heartofthestar | Labyrinthium Inbox

Ah. I see.

Before that, you two were on good terms?

I would not call them bad terms. Professionally courteous on the rare occasion our paths crossed, may be the best phrasing.

Ah, one of those. I understand.

It must be strange, having other Ancients appearing after you've been here for a while. If anything about it - or them - does bother you, you'll talk to me, right?

Of course. You can guess, like as not, what I already feel. Some small measure of guilt, and some larger measure of grief. Naught of concern, I believe, for what emotions could come more naturally in this happenstance?

Of course, that's all normal. Expected. But that doesn't mean it isn't any concern.

Unfortunately, you're going to have to deal with me insisting on that.

[ ... ]

You know Eren Jaeger, right?

I should say, not of concern on a professional level at this time, as I cannot see any way those feelings are abnormal or maladaptive. I would of course expect you to care on a personal level.

I do know Eren, yes. We have fought together on occasion.

[ She's ridiculous... He's so fond. Not even gonna address professional vs. personal care at the moment. ]

Have you? I bet you two make a terrifying team.

He's become a dear friend of mine. So much so that when he and a few others moved onto a farm that he bought, he gave me a permanent guest room there to come and go as I please. It really was too kind of him...

Anyhow. My point is I now have free use of a really, ridiculously nice property. And a baby chick who thinks I'm its father, which I suppose is a bonus.

Come spend some time with me here. I want to hear about how you're feeling, even if it isn't abnormal or maladaptive.

That sounds delightful. And romantic, as well. An excellent tactic to both comfort me and woo me, I must say.

I'd say the latter was an unintended and happy consequence, but I would be lying, and I can't lie to you.

Please come over any time. I'm just hanging out by the pond, you can't miss it.

[ Location sent! It really is a very nice farm. Maruki's lucky to be able to call it another little slice of home.

It's early evening, the summer sun just beginning its inexorable descent below the horizon, and he really ought to put said baby chick in the coop for the night. But she's asleep in some flowers and he's comfortable leaning up against a rock to read, so if Venat does choose to join him, that's how she'll find him. ]

[As should be no surprise, Venat arrives by air-dog not long after he'd extended the invitation. Luckily, she is keen of eye, and understands he's out here for more than just a place to read against a rock, so Venat lands Argos some distance away. The two approach on foot instead, with her hand raises to greet him.]

[ OH. Unintended bonus, perhaps: Argos might like the farm too! Do familiar dogs need to run the way real ones do? Probably not. Maruki doesn't know animals, much less familiars. But it's a thought that crosses his mind as he stands, book dog-eared and left aside, and makes his way over to meet them halfway.

He's been deliberately slow introducing Venat to the finer points of partnering with someone (get bent, BB) – and happily so, at that. It's more enjoyable this way, easing into even the simplest shows of affection that no one would think twice about back in his true reality. It lends a significant weight to every act, and for an endlessly sentimental guy, that's only ever a boon.

Still, though, there is always this: Greeting Venat with arms outstretched to wrap her up in an embrace, hugging her close before separating just enough to be able to look her in the eye, smiling like every star in the sky. ]

Thank you for joining me. It's a nice place, isn't it?

[ To say the least. Eren's wish had been for a simple farm; what he got is a little absurd, including the massive farmhouse some distance behind them.

Maruki unwraps one arm from around her to extend a hand to Argos as well, never one to leave him out even as he's unwilling to let go so quickly. ]

[This gesture, the warm and casual hug, the emotions -- they're all very foreign, as he well knows, and in some respects uncomfortable and even scary. Yet in the same moment, they hold warmth and comfort and delight. So Venat ignores all her negative feelings, or rather challenges them quite directly, by returning the hug without hesitation. The only barriers between them are ones she has constructed, and thus, ones she must dismantle.]

[Argos noses on up to give Maruki's hand a sniff and a quick lick. Between the man doing a decent job at making Venat happy and proving he's no weakling during the battle against the Green Knight, the dog has fully accepted Maruki as worth being around at this point.]

No doubt I'll agree once I actually view it. I fear you've taken up my attention entirely.

[ And yet, for as foreign as he knows it all is for Venat, she's not bad at this at all. (Then again, has she ever truly been bad at anything in her long life? Somehow, he doubts it.) A faint flush rises in his cheeks at that, but he doesn't fluster or try to hide it. ]

Well, loath as I am to leave that spotlight...

[ And he does linger there for a few moments longer, merely smiling at her, bringing a hand up to stroke a few loose strands of hair back. It's a powerful affection he feels, constantly squeezing his ribcage; these small outlets for it matter.

But then he swings around to stand by Venat's side instead, an arm still wrapped around her waist, the other gesturing expansively to the fields, the farmhouse, the barn, that tree off in the distance that's perfect for napping beneath. It's a bucolic, beautiful place, and Maruki has to laugh a little. ]

You'd think that cottages and castles would be the most jarring sights for a city guy like me to contend with, but no. A farm is somehow much stranger. Still, I'm becoming fond of it.

Edited 2024-08-26 19:47 (UTC)

Is that not because cottages and castles are fantastical to you, whereas a farm is something quite real and relevant? Rather than viewing something you know you could never see, you are viewing something you instead would never see.

[That is her own estimation, in any case. She might herself feel this way about romance in the midst of all this madness -- a surprisingly real thing, and so much stranger for all that.]

Praytell, what grows here?

[She leaves one arm around him in turn, mimicking his gesture and finding warmth in it. The strength of a person standing beside her is welcome in its own unusual way, and rather than finding herself adrift in unfamiliarity, she instead wonders what comes next.]

[ Maruki hums his assent at her observation; as ever, Venat is right on the money.

At her question, though, he has to laugh and give a self-conscious scratch to the stubble along his jaw. ]

Eh, good question...

[ It cannot be overstated just how much he is a useless freeloader here. He might have learned to enjoy hiking and camping, but outdoor manual labor? Never. He does no work on this farm, and thank god for it. ]

They have a vegetable garden, I know that. And there are a fair few animals – chickens, Eren's horse, and this... dragon thing...

[ A squint, a furrowed brow. What the hell is Patrasche? He may never know. ]

Aside from that, though, I think that Eren mostly wanted the land to have the privacy away from the rest of Somnius. Not for any real practical purpose. I can't say I'm not grateful for it.

[ An affectionate little squeeze around her waist, then, as he gestures over to where he'd been relaxing by the pond, in case she'd like to join. ]

I shall save my inquiries for Eren, then, and resolve only to enjoy the time here without badgering you regarding it.

[Taking his meaning, Venat disengages enough to trade arms about the waist for handholding -- being unfamiliar with the idea of walking while half-embracing.]

Are you, then, simply striving to enjoy the privacy? Myself excepted, of course.

[ It truly takes so very little to make Maruki happy. Venat takes his hand unprompted and his heart soars, fingers tightening around hers as they make their way back over to the pond. ]

Well, in a way, yes. I rarely get time to myself anymore, so being able to unwind here away from everything has been helpful.

[ He inclines his head toward her, smiling like he has a secret. ]

On the other hand, I find time with you just as restorative as time alone – more restorative, actually. So you're hardly the exception that you might think you are.

[ This is, in fact, exactly what the doctor ordered... If there were another doctor in Somnius who could take stock of his stresses and prescribe simple treatments such as quiet time with a dear companion in a peaceful setting. Physician, heal thyself, etc. ]

[Her smile brightens, and for the moment, she says nothing. In her head, she pictures the boundaries and burdens she faces as a wall, built brick-by-brick over a long lifetime, and once that picture is in place, she begins removing bricks.]

[When one's magic can create miracles with proper visualization, it has no small amount of power.]

Then, dare I ask how you would care to spend this time, having coaxed me out here to take advantage of the privacy?

[Also: teasing. A very powerful force as well.]

[ Very well-received teasing, at that. Maruki's smile only widens, heat crawling up the back of his neck. Pleasant shyness, no unbearable fluster here. Not yet, anyway – it's difficult, now, with how comfortable he is around Venat, but certainly not impossible.

But as ever, he's almost irritatingly earnest. ]

I wasn't lying when I said this was meant as an opportunity to comfort you as much as it is to woo you. I want to hear about how you're feeling, Venat. I always do.

[ Guilt and grief are old bedfellows of his too, after all. Their circumstances couldn't be more different, but he's keenly aware of how difficult it must be with someone from her past like Lahabrea now present. ]

And then, if I can take your mind off of it afterwards, all the better.

[ Local man might actually give his Ancient girlfriend what is probably her first kiss? MAYBE?? Time will tell. ]

If I hesitate to speak of it, it is not because I am trying to keep information from you, but rather, that words fail me.

[She knows of what he speaks, and the reminder of -- all of it, makes her shake her head as she disengages, only so that she might take a seat by the pond with him.]

How does one reconcile the appearance of a respected former colleague with the knowledge of all that shall happen, and all that shall be done to and by him? Perhaps I should begin by explaining that only three of my people survived the Sundering unbroken, excluding of course me, and all three of them because my absolute enemies across the ages.

[ There, at the edge of the water, Maruki settles close next to her and rests a hand on her knee, fingers idly drawing out little patterns as he listens. He keeps waiting for his constant need to express his affection in these small ways to grate on her, but it's not something he's ever been able to help. ]

I have my own thoughts on the matter, unsurprisingly, but I want to hear you tell it first... Who aside from Lahabrea survived?

[Venat is not one to ever be 'grated' on, though she of course can be annoyed, angry, or upset as a situation merits. This merits none of these, and even if it did, she worries not at all that they can reconcile it. He would listen to a calm request for a moment's space, would he not?]

[But conversely, this casual and downright shocking intimacy proves more welcome each time.]

Emet-Selch, who was the keeper of the Underworld, and Elidibus, the heart of the primal Zodiark. I could not have found more dangerous and implacable foes.

You certainly do know how to pick them...

[ The tiniest bit of levity. He inclines his head, then, thoughtful. ]

But the Lahabrea present here predates all of that, it sounds like. Disparate timelines like that can cause many issues. Do you think...

[ A beat of hesitation. Maruki has run across this several times in those he counsels, formally or informally. Secrets kept and futures told. There's surely no right way to go about it. ]

Is he the sort of person who will want to know what his future holds?

Only the rarest of men would not. Whether or not that desire shall drive him further than curiosity, I cannot say. [Venat lowers her head slightly, breathes a sigh.] I told him one thing I felt necessary, given his last memories of our world and time, for I suspect the question of Zodiark's success would plague him had he no answer. The rest I declined, but I have told so many others candidly and without deception that I cannot think he will avoid discovering the full tale overlong, will he or no.

[She cannot undo the past, nor would she if given the chance, but this is quite the troublesome outcome. But, after that somber moment, Venat perks up again slightly.]

However, I have little fear of long-term possible repercussions. He cannot change what has happened, by virtue of my presence here. Should he be returned with full memory of all he could learn, he could cleave the timeline, but that would not undo all that has come to pass in this one. I do not believe him to at this point be so ruled by emotion that he would attack me here nonetheless, but even should he do so after regaining his full strength, I am superior to him in that respect.

[This is not braggadocio on her part. The Seat of Lahabrea is that of creation principles; in experience with actual battle and strife, it cannot compete with the Seat of Azem, nor its former holder.]

[ Consider Maruki among the rarest of men, then.

(And he will learn his future anyway! Thanks, altered memories event ♥)

When Venat visibly perks up again, he has to bite the inside of one cheek to keep from grinning like a fool. She is irrepressible, always. And absolutely blunt in her honest evaluations of any situation. ]

I don't doubt you are! Let's hope it doesn't come to that, even so.

[ Maruki reaches out to stroke her hair back from her temple, impossibly fond as ever. ]

I'm curious, though– knowing what you do about the vagaries of time, do you believe that that's possible? Someone returning to their true reality, retaining what they've learned here, and altering events accordingly.

[ ASKING FOR A FRIEND. ]

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