heartstones | we are the sword, we tame the fire, the flame

we are the sword, we tame the fire, the flame

[It's wonderful to be home.

Oh, sure, it hasn't been an easy transition into this particular version of Terca Lumireis. After all, that involved tracking down and killing this version of himself, which was far harder than it needed to be. Waiting for the proper moment to ambush himself while Gauche and Droite were nowhere nearby was the most difficult part. His original plan had been to actually fight, he took the more merciful option and simply sniped his other self. In some ways it was sort of traumatizing, in others it was completely liberating.

(But as long as he doesn't think about it for too long, things are fine, as usual.)

Regardless, he disposed of the body and slipped right back into his old life without missing a beat.

Of course, some things had to be handled immediately - namely, that whole mess with Altosk, the Don's grandson, and Belias - but somehow things had managed to work themselves out. Well, somewhat, Yeager's banned from Dahngrest again, but it's not like that's anything new, and it certainly won't keep him out of the city.

(Given that this was the Don's punishment for his guild's incredibly stupid and dangerous actions, Raven really did work hard to get him out of trouble.)

And so they return to their lives. For the time being, Leviathan's Claw is keeping a lower profile and taking on far fewer jobs, which is mostly to make Raven's life easier, not that Yeager will admit that. He's met with the other two several times since returning home - Raven more than Alexei, for obvious reasons - and while it's always nice to see them, it's almost always been exclusively about business.

Not that he minds that, truly. There's something wonderful about picking up right where he left off, without the consequences of his actions in his world to actually feel marginally guilty over. The Don is alive and well (and pissed at him) here, after all. Zaude hasn't been raised from the ocean floor, and the guilds and the Empire seem to be handling each other decently well... for now.

...But.

It's hard to pretend that his time away hasn't changed him. Droite and Gauche have noticed it too - they stare at him when they think he won't notice and whisper amongst themselves, and there's always the feeling there, whenever he talks to them, that something is off. With their behavior, with his, it isn't entirely clear. Maybe both. They don't know, of course - he took care of his other self's body so that it would never be found, after all - but they recognize that he's changed, they just haven't figured out how.

And really, he wouldn't know how to begin addressing any of that with them, so he simply doesn't.

Oh, he'll get around to it someday, probably. They are his daughters and he does want to treat them as such - but for now he wants things to be normal. He wants the normalcy he so desperately craved while in that horrid place, so maybe he can have this for a little bit. As a treat.

Still, he always leaves those meetings - particularly the ones with Alexei - feeling like talking about business (and strictly business) is sort of... frustrating.

(If only he could drag the Commandant out to set something on fire again.)

It's one of those meetings that's brought him into Empire territory today - he had business here anyway, so it's not like it was just to see Alexei - and he shows up to the appointed meeting place on time, dressed as always in the usual suit, with the usual briefcase at his side. Were it not for the (slightly) more genuine expression, it would be easy to assume that everything was just as it once had been, without a single difference whatsoever.

It's nice, in some ways. In others, it's maddening.]

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[Returning to business as usual has been...difficult, in its own way.

Destroying his other life in this world was an interesting endeavor; he hadn't particularly had many options, it was either fight or nothing, and it hasn't been until that fight had been engaged that it really sank in that he'd have to actually defeat this other version of himself. But there was something that became immediately obvious in the conflict that ensued, and that was that back then he had been less...desperate, maybe. Less determined, to put it charitably. After all that he had been through with the Beldam's little game, he quite simply wanted victory more, and so it was victory that he was going to have.

It also helped that the past version of himself was confused as hell as to what was going on.

But it hardly mattered, now that he was dead and the body disposed of; his sole regret about any of that was that he couldn't burn what was left. Either way, it was taken care of, and life continued on as normal. And that was where a lot of the difficulty came in; he no longer had his plans for Zaude to fall back on, and yet the Council continued to be itself completely unabashedly, and the Empire continued on with all of its corruption and failed attempts at evenhandedness, and outside of Yuri Lowell likewise continuing to be unabashedly himself there was nothing currently to be done about any of it. Surely he was still trying, he hadn't given up, and Schwann was seeing to it that he wouldn't fall to that immediately... But just the same, it was frustrating, the sort of thing that it took a concerted effort to not take out on those around him who didn't know -

It was that level of difficulty in adjusting that kept him from focusing too strongly on Yeager, and on Schwann, and on whatever it was that they were currently doing with one another; Alexei doesn't have much experience with relationships, and honestly, as long as no one referred to this one as such perhaps things would be okay. But that doesn't change the part where he greatly prefers the others' presence to their absence, and he thinks of them often and fondly when they're not around, and that whole thing is both new to him and more than somewhat perplexing. It's not completely out of left field with Schwann, in fairness, as he's always held a degree of fondness for Schwann that he's never been able to articulate; what is troublesome on that front is exactly how he used to express it, and his complete lack of desire to do that to him now. His private discussions with Schwann have been far more genuine nowadays, far more intimate, and while he's rather content with that there's a lingering sense of guilt that he would rather prefer not to address, and so in the end he just doesn't, and he knows Schwann won't bring it up until he does. Which is... It's fine, really, because for now it's going to have to be.

It's the conversations with Yeager, few though they've been, that have been strange to pin down. They always confine their talks to business, and that's...another thing that's going to have to be fine for now, because there is a lot of business to discuss, and it's something that's more than capable of taking up their time when they do see each other. He's all right with that for now, but it's in the same way that he's all right with everything else - it's in a way where it's fine because it is, and not because he wants it to be, because what he wants doesn't matter in the end. There's an order to things, and that's simply it.

(Haven't you ever wanted to use any of that power just to cause a little chaos because you can? Not for any sort of grand plan or whatnot, but just because you're able to?)

There are moments, however... Moments that involve meeting somewhere away from the capitol, in a rented room somewhere that Alexei knows his presence won't be recorded and their interactions won't be listened to, somewhere away from the Council's prying. Moments where he doesn't know what to do with Yeager's expression as he enters, and so he ignores it because this is just how things are. Business as usual.]

Yeager. It's appreciated, as always.

[That's not to say there aren't differences. Actually saying Yeager's presence is appreciated would have been completely beyond him before, for the simple reason that it wouldn't have been. But now...well, he can certainly admit that much.]

[That much is certainly different, yes, as is the fact that Yeager doesn't bow mockingly as he once would have. He stopped doing that at some point, he thinks, but he can't recall precisely when it was.]

Of course, I wouldn't want you to be without my presence for too long~!

[Pleasantries aside, though...]

Let's get down to business though, ja? What do you have for me today?

A possible commission, if it interests you.

[His tone is completely straightforward, blunted and difficult to read; if he's got any feelings about asking an assassins' guild leader to complete a job, they aren't going to be on display today, clearly.]

The Council is being troublesome again; I find them a bit too confident in their endeavors of late. Normally I would ask Schwann to deal with it, but I imagine our luck will run out in that regard if I continue to test it.

[Well, if that doesn't get him to light up, nothing will.]

Well, that certainly sounds like the sort of problem I could take care of for you... for a price, of course~

[...No really, he looks super pumped about sending someone to murder a member of the Council.]

I would prefer this be done as discreetly as possible, of course. If I can't have discretion, at least allow for a certain degree of disposability.

[Basically, either send someone that won't get caught, or someone where you don't care if they get executed in the event that they are.]

That won't be a problem at all one way or another. Any preference either way?

[Do you want to blame this on the guilds or just leave it as an unsolved murder or missing persons case...?]

[YEAGER.]

I would prefer not to go to war with the guilds, if that's what you're asking.

No fun today either, I see...

[But he waves that off with a laugh, that's more or less what he was expecting!!]

You'll have it taken care of, then; leave me the name and any relevant details and I'll have it taken care of as soon as possible.

Of course.

[So...that's it, then. Outside of the details, there really isn't much else to do here, is there?]

Compensation will be given upon completion; you'll find it more than fair, I'll make sure of that much.

Of course, and I've no doubts you'll deliver it promptly.

[Business as usual, all wrapped up nice and neatly. He has no further questions, Alexei has no further instructions, so that's that.

...

He doesn't really want to leave it at that. It'll probably be awhile before they have a reason to meet up again. And it'll probably be the exact same thing next time, too. Business, some mild pleasantries, and then simply moving on their way.

For some reason, he doesn't like that.

He could ask about Alexei's decision to go after a member of the Council. It doesn't really matter, ultimately, and he's not sure Alexei will find it safe to tell him here anyway. Yeager's not paid to ask questions, he's paid to get a job done.

...So.]

Have you had time to set anything on fire yet, by the way?

[..........listen maybe he can at least make alexei do something with his face before he goes, let him have this okay—]

[Oh my god, Yeager, why...]

Of course not. Why would I- ...You know why I can't.

[That is in fact something with your face!! Victory! ☆]

Oh, I know, you're quite literally forbidden from having anything even resembling fun now that you're back home.

[It's teasing though; lighter than it used to be, just as comfortable as it was at the end of their little stay away from home.]

But you've definitely thought about it, ja?

...I'm fairly sure most people don't think about that.

[He shifts a bit, pinching at the bridge of his nose before making himself settle again, lowering his hand back to his side.]

Why do you ask.

[He'll take it! A reaction from Alexei is always a win.]

I thought you might miss having fun every once in awhile.

[it was not "every once in awhile"........]

...I don't know.

[It was absolutely not "every once in awhile", but he can't bring himself to make the correction.]

I don't think it would matter much even if I did, so there's little point in thinking about it.

Hmm.

[It's more to fill space than anything else. It would be really easy to just leave it there as simple teasing, nothing more, and then never mention it again and slip back into their usual routine, but...]

Well, I miss it.

[For a moment, he almost leaves it there.

But it's far too honest, too open, so he shifts, shrugging and smiling as usual as if the pause was intentional.]

But I'm supposed to be behaving. I truly do suffer so much, ja?

[...Oh.

For a moment it's clear that Alexei doesn't know what to do with that; it takes him a second to work out what to do with his face, and for a moment he's left clearly unguarded.

But then it's over, and they can move on from...that, whatever that was, and- ]

Clearly. I can't begin to imagine your agony.

[...There was an attempt.

That said, he finds himself taking a moment, feeling as though something else should be said if only to reward the honesty; he isn't sure when honesty of that sort became something to be rewarded.]

It will easier once the Council is taken down a few pegs. To consider things like that.

[hey listen you have no idea how hard telling the truth is when your entire life has literally been a lie the last ten years!!!!!]

Ja, I can imagine so. But even then you'll still never agree to it!

[DRAMATIC SIGH]

Oh well. I suppose the King will simply have to live on in our memories!

[Alexei has sort of let him get away with it, so by god, he's going to do that and pretend he didn't just have half a feeling at Alexei, it's fine!!]

[He's let you get away with it indeed.

He's content to let things go for now, and so things are as they should be for a while longer. A Council member dies; a more favorable one is nominated to the position. He isn't more favorable by much, granted, but he'll work for the time being; either way, Yeager receives his payment, and Alexei doesn't care much what he does with it.

It's enough that he's willing to let things be for the time being; he leaves things as they are until he has to return to Guild territory. The Don still being alive has presented unforeseen complications, in that it means peace negotiations are ongoing; Alexei has, thus far, completely failed to get anywhere near the man's good side. That doesn't mean he can't negotiate with the Don, because the Don is an amenable man, but at the same time he has...not figured out the key to earning the Don's respect, regardless of how much Schwann tries to coach him on the matter.

So it is that he's in the general vicinity of Dahngrest, and he's entirely aware that Yeager is not allowed within the city limits because of course he's not; that doesn't mean they can't meet outside of those limits, however, once Alexei has convinced the inevitable entourage he has with him that he'll be fine for a few hours on his own.]

[It isn't a particularly difficult task, to have a member of the Council killed. While he may have lost his best assassin (Zagi hasn't returned to the Manor and Yeager isn't going to waste valuable time and resources trying to track that idiot down) he still has plenty others who can handle the job.

And so it's done, he's paid for the work, and life goes on.

Of course, a member of the Council dying suddenly didn't go unnoticed by the Don, and thus, Yeager is back to the usual status quo of being banned from Dahngrest again. This is just going to be a reoccurring theme, isn't it? Raven hasn't had any luck in getting the ban lifted so far, but there's no rush - better to let the Don cool his head for a bit before risking Raven's neck for such a thing, after all.

But that's neither here or there and not the point of this meeting today - it isn't as though it's been all that long, but it will be good to see Alexei again.

Yeager's already present when Alexei manages to free himself from his entourage; he's alone again today as well, though he has the massive scythe out and slung over his shoulder like he's been waiting for monsters to prowl close enough for the slaughter. He transforms the weapon back to its usual briefcase form before holding up a hand and approaching, of course.]

Good afternoon! To what do I owe the pleasure today, hmm~?

[Business, of course. It will always be business.]

[Thank you for not just having the scythe out like an edgelord? Oh my god.

That said, his tone is as straightforward as usual; that's one of those things that he's not going to shake easily, if at all, but for now it's going to have to work. What he ends up saying, though...]

I had a meeting with Don Whitehorse earlier. I'm still not certain how the Guilds accomplish anything.

[So not...entirely business? Surprisingly. More like he was just sort of here and decided to arrange something.]

[It takes him a moment - a blink-and-you'll-miss-it hesitation - but he laughs at that, shaking his head.]

To be honest with you, I'm not either. And I have had to sit in on quite a few of those meetings, you know!

[...as regaey...]

I'm certain that you have.

[AS REGAEY...]

If anything, coming out here has been a fairly pleasant experience by comparison.

[Do you understand how much population control he's been doing on like. those little pig things, he's been destroying the living crap out of them, it's been very nice and they've been very dead.]

Ja, I can imagine! Actually having time to travel must be nice. That's why I chose to live outside the city!

[.................it was really not a choice.]

...Really now.

[It was absolutely not a choice...]

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