Joseph nodded quietly before he shifted about - the grip of his burnt hands against his arms tightening as he tensed up. "When Riles was five I fought Alexis Valsted in a duel because that is who the two of us are."
The puppeteer stopped. There was a distance to the older man as he collected himself - almost as if Percy's place in his seat was getting further and further away.
"I came home that day still burning. The magic in me in a failing race against the magic that was ravaging me." Pulling one of his arms away from his body Joseph unbuttoned his sleeve and rolled it up to show that the burns on his hands continued up and on and on across his skin. "I came home - still burning, still melting - desperate to have one last look at my child before I lost my eyes." Joseph, leaving his skin bared, brought his arm back against his body and turned quiet as he sat across from the alchemist.
The man's head was tilted down and he was simply still - like his moment in grief had been frozen in sculpture.
"It was the last time I hugged my child Percival. It is the only time my child remembers me hugging them. That's where Riles's memory starts: her charred father dying, broken, collapsing, unconscious - and what could she do but cry?" Joseph began rolling his sleeve back down. His sightless head titled towards his sleeve like it was the only thing in the world. "That is who Alexis Valsted is to your sibling."
"Riles fought her nightmare for you. She fought something she has no idea how to win against for you. The way you faced him - it has merits, it kept my home standing - but it allowed him to take something far more important from your sibling: trust. You stood on his side of her fence today - stood together with his civility for brutality."
Half-and-Half
Re: Half-and-Half
Percival rested over his elbow, his eyes matching that of Joseph's sightless visage. The Alchemist's stare fell to the floor, considering Joseph's words, his fingers curling into their palm in regular, fluctuating waves.
"It seems the moment you appease the beast, you're playing his game," muttered the man, the waves stopping as he seemed to be trying to grasp something only he could see. "That's why he smiled himself out the door. I felt like a child. In those moments when my mother would bring that intense gaze on our heads, and the only thing that would appease her was compliance."
At that he leaned back into the chair, unable to look at Joseph, now that he thought of it, "It seemed right. To just nod and smile along, just to get him out of the room. To get him away from you. To get him away from Riley. I don't want her in that situation. I don't... I don't want to be the reason people keep getting hurt. Much less Riley..."
He thought about a time long ago, a small memory that still burned brightly in his mind. It was frightening memory that for some reason, Alexis had chosen not to touch. The sight of Riley falling off the roof of the school. The hardest he had ever run in his life. The weight of the girl in his arms, heavier than he ever felt. There were so many nightmares where he had dropped her, where he hadn't been fast enough. No matter whether she landed in his arms or fell broken to the ground in his dreams or memories, she always said the same thing coming down.
Percy.
The Alchemist had fallen silent, focused on his helpless, single hand.
"It seems the moment you appease the beast, you're playing his game," muttered the man, the waves stopping as he seemed to be trying to grasp something only he could see. "That's why he smiled himself out the door. I felt like a child. In those moments when my mother would bring that intense gaze on our heads, and the only thing that would appease her was compliance."
At that he leaned back into the chair, unable to look at Joseph, now that he thought of it, "It seemed right. To just nod and smile along, just to get him out of the room. To get him away from you. To get him away from Riley. I don't want her in that situation. I don't... I don't want to be the reason people keep getting hurt. Much less Riley..."
He thought about a time long ago, a small memory that still burned brightly in his mind. It was frightening memory that for some reason, Alexis had chosen not to touch. The sight of Riley falling off the roof of the school. The hardest he had ever run in his life. The weight of the girl in his arms, heavier than he ever felt. There were so many nightmares where he had dropped her, where he hadn't been fast enough. No matter whether she landed in his arms or fell broken to the ground in his dreams or memories, she always said the same thing coming down.
Percy.
The Alchemist had fallen silent, focused on his helpless, single hand.
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Gwathdraug
- Posts: 281
- Joined: Fri Dec 24, 2010 9:48 am
Re: Half-and-Half
"That's your answer then." Joseph's voice once more dropped down into a gruff, dismissive tone. The old man had already leaned back forward and was running his hands along the seams and mechanisms of his puppet. "The way past that bastard is to just talk about the things you wanted, the things you felt - not whatever he managed to turn into his clay."
"You don't get an understanding with one side running over the other and Riles knows you can't stand seeing them get hurt. So-" Joseph lifted his unoccupied hand shooing Percy away and towards the hallway his sibling had stomped down what felt like hours ago. "-off you go Percival. Riles will be up there on the stage - in nothing but the dark - as she's wont to do."
"You don't get an understanding with one side running over the other and Riles knows you can't stand seeing them get hurt. So-" Joseph lifted his unoccupied hand shooing Percy away and towards the hallway his sibling had stomped down what felt like hours ago. "-off you go Percival. Riles will be up there on the stage - in nothing but the dark - as she's wont to do."
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Gwathdraug
- Posts: 281
- Joined: Fri Dec 24, 2010 9:48 am
Re: Half-and-Half
As Joseph carried on in his task, Percival sat in his chair, staring at his hand. The words in his mouth never made it out. Obediently he stood.
"It was good meeting you, Mr. Alstad," said Percy, still gathering his bearings, before he turned to carry himself down the hall. His mind spun, trying to think, trying to process, trying to do something right. What was the right thing to do?
He paused right before the darkness, a little bit of fear keeping him from going any further.
No. Percival determined that it was all or nothing. As much as the shadows drew a boundary he couldn't return from, he took a deep breath and walked after Riley.
The stairs creaked loudly as Percy treaded further through the hallway. The light of the old worn out kitchen was slowly left behind until the alchemist found himself once more surrounded by endless greys dashed with the more solid blacks of the far corners.
His one solace was that at least this environment was one that was entirely devoid of the supernatural.
The last stair squeaked with an old groan that told of how often it had been the resting place for many a different weight. The stage before Percival had the curtains drawn back - the fabric little more than a softer shade to the room's overall gloom - and there wasn't a single window uncovered out in the audience to interrupt the silent darkness.
At the very edge of the stage - close enough to blend together - two silhouttes sat perched smack in the middle of everything.
"Can you-" The words cut through dust in the air, but stopped as if the effort had been too much. "Can you... stay back there for a bit? Just while we talk."
The Alchemist's eyes, reflecting the barest light, but shining an unearthly hue against a natural dark, seemed to trail about. He wasn't really considering the question, as much as he was mustering the answer.
"Sure," he said softly into the dim, before trying to start, "Riley, I..."
"When you first came back," Riley's voice was simple, inquisitive. "and we finally talked. When you came to my place before... everything else - do you remember?"
"Of course, I was a bit of a mess, but I..." Percy rolled something in his mouth, "I remember being impatient, not really wanting to wait."
There was a gentle, short laugh. "No, not any of that. When I asked you if you thought you could teach a Maelgwyn." The Stage Magician's sigh barely reached all the way to where Percy stood. "You thought for some reason I saw you as a danger to some kid - I just wanted you to be okay. I was just... worried, but didn't say it right so you got hurt."
Riley's second sigh was louder, and frustrated, and sad.
"So I get it - what happened. I get it and I get it and I get it-" There was a long, ragged intake of breath. "-but it still hurts. What it felt like while I stood there hurts."
"I would never stop trusting you," said Percival, repeating words that came to his mind. His fingers began to twitch again, grabbing absently. "You said that to me. When I gave any doubt, you embraced me and said you would never stop trusting me. It was the first time I felt welcome, the first time I felt safe since coming home."
The man's lip quivered, as he inhaled sharply, his hand shaking now, "But. I've gone and... I've gone an abandoned that trust. Riley. I..."
He put his hand against his chest now to keep it from shaking anymore, "Riley, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you, I didn't want to hurt you. All of the pride and fear and doubt and loathing, and... an--... Oh blast it. It's all an excuse. I'm so afraid of losing things that I can't even speak sometimes, and sometimes I let that hurt people. I let it hurt you."
The quivering hand wiped his eyes, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for running away. I'm sorry for not just telling you. I'm sorry for not standing with you. I'm sorry for not just trusting you, like you trusted me."
There was a short, bitter sound as the silhouetes shrunk in on themselves. "We're... we're so fucking alike." Riley choked out the words. "I trusted you to keep my da alive. I trusted you to keep me alive-" There was a heavy, frustrated pause.
"- you kept to that Perce. You kept to the plan. You kept to that trust." The silhouettes shifted again. "I'm sorry for not - for playing into his hand - and for doubting you."
Percy shook his head, having a hard time seeing the shapes through the tears. He continued to rub them away for a few quiet moments. "It's not..."
He sniffed, curling his fist under his nose, "It's not your fault. It was a bad situation, I wasn't... I wasn't talking. Not the right words. I..."
There was a moment where he wiped his mouth, trying to contain himself, before blurting out, "Can I get a hug or something, I'm dying over here."
"Come..." Riley's voice was weak - awkward. "Come... and... sit?" The woman herself seemed shamed by how lame her own response was. "I'm-" Riley's words stammered. "I... I'll- I can't." The stage magician took in a deep breath through her nose as she snapped her mouth shut. "I'd scream."
"That's my first memory - screaming."
The Alchemist was unsure if he should approach, but the mixture of darkness and separation was causing him to seize up. He settled for sitting near the shadowy figures, close enough to where they felt real to him.
"We never," Percival cleared his throat, "... We never spoke about that. About how this all started."
Those faintly glowing eyes stared at the figures, "Your father... Joseph... He talked... a little."
"He's better with it than me - shouldn't be, but is..." Riley's whisper trailed off and Percival could hear the sound of the stage magician swallowing. "I don't talk about it. I've dreamt about... taking my eyes out just to not see it again."
Riley chuckled, a hollow old sound. "Like that'd be any kind of solution."
"It doesn't help," offered Percival, meekly. He chased the words with a bit of a laugh, "hurting yourself, removing a part of yourself doesn't make it go away. I don't think... it ever will..."
The Alchemist took a steady, careful breath, "But you don't need to live with it... alone, Riley. You're tough. You're so tough that I think I'd never be able to compete, but... These memories are as big as we are, as tough as we are. You don't need to do it alone. You don't ever need to be alone."
At that, he seemed to get a little frustrated, "If I had two arms, I would shake you... As if that would help, but I--... I'm not going to make you face that, but the moment you would want to, I'd be by your side, just so that you'd not have to overcome it alone."
"Thanks." The word was breathed out more than said. "It doesn't feel like enough: being here, saying thanks. But it is."
Riley exhaled and inhaled in a long, steady pattern. Finally, the two figures opened their eyes - illuminated with their own featureless grey light - and looked over at their brother.
"How was Lyra?" The words had a weight to them - an understanding that response wouldn't simply be cheerful but had already been accepted. "When you left her."
"Oh god, Lyra," shocked, Percival slapped his hand to his head, an electrical shock going up his spine as he remembered that this wasn't where they day had started. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, grumbling, "Oh no, no, no, I left her in that cafe back in England; she was a bit upset. I made a damn fool out of myself."
"Mmmmm." The stage magician hummed softly as Percy worked through his sudden panic. "How bad did she hurt herself?"
"Ah," Percy looked at the sets of eyes upon him, considering the now rated normalcy of Lyra's response.
A moment passed where he tried to compose a response, "She seemed to prick her hand with her nail, I felt terrible. Even so, if I had been a bit more quick, I'd have used that kerchief on her than you. She ran off to the bathroom before I could even say anything. Hells bells, should I even bring any of this up? Blast, if she's even still there..."
Riley was still humming steadily when suddenly both figures stood up and the closest of the two offered a hand in assistance to Percy. "She'll want to spar and if she's back in England there's no one around she'd trust for it." The Riley not offering their hand made a show of stretching. "The world's not standing still - gotta tell da our goodbyes and then I'll give her a call."
Percival came up off the floor of the stage, feeling almost a bit weightless in the dark. After getting his bearings, he looked at the both of Riley. Then, in a sudden motion, he hooked both halves into a hug.
Holding them tight, he said simply, "I love ya, Riley."
Both Rileys went stiff as they closed their eyes once more. Percy could hear the rapid, wing beat of their startled hearts before he felt the long, rhythmic breaths settle across their chests and slow the frantic flow of their blood.
It was a long, long pause before two arms lightly and unassuredly returned the embrace.
Riley's jaw was a bunched mass of tension and Percy could feel as she tried to work her mouth to no avail. Finally, the alchemist could feel as the fingers against his back deliberately spelled out the stage magician's response.
Love you too Perce.
"It was good meeting you, Mr. Alstad," said Percy, still gathering his bearings, before he turned to carry himself down the hall. His mind spun, trying to think, trying to process, trying to do something right. What was the right thing to do?
He paused right before the darkness, a little bit of fear keeping him from going any further.
No. Percival determined that it was all or nothing. As much as the shadows drew a boundary he couldn't return from, he took a deep breath and walked after Riley.
The stairs creaked loudly as Percy treaded further through the hallway. The light of the old worn out kitchen was slowly left behind until the alchemist found himself once more surrounded by endless greys dashed with the more solid blacks of the far corners.
His one solace was that at least this environment was one that was entirely devoid of the supernatural.
The last stair squeaked with an old groan that told of how often it had been the resting place for many a different weight. The stage before Percival had the curtains drawn back - the fabric little more than a softer shade to the room's overall gloom - and there wasn't a single window uncovered out in the audience to interrupt the silent darkness.
At the very edge of the stage - close enough to blend together - two silhouttes sat perched smack in the middle of everything.
"Can you-" The words cut through dust in the air, but stopped as if the effort had been too much. "Can you... stay back there for a bit? Just while we talk."
The Alchemist's eyes, reflecting the barest light, but shining an unearthly hue against a natural dark, seemed to trail about. He wasn't really considering the question, as much as he was mustering the answer.
"Sure," he said softly into the dim, before trying to start, "Riley, I..."
"When you first came back," Riley's voice was simple, inquisitive. "and we finally talked. When you came to my place before... everything else - do you remember?"
"Of course, I was a bit of a mess, but I..." Percy rolled something in his mouth, "I remember being impatient, not really wanting to wait."
There was a gentle, short laugh. "No, not any of that. When I asked you if you thought you could teach a Maelgwyn." The Stage Magician's sigh barely reached all the way to where Percy stood. "You thought for some reason I saw you as a danger to some kid - I just wanted you to be okay. I was just... worried, but didn't say it right so you got hurt."
Riley's second sigh was louder, and frustrated, and sad.
"So I get it - what happened. I get it and I get it and I get it-" There was a long, ragged intake of breath. "-but it still hurts. What it felt like while I stood there hurts."
"I would never stop trusting you," said Percival, repeating words that came to his mind. His fingers began to twitch again, grabbing absently. "You said that to me. When I gave any doubt, you embraced me and said you would never stop trusting me. It was the first time I felt welcome, the first time I felt safe since coming home."
The man's lip quivered, as he inhaled sharply, his hand shaking now, "But. I've gone and... I've gone an abandoned that trust. Riley. I..."
He put his hand against his chest now to keep it from shaking anymore, "Riley, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you, I didn't want to hurt you. All of the pride and fear and doubt and loathing, and... an--... Oh blast it. It's all an excuse. I'm so afraid of losing things that I can't even speak sometimes, and sometimes I let that hurt people. I let it hurt you."
The quivering hand wiped his eyes, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for running away. I'm sorry for not just telling you. I'm sorry for not standing with you. I'm sorry for not just trusting you, like you trusted me."
There was a short, bitter sound as the silhouetes shrunk in on themselves. "We're... we're so fucking alike." Riley choked out the words. "I trusted you to keep my da alive. I trusted you to keep me alive-" There was a heavy, frustrated pause.
"- you kept to that Perce. You kept to the plan. You kept to that trust." The silhouettes shifted again. "I'm sorry for not - for playing into his hand - and for doubting you."
Percy shook his head, having a hard time seeing the shapes through the tears. He continued to rub them away for a few quiet moments. "It's not..."
He sniffed, curling his fist under his nose, "It's not your fault. It was a bad situation, I wasn't... I wasn't talking. Not the right words. I..."
There was a moment where he wiped his mouth, trying to contain himself, before blurting out, "Can I get a hug or something, I'm dying over here."
"Come..." Riley's voice was weak - awkward. "Come... and... sit?" The woman herself seemed shamed by how lame her own response was. "I'm-" Riley's words stammered. "I... I'll- I can't." The stage magician took in a deep breath through her nose as she snapped her mouth shut. "I'd scream."
"That's my first memory - screaming."
The Alchemist was unsure if he should approach, but the mixture of darkness and separation was causing him to seize up. He settled for sitting near the shadowy figures, close enough to where they felt real to him.
"We never," Percival cleared his throat, "... We never spoke about that. About how this all started."
Those faintly glowing eyes stared at the figures, "Your father... Joseph... He talked... a little."
"He's better with it than me - shouldn't be, but is..." Riley's whisper trailed off and Percival could hear the sound of the stage magician swallowing. "I don't talk about it. I've dreamt about... taking my eyes out just to not see it again."
Riley chuckled, a hollow old sound. "Like that'd be any kind of solution."
"It doesn't help," offered Percival, meekly. He chased the words with a bit of a laugh, "hurting yourself, removing a part of yourself doesn't make it go away. I don't think... it ever will..."
The Alchemist took a steady, careful breath, "But you don't need to live with it... alone, Riley. You're tough. You're so tough that I think I'd never be able to compete, but... These memories are as big as we are, as tough as we are. You don't need to do it alone. You don't ever need to be alone."
At that, he seemed to get a little frustrated, "If I had two arms, I would shake you... As if that would help, but I--... I'm not going to make you face that, but the moment you would want to, I'd be by your side, just so that you'd not have to overcome it alone."
"Thanks." The word was breathed out more than said. "It doesn't feel like enough: being here, saying thanks. But it is."
Riley exhaled and inhaled in a long, steady pattern. Finally, the two figures opened their eyes - illuminated with their own featureless grey light - and looked over at their brother.
"How was Lyra?" The words had a weight to them - an understanding that response wouldn't simply be cheerful but had already been accepted. "When you left her."
"Oh god, Lyra," shocked, Percival slapped his hand to his head, an electrical shock going up his spine as he remembered that this wasn't where they day had started. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, grumbling, "Oh no, no, no, I left her in that cafe back in England; she was a bit upset. I made a damn fool out of myself."
"Mmmmm." The stage magician hummed softly as Percy worked through his sudden panic. "How bad did she hurt herself?"
"Ah," Percy looked at the sets of eyes upon him, considering the now rated normalcy of Lyra's response.
A moment passed where he tried to compose a response, "She seemed to prick her hand with her nail, I felt terrible. Even so, if I had been a bit more quick, I'd have used that kerchief on her than you. She ran off to the bathroom before I could even say anything. Hells bells, should I even bring any of this up? Blast, if she's even still there..."
Riley was still humming steadily when suddenly both figures stood up and the closest of the two offered a hand in assistance to Percy. "She'll want to spar and if she's back in England there's no one around she'd trust for it." The Riley not offering their hand made a show of stretching. "The world's not standing still - gotta tell da our goodbyes and then I'll give her a call."
Percival came up off the floor of the stage, feeling almost a bit weightless in the dark. After getting his bearings, he looked at the both of Riley. Then, in a sudden motion, he hooked both halves into a hug.
Holding them tight, he said simply, "I love ya, Riley."
Both Rileys went stiff as they closed their eyes once more. Percy could hear the rapid, wing beat of their startled hearts before he felt the long, rhythmic breaths settle across their chests and slow the frantic flow of their blood.
It was a long, long pause before two arms lightly and unassuredly returned the embrace.
Riley's jaw was a bunched mass of tension and Percy could feel as she tried to work her mouth to no avail. Finally, the alchemist could feel as the fingers against his back deliberately spelled out the stage magician's response.
Love you too Perce.