kepthishead:

leolikestoread:

Elliot looked back making sure Leo wasn’t about to get lost in this new place, although he was somewhat a new resident, the noble already knew his way around, at least to the places that were important, and a few others he used to get away from the people who annoyed him per usual. He also found the music shop, one that was abandoned, apparently people found no happiness in playing an instrument which the noble found extremely pathetic, then again the emptier it was  the better to practice those long and endless hours of piano all alone.

“This way Leo, don’t you go around getting lost, there’s no fancy way in this island, me being a Nightray apparently means nothing, though my brother Gilbert is around… I can’t offer you more than my guidance and company now…”

Sort of hurtful… to say something like that to him… His duty was to protect him, and now… he wasn’t even able to provide the essential, as this houses lacked a lot of things they had back in the Nightray manor. Could happen that now they were both in the same position and Leo wouldn’t have any reason to be by his side anymore. The thought of this gave him a knot in the stomach. How much he’d hate this to happen, however… if Elliot here had no position he had nothing to offer to Leo, and like that he’d let him go, even if this pains him.

The question made him snap out of his own thinking, how long it’s been since he arrived? Many days have gone by, many weeks as well… 

“Eh, long enough to know this place quite well I suppose…” 

Even if Elliot felt like he could say more, explain more, he knew what was going through Leo’s mind, and he knew that he wasn’t going to like it if he came to terms of sharing them with him. Whatever happened in the past had no effect in the present anymore, at least not in this island… So why would Leo feel like a weird one in this new place? He would always go on his guilt tripping and how he wished he had never done things, even though Elliot knew him very well, he’d never listen when the youngest of the Nightray family expressed his gratitude for having him around.

Cheering up his equal was a must nonetheless, he knew Leo won’t smile that much because that wasn’t him, but making it easier as much as he could was the first thing on his mind… There were still a lot of pros of being here. No school, well, not that attending it really bothered either of them, or reading, but at least there was a library in here, and the music shop so far would help keep them sane, if it helped Elliot it would help Leo as well.

“No, not at all, actually it feels like I’ve gone back in time, not until a few weeks ago we got electricity…and people dress differently… there’s no school anymore, Leo… no more Lutwidge, but there is a library, so we won’t get bored anytime soon… people are annoying as hell, I got in a fight with a few ones.”

“And the best of this? I found an abandoned music shop, no one seems to go there, it’s dusty, rustic, but it has a few instruments, a piano included… so well, you know we can practice there for the sake of doing so.” 

The small smile in Elliot’s face was genuine, he was actually feeling content, after all that time apart from his best friend… A second chance to do so much more and different things, even if Leo would never stop throwing things at him. It was still enjoyable, his company, even with his silence just how it used to be, and somewhere within Leo there might also be a small share of happiness for the rein counter, or at least that’s what he expected. 

“So don’t go thinking of the past, because… so far it’ll be pointless in this place…”

[Oh hello there, confusion. It’s nice to meet you.

Not really. Leo’s hates it—he hates it, hates it, hates it, this sense of being cut off from reality, of not being able to tell what’s real anymore. He hates it. Leo hates how he can’t understand why everything is going back to normal, how it feels like waking up in Pandora with only empty words to go on, all over again.

But Leo goes along with it, anyway.]

“Since when have you cared about status? If I remember correctly, you were more impressed with impertinence than anything.”

“Your company should be enough. Just promise you won’t be annoying again and interrupt me when I’m reading.”

[Elliot’s optimism is kind of contagious. But the more he thinks about it, the surer he is. Wouldn’t it be so nice to let it pass again, just like how he let it pass before? Leo’s always been different, so it shouldn’t be this much of a surprise.

The way that Elliot looks at him is slightly annoying—as if Leo were a fragile thing that would break at a moment’s notice. But everything’s falling apart, than the entire world crumbling because there’s no set line between what’s real and what isn’t. That’s always been Leo’s problem, hasn’t it?

Still. Leo needs to calm down. There’s no proof of what really happened, and Elliot’s taken back his words. It’s not so far-fetched that Elliot, too, was simply confused when he spoke about the events of that night at the Orphanage. Hasn’t Leo confided some of the details of the dream to the Nightray?]

“Speaking of being annoying…you haven’t changed at all. Still the same short temper. I’m not surprised you got into fights.”

[Truly, it’s nice to be in the presence of someone he knows. And that person being Elliot is a bonus. Already, he knows their time will be divided between the library and the piano. Like it’s always been. 

If only Leo could get rid of the feeling of, thisisallalie.]

“But you won’t convince me that the past isn’t important.”

[It’s just as well that Leo can be very stubborn, too. So tell me already, Elliot. Don’t you think I deserve to know how much pain I unintentionally caused you?]

landscapesandwings:

A month had passed since a body had exploded in the Village of Wisdom, along with so many others. Some had gone because of murder, some hadn’t done a thing, some had been trapped by the collars, which is what had happened to this particular one; it had been a quick end.

Except it hadn’t been an end at all.

Lake Hevia was the place, and the sunset was about to come. A small, thin body lies right next to the lake, and if not by the fact that there was a slight twitch of hands, one could’ve guessed that it was lifeless. 

Very slowly, Daisuke Niwa opens his red eyes. Everything is blurry at first, but soon enough, an almost orange world fills his vision. The redhead sits up, and cautiously looks around. His head pivots up and down, and his fingers curl to feel the grass beneath them.

He recognized this place, thank goodness. It was called Arcadios, and he had been living there for a few months. This was Hevia, and getting to the villages was going to be hard, even if he started walking right now.

Like a newborn, Daisuke can’t find words. Even if he remembered faces and names, he couldn’t find any sort of impact from any of them. In fact, besides from memories, he can’t find anything at all; surprise, loneliness, longing, anger, sadness…nothing.

Grooooowl.

Except maybe hunger. 

“I wonder what I could even get at a time like this?”

[So everything is back to normal.

That’s incredibly hard to believe. Arcadios looks a lot…smaller, and it seems empty, as well. But maybe if Leo makes himself small enough, he can fit. His knees are tucked neatly under his arms, and he’s leaning against the trunk of the first tree he spotted.

Strange—how has he walked so far? A glance at the sun tells him it’s been longer than he thinks it is. 

Leo wants to sleep, and wake up to everything making sense. It’s impossible, but he entertains himself with the thought. It wouldn’t be the first time he imagined something that wasn’t really there. But he knows for sure—at least, about the collars. It’s a matter of luck that he had somehow survived.

I can walk back tomorrow, he thinks. There’s not really a choice, anyway. It’ll be too dark by the time I arrive if I start now.

If he has to have a name for it, Leo would say he’s in armadillo position; his chin rests on the crevasse between his knees, and he’s doing his best to tune out the rest of the world. Which is why he takes a while to respond.]

“Get…?” 

“Are you looking for something?”

[Wow, someone’s actually out here! Then again, Leo didn’t know Arcadios had a lake until now. It’s time to go someplace other than the library.]

What is your character’s ranking on the Kinsey Scale?

Around three. He’s not very picky about gender, as long as whoever it is can get along with him. It doesn’t sound like much, but Leo was really choosy about people in general—well, before he met Elliot. Leo didn’t like it when someone interrupts him while he’s reading, most nobles, noisy people. The list goes on.