player npcs. (citizenries) wrote in emillion, @ 2014-05-04 12:18:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !log, !npc: kiyoko matsudaira, merrion priddy |
you are the dark ocean bottom, and i am the fast-sinking anchor
Who: Merri & Ran
What: Coping methods, of a sort.
Where: Ran's apartment
When: 5/3 (backdated)
Rating: PG-13 for hinted sexual situations (tame otherwise)
Status: Complete!
The teapot was placed on the low table with the sort of care paid to sacred things. It had been a present from her parents, many years ago; a relic of another age, and every time Ran used it she feared the slightest breeze or touch would be enough to make it turn to ash and dust, as relics do. She poured the tea into two small cups and handed one to Merri, with the words, "Careful you do not burn yourself." Her apartment was a place for memory filled with items collected a lifetime ago, and she had allowed very few into it, but inviting Merri over had seemed preferable to being invited wherever he stayed now, somewhere her father or Min might see her, and having to provide a reason for her refusal. The visit seemed to be working to take his mind off the troubles of the guild, and that attention was not-so-subtly redirected to his surroundings in surreptitious glances throughout the conversation. (Nothing in the apartment spelled double life, not even the pure white masks by the door, easily explained as a passion for the traditional theatre of Sako Island. Like every other item she possessed, they conveyed their meaning only to her.) "Tea calms me down, when I am worried about something," Ran said, cradling the second cup in her hands. "I hope it does you good, as well." "It does -- it is," Merri said, turning his attention back to her. He hadn't meant to be so distracted by the decor of her apartment, and perhaps it was a good sign that he was able to lose himself, even if for a little bit, in her and everything about her. It was the first break he had since the funeral, and the funeral having been the first time he'd been able to allow himself to feel, and her invitation had been welcome. "Thank you." He took a sip, the warm liquid soothing his nerves -- a little. So much still dwelled upon his mind and he wanted to let it all go, just for as long as he was here. It was no longer about having a right to relax; it was a necessity, he knew it, and he was thankful that Ran had offered her company. “I’m glad that your home wasn’t… well, you know.” Merri cringed. That wasn’t right. “You have a beautiful place, and wonderful things. Like those masks. I’ve only ever seen them in books before. Well, a book.” "They are not exactly commonplace in Valendia, after all," Ran said with a nod. "They were a present, received many years ago." She leaned back, sinking into the couch where they both sat. She traced the edge of the teacup with her finger as she spoke, softly, "I do not make a habit of inviting people here. I am a very private person. But I am glad my apartment lives up to standards." Then, with a soft laugh, she looked at Merri and asked, "Were you expecting something grisly, perhaps?" A light blush covered his cheeks. “Ah, no, that’s… that’s not what I meant, I just…” In truth, Merri hadn’t known what to expect. That Ran was a private person came as little surprise to him, for as much as they had seen each other and conversed, he knew there was still so much that he did not yet know about her. His heart warmed to her statement that he was invited into such an intimate sanctuary as her home, and he dared to hope that, perhaps, he would be able to learn more about her sooner rather than later. “I just meant that… I love your… home,” he finished, his eyes falling to his tea. “Um! Who, uh, gave you the masks? For presents?” She sipped her tea, prepared to steer the conversation away, but before, she offered, "A person that I admire. He and I had a falling out, not long after he gave me those masks." A fraction of her true feelings was allowed through to the fore, just a faint shadow of themselves, enough to mark the topic as something saddening, unwelcome. Ran gave Merri a small apologetic smile. "I did not invite you here to speak of such depressing matters, however. I invited you because I want to learn more about you, Merri." A show of hesitation, then she placed her hand on Merri's. "How are you, really?" "I'm..." Merri did not know where to start. His injuries had been slow to heal, but he was almost recovered even with his lack if proper rest, and he knew it was not what she meant anyway. "It's... been hard. I can't blame everyone for how they feel towards the Guild, but it's getting harder to endure, and it's hard to be at the Tower without seeing all the... everyone's faces. All my friends who... and the scholars, they're the hardest to..." He leaned his face into the palm of his hand, forbidding the tears. He truly thought that after the funeral that it might get easier, but now, he realized, it might never. "Sorry, I... I just haven't been able to get a lot of sleep lately." It was the truth, but hardly the reason for his tears. Ran had not expected him to cry. There may have been a flicker of annoyance, had she not been reminded of herself, many years ago, curled up and sobbing at every attempt to please her father that never seemed to be enough. Her father, who would be bearing feelings like Merri's, and not letting anyone see. And so before she could trim her response into something tailored to fit the man in front of her, she found honesty slipping out. "It gets no easier, when you lose somebody, and people around you are watching for a missed step. But you still have allies, people who care about you." She reached out and touched his face, wiping away a tear with her thumb. "So cry all you need to, then go and face them, and show them just how much you're worth." Merri lifted his chin to meet her eyes. He weakly smiled and leaned into the warmth and comfort of her hand. “Thank you, and sorry,” he murmured. “I’ll… be fine, though. I promise. I’m alive, and… that’s enough to try to do something about what happened. I can’t bring any of them back, but… I can give meaning to it.” It was a recollection of his talk with Peony. “But thank you. For… being here, for understanding, for… inviting me here. I… I didn’t mean to make things… unpleasant. We can, um--” He wiped the rest of the tears away with his sleeve. “--Let’s do… talk! About something else? I don’t mean to ruin your evening at all.” "You are not ruining my evening at all, Merri." She gave him a small smile. "My evening cannot be ruined; you are still here, with me." With those words, she took his teacup, placed it on the table along with hers; then, closed the distance between them and kissed him. He widened his eyes and didn’t react at first. The fact her lips (warm, soft) were on his stunned him and made his heart skip a few beats, his breath to steal away from him. Then, she started to pull away, but Merri found that he could not let her go too far away, and he leaned in to catch her lips with his again, his heart brimming with a joy he forgot to feel guilty about. Then, when they parted, Merri found himself lost in her eyes, breathless and lost for words. But, he couldn’t help but to smile brighter than he’d been able to over the past couple of weeks. "I made you smile," Ran said. (Her own smile came naturally, brighter than before.) "I'm glad. I like you a lot, Merri." His cheeks colored, and a small, breathy laugh escaped his lips. “I… I really like you a lot, too. I’m… I’m really so glad, and happy, and… I love… that we met.” Her hand found his and she laced their fingers together. "Then tonight, don't think about all the bad things that have happened. Think about the good things." She paused, then said, "Think only about me. Us." Merri nodded and leaned in to kiss her again, this time with a passion easy to lose himself in, a passion he was happy to lose himself in, with emotions he had almost started to believe he would never be allowed to feel again. And, for the rest of the night, as she had bid him, it was only Ran he thought about. |