Day 64: Chapel

[she_is_ruin]

Exchanging life stories with a being she had no personal attachments to? Yomi could do better. Once her nurse came to check up on her at the end of shift, she excused herself, leaving Skulduggery to his own devices. He had gotten some answers out of her, which was more than she owed him. Let him count that as a success.

As for herself, she didn’t feel any more inclined toward company than she had before Skulduggery had found her. If there was no amusement or payoff in spending time with others, there was no point. And in truth, there was some company in particular she would be happier avoiding.

With stronger strides than she’d managed last night, Yomi veered away from the common activity areas, letting her feet carry her out into the hall and up the stairs to the second floor. She felt closer to her old self--which old self, she wasn’t sure--when she was moving with purpose, even if it was only an illusion.

But often illusions had proved themselves more comforting than reality in Landel’s domain, she had to admit. Reality had been nothing but a burden the last few days.

At the end of her walk, she found herself in the Chapel, which was appropriate, since it was the last place she remembered before blacking out the night prior. The fountain, though, that was gone. She stood looking down at the spot where the inscription had been and wondered if she should make the Chapel her destination again in a few hours, when the sun had gone down. Now that Skulduggery was off her case and all.

Comments

[purgatio]

Here was her words, the normal flow there as if nothing had transpired. He wondered, then, if it mattered. If it mattered that he had stuck her down when given the choice. Ironically, it was Nigredo's words that drove him opposite. Because it was his responsibility to face her with that knowledge.

And she gave knowledge in turn. Nothing that he could solidify into facts, but if one took her regeneration like his own, then it was possible. More than, actually. That if left alone under the right circumstances, she would return. It was that girl he had encountered that had spoken differently. That strange girl....

The boy swallowed, then exhaled, forcefully shifting his mood as an aspect of brevity, even if it wasn't close to any sort of 'normal'. This woman, though, had been the one to see him at his worst, in sorrow and in anger, and it no longer mattered, did it? What kind of face he showed her. "Sorry to say, I've been mostly by myself lately. And the night ended right after." Simple sentences with no details to place things to light.

"You're not doing anything wrong."

"I'm sorry."

He inhaled roughly, and looked sharply to the side, a hand coming up to clutch at his shoulder. "...There was a girl though. She said that you were upset when you came back." He glanced to her, a small look through his fringe of hair. "You didn't want to." To return, to find life again. "Did you."

[she_is_ruin]

“Oh…” She trailed off, looking almost bored at the boy’s response. “That’s disappointing.” It was nice to hear things about herself from other people’s perspective; it like hearing someone talk about a stranger. So many faces and there wasn’t a single person who knew the real one.

But then she smiled and gave Albedo a look. “And you? Were you sad? Ah, but you must have been a little happy that it wasn’t Nigredo--there is that, isn’t there?”

It was easy to talk about her own death (murder, more to the point), and she didn’t really care if it wasn’t quite as easy for others. Albedo had had a simple task. Not to kill someone he loved for love, but merely to kill for love. It didn’t get much simpler than that, not to people born for combat. But she had also given him permission. Taking away her life was nothing, and now that even death itself had proven temporary, there wasn’t much to be upset about.

Upset. Her smile became dry. Upset! Oh, the power of understatements.

Yomi knew at once who Albedo was talking about, though. That oblivious rag doll of a girl. Unfortunate, that her rendition of events had made the rounds--if there was one disadvantage to other people speaking about her, it was when they did so with a complete lack of context. “Oh, her. I guess you spoke to her.” She thought about how to answer, what the answer even was or what it should have been. “You said what you want is complicated--well, it’s the same for me. Too complicated for a short answer. But do you remember what I told you? I told you I’d already died. So if you want to keep things simple, then I’ll say you were doing me a favour back there.”

[purgatio]

He waited until he was done speaking, until she went over each item and left them hanging. There was something he couldn't quite understand, something that seemed off about this scenario, but he had no way to tell. Something was different, but whether it was Yomi or Albedo was left untold. "A favor," he repeated, once. "A favor that didn't take. More like a torment then."

A life that could not cease. Yes, he knew that very well.

As much as he knew what he would do to keep family unharmed from others--and this place as well. Wasn't he happy that it wasn't Nigredo? Of course he was. And she already knew that entirely. But that wasn't all that she asked. And he stared at her for a beat, violet staring at the same, before dropping his gaze to a place around her shoulder. "...I didn't want to kill you." As if that wasn't obvious. As if hesitation hadn't been mirrored in every movement he made. But still. "I didn't want to kill you at all."

late? ffff, what do you mean, late? :'D

[she_is_ruin]

Was he waiting for her to say 'yes'? Yes, she'd wanted to die? Yes, she was displeased to be back? He was going to be waiting a while then, because Yomi didn't particularly want to hang herself with her own words.

Not now. Not after everything that had gone into putting her back together.

You're a little late, Albedo. You could've heard me scream earlier.

She stared back without faltering. "Mm..." For a long moment after Albedo's words, the soft sound was the only sound she made. "So I see. I wouldn't have thought I'd here something like that again. Is this a guilty conscience?"