Have you heard of Idrila? I am one who follows them ardently, as a Knight of Beauty. If you ever wish to ask anything of me, I will gladly answer, and do my best to assist.
NOTE
The universe is filled with beauty. No matter where one is in the cosmos, this is a truth ingrained in existence itself. Therefore, I shall treasure every meeting between each and every beautiful soul I cross paths with.
[As everyone crowds around Soujuurou to make sure he's okay after All Of That, Fray takes a step back. The boy isn't injured, which is the most important thing, and the others will know how to help with his emotional wounds better than Fray could. So he's perfectly content to do the equivalent of holding up the walls while making sure that there's no more trouble for them to deal with. It seems unlikely, given they were deposited outside the Nekyia, but you never know.
It isn't long before he notices a certain redhead split off from the group, and Fray doesn't think twice about following. He's fully aware this could be a trap, but even here and now, even with Argenti still being under the thumb of this other god, Fray is willing to walk into danger for him. He wants to believe that this isn't a trap, but he'd be lying if he said he was perfectly relaxed following Argenti.]
...Argenti.
[Just his name, at first. He's waited until they're a good distance away from the others for multiple reasons. The first is that he doesn't want them to overhear anything he has to say to Argenti. The second is the vain hope that maybe he'll be able to get more information from the man if the others aren't around to hear it. Such a silly, sentimental thing almost isn't even worth noting.]
You're leaving, I take it.
[Back to... well, wherever it is he's going. Fray battles to keep the disappointment out of his voice. It's a fight he only barely wins.]
[ Yes, Argenti has no reason to stick around when the boy is clearly functioning and very much fine. Besides the fact that he is avoiding dogs, he thinks he has more or less spoken to most people he has seen there anyway, with the exception of a few. Still, tarrying does not suit the red head as he walks away, and he can tell that there is someone following him.
When they're indeed away from the others and Fray has spoken his name, Argenti stops walking. Then, he turns to face Fray. ]
...I am, yes.
[ A flicker of emotion emerges briefly in his eyes, but not because of any hesitation, he thinks. His expression is not quite as cold as it has been in front of everyone, though it is wrong to call it warm either. ]
You realize that following me on your own has its dangers, do you not?
[ Even so, Argenti steps closer to the man. Perhaps it is fortuitous that Fray followed him regardless. Though, he decides to ask the question nonetheless - for what reason, he hardly knows it himself. ]
[Oh, that emotion— No, don't get distracted. Don't let your guard down, no matter how badly you want to.]
Yes, I'm well aware. But I'm confident that you won't hurt me.
[Maybe it's misplaced confidence. Maybe it's foolish. That doesn't stop him for reaching out for Argenti's hand anyway - wanting the contact for just a moment, as if to reassure himself at the other knight is still here and won't run, at least for a little while longer.]
The opportunity for that has not diminished in the slightest.
[ Argenti remembers the feelings he felt when those people (his dear companions) expressed that they were worried. He thinks it frightened him of the potential consequences, because he knows how much of himself feels subsumed. It still does. And now, Fray is here. ]
Your confidence is hardly a perfect indicator in successful prevention of the worst. I am a danger to all those that know me well as of now and all those who do not.
[ Argenti finds one hand of his reaching for Fray's own. How unfortunate that he is unable to resist the temptation - armored fingers wrapping the other man's. This, he does not understand either. ]
[He knows. He knows, and yet Argenti reaches out for him too, and their fingers intertwine, metal against metal.]
Because I...
[couldn't bear to let you leave]
...wanted to tell you that this isn't over. We won't rest until we've found a way to free you from this. You know this, Argenti. You've seen the others. For as inefficient of a group as we are, we do have a terrible tendency to refuse to give up on something once we've set our minds to it.
We'll find you, no matter where you go, and we'll return you to us.
[Though maybe it would be more accurate to say "I" instead of "we".]
[ For a moment, those words are spoken softly, green-red eyes widening, with no trace of that frigid coldness that grips his heart. The harshness that lies within having been brought to the surface to override his gentle aspect — the kind he only reserved for people like Ushirono Fuyu. He looks like he might even cry.
Like that hope he reaches for stubbornly finally returns in full.
It is foolish, he knows. He knows this. Yes, Fray knows of their stubborness—and he dares to hope that Fray's words can come true. That Fray himself never lets it go—that he will continue to hang onto it even if it seems like all hope is lost.
His hand squeezes that hand, as if desperate to hold on, no matter what— ]
Suddenly, the words he's been angling to say — whatever they are — to profess his belief in such things, or perhaps to warn (Fray) them away, he does not know, feel like they slip away. It feels like they all shatter not unlike a mirror that's been tossed aside to the ground.
...Indeed. If things were that simple, if such sentiment could drag the Knight of Beauty back from that dark influence that has sunk its claws deeper into his still-beating heart, that kind of world would be naught but a fantasy, would it not?
One in which can only be witnessed in dreams. In a fairytale.
Just like that, all traces of that warmth, the particular spark he recalls, that he has still desperately reached for inside his own heart...
...ends up mercilessly smothered in an instant, right as that familiar light that Fray has seen burning brightly — finally truly dies out in his eyes. They seem to glow differently now, and...he releases his hand from Fray's, without a further single word. Instead, his armored hand unclasps his singular earring — a symbol of his enduring state as the person he presented to those he cared about. Perhaps one of the few trinkets that resemble his adherence to his duty.
[ The Knight's eyes close and when he opens them, for the first time in a long time, Argenti smiles.
It does not reach his eyes, and for that reason alone it does not look right on his face. But, it is certainly an expression that he is wearing. ]
...Then, find me if you dare.
[ Argenti, or rather, the shadow of what remains does not say anything about being "freed". Not at all. ]
I shall be waiting for you, dear Fray, and the others.
If that stubbornness will bear fruit enough for you all to even find where I lie in the first place. If, even, your sword will strike true, when all is said and done. For this Knight who cares so deeply about you.
For everyone to follow suit. To meet myself on the last stage.
And my dear goddess Idrila shall bless that final confrontation as I meet all of you head on.
[ After all, Argenti knows...he has Fallen.
That he has strayed. So, he will wait for them to follow. To play out their roles.
[There's a brief moment, one that burns so brightly it might eclipse all else, where Fray thinks he's broken through that horrid god's hold on Argenti. That brief moment makes his heart soar and he wants nothing more than to pull Argenti close, to make sure he never has to let those tears fall—
And then it's over. The moment shatters and Argenti presses his earring into Fray's still-open hand. Reflexively, he grips the earring tightly, like maybe it's the only part of Argenti he can still grasp.]
I'll find you. No matter what. I'll free you.
[It's more than just a promise. It's an oath. The pretense of it being something the group will do has fallen away entirely; this is something Fray will do all on his own if it comes to that.]
When next we meet, I'll ensure you're no longer anyone's pawn. Wait for me, Argenti. I won't let you down.
The words that Fray speak are nothing less than certain. It is hard to tell what they do with Argenti in this state, but they are heard. They are spoken - ringing indeed like one voicing out an oath.
And the fact that they are voiced is certainly better than silence. He watches the way Fray grips his earring.
But, still smiling, to those other words, he does at least have a response: ]
...I will await you.
Until then, it is farewell.
[ With that, he turns on the other man, walking away, until at one point, with a blink of an eye, and scattering of petals, Argenti himself has disappeared from sight. ]
[Fray reaches out to stop him. To call him back, to beg him to stay, maybe. But Argenti is already gone in a scattering of petals and Fray has little choice but to withdraw his hand.
He meant what he said. So why does this goodbye sting so damn much? Why does it feel like a failure, when he's sworn to chase after Argenti, to ensure that this isn't goodbye?
His grip tightens on that earring as if the physical reminder of his vow will make this easier to accept.]
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linknet2024-07-25 09:10 pm
week 6, after soujuurou's wild ride
It isn't long before he notices a certain redhead split off from the group, and Fray doesn't think twice about following. He's fully aware this could be a trap, but even here and now, even with Argenti still being under the thumb of this other god, Fray is willing to walk into danger for him. He wants to believe that this isn't a trap, but he'd be lying if he said he was perfectly relaxed following Argenti.]
...Argenti.
[Just his name, at first. He's waited until they're a good distance away from the others for multiple reasons. The first is that he doesn't want them to overhear anything he has to say to Argenti. The second is the vain hope that maybe he'll be able to get more information from the man if the others aren't around to hear it. Such a silly, sentimental thing almost isn't even worth noting.]
You're leaving, I take it.
[Back to... well, wherever it is he's going. Fray battles to keep the disappointment out of his voice. It's a fight he only barely wins.]
no subject
When they're indeed away from the others and Fray has spoken his name, Argenti stops walking. Then, he turns to face Fray. ]
...I am, yes.
[ A flicker of emotion emerges briefly in his eyes, but not because of any hesitation, he thinks. His expression is not quite as cold as it has been in front of everyone, though it is wrong to call it warm either. ]
You realize that following me on your own has its dangers, do you not?
[ Even so, Argenti steps closer to the man. Perhaps it is fortuitous that Fray followed him regardless. Though, he decides to ask the question nonetheless - for what reason, he hardly knows it himself. ]
no subject
Yes, I'm well aware. But I'm confident that you won't hurt me.
[Maybe it's misplaced confidence. Maybe it's foolish. That doesn't stop him for reaching out for Argenti's hand anyway - wanting the contact for just a moment, as if to reassure himself at the other knight is still here and won't run, at least for a little while longer.]
no subject
[ Argenti remembers the feelings he felt when those people (
his dear companions) expressed that they were worried. He thinks it frightened him of the potential consequences, because he knows how much of himself feels subsumed. It still does. And now, Fray is here. ]Your confidence is hardly a perfect indicator in successful prevention of the worst. I am a danger to all those that know me well as of now and all those who do not.
[ Argenti finds one hand of his reaching for Fray's own. How unfortunate that he is unable to resist the temptation - armored fingers wrapping the other man's. This, he does not understand either. ]
This shall not last. Why did you come after me?
no subject
Because I...
[couldn't bear to let you leave]
...wanted to tell you that this isn't over. We won't rest until we've found a way to free you from this. You know this, Argenti. You've seen the others. For as inefficient of a group as we are, we do have a terrible tendency to refuse to give up on something once we've set our minds to it.
We'll find you, no matter where you go, and we'll return you to us.
[Though maybe it would be more accurate to say "I" instead of "we".]
1/????
[ For a moment, those words are spoken softly, green-red eyes widening, with no trace of that frigid coldness that grips his heart. The harshness that lies within having been brought to the surface to override his gentle aspect — the kind he only reserved for people like Ushirono Fuyu. He looks like he might even cry.
Like that hope he reaches for stubbornly finally returns in full.
It is foolish, he knows. He knows this. Yes, Fray knows of their stubborness—and he dares to hope that Fray's words can come true. That Fray himself never lets it go—that he will continue to hang onto it even if it seems like all hope is lost.
His hand squeezes that hand, as if desperate to hold on, no matter what— ]
I...
2/3
Suddenly, the words he's been angling to say — whatever they are — to profess his belief in such things, or perhaps to warn (Fray) them away, he does not know, feel like they slip away. It feels like they all shatter not unlike a mirror that's been tossed aside to the ground.
...Indeed. If things were that simple, if such sentiment could drag the Knight of Beauty back from that dark influence that has sunk its claws deeper into his still-beating heart, that kind of world would be naught but a fantasy, would it not?
One in which can only be witnessed in dreams. In a fairytale.
Just like that, all traces of that warmth, the particular spark he recalls, that he has still desperately reached for inside his own heart...
...ends up mercilessly smothered in an instant, right as that familiar light that Fray has seen burning brightly — finally truly dies out in his eyes. They seem to glow differently now, and...he releases his hand from Fray's, without a further single word. Instead, his armored hand unclasps his singular earring — a symbol of his enduring state as the person he presented to those he cared about. Perhaps one of the few trinkets that resemble his adherence to his duty.
Then, he will push it gently, into Fray's hand. ]
3/3
It does not reach his eyes, and for that reason alone it does not look right on his face. But, it is certainly an expression that he is wearing. ]
...Then, find me if you dare.
[ Argenti, or rather, the shadow of what remains does not say anything about being "freed". Not at all. ]
I shall be waiting for you, dear Fray, and the others.
If that stubbornness will bear fruit enough for you all to even find where I lie in the first place. If, even, your sword will strike true, when all is said and done. For this Knight who cares so deeply about you.
For everyone to follow suit. To meet myself on the last stage.
And my dear goddess Idrila shall bless that final confrontation as I meet all of you head on.
[ After all, Argenti knows...he has Fallen.
That he has strayed. So, he will wait for them to follow. To play out their roles.
As he will his. ]
no subject
And then it's over. The moment shatters and Argenti presses his earring into Fray's still-open hand. Reflexively, he grips the earring tightly, like maybe it's the only part of Argenti he can still grasp.]
I'll find you. No matter what. I'll free you.
[It's more than just a promise. It's an oath. The pretense of it being something the group will do has fallen away entirely; this is something Fray will do all on his own if it comes to that.]
When next we meet, I'll ensure you're no longer anyone's pawn. Wait for me, Argenti. I won't let you down.
no subject
The words that Fray speak are nothing less than certain. It is hard to tell what they do with Argenti in this state, but they are heard. They are spoken - ringing indeed like one voicing out an oath.
And the fact that they are voiced is certainly better than silence. He watches the way Fray grips his earring.
But, still smiling, to those other words, he does at least have a response: ]
...I will await you.
Until then, it is farewell.
[ With that, he turns on the other man, walking away, until at one point, with a blink of an eye, and scattering of petals, Argenti himself has disappeared from sight. ]
no subject
He meant what he said. So why does this goodbye sting so damn much? Why does it feel like a failure, when he's sworn to chase after Argenti, to ensure that this isn't goodbye?
His grip tightens on that earring as if the physical reminder of his vow will make this easier to accept.]
Until next we meet, Argenti.