trustfell | how am i going to be an optimist about this?

how am i going to be an optimist about this?

[Almost as soon as the trial lets out, Tarrlok kind of... tears off to the kitchen, because he's mildly concerned that he's going to experience an adrenaline crash before he even starts cooking, and so he begins! He starts on some tea, marinating some beef for kebabs... but he feels like he's forgetting something...

...

OH SHIT. HE FORGOT TO PUT NOTES OUT OKAY FUCK HANG ON LET HIM REHASH SOMETHING HE THOUGHT WAS FUNNY AND SHOVE IT UNDER PEOPLE'S DOORS BEFORE ANYTHING BURNS]

FOOD IN EAT PLACE

[okay whew he makes it back to the kitchen. And so does Yuri at some point, actually! So... Tarrlok will be getting kebabs ready for everyone, since he was hungry for them, Yuri confirmed, and Cabanela said he'd have whatever he'd have. Speaking of, Cabanela shows up to make some chicken soup! And Yuri makes curry, teriyaki chicken, and steamed vegetables. So there's a little something for everyone. The food that gets put out isn't super fancy, but it's nice, and there's tea just like Elda wanted.

So have at, then!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A shame. And here I was hoping to call you 'grandmother'.

[He was going to goad her a bit more, but he notices the tea cup finally.]

Can you taste that at all?

No.

Not really. I get the warm water and then some ashy flavor, but I can smell it, and I know my husband always used to like tea for the warm feeling.

Ah. And smell is a part of taste, after all.

[He smiles a little at that, but the smile quickly drops from his face. It's hard to stay positive right now.]

Well, if nothing else, then you will be in good company. And who knows, with this group we might manage to do a bit of avenging, hmm?

Perhaps so. [ She tilts her head, and then shakes it. She feels a headache coming on, and she's not sure what the cause of even is. not... really. ]

But that isn't the priority, not at this point. Victory's the goal.

Yes, one step at a time. We'll get there eventually.

Thank you, by the way. For what you did today.

[ victory is more the goal than vengeance. And... and ressurection, that's something she's now promised. A goddamn miracle.

... Sigh. ]

I did what must be done.

Even if it was what 'had to be done', you still saved us with it. At the very least, I wouldn't be alive if you hadn't done that.

[Because after getting struck once there was no way he could have dodged a second crossbow bolt, and Elda talking Kyrie down is likely what prevented him from ending up as Kyrie's third victim.]

So thank you for that.

[ Does that make it any better? he was still hurt, she still went along with going to Rideaux's platform in the first place. She still was prepared to break all of them earlier, when they had first been there in front of Sayaka's body.

And Sayaka...

Sayaka was still dead. ]

I- ... yes, you're welcome.

[ ... Sip. ]

[It's a matter of perspective, really. To Luca, Elda (and Yuri) saved his life. It's something he will never forget, something that has made him incredibly loyal to her. Sayaka dying is still very painful, but the relief of not being dead himself, keeps it from being overwhelming.

That, and the massive amount of drugs in his system. Nothing hurts right now tbh

Still, he sees that Elda is looking down, and he frowns a little. He starts to reach out to her, but stops and lets his hand drop.]

Do you want to carve something into the candles? As a memorial, I mean. Others have done it before.

[ she ... well, no, not really. She's still not sure what to do with this. She's not sure she wants to face the reality that Sayaka is dead. She's still riding high off her promise to Kyrie but the reality of that, and the end of their world... ]

... She will be returned soon enough. There's no need, is there?

I'm sure she would appreciate knowing that you are thinking of her in the meantime.

She can't see it. That seemed to be the case when we talked to them, right?

But she will see it when she comes back, yes?

Also, this is just a rumor I heard, but apparently doing a task like that to honor someone who has passed is a good way of handling your emotions.

Do not lecture me about death. I would be sincerely surprised if you have seen more of it than me.

[ but she pushes up from the table, groaning a little as she does, and walks on over to the candle. ...

... And then she goes back to seat, not taking the candle, but instead making to take her note book out from somewhere. And she begins a sketch with a pen. Susan isn't there to continue them. Rin did for much of last week, though asked her to do Susan. It's... right. For her to do Sayaka. ]

[Well of course, she is Sayaka's mom after all.

Luca won't speak for a bit, but he does watch curiously as Elda draws her sketch. He wonders what design she will come up with, hopefully it's something pretty. Sayaka may not have had a good life, but she still deserves something nice.]

[ Well, as anyone who has seen the inside of her room or just her hobbies in general they know she's a phenomenally fast and talented sketch artist. The figure becomes recognizably Sayaka in a minute or two, smiling and with her bob hair...

... and then Elda frowns, looks at it, and rips out the paper, crumbling it and tossing it to the side.

She starts again, and this time makes to draw the girl... with a more serious expression, maybe? ]

[An interesting change, but probably a good one. A lot of Sayaka's smiles were fake, a more serious expression seems more natural for her.

Luca glances to the crumbled up paper on the floor, but decides to leave it for now. He can clean it up later.]

[ ... This too, is crumbled though.

It goes to the floor, and she starts on the third, the minute that one is tossed and a new one begins. Her hands are beginning to shake a little as she starts this, but she inhales deeply and tries to... there.

She sets to work on a new one, trying to capture that genuine smile, the one she had when she said "I love you" ]

[This is quite an intensive process, and far different from how Luca draws (he just keeps tweaking the same picture until it fits his standards). He sees the smile on the most recent one, though, and it's not a smile he remembers seeing on Sayaka. Was it something special the two of them shared, maybe? They were quite close, after all.

Finally, he does speak up.]

That one is quite lovely.

No it's not.

[ That comes out rough, and her eyes are swimming now, she's... she grits her teeth and digs the pen too deeply into this sketch, drawing a hole in it. With that done, the vampire just drops the pen, picks up both sides, and rips that one to shreds. ]

It's garbage. It's not even half as beautiful.

[ Her voice is taking on the affect of someone with moist eyes. ]

Edited 2017-11-05 05:57 (UTC)

[Oh boy.]

Well no, nothing will be. Not even photographs compare to a person in the flesh.

But, ah, I suspect a symbol of some sort might be better in this case. Rather than an accurate drawing.

What, a flower, her stupid alchemy sigil? I couldn't memorize that if I tried, and that was Kimblee's gift to her in the first place.

[ She slams her first down on the table. ]

What did I even ever give her?!

[ She's... yeah. She's starting to cry again. ]

Unconditional love, for one.

[He says it simply, but he does mean that.]

[ Her nails dig into the table, she knows she's scratching it, she's far beyond caring. Her lip trembles. How much is she going to cry this whole time? It's so absurd.
But...

For all the girl understood it. She... ]

The-- girl. Sayaka. She just called me "mom" out of nowhere one day.

[It's okay Elda, crying is good. Luca has been doing a lot of it in private recently.]

That isn't surprising, she cares a lot for you.

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