He Was Aware That He Was Still A Child

[iknowtheconsequences]

Who: Kaji, Zelda, and Ashe for one scene, Kaji and Ib for the other.

The Observatory: Zelda and Ashe.

Kaji arrives without a letter or a warning. He hasn't even spoken a word out loud to anyone about the object that he woke up from out of the dreams with, clenched tightly in his hand. He definitely wouldn't send a message over the unsecure Mognet about it. Best to just come to the Observatory in person, he thinks. The black crystal, cut into the shape of a rose, is held tight in his fist again, but wrapped in a white cloth. He hadn't shown it to Ib, but quietly confirmed that her own crystal was still fine, and, indeed, what he was holding was a duplicate.

He strides into the Observatory with a deathly serious look on his face, one that hasn't appeared very often here. His whole body is held tense, and he shifts the crystal in his palm, as if to reassure himself that it's still there. "Your Highness? You around?" He supposes, he could be referring to either one of the women he's looking for.

House A-14: Ib.

The letters from their liasons with the castle have made a few things abundantly clear. In a very short amount of time, this entire city is going to become a war zone. Which means precisely one thing to Kaji: Ib needs to be anywhere other than here.

If there was anything to be learned from the dreams, it's that Kaji needs to stop sitting on the sidelines. He needs to stop figuring out the angles, there is no angle left to figure out. It's as if the stupid Angel siren is blaring in his ears right now, the danger is coming. But this time, he can stand up and stop it, instead of waiting behind while children fight for him. Not this time.

So when Ib returns home, she'll catch Kaji right in the act of packing a bag for her. His movements are a little frantic, but the look on his face is trying to be determined, brave.

Comments

The Observatory

[goddessofthesky]

Zelda was going through notes and maps in the meeting room when she heard someone come in the main door. Kopula had been manning the desk for her should someone come in and need help and so after seeing Kaji he quickly fluttered away to get Zelda. He didn't know where Lady Ashelia was and Kaji looked too serious for him spending a long time searching.

Zelda appeared a few heartbeats later looking over Kaji with a worried glance. "Are you okay?" It wasn't a fair question considering the state of the city and their impending fight but it looked like something else was on his mind.

Re: The Observatory

[iknowtheconsequences]

Kaji looks up at Zelda uncertainly. "I'm- fine. Actually. Things are fine, I just-" The man known for being slick with words is having trouble figuring out what to say.

"You ever have something happen, that you just have no way of framing? I've barely been keeping up with this whole idea, that we got pulled to another world, I think I've caught up with that one. Couldn't be scared or weirded out. Had to keep it together, because of the kid." Ib.

"But then, those memories? People's memories that weren't mine? I want to just explain that all away, like magic's real here, right? I want to say it was just magic. But they were real, they weren't just dreams. I can't try to deny it." He shifts and puts the wrapped object on the table. "They really happened."

Maybe he's not making any sense, but to Kaji, none of this makes sense anymore.

The Observatory

[goddessofthesky]

Zelda was probably one of the few where his ramblings did make sense. Even before coming to Crystallis she was kidnapped from her home, given memories of a goddess, was told she was that goddess and that she had to save the world.

Crystallis was just like that, all over again and so every unsure and shaky word of Kaji's made perfect sense to her.

Her gaze softened before flicking to the object that he set on the table. "I do know what it's like. To have your whole world turn upside down and to have to be strong." There were times all Zelda wanted to do was scream. She was skilled at keeping those feelings locked away.

She reached for the object and slowly began to unwrap it. Her gaze flicked between the strange item and Kaji making sure that it was okay for her to do so.

[her_rose_is_red]

Ib returns home from exploring Stiltzkin's castle in a cheerful mood. She really feels like she accomplishing a lot lately. She does notice that the mood in the city is strange. Everyone seems so tense. But she isn't truly concerned until she sees the look on Kaji's face. Her own smile falls and she speaks up hesitantly.

"Um, Kaji? Are you okay?"

[iknowtheconsequences]

Kaji looks up, startled, at Ib's entrance, and he freezes in place, with a folded shirt halfway to the open bag.

"Um. Hi."

He slowly finishes the movement, and then clears the bag off the couch to make room. "We should talk." He immediately kicks himself for the statement, why is he sounding so uncertain? Come on, it's time for you to be the adult you're supposed to be here.

"Did you get the updates about what's happening to the city?" Let's start there, so he knows how much she knows and what she understands about it, first.

[her_rose_is_red]

Ib shakes her head.

"I just got back."

Since it definitely seems like something serious happened, she moves to sit down in the space he cleared. Fidgeting slightly, she cautiously offers...

"I can tell something bad is happening though. Everyone in the city is.... weird."

Quiet. But not in a peaceful way. In the nervous way people are when they're waiting for something terrible.