chavaniac | asgard au; vampire murder posse edition

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asgard au; vampire murder posse edition

[Well, that month or so of being away from Asgard was entirely unpleasant as far as Diva was concerned. Which wasn't entirely accurate, since she couldn't really remember it, but still. She had vowed to herself that she was always smart enough to not take off her bracelet for even a second, and yet, the past month was a grey fog. She had just come out of the fog by a bracelet being slipped on her wrist, and the vague memory of seeing her silver bracelet bounce off the pavement and roll into the sewer drain out of reach as she had taken it off for just a moment.

Her life is so hard, clearly.

She sighs a little as she opens the door of her home, not really yet aware of just how long she had been absent yet—She had guessed a week or so. It was going to be annoying to explain what had happened, so she had already resigned herself to feigning ignorance.]

Hey, I'm home.

[She didn't usually announce herself when she returned home, but it seemed appropriate for now.]

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[to say the sudden change in demeanor was troubling would be a bit of an understatement, but he's never been one to question the comings and goings of her emotions. worry creases his brow for a moment - no doubt pondering whether or not he had said something wrong to illicit that reaction - but that too fades quickly.

he pulls his hands from her when she shifts back into a seated position, folding them in his lap instead.] I imagine it must be difficult, returning to a place you didn't even know you had left. [he tugs at the cuff of his shirt sleeve and looks discomforted.] ...It was upsetting, but I don't mind waiting for you.

And if I hadn't come back?

[She glances back over her shoulder, since her legs are still thrown over the armrest of the sofa] What would you do?

What would I have done? [hm... not that he actually needs to contemplate his answer to this, but he makes a show of looking toward the ceiling with a thoughtful expression, anyway.]

...I would have continued to wait, I suppose. [even when the chances of seeing her again dropped to near impossible in his own world, he never quite deemed it a complete impossibility.] I would make certain the house was well-kept so that you would have a nice place to return to if you ever did come back, and I would wait.

[She laughs, but there's an almost mocking note to it]

Ha, of course! Chevalier are so good at waiting for me, after all.

[Diva runs a hand through her hair with a dark chuckle at that, because she had always been rather jealous that they got to stay awake, while she was forced by something she didn't understand or comprehend (nor did anyone else, for that matter) to sleep for thirty years. But the motion almost acts to brush away most of her irritation, and she just releases that twinge of bitterness with a sigh and begins to kick her feet idly.]

Hey, your Diva, she had to sleep too, right? For a long time, I mean.

[the corners of his lips twitch momentarily but he does a decent job at keeping his expression relatively placid. he doesn't want to accidentally sour the mood, or to allow his own to be brought down even a peg. today is for celebrating Diva's return, that's all.]

For several decades at a time every few years, yes. [he thinks it's a painful irony, having twenty-four hours a day seven days a week for all eternity to himself when he could only spend a fraction of that time with one of the only people he cared for.

he also no longer takes that fraction for granted now that even it is gone, which makes moments like this even more precious to him.]

Why do you ask?

Just curious. It wouldn't be fair if some other Diva didn't have to sleep like I do.

[She makes a thoughtful noise, then glances back toward him again] Do you think I'll have to sleep here?

[he laughs briefly, even if there's not much actual amusement behind it.] You don't have to worry about that. [and then she gets a curious look that barely manages to mask his concern] Do you feel like it might be possible?

[because really

how much would that suck]

...I don't wish to be overly-optimistic, but I'd like to think the gods would have the foresight to prevent one of their travelers from falling asleep for decades when any moment could turn into a critical one.

I don't know. When I died, there would have been another two years before I'd have to go to sleep again, so of course I'm not getting sleeping yet. It's still a while before I'd start to feel that way.

[She shrugs] I hope you're right, though. I hate going to sleep. Still... I wonder how it would work? Like, what if your blood didn't work because you weren't my Carl? I guess I'd be like sister then, huh? How weird.

[there's a little wince at that. part of the reason he can cope with her death at all is by just plain not thinking about it, and he can't wrap his mind around how cavalierly she treats it.]

You ought to be fine for a while longer, then. If you start feeling tired in a year or two we can ask the gods to halt it. [a grimace] As useless as they are, they should be able to manage that much. ...That way, we wouldn't have to worry about whether or not my blood would be good enough in this situation, either.

Mm, that would be good. I definitely don't want to sleep here.

[A pause, then she chooses to change the conversation a bit, since she totally saw that wince] You shouldn't worry so much about that, though. Saya killed me because she's the only one that could kill me at all. If I was going to die, it was going to be by her hands, so it's not so bad.

I don't want you to, either. [it's said in an unusually soft tone, and there's audible apprehension in it. he has the patience to wait, but he certainly doesn't want to put it to use.

the apprehension becomes even clearer when she changes the topic, almost bordering on agitation.] How can you say that? [it's a genuine question rather than an accusatory statement, but he certainly doesn't look like he wants to know the answer regardless.] She had no right to. She had no right. Spitting on her true self, looking down her nose at the rest of us as though we were the ones completely out of place-- And I'm supposed to accept the fact that she got what she wanted? That you... you-- because she couldn't understand something as simple as the food chain? Because she didn't want to give up her little pretend family and those godforsaken humans? [whoops someone's getting a little worked up]

...I can't accept that.

[It's a surprise to hear, not because it's a new statement or anything, but simply because it's unusual to hear her Chevalier express it around her. It's how she feels, but she hadn't imagined that her Chevalier would understand it in the same way. She had always taken it as something that they laughed at her for, just for being illogical, but not something emotional like she took it as. It creates a strange feeling, and she's momentarily taken aback, running a hand through her hair idly. It's things like this where she wants so badly to accept a Chevalier into her heart, but at the same time, her past experience says that's a bad idea.]

...You really believe that, don't you?

[But it's a rhetorical question, because she could hear it clearly. Her nervous fidgeting settles, and his statement seemingly earned back the bit of favor that he'd lost, because she shifts again to be closer to him. Diva sets her head on his shoulder, deciding to open that door just a crack.]

That's what I think too. And I guess, if I'm honest, I kind of hate her for it! But I shouldn't hate sister, because she's just the luckier one. That's how it's always been. So, I guess it's that it's hard for me to feel sad that I died because of that. That's just been something that's been true ever since Joel decided it was me that was going to live in the tower.

[the frankness is a side-effect of the (mostly) open honesty that he and the Diva he remembers often spoke to each other with: decades-old at this point, but something he never let go of.

so her reaction is a little surprising to him, but he's grateful for it at the same time. that cool distance was unnerving, and even if he doesn't like the topic at hand, anything is better than awkwardly wading through stilted conversation.]

I don't believe it's something you have to accept. [a pause, and he folds his hands in his lap quietly.] Even if it's all in the hands of luck or fate or God, I don't think you should be expected to accept something so unreasonable.

[Diva makes a thoughtful noise as she looks at her feet, seeming to consider it. There's a long silence before she speaks again.]

That's different, you know.

[Which isn't much, but she knows he'll question what she means, so she decided to just say that.]

[yes she just took a left turn and stranded him in the middle of what just happened to this conversation, and he's giving her a suitably confused stare.]

What's different? [he could hazard a few guesses, but misconstruing something at this point is just about the least thing he wants to risk.]

[She smiles coolly and stays silent, and it seems like she won't answer at all. But before he would say anything, it's like she senses it, and she stands from the couch slowly. It's like for admitting something so close to her that she wants there to be a physical distance to separate it, but of course that's not a conscious decision on her part. She just walks over to a window to look out it.]

The way you treat me is different, I guess is what it is.

[She laughs, and it's as cool as her smile] I'm not a thing to you. It's strange. So I don't know if I like it yet or not.

[that timing stops him just shy of saying something, and he promptly closes his mouth again to listen, even if he's promptly distracted by what she's saying. he's a little grateful that she's moved away to the window and that her attention seems to be on something beyond it, since his expression certainly isn't a very poised or graceful one.]

I don't see how anyone could. [the sentiment is genuine, but at the same time there's a certain sense of being right that he can't shake. Solomon especially, the golden child; there was something infinitely satisfying in knowing that he wasn't so perfect in Diva's eyes after all.

he raises a hand after that, absentmindedly brushing hair from his eyes.] ...I do apologise if it doesn't please you, but I can't do anything for it.

[She brings her hand to her mouth to cover it daintily as she laughs. It's just a giggle at first, but quickly becomes full laughter at some joke that Charles is clearly not a part of. Diva turns on her heel in a whimsical and grand gesture, even putting her hands on her chest dramatically.]

Oh, you don't? That's so nice! Actually, I wonder if it's the nicest thing I've heard from a Chevalier...?

[Luckily for Charles, the gods of Asgard were nice enough to pretty much anyone who comes into contact with Diva by taking away her crazy strength and speed. She wants to move with her speed, and to rip something out of him with her strength, and even thinks for a moment, out of habit, that she can. But it only manifests with a half-step closer before she remembers that it isn't possible. So her hands drop to her sides, and the laughter stops.]

So I guess I'll tell you, in that case. I'm just something useful, or something interesting. I could have anything I wanted, as long as I was a doll when I was asked. So I was a doll a lot, you know. Whenever Amshel wanted to impress someone, or try a new test, or whatever. It was one of the first things I learned when I left the tower. What I want or what I feel, that doesn't matter at all. And it's been the same with every Chevalier, so even if I love them because they're my precious, beautiful knights, I hate them too.

[Her voice and expression suddenly softens, which is hard to define as a good or bad sign with her, though the hurt look at least seems completely genuine.]

So why is it? You're the one that's different and the one I would hope for every time, a little, but you're the one I don't even meet until it's too late? That's not fair, is it?

[these are pretty much the only moments of his stay in which he's grateful to the gods for anything. he's seen Diva throw tantrums before, and while his Diva doesn't have such grandiose gestures and vehemence behind hers, he knows it well enough to be put on edge just a little...

but that step forward comes and then there's nothing else, and his brow furrows. he understands loving and hating something, though there's very little else that makes sense to him here; he doesn't know enough of her world to connect the dots just yet. he also doesn't think there's anything he could say that would be satisfying.

in the end, he decides to be just as honest. his voice reflects the softness in hers when he speaks, but there's a bitterness to it that lingers.]

I think that life is fundamentally unfair. If there's some sort of grand composer behind this mess of existence, their sense of ironic humor is wicked. That's why I don't believe it's something that has to be accepted. If it's so unfair, why should anyone settle for it? Why should I take anyone at their word when they say I'll never see you again? Why should you continue to carry your tower with you? [because really, that's the feeling he's getting here. but he's starting to get worked up and derailed, so he smooths out a wrinkle in his cloak to ground himself.]

It's not fair at all, but sometimes little apologies are thrown at the feet of people who have been wronged. Asgard might be one of them. I can't say with certainty, and I don't want to accept an apology from these miserable gods, but I would like to put it to good use nonetheless. I know it doesn't change our pasts or futures, but it's still important to me. You're still important to me, and you won't ever be anything less.

[She bats her eyelashes quickly like she's on the verge of crying, but her eyes are dry. It's another difference from his Diva, because this one rarely cried at all. But his words at least serve a purpose, because some of the tension clearly leaves her posture.]

An apology, huh?

[She makes a thoughtful noise as she considers it, since she'd genuinely never thought of it in that way before. Or, well, she had, but had never used that word. Asgard did feel like something to give her more of a taste of what she wanted, and while it did also serve to highlight the cruelty and injustices she had served by comparison, it was still something precious. Diva laughs a little again at the thought, her smile looking bitter, but it at least fades quickly as she looks back to Charles.

He was good after all. The strange and different little Chevalier was at least one that was honest and genuine. Diva returns to him, but it's an entirely different gesture in meaning, because she sits at his feet and once again rests her head in his lap.]

That would be good, I think. I guess if it's an apology, then I could accept it. [She closes her eyes, a last marker of that tense moment being past.] And I'll accept you too. You can be more than a Chevalier, because I don't think my Chevalier would have really understood that.

[that's another oddity he's never really paid mind to (overshadowed as it is by the larger, more prominent differences), but it makes his heart break in this moment. it's a miracle he hasn't cried yet, himself.

he thinks he might for a second when she walks back over and sits before him, and he smooths her hair down gently while she talks and fusses out imaginary tangles in it. after another second, trying to disturb her as little as possible, he quietly eases himself to the floor as well and takes up both of her hands.]

This is one of the only things I'll ever thank fate for, I think. I know that I can't be the Chevalier you're used to, but I wouldn't mind-- [he stops himself and shakes his head] --I'd truly appreciate it if you would consider me your companion. [as he had started out. to stand on ground that was not-quite-but-almost equal, uneven but comfortably so; that is something he misses terribly.]

[She's surprised that he moves, and at first, her heart drops because she thinks he'll move away, but the motion to show their equal standing makes her eyes widen visibly in shock. But with his words, her expression softens, and she smiles and laughs warmly.]

Well, if you put it that way, how could I say no?

[Diva leans forward to give him a small kiss on the cheek, but doesn't draw back when she speaks] Carl will be the only one to be my companion.

[he might have been a little concerned about the possibility of rejection without fully recognizing it until the tension in his shoulders is suddenly absent. once that registers, he allows himself to keep his smile a little longer, rare but genuine as it is.]

Thank you. [he leans closer, cheek to cheek for just a moment.] I'll do my best to bring you happiness for the rest of your time in this city, and not just as your Chevalier. [as a protector of a different sort; a true companion.]

Good! I'd expect nothing less.

[But she laughs as she draws back a bit, since she's kidding... sort of... okay probably not at all, but she thinks she is.]

Hey, so we should do something to celebrate! Well, to celebrate this, and for me coming home too.

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wow I make stupid typos I am sorry...

no worries i didn't even catch it... smh reading comprehension

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charles wishes he was tall enough to have this icon be real life

one day i'll bust out my age event pb and he can live the dream

HAHAHA his life will be great

a few feet of height is all it takes to vastly improve life quality

you could say it's... raising the bar!! also I like that these subjects clash completely w/ the tags

also 2/2 but i ran out of room in the subject

I LAUGHED why.... ikr talk about mood whiplash

because we're cool and also psls = i do what i want

psls: sticking it to the man

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