Merrion Priddy (merrymage) wrote in emillion, @ 2014-07-22 21:13:00 |
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Merri had been shocked and appalled when the battle had ended and the stone appeared before him, and he had desperately hoped that no one had seen what had transpired. Or, if they had, they didn’t understand it. A vain hope, perhaps. So once he returned to the city, he took to staying as out of sight as he could, keeping to two primary locations: Ran’s home and the Mages Tower. To his luck, he was accosted by passersby no more than usual, but he feared it was only a matter of time. When alone, he studied the stone. Though he knew that given the way that the little creature had vanished indicated that it was the one to be with him now, Merri still couldn’t help but panic that it had actually been the behemoth instead, but the panic was soon quelled by the chittering voice of the smaller creature. But he still worried, and for many reasons, and that was why he sought out Peony privately as soon as he was able. (Toku had too much to worry about, and Merri would trust Peony if she decided that the new Sage should or shouldn’t know.) And so, he knocked on her door. Having her old rooms back was bittersweet for Peony, who had grown rather accustomed to the homey pleasures of the small house in Commoners’. Still, as much as staying there might have pleased her, she knew her duty had to be to her wounded guild, and here was where she was most accessible. Quiz might mope (no doubt prompted by the absence of Ratchet, who was always so willing to let the cat run roughshod over him), and she might feel the unexpected, long forgotten sting of loneliness, but she had set her home in order and attempted to pick up her life where she had left it. Merrion’s request for a few hours of her time was hardly unusual, but the request had been made in a rather clandestine way, and combined with his relative paleness these last few days she had to wonder if he hadn’t worked himself into a bout of actual illness this once. She had accepted, of course, though she had no idea what this might be about (she suspected he might require further discussion on the matter of fighting humes; certainly had he found anything new regarding the troubles that had besieged their city he would have come to Toku as well, or even first). When he arrived, she was ready to greet him with a smile and tea on the table, the kitchen so like it had been that it would be easy to forget it had been rubble only a few months back. Merri smiled back, and though it was genuine, it was forced. “Hi, Peony,” he said, trying to keep his tone light and cheerful. His hand was in his pocket, flipping and rubbing the stone. That, perhaps, did not help his anxiety any. “Thank you for agreeing to see me.” “You are always welcome here, Merrion.” She closed the door behind him, noting that he did not even react as he usually would when Quiz began to wind himself around his ankles. “You are worried,” she said, a statement, not a question. “How may I assist?” For surely that must be his reason for coming to her. She often found herself the first sounding board for his troubles. “I… don’t know,” he admitted, his fingers curling around the stone. He bit his lip and considered the right words to say and where to start. “I… this isn’t… it’s…” A trill that was meant to be soothing echoed in his head, and Merri let out a small sigh. “It’s… kind of a long story, but…” He finally took the stone from his pocket and showed it to her, his eyes nervously locked upon it. “Ah.” It was a story that did not strictly require telling for her to understand the crux of the problem, and even her face briefly displayed an expression of something like surprise. Of all problems for Merrion to bring to her door, this had not been one she’d expected, though perhaps she ought to have, considering the recent climate. “Such things are becoming almost commonplace,” she said. Her tone might have been a bit wistful, or simply soothing. One worked with what Faram provided, whether or not it was easy. She placed her hand on Merrion’s tense arm, saying, “Come and have some tea. You can tell me while you drink.” And perhaps having something to do with his hands might relax him at least slightly, in concert with her steadiness. Merri sat at the table, his breaths deep with the attempt to ease his anxiety. It was only after a cup of tea appeared before him that he took a sip and let the warmth help his nerves. “Well,” he started slowly, “it was a few days ago, and I’d have come to you sooner, but…” He winced; excuses were not necessary here, he knew. “The… incident, outside of the city, with the behemoth? That’s when this happened. But it wasn’t -- it’s not the behemoth. It’s… it’s an ally who was fighting it before we showed up, and it -- he -- helped us. I know it’s strange and doesn’t make any sense, considering the rest were enemies, but…” He trailed off. She thought for a few moments, allowing the information to process, considering the implications of what he’d said. “That is indeed unique. Asura helped us also, but only after she was defeated.” She paused before musing, “Perhaps your new… companion has a different perspective on testing potential partners for compatibility. Is that not what the battles against other such creatures were meant to accomplish?” That was what the scarce literature they had managed to find implied, although the choices of the beasts had been curious at best up to this point: the injured sea serpent and a young mage barely capable of casting without being overwhelmed by fear and his own stammer, a chocobo and a boy who threw bombs, a flying fire elemental with a wickedly explosive temper and a young woman almost painfully timid in comparison, and a taciturn woman of ice, the healing guardian and hot-headed Hippolyta… and now Merrion and this helpful creature of his. “It does seem to happen more frequently to mages than to those unskilled in the arcane arts,” she proposed. “Has your companion any insight to offer?” Merri fell quiet for a moment, trying to reach out to the creature. The art of communication with him was still something Merri was trying to work out; the conversations they’d had up to this point had been unusual, unnerving, and if Merri hadn’t known about others he might have thought himself insane. But Carbuncle had heard, and he answered in a way that Merri knew he could never quite explain to Peony. “He… it sounds like it was an unusual situation since most of the time… yes, I suppose it must be some sort of test. Whoever is deemed worthy…” Merri shook his head. “That doesn’t make sense. I was… no, I couldn’t have been.” But there was a confirmation of the claim, and Merri decided now was not the time to argue. So, he moved on. “Why mages specifically, he doesn’t seem to have an answer for it. Just… whoever is most worthy, depending upon the battle.” Then, Merri cringed and held his head. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I’m making any sense, and all of this is just…” Weird. “Not what I expected.” “You are answering to the best of your ability; you needn’t apologize. This is, in some ways, more informative than our attempt to speak with Lady Coulombe.” At the very least, Merrion had far more reasons to cooperate than the young noblewoman had had -- and perhaps the creature which had chosen him had a different sort of personality as well. “What he can share, I will be grateful to hear. What he cannot… there is no helping. But if his aim is to stop these attacks, then we are allies in every way.” She smiled faintly as she added, “That your worth was judged highly is not something that surprises me, Merrion.” Someday, he would surely grow to see his merits on his own, but as with many people, he was his own harshest critic. Merri’s cheeks tinged pink, and he managed a quiet “Thank you.” Again, he fell silent, trying once more to reach out to the little creature about the attacks. He had tried earlier, once he realized what was going on, but to no avail; today seemed little better. The silence seemed like a concerned one, but again, Merri felt as though he wouldn’t get anything new today. “He wants to help,” he said, “but… he doesn’t have any answers when I ask about the attacks. I can’t tell if it’s because he doesn’t know or if he does but he can’t, but… there’s nothing right now. He… he’s not like Vivian’s, that much I know for certain.” Merri pursed his lips for a moment, his eyes falling downcast. “But I also know it’s going to be impossible to convince anyone else of this. It’s why I’ve been avoiding leaving the Tower except to go to Ran’s. No one else knows except maybe the people who were at that battle, but I haven’t seen or spoken to any of them since.” He’d been too afraid, too shy to. “I would not publicize it,” Peony said. “You are correct to be wary of public opinion; even Hippolyta, who saved so many lives, is now suspect.” She paused before delicately saying, “I know that these creatures come in… variants. I believe you are right, and this one is more like Hippolyta’s -- now docile -- than the one which controlled Vivian. But if you ever find yourself feeling not quite right, I hope you will come to me at once.” Another pause. “Or Toku, of course.” Merrion and Toku had never been as close as she was with either of the men, but she did not doubt the sage would do everything in his power to help his colleague. “Have you spoken to him?” She suspected she had been the first. Merri shook his head. “No, only you,” he confirmed. “I know Toku has a lot more to worry about than this, and I don’t think that… I mean even if Carbuncle were to… go the way of Vivian’s beast that he would be no danger to Emillion by himself. And if he had been an enemy of ours before this--” He indicated the stone. “--then I’d have gone to the both of you at once, but…” He frowned. “Do you think Toku should know? He… should, shouldn’t he? In case?” "I would counsel against keeping this from him, yes," Peony said. "Not because I believe you will become a danger, but rather because if we cannot all trust each other, what hope do we have of righting this situation?" The unspoken truth hung plainly between them: the city is in peril, and no one else trusts us. He nodded. “Yes, that’s true. I’ll see if he has time later this week, or even today.” He paused. “But no one else?” He hadn’t even told Ran or Drake yet, and he wasn’t sure if he ought to. “Not unless you wish to tell them,” Peony agreed. “This is not a favorable climate for those in your situation.” A sad conversation, but then, so many were these days. “More tea?” she offered. Finally, Merri mustered up a small smile. “Yes, please.” At the very least, he could be rest assured that he was not alone, even if there weren’t others. Perhaps later, he might talk to them, but for now, he was content to share tea with a friend. |