( closed ) february catch all

[baguablade]

Who: Cain (baguablade) & various
What: quests and February events
When: all throughout February
Where: Olympia
Warning(s): none at the moment

Individual starters below. If you want to plot something out, contact me at idelva.

Comments

[baguablade]

[ It's an out. One of the few times that Percival's offering one, the few times that Percival's letting Cain off, telling Cain that he doesn't have to explain anything. And yet... and yet that makes it worse, somehow. It makes it feel even more like Cain does owe an explanation. Percival's being kind, even with the mess between them, the careful distance that Percival's chosen, and yet here he is, comforting Cain, holding Cain in his arms, letting Cain cry on him without even asking for anything in return.

For once, it feels... easy to explain. For once, Cain wants to.

He shakes his head, still without looking up, but the words come freely. It's not any more upsetting to tell this than it had been to see Abel, at least. ]

No, it's... It's not too upsetting. It happened a long time ago, before I even came to Idelva. When Torhid fell.

[tzaraisen]

[ He doesn't mind continuing to hold him. Not right now, anyway, when it seems to help the other man calm down. But they do need to move, lest they risk whatever gave Cain those visions coming back and claiming either of them again. So, he leans down, lifting the other man into his arms and continuing to walk as he speaks. His own voice is carefully low. ]

How did he die?

[baguablade]

[ It says a lot to how shaken Cain is that when Percival scoops him up, Cain doesn't even make a token protest, just curls himself closer against Percival's chest, buries his head a bit more against Percival's shoulder, all the better to make sure that he doesn't accidentally catch a glimpse of the jungle and whatever might be waiting out there in it. He's at least in control of himself enough to shift his arms, looping them around Percival's neck to make it easier to carry him, but that's it; otherwise, he's not quite limp, but he's unresisting, a small, unhappy weight in Percival's arms. ]

In the fighting. I've told you some of it, how Torhid was rotten, eaten away from the inside by its own corruption. My brother was an officer in the army, and he was in the capital when the great destruction came and the fighting broke out. Right in the thick of the worst of it.

[tzaraisen]

[ For some time, the only sound is Cain's voice, low and unhappy, and the crunching of greenery beneath his feet. At times, it's easy to forget that Cain bears a heavier burden that he lets on. This serves as a cruel reminder that that constant smile is likely for the benefit of others. ]

Tell me about him. [ This time, the if you wish is implied. They'll soon be out of the area, but his physical and emotional support stays. ]

[baguablade]

[ Cain doesn't speak for several minutes. It'd be easy to think that he's not going to, but the reality is that he's gathering his thoughts, trying to collect himself. Speaking about his brother isn't easy for him even with those who knew Abel; he barely speaks of his brother with Leona, has had a single conversation about Abel with Reinhardtzar, and only because Reinhardtzar had cornered him at his brother's grave. Of all the secrets that Cain keeps, the memories of his brother are some of the things he keeps most guarded.

Having them brought to the surface brings the grief swelling up, too close to overwhelming him. With it, comes all the things he doesn't want anyone to know. The guilt, the regret, the ever-present ache. The thought that's always lingering in his mind that it'd be better if his brother was here instead of him, that he's the one who should have died—

But he swallows all of that down and focuses only on what Percival had asked him, and though his voice is thick, still a little wet, he manages to eventually answer. ]

He was... very kind. He was the perfect big brother. He doted on me, he always made time for me even when he was busy, he spoiled me rotten... Our parents died when I was young, and he practically raised me. For a long time, he was all I had.