Breathe [David/Open]

[Kyrie Blaze]

It was late. And all was quiet.

Kyrie's blue eyes looked along the street as she enjoyed the cool - well, in comparison to the heat of summer, anyway - night air that breezed by. The door behind her was open, showing the screen door. The second floor windows were open as well, as both Kyrie and her sister enjoyed the more crisp temperatures of the Californian 'winter'.

Kyrie stood on her front porch, leaning her good side against the beam at the top of the stairs and sipping her now lukewarm peppermint tea. She would need to try and sleep, soon, but her ribs were bothering her enough that she didn't want to sit down, either. Standing or laying flat on her back were generally her best and most comfortable positions. But she didn't complain--and didn't even take the painkillers her sister insisted on.

The little blonde had, after all, dealt with a similar pain before.

Her lips curved in a slow smile as she continued to enjoy the sights and sounds in silence, content and quite happy to take some of the quiet - albeit temporary - peace the night brought.

[David B.]

The calming patter of his footsteps lightly slapping against the cobblestone beneath him precluded the destination he had in mind. In a small driveway down the street, David stopped, having crossed the yard to the house just so he could stare down the street at the large house he had found for his Marshal. He was familiar with it, intimately, having claimed the house a while ago with her in mind. In Davids left hand, he held a freshly cleaned bottle of Rioja Imperial Gran Reserva from 2004, one of the best wines in the world. He had found it yesterday, still whole but covered in dust. Now, on a Saturday, he had some time, and wanted to spend it with someone. Les had a daughter, Youichi was with August, Kazuya wasn't around and honestly- he hadn't been showing enough time and attention to the blonde.

In his right hand was a small box of two wine glasses, and he wore a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, with a tie loosened around his neck. He hadn't worn such clothes since college, and truth be told, never really felt like he should. He had wondered, a long time ago, if he had lost the fire that made him who he was. If he lost a piece of himself to the job, to the rank, to the people. When Barker fell...when David saw the mans body, it was like a great weight had shifted inside him. It was still there- just moved. He realized what he had been trying to teach Lucien at the celebration- that this was just another step. But more importantly, he learned that his enemies were vincible. Mortal. As strong as they were they could be defeated.

And he remembered who he was. Ex-School Captain, Varsity Captain...he was an Elder now. He had enemies in the Dragons and out, but he felt confident he could face them now. He was planning again. He was eating and laughing. He had fought Olesya the other day and they actually flirted. He knew that if they got back together, things would be different. Unfortunately, he also knew that Kiyr only knew him as the Elder. As the one with slouching shoulders and an aching desire to never do the job he was born to do. Now, he was beginning to feel like he was meant to do it. Was starting...just starting, mind you, to feel like his old self again. He would lead, and eventually rule the free world in the end. He could live with that responsibility, if he had someone at his side who could handle it.

It was time to see how Kiyr felt about all this.

He started off again, walking toward the house, tie swinging a little in the chill. As he approached the porch, he gave a cool and smooth smile, holding up the wine and glasses to the blonde on the front porch.

"Care for a drink?"

[Kyrie Blaze]

Even in a restful state, the petite blonde was still watchful and observant. Half-lidded blue eyes picked up movement as the familiar figure neared. She didn't straighten from the post of her front porch just yet, but watched, curious. It was quite late - perhaps around 11pm - and so to see David out and about was a bit...surprising.

And his style of dress was something to be noted as well. It wasn't something she had really seen before. Aside from when he had returned to the area after he and Olesya had fought...but even then, there had been no tie. A clean, 'pressed' shirt and suitable leather jacket. She blinked, slowly and owlishly, at the offered two glasses and wine bottle.

Somewhere in her mind, there was a small, cautious note that sounded...and she watched him for a moment as she sipped the last half-cup of tea she held in her hands. Kyrie blinked again, more normally this time, and inhaled slowly as she lowered the cup from her lips.

"If you do not mind that I should finish my tea, first..?" She asked with a faint smile, continuing to be at ease.

[David B.]

Theme

David smiled, walking forward and planting one foot on the bottom step, thumbs hooked into the pockets of his pants as he looked up at her, looking at the cup she held and nodding.

"I expect you to stop what you are doing immediately and see to doing what I want."

His grin indicated he was obviously joking. He glanced around a bit, at the sounds of the neighborhood- people were up, still running through what had happened in the world recently. The death of Barker. It was definitely something worth celebrating. David was celebrating in another way. A kind of...personal liberation. It had only been about a week or two since the man had died, yet already they could feel the rippling effects and he was not immune to them. He would wait for her to offer him to come inside, eyes on her form as/if she led him to it.

[Kyrie Blaze]

Those big blue eyes blinked, briefly, before the smile curved her lips a little further upwards. She had caught on to his jest quickly, if not from his obvious tone and grin, then his body language gave it away. She took another sip of her tea and her eyes resumed their partially closed state even as they glinted in amusement.

Her head tipped just a fraction away from the post she was leaning against.

"Would you like to go inside, or would you prefer to remain out here on the front porch?" Her eyes slid towards the swing, her back to the old - comfortable - rocking chair behind her. The swing that had either been there when he found the house, or something he had thoughtfully hung up as he fixed the place up before giving it to her.

Kyrie left it up to David as to what he wanted to do. The only person currently living with her was her sister, so it wasn't as though they would disturb anyone, either way.

[David B.]

David gestured with the glasses to the swing, heading up and setting the bottle and box down on the porch. Pulling the cork out with wind but sucking it up into his palm, he smiled over at her, pouring himself a glass as he waited for her tea to be finished. He turned, allowing her to sit, looking out across the yard and breathing deep the crisp Californian air.

"Things are changing, Kiyr. Barker is dead. We have a new enemy who doesn't seem afraid to show his face. All of this...is gonna grow and expand and...I want to share it with someone."

David took a sniff of the wine, then sipped a little, looking down into the glass and closing his eyes a bit after.

"Unfortunately, I have the circumstances that really give a headache. I love two people, and one of them has my daughter."

He took a deep breath and looked over at her.

"I want to get to know you more. Not as your Elder or in any official capacity. Tonight, me and you are going to talk plainly, figure each other out so I can get a better idea of who you are. Obviously...you can ask me anything you want too. Sound good?"

He watched her and waited.

[Kyrie Blaze]

Kyrie straightened from her position and meandered towards the swing...but didn't sit. Regrettably so, because she adored the swing. And it wasn't because she would be next to David, either. She just didn't wish to compress her ribs and cause herself pain. They were still prone to it, even after this rather short span of time. If he asked, however...or perhaps after having a bit of the wine... She leaned back against the railing, her lower back braced against them. She listened as he began to speak, continuing to sip her tea.

Her eyes flickered, watching him. To share it with someone? Did he..? His style of dress, the wine...she had already figured - with her rather keen intelligence - that this was looking to be more and more like a date. The little chime of warning words in her mind had been in regards to it.

But, no, he clarified that much--he had yet to decide. She exhaled slowly, sipping the lukewarm peppermint tea. Maddie. She was...she was one of the many reasons that she... When he looked over, she was watching him, her eyes clear but her brows just slightly drawn together and up. She was confused even though the words he said made sense on some level.

With a slow, deep breath, she nodded.

"Yes, that sounds okay." She blinked, her head tilting slowly. She wanted to wrap her arms around herself but wasn't interested in adding pressure to her ribs. She kept both hands coiled around the glass in her hands, one hand's fingers through the handle, and sipped again, taking her time. "...is there anything in particular you would like to know..?"

[David B.]

David took another sip of the wine, moving over and claiming a seat on the swing, one arm shifting up to prop over the top of the backrest. He gave a half-hearted shoulder shrug.

"Nothing in particular. Tell me about France. Did you grow up there?"

These were questions most people went through went looking at someone for a future. At least, before the fall that was the case. After the bombs...you looked more at who made you happy and how you got along together. But he wanted to drink up everything about their person- what made her who she was. What made the tricksy hobbit tick. And think. Always thinking. Even now he could tell her eyes were splaying over him, searching for some hidden answer he would provide her.

He gave a smooth, easy smile. He just wanted her to relax- this wasn't a test, there was no right or wrong answer. Just the night, a bottle of wine, and the comfort of a people at peace.

For now, anyway.

[Kyrie Blaze]

The question...was somewhat surprising. Her eyebrows raised in response before they dropped, leaving her eyes soft and smiling, with a hint of the same on her lips just above the glass she held. She took another sip and was mildly disappointed that she finished the tea off. But it was for the best. Mint tea was good, warm or cool, but she tended to prefer warmer for the contrasting sensations. She set the glass to the side along the railing and set the heels of her hands against the wooden beam.

"France," She began, the smile not dissipating, even though the cup no longer hid her lips from view, "Is a gorgeous place...but I was not raised there. My Mother - as both she and my Father fondly say - is the French pastry. She was born and raised in Versailles, which is a Parisian suburb. My grandparents on her side of the family never left. We would fly over to visit, when we could. The same with my Father's family in London, England... My siblings and myself are actually from Seattle, born and raised there. I still do not know if any of my extended family survived...aside from my Grandfather on my Father's side..."

There was a quiet, wistful curiosity to her tone. The places she missed and didn't see enough of, certainly, but...she never expected to have any of her family alive. There was no way for her to go overseas to search.

And, being so busy, here...well.

Even with the emergence of her sister and grandfather...she didn't think she could. But she had them and had the Dragons and her extended family ties within the Crows. For now it was enough.

"Where was it that you were raised..? You were near a coastline, if I remember right from the dreams..."

[David B.]

David nodded. It was hard to wonder about your family. He knew this feeling well. He turned to her as she asked about where he was raised. He took another sip and cleared his throat after, shrugging. Not many knew much about Davids childhood- at least she knew something from the dreams. He turned his eyes to hers.

"I've been here for about ten years, and I can't remember the time someone actually sat and chatted with me about my life. Thank you."

He would take another sip before pouring a little more.

"I was born in Kittery, Maine. Right along the coast, not too far from York. We owned a small estate out there."

His dad was filthy rich, after all.

"Tell me about your parents. What did they do for a living?"

[Kyrie Blaze]

The blonde's blue eyes softened and a tiny smile curved her lips upwards. Finally, it seemed, she gently straightened from the rail, empty cup of tea left behind, and moved to seat herself - a little gingerly, though her ribs had improved by leaps and bounds, they still twinged now and again - upon the swing.

She found it difficult to believe, on one hand. Especially so when most of his time in this location had been before the bombs. She glanced at the wine as she tucked one leg up beneath herself, her other trailing through the air as she settled it overtop the other limb.

"You are welcome, though you do not need to thank me." She fell to silence as he spoke, and listened. The smile, despite her wondering on something else, didn't diminish. "Winters must have been rather cold, but gorgeous with snow..."

She tilted her head a little with the question, but had no issues with sharing.

"My father was an Oncologist at Seattle's Children's Hospital, so, he helped a lot of sick kids. We would volunteer, as a family, at least once a month. My mother...was hired in a broadcasting company as one of the managers, but eventually decided that she would rather stay at home after Alessandra was born. So she had fun turning the house upside down, often...a canvas, a stage, and she got to direct it all. She loved it more than working."

And why not? She got to love and care for her family, and although her father (and Armand) grumped about moving furniture, it was easy to see that it was in jest. The blonde's eyes softened in remembrance, turned down to look at the small patch of space between them on the swing.

"What are your siblings like..?"

She turned her gaze upwards, curious...still rather uneasy she wasn't able to talk about Damien. It upset her that she had to keep something so important from him.

[Kyrie Blaze]

David B. said:

David listened patiently, watching her as she spoke...taking in the information. As she finished and asked her question he stared for a few more seconds, thinking to himself. Then he turned to the front yard, staring off for a long time.

Damien was young, reckless...but far more controlled. Very mature for his age. Or at least he was. He had the mental fortitude of a mountain, and despite him having two older siblings, he always seemed to be the one who knew the answer to any question. He always had his face stuffed in a book, looking over maps, or memorizing stories and histories. He rarely laughed, but when he did he got a sparkle in his eye that told you he was a Blaze, through and though, true of heart.

Aaron was two years older, but acted like the youngest. He had a mind that almost always was in the gutter, and loved ladies. With his looks, he almost always got them too. Relaxed to a fault, he never saw the use in war. He never stepped into the roles his highschool tried to pit him in. He always let his brother take the glory, instead opting to skip classes and lounge about. David loved him, though, because he always was there to talk. To be with him and confide in. To fill the role of the father, when it was needed most.

And both were probably dead.

"My siblings are the Dragons. My brothers are the Gods and the Crows. You are my family now..."

He stood, and set his glass down, his mirth having faded at the mention of his family. He walked to the porch, planting a hand on the wood beam that connected the railing to the roof. He spoke, calm and clear, obviously trying to move them out of the game they had been playing.

"Barker is dead. I am glad for it. But now we have this new enemy...and he would likely see us removed from the earth entirely. From whatever he plans."

He watched the sky, able to see the party lights and hear the Dragons in their celebration.

"Can I count on you, Kiyr? If it comes to the wire, if I need you, can I count on you over anyone else?"

He seemed to be easing toward something.

Kyrie Blaze said:

It killed part of her. That she couldn't say that Damien - in so far as she was aware after Mexico City - was alive and well. Her eyes shaded a little darker, but softened as he said the Dragons were family. That the Gods, Crows...and she herself was family. The returned question...hadn't been a good one, apparently.

He seemed far-off, somehow. Distant and remote but still there.

She wanted to tell him, wanted to see his eyes light up with the news. Instead she could only watch and wait and hope that soon he would know.

Her eyes rest on him for a moment as he looked out...then down to the wine. She poured a small measure, not even six ounces, and took a small sip as she listened to him speak. Slender fingers curled around the stem of the glass and rotated it, swirling the burgundy liquid so it streaked and ran in small rivulets back down to the whole of it.

Her brow drew together at his question, wondering. What was this? Suddenly...

"So long as if - Mathew does not accept my request to choose my own loyalties - it does not conflict with the bond I have..." She wished she knew why. And what was on his mind. His sudden switch... It confused her, left her off-balance as she tried to keep her head above water. "You know I would do anything I could. Whenever I could."

David B. said:

David shook his head, a faded smile appearing on his face.

"So long...as it doesn't interfere with your oath and bond?"

He looked up at the clear night sky.

"There is a storm coming, Kyrie. I had hoped...to find my family, and bring them in, and live and die with them. Though not bound by blood, you are all my family, and when that Storm comes, I refuse to watch you burn. If my home, if my people, fall...I will die as one of you. Could you say the same for the one you swore an oath to? He thinks himself above them, and as such, thrones would suit him ill."

He stuck his hands in his pockets.

"But it is too late to change his leadership."

He turned back, with a sad smile.

"I had a...dream, you see. A few weeks ago."

A nightmare, actually.

"I killed him, and Leon. I was cold, unfeeling. I was a shell of my former self, a mockery of my name...I did as I had to in order to protect you all, and in so doing, I became Mathew. Worse, than Mathew. At least he stuck to his ideals."

A small smile.

"Things are going to change, Kiyr. I hope when the dust settles, you at least will remember me."

He turned and started down the steps.

"Enjoy the wine."

He would take to the air, not turning back even if she called out.

Kyrie Blaze said:

"It hadn't been long after you and I had spoke that we received the call to war. With everything escalating, I did not have the chance... Very soon, though..."

It was a thing that needed to be said with tact and timing...else she would, at the least, receive some kind of punishment. Branding, beating, she wasn't sure. Death. It wasn't something to bring up at the cusp of war or when he first found out Bastille had been taken. She wasn't stupid; she would have incited his anger and who knew how he would have taken it.

But it was irrefutable that she needed her freedom. That she needed to be able to choose, and choose freely.

While he looked up, she watched him. Her eyes widened and her face paled, slowly. She didn't want to think of him dying. He was so close to her, he meant so much...it would shear her in half. Not physically, but...some greater, more important part of herself would be torn asunder.

No...she didn't think she could say the same for Mathew...

But he still meant a great deal to her.

The petite woman watched, listening intently, and flinched. There it was again. He was certain he would die? Would she even live passed that point?

Remembering him..? There was no doubt of that, for her.

He started down the steps and her heart contracted, painfully. Immediately as he spoke, she set the wine down and stood, moving quickly but in her quiet way to the edge of her porch, pulling the Sky Force jacket closed around her form.

'No. This is not the point to recede, to wait.'

She followed, springing up after him. The wine he told her to enjoy, forgotten as he never could be.

"Attendez, s'il vous plaît, David."

She was bewildered and couldn't see where he was leading. She needed to know. With a quick burst of speed, she flipped to her back, coming up beneath him to stare into his eyes, seeking to understand.

"David...why?" Always something she asked, needed to know. Why did he ask her? Where had she been in that dream? Was he asking her to...to keep him in line? Keep him...prevent him from killing Mathew and Leon? Or something else..?

David B. said:

David didn't answer- he just stared for several seconds, letting the last second or two show the true horror behind his eyes- he was done. Not with her, or with Les, or with the Dragons...but with fighting what was required of him. He told her that the day he had returned, and after Barker died....he knew there was no where else for him to go. He would waste away, his heart and soul to protect those he loved. He would even become Mathew if that was what was needed to see her live...Maddie grow up...Olesya die old and toothless in bed....Mitsuki to get married...whatever he had to do.

He broke the sound barrier when he blasted away into the sky, the ripples from the full force of his Qi shattering outward. He didn't intend for this- he had wanted to spend a night of questions with her. But there was something she was missing- that David had flipped on a dime, when she asked a simple question about his siblings. It was like a key to the lock on his responsibilities, on his worries and fears. That he would die without them, they without him.

That the Dragons would as well.

He would not allow it.

Within moments, he was gone.

Kyrie Blaze said:

The horror in his gaze struck deep. Hard. It left her breathless faster, even, than his breaking her ribs had. For a second the same was reflected in her own gaze and she reached up--

--but not fast enough.

Never had she been fast enough or strong enough. It always bothered her, that fact, but extremely so at this moment.

Before her hands could hold on, he shot away. One second he was there, the next he was gone, the backlash from his sudden departure hurtling her towards the ground with a cry that was made of shock, anguish, fear, and love. Before she could smack into the ground, she regained control enough so that instead of crashing...it was more tumbling and rolling. It jarred her ribs as she came to a stop, flat on her back. Her breath came hard.

Her eyes glinted with tears that streaked, wet, down her cheeks. Choking back the sounds of her distress, she swallowed and pushed herself to her feet. She needed to tell him. Or needed to bring Damien back. That horror...it was the same type of desolation she had felt. Hiding her face against her sleeve, she stumbled home. Despite wanting nothing more than to leave the glasses on the swing and railing...she picked them up. Moved back inside with almost agonizing slowness...and not because of the physical pain.

Arianna Barrial said:

Arianna had heard them leave. She'd heard quite a bit of their conversation. She only heard one come back. There was the soft clink and gangle of glass against glass and ceramic before the door opened and her sister stepped in.

There were dull streaks on her cheeks. The elder Barrial pushed herself off her stomach, leaving her tea in its cup on the floor. Making a note of her page in the book she was borrowing - that her sister had gotten last year as a Christmas gift - she set it aside and followed her into the kitchen. She approached as her sister tipped the small amount of wine into her mouth and flipped the water on, to hot, to wash them.

"Kyrie..? What happened?"

Kyrie Blaze said:

So sworn to secrecy, she couldn't even tell her own sister? A couple fresh tears leaked from her eyes before she closed them. With a hiccup, she gently set the glasses into the sink before turning off the water and finally turning away, finally looking up at her sister.

What could she say?

That she was terrified? That she--

Arianna Barrial said:

There were few people Kyrie could not hide from. Fewer, still, that Arianna herself could fool. From how much they had caught up, from the reactions Kyrie had to David when in her presence, she would have had to have been dead to not see it; even the blind and deaf would be able to.

She did the only thing she could think to do: step forward and draw her smaller, younger, sister into her arms to hold her close.

Kyrie Blaze said:

--her eyes widened as she was pulled into one of the most simple comforts and compassionate gestures one person could give to another: a hug. Maybe everything wouldn't be alright in the end, but the hug helped in the now. Sometimes it was still so hard to believe Arianna was back, that her Grandfather had survived.

"I-I-I brought him back. He dreamed he sl-slaughtered the other Elders-s. So he asked if I--if he...if he could count on me abo-ove all others. I am under oa-ath to Mathew, and I do not...know what he wants me to do... T-To what? Keep him in line? Prev-vent him from bec-coming that?" She shook her head, face hidden as she clung to her sister. He had dreamed that. She didn't know where she was in that dream. Why it hadn't been prevented? Her own dreams were different. She hadn't even mentioned them, that the Manipulator had paid her a visit. Too much had happened too quickly. "...k-kill him if..?"

Arianna Barrial said:

"Shh. Shh shh shhhh, little sister. He...depends greatly on you. That he would ask that proves as much. All you can do, Kyrie, is be there for him. Be watchful. And I know..." Her brow pulled down into a frown though the action didn't sneak into her voice. She was not impressed with David Blaze, for all the things she knew of him, for all that Kyrie had told her. "I know you love him with every bit of who you are. But, sweetie, he's a grown man."

Even though he didn't act like it in dragging around the other woman - Olesya - and her sister.

"He made the decision to come back--you didn't force him to. Just like you didn't force him to love you. I know you'll do what's right, what's needed, when it comes up. And in the mean time all you can do is show him how you feel...show him the way through your own actions. He needs to sort things out for himself--to come to terms with things on his own. You can't shield him from that much. He needs to grow and face his own demons and fears. Killing Leon and Mathew...reverting from how he is right now," As, for all her distaste of him for dragging Kyrie's heart along the ground when he should be protecting that above all else, he was, indeed, a good man. He meant well, but his actions didn't show it, all the time. "Those are his demons and fears. You can help keep him with the light, but you can't shield him from that choice, because he has to choose for himself. You know that. And you know he needs to be strong enough to choose everything good in him over all the temptation. Now..."

Arianna looked at the bottle of wine on the counter. It felt a poor consolation prize, in her mind...but she was too French to let wine go to waste, and too English to do the same for tea. Speaking of tea...she would have to finish that before she had wine.

"Now, we're going to do these dishes, and then we're going to curl up on the couch together and drink wine and you can tell me more. Would you bring me my cup of tea? I'll start on these."

She pressed her lips to her sister's forehead and turned to the sink and dishes. Her gilded eyes darkened as she worked. She would need to be there for her sister in the coming days, of that much she was certain. Kyrie had precious few, if any, limits when it came to others.

Someone had to protect her. Who better than her own sister?