throné catchall

[satisficing]

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[satisficing]

[me blinking rapidly at receiving one of the most southern sayings right back at me but from you

He allows her to have his hand. Hand holding.]

We were a little dismayed, yes. I'll have to tell her sorry on our behalf.

[He smiles lopsidedly.]

As far as I know, everything. The letters are too short, yes. But now you can tell me anything.

[naeddre]

[HELP this is all your fault, but also partitio's fault]

I wouldn't even know where to begin. [she says, with a sigh.] ... How is everybody? I hear from you and Sidon the most.

[satisficing]

[He offers her hand a gentle squeeze.]

They're okay, surprisingly. Everyone has mostly gotten along. Except me and Scien at first, I guess.

And Harley and Owner for a moment.

[naeddre]

Scien is hard to get along with in general.

[...] And I can imagine I know why with Harley and Owner.

Are they in high spirits? Low spirits? Sidon is always encouraging, but I know that's how he is.

[satisficing]

[He smiles fondly, but it's a bit weak with understanding.]

I think he's getting a bit worn down actually. He was a little upset after the last... rift. The one... for Lucien. He had to harm others, so... [It really got to Sidon, naturally.] The rest of us, too.

But we haven't given up completely. We've been working on what we can.

[naeddre]

... Mm. Yes, Owner told me a little about it.

[but she did not realize that it was actually sidon until she got viktor's message. a beat.]

You... you went through something of mine.

[satisficing]

[Their poor fish man. He was going through it a bit, pretending not to be. But Viktor knows better. Because...... (gestures at Throne).]

Yes...

[Another squeeze to her hand, gentle.]

It's okay. Though... you had left out a little chunk of explanation before, I have realized...

[Teasing. Lightly.]

[naeddre]

[she looks kind of bemused.]

... Yes, well. I wasn't going to tell you everything the very first day I met you. [...] I'm sorry that you had to experience him. Lucien told me a little about it, though he wasn't on... your side, so I don't know exactly what it was you saw.

[satisficing]

Understandable.

[Stop being closed off, that's why you are choking on flowers (no).]

You don't have to apologize. I did not like him, as I'm sure you've heard a thousand times. He was... an "arsehole," as Lucien would say. Aside from your brothers and sisters... that was not a family, Throne. Not at all.

[naeddre]

[you're not wrong tbh]

... I know. [she says, softer.] They were all I had, at the time.

[satisficing]

I know.

[Her hands just keep getting squeezes, I guess.]

Were you... actually looking for treasure? For him. That's what he had us do. Look for a treasure.

[naeddre]

[it's okay, she likes the hand squeezes. she pets at his hand with her thumb.]

... No. His jobs usually were assassinations. [she glances at him.] What was the treasure he had you find?

[satisficing]

[She really got beat up by affectionate touch, damn.]

It was... um, a treasure of a god? Alpates? But it turned out to be... two pieces of a mirror, I think.

[naeddre]

[she did, shoma was like i'm going to hug you to death and she was like oh my god actually this is great]

Oh - no, Alpates was a woman. We found her hidden away in a cathedral. [...] But she did have a mirror. I'm not sure what it was for, but she had one.

We'd always heard that it was some sort of forbidden treasure, as children.

[satisficing]

[He pulls one hand away and up so he can snap his fingers in recognition.]

That was it. [His hand goes back down on top of hers.] When we met up with Lucien, Eunhyuk, and Shu, I think... they may... have killed her?

[His brain was scramblies, he can't remember. Someone was fucking dead.]

That's what Fa--he told us. Sort of. But we found the mirror with... two other people. Very bizarre. A man and a woman. We had to fight them.

[naeddre]

They may have. Lucien tells me they were working for the church, on his end.

[...]

And then... Shu told me that... [a beat.] So you really did fight Claude.

[satisficing]

[The Church pays good money for that sort of thing.

His brows furrow in distaste.]

The man who called us his little seed? Or something. He had one piece of the mirror, and she had another.

[naeddre]

[well, she flinches when he says little seed, just a bit. coughs, too - turns her head to spit the crimson petals away from her.]

... Yes. [a pause.] That man is my... was my real father. The last obstacle before I could take this damned thing off.

[her collar, she means.]

He wanted to leave a legacy. His strongest child, the one who devoured the rest of the nest.

[satisficing]

[He sort of immediately feels bad about the flowers and--well, everything else. The hand lifts off hers, but there isn't much he can do about either, so it lowers on top of it again to rub it.

His eyes dip to the collar, then up again.]

That sounds about as insane as he acted, yes. [WEIRDO. WHY DID I SAY THAT DUDE WAS HOT NOOOOOOOOO. I GOT ZEUSIFIED!!!!!!!] ...I remember the shape of the key. If you ever... happened to want it.

I could make one.

[naeddre]

[HSLDJKFK HELP to be fair he's very 90s anime villain so you know

she exhales slow, looking down at their hands.]

... But I didn't earn it. [she says, finally. hesitantly. she's running out of reasons why she needs to keep it on, when people have tried so hard to find her a solution. it's a little scary to think of life without it. where does she go, after that? what does she do, when the only thing she's ever wanted is achieved?

a pause.]

Not... not yet. But maybe - before we leave. If we get the chance.

[satisficing]

[Throne........... You're killing him.

His smile is small, but still reassuring. He reaches up to tuck some hair behind one of her ears.]

It's not something you have to earn, you know. Freedom... That's a right. That's a right everyone has, and you shouldn't ever have to do anything to earn it. But I understand.

If you decide to, I've always got it-- [Taps one of his temples.] I had one, too. In the rift. Even though I knew it wasn't true, it felt like a yoke I was supposed to have.

[naeddre]

[she closes her eyes when he does so, chewing at her bottom lip.

you shouldn't have to earn it, he says, but. it doesn't change the fact that she feels like she needs to. she was so close. she was almost there, she was reaching for it, and then she woke up here. it feels wrong, to just have it.

maybe if she can make it to the end. maybe then she'll feel like she deserves it.]

... You get so used to it. [she opens her eyes again, looking at him.] It's always there.

[another sigh.]

When we first arrived, weeks ago, you told me that parents are supposed to love you. [...] You have seen, now, what it was like, but... your words stuck with me.

[satisficing]

[He gives her a strange sort of inquisitive look, the hint of a reassuring smile at the edge of his mouth.]

They are. Parents should love their children more than anything. We were so poor we barely had a scrap to call our own, but my parents still loved me.

But, you know better than anyone, family isn't always flesh and blood. Family is who you make it. That's what's most important.

[naeddre]

[she's quiet for a long moment, still looking down at their hands.

and then very carefully, she smiles, looking up at him. it's a little bit of a fragile thing, but it's there, and it doesn't break or fade.]

Yes, I've... definitely found that to be the truth. [family is who you make it.] If anything, being here has only made that truth stronger.

Viktor, you have been gone so long, but... you are important to me. You were one of the first people to be kind to me without any expectation of something in return, here.

[satisficing]

[OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, a Throné smile!!!! This makes him so happy! He doesn't turn into a big golden retriever like Sidon, but he does brighten slightly in his expression.]

You never tried to hurt me, so. Not even a rude word.

[He pulls his hands carefully away from hers, instead reaching up to put them behind her shoulders and beckon her forward toward himself. Hug! He's going to wrap one arm around her shoulders and rest one on the back of her head. He has learned A TOUCH!]

I hope you've been doing okay, Throné. And if you aren't, I don't mind listening.