brilith.

[oathic]

Comments

[infire]

What about me? I'm not interested in questioning you when you should be resting. How many times do I have to tell you that you can't do things like this while you're injured before it sticks?

[ her words are lacking the fire they'd normally have, under any other circumstances. she's tired, and... maybe there's something else, too, but she won't own up to any of it yet. ]

I needed a break, so I...

[ wanted to check the flowers, and see if they can be replaced, but she trails off before saying so. seeing them like this... it breaks her heart in a way she can't admit to agni, not now. ]

[oathic]

... Should I leave, then?

[if she'd rather be alone right now.]

[infire]

...No. It's fine.

[ how can brilith tell him that she's relieved that he's alright? how much of that is out of concern for their universe, and how much is this wretched body of hers, and the memories and habits attached to it? her hands curl into fists, sharp nails easily piercing the skin of her palms, but brilith ignores it, kneeling before the ruined patch of flowers with a sigh.

her heart still beats faster than she'd like, after... everything, from the past few days, no matter how hard she tries to control it. it's harder here, somehow, where she doesn't have to play a part and act proper - or maybe that, too, is just a habit left over from brilith ruin. ]

I thought you'd go somewhere else, after spending so long out here.

[oathic]

It's not as if anywhere else is better.

[besides, he figures he should at least make himself accessible if people want to talk to/yell at him.]

And I wanted to check up on the flowers, though it may be too late for them.

[infire]

[ she'll nod slowly, unfurling her fist and ignoring the drops of blood as she picks up a trampled sunflower. it's a stark contrast, against the black of her palm. ]

Yes, I think it is. I'll replant them, once Luna is up and running properly again.

[oathic]

... We probably won't have enough time for them to sprout again. But it's better than nothing.

[infire]

Maybe not, but I don't want to leave them like this.

[ she falls quiet for a long moment, but it's only after she lets the sunflower fall back to the ground that she finally asks the one question that's bothered her most. ]

Why didn't you tell me?

[oathic]

Well, it never really came up.

[they talked a grand total of once that wasn't in public?]

[infire]

[ she glances up at him, mild irritation in her eyes at the excuse. ]

You still could have found me and told me what you were planning to do. Why didn't you?

[oathic]

I had no plans of telling anyone besides Hunter, since I needed him to give me the flute. He suggested telling Beau on Thursday, and I agreed because I thought being involved would help her state of mind, after last week.

Jin Ling was unintentional. Even if you'd known, would it have changed anything?

[thought you didn't want to have anything to do with him, brilith.]

[infire]

[ he's right, and that's why brilith averts her gaze again as she stands, irritated with agni and with herself and everyone else. she shouldn't be hurt by it. as she'd told chuuya, it was the logical move, to keep as few people involved as possible. but it doesn't change the gut reaction she'd felt when she was told he might be in danger, or the lingering feelings of a weaker priestess who always wondered how little trust her god had for her.

so in the end, she says nothing, unable and too tired to argue, and unwilling to say how she might have felt. ]

[oathic]

[...]

I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention to hurt you.

[in the end, maybe he should've told others. but it's like he told lio: by this point in his life, he's forgotten how to ask for help. he's fought alone for so long, as the outsider among the gods, that it doesn't even occur to him to get others involved.]

[infire]

[ ah... those are the last words she wants to hear. maybe it would have mollified her, just a little, before she'd awoken, but now... ]

Every time, you always try so hard to protect me. [ her voice is just a whisper, eyes still turned away, unable to meet agni's. ] Have you ever once thought of bothering to protect yourself?

[oathic]

... I wasn't going to die. I promised Hunter and Beau that much—that if it came down to it, I would choose my life over the monster's. And I wouldn't have gone out if I wasn't confident that I could kill it.

[it's not an answer to her question.

because really, the answer is that of course he hasn't.]

[infire]

[ promised them, and couldn't be bothered to tell his own betrothed... hah, she really hates how bitter that makes feel, so she just. won't acknowledge it. ]

Our universe needs you, Agni, far more than it needs me. [ they don't even want her, brilith thinks, but doesn't say. ] No matter what happens here, you need to return.

[ she finally looks back at him, trying to look stern and falling closer to exhausted than anything else. ]

I can't heal you if you're already dead.

[oathic]

[what agni doesn't say is, i need you.]

... I'm still alive, Brilith.

[infire]

For now. If you keep being so reckless, you won't be that way for much longer. But I suppose it's useless to try to instill a sense of mortality in a god.

[oathic]

... It doesn't matter now. I've played all the cards I had, and I imagine everyone will be keeping a close eye to ensure I don't do anything again, regardless.

[infire]

[ she closes her eyes, fists shaking at her sides as the nails dig in once more. ]

You really are an idiot. You make yourself such an easy target.

...Do you want the monster serum back?

[oathic]

[listen, he tried really hard on thursday night, and all he got for it was doing so well that it looped back to failure and setting his cr on fire, unfortunately.]

No. You keep it.

[infire]

[ any other answer would have surprised her, honestly. there's a resigned sigh, and her voice turns... pleading, almost, like the old brilith is leaking through and she hasn't noticed in time to stop it. ]

Then be more careful. They keep saying it will get worse from this point, and you can't afford to die here.

[oathic]

Well, this makes for two monsters I've killed, so maybe that'll scare them off...? At the very least, since the house gave me my voice back, I don't think it's out to target me specifically.

[infire]

[ that isn't reassuring... but of course the second brilith registers her own disappointment, she reels back immediately. no, she doesn't want reassurance. she doesn't need it. all she needs is for agni to return home in one piece, with ot without her - that part doesn't matter. ]

Proving yourself a threat doesn't make you any less of a target. You should know better than to believe that.

[oathic]

... Well, we'll see. Who knows what will happen next week?

[infire]

[ gods really never change, do they. ]

...Just don't do anything stupid. We're running low on recovery items, and I'm not going to waste mine because you keep forgetting you're injured.