aterat | [Open] A Night Like No Other

Entry tags:

[Open] A Night Like No Other

Who; Rhy Maresh, Open
What; Fountain Reflections
Where; Residential Fountain
When; Sometime in September
Warnings; Link to a memory containing Referenced character death, alcohol abuse, minor home invasion, possible dubious consent to make-outs, also a very long post

It was not often that Rhy was out in this part of town, not since he and Llewellyn had finished their own home. But there was a thing he was consulting on with another person leading up to the winter, and so he had paused. Paused to wait to meet them at the fountain. Which his eyes fell to. Water like a mirror. A mirror like...

Like That night so long ago now. Once the memory has finished he reaches down and smacks the water to make ripples, so he doesn't have to see it again.

"Stop taunting me with that night!"

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Waver… Had not wanted to see any of that. It was personal. Private. Not something meant for random passersby in the least, but whatever fickle deities existed or influenced this world seemed to have a poor sense of humor because he had seen it. He’d only meant to say a polite hello on his way by, since he recognized the tailor on his way out of the red building on his way to the workshop in the harbor district to check on his plant project.

Honestly, he kept meaning to visit the tailor shop of Rhy’s again to actually go through with updating his wardrobe that had been growing ever sparser… But August had been a hell of a month and wiped him out quite badly.

This definitely was not what he had in mind at all, though, as he wandered by the fountain’s edge and looked upon the images on display on the still surface. Goddamned mirrored surfaces… It confirmed some suspicions, of course, Rhy’s status being one… And the apparent identity and situation with the ‘privateer’ that owed someone answers. But opened a whole other can of worms in the form of new questions.

Awkwardly, he cleared his throat audibly to let Rhy know he was there as the man slapped the surface of the water.

Rhy had not even noticed the arrival of the other man. When he sees Waver he knows of course, knows that what he is happens to be clear now. Or, well, nearly clear.

"He owes his king answers," Rhy says, his voice hard as he rises. Fuck the vision. He is so used to his history being violated like this, his memories shared, that he doesn't hesitate to address it. Though it's tiring by all measures.

"I prefer this knowledge not being shared. Last time it was I found myself wrapped up in politics. My husband and I, we just desire a quiet life."

“That’s quite clear now.” He responded with a hint of awkwardness in his expression. He’d had a feeling the privateer was a complicated subject for Rhy, given their last conversation. But Waver’s mind rarely considered the angle he’d just witnessed. Hell, this whole thing was awkward. He’d been around for the last time memories were shared, but it’s only happened that one time. So… He’s a little less experienced with the way one handles this than Rhy is.

The request is unsurprising, considering the way Rhy had danced around the subject of his undisclosed status of royalty. Still, Waver wonders if his king would admonish the decision or applaud Rhy for pursuing his desires here. His shoulder’s lifted in a shrug, though. “It’s not my business to go sharing, and I’m not looking for another king to follow.” He moved to sit on the edge of the fountain himself, still easily tired after last month. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re just a good tailor I happen to know.”

Well there it was. Rhy sighs and stands so he can straighten his clothes. To compose himself as it were.

"I think most kings would judge you for that. I, for one, have been happier to set the crown aside," he admits with a little shrug. "I have found more purpose in this place than I have known at home. And while I know one day I shall return and I shall have duties to my people... In this moment, I have only duties to myself and to him."

And that is surprisingly peaceful.

"Ah what my mother would think of me now."

Waver let Rhy compose himself, he knew how frustrating it was when people didn't afford you that much. Instead, he continued to rest on the edge of the fountain for the time being. His eyes glancing around the courtyard between the buildings rather than focusing on the man in question. At least there weren’t a lot of people to see the memory. Though it did make him wonder if he should be careful of the fountain himself, secrets were important. Especially these days.

“Probably… I’ve met a few, and they each had their opinions on what kingship should be.” He mused with a small tilt of his head, glancing back once Rhy seemed to have regained some composure. “But it sounds like you didn’t put it aside, nor do you intend to abandon it. Just… Making the most of the time you have while you’re here by following your desire. Some might encourage it, even.” His king had spent the better part of the week they’d been together, marvelling at the modern world, arguing with him about pants and trying to get him to play video games. So, the point stood.

The comment gets a slight rise of his brow. “I wonder the same about mine. Doesn’t tend to be a good train of thought to stay on, though.” He’s pretty sure she would have been angry at him for most of his life choices.

Yes, that makes sense. Those who were royals were often raised with different opinions. He thinks back to the prince and princess who ultimately killed his mother. It makes him sick.

"I would put it aside," he admits. He was so young back home. He was so young and not ready to lead anyone. It hadn't been his choice. It was just something he had to live with. "But the Arnesian Empire cannot do without a leader."

And here he is, not giving them a leader. It makes him feel a little sick.

"Yes, I know. Just... I lost her but a few days after that memory. I lost nearly everyone. It puts me in mind of that."

That made sense, he supposed. The memory reminded Rhy of her, and of a terrible pain. Waver supposed, based on the age he appeared in the memory, that Rhy had only been a couple years older than he was when his own parents had passed. Not that the loss is easy regardless of one’s age, but it still couldn’t be denied that it was harder to suddenly find yourself on your own when you weren’t ready to be. When those meant to guide and watch over you were suddenly gone.

The man still isn’t great with emotions, managing them or speaking of them. But he tilted his head slightly with something close to a sympathetic expression, like he understands on some level. “Ah… Its always hard when they’re taken from us too soon, not that I think there’s ever a ‘not too soon’ I think… I’m sorry for your loss, and that this world seems to like to reopen wounds it shouldn’t be.”

"It is not as prone to it as the place I was before," Rhy says with a sigh. But it's a thing anyway. For now he glares at the water.

"Almost fitting to think of her by a water mirror. She used them to watch others of course. The queen always knew what needed to be known."

Waver frowned a little at the reminder. He recalled that Rhy had mentioned he and his husband had been in a world other than their own before arriving here. So the two of them, and at least two other people that the mage had met were from similar situations... It meant there was no guarantee that anyone was going home when they left this place. Well, if that mattered at all in his case. “I guess it’s a small positive if it’s not happening as often here… still seems like something that would be better to not happen at all. How often did it happen where you used to be?”

He glanced at the water’s rippling surface again, thoughtfully. “Is that so…” Waver took that to mean she was gifted with water magic, if he remembered Rhy’s words on how magic worked in his world. There were always certain things that reminded you of those who were gone, little things you didn’t expect until you happened upon them. “I’ve often given lessons on the use of mirrored surfaces in magecraft. I can see how it would be useful for a queen. She must have been quite wise to make use of it.”

"Once every two or three months," he said. "A memory of the residents, broadcast through the 'network' for others to... Not fully just see. Experience."

And that had been... far more of a terrible experience than any other had been.

"My mother was a very wise and gentle soul."

That frequently was definitely unpleasant to imagine in the first place, but to hear that it wasn’t just seeing the memories of others but experiencing them. Waver’s eyes betrayed a vague horror at the thought. There were… a lot of things he wouldn’t have wanted other people to experience through him, certainly. “That sounds unpleasant, to put it mildly.” This was still a shit situation, but even the mage had to admit that it could be worse when compared to that.

“She sounds like she was a lovely woman.” He offered quietly, knowing what it was like to lose a mother too soon. There wasn’t anything one could say to make it better, unfortunately.

"That is a bit of an understatement, yes," he says with a sigh. To be so invasively known was... horrifying in some ways. The intrinsic horror of being known on such a deep level was...

He didn't have words for it.

"Emira Maresh was gentle and sweet and perhaps too good."

And Waver wasn’t good with being known, to be seen beyond a certain level. Dealing with that tended to make him snippy and defensive, really. There was an image he needed to project for the good of Reines and to be taken seriously, and it was bad enough he had a reputation for being outside the norm among mages in his world. So he was more than a little glad that the experience with these things here seemed… fewer at least, then where Rhy had been.

As Rhy continued, offered a sympathetic, albeit uncertain, nod. “She sounds like she was a lovely woman. I am sorry for your loss… It’s never easy… It seems as though you have good memories of her?”

"Many good memories," he agrees with a sigh.

Memories were never a substitution for the real thing, not in his book. Which meant there was so much trauma to deal with. Trauma he'd had trouble processing before. He took his distance from it as a way to be beyond it.

"I am sorry. It is just... weird to have to face this all again>'

Waver had to shake his head at the apology. It wasn’t as though he didn’t understand. Having to face unpleasant memories, especially those tied to trauma…? Well, Waver was an old hand at it now, even without memories being shared. His own apprentice had the same face as someone who once tried to kill him, and sometimes sent him into a post-traumatic stress related panic attack. “It’s not something you need to be sorry for, you can’t help that it’s happened… And I understand, it’s difficult to have to be reminded of or repeatedly face things that from our pasts.”

Yes, that was true. Or so Rhy thought.

"I think we would all do a bit better if we knew how to let go of some of those traumas. But it is not so easily done."

Waver wished he could tell the man it got better with time… But ten years later, and he still sometimes found himself caught up in bad memories and disconnected from the present. “I can’t deny that, but at the end of the day, all we can do is try to struggle forward despite the things we’ve been through.” It was a shit deal, really, but if there was anything that held true about him between his younger and current self…? He didn’t quit, even if it might be easier.

Yes, that is an accurate statement about what they must do, wasn't it?

"I find this less of a struggle when I am not reminded of such things. Of him."

Of the man he should have been seeking out. That he should have been desperate to go home to see the truth from. But that was not Rhy Maresh.

The heart, unfortunately, was a complicated thing. For some it was as simple as meeting that one person. For others, their hearts were large enough for more than one. Waver… Was less knowledgeable on matters of the heart, though. His experience was narrow, and the situation making it hard to even be open to such ideas.

He had to admit, though; it was clear that whatever there had been with this privateer; it had been complicated. “Based upon that memory… I can see why." Rhy had seemed somewhat conflicted to begin with, and Alucard had seemed… overly familiar with him for it to not be complicated.

"It is not even the most compromising of us. But I would thank you to forget what you have seen."

Then he's on his feet and moving away. Because this is what matters more than anything else.

"ALright. I..."

He takes a deep breath, composes himself. Takes on that sort of control and composure that goes with his birth and upbringing.

"How are you doing this afternoon, Mister Waver?" Because he needs to move on.

“You won’t hear of it again from me.” He promised with an affirmative nod, rather wishing it was one of those things you could put out of your head easily. But he could pretend he didn’t remember it, so Rhy wouldn’t have to worry about continued awkward questions unless they were relevant to something else. Which… seemed safe, in Waver’s opinion. He couldn’t think of a situation he might end up in where it would be.

The mage lets Rhy have a moment, not pointing out the shift in his composure even if it’s noted. The question gets a small lift of his shoulders in a shrug from where he sat on the edge of the fountain. He’s been better, but as with Rhy, one learns to not wear their weakness outwardly when they can. “I’m well enough. Last month ended up a bit hectic, so I’ve been a bit occupied.” He answered simply, folding his arms. “What brings you by the apartments today, if I might ask?”

"Thank you," he says with a bit of relief.

But he smiles at the man and the question, ready to be an adult now.

"I was hoping to visit a friend actually."

“Ah, I see.” He glanced at the coloured buildings lightly, made sense then. Which also called to mind he was probably interrupting the poor man’s plans by having kept him here for so long. “I apologize if I’ve interrupted that. I should let you get to it and not keep your friend waiting.” He added sensibly, pushing himself up from where he sat on the edge of the fountain.

"I shall do so then," he says with a deep sigh. "I have probably distressed them with my delay."

Because he really should get going of course.

“Possibly, but you can tell them someone delayed you on the way.” Waver offered with a small shrug. He didn’t intend to keep Rhy from his intended appointments further.

At some point, he’d see the man out at his tailor shop properly, but for now, they both had their day to go about.

He’d say it was nice to talk to him again, but that seemed in poor taste considering the whole… memory thing. So he offered a small nod in parting instead. “Have a good afternoon, then. I’ll see you around, Rhy.” He offered politely, before he returned to his own intended path to get to the workshop for the afternoon.

"And I you," Rhy says with a nod. But foor now he offers one last polite nod. Then he too is off on his way.

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[Open] A Night Like No Other

I mean they were just talking about the privateer >>

We really were

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