XOqNI

[tongueamok]

Hello, this is Carlisle. I mean, it's not Carlisle as in I'm actually answering you right now, so if you're trying to reply to me at the second, you should probably save your breath because I'm not really here. This is some kind of a recording of my voice, but this is my communicator. I'm going to assume these devices are as common here as they are in other places — not my world, but others, ones more technologically advanced than where I come from— so if you'd like to leave me a message, then you may do so here, or er... Right. Here is fine. So just leave yo— [beep]

Comments

\o/

[tongueamok]

[It's easy enough to find a time when Carlisle is home and Glacius isn't around -- it's not as though the clergyman really goes anywhere aside from his garden, and even then, he's not keen on staying in the suns for very long. The knock at the door surprises him, as does the face he sees on the other side once cracking the entryway open.

He reddens, running a hand through his hair, trying to smooth it down. It's a bit of a mess.]

Kate. D- did you need something?

[dedikated]

( At least he's predictable. Kate shrugs, casual as she can look, pressing a hand to the curve where her shoulder and neck meet and working on relaxing a knot of muscle there. )

Not really. ( Other than something to relieve this constant assault of guilt the city's pressing down on them. ) Checking on you.

( Kate pls. )

[tongueamok]

Ah. Thank you.

[He's not sure why she'd want to check on him, but he does his best to assume it's because she cares and not because she thinks he's incapable of surviving even on an average day. Despite his tired appearance, he steps aside to allow her entry.]

Is something the matter? It doesn't seem like you to waste your time checking on me these days, given, ah.

[There's not much to say other than 'Glacius is an ice-covered warrior who is very invested in my safety," so he falls silent.]

[dedikated]

( Yeah, that's the reason, Carlisle. That and the guilt gnawing at her gut which tells her she should do more to show her friends that she cares. That fears and old habits are things she's promised to break a million times and never truly done so. )

Wanted to talk to a friend. No big deal.

( She enters as she says that. It's no big deal, right? People hang out. Not usually them, to be sure, but that can change. It should change. )

[tongueamok]

[No big deal indeed, but the way she puts that makes Carlisle smile -- it's brief, but genuine.]

Ah.

[He closes the door behind him, gesturing to the couch, heading into the kitchen himself for tea.]

How are things, Kate? With you.

[And other people she associates with.]

[dedikated]

( He asks that and Kate's hand goes instinctively to her hair, tucking a piece behind her ear with a brief clearing of her throat. Things have been... good. And terrifying. Things blurted out under the weight of that knot of guilt that lingers on her shoulders now. )

Alright. Quiet with the barrier.

( It certainly helps knock down the number of people visiting the clinic, at least. )

Doubt that'll stick.

( Hadriel isn't often in the habit of giving them breathers. )

[tongueamok]

I am inclined to agree.

[He pours them both drinks; if the light that flashes from beyond the counter is any indication, he's imbuing his with energy. The days his joints don't fight against him are few and far between. Bringing both cups into the den, he sets one before Kate, breathing in the steam of his own as he settles into his chair.]

I'd offer you something stronger to drink, but we haven't anything here. Not anymore.

[Not in a long time, either, but not for his lack of want.]

[dedikated]

( She's not going to object, though Kate sits up straighter from the chair she's settled into as Carlisle makes drinks, watching as the light bounces off the nearby surfaces. She waves a hand in response to his words. Sure, she could use something stronger - she usually could, really - but she can live with the tea. )

What made you stop anyway?

( She knows that he stopped, she's noticed the lack of flask in his presence over the months. )

[tongueamok]

[Carlisle's eyes bury themselves in his drink, his face reddening just a pinch -- however light his embarrassment may be, it's obvious against his pale tone. He considers a single-word answer, the easiest one, but more words pour from him than he anticipates, as though their release would relieve him of his burdens.]

After Shadow destroyed my garden, I spent several days drinking in my room. It was easier to drink than to face my guilt, and it takes a lot of alcohol to numb me to it. I had hoped to emerge having forgotten why I was drinking in the first place. I was met instead with an understandably disappointed partner who gave me an ultimatum.

[He handed over his flask willingly rather than having it taken from him. He still doesn't have it. He probably shouldn't, given how desperately he has wanted a drink for months now. It had been his coping mechanism for years, and change is so difficult sometimes... but worth it for what he has received in return, in the end.]

[dedikated]

( Shadow again. So much comes back to him and this event, and Kate wishes he was here so she could find out just what he was thinking. After the harsh reaction to her mistake with the fog back then, it irks her to know he did something like this. All the more to one of her friends. )

Ah. ( She knows that kind of drinking all too well, honestly. It might take significantly less alcohol for her to forget what she's drinking for, but still. )

Tea's fine anyway.

( Speaking of, god she misses a proper cuppa. )

[tongueamok]

Good.

[He takes a long swallow of tea, letting the heat settle into his stiff joints. They grow stiffer by the day.]

It's not so bad, really. The choice was an easy one for me, and we moved my garden, and... hm.

[He falls silent, his mind still turning over how much things changed after that -- for him, for Glacius, for who they are in the city.]

[dedikated]

( In all honesty, with Carlisle's deteriorating health, it's probably for the best that his garden is no longer on a roof. Less stair climbing required. She lets her tea cool before taking a sip of it, quiet and almost thoughtful as the taste blossoms on her tongue. )

How'd you start gardening, anyway?

( She's never really tried to garden, despite the fact that she spent so much time hiding among the lavender plants in her teenage home when the pain of what happened to her parents got to be too much. )

[tongueamok]

My father encouraged me toward alchemy when I was younger. I'm sure he realized quickly that I was not suited for adventuring.

[Or monster-hunting, or elemental magic, or anything his family was known for, really.]

We had a garden just beyond our estate's walls. It hadn't been properly tended to in some time when it was given to me, but it did give me a way to occupy my time between my studies.

[dedikated]

( Yeah, she... can see why someone might think Carlisle wasn't the best choice for adventuring, even before the whole half-dead thing happened. )

Your estate? ( Yes, she does sound amused by that. Careful, Carlisle, you're sounding awful posh right now. )

[tongueamok]

[His eyes flick to her.]

Have I never told you about my home, Kate? The Longinmouths are a celebrated bloodline, particularly in our homeland.

[Which might attribute to some of that constant guilt he feels about not being a very good one.]

[dedikated]

( Carlisle, that would involve either of you talking about personal things, um... ever. )

Celebrated?

[tongueamok]

Yes. My family, for generations upon generations now, has been primarily known for their proclivity to keep the monsters in the region at bay, as well as the necromancers and their abominations. Our bloodline has been recognized by the king for our service to the realm, and for using their talents for the good of the common people. My uncles and father were hunters, for example, spending much of their time away from home, called to aid towns and cities in their time of need.

[Yeah, there must be a dozen or more reasons why Carlisle doesn't fit into this bloodline very well.]

[dedikated]

( So just... a little bit of a black sheep there, Carlisle. Kate lets out a low whistle though, it's a lot to have in your family tree. )

Impressive.

( She thinks she'd hate it, having a name which carried that much weight back home. Even the idea of having a power set like Faith, and all the expectation that carries, sounds awful.

Taking a drink, Kate stretches out her legs in front of her. )

What kind of monsters are there?

[tongueamok]

Many, even near Bear Den. Aside from the aberrations created by necromancers, there's the wildlife as well, some of it more dangerous than others. The kalugra, for example.

[Setting his cup down, he slides from his seat and heads toward the coat rack in the corner, grabbing his cloak and bringing it back to show Kate. Made from the pelt of what is presumably a kalugra, the hood is actually the head of the beast, striped and broad and bearing longer fangs than it has any business having. The fur along the back of the cloak is mottled, what stripes there are interrupted by scars in the skin. This had once been a truly impressive beast... and one Kate might recognize, given she's seen him under its enchantment before.]

[dedikated]

I remember this thing.

( BTW, Carlisle, not the thing a person always wants to see in the midst of chaos. )

Enchanted with an illusion, aye?

[tongueamok]

[Carlisle turns a little red. Yes, Kate would remember it, he recalls, wouldn't she?]

That's right. My uncle enchanted it himself.

[dedikated]

( Hard to forget it, really. But enchanting works so differently for Carlisle's world than hers, from what she remembers. This would be the kind of thing she'd need to work on with another, and even then it would need recharging, reworking constantly. )

Makes me realise how limited powers are in my world.

( To be able to freely do so much is something that Superhumans don't get to do.

Maybe they're not so different from humans, after all. )

[tongueamok]

Limited?

[Carlisle raises an eyebrow, truly puzzled by that assessment.]

As they are now, or as they were before you left?

[dedikated]

Before.

( The look on his face, surprisingly, isn't lost on her. She doesn't stop there, but there is a pause to drink, to think how to word it. )

Got loads of abilities in the world. But you don't get to choose.

( Another sip. )

Different rules in other worlds. Got power, just depends what you're good at. Us? Doesn't matter if your power doesn't suit you, stuck with it anyway.

( She's thought about it a lot, because Kate's never understood why she, of all people, was born into a line where the powers are all about taking their time and analysing. Why she couldn't have something active, something that complemented her strengths. )

[tongueamok]

I see.

[Or he thinks he does. Kate's explanations sometimes leave much to the imagination.]

I cannot say it is entirely different where I'm from, honestly. There are plenty of magicians who excel in schools they'd rather not. If they are lucky, they might be able to glean some spells from other schools, but their true proficiency will always hang overhead, and it is up to them to simply accept it.