sir rictor cassul, korporal. (templars) wrote in emillion, @ 2014-05-29 19:53:00 |
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It had been a long day. The battle against the Adamantitan had taken a worse toll than Seloria would have liked, mostly in the form of her sister barely hanging on to life. Then there was her provoking the attention of the Babil and Caspar had suffered dearly for it. Her chest ached and she was displeased with herself. She had taken her studies seriously, but had not applied them as much as she should have. The new dances she’d picked up had been untested until the battle that ensued over the last two days. She wasn’t at home. There wasn’t time to be at home. There was too much to do. There was far too many people to visit, much to organize. Even part of her home had been offered to her students, who hardly stayed in it as they were also running out to help as well. She’d taught them that bringing joy to others was one of the functions of the bard’s guild. They gave distractions from events like this, but also hope and the strength to rebuild. She felt entirely lacking in this strength even as she ushered the others on. She wouldn’t show how worn down she was. There wasn’t time to feel worn down. When all this was over, if it ever ended, then yes, she would rest. The dancer had been urged to take a break, so she’d stepped outside of the dwelling she’d been helping in for the last few hours. She knuckled her back slightly, having helped with some lifting during the day. It was then that she saw him appear, much like a vision. It was Rictor. She was almost overcome with relief at the sight of him. It hadn’t occurred to her to check. She felt someone would have informed her if anything had happened. That was unless he told them not to. If there was a similarity between any of the siblings, it was their need to keep the others from fretting… except Seloria who apparently threw herself in the midst of trouble just for that very thing. “Rictor,” she called out with a wave to catch his attention. It had only been a day since the turmoil ended, which had stretched on and seemed interminable—but also didn’t leave enough time to attend to everything Rictor needed to. He hadn’t been searching for Seloria specifically, but the moment he saw her, it was like a puzzle piece clicked into place, the rest of his world shoring itself up. At least there was this. “Seloria,” he said, relief suffusing through him, easing through his limbs . “Thank Faram. I mean, I figured word would get around if something had happened, but…” He immediately went to her side to pull her into a hug, loyal and attentive as he couldn’t be to the other sister (and that was a thing he couldn’t think about, couldn’t examine too closely, refused to consider). “Working hard or hardly working?” Rictor tried to joke, but there was something wrong with his smile; it didn’t sit quite right on his face, kept flickering at the corners and twitching like an insect pinned to a board. “Rictor,” the youngest Cassul said again warmly as he approached her. A moment later, she found herself surrounded by him and scrunched her nose as he held her quite tight. “I am not made of porcelain, but I do believe my insides might need a little room,” she said with a smile as her own arms came around to capture him. They didn’t quite cover as much of him as he did of her, but it would do. “Working quite hard, thank you,” Seloria said with a nod. He looked a little odd, but they’d just been through a very rough two days. “As you can see, everyone here is working very hard,” she said with a wave of her hand toward the reconstruction efforts in hopes of continuing the topic to ease whatever ailed him. “Aye. Lots to do.” He seemed reluctant to let her go, as if setting Seloria free would mean losing her somehow, slipping between his fingers (like the others had)—so he kept his hand on her shoulder, an anchor keeping him rooted to the younger Cassul. His pale eyes drifted to the reconstruction efforts as she motioned towards them, the holy knight still looking distracted and preoccupied. He’d been bringing medical supplies to the various makeshift clinics in the city, trying to do some good before the Feldwebel wrangled him back to the Cathedral and into a cot to sleep off the next two days. The world was blurring at the edges the longer he stayed awake, details smudging into an inky mess. But he still managed to look back and down at his little sister. “Did you pull through all right? Anything happen?” Seloria felt the hand on her shoulder and did nothing to shove it away. Instead, she made sure to stay within reach, even going so far as placing a hand on his. It was a connection they were both in need of. She was humble enough to admit that. Considering what had happened to Aspel the first day and Caspar the second. It took everything out of her not to turn in and throw her arms around him in front of all these people. “You should come stay with me this week. I have more than enough room,” she suggested. It would be nice to have his presence there, keeping her steady. It was a touch of home. It hadn’t been something she’d extended to Aspel, but she was so busy and… she needed to recover. “I came out fine. I had family and friends to protect me,” she said softly. Then she was quiet. A wave of guilt washed over her, despite the fact that it had been the sentinel’s decision to protect her so foolishly. “Have you seen or heard word of Ranger Vaux?” She could have called him Caspar, but never felt close enough for that to be appropriate. “No. He hasn’t been responding to my messages.” Rictor tried to keep his voice level, but the concern still bled through, for the man who was the closest thing he had to a brother. “Have you?” And then there was the subject of Aspel. Standing there, Rictor felt the need to crack open that particular can of worms—but he couldn’t bring it up, couldn’t plant that poison in Seloria of all people. He was still too awash in the sheer relief of her being alive and well and with him. The thought of gaining some distance from everything else in his life, however, was alluring. “I’ve been ordered to take a few days off my feet and rest up. It could be good to spend it at your place,” he said softly. Seloria’s hands clenched. He was still resting then. Her face grew just as tight as her hands and she sucked in a breath. “He--” she started. “You should go visit him, brother. He is probably still in the clinic where we left him,” she explained. “He saved my life and that of my friend Juliette and then we saved his.” The Babil had been a horrible creature. The thought of it caused her to shiver. She just realized that she hadn’t gone to visit him since that day, but instead had busied herself with other things. For the most part, she was attempting to get things done and almost felt guilty that it had slipped her mind. Almost. There was still just so much to do. “Perhaps I could visit him with you.” Rictor tilted his head, letting those details sink in. “He saved your life and Coulombe’s?” The man (weary, beaten down) almost sounded bemused and affronted at that—fuck, another debt owed to Vaux. It was the smallest, merest hint of an internal joke, and a not very good one at that. Not enough to bring the ghost of a smile to his face. But the holy knight nodded, breathing out slowly, trying to let that metaphorical weight slink off his shoulders. (It didn’t work.) “We should. So here’s what I propose we do: Seloria, you keep working here, I’ll wrap up the rest of my duties at the Cathedral, and then fetch my things and drop them off at your penthouse.” And Aspel— “And then we’ll visit Caspar together,” he said. “That he did,” the dancer said quietly as he mulled over the statement. He looked upset over the news, and her brows furrowed. Perhaps he was just very upset about his friend being hurt. She couldn’t quite put a finger on it. His tone, however incongruent, was lighter than his expression. If there was one thing about her brother she understood, it was that he wasn’t great at hiding his feelings. It would be something for a later time, however. She felt he would come to her when the time was right if he didn’t unload his worries on a more present colleague. “That sounds like an excellent idea. Perhaps we can all dine together.” She’d heard stories of hospital food. She couldn’t picture why anyone would risk it or allow people they cared about to partake in it. “I will have a basket made up for him.” Hopefully he was in a condition to eat solid food. He’d taken quite a beating. Rolling to the balls of her feet, she pressed a kiss to her brother’s cheek. “I am glad to see you.” The phrase was simple, but her tone was layered with love, concern, and pride. The thought conveyed, she took a few steps backwards before turning to return to her work. Rictor let her go, but reluctantly, as if the moment Seloria was out of his sight, he would risk losing another sister forever. |