007 | Action / Video

[keyandstar]

ooc: Finally coming back from what turned out to be an incredibly long hiatus, sorry about that everyone. After some thinking and discussing I decided that what makes the most sense (I should have thought about this in advance I know) is that Lirael here has been mallynapped. This is her return home after that experience. She's fine, just a little confused since it's been weeks.

Action:

[ If anyone wants to wander into a slightly confused and disoriented Lirael, this is your chance. Break time and space and go crazy, she can be just about anywhere but eventually she does make her way back to house 44 and gets inside, at which point she immediately heads for the kitchen and starts rummaging around to find something to eat. She's a little too out of it to actually manage anything constructive though so she might need a hand. ]

Video:

[ Once the dust has cleared and Lirael has been fed and rested and had a bath and all of that good stuff, she makes one of her rare and usually brief video appearances because ugh showing her face to everyone is just so very awkward. Still, it felt like it might be a good idea since she's been gone for quite a while. ]

Uh, hello. I don't know if... [ If anyone noticed? That sounds a little rude, doesn't it? ] I mean... um... I've been gone for a while. Apparently.

I just wanted to say that I'm back now, and I'm fine. In case someone was... Just... In case.

[ Yes Luceti, the Queen of Awkward has indeed come back to you. Aren't you all so glad? ]

Comments

[keyandstar]

[ Not a nuisance to Lirael, who is quite happy to provide pettings and scratchings and all such things. ]

I'm a little confused and disoriented... but other than that I think I'm fine.

[windandrain]

Lucky.

[Saori's smile grows sardonic as she rises and heads towards the refrigerator.]

You look like the walking dead, dear. Have a seat at the table and I'll make something to eat. How does bacon and eggs sound? Or would you prefer pancakes?

[keyandstar]

I really like pancakes.

[ Something she learned here in Luceti, actually.

She gets to her feet and does as told, taking a seat by the table. ]

[windandrain]

Well we'll have that then.

[Saori pulls out a bowl of batter she'd put away a while ago and starts up the stove. Turning, she leans against the counter and looks at Lirael.]

I'm sorry you were taken, dear. You've been gone a while, though. A good many things have happened, but I'm glad to see you.

[keyandstar]

I'm glad to see you too. How long was I gone? And... what's been happening? Is everyone all right?

[windandrain]

A month, perhaps longer. I've been preoccupied, unfortunately.

[With a sigh, she raises her hands and gestures to the walls.]

The most obvious change is the house itself. I'm sure you saw what Helios and I did to it. And...honestly I'm not sure everyone is alright. Physically, at least we're all fine though.

[keyandstar]

I did see, it was... a little confusing, I thought I'd gotten lost at first.

[ She gives Saori a thoughtful look. ]

Are you one of the people you're not sure about?

[ Because in all honesty Saori seems sad, though Lirael isn't sure how to approach that, or even if she should. ]

[windandrain]

I am.

[She turns away and pours the batter into the pan, letting it sizzle]

But you needn't concern yourself with me. I'll be fine in time.

[She just had her Luceti life flipped on ear is all. But Lirael deserves to know, at least.]

There were changes in my personal life. I left Clint, and I'm no longer speaking with Adele.

[keyandstar]

Why?

[ It comes out rather bluntly, but it's only because Lirael is so surprised. ]

[windandrain]

Why did I leave Clint?

[Saori shakes her head and flips the pancake over, unable to look at Lirael right now.]

Because he deserves someone better than me. And more happiness than I can give him. All I'll bring is pain in the end.

[keyandstar]

But if you love each other...?

[ Lirael's sentence goes unfinished, because she doesn't quite know what to say. It's not like she knows anything about relationships. ]

[windandrain]

[Saori's shoulder's shake slightly at the words and she busies herself plopping a finished pancake onto a plate and pouring batter for another.]

I do...love him. That's why it's wrong for me to...to...stay with him.

[Okay, she's not really as okay as she thought, but she soldiers on.]

I can't ask a man I love to grow old and die while I remain young. And then there's the matter of the nature of this world, and Yuuna.

[keyandstar]

I've never heard anyone complain about having a young and beautiful wife.

[ Just saying. ]

Um... Yuuna?

[windandrain]

Even if they're dying and I'm not? No, that breeds resentment. And I've no way to make him immortal in kind. I can do that only once.

[And there's the rub. At the mention of her partner, though, her face loosens considerably.]

And I've done that. For Yuuna. I've mentioned her, I know. My eternal love. My companion, my partner and paramour. He knew of her before we became involved, and she...well...we've an agreement about this sort of thing. It's not as though a s heart is too small for more than one kind of love. But taking Clint home with me when I leave is unlikely, and leaving with him is not something I can do.

[keyandstar]

So you just decided that for him? I mean, if you don't want to be with him that's your choice of course, but you're only talking about him and what he might one day feel so it sort of sounds as it ought to be at least partly up to him too.

[windandrain]

I did. And...that's why it's difficult.

[Flip-sizzle-flip. It's all rote now.]

Lirael. I...just...I don't know. I didn't know. But Clint is a mortal. I am not. And I don't know if I can face his death when it comes. I think it would break me, losing someone that important. [She couldn't admit it to anyone else, but Lirael's safe enough. With a sign she plops out a second pancake and wobbles over to Lirael to offer the plate with unsteady hands.]

I'm a coward. A selfish coward. We were getting serious. And I ran. There were other reasons...like my broken promise...but at the heart of it I'm just a coward. I don't deserve him, and he should have better than me.

[keyandstar]

[ Lirael takes the plate and puts it on the table, then she gets to her feet and pulls Saori into a hug. ]

But you're wonderful.

[windandrain]

[The hug...honestly surprises her. She hesitates, but eventually does return it. She doesn't really know how to respond to that, but the words are a help. She did what she did for herself, and for him, and Yuuna. And...it was just not right. Maybe she had been arrogant, as Adele said, but it wasn't something a mortal could really understand.

For now though, she just wants Lirael to talk and help stem the flow of tears.]

[keyandstar]

I don't know if it helps you any, but I'd probably be terrified too if... if someone were to fall in love with me.

[ She strokes Saori's back soothingly, all the while feeling like she's absolutely terrible at this whole being a comforting and supportive friend thing. ]

[windandrain]

It...Lirael...one day you'll fall in love too. And you won't be scared of it. But it's...it's different for me. To love a mortal, knowing it will only end with pain.

[Worse than this? Probably. She remembers losing some human friends ages ago, and how hard it was on them and her, knowing she'd go on without them.]

At least this way...we'll be friends and he can find someone else to love. Like you will. And this way...without him I won't ever, ever forget my promise.

[keyandstar]

Your promise to Yuuna?

[ She's just guessing here. ]

[windandrain]

My promise to Yuuna. To never forget her, or place another above her.

[You guessed right.]

[keyandstar]

So why did you get involved with him in the first place?

[ Because that's a pretty heavy promise right there. ]

[windandrain]

I...honestly wasn't expecting it to get as serious as it did. I never, ever placed him above her in my heart, but the Malnosso...they made me break my promise. They made me forget her. And after that I started...well, I started thinking.

I...other people...told me there are different kinds of love, and that what happened was okay. But that didn't stop me from thinking, and worrying.

[keyandstar]

You do know that putting one thing next to another isn't the same as placing it above it, right?

[ Not that she feels as if she has any right to really speak here since she's never loved anyone at all like that, but still. ]