…
he must trust her. he must; he’s letting her lead him god knows where.
feeling a pang in her chest, Lortel huffs around it. ]
I’m good for the walk, don’t worry. But that flask… that could come in handy. I have a feeling clean water will be hard to find. Would you be so inclined as to let me use it, sometimes, if I needed to?
[ he can’t truly know this about her yet, but that she asked for its use rather than simply barter for it is a great sign of her respect for him. ]
no subject
Meanwhile, if you watch from a distance while I'm relearning, it will likely be quite amusing.
[He had some quite humorous fails at the beginning and one not so humorous one that left a long scar on the back of his left arm. Thankfully, potions were on hand to heal the wound cleanly, though a faint scar did remain.
Ignis gives her a warm smile when she asks about the flask.]
Of course you can.
[Yes, he trusts her. Whatever her past is, he sees a little of himself in her: someone likely burdened with a task beyond their years and fighting thought whatever they have to in order to succeed at that task. Perhaps one day he will find out if that is true or not.]
In all honestly, I have a favor to ask of you. I don't know if everyone here will be trustworthy and it would be far too easy for someone to swipe this from a blind man. If I am using the flask in a group while you are around, can you help me keep an eye on it?
[If he owes her another favor, so be it. The flask is far too important for survival for it to just up and walk away with someone who has sticky fingers and no moral compass.]