AUDIENCE FOR: Yuri Leclerc

[guestservices]

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[guestservices]

...but things went south?

[ashenvaliant]

[ he’s taking aquila’s left hand at this point. ya boy has nails to paint. ]

How much have you spoken to the others from Fodlan?

[guestservices]

[ he may do that, though yuri will notice they keep their left hand very flat. ]

Hmm. Not much. You're the most social of 'em, at least for us. [ a beat. ] Or maybe the most nosy.

[ashenvaliant]

[ sir your handsie. ]

I could stop bothering you but then where would you be without my charm and wit to get you through the day?

[ it’s said almost flippantly as he puts down a base coat and lets it dry. thank you sweet iris for teaching him the most important of skills. ]

All our worlds differ slightly. While it’s not my place to tell you about Claude, Dimitri’s, Sylvain or Flayn’s Fodlan, suffice to say there are some things I’ve learned she did when on a different side that I find unsettling.

[guestservices]

[ their handsie! don't worry about it. ]

Nah, I like it when you bother me, pretty bird. Like to think we're friends.

[ they match tone for tone there, flippant and cheerful. ]

But that's - interesting. All this weird different timeline shit people keep running into, huh?

[ashenvaliant]

[ worries about it. he’s tapping the edge of the first painted nail to see if it’s dried before beginning to apply the deep purple shade. ]

You’re very easy to hand out your friendship. But I can’t say you’re wrong either.

[ he pauses a moment. ]

… Mm, it sounds like it. In one world, she taught a different class and eventually killed someone who I… suppose I have a level of respect for, although don’t spread it around. From what I can tell, there was no need to. They were no direct threat to her or her Emperor’s plans.

[guestservices]

[ this is fine. they watch from behind the veil, laughing a little at first - they don't explain why, though. per the second bit, aquila tilts their head, thoughtful. ]

... I see. So, senseless violence. [ hah. ] We've been through this before, pretty bird. Feel like I'm getting a good sense of who you are.

[ as they're saying this, there's a faint twinkle, though, and for becks, a tweat - the shower of silver stardust returns.

you have had trouble throughout your life resisting a temptation. you allow yourself two particular vices, both of which come with consequences. but this vice is your survival - good or bad or otherwise, you need it like a drowning man needs air. you have to have it. your chance is coming, and who knows how long you'll be trapped here? it has already been weeks, and you're playing the game with a handicap.

you can't have that.

truthfully, you've known from the start that this was going to end this way. there was no other story where you did the unselfish thing; where you listened to advice, where you took their offer, their kindness, where you put yourself into their capable hands, because your closely guarded self is so vulnerable, and you can't allow anyone else to solve it for you when the solution is right there. you couldn't resist at home. you can't resist here. the ability to have a taste of normalcy is just one night away.

you choose carefully. a target that needs to be eliminated. it's nothing personal; you have something you need, and you'll strike the target down with precision to ensure that it becomes yours. you've always been a planner. you've started the seeds of your trap days in advance.

when the night comes, you take an unfamiliar weapon. the world around you is pitch black and quiet - but you're used to that, aren't you? but maybe just the feeling of anticipation that makes everything seem faint. you take a deep breath, and focus on the wind, on the way the air moves through the vents, through the hallways. on the slightly sterile smell of this place you've grown used to. turn left there. turn right there. there's a jut in the hallway right here. keep up appearances. keep moving. there's something else, too - something just unnatural. just this side of iron tinged. you stand in that little room with the weapon in your hand.

and when the doors open, you feel the wind and you know your target is in front of you. you are unhesitating as you dash forward. you are skilled, and even if your target is just as ferocious, you will survive this. you will survive this. you will survive this.

(what's a promise made to three, four people, when you're used to carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders? where does your fate lead you?

not to your deathbed, here. not to your capture. you'll pull this off. you'll get away with it, you'll do what you've been asked, no matter how heavy the burden, no matter how difficult the task.

you'll survive.

you always do. )

...when the memory ends, aquila seems almost frozen, stunned for a moment - their easy mannerisms have vanished. ]

[ashenvaliant]

I can't judge over harshly for someone causing unneeded death. Goddess knows I've done my fair share from time to time, but it hits different when it's from someone you... I don't know. Expect better from? Wiser decisions, at least.

[ a tweat!

it's not what he was expecting -- realistically that the staff should be as wrapped up in this mess shouldn't come as a surprise to him. he'd already been told they aren't free from the effects of this place even working as staff, so why would the memory sharing be any different?

he's quiet when the memory ends. the tenseness that's fallen over aquila not going unnoticed. ]

[guestservices]

[ well. they're tense for a moment, but...

... they relax when there's no initial reaction, and they snort. ]

Wiser decisions, yeah.

[ashenvaliant]

[ hmm. ]

... Sometimes wise isn't always possible though. But I feel in her case, it was.

[guestservices]

So, not enough to totally dispel your opinion of her, then?

[ashenvaliant]

Not entirely. The... her I know and the her I saw seem like products of very different situations. Not that that's an excuse so much as an explanation.

[guestservices]

Makes sense. You guys and your weird timelines.

[ they don't really get it, but you know what, yuri's already explained it, so. they will let that be! ]

[ashenvaliant]

Us and our weird, weird timelines.

[ aquila will get about five seconds of peace before yuri shifts his gaze to look at them: ]

An assassination?

[guestservices]

[ wow. they're admiring their nails on their left hand! ]

Hm? Oh. Yeah.

[ashenvaliant]

[ wakes up and spinkicks fastly. ]

I can literally feel you wriggling out of this conversation.

[ other hand please. ]

[guestservices]

[ uwu?

they give him their right hand, relaxed. ]

Iunno what there is to wriggle about. Did some assassination jobs. You said it before, yeah? Better to kill for a reason than to kill for coin?

[ashenvaliant]

Better, yes. But sometimes money does end up being involved.

[ nails….. 2. ]

Were you successful?

[guestservices]

Always successful.

[ they shrug their other shoulder as to not disturb yuri's work. ] Lucky when it's someone who deserved it, too.

[ashenvaliant]

[ shakes hands in murdering mahito for justice in the bracket tags. ]

It is, it is. Your conscience gets in the way when it’s someone who doesn’t.

[guestservices]

[ for justice and medicine baby

they make a little noise, a soft laugh. ]

Yeah. Sure fuckin' does.

[ashenvaliant]

[ a great deal for stepping on a flea! ]

Ah well. I’d more concerned if it didn’t.

[ et voila. beautiful nails for a lil shit. ]

[guestservices]

[ they laugh. ]

Yeah. We talked about that, too.

[ and then admire their right hand! pleased: ] Looks pretty good, pretty bird. We match.

[ they wiggle their fingers close to the purple hair and then go to pull their gloves back on once the nail polish is dry. ]

[ashenvaliant]

Purple is the superior colour, right?

[ he seems satisfied with his handiwork. ]

I’m just relieved I don’t have to get pity supplies from Aquarius when I run out of eyeliner. Sweet of them to just hand it over, but it’s not something I wanted to start expecting.

[guestservices]

[ heh... handiwork. ]

Yeah, you definitely shouldn't have expected it. [ they snort, amused. ] Not surprised Aquarius gave it to you though. Gonna just steal from our spa now, huh?