paradisa | Distractions Are Needed [action + dictated ]

[Ashura is out in town today, dressed in the bright green and white offered to him by the festival, his hair done up in a swirl of black and gold. He has a small cloth sack with him, emblazoned with his familial symbol, avoiding looking at the elders - not because he has no respect for them, but because.. he does not like looking at the dead. He spent to many years looking at the dead, and some dreaming of them. Felix kept the more prominent of them at bay, but sometimes... seeing things that amounted to ghosts made it hard. He needed a distraction. He needed to go in and examine things and taste them - hence his visit to the sweet shops (all of them), to the flower shops to see if any blooms might be in for the winter season, and admire the decorations (they, at least, did not make him think of the dead in his life).

He pauses at a small shop to drink hot chocolate, savoring the sweetness and the warmth in his hands, licking a bit of the cream from his lips as he gazed out, looking at the journal open beside him as he enjoyed his drink.]

I do not like ghosts. Or shades. Or shadows. Whatever you want to call them. Ghosts are memories made real, but they should stay in your mind, not out where everyone can see.

[His piece said he continued on with his drink, needing the warmth.]

[Felix]

[Ashura returned from town, setting his things aside, except for one box wrapped with a ribbon.]

Felix? Are you here or are you out?

[ooc: Poke Ashura around town or respond via the journal~ everybody welcome :D ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I don't...hate it, I'm just not very good at it.

[He leaned forward slightly to give Ashura more access, chuckling softly]

Well, I'm not sure where we could go, given the weather. Mineas Well? Do the seasons even affect the Dead Zone? And we'd have to ask Flora for permission to stay, assuredly.

There's supposed to be the remains of a tower in the outer lands somewhere. It would be fairly isolated, but we would have to wait until spring for that...

[Plus, he'd be curious to see if it might contain some clues about the castle]

How about we start with having lunch together so that you at least spend an hour away from those books during the day?

_{[He grinned, running his fingers against his neck, going down to the base and swirling his thumb in the last, tiny hairs.]}

[He shivered a little at that]

Mmmm...it's a start.

What are you working on anyways? Still the different theories of magic?

_{[He rubbed his thumb hard into the back of his neck, easing the knot.]}

[He sighed, waiting a minute for the pain to ease away before speaking]

Actually I got a little sidetracked by this odd little festival the castle is holding. It's the first time I've actually seen ghosts that look like actual people.

_{[His hands still a bit, a few heart beats, and then continue their motions, though now he comes around Felix and settles into his lap to continue his work.]}

What did ghosts look like in your world?

[Felix doesn't notice the pause, lost as he is in the feel of Ashura's hands]

Like themselves, but transparent. Most people can't see them at all but, well, I remember I saw a lot of them when I...wasn't myself. A...friend of mine could see them as well, and through him I devised a way to see them myself, if I wished.

Why would you want to?

_{[He took Felix's hand, slowly kneading the palm, wrist, and fingers, leaning more against him and resting his head in the crook of his neck.]}

[He hummed happily, closing his eyes and letting his head rest against Ashura's]

Curiosity, mostly. He was annemer and I wanted to know how it worked. Cabalines don't even believe in ghosts, but our magic is more connected with the spirit world than anything else, I think.

But also, well...there was a particular ghost...

Which one?

_{[He looked up at him as he continued to work his hand.]}

[He watched Ashura through his lashes as he spoke, letting the words fall out of his mouth without thinking about the story behind it. But it was maybe the last good thing he'd done back home, and part of him didn't mind remembering]

A boy. A former Cordelian prince who'd been raised by some fool wizards about a hundred years before I came along. I encountered him in my madness, in the crypts beneath the Mirador. At the time I couldn't help him...my magic was gone, among other things...but I promised him that I would if I ever could.

That was very kind of you.

_{[He kisses his cheek, shifting to work on his other hand now.]}

[He blushed] I was really the only one who could. Cabalines don't believe in ghosts.

Then you are kinder - to buck tradition and take on the weight of a purpose by yourself. No easy thing.

_{[He kisses his lips this time.]}

[He kisses back softly, still blushing, and sighs, his head falling backwards against the back of the chair]

I didn't exactly choose to see ghosts the first time. But I found it hard to ignore it after the fact.

But you could have, nonetheless.

_{[He nuzzled his throat.]}

[He draped an arm leisurely around Ashura's back, and answers with a whisper.]

No...I couldn't have.

_{[He turns the other's head to face him, kissing gently.]}

You are a good man, love.

[He sighed deeply into the kiss]

Am I? What does it mean that my greatest kindness was to the dead?

It means much. Because who is ever kind to the dead?

Only those who lack the ability to be kind to the living.

_{[He stroked his hair and kisses his forehead, humming.]}

Still....

[He closed his eyes and smiled sadly]

You would make a hero of me no matter what I say.

Distractions Are Needed [action + dictated ]

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