revenance_rpg | Did You Stand Too Close To the Fire

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Did You Stand Too Close To the Fire

Who: Ienzo, Even, and Aeleus
What: Chatting about that whole murder party that was CO.
Where: Apartment above Tea Shop, 4th District, Traverse Town
When: Afternoon
Warnings: Mentions of immolation and other plot-related things. Probably mental breakdowns because immolation, etc.

Ienzo wasn't sure exactly why laying out tea made this feel as if it wouldn't be quite as difficult a discussion as it might be. There wasn't actually any sort of real virtue in doing so, other than giving his hands something to do as his mind wandered. He wasn't entirely sure that Even would be up for a true discussion of this; his death had been particularly traumatic for him.

Still, what he wanted were answers, and Aeleus had some of them. Maybe making sense of what had happened would make it less difficult to think about in the long run. And that was why he was standing by a table with all of the tea things and some pastries on it and waiting for a difficult discussion to begin.

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Even was not looking forward to this conversation. Unfortunately, as little as he liked the idea of sharing death stories, he liked the idea of not knowing less. It had been different before, cost-benefit analysis in favor of ~~repression and denial~~ letting irrelevant pieces of the past lie. Only the universe was clearly not cooperating with his plan, wherefore he was making his way to the tea shop with what he hoped would be an adequately propitiatory cake for the glassware he suspected he was going to break.

The nice thing about the presence of the Nightmares was that no one would have thought Even silly for carrying his shield ready, though it wasn't Nightmares that prickled the hair on the back of his neck.

Perhaps Ienzo was making tea because it was generally a comforting sort of thing. Or perhaps it was simply nervous energy needing to find an outlet. Either way, he wasn't going to complain. What he had to say wasn't the most enjoyable of news and if there was something to keep people's minds partially occupied hopefully there would only be a minimum of destruction.

Still, there was nothing he could do until everyone was ready, and so he waited patiently for things to begin properly.

Ienzo sat at the table and fidgeted. "I wish he would hurry up and arrive." That was unkind, perhaps, but he just wanted this discussion to start. He arranged the cups, then arranged them again in a different configuration. This was getting him nowhere fast, and he couldn't will Even to arrive any sooner.

Obligingly, Even rapped on the door with his shield, then dismissed it and entered without waiting. His Pricklemane pelted across the room to bounce affectionately off Aeleus's leg in greeting.

Even, on the other hand, greeted Aeleus with a nod and Ienzo with an outthrust cake box. "I trust carrot cake remains up to your exacting dessert standards?"

Aeleus offered a soft smile as the Pricklemane bounced off his leg, and followed it with a polite nod to Even. Even if what he had to say wasn't going to be very comforting it was at least nice to see that some things hadn't changed.

There was, of course, still the requisite preliminary step of getting everything settled in properly, but that was only to be expected, given the circumstances.

"Yes, I suppose so." Even had remembered, which shouldn't have surprised him as much as it did. Ienzo took the box and set it on the table. Even was completely frustrating to be around and then he did something like this, even in a situation where he was feeling horrible.

"I think I'd just like to get this discussion over with."

"Quite." Even didn't agree with Ienzo often, as a matter of principle, but this conversation was going to be, at absolute best, awkward, and he wanted it done.

He seated himself accordingly and drummed his fingertips on the table in a parody of - no, in actual impatience. Or nervousness; he wasn't sure. (Or willing to admit to the latter, yet. It wasn't as though anything had happened.)

Now that they were all present, Aeleus wasted little time in taking a seat as well. The sooner they started, the sooner they they could be finished, and surely that was something everyone could agree was a good thing.

"Who would care to begin?"

"Given that you've properly spoken to Lea, perhaps you should, Aeleus," Ienzo said. He hadn't really shared details of his own death with Even and wasn't interested in doing so. He'd acted stupidly and died, and he didn't wish to be reminded of that fact at this point.

"Yes, what did he have to say for himself?" The others were aware of the circumstances of his death, but that seemed to Even all the more reason not to discuss the details unnecessarily.

"He claimed to be working under two sets of orders at the time. The first was simply to eliminate the traitors present in the upper floors, which came from the Superior himself. However at some point after joining the Organization, he also formed an alliance with Saïx. As Lea told me, the stated intent of that alliance was to overthrow the Organization and regain their hearts.

"His second set of orders were from Saïx. These were to eliminate Zexion and anyone else would have been loyal to Xemnas."

In other words, pretty much anyone that was currently sitting Ienzo's tea shop, and before any particularly angry outbreaks could begin, he spoke up again.

"However, his recently broken nose should provide adequate reason to not attempt such again."

Edited 2013-03-22 01:59 (UTC)

Ienzo was silent for a moment. His mind was racing; of course the Superior hadn't given the order, but had he known about it? Considering that Isa and Lea had been best friends, it was unlikely that the Superior was unaware that they were still working towards their own goals. And yet, the three of them had been working towards the goals of the Organization as stated and it was hardly good practice to let useful members die.

"Did he mention how Xemnas reacted to it when he returned?"

At least Aeleus had hit Lea. Ienzo was vaguely aware that he needed to try to be a better person, and of course Riku had forgiven him - more or less - his attempted murder, but he was fairly sure he was allowed to feel satisfaction at the thought of Aeleus breaking Lea's nose.

"You hit him, and I missed it?" Even was not overwhelmingly interested in being that much of a better person. He was also not entirely reassured, but knowing that there might be consequences, and Lea was aware of such, made him feel marginally better.

"Considering what we now know about his intentions, I doubt it made much of a difference. We were - all - surplus, in the end."

It did hurt, oddly, though it was nothing but the truth. Xemnas had never been working in their interests, though they had been working in his. So this is what feels like from the other side, Even thought, smiling without humor.

"I didn't ask," Aeleus admitted with a shrug. "However I expect Xemnas' reaction would have largely depended on how Axel explained the various deaths. If they were 'unavoidable' or otherwise out of his hands, than they may well have been nothing that Xemnas cared about."

Or at least, not enough to see to it that the deaths were answered for. There had been more than one person in the castle who'd been willing to eliminate for entirely normal reasons, and Aeleus didn't trust that Axel enough to assume that he wouldn't have made use of such a resource.

"But yes. I hit him."

Ienzo contemplated this for a few moments. If Xemnas couldn't be bothered with seeking any sort of reparations for losing them, then surplus was exactly what they'd been. And fools. Still, Axel had gone out of his way to see to their deaths as well. "If it wouldn't trouble you greatly, please hit him for me, the next time you see him. I would do it myself, but I think you're more effective in that regard, Aeleus."

"If you're taking requests..." Even had no intention of getting close enough to Lea to do any hitting on his own account (in sight was too close for comfort), but Aeleus was far better at the whole reciprocal-violence thing anyway. And he hit much harder.

Blind fools, if the events of Castle Oblivion had been any indication. Were he more inclined to deal on such matters, he might have been thought to wonder when they'd become dead weight to Xemnas' plans in the first place, but that was less than relevant to the topic at hand.

"I can't keep taking them, if that's what you meant. Lea is still a potential ally in this, despite what he's done already."

"I suppose the right thing to do would be to let it go," Ienzo said. "Riku managed to." Sora's doing so wasn't a surprise, but Riku's forbearance was notable, he thought.

"An ally? Him?! Oh, yes, by all means let it go. I'll just turn my back, shall I, so he can stab me in it again!"

"I have informed him that any attempts of that nature will result in him having to deal with me," Aeleus countered. "I would hope that he'd have the sense to not provoke an encounter."

And that Even wouldn't provoke Lea into one, but that was a different problem entirely.

"Much as I don't care for Lea, there's no good reason to make an enemy of someone so well positioned to disrupt our lives when we return home. Surely well all have more sense than that," Ienzo added.

Even's eye twitched somewhat distressingly, but he subsided - sulkily, to be sure. "I trust you realize," he said by way of parting shot, "that you're basing your assumptions on the sense of someone who tried to break into other people's storage rooms for fun."

"I am aware of what he used to get up to," Aeleus answered. "However I would hope that he is less inclined to engage in such antics now."

Still, assuming that Lea did manage to break into Even's storage rooms, he wouldn't have too much of a problem with Even taking measures, assuming they weren't too drastic.

"I don't see why he bothered, I admit," Ienzo said. "It wasn't as if there was anything of particular interest in your storage rooms." He wasn't certain why he said it. It would just cause another flare up, but it was tiring to hear Even complain about Lea when there was no reasonably expected benefit in doing so.

"That was and remains not the point, as you know perfectly well, Ienzo! The point is I don't trust him, and I see no reason to trust him and several good reasons not to!" He was firmly of the opinion that he was being perfectly rational.

"I wouldn't ask for you to trust him," Aeleus answered, even as he gave Ienzo a look that suggested he didn't entirely approve of his latest addition to the conversation.

"However, continued hostilities may not be to our benefit."

Ienzo subsided, looking completely unchastened. "Quite. I would rather not have to worry about Lea's taking against us because of our coldness to him."

"So, what, you think I should be warm and welcoming? To him?" His expression said what he thought of that. Personal disgust aside, it would be the farthest thing from convincing: Even had never been friendly to anyone.

"No," Aeleus answered. At best, that would simply serve to drive Lea away, which was only an acceptable outcome in that it was unlikely to result in any unfortunate aggression.

"I simply ask that we tolerate his continued presence."

"As long as we don't have to be around him most of the time, I don't see why it would be a problem," Ienzo said. "You tend to be head down in your work anyway, Even; it shouldn't change your habits."

Even hated when they came over all reasonable just when he was building up steam.

"It doesn't strike me that we have much of a choice regarding his presence. As for tolerating him..." Privately, he wasn't sure he could face Lea in combat if he wanted to: he was -- more capable, at least, of handling allies' fire magic, most of the time, but Lea was his own category. And that turned against him... Not for the first time, Even regretted having a heart again. It was occasionally counterproductive in the extreme.

"Very well. I'm hardly going to seek him out."

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Did You Stand Too Close To the Fire

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