genessia | 22: Set Astray (Private Text, Action) (Hours after Battler's Open Post)

Entry tags:

22: Set Astray (Private Text, Action) (Hours after Battler's Open Post)

Text: Private to Ace D. Portgas, Smoker, Tashigi, Namur, Marco, Yang Xiao Long, Grell Sutcliff, and Yuugi Mutou

I need some time alone and will not be returning home for now. Please leave me be.

--------------------

ACTION: Phantomhive Manor Subarchway

[ It's been some time since she's encountered Battler, some time since she reunited him with Terra. Even now it still seems like a blur, one that nauseates her and makes her feel like her head is about to explode.

It's with the thought that no one will look for her in Everglade that draws her to it, but even there it is still bitterly cold. The only shelter she can find is trudging into a subarchway, exhausted by the time she seats herself outside an elaborate gate. Not only exhausted, but cold, weak, and bewildered.

There's a lot she can say about what's happened, and yet at once there's nothing at all. She's swimming in her own mind, nearly drowning and failing to notice anyone around her now that she's sitting there and at rest. The fact that she keeps going over what happened and can find no answers is what's most prevalent right now. ]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[ She can't do it.

Adela's cold and silent when it's all said and done. Battler is gone, but even when he was there she didn't strike him. She had the chance to, but she didn't. Would it have been better for her to strike him down? Did she do the right thing by letting him go, by letting him live? She doesn't know...

It leaves Adela standing there in the cold, some distance away from where she was, one hand gripping her bangs as she gets lost in her own thoughts again. It hurts. It hurts because she doesn't know. It hurts because she could have chosen wrong and she doesn't know and won't know until it's too late. It hurts because it doesn't feel like it's over at all, like all of this can blow up in her face at any second because she was foolish and cowardly and weak.

What keeps her from screaming is a mystery then, but it's probably not a good idea to stay still in the blizzard still blowing in the city. At that moment however, she's blind to anything and everything outside her own head. ]

Edited 2017-01-01 16:18 (UTC)

Take all the time you need. I can understand wanting to be alone sometimes, I understand it myself right now.

I just hope that by doing it, it will help you.

[Fortunately for Adela, Sebastian is on his way the estate. After he finished cleaning up his store with his party back in Nova City is finished, he went to his second home in Everglade.

So when he found this girl loitering outside the locked steel gates to his matter.]

Hello? Ms. Adela is it? What are you doing here late at night? It's dangerous to be out here.

[He opened the gate, so she can get in.]

Well, come on in. It's cold outside. I'll make you hot chocolate, if you like, and being it's late, you can stay overnight until morning.

You may not wish to speak with me anymore by the end of it, Yugi. It might be for the best to start that now.

What? Wait, I... You do not need to do that.

[ Adela shrinks a little more where she's sitting, looking away from Sebastian before slowly getting back to her feet. ]

I... I apologize, I will leave and go somewhere else.

[Why do ~~brats~~ children like to try the butler's patience? It's a good thing he's almost experience in the babysitting area.]

And would you rather be food for the rogue vampires or werewolves out here? I think your friends won' appreciate it. Therefore, you're my responsibility.

[With a gentle insistence.]

Please, come in. You'll be safe and you shall be treated to my hospitality, which Funtom Corp. is very well-known and famous for.

I...

[ It'd be no less than what she'd deserve, she wants to say -- to be preyed upon and torn apart. Maybe she does. She doesn't say anything else however, feeling more defeated than anything else with absolutely no will to defy or resist. Maybe that's for the best at the moment. ]

... Very well.

[ Adela slowly follows him then, her eyes on nothing more than the ground before her while she does. At least it'd probably be warmer in there. ]

[Honestly, from his point of view, with that guilty look on her face, she looks like a child who did something very bad and she ran away from her parents...or whoever is the guardian. Mabe an argument...?

In that case, Sebastian will have to take care of her until things settled down. He leads over the pathway through the front yard, where there is a fountain and iced over trees and sculptured animal shaped bushes frozen over ~~Jack gets creative with the ice sculptures.~~ Being it's too cold late at night, the stray cats were inside the house.]

I believe you have not been here before, but welcome to my estate, the Phantomhive Manor.

[His demeanor is warm and friendly, which he carried for his young customers in his shop. He opened the large double door to his home, and when she enters inside, it's very well-lit and warm, and there are cats sleeping on the grand stairs, and they just...wandered all over place.]

If you follow me to the dining room, you shall have hot chocolate...unless you preferred something else like tea or coffee?

You need not be so kind, allowing me to stay here is already more than enough.

[ In a better state of mind she might have commented on the elaborate ice sculptures, but instead she's just quiet.

Adela takes a bit to look around, pausing every so often to kneel beside the cats curious enough to approach and sniff at her. If they let her, she'll gently pet the ones who demand attention and relax a little when she does. ~~Cat therapy is the best therapy~~

It also means she's going to be some distance away if Sebastian happens to notice that she's lagging behind. ]

You can stay as long you like. I'm not here on weekdays because I have to work in Nova City to take care of the company.

[The cats are friendly and they enjoyed human contact and the pettings.

Sebastian went to the kitchen while Adela make herself comfortable in the dining room. In the meanwhile, feel free to oooh and ahhh at the luxury of the place, and play with the cats.

Sebastian came back with a silver tray with a mug of hot chocolate with floating marshmallows, some sweet treats of cookies and chocolate, and a tray of snacks with crackers, cheese, and a fruit salad. Very simple foods.]

Here, please help yourself to eat.

... Thank you.

[ She does take the mug, wincing at how hot it is -- she's still chilled to the bone, so maybe she should let the drink cool a bit before trying to drink it. She'll go for the crackers, cheese, and fruit for the time being above the cookies and chocolate -- possibly a clue at her preferences.

She finally does meet his eye then, and at this time she knows she looks more tired than anything else. ]

I do not understand why you would be so kind to me. We have only barely met, and I was sitting outside your home... You do not know if I was here to break into it, or to steal what you own, or well... Anything like that. Is it just that you are that type of person?

I...actually have no idea what is going on. Why you're in Everglade anyway? Did you have an argument with someone? I honestly thought you're a runaway.

[At her question.]

I was a butler to a child. I know how children are. And anyway, it's get quiet and lonely in the house, and I can't be a playmate to the cats all the time. I have to work to earn money to maintain this big house.

And anyway, I won't shoo away someone who is of the same kin as me.

[Sebastian smiled as she drinks in her hot beverage. That should warmed her up. He wonder if she picked up the hint that he's not an ordinary businessman in Nova City.]

Edited 2017-01-01 18:03 (UTC)

[ She wants to argue that she's not a child, but maybe it's a moot point. After all, an adult would know right from wrong, at least better than she does.

The comment about kin gets her attention however, and she seems startled at his last statement. ]

Then... You as well, Sebastian?

[ She doesn't drink any more of the hot chocolate for the moment (still a bit too hot), looking at him, trying to search for a more clear answer. It doesn't last and she sighs, looking back down at the mug as she tries to think over what to say. ]

... My father was human, but it is as you say -- my mother was not.

[ Another few moments, and she adds something else because Sebastian deserves that much at least. ]

And I did also run away, though not because of an argument. I... I feel I need time, to sort out my own thoughts away from everyone I know. I do not want their pity, and I had thought Everglade would be the best place to go to avoid them as I normally do not wander here at all. The subarchway was warmer than simply wandering the streets -- I was not here for very long when you came across me.

Unless you did something truly horrible to warrant me never wanting to, I very much doubt it.

After all... I don't want to lose another friend.

[Sebastian give a bit of a chuckle, then in a wry tone.]

A full fledge, full blooded demon that likes to mingle with aristocrats on the mortal realm. I'll say, you have an interesting heritage with both of the best worlds.

That's fine. You can stay as long as you like and my staff here can tend to you if you need something from the kitchen.

[Then being thoughtful and considerate.]

Though I wonder what of your puppy? He's welcome to stay with you. Is somebody tending to him?

[Sebastian disliked dogs, but...he can tolerate them.]

What? I... I am not of the aristocracy at all. I only speak like this because my uncle raised me to.

[ ~~She is but her mun needs to actually get that far in writing her story so until then~~

She grimaces at the question though, feeling more uncomfortable and occupying her gaze with one of the cats. That's just easier for her right now. ]

Ash is in good hands -- with Smoker and miss Tashigi. That aside, going to retrieve him would defeat the purpose and lead them right to me, would it not?

That's fine, I still don't mind either way.

[Since she's not eating one of the chocolates, Sebastian help himself to one.]

You can ask Smoker or Miss Tashigi to bring him over, and if they're your friends, they're welcome to come over. I would think Ash will have fun exploring my forest or my gardens.

When I opened this manor, I have ideas to make it open to the public, but I don't have a good idea as to how as the weather is absolutely dreadful.

[Usually back home, the manor is private property and no one is allowed inside, but Sebsatian knew his manor is an illusion...but a very useful one.]

[ The words just make it harder. She has to swallow back the fresh emotion at at it, and in a few minutes Yugi does get another couple of replies. ]

I aided Battler, Yugi. I helped him to find Terra. I did not stop him from leaving afterwards.

I do not know if it was right of me to do, but I had the chance to kill him and did not. I was a fool to believe him, even if he was honest this time. I knew he could still bring harm, and I still let him go. He could still hurt so many because I was a fool.

[Lord of the Sea, at least she's safe. Namur couldn't move fast enough, feeling always five steps behind and two minutes too late since he realized that Adela had met with the asshole. It occurs to him now he probably should have raised hell on the networks, got Smoker and Ace and Marco on the move. They might have been closer starting out, instead of across the entire shitting world in Everglade.

Oh well, he finally found her, in spite of the wind and the snow, and she wasn't ripped to pieces. Namur breathes a sigh of relief, catching his breath for a moment before moving up alongside and tugging on her ponytail.]

Hey. How'd it go?

I do not want to see them.

[ It's unsaid, but more than likely if there's even a hint of one of her friends on the manor grounds she'll try to leave immediately. She shakes her head then, her grip tightening on the mug before her before she forces herself to relax. No sense in accidentally breaking it, after all. ]

I cannot face them, or any of the others I know. Not now. Not after what has happened.

I assume you original intention was to kill him, but choose to help for the sake of someone else. That's understandable and not something I would hate someone for.

I mean I didn't aid him, I went on my own because I refuse to be near him and plus better to look in different places than have two people looking in the same places.

So your already much stronger than I am in that way.

[ She winces at the tug but otherwise doesn't move, not looking at Namur -- she doesn't need to in order to know it's him, his voice and shadow are large enough for her to know for sure. But what can she say?

She shakes her head, unsure of what else to say or do. Unsure of what Namur would think of her. She can't face him. She can't face anyone. Not like this. ]

I do not know.

[ Her voice is quiet when she speaks, and the next thing she says might be almost impossible to hear in the wind. The weight of the words, of the action that requires them, still feels like it's crushing her. ]

I let him go.

[ Not "I was too scared to move". Not "He got away". She made the choice to leave him be once Terra was found. She didn't strike him down, like she probably should have. Even if it might have been in vengeance and rage, it would have protected so many people, and yet she... ]

I do not know if that is what I did or if I simply did not want his blood on my hands, Yugi. It might have been because I have never killed before and could not bring myself to do it, even if it would have been for the best if I had. I still do not know for certain what stayed my hand back then. I do not know why I acted as I had.

You paint too good a picture for me. I am not as good as that.

[ A few minutes, and another text arrives. ]

I told myself it would be enough if he never brought harm to anyone else. Now, I do not know if I can feel that way, or if I ever truly did in the first place.

[With a nod, with empathy]

I see. So you would rather hide in here? If I ever see them, I won't say anything or tell them that you're here...until you find the courage to face them.

Though if anyone ask you, you can say I hire you to be a caretaker of the animals here. I can pay you with a salary if you want during your stay here.

It is very kind of you to offer that much.

[ Adela nods, pausing as she thinks it over.

... No, she can't do this. Not when Sebastian's been nothing but kind to her. She sighs, shoulders slumping as she steels herself for what might come. ]

I would not blame you for withdrawing that offer, but right now you are harbouring someone who aided a known criminal and allowed him to walk free. A criminal who brought a great deal of suffering to many here... Myself included.

It would be for the best if I left.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 1 of 3

22: Set Astray (Private Text, Action) (Hours after Battler's Open Post)

CLOSED - Namur, immediately post-Battler.

text;

[Action]

text;

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

text;

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

text;

no subject

[Action]

text;

no subject

text;

[Action]

[Action]