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Post by Elf on Feb 11, 2010 18:07:46 GMT -5
Chrono’s eye widened. He froze, caught cold in a moment of duh. So flabbergasted was he that he couldn’t manage to let out so much as a grumble at Crysta as she ruffled his hair—again.
Of course she’d know. Ran’s her adopted son. And she’s—well—who she is. Duh, Chrono.
He shot a petulant look up at Crysta, clearly not liking her threat-promise. “Only if you tell me about the Rites,” he ventured, even though his negotiating prowess was severely diminished by his frizzed hair, sleep-rumpled clothes, and bleary look.
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Post by Meryck on Feb 11, 2010 18:24:48 GMT -5
She raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to argue with your boss?" That being said, she looked more amused with his supreme disadvantage in any argument right now. She chuckled, shaking her head. "Alright, if it gets you in bed faster." She pulled up a chair and plopped down, amusement fading away into a blank, unreadable look. She leaned both elbows on the table, arms crossed, sighing, this time in a resigned manner.
"...The Rites are disgustingly simple- since Dragon Demons need more Astral than most other kinds, as they mature, their horn-stubs quickly lose their ability to sustain them. The solution is quick, monstrous, and agonizing- either an elder demon or the young demon themselves yank the horns all the way out, and the sudden influx of Astral forces their body through the rest of the changes. That's why the Rites have the lowest sanity rates of all maturing rituals; there's no way to soften anything that occurs in it." She sighed once more, head hanging slightly.
"I was hoping he wasn't going to have to go through with it for a while longer, but....the Marks on his body are actually somewhat of a blessing- Astral goes in through the marks as well as directly into the horns, so at least everything won't be pouring through one focus point..."
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Post by Elf on Feb 12, 2010 13:57:56 GMT -5
Chrono’s face darkened more and more with every word. He leaned forward, cupping his hand in his face as his unfathomable gaze stared into darkness.
“That makes sense,” was all he said for a long moment, his voice so low as to almost be in audible.
He lowered his hand and shook his head. Much of the darkness passed from his face, as if a cloak had been lifted from him. “I didn’t know that about the Marks,” he commented, tone neutral. “That should help.”
A heavy sigh and a grunt echoed in Chrono’s chest as he heaved his tired body out of the chair. “Thank you for telling me.” The demon stretched, pushing his shoulders back and pulling one arm across the other, trying to get his blood flowing enough to wake him up a bit. “Guess I’d better get some rest, Boss.” A weary, apologetic smile tugged at his face.
He could make it to bed. He wasn’t that tired. He just had to put one foot in front of the other; that was all. Just walk forward. Down the hall, up the stairs, up the other hall, through the door. There. And it wasn’t like he’d be able to sleep anyway, not with information like that buzzing through his brain.
I know what I need to do now, he reflected as he shucked off his coat and shirt and slid under the covers. Ran…I won’t let you down…
He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
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Post by Meryck on Feb 12, 2010 15:40:01 GMT -5
The night whittled away in quiet pain and gloom. Ran, exhausted from his Marks, was allowed to sleep as long as needed. Reg, oddly enough, was the first one up, staying by Ran's side like any good lover should. Corey had vanished into his room to conduct some research on how to best handle the situation.
Crysta never knew her home could be so silent.
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Post by Elf on Feb 13, 2010 18:02:58 GMT -5
Despite having gone to bed in the early evening, Chrono didn't return to the waking world until just before noon of the following day. His single working eye struggled with the dim winter light filtering in through the window for a good half hour before he acquired the presence of mind to force his body into a sitting position.
Thoughts swirled around his head in a jumbled murmur as his brain still struggled to separate yesterday from today, to distinguish reality from the clinging wisps of dreams. Wakefulness came to him in a sudden flash of clarity, a single thought that forced all others to fall into line--Ran needed to sleep.
Time was short. Time was wasting. Chrono now possessed the knowledge he needed to help the boy, and the game plan of how to help him. He could go to him right now, talk to him and lay out the strategy of how they were going to get Ran through the Rites, but...Ran needed to sleep. The boy was no doubt still suffering the physical trauma of having almost a year of his life stolen away from him in a single moment. He'd been barely conscious at the warehouse, and bleary at best when brought into the infirmary...he was so short on Astral that Chrono doubted the boy would be able to hold a cognizant line of conversation at the moment.
The elder demon let out a frustrated sigh. That meant there was nothing they could do, nothing he could do, until Ran had recovered enough to be on his feet again. Who knew how long that would take? They couldn't afford to wait.
Still...the kid deserved at least a few days' rest.
Another sigh echoed through Chrono's form as he heaved himself out of bed and got dressed. He took the stairs slowly, plodding without purpose. Until Ran was well enough to train, Chrono had nothing to do.
His purposeless wandering led him into the kitchen where he spotted, unsurprisingly, Crysta with a cup of coffee. Chrono gave his boss a nod, ambled over to the coffee pot, served himself, and sat down at the table.
He sipped it in silence, his mind a despondent blank.
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Post by Meryck on Feb 13, 2010 18:12:20 GMT -5
The chief detective blinked at the elder demon's expression. No one was ever happy when an ally was mortally hurt- and it sure a horrible thing for the family to deal with- but the Wrath demon had only been part of the household for a few days. And yet, his expression screamed morbidity, as if they had all been raised together.
Crysta sighed, lightly, as Chrono sat down, despondent. Why was this all so important to him? What had dealt with that made him so?
What have you lost that I don't know about?
However, her mind refused to be suspicious- if anything, it was pitying. Chrono might have been several times older than her, but he still looked younger. And Ms.Valentine always had a soft spot for young ones in pain....
She put her coffee down, walked over to him, and gave him an apologetic, comforting hug.
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Post by Elf on Feb 13, 2010 18:19:52 GMT -5
Chrono blinked in surprise. What had prompted that? He put his coffee down and lay his hand on Crysta's arm, a halfhearted way to return the hug. Crysta always seemed to be full of silent comfort, especially when...
Oh. A sad smile bloomed onto Chrono's face. "Do I really look that miserable?"
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Post by Meryck on Feb 13, 2010 18:41:16 GMT -5
"Understatement." She straightened slightly and ruffled his hair. "You really are a sweetheart, if you're looking so glum for someone you've just barely met." She sighed and lightly ruffled his hair again before straightening the rest of the way and going back to her coffee.
"Although...I can't help but think something terrible must have happened for you to be this way now...."
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Post by Elf on Feb 13, 2010 19:57:59 GMT -5
Chrono's gaze shifted away from Crysta's face, hovering somewhere over the edge of his coffee cup. The remains of the sad smile lingered around his lips, mixing with bitter remembrance.
"I really want to help Ran." His eye fell closed as his tone fell from his lips in a quiet, contemplative hum. "I...see a lot of myself in him. I see the way he is with Reg and I..." A sigh echoed through his chest. "I don't want him to repeat my same mistakes."
Silence reigned for a moment as Chrono worked to dispel the melancholy. After a while, he looked up at Crysta, his old rueful smile revived.
"You're curious, aren't you?" The knowing look in his eyes betrayed that he hadn't needed to ask the question. "About the things I've seen. I don't mind telling you about them. I've been alive for almost two hundred years though, so I wouldn't want to bore you with long narratives." A humorless chuckle escaped him.
"If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I suppose...I owe you that much, considering you never got the chance to give me a proper job interview." His pained smile grew more apologetic.
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Post by Meryck on Feb 13, 2010 20:09:21 GMT -5
She sighed, deflating.
"Oh, Chrono....you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
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Post by Elf on Feb 13, 2010 20:26:13 GMT -5
But Chrono only shook his head. "It's alright. You have a right to know." He shrugged, his shoulders barely lifting, as if the burdens of his past were real and present, sandbags holding him down. "You've invited me into your home, given me a place to live, given me a livelihood...if there's anything you want to know, you have every right to ask."
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Post by Meryck on Feb 13, 2010 20:29:53 GMT -5
Crysta walked over, placed her coffee down, and hugged him again.
"Prehaps...", was all she said to that.
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Post by Elf on Feb 13, 2010 21:00:31 GMT -5
Now Chrono frowned. Why was she avoiding the matter? That didn't make much sense--she was a detective, a vocation that invited those who are curious by nature. And furthermore, she was an overprotective mother. Surely she had the safety of her children constantly in mind. What kind of person fitting those criteria wouldn't wonder about a near-stranger living in their house?
Maybe it was pity? She did have a soft spot for people in pain; he'd definitely noticed. But...he'd offered. He'd all but asked her to ask. Did she really feel that bad for him? Did he...did he really look that pathetic?
Or maybe it was something else entirely...something underlying her gentle voice. Something in the way she continuously ruffled his hair. Something in the way she hugged him...tender and protective...
Is this what it's like...to be mothered?
Chrono wasn't sure what to think of that. But he did know one thing: he didn't mind the hugs. Not one bit.
The frown fell away, as did any traces of the fake, pained smile. Chrono's countenance softened in melancholy as he hugged her back.
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Post by Meryck on Feb 13, 2010 21:23:21 GMT -5
It was hours before Ran woke up. By this point, Reg had fallen asleep again, tired from her vigil. The demon had chuckled, sadly, forcing himself to his feet, tail twitching as he winced at the throb of the Marks. He gathered the girl in his arms and laid her on the bed, tucking her in. His nose caught her intoxicating smell and he froze, gulping. She was so close, so warm, so alive....
But no. He was too tired, too hurt, and too guilty to do much more than sigh and kiss her, softly, knowing no lip-lock was worth anything if one wasn't awake.
Knowing anything he could do would make him worthy for her. If this all really does work....I have to tell her. It'll never work, but....she has to know, if this works....
He sat down, cross-legged, tail curled about him, back pressed against the bed. his head lolled forward, sulfur orbs hidden by pail skin and paler lashes.
God, let this work....
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Post by Elf on Feb 18, 2010 12:40:28 GMT -5
A relinquishing of melancholy could only last so long before awkwardness set in. Chrono only laid his sadness bare long enough to get through one cup of coffee before he stood, gave Crysta a slow, grateful nod, and rearranged his expression into something more optimistic.
It was time to check on Ran. If he was awake and aware, Chrono wanted to take the opportunity to talk with him.
He would have liked a second cup of coffee. He would have really, really enjoyed a second cup. But the seconds of Ran’s life were ticking away, the clock in Chrono’s guilty conscience counting them down as loudly as ever.
A soft knock at the infirmary door. Chrono pushed it open just a crack, not expecting an answer. He peered in to see that Ran was awake—droopy, but awake. Pushing the door open all the way revealed Reggie sleeping peacefully on the bed beside the demon. Chrono couldn’t help the sad smile tugging at his lips.
He nodded to the younger demon. “How’re you feeling?” he inquired quietly. Waking up Reg would not only be inconsiderate, but downright stupid.
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