Author Topic: The Long Road  (Read 46797 times)

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Offline Existentially Odd

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Re: The Long Road
« Reply #75 on: July 25, 2011, 07:15:42 AM »
Lam stared at him blankly, taking a moment to comprehend that he hadn\'t directly addressed what she\'d said at all.  Indirectly, he had... but was he actually blaming everything on Matthew, rather than on her?  She couldn\'t decide how she felt about that; she supposed she should be relieved, but the rebellious and resentful part of her wasn\'t.  He needed to address the issue.

"If you want to argue that, then you might as well say you shouldn\'t have left!  What\'s done is done," she sniffed irritably, swiping at her wet eyes and latching onto the annoyance she was feeling, instead of dropping into that helpless blackness that threatened.  "He thought he was doing the right thing; you can\'t blame everything on Matthew.  None of this is Matthew\'s fault," she stated slowly and clearly, her voice steely though quiet, so as not to alarm Pandora.

In her green eyes - and completely without premeditation - there was accusation.

Offline Kysis

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Re: The Long Road
« Reply #76 on: August 21, 2011, 12:49:39 AM »
He opened his mouth to argue, but it snapped shut again when she suggested that nothing was Matthew\'s fault.  His jaw tightened, strung tight like a harp string on the verge of snapping.  His eyes were narrowed, watching the corner of the bed rather than Lam and his baby.

What would he say?  Would she even understand?  Or want to?

Kysis took a long, seething breath, nostrils flaring.  He closed his eyes for a moment, counting each and every one as it slipped away.

The return home should not have been like this.

"If he hadn\'t left, Rico might still be alive.  If he hadn\'t left, you wouldn\'t have..." His voice cracked.  He could not say it.   He could barely even think it.  He wanted to take Pandora away from her, hold her, keep her safe.

But she was better now, right?  Whatever had finally brought her out of that black hole was a blessing.  He did not know what he would have done if he came home to find his daughter dead.
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Lord Kysis Liari (Ένας πεσμένος ήρωας.),
Fenwick Baldor (Song, wine, and a bit of trouble),
Calista Liari (Θραύσματα Ομορφιά)

Offline Existentially Odd

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Re: The Long Road
« Reply #77 on: August 21, 2011, 10:44:16 PM »
"The one thing that might have kept Rico alive was the war not being engaged with in the first place.  That\'s all," she argued stubbornly.  "If you\'d all stayed here in Oberon and left it alone, then everything might be alright... but where\'s the point in lamenting that?  You went, I thought you died, Rico did die and the truth of the matter is that it was not anyone\'s fault but the soldiers who chose to decimate your lands!"

Her voice rose more than was warranted in the silent quarters, disturbing the baby at her breast so that she gave a start, opened her intensely blue eyes and started suckling rapidly again when she\'d previously been lapsing into sleep.  It drew Lam\'s attention downward once more and she breathed a reassurance at the angelic child, stroking her daughter\'s head soothingly.  She waited until the baby\'s eyes were drifting closed once more and Pandora was easing back into slumber before she looked up once more at her husband.

"Why are you so determined to lay all this on Matthew\'s shoulders?  What did he do?" she whispered, pleading for understanding on the matter.

Offline Kysis

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Re: The Long Road
« Reply #78 on: August 22, 2011, 12:42:56 AM »
Kysis stood, unflinching, as Lam laid out her accusations, as she distributed the blame.  His lips were pressed into a firm, hard line.  He watched her with narrowed eyes, though only one was seeing.  Either way, it was still a harsh gaze.

He was not wearing his signet ring and he could feel it right now.  He had allowed his homeland to be conquered.  He had failed as the Lord Liari.  If he had not gone at all, he deserved no better than a coward and deserter\'s death in the barren wastes to the east of his pillaged homeland.

What did Matthew do?

Kysis was not willing to discuss anymore.  He had just wanted to be welcomed into a warm and ready home.  Rather than staying, Kysis pivoted on his heel, walking sharply for the door.  He went out, slamming it behind him.

He\'d sleep downstairs.
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Lord Kysis Liari (Ένας πεσμένος ήρωας.),
Fenwick Baldor (Song, wine, and a bit of trouble),
Calista Liari (Θραύσματα Ομορφιά)

Offline Existentially Odd

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Re: The Long Road
« Reply #79 on: August 22, 2011, 06:12:31 AM »
Lam sagged in his wake, her head drooping down to rest against Pandora\'s as the anger left her almost immediately.  Sadness welled and she gave in to the need to cry once more, quietly, angry at herself for pushing at him.  He was traumatised.  Of course he was laying blame where it didn\'t belong; she should\'ve known better than to challenge him it was just... she still blamed him and she\'d used it all as an excuse to vent her own feelings.

They were as bound to see opposite sides of this as they ever had on anything, both of them fired with passion... and neither of them yet ready - for whatever reason - to settle back into a situation that was supposed to never come back again.  But that was no reason to be apart any longer and she missed him the second she couldn\'t see him any more, now matter how the rest of her topsy-turvy emotions affected her.

She couldn\'t follow him immediately, because the slammed door had roused Pandora yet again, but after ten minutes she was confident the baby was asleep and eased her off her breast without rousing her.  She placed the child in her cot and covered her up with a kiss before she found a nightgown and pulled it over her head.  She used the lantern to light the wick of one of the candles sitting on its holder on the bedside table and slid her feet into a pair of woollen slippers.

Opening the door, she crept out onto the landing, trying to get a sense of where Kysis would be before she eventually headed downstairs, planning to search until she could crouch down beside him and make amends.

Offline Kysis

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Re: The Long Road
« Reply #80 on: July 06, 2013, 04:59:17 AM »
Perhaps leaving in a huff had not been one of his most tactically sound decisions, but he needed the air, needed the distance, to cool the heat of his nerves, further jangled by his deep seated anger and Lam pushing it away, dismissing it.  Kysis took a deep breath outside of the door, trying to center himself, gain his balance. He had stood too quickly. His stitches were well enough they had not been further pulled, but if he continued storming out of places, that would not likely remain true.

Now that he was out of there, and in such a hasty fashion, he could not just stand there, or for that matter, just go back inside.  He had never been the type to apologize, less so when he believed himself to be right-- which he was.  Kysis turned his gaze on the stairs.  As he suspected, they seemed to go on for an eternity, a dark, dangerous menace just waiting for him to attempt it alone.

He had survived worse to escape his captors.  This was trivial.

Kysis leaned carefully against his wall, making sure his weight was firmly between his shoulder and that solid surface.  Slowly, he started down the steps, only stretching down his left food, opposite from his injury.  It was an excruciating process, but one he was glad he was making now rather than in the middle of the night when there were no lights and no one awake to hear if he took a tumble.  Yes, the circumstance of his sudden descent were less than savory, but he was determined to go.

Once safely down the stairs, he was again at a severe loss for what he should do.  Part of him said that he should just go back up the stairs, back into the room, and give some form of apology for being stubborn.  The indignant part told him to find something to occupy him down here.  There was that full bandaging kit Lam had brought down, and he had yet to put the soft linens over his stitches.  The salve was up the stairs...

Kysis went immediately into the kitchen, not a thought passing through his mind about the bareness of his chest or the profusion of scarring. "Αλεξανδρή, όπου οι επίδεσμοι?"  Immediately, Alex jumped to, hurrying to get the bag of supplies.  Kysis thanked him, taking the bag.  He was heading back into the main room when he heard the door up the stairs open, and he let a shaky breath out. His temper had receded, leaving him feeling cold, trembling, though he attempted to cover it to the best of his ability.  Today had been entirely too much, his senses and mind assaulted from all sides.  Kysis leaned against the closest wall, taking a moment to rest, knowing that soon, he would likely have to explain himself, or at least divert the topic until later, both of which sounded more mentally exhausting than he was certain he could deal with.

((I doubt you want to continue this, but I really felt like writing as Kysis again, so if you ignore this, cool, if you don't, cool. Don't feel obligated))
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Lord Kysis Liari (Ένας πεσμένος ήρωας.),
Fenwick Baldor (Song, wine, and a bit of trouble),
Calista Liari (Θραύσματα Ομορφιά)