Drifting into the practice rooms will show a dark line of black blood dotting the halls, as though someone was injured and in a hurry.
Following the line leads to the piano room. Red reflects off the white surfaces befor you even turn the corner. The piano has been jostled to one side ans its bench to another, overturned. The floor is smeared with red and black, dark flower petals sticking in the mess and splatters against one of the walls.
In the midst of it sits Solomon. The back of his shirt and one of his sleeves have been torn open in a vibrant and angry dance of red, his jacket currently being pressed into his injured arm as he works on trying to keep his breath steady. Red oozes with the black fabric of his outfit from the open stab wound at the back of his ribs.
Everything is still warm and wet. Whatever happened here wasn't all that long ago, and Solomon is not exactly expecting company, too focused on his arm.
[ the details of the trial that took place after his murder had been told to him with such a gentle touch that lavi hadn't been fully expected what took place during those few hours. the way that things were picked apart and people's hearts and souls were put on display—to be ripped apart and exposed. at the end of it all, there is only one place he wants to return to that gives him any semblance of comfort but, per the usual, he takes his time to get there.
probably to the benefit to the person who undoubtedly all of this blood that he comes across owns. (and the mess. a fight. some sort of scuffle.) though he typically enjoys wandering the grounds a shadow silhouette, lavi will immediately swap to his vehicle form before bursting through the room to make it over to his—solomon's—side. everything was going to be reset, right? who cares about some extra property damage. besides, it's clear that he needs medical attention—solomon, the professor who seemed to find himself in the midst of many interesting conversations. ]
Solomon!?
[ sorry, he'll ask for permission another day and worry about what all of this blood will do to his interior after it's all over, but lavi'll fling his passenger doors wide open for him via doing a whole akira slide. ]
[The crashing sound gets him to jump back, smearing the blood worse underneath him as he scrambles for a hold to keep himself upright and
oh my god is he hallucinating. there's a car. there's a car trying to break down the d--
Oh wait. No, it's.... he knows this voice, why can't he place it--]
--Lavi? [Rough, a little distracted.
A beat, and his head shakes, lips dryly licked as his eyes dart to the floor.]
No. No, he left. I don't know where he...
[The thought drifts unfinished as his mouth thins, and he messily grips into the mismatched blood to grab a handful of those petals and shove them into his pocket, before stumbling his way to the car.]
You're... you'll be fine if I'm doing this, right? I hope?
[ not going to lie that there's a slight ping of delight that swells in lavi's chest when he hears solomon use his name but it's quickly overlooked in favor of focusing on the real issue at hand. solomon and his attacker(s)...except the attacker (him) seemed to have left so that's not really great, but will have to do for now. with some urgency, lavi will wriggle his car door at solomon to help him into the seats.
ps. as a reminder to the entire class, this is what lavicar looks like. ]
Yeah, yeah... Don't worry about it! [ solomon only needs to be a little more than halfway into the backseat for him to take over. ] I've driven around my entire dorm earlier in the week when I finally came back.
[ which was an experience. a true, wonderful bonding experience that could only be shared between the group of them. a memory that lavi doesn't relive as he keeps his focus on solomon. ]
No one was bleeding at that time but I can worry about that later and if nothing else my seats are already red.
[ not like dried blood will blend in with the lovely red of his interior but you know; that'll be fine. small pennies for an entire bucket. ]
I'm going, I'm going-- [Thankfully, despite how unsteady he is, Solomon doesn't seem to be injured any lower than the ribs, and he's able to shove himself onto his back and push himself in with his legs with Lavi's help. He pants for breath, gripping his coat hard against his arm as he stares at the interior roof of... Lavi? Lavi, right?]
Just-- just go, please. Infirmary. If you see Fandaniel, get away from him, understood???
[ once solomon has settled in lavi's backseat, the door will slam shut and off they go to the infirmary. forget the doors and whatever furniture that is going to be in their way as he exists the room. solomon may be delighted(?) to learn that lavi, in this form, doesn't have any issue traveling across through the halls and isn't restricted normal conventions.
as for solomon's warning though? ]
Fandaniel?!
[ GOD YOU PEOPLE ARE SO MESSY... ]
What is he going to do to someone who is already dead? He can't kill me twice over.
[ though there is a part of him that wants to see how that'd up going for him. not that lavi has any reason to dislike fandaniel. he just also don't have any particular reason to like him either. whatever, he vroom vroom towards the infirmary. ]
[You know what... he is suprisingly calm about this car situation, now that they're on the move through atmospheres that didn't make much sense to begin with. Delighted, somewhere, in the back of his head, were he not in pain.]
He's a hair's trigger away from killing everyone here. I don't -- I-I don't know if it would matter that you're somewhere separate, if he genuinely thought you'd be a -- a threat to what he wants most right now.
[The words come through breathing that it struggling to stay steady. The pain isn't new, though it's been a while. But the unfamiliar threat of mortality scrapes at his head like a reminder in Sika's eerie voice. Remember that you can die.]
[ when lavi first hears what solomon has to say he's all too ready to scoff at whatever "harm" that he has to worry about up until he hears the warning (threat) of fandaniel's current state of mind. and, for a moment, lavi says nothing as he continues to vroom vroom his way towards the infirmary but when it requires him to take a turn, perhaps he takes it a too sharply and jostling solomon as he begins to drive along the walls. ]
Killing everyone?
[ lavi repeats in a tone that's lower than his normal and significantly more serious and perhaps a little colder than he had been just moments ago. it's certainly not a tone that solomon would have heard before—not with the edge to it that almost dares to be challenged. face of people appear in lavi's mind, but more specifically the face of someone he had already seen bloodied in a field of flowers.
[He chokes as his shoulder slams into the door. Ah. It was like, huh.
...
Still, he doesn't seem to have the energy to put on airs, his weight staying limp against where he's been unceremoniously tossed.]
If only I knew where to point the finger other than myself. [Father, perhaps. Sika, for making it worse.]
Coincidence. He thought I was too close with someone he's now grown obsessed over. Someone I already think would want me dead as well.
He would see the troupe burn before allowing them to die. And he has no desire to join himself in the massacre, because it isn't the death that will let him be free.
It's not the man he was. Only he and his beloved belong to his heart now.
[ lavi listens to solomon speak silently and commits his words to memory just as he does with everything else he sees, hears, and reads. it's his duty. it's what's required of him...
however, even though solomon speaks of the fragility of fandaniel's mind and what he would do and his obsession, a different persona begins to rise up from lavi's memories. not like this being's presence is ever too far away from lavi these days despite his relation with them suggesting it should be otherwise. ]
Seems like he has a lot in common with Sika Madu.
[ the chill in his voice still present. ]
If that's how he feels about things, I wouldn't be too willing to tell him that. [ ... ] But I'm sure that if he tried to carry out on his obsession, he would run into quite of a bit of resistance.
[ faces. a bloodied body in a field of flowers... ]
They cry to the heavens for vengeance after the universe has said they are not allowed. They wish only to save the one they care for, and to find peace in their inevitable deaths... even if takes the blood of the masses.
But just like with Sika... they forget there is always more ways than the ones they preach upon. And I would prefer we not lose any more innocent blood. As little as possible.
[His shoulders slump. Exhausted.]
All I want is to see you all to safety. I will take his ire, if it takes it away from the rest.
[ don't pass out on him, solomon!! as car lavi can only do so much with how he can interact with the world and there's absolutely nothing he can do if he becomes a silhouette. suppose it's a good thing that this conversation has inadvertently made lavi speed up beyond he would have taken previously. ]
Sika Madu isn't a being who deserves any kind of empathy or sympathy. [ lavi says resolutely and without room to be swayed to think otherwise. ] They're fully aware of their actions and will not apologize for it. If they want to walk that path then I'm not going to stop them.
[ he's not ignoring what solomon's quiet desire to take all of the pain and punishment onto himself. it's just that he's also not unfamiliar with people who think that way...even if their faces and names escape him. somewhere inside of him knows. ]
The only thing that I care is for them to not drag everyone else down with them. I have no interest in beings that behave like this.
Mm. For as much as they claim they don't want to be seen as a demon, they certainly act like one, don't they?
[He watches the infirmary come into view in blurred vision.]
Every day I wonder how much of their terms are nothing but lies. How long, before they stop the act. Even with more and more of them peeling away to show the truth, they don't give.
I understand it. And it makes me trust them even less.
[And yet there's something deeply complicated in his tone. Regret, possibly.
...]
Mm. The supplies, just... get me as close as possible, please.
[ there's a hum that comes from lavi where it be his engine revving or himself before he replies to solomon. it's always interesting to see how others view the world; a lot can be learned from them from that alone. ]
Demons, angels, every heavenly body that can be seen or otherwise, and even humans... I've seen both sides be equally as cruel and as kind to those around them.
[ beep beep honk honk infirmary. lavi will come crashing through the entrance and give zero care to whether he fully fits into the room or not. whatever is in his way will (un)fortunately no longer in his way.
though there is one "correction" that lavi wants to make for solomon. would this do anything to help settle whatever haunts him? who knows. lavi says it more for himself than for solomon's ease. ]
Everything that Sika Madu has told us has been the truth and it will continue to be the truth. [ he'll swing the door open for solomon after being as close as he can to the supplies. ...the ones that he hasn't knocked over and ran over as he was getting them inside of the infirmary.
i mean, it should be fine, right? everything resets so it's not like it matters. ] The only thing that everyone forgets is to think about who is telling the story.
...Sounds to me like we've shared similar ground, then.
[On observations, at least. Perhaps not in practice.]
I already can tell something is deeply wrong with Mikaela. Sika is either completely unaware, or a very good liar. As far as for the rest of their countenance...
It is the absence that concerns me, more than what is said. Deception is weaved through just as much of what is omitted as what is kept sincere. Whether it comes from Father or Sika or Mikaela or something else entirely, I don't know.
[He shoves himself out of the car, a weak grapple to try and strip off his shirt and toss it to the floor. Seals and protective spells line his skin, with one lone sigil standing out on the nape of his neck. Unlike the rest, it has no name.
Time to dig for supplies with his good hand. This is going to take a while.]
[ lavi listens to solomon's response as he attempts to make his journey to the supplies easier in any way that he can in his current form. ...which is honestly not a whole lot but he does try. lavi also makes note of the seals and spells written on the exposed parts of solomon's skin.
some of them seem familiar to him—maybe he had seen them once somewhere? or maybe they only closely resembled ones that he once remembered... with just how fractured and incomplete his memory was, lavi refrains from commenting on them. at least, not in favor of derailing the conversation that they were currently having. ]
Maybe.
It's not my first time dealing with beings like Sika Madu. [ lavi says with his voice somewhat distant. ] I can no longer remember their names or their faces but I remember where they stood.
They wanted to protect their family—at all costs. Being able to live together in a happy existence, that was the only thing that mattered to them. Nothing else.
[ and was it really that wrong for them to want that? ask many people here and they would answer that they'd go to great lengths to protect their family and loved ones. ]
There's good and bad across all sorts, Angels, demons, humans, and all the things that live in between. Even though it's easier to see otherwise, the reality is more complex than most will ever see.
I'm of the mind that equal footing is deserved, even if it's not always seen as such. All of us are going to be choosing things for the better of ourselves, the better of our kind. Pulling others along without question, especially the powerless, is where I personally draw the line.
[He focuses attention on his arm first - a nasty and long wound down the back and side of his forearm ending with a chunk of red taken out of his palm. He's no doctor, but at least he knows the basics. Clean it out, try to slow the bleeding. He'll have to find someone else to help him if he's going to need stitches later - he's not about to ask a car to do that.]
[ with the way that he sees solomon struggle with patching himself up, it's unfortunate that there isn't much that lavi can do in the form that he is in and even if were to swap to being a shadow it would serve even less usefulness. so, he does the only thing that he can do in this situation, and that is to keep up the conversation.
everything that solomon says are almost in perfect alignment to what lavi has told others, and even said here, so he finds himself not really having much to comment there. if anything, he considers who he is talking to and about the ID cards/graves that each of them have. (except for him, now, i guess.) ]
Such insight worthy of someone with the name of "Solomon", but maybe that's just coincidence.
Some stories are worth crossing boundaries of worlds, but I can't imagine that they're completely the same. There are a few other people here with names and reputations that are familiar to me and existed in books that I've read.
It's just not in my nature to bring up this up where everyone can hear it.
[ but coupled with the spells and seals written on his body? it's conversation worth having in a time like this. maybe... ]
It's true, though. Even in the same realms, it's not as though stories ever stay the same. Warped by time and a writer's touch, until the truth and the tale are as far apart as can be.
[His injured hand is held up for a moment. Covered in blood as it is, there is still a signet ring on his finger, separate from Father's.]
The people nicknamed me "the Wise", long ago. "The Witty Sorcerer." I can't say it was something I ever asked for, or ever felt appropriate. But people will do what they need, with the things they can't otherwise explain.
"The Wise" or "The Witty Sorcerer", huh? [ now that's a take. not one he protests but— ] I found your stories to be a bit interesting; a lot of them praised you for your accomplishments and your dedication to God.
[ hmmm. lavi's opinions on god are very funny because everything that is dgm but that's not here for discussion. we're talking about solomon here. ]
But I also saw a man, blessed by God, given more wealth and reputation than any other person at that time of recording. A man who some believe could do no wrong in the path that he walked. A man who slowly learned greed and was later punished for it.
People will make connections they need, even if they're incorrect. Similar stories tend to float around where I'm from. That I was a king, or that I used my unusual knowledge and powers to build grand temples and start wars.
Who knows what was true. But I can say that... while God and I are not enemies, neither are we friends. What blessings he has "granted" me were only after he deemed me a problem, not a follower. And I have never agreed with how he and his angels have viewed his people, no more than I agree with demonkind.
You won't give me the pleasure of knowing what your true story is?
[ well, that's sure an answer from solomon. strangely, it's the kind of answer that he would have expected from the man that lavi read in the books. so much was known and recorded about him and yet.
some of it didn't seem real and exaggerated. obviously the solomon that lavi read in his books is not the same as the injured man before him now. ]
Though, if your truth is the close enough to the ones that I've read, then the one who was responsible for recording your life down certainly missed a few details. [ ... ] Maybe they had a reason for it.
There isn't much to me, really. I'm only a sorcerer. [His smile is light. It doesn't quite reach his eyes.]
The stories will be as they are. It's like any other myth, passed down from person to person. Again, there isn't much to be done after time takes it away from you.
I prefer to keep my eyes to today, and today alone. The past can't be changed, and tomorrow will have its own worries.
[ yeah, sure. whatever you say, solomon, lavi believes that. (he does not.) well, he does agree with how sometimes recordings that get passed down irresponsibly do end up sounding more like myths and legends than true accounts.
nothing much to be done about that, right? ]
A sensible way to live life, especially in a place like this. Focusing on the past a bit too much might do yourself more harm than good. You'll miss the opportunities that lay before you and all of that.
However, at the same time, living just for tomorrow and forgetting where you've come from leaves you vulnerable to making the same mistakes.
Hahah - you're not wrong. It also doesn't take memory into account -- ah, um. Hold that thought--
[He winces hard at the burn of disinfectant, gritting his teeth through it with his chin bent tight into his chest. Bracing, in and out of breath, before he digs for bandages.]
--R-right. As I was saying...
The human mind can only retain so much. Things I might have vowed to be important when I was young may not matter anymore, whether they shaped my life or not. But should I feel upset in losing those steps in the sand, or grateful that I am where I've found myself in the here and now?
[ lavi will absolutely hold that thought. ...not like there's much he can do as he is currently. and it's really funny to listen to what solomon waxes poetic about; not because he's wrong but because the person who he's talking to is much different. ]
The normal human mind, you mean. I might not be able to prove anymore due to my circumstances, but I'm pretty good at remembering things.
[ to put it very lightly. ]
I know you're only speaking in the metaphorical sense, but when it comes to remembering the events that took place, what someone has done, where they have come from, and all of that falls in-between—that's sort of my specialty.
Not really; I'm simply stating the type of person that I am.
[ this is an exercise for them both. lavi flexing on what he can remember of himself while sharing it with solomon. two birds one stone even though he would have never shared anything about himself in the first place. but sometimes these things are necessary. ]
...but it doesn't; from the moment I was born and until I die—every recording that I make will be remembered. It's unique to my clan.
Free from all bias? Perhaps not. But that's not exactly how people tend to work... At least, not in my experience. After two hundred years is when I think the mind truly starts to fade.
Though it's fascinating you seem to think much differently.
That's why I wanted to put out your assessment is for normal people.
[ ... ]
Due to situation here, my memory of this is pretty unreliable but I know that two hundred years is barely any time. Especially that we record without bias, as I've mentioned, there's no "good" or "bad", it's all about who is looking at it.
Fair enough. I wouldn't dare call either of us normal. Again, my estimate is only off my own experience. [He barely remembers when he turned two hundred anymore, but still. It's where he can at least ballpark when things started falling out of his memory in larger and larger chunks.]
So that would leave it with only the beholder's interpretation as the flaw, rather than the information itself, regardless of the passage of time. Am I understanding correctly?
Isn't that much obvious? If the person who is recording the information only knows of one side or holds any particular feeling, then it will show in the recording.
[ isn't that what they basically hashed out with solomon? his "historians" were only able to write with what they could see of him. ]
I'm sure you're familiar with the saying, "history is written by its victors". To preserve the truest form of history, the one writing it can't be partial to any side.
[ a 100% neutral party outside of every conflict. ]
[ sorry that this car does not have proper hands to helps with the bandage. ...unless solomon wants to get creative with windows and such?
and lavi doesn't have enough of his memory to provide examples or, honestly, he wouldn't either. there's a lot more packed in there than he'll ever feel comfortable explaining, so, he's fine to leave things as they lay. ]
No need to apologize. It's not the first time I've had to be on my own, and it won't be the last. At least the small talk fills the air with more than blood.
[His chuckle is weak as he works to finish up the bandaging up onto his wrist and palm, before trying to assess the wound closer to his back. Ough he's not flexible enough for this...]
Until I found my partner, the lack of my memory didn't bother me deeply. I've come to peace with the fact that I will never remember everything. I can try to find ways to keep those most important things intact, but I'm of no special clan or bloodline. Inevitably, my memory or my methods will fail.
Even should I forget something that felt critical to me, I know it can't stop me from moving forward with what's important. And right now, that is the safety of all of you.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cw: blood, injury - WEEK TWO - SATURDAY, POST-TRIAL
Drifting into the practice rooms will show a dark line of black blood dotting the halls, as though someone was injured and in a hurry.
Following the line leads to the piano room. Red reflects off the white surfaces befor you even turn the corner. The piano has been jostled to one side ans its bench to another, overturned. The floor is smeared with red and black, dark flower petals sticking in the mess and splatters against one of the walls.
In the midst of it sits Solomon. The back of his shirt and one of his sleeves have been torn open in a vibrant and angry dance of red, his jacket currently being pressed into his injured arm as he works on trying to keep his breath steady. Red oozes with the black fabric of his outfit from the open stab wound at the back of his ribs.
Everything is still warm and wet. Whatever happened here wasn't all that long ago, and Solomon is not exactly expecting company, too focused on his arm.
Hello, ghosts. Is it time to haunt a little?]
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probably to the benefit to the person who undoubtedly all of this blood that he comes across owns. (and the mess. a fight. some sort of scuffle.) though he typically enjoys wandering the grounds a shadow silhouette, lavi will immediately swap to his vehicle form before bursting through the room to make it over to his—solomon's—side. everything was going to be reset, right? who cares about some extra property damage. besides, it's clear that he needs medical attention—solomon, the professor who seemed to find himself in the midst of many interesting conversations. ]
Solomon!?
[ sorry, he'll ask for permission another day and worry about what all of this blood will do to his interior after it's all over, but lavi'll fling his passenger doors wide open for him via doing a whole akira slide. ]
Is the one who attacked you still here?
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oh my god is he hallucinating. there's a car. there's a car trying to break down the d--
Oh wait. No, it's.... he knows this voice, why can't he place it--]
--Lavi? [Rough, a little distracted.
A beat, and his head shakes, lips dryly licked as his eyes dart to the floor.]
No. No, he left. I don't know where he...
[The thought drifts unfinished as his mouth thins, and he messily grips into the mismatched blood to grab a handful of those petals and shove them into his pocket, before stumbling his way to the car.]
You're... you'll be fine if I'm doing this, right? I hope?
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ps. as a reminder to the entire class, this is what lavicar looks like. ]
Yeah, yeah... Don't worry about it! [ solomon only needs to be a little more than halfway into the backseat for him to take over. ] I've driven around my entire dorm earlier in the week when I finally came back.
[ which was an experience. a true, wonderful bonding experience that could only be shared between the group of them. a memory that lavi doesn't relive as he keeps his focus on solomon. ]
No one was bleeding at that time but I can worry about that later and if nothing else my seats are already red.
[ not like dried blood will blend in with the lovely red of his interior but you know; that'll be fine. small pennies for an entire bucket. ]
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Just-- just go, please. Infirmary. If you see Fandaniel, get away from him, understood???
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as for solomon's warning though? ]
Fandaniel?!
[ GOD YOU PEOPLE ARE SO MESSY... ]
What is he going to do to someone who is already dead? He can't kill me twice over.
[ though there is a part of him that wants to see how that'd up going for him. not that lavi has any reason to dislike fandaniel. he just also don't have any particular reason to like him either. whatever, he vroom vroom towards the infirmary. ]
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[You know what... he is suprisingly calm about this car situation, now that they're on the move through atmospheres that didn't make much sense to begin with. Delighted, somewhere, in the back of his head, were he not in pain.]
He's a hair's trigger away from killing everyone here. I don't -- I-I don't know if it would matter that you're somewhere separate, if he genuinely thought you'd be a -- a threat to what he wants most right now.
[The words come through breathing that it struggling to stay steady. The pain isn't new, though it's been a while. But the unfamiliar threat of mortality scrapes at his head like a reminder in Sika's eerie voice. Remember that you can die.]
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Killing everyone?
[ lavi repeats in a tone that's lower than his normal and significantly more serious and perhaps a little colder than he had been just moments ago. it's certainly not a tone that solomon would have heard before—not with the edge to it that almost dares to be challenged. face of people appear in lavi's mind, but more specifically the face of someone he had already seen bloodied in a field of flowers.
❙❚❚❚❙....❙❚❚❚❚❚❙......❙❚❚❚❚❚❙......❙❚❚❚❙❚❚❙̸̩͊̔❙̴̠̜̓̂❚̵̞͋̽❚̵̠͓̇❙̷̜̙̌̽❙̵͓͐❚̶̲͘❚̸̙̂̃❙̵͓̠̀....
his engine revs and he picks up speed before he speaks again. ]
And whose fault is it that he has been pushed to that point?
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...
Still, he doesn't seem to have the energy to put on airs, his weight staying limp against where he's been unceremoniously tossed.]
If only I knew where to point the finger other than myself. [Father, perhaps. Sika, for making it worse.]
Coincidence. He thought I was too close with someone he's now grown obsessed over. Someone I already think would want me dead as well.
He would see the troupe burn before allowing them to die. And he has no desire to join himself in the massacre, because it isn't the death that will let him be free.
It's not the man he was. Only he and his beloved belong to his heart now.
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however, even though solomon speaks of the fragility of fandaniel's mind and what he would do and his obsession, a different persona begins to rise up from lavi's memories. not like this being's presence is ever too far away from lavi these days despite his relation with them suggesting it should be otherwise. ]
Seems like he has a lot in common with Sika Madu.
[ the chill in his voice still present. ]
If that's how he feels about things, I wouldn't be too willing to tell him that. [ ... ] But I'm sure that if he tried to carry out on his obsession, he would run into quite of a bit of resistance.
[ faces. a bloodied body in a field of flowers... ]
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I have no doubt.
They cry to the heavens for vengeance after the universe has said they are not allowed. They wish only to save the one they care for, and to find peace in their inevitable deaths... even if takes the blood of the masses.
But just like with Sika... they forget there is always more ways than the ones they preach upon. And I would prefer we not lose any more innocent blood. As little as possible.
[His shoulders slump. Exhausted.]
All I want is to see you all to safety. I will take his ire, if it takes it away from the rest.
I only wish I could do the same with Sika.
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Sika Madu isn't a being who deserves any kind of empathy or sympathy. [ lavi says resolutely and without room to be swayed to think otherwise. ] They're fully aware of their actions and will not apologize for it. If they want to walk that path then I'm not going to stop them.
[ he's not ignoring what solomon's quiet desire to take all of the pain and punishment onto himself. it's just that he's also not unfamiliar with people who think that way...even if their faces and names escape him. somewhere inside of him knows. ]
The only thing that I care is for them to not drag everyone else down with them. I have no interest in beings that behave like this.
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[He watches the infirmary come into view in blurred vision.]
Every day I wonder how much of their terms are nothing but lies. How long, before they stop the act. Even with more and more of them peeling away to show the truth, they don't give.
I understand it. And it makes me trust them even less.
[And yet there's something deeply complicated in his tone. Regret, possibly.
...]
Mm. The supplies, just... get me as close as possible, please.
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Demons, angels, every heavenly body that can be seen or otherwise, and even humans... I've seen both sides be equally as cruel and as kind to those around them.
[ beep beep honk honk infirmary. lavi will come crashing through the entrance and give zero care to whether he fully fits into the room or not. whatever is in his way will (un)fortunately no longer in his way.
though there is one "correction" that lavi wants to make for solomon. would this do anything to help settle whatever haunts him? who knows. lavi says it more for himself than for solomon's ease. ]
Everything that Sika Madu has told us has been the truth and it will continue to be the truth. [ he'll swing the door open for solomon after being as close as he can to the supplies. ...the ones that he hasn't knocked over and ran over as he was getting them inside of the infirmary.
i mean, it should be fine, right? everything resets so it's not like it matters. ] The only thing that everyone forgets is to think about who is telling the story.
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[On observations, at least. Perhaps not in practice.]
I already can tell something is deeply wrong with Mikaela. Sika is either completely unaware, or a very good liar. As far as for the rest of their countenance...
It is the absence that concerns me, more than what is said. Deception is weaved through just as much of what is omitted as what is kept sincere. Whether it comes from Father or Sika or Mikaela or something else entirely, I don't know.
[He shoves himself out of the car, a weak grapple to try and strip off his shirt and toss it to the floor. Seals and protective spells line his skin, with one lone sigil standing out on the nape of his neck. Unlike the rest, it has no name.
Time to dig for supplies with his good hand. This is going to take a while.]
All we can do is keep ourselves guarded.
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some of them seem familiar to him—maybe he had seen them once somewhere? or maybe they only closely resembled ones that he once remembered... with just how fractured and incomplete his memory was, lavi refrains from commenting on them. at least, not in favor of derailing the conversation that they were currently having. ]
Maybe.
It's not my first time dealing with beings like Sika Madu. [ lavi says with his voice somewhat distant. ] I can no longer remember their names or their faces but I remember where they stood.
They wanted to protect their family—at all costs. Being able to live together in a happy existence, that was the only thing that mattered to them. Nothing else.
[ and was it really that wrong for them to want that? ask many people here and they would answer that they'd go to great lengths to protect their family and loved ones. ]
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I'm of the mind that equal footing is deserved, even if it's not always seen as such. All of us are going to be choosing things for the better of ourselves, the better of our kind. Pulling others along without question, especially the powerless, is where I personally draw the line.
[He focuses attention on his arm first - a nasty and long wound down the back and side of his forearm ending with a chunk of red taken out of his palm. He's no doctor, but at least he knows the basics. Clean it out, try to slow the bleeding. He'll have to find someone else to help him if he's going to need stitches later - he's not about to ask a car to do that.]
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everything that solomon says are almost in perfect alignment to what lavi has told others, and even said here, so he finds himself not really having much to comment there. if anything, he considers who he is talking to and about the ID cards/graves that each of them have. (except for him, now, i guess.) ]
Such insight worthy of someone with the name of "Solomon", but maybe that's just coincidence.
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[A pained and shaking attempt at a joke, though his attention stays on his wounds.]
Here I didn't think my little nicknames were that well spread outside my own world.
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It's just not in my nature to bring up this up where everyone can hear it.
[ but coupled with the spells and seals written on his body? it's conversation worth having in a time like this. maybe... ]
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It's true, though. Even in the same realms, it's not as though stories ever stay the same. Warped by time and a writer's touch, until the truth and the tale are as far apart as can be.
[His injured hand is held up for a moment. Covered in blood as it is, there is still a signet ring on his finger, separate from Father's.]
The people nicknamed me "the Wise", long ago. "The Witty Sorcerer." I can't say it was something I ever asked for, or ever felt appropriate. But people will do what they need, with the things they can't otherwise explain.
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[ hmmm. lavi's opinions on god are very funny because everything that is dgm but that's not here for discussion. we're talking about solomon here. ]
But I also saw a man, blessed by God, given more wealth and reputation than any other person at that time of recording. A man who some believe could do no wrong in the path that he walked. A man who slowly learned greed and was later punished for it.
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People will make connections they need, even if they're incorrect. Similar stories tend to float around where I'm from. That I was a king, or that I used my unusual knowledge and powers to build grand temples and start wars.
Who knows what was true. But I can say that... while God and I are not enemies, neither are we friends. What blessings he has "granted" me were only after he deemed me a problem, not a follower. And I have never agreed with how he and his angels have viewed his people, no more than I agree with demonkind.
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[ well, that's sure an answer from solomon. strangely, it's the kind of answer that he would have expected from the man that lavi read in the books. so much was known and recorded about him and yet.
some of it didn't seem real and exaggerated. obviously the solomon that lavi read in his books is not the same as the injured man before him now. ]
Though, if your truth is the close enough to the ones that I've read, then the one who was responsible for recording your life down certainly missed a few details. [ ... ] Maybe they had a reason for it.
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The stories will be as they are. It's like any other myth, passed down from person to person. Again, there isn't much to be done after time takes it away from you.
I prefer to keep my eyes to today, and today alone. The past can't be changed, and tomorrow will have its own worries.
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nothing much to be done about that, right? ]
A sensible way to live life, especially in a place like this. Focusing on the past a bit too much might do yourself more harm than good. You'll miss the opportunities that lay before you and all of that.
However, at the same time, living just for tomorrow and forgetting where you've come from leaves you vulnerable to making the same mistakes.
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[He winces hard at the burn of disinfectant, gritting his teeth through it with his chin bent tight into his chest. Bracing, in and out of breath, before he digs for bandages.]
--R-right. As I was saying...
The human mind can only retain so much. Things I might have vowed to be important when I was young may not matter anymore, whether they shaped my life or not. But should I feel upset in losing those steps in the sand, or grateful that I am where I've found myself in the here and now?
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The normal human mind, you mean. I might not be able to prove anymore due to my circumstances, but I'm pretty good at remembering things.
[ to put it very lightly. ]
I know you're only speaking in the metaphorical sense, but when it comes to remembering the events that took place, what someone has done, where they have come from, and all of that falls in-between—that's sort of my specialty.
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[He remembers something like that. On a card that no longer existed. Something about memory. Was it this one? Lavi... Lavi, right...?]
How old do you think you have to be until that skill starts to falter?
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[ this is an exercise for them both. lavi flexing on what he can remember of himself while sharing it with solomon. two birds one stone even though he would have never shared anything about himself in the first place. but sometimes these things are necessary. ]
...but it doesn't; from the moment I was born and until I die—every recording that I make will be remembered. It's unique to my clan.
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Old.
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Two hundred, perhaps?
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not to wax poetic or anything but a sort of real question: ]
If the memory never fades, despite the change of hands and the peoples, does it mean that it has faltered?
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Though it's fascinating you seem to think much differently.
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[ ... ]
Due to situation here, my memory of this is pretty unreliable but I know that two hundred years is barely any time. Especially that we record without bias, as I've mentioned, there's no "good" or "bad", it's all about who is looking at it.
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So that would leave it with only the beholder's interpretation as the flaw, rather than the information itself, regardless of the passage of time. Am I understanding correctly?
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[ isn't that what they basically hashed out with solomon? his "historians" were only able to write with what they could see of him. ]
I'm sure you're familiar with the saying, "history is written by its victors". To preserve the truest form of history, the one writing it can't be partial to any side.
[ a 100% neutral party outside of every conflict. ]
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[Bandaging urself with one arm is very hard but he is trying >:(]
Not to say I doubt you. It's just not something I'm used to. And it's a bit besides the point I was trying to get to, anyway.
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and lavi doesn't have enough of his memory to provide examples or, honestly, he wouldn't either. there's a lot more packed in there than he'll ever feel comfortable explaining, so, he's fine to leave things as they lay. ]
Of course, and I was just making conversation.
[ ...hmm. ]
Sorry I can't be of much help.
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[His chuckle is weak as he works to finish up the bandaging up onto his wrist and palm, before trying to assess the wound closer to his back. Ough he's not flexible enough for this...]
Until I found my partner, the lack of my memory didn't bother me deeply. I've come to peace with the fact that I will never remember everything. I can try to find ways to keep those most important things intact, but I'm of no special clan or bloodline. Inevitably, my memory or my methods will fail.
Even should I forget something that felt critical to me, I know it can't stop me from moving forward with what's important. And right now, that is the safety of all of you.