EVENT: MELPOMENE ▒ HOME

[ataraxites]

CHARACTERS: Ensemble production!
LOCATION: Corridors in the belly of the Tranquility
WARNINGS: Creepiness, disturbing imagery, violence, etc.
SUMMARY: Characters discover slices of sanctuary deep in the maze.
NOTES: Open to all! Covers Stage Four of the plot & Escape.

You've been running and fighting for what feels like weeks now. Exhausted and desperate, you find another door, stumbling through into— You're home, finally, far away and safe from monsters or spaceships. You're not alone, someone here who's been waiting for you, and they're so happy to see you. Relief overcomes you; you just want to rest, and there's no reason to believe anything here isn't what it seems, is there?

Comments

[naytheist]

[Elizabeth's response catches him off guard. Being so focused on combat and rescue, he had not considered how she would react to him helping her. How she acts now is far from what he would have expected. She is calmer than he is, almost thoughtful, and it stuns him for a second. He drops his sword when she approaches him, not wanting it anywhere near her, and when she takes his hands, he instinctively links their fingers, in a way that has become surprisingly common, natural and instinctive more recently.

He wonders at her question: had she genuinely thought he might leave her? Believed he might move on to save strangers, leaving her alone and vulnerable to further attack? The prospect seems absurd to him, but apparently not to her. It makes him worried.

He wants to embrace her but he can't - or rather shouldn't - in his armour, with Richard's blood splashed against his breastplate. Cesare leans back and begins to unbuckle, letting the main pieces of his armour clatter on the floor before he pulls Elizabeth back into him. He presses his face to the side of hers and waits there for a second.

Of course he will stay with her. Why else is he here?]

[skjalf]

[ cesare is rather quiet, which is somewhat unsettling given the high level of intensity about him at the moment. it helps a little when he laces their fingers together, to which she squeezes in automatic response. somehow it has been becoming rote for her to do so when their fingers are intertwined. elizabeth meets his eyes once before giving his hands another kiss. their wrists are pressed together, and she can feel the thundering beat of his heart. she would try to calm him, ideally. with him here, elizabeth feels completely safe. this is her reason for being so calm.

he has made her safe, while her uncle (or his shade) has not. she has no intent upon leaving him. no more than he does her, and she knows that he will stay until they might escape. what she's meant with her question is more to ask whether or not he will stay with her once this is over and done and they are back in a more familiar area of the ship.

and elizabeth remains close, when he pulls back enough to remove his breastplate. because she can only assume that his answer is yes, despite the silence.

especially when he pulls her to him. she all but melts into his arms, wrapping her own around him tightly. she would have embraced him, blood or not. but he has wanted to spare her that, too, it seems. within her, her rib cage seems to constrict about her lungs, giving her a tight feeling there. it is a feeling borne of—well, more feelings. from emotion she is only beginning to realize is truly there.

elizabeth releases a shaky sigh and sags in relief against him, not at all concerned with the upkeep of her mask anymore. maybe with him, it isn't needed at all.

gingerly, her hand rubs a little at the small of his back, a gesture meant to try and calm him. eventually, she leans back to smile up at him softly. she is tall, but he is just a bit taller. it is pleasant, to have to look up at him a little. ]

I mean afterward, Cesare. Once we leave this foul place, I wish to stay with you. I feel safer with you than I do with any other.

[ she hesitates, as though about to tell him something. to say how happy and safe she feels in this moment. she wonders briefly if perhaps it is not the right time—but then, when is it ever? for the first time, she bravely forges on, to see this through. ]

A month past, you said I should find happiness here. And I have. [ his eyes have little gold and lighter green flecks in them. this close, they are easy to see. and somehow, the sight helps her relax. ] You make me happy.

[ she wants desperately to leave this place. but not before she leans in to give him a kiss, her touch gentle, but firm. it can last but a moment, or longer. it can be whatever he wishes to make of it. ]

[naytheist]

[And there is another thing that Cesare hadn't thought he would hear. There are some things he might have expected: a thank you for helping her, perhaps a kiss, or maybe even an angered retaliation at killing the visage of her uncle. After all, to many he must have seemed simply to stab a family member in cold blood. However one thing Cesare certainly hadn't thought to hear was a confession of the enjoyment that he has caused Elizabeth. He listens carefully to her words, eyes focused on her face, and when they kiss, their setting and circumstance forces it to be brief, but it is nonetheless fervent.

He is pleased by her words, perhaps even prideful of them, though they are nonetheless difficult to believe. In some respects, he has done his duty, as he had perhaps wished, though certainly not expected. He had wanted her to find joy on the ship. Thankfully, in his eyes at least, he might have provided her with enough distraction from her woes in order to help her attain it.

When their lips part, he remains close, his eyes closed and his breath on her skin. He pauses, just waiting, taking in her words for a second and remaining with her, before he finally speaks.]

We should go.

[Perhaps it's not the best response in the world, but he has a lot of thoughts and emotions running through his mind. Perhaps later he will try to put them into words but for now he can't and, as much as he hates it, he must instead focus on their task at hand.]

[skjalf]

[ difficult as they may be to believe, she means every last one of those words. she is not a modern woman. instead, she hails from a time and place which has left her feeling anything but safe for too long. cesare has changed that around, and shown that he will do whatever it takes to protect her. as he has been honest enough to say to her in the recent past. even so far as to kill a man who, while being family, has done her many a disservice within the last few years.

with cesare at her side, she does not need to rely on richard to champion her, unreliable as he was at that, anyway. no. she has her champion with her now.

her response to him is equally as fervent and brief. she does not wish to remain here. elizabeth closes her eyes and leans her head toward him, nodding quietly. ]

Thank you, Cesare.

[ reaching down, elizabeth grasps his hand and waits for him to retrieve his sword and armour with the other. if she does not keep herself anchored to him here, she will feel lost. so she hangs on, lacing their fingers together and squeezing tightly. ]