snowtop | 001. (v2) [audio + commentlog/open]

Entry tags:

001. (v2) [audio + commentlog/open]

A...Again?

[Xanth lets out a hollow, bitter laugh.]

I... n-no, you, you have to be k--kidding. I-I already d--did this. M-My world was... a-already gone. Th--The End took it. K-K'lai, a-and Grams, they... th-they were... already gone.

[He takes in a shuddering breath. His chest tightens, his voice cracks.]

N--Now you say it... it's all g-gone? Unmade? D--Didn't ev--even-- h-happen? How!? I-- I lived that! It-- it can't-- not again--

[There's a small gasp, like a prelude to a sob, but then Xanth slams the book shut.

Xanth takes his record, takes his key, and immediately sets out into the Keep. He's tired, he's so fucking tired, but he has to know if anyone else got snatched into this mess too.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Xanth takes the handkerchief from Isabel and wipes his face. It's something of an improvement, but that won't fix the rest of him.

He glances back and spies a cot just a few feet away. He takes those few steps back, then sits.]

Th-th-- thanks.

[Excuse him just a moment as he blows his nose.]

[She averts her eyes.]

How did you come to be so injured?

... A b-big-- b-battle. [Sniff, wipe.] R-R-- right b-before I... g-got here.

[Talking of the battle with The End comes easier with this woman than it did with Kairi. Then again, Isabel wasn't there. Xanth hadn't been dragged away from her side or give her a hasty kiss on a sinking ship.

He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. One hand hangs, the cloth crumpled in his grip, and Xanth lifts the other to rub his temples with his thumb and forefinger.]

B-But I've... h-had worse.

[Isabel looks back at the boy and nods curtly. As long as the large battle that he spoke of had not happened on the grounds, she did not particularly care.

Still, if he is so new that his wounds are still fresh, better she set him to rights to begin with.]

And you are safe here. You will have time to heal. Provided that you do not provoke further confrontations.

[Xanth sighs, then looks up to Isabel. She calls this place safe, but how can he believe her? This was yet another refuge from the broken fragments of whatever worlds might be left, or whatever worlds had been undone.

Then again, no crewmember had ever said the Elegante was safe.

Still, casting his gaze down again, Xanth scoffs.]

I-- I-I'll-- try. M-My luck's... i-it could b-be better.

[Luck had very little do with anything on that count, but Isabel does not say so. She frowns at his scoffing and narrows her eyes, but passes no comment. He does not yet know to whom he speaks.]

Tell me, how long have you been here?

H--Hours. L-Less than a d-day.

[And yet it feels like so much longer. Xanth is so, so tired, but he doesn't know if he can sleep.

Insomnia's a bitch.

At least his tears seem to have dried up. He blinks, then just... stares into space. But he keeps the conversation going.]

How-- h-how long-- h-have you b-been here?

[Isabel bristles. No, he certainly does not know to whom he speaks. That much is obvious. Time to remedy that particular problem.]

I am Lady Isabel, the Keep's chatelaine.

[She drew herself up and stared down her nose at him.]

I have been here longer than I care to count.

[Or at least, longer than she cares to tell him.]

[Chatelaine. That's a word he hasn't heard in a while. It further confirms his idea that this is a castle and keep like the ones he knew.

It's also a superior tone that he's grown to hate. He grits his teeth and takes a deep breath, crushing the kerchief in his hand. Push it down, he tells himself. Don't talk back. It'll be easier this way. Just stand down.

He unclenches his jaw before he replies, and when he does, he manages to sound somewhat sincere, if stilted.]

I-I'm-- sorry, m--my lady.

[Isabel nods her approval. He may be ill-mannered, but it certainly is not deliberate, which is more than can be said for most guests.]

Your name?

[With the pressure of appeasing Isabel off his shoulders, Xanth relaxes, though the irritation lingers.]

Xanth Aum-meli, m--ma'am.

Welcome then, Xanth, to Holloway's Keep.

Do not cry. The battle is done. You will soon find yourself on your way home, provided you do as you're bid.

[She sets a hand upon the door's handle, ready to go.]

Is there any other way that I might help you?

[It's a perfunctory farewell. She does not honestly expect an answer.]

[Just as she's about to leave, Xanth finally looks up.]

Th-there's... a-a girl here. Who-- wh-who I kn-knew, back-- b-back home. But-- it-- i-it's like th-the girl here, sh-she doesn't-- e-even know me. But-- I-- I-I know her.

[For a moment, he stares at Isabel, giving her a look of utter confusion and complete sadness.]

M-Ma'am, why-- wh-why isn't she th--the girl I-I knew?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

001. (v2) [audio + commentlog/open]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]

[Commentlog]