Open RP Post

[centuriesinspired]

What it says on the tin, give me your starters or make a request.

Pick a scenario if you need ideas.

Comments

[verstoned]

[Rhus quirks a smile back at him. That's an expression he doesn't remember on G'raha's face... but then again, a hundred years will do anything to anyone.]

I doubt it's a question of allowing myself, Exarch. Sometimes the mind simply refuses to stop. [And, as a scholar, a former Sharlayan scholar no less, perhaps the Exarch understands that all too well.] Mine tends to be more active than most, after a fight like that.

[And the appearance of the Lightwarden at the Ravel... is the stuff of nightmares.]

[centuriesinspired]

I can empathize, my friend.

[ Not only since his days as a scholar, though they were several lifetimes ago by now. But nearly every day since arriving in the First, from developing the method of summoning someone across the rift to the relatively smaller matter of leading a city as it sprung around him.

A lucky thing that bonding to the Tower greatly cut back on his need for sleep. Rhus has no such luxury, however... ]

Perhaps something to serve as a distraction... [ He tilts his head, fingers curling near his chin. ] You've done your share of tasks for the Crystarium already I am sure and I am loathe to give you any further chores. That is the last thing you need.

[ Maybe...? It's silly of him to even think of it but this is too fine a chance to pass up. Some small selfish part of him would like nothing more than to spend time with the Warrior. As much as he can before....before. ]

When was the last chance you had to walk the grounds? No running from one point to another...or dashing. I've seen the way you take those steps, a dozen at a time.

[verstoned]

En Avant, Exarch. A skill for dancers, [he corrects with a grin. Just a slight tease.]

But I've not walked 'round the Crystarium... [Rhus puts one hand on his hip, the other before his mouth. He has to think about this, because he feels like it's been a long time since he's had to see the sights of the city.] Not since I first arrived, I think. Before I attuned to the Aethernet.

[How long has it been, since then?

Feels like years, to Rhus, even if he knows he's not seen a single Heavensturn celebration since coming to the First.]

Is this your way of telling me to talk a walk, Exarch?

[centuriesinspired]

No, only...

[ The Exarch does his best to hide a fluster and is only marginally successful. He hadn't meant to sound like he wanted to get rid of Rhus, of course not! Only--only he's probably teasing him, still.

A soft breath allows the Exarch to collect himself as he takes a few decisive steps, down from the dais surrounding the Occular's scrying portal. ]

Only if you would not be opposed to company.

[verstoned]

[Ah, of course he would ask to come along. Of course he would, though Rhus feels a little bereft because he wanted to invite the man along for some walkies.]

If it's you? Never. [Rhus grins widely, placing his hands on his hips as he leans down enough to come to the Exarch's level.]

Best to get you some fresh air as well-- I cant imagine bein' in here for so long is so stimulatin'. [To the Miqo'te himself, he would be doing his best to claw at those crystal walls after the second bell rings out of sheer boredom and agitation over needing to stay in here for so long.]

And mayhap get you fed an' watered, if you've not yet already.

[centuriesinspired]

[ The shadow under his cowl deepens as he tilts his head, fingers curling near his chin, as if he has to think long and hard to remember the last time he ventured out of the Tower. ]

Ah, 'fresh air' would be involved, wouldn't it...I believe I remember the sensation, though a refresher certainly could not hurt.

[ The Exarch's smile is deliberately modest as he looks back up at Rhus. ]

Come, then. Let us make the most of this respite.

tamw you see me writing rhus with his pre-sb speech in the previous tag

[verstoned]

[Rhus beats him to the doors of the Ocular, holding them open so the Exarch can pass through unimpeded. And when the Exarch has done so? The Miqo'te follows him, placing a hand on the man's shoulder, that closer to him.

Casually holding on to a friend he hasn't seen in so long, and just making sure he wont disappear on him again.

The moment Rhus could get away from Cid and the others and find a quiet spot to himself, he cried over the fate G'raha had chosen for himself. It wasn't fair, he told himself not too long after witnessing the doors shut and lock themselves.]

It's day, my dear friend, true sunlight and a gentle sky. This is not something that should be wasted indoors.

[Even if he knows that the Night's Blessed would prefer to adjust their schedules to become nocturnal. But at least they've been given a chance to know light that's not harsh and tyrannical.]

[centuriesinspired]

[ Well hidden under the drape of his robes, the Exarch's tail gives a twitch at the steady weight on his shoulder. This isn't the first walk they've had together though it has been some time since he'd shown Rhus around the Crystarium. They'd been strangers back then...sort of. Of course he knew who Rhus was but has done his best to make sure that Rhus knows him only as the Crystal Exarch. Befriending him again has been bittersweet though he knows it's the best course. It has to be.

Still, hearing Rhus call him 'friend' again...it warms him more than sunlight ever could. ]

To put aside the jests, I have been able to enjoy the returned sky. On occasion. Though even now the sight of it can and does give me pause.

[ After a century under Norvrandt's eternal light, can one blame him for having the same moments of awe as the native denizens of the First? Yet another miracle the Warrior has wrought. ]

[verstoned]

[That however gives Rhus pause. Does the Exarch even remember what the night sky looks like? If Rhus is remembering correctly, he'd seen twenty-four summers before he locked himself in the Tower, and having spent a hundred years here...]

On occasion, eh? Which means not often at all... I hope you remember what it looks like, at least.

If not, tonight I shall come by the Ocular once more and bring you out for another walk. [And Rhus will make sure to set his chronometer to wake him half a bell before the sunset. He forgets that most Sunseekers, even a half-breed like himself with the right (or wrong?) eyes, just see nothing but a vast blackness after the sun has set. Oops.]

Pick you up and carry you out that tower, if I must. I may be a dancer now, but I still am a dark knight as well. [That threat is more easily given now than when he was still a white mage, even if the change from that is only recent.]

[centuriesinspired]

[ A century of eternal light and centuries more asleep in the Crystal Tower...though the latter felt like an instant to the younger G'raha Tia. Still enough time for memories to change if not fade completely. The true dark sky slowly replaced by artistic renditions in his mind's eye. Illustrations carefully copied down in books and preserved both in his own collection and the Cabinet's.

The true stars were no where near as bright as what had been recreated on paper; indeed, the Seeker barely able to make them out at all. Even so the sight was no less appreciated. ]

'Tis not a sight I ever wish to take for granted, you needn't fear. [ He smiles wide under the hood's shadow. ] Though if that is how you wish to spend the time you're meant to be resting...

[ ...he really should be resting, the Exarch remembers. The idea behind this walk was to help Rhus get to a state of mind that would allow it. And he needs it. The light will be taking its toll before long and he'll need his strength. ]

...if you truly insist then might I at least ask you wait until the last Light Warden has fallen? I would hate to be the cause for you faltering in battle.

[verstoned]

[There wont be a time after the last Lightwarden.

Rhus knows this. Already he knows this, because a crusade such as this never ends without a life sacrificed.

The Miqo'te turns, placing himself right before the Exarch and taking his hand off of the man's shoulder in order to lay it on his dear friend's cheek, the fabric of the cowl the only thing keeping him from touching the Exarch's face no matter how much he'd want to.]

I think you're misunderstanding your role in my life, if you think that way.

[He always falters in battle. He simply doesn't let it stop him for too long, because lives depend on it. He may think so little of his own, but of the others? They're of his highest priority, and is why Rhus is a dark knight, a stronger dark knight than a dancer.]

If I don't keep you in my thoughts, how am I to be stronger in battle?

[centuriesinspired]

[ He stops as Rhus does, looking up with concern. Had he misspoke? Yet before he can as what troubles the man his tongue gets stuck in the back of his throat, caught there as Rhus's hand reaches for his face. Instinctively he grabs for the top of his cowl to keep it in place--but that isn't what Rhus was reaching for. The warmth from his hand bleeds through the fabric, to the growing crystal on his skin, and in an instant the whole of the Exarch's face is as red as his shadowed eyes. ]

Rh--Rhus, I...

[ He ducks his head at the words, not to dislodge the other but out of a sudden need to hide. ]

...such kindness for a stranger. You flatter me.

[verstoned]

[Oh, G'raha Tia, you sweet, naive fool.

Those are the words Rhus dearly wish to say, but cannot, because if G'raha spent all this time lying about his identity, then there must be a good reason for it.]

Because you remind me of someone I once knew, Exarch. [Rhus sighs, leaning over and ruffling the man's hood with his breath. He places his chin on the man's head, lamenting that he cannot yet properly touch.]

He was young, barely older than a kitten, when first we met. Eager to spend time with everyone, and full glad to have something to do.

T'was his doing that I knew of the Crystal Tower, and his sacrifice that took him away from us in the first place. He sealed himself in the tower, that one day someone else may open it ourselves and be worthy of what lies within... and he would guide them.

Not a day passes that I don't miss him, and if he were still alive, somehow, I can only hope he is happy.

[Are you happy, G'raha?]