dot dot dot

[Arianna Barrial]

It had been a while since she left the Medical Bay with her duties done for the day. Allen was stable and comfortably resting with a limited amount of morphine - mostly so the other staff and herself could monitor the intake, considering it was an addictive substance - available should his pain become unbearable. It did nothing for the tangle inside her, though. Part of her, the part that held on to Damien just as she had Roland, was bright and alive and hopeful, but the realistic part of her mind deduced that Damien would have no more recollection of her than David.

It hurt.

As much or more than the twenty years of silence had, but at least she had an answer for that.

So, her decision now was to seek him out and have that closure, or let him get on with his own life rather than see her wound up and emotional, just as she had tried to move on in hers. To credit Damien, though, she'd waited the better part of these twenty years, but to no avail.

Now it was ironic that the moment she was locked into the Academy that not just one but both of them cropped up.

She appreciated literature and theatre back in the 'golden days' as Allen put them, but, this was life. And it hurt that much more, for the blade was keen and close to her own heart. Anger, grief, and frustration all coiled together and rolled inside her, among other things. For now she was taking some food back to the Infirmary she'd only left a short while ago, convinced that if she could put her mind to work she would eventually settle.

[Damien Blaze]

"Hello, Arianna."

Damien stood a little off to her left, wearing a black leather jacket that was a little older but still in good shape. Dark blue jeans and a plaid long sleeve shirt decorated his young frame, the nearly forty year old man not having aged a day since he saw her last. He had the smallest of smirks on his lips,- it had been about eighteen years since they'd left each other, and though both were older there was clearly some unfinished business. The plaid shirt had all the buttons undone, revealing a white T-shirt underneath upon which rested the wedding band she'd given him all those years ago. His hands were stuffed inside the jacket pockets, and his gaze remained fixed upon hers.

"Long time no see."

There weren't many people around as this wasn't the normal eating hours, and he was left almost entirely alone with her to discuss their mutual predicament.

[Arianna Barrial]

Think of the devil too much...and he shall appear.

The familiar voice and utterance of her name broke clean through her tunnel vision of getting back to the infirmary. The blonde full on jerked, her body managing to move to the right and execute a sharp pivot, but it didn’t save the food that shot from her hands with a surprised half-shriek of “Fuc—!” before she forcibly cut the word off. Her hands fumbled, trying to snatch back the falling tray but ultimately retreating to fold against her chest as the utensils rang out in punctuation of the moment. Nothing could have prepared her for seeing Damien in the flesh, but he might as well have been a ghost, considering he looked - literally - not a day over eighteen or nineteen—exactly as he remembered.

Wide eyes stared, dumbstruck, like she’d just been buried under a pile of bricks. Some part of her recognised the fact he recognised her—and that brought a sudden onslaught of emotion. More than anything, though, she was simply stunned.

No no, this wasn’t how this part was supposed to go either. What the...

Maybe she should stop with the deer in the headlights look? Then she’d be able to speak?

[Damien Blaze]

Damien's gaze broke as well to follow the tray as it crashed to the ground, spilling her food. He'd glance back up at her, walking over and removing his hands from the jacket to proceed with picking up the various scraps of goods from the ground, putting them back into the tray as best he could.

"You're....definitely gonna wanna get some fresh goods here. Can't be sanitary."

Still, he'd stand, holding the tray in a way that suggested she take it from him while he searched her face.

"Here I thought David would have told you about me already. Well...so much for softening the blow."

He'd told Oni who he was purposely, so that David would know and could tell Arianna. That plan had clearly fallen through the cracks.

[Arianna Barrial]

Her mouth was dry as she watched him move to pick the tray and most of what spilled up. Well. If he was an apparition he was able to do...a lot. Her mouth felt like cotton and though she hadn’t really gotten over her wide-eyed expression...but it seemed he was real and in the flesh.

Arianna was wordless as she took the tray, but it was his second set of words that had her shaking her head slowly, though her eyes remained centred on him. Finally she managed to swallow a little, enough to regain some form of speech.

“...he told me you were enrolled, and here... Not anything else.” Okay. She could speak. “He didn’t remember anything. I didn’t think...it would be any different, considering he alluded to the same thing happening to you.”

That...that was a lot of talking. And now the shock was starting to ebb...

[Damien Blaze]

"Mm."

He nodded, glancing off to the side.

"His memories exist, but my brother's brain is putty in the hands of his overlords. I'll correct that soon enough."

He'd glance at the few stragglers in the room.

"Perhaps you and I can go somewhere more....private to talk?"

[Arianna Barrial]

The blonde pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth. Overlords? She was soon redirected from pondering over the thought to something more concerning.

“...ah... The Infirmary, then, or..?”

God. She was dealing with some serious...she couldn’t decide what to call it.

[Damien Blaze]

He'd shake his head. Turning, he'd gesture for her to follow him as he made his way down the hall and to the left. On the door was a sign that sign "Mechanics and Engineering". He'd open that and hold it open for her to follow. Once inside, he'd lead her down some steps and toward the bottom of an old boiler room, one probably no longer in use. Pipes still ran throughout, however, and once down there he'd turn some knobs on a few of them, steam and air hissing out lightly. It was somewhat low in tone, but enough to mask their voices.

Also there was a small table, with some take out food and a bottle of wine, with a napkin. He'd move over to gently take her tray from her and set it on a desk in the corner before returning and removing his jacket.

"Sorry. I anticipated catching you before you got food, but since yours in mostly ruined..."

He didn't intend a romantic setting, so there were no flowers or candles. He'd hang his jacket up on the chair and scratch his hair, which was about twice as long as when he left.

"I'm um...not sure on the protocol here. The pipes are to keep David out so we can talk but...everything else is entirely improvised."

[Arianna Barrial]

As long as he didn’t suggest her room...or his.

Arianna followed, the stiffness in her posture suggesting she felt ill-at-ease at the very least. Well, at least the turn down and into the realm of mechanics and engineering set her a little at ease, only to abruptly crumble apart as she eyed the setup. Her jaw clenched as she cane to a stop. Obviously there was thought and preparation to this - and he’d admitted as much - and though there were no flowers or candles something inside her was clawing to get away, knowing full well there were red, wailing sirens on her end.

So she didn’t move despite brittle fingers relinquishing the grip on her tray.

“...what exactly needs to be talked about that David shouldn’t hear?” Naturally she assumed it had to do with what he said before. But...the table, food, wine, and private space (it didn’t matter it wasn’t fancy, she wasn’t comfortable with this scenario at all) had her standing still, unmoving.

Her pale honey irises roaming over the spread, wide again, said as much.

[Damien Blaze]

Damien would glance down at said setup, and let out a low and long sigh.

"I like oriental food, and wine seems to pair well with it. I don't....I'm not here to woo you, Arianna. Just talk. You have my word on that."

He would never interfere in the life she'd made for herself, and when he was initially setting this up he worried she would take it as his intent to do just that. Rather, he only wanted some comfort, and he remembered a time when they were friends that they ate such a meal together, laughing about the state of the world. One eye covered by some hair, he looked up at her, and would answer her question.

"Everything should be discussed without him hearing."

[Arianna Barrial]

It was difficult. So difficult. Too difficult.

Her shock was starting to wear off, and she was feeling anything and everything aside from rational and logical. The fact that it was bubbling and festering inside her probably wasn’t a good sign, because usually she was quite direct.

Now it was difficult to look him in the eye. So she shifted, and in that shift Arianna tucked her hands into her pockets, clenching slightly. The rings were there, they were never really were left far away but it was impractical to wear them in the medical bay, what with constantly washing her hands.

He had always been the honest sort - at least, with her - so while she didn’t have cause to doubt him, even after twenty years there were feelings that lingered, buried like embers, and there was suddenly too much she was conflicted on. Part of her wanted to run, far and fast as though it could leave the tangle of emotions and growing sense of shame behind.

She moved, slowly and stiffly, and finally sat, trying to contain everything of twenty years that was suddenly pulled up harder than it had been with David—considering he didn’t remember. But Damien did.

[Damien Blaze]

Damien watched her with patient eyes as she slowly moved over and sat. After her, he'd take his own seat, reaching over and uncorking the wine to pour it into the paper cups that were there. He'd then take his box of noodles.

"Okay. Before I...tell you some things, lets talk about me and you."

He'd grab some chop sticks (there were forks too), and stick them in the noodles.

"Eighteen years ago, I was forced to flee following the death of my brother, as a collective intent on destroying the titans of the new world had plotted out my death, Kyrie's death and the death of the Dragons. Foiling their initial plot, I was able to discover that while they saw myself and Kyrie as threats, they didn't yet have a hard enough fix on you. On what you would become. While I was able to reach Kyrie directly following her letter to you to meet, we were forced not to bring you into the fold as the trap of said collective had it's jaws around our meeting point."

He took a bite.

"So, I was forced to make a choice. Continue to try and reclaim you for myself at the risk of your life....or to abandon our story, for the time being, and let them think that you were less important than you were." He took a sip of wine.

"I kept my men following you throughout the years, protecting you from the shadows. From the time you decided to move on, to meeting Abel, to developing your bloodline Qi to now. But I myself was never in a position to intervene, lest the same net that came for us back then came now. Cabal has changed that. By allowing you to enroll here, they've unwittingly brought you under the charter protection, and the protection of the supervisor and their soldiers. By doing the same, I am similarly protected...and thus can talk with you, as I am now."

He'd take another bite....giving her time to ask what questions she wished.

[Arianna Barrial]

Truth be told Arianna wasn’t even sure she wanted to stay. To oblige him she picked up the cup after picking one hand out of her pockets, but she didn’t drink, and so far made no move for the food. She did, however, listen, her eyes falling down to the cup in her hand.

At the end of it all, she knew she should speak, if only to say something, ask anything. But her throat felt constricted and all of the broiling emotions continued to bubble and build. Perhaps if she did speak it would all come out and she wouldn’t be able to stop.

About twenty years could do that to a person.

[Damien Blaze]

He'd keep staring, waiting and eating.

[Arianna Barrial]

This was all awkward and strange for her. Uncomfortable.

But if she moved to look up or speak..?

Arianna remained silent and staring into the cup.