002. [Action] - Backdated to slightly after Kissing Phoenix.

[makethemguilty]

What is the meaning of this?!…What the hell is wrong with this place? What are they putting in the air?!

[That…Phoenix had gotten a taste of the von Karmic perfection—quite literally—was like him drinking from the ambrosia of the gods, it was…forbidden! How could this be?! Why? What madness had overcome the both of them. He's evidently not pleased with the results, because he's currently isolated himself to a corner of the library.

The fact alone that he had kissed a defense attorney was a kind of relation that transgressed legal, moral, and professional norms…"Fraternization with the enemy", in effect.]

I will not allow this ridiculousness to continue!

[Of course after that entire mess he went to stalk the length of the castle corridors furthest from Wright as possible, vowing to never again seek out his company.

Little was he aware that nutcrackers abounded in this part of the library where he'd chosen to go, and that he'd done nothing to prevent encounters from happening with the other residents. It doesn't occur to him in fact, because he's having a rare moment in which his composure has slipped.


Manfred von Karma's s situational awareness was indeed lowered slightly, and despite the decorations of lights, tinsel, and other appropriate holiday fare, he stands right in the vicinity of the library where the nutcrackers happened to loom like little terrible dolls of ruination.

And with that, the dictation ends, for he's currently busy trying to recover his dignity.]


[ooc: Open to all for Kissmas things here, planned and unplanned!]

Comments

[makethemguilty]

[Far less in mind than what Miles no doubt envisioned. Manfred held that they did indeed require a conversation in private, far from the whimsies of the castle that kept...interrupting. So it was that he would pull them out of harm's way and down the flight of stairs to the third floor, where his room lay down the hall.

Before long, he unlocked the door, and pulled Miles inside shortly, closing it behind him. Much like the extravagance of his grandiose master bedroom back in Germany, this too reflected his elegant tastes, with high-vaulted ceilings, a fireplace in one corner, the beautifully carpeted floor, and a place dedicated to music as well. In fact, a well-polished, vintage-looking violin that replicated the one that he played on occasion back home set on a stand, near one of the stained-glass windows.

He gestured to the middle, where a sitting area was more than enough for them to discuss matters comfortably. And of course, a place where they might have a drink.]

Come….Sit.

[cantacquityou]

[Time seemed to distort in such a way that Edgeworth could barely figure out just how, or when, he got there.

He backs himself to the wall, clutching his head as if pulling on his hair would extract the dreadful memory of the kiss. He tries to recapture his control on the flow of time. He could not bring himself to sit just yet, nearly expecting Manfred to pull a gun from somewhere within his jacket. He could not escape the niggling, possibly irrational thought that he was not going to escape unscathed.

This sort of hysteria was uncharacteristic of Miles, but this was no normal circumstance by any means.]

[makethemguilty]

[Staring at him he knew the tell-tale signs of the other's frantic delirium. How he wished to rid him of it. For this was no nightmare in which they were both trapped...And if it was, then if he could draw his former pupil to him there was no telling what they could accomplish. Indeed, a plan was beginning to form in his mind. He gripped Edgeworth's shoulder with almost a bruising pressure, cutting in to those thoughts to pull him close, staring intently into his eyes.

Enough. A finality seemed to be in that gesture, in which he spoke in a voice that commanded his attention.]

Miles....Cease this at once! I am speaking to you for a reason. Pay attention! I did not invite you here for anything more than that. Or are you not aware...of the time from which I came?

[cantacquityou]

[Edgeworth fought the immediate urge to box Manfred's hand away. The memory of the kiss was still far too fresh to look at Manfred without feeling slightly nauseated, but he tilted his head up, reciprocating the stare, no matter how unpleasant the resulting sensation.]

...Excuse me?

[makethemguilty]

[Unbeknownst to the pair there lie something...sinister on the table near where they were speaking, a certain something which would compel them into following along with all the nonsense of earlier. But he wasn't gripped in its spell, quite yet. Rather, his focus was completely on Miles, for he wished the seriousness of his words to impact his student.]

I believe it had been mentioned to me before, that there are...different times in which those compelled here arrive. So I ask again, Miles: Are you not aware from whence I came?

[cantacquityou]

...The way you greeted me initially on our first encounter I thought to be an overt clue. Sometime after the 28th of December, 2017... Might I have discerned unreasonably?

[makethemguilty]

[Manfred stood stiffly, yet did not avoid the subject. The gravity of his intense stare and the solemnity of his visage indicating that what Edgeworth had said was indeed truth.]

You have not.

[cantacquityou]

[Edgeworth similarly stiffened. As much as he had expected his suspicions to be confirmed, having Manfred verify them made way for even more questions. For one, why was he summoned here? He gestured in silent behest to offer an explanation with a slight raise of the brow and nod of the head.]

[makethemguilty]

[It is a heavy burden to bear, knowing the hour of one's death. But to a man like himself, it only furthered what he was about to say. The charade...had ended. What was left but to move on? The possibility, however small, did exist.]

I have paid my dues, Miles.

[cantacquityou]

[He gripped his arm, facing away with his characteristic sign of discomfort.]

...and dues amass interest. What makes you so certain that you have paid in full?

[makethemguilty]

[What gall was this! What nerve! That Edgeworth should demand "interest"?!

Manfred regarded him with a smoldering gaze, no less indignant at this…childish behavior than if the other had struck him upon the face.

Did he think him so foolish he'd allow him to take advantage of the situation?

Did I not sustain you, Edgeworth? Did I not school you, give you every means to succeed, and take you under my wing? Did you not go without want?

For fifteen years…

I gave you everything. What more could I possibly give...more so than my life?

[cantacquityou]

[It is by this that Edgeworth convinces himself that Manfred has an ulterior motive of sorts... After all, the last exchange between them involved Manfred threatening to bury him by his own hand. However, it could have easily been a flawed supposition, as nothing concerning Manfred could have been so obviously transparent. Come to think of it, what of Manfred's loss? It was quite likely that like himself, Manfred may have been robbed of crucial memories, thus influencing his current behavior.

With so many holes, compounded with those of his own loss, Edgeworth found it difficult to respond as he would have preferred. Perhaps a mild appeasement would prolong the search for truth.]





...You did.

[makethemguilty]

Answer me, Edgeworth!

[He let his cane resound against the floor, striking it with force. His voice boomed, the tone in which he raised given only to command his protégé's attention.]

[cantacquityou]

...Have I not? What more of a response could you have possibly expected?

[makethemguilty]

...

I asked you: What more…could you possibly require? What do you want that I have not given? Well? What is it?

You're trying my patience, Edgeworth.

[cantacquityou]

...As of now, I require nothing. What has been done cannot be undone, and were I to put into mere words what I would have preferred, they would serve to only mitigate the truest extent of my wishes.

I could say that I want answers, but long since the day your execution date was set, I came to accept that I forfeit any chance for closure.

[makethemguilty]

['What has been done cannot be undone'. And yet, the chance to start over was indeed present, should the circumstances presently allow it. The civility he was attempting to keep between them was starting to wear thin, if but for the influences of this place.

Miles would have to be patient too, if for only a while longer. Answers were…not to be given just yet. It was far too soon, for that.

He lessened the severity in his tone, hushing his voice only to keep it more meaningful, and yet...hesitating to reveal more than was absolutely necessary. ]

Do you not understand? Is this not a place where many have sought to begin anew?

Why, do you suppose, the reason might be, for me to bring you here, if not to extend an olive branch? Should you accept my proposal, then we may discuss the past...and put it behind us.