feistytrader | IC INBOX for recolle

[He'll sit then, and without much fuss; Sneasel wriggles his way onto his lap, and Silver knows it's childish to fiddle around with him too much while they speak, but he finds himself playing with his claws anyway.]

You have the floor, Elda.

[He says it passively. Even if he has an idea of what's coming, he's not ready to emotionally commit to a particular direction.]

[ Inhale, exhale.

... She doesn't sit, just sort of not quite paces, but rocks there in place a little bit before she speaks up. She's been considering this all day but... ]

I know you're an adult. It's hard for me to accept that, but you are permitted to make you own choices, of course, and I respect those.

[Not that he needs her permission or respect. It's a quick and defensive thought, and he's glad he doesn't give voice to it. He knows that already. This isn't the same as when he was fifteen and in foster care. Elda isn't going to spontaneously stop caring about him, and he needs to learn to trust in that fact. She's not even getting angry.]

But you don't agree with this one.

No, I don't. Well, you picked a doctor I trusted to go for it, but I still don't and there's a more pressing matter here anyway.

[ She steps forward and, ]

If you're going to do things that might hurt you like that, you need to tell me.

[...He needs to tell her. He blinks and stares at her for a moment in surprise before taking in that she really is serious, and-]

You want me to tell you before I do illegal things.

[That sort of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?]

Absolutely.

[ It's said flatly, firmly.

... Broken a bit by sipping her smoothie. ]

You're just going to try to stop me.

[...They're discussing this. They're discussing his future criminal activity calmly over a damn smoothie.]

Just how much are you trying to do?!

[ She huffs at this and then sips a lot more of her smoothie. ]

You're missing the point, boy. The point is that I can't just find out about risks you've taken after the fact!

[...He opens his mouth, closes it again, opens it, and-]

Everything I do is a risk.

[He almost continues, and instead holds up Sneasel's claws that he's been playing with to get his point across.]

I think the least risky thing I regularly do is hang out with my friend that shoots fire out of his hands.

[ . . . . ]

Please don't be coy with me, Silver.

[ But no, he's being serious, isn't he?

... Siiiip. ]

I'm not trying to be. I... If I agreed to something like that, I still wouldn't have mentioned the stuff with Wesker. That never pinged my radar as a risk in the first place.

[It isn't something he's admitting in defiance, either. Rather, he keeps fiddling with Sneasel's claws and averts his gaze.]

[ Siiiiip. sip.

... And exhale. A long, long, exhale as she makes to play with the ends of her hair. ]

Honestly, because it is Albert, I wouldn't either. But because I would if it was anyone else, I'm furious with both of you for not telling me.

[ Which she knows makes no sense. ]

... I can't help but worry, do you understand? This, other things. Our lives are so chaotic and dangerous these days. Did you know some man apparently kidnapped a load people and tortured them back in October? I only found out because of doing my research for that guide. And when you vanished in August, when Albert and everyone else did too... And hell, that's not even getting into what's happening to our bodies. When I--

[ That's too much. she cuts off her own concerns about her body and waves a hand to dismiss it. ]

[He doesn't want to have this conversation.

This is acknowledging that things are wrong much more than he's comfortable with. He's been perfectly content with coasting along through everything he can and recklessly plowing through everything he can't. As long as he keeps that up at least somewhat, he won't trip up. It's an incredibly selfish way of looking at things, but there's a limit to how much he'll give up his selfishness, and some fleeting petty part of him hopes it stays that way.

There's something bigger and more permanent coming for you and the city. The veil is still unstable. Only the right hands can fix things.

Someone kidnapped and tortured people. That blows that guy who cut off someone's hand out of the water. It's a glaringly sharp contrast to what's always been a peaceful city... Or a peaceful city until lately, anyway. Maybe it's always been like this and they simply didn't have the capacity to notice. He takes a moment to press his hands against his face, to push some of his hair aside.]

That was a lot. Come on, sit down.

[He's still tense, but he's slouched sufficiently that it doesn't look like he's about to run out the door anymore. This is Elda. His mom, as difficult as it is to get that out, to accept it as real. It doesn't sound like this is simply worrying about him anymore. What part of that should he address first? No, that's not really a question, is it?]

When you what? Tell me.

Don't... don't. Whatever little worries I have isn't what this is about.

[ Not really, not entirely. But all the same, to be asked to sit down - she doesn't want to sit opposite of him. Instead she makes to pull up the leg rest and get right in front of him, sitting on that and hanging her head a little. But despite what she says, it's not really ... she doesn't have a good follow up to that, honestly. ]

Right. That's why I moved onto the big worries.

[Because Elda herself admitted that since it was Wesker it wasn't really a big deal. Sneasel wriggles out of Silver's lap and goes to join Elda instead.]

[ R u d e ]

Don't throw my works back at me. That argument stung a lot.

[ But fine, she'll put the smoothie down to instead hold Berry closer to her, pulling the Sneasel in closer. It's weird, how it's like a cat but... not. She hopes one of the more clingy cats in the manor doesn't see this and get cross. But all the same... ]

In those memories, Silver. You're still a human boy, is that right?

Yeah, I am.

[He could make some sort of quip about how he wouldn't be surprised if everyone he knew were monster people or maybe that guy with the anime hair is a vampire, but it doesn't seem like the time for that.]

Are you saying that you aren't?

[There's no way to delicately ask that question, but he doesn't seem terribly surprised either. Elda's eyes aren't exactly normal human material, she can't handle bright lights anymore, she has her own personal coffin...]

[ . . . Ah, had she really not spelled it out for her before now? She toys a little with her hands, resting them across her lap and as such holding Berry closer. she frowns and... ]

No. ... No, I'm not.

[ She isn't, rather? Elda closes her eyes and says, ]

... She's a vampire.

...Do you sparkle?

[This is not a joke tag-]

[ . . . Pfft. That breaks her tension enough that she truly and genuinely laughs, reaching out to try to tug at his cheek. ]

No, not that I've seen. But I do erase memories, control bats, and see in the dark. Almost as cool as those Dusk books, I'm sure.

Dusk is awful, although its vampire politics are sort of cool. You're much better off.

[Fortunately, as he is not Goro, he won't go on some long dissertation about the books.]

Perhaps.

[ No, definitely, she keeps grinning. Vampire politics... huh? You know, she wonders, ]

I've seen little outside her family, but I did claim my territory. Perhaps the politics I'm to remember are equally chaotic.

At least there shouldn't be any vampire politics here. You get the city by default.

[...Which is a sort of lonely thought if he thinks about it, but hopefully it's said lighthearted enough to not be a problem.]

So that means you and all the others are mine? [ She laughs - something like a giggle, but it's also.. older. It descends into some Evil Old Lady Laugh without her noticing.

It is a lonely thought. ]

I'm alright with a guardian vampire. Aren't we working on papers that certify that I'm yours?

[...That's really happening. He pauses for a moment to bask in his fondness of the thought- he's going to have to do more than try to relieve tension at some point, but right now... Maybe if he talks about it like it's no big deal, it will help it seem like less of one.]

IC INBOX for recolle

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)