Lazy Man's CMO 2018

[bloodand]

 You know what this is, you know what you're here for, etc, etc. Drop who you're looking for in the topheader.

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[scourgingstars]

[Struggling to prop himself up on shaking and scraped up blackened arms, Ardyn managed to register whose voice he was hearing after a second; immediately he locked up and fell to the ground again, curling in on himself with his hands on his head like he was expecting a sword or worse.]

[founderinglight]

[Yeah, okay, trauma, they've all got it, he shouldn't be surprised but Izunia still flinches at that reaction.

There's no sword. He just holds a hand out, just shy of touching.]

It's okay. I promise, it'll be okay. You're not going back there. ...Can I touch you?

[scourgingstars]

[Ardyn flinched again at the motion and voice, eyes shut tightly; he hadn't spoken in who knew how long, and no words quite managed to come out now. The best he managed was a quick shake of his head, not moving from his defensive position.]

[founderinglight]

Okay. Do you want me to get someone else?

[Because you know, maybe he doesn't want Izunia anywhere nearby until he gets his shit sorted. That's a thing they can work around.]

I'm just going to sit here on the floor by you, you can take as long as you need.

[scourgingstars]

[There was a long silence in which Ardyn didn't quite relax--he was still awaiting something, whether it was execution or for the very walls to close in and cause anguish in blue-toned runes.]

[But at length, he managed something whispered in a voice hoarse with disuse:]

...pl-...please turn th...the lights off.

[founderinglight]

...Right. Just a moment.

[He gets up and - where's the switch for this hallway - SNAP off go all the lights, except for a single orb of red that hovers next to Izunia's shoulder. It's very dim, only just bright enough to keep total darkness at bay and let Izunia, still with only human vision, see enough to not trip.

Then he comes back and sits in place again.]

[scourgingstars]

[After another long moment, Ardyn gradually and carefully began to uncurl from his position, trying again to get up and only managing to prop himself up on his forearms. Yellow eyes squinted at his dimly lit brother, the former savior looking for all the world like an abused animal waiting to be struck again.]

...Get...on with it, th-then. What...else are y-you...going to do?

[founderinglight]

I'm not going to hurt you, Ardyn. Not - not ever again.

[This is almost worse than Ardyn Tenmyouji's justified hatred. That he could understand and deal with. This? This just hurts, leaves a layer of anguish under his attempt to keep his voice calm.]

I'm sorry. There aren't words for how sorry I am.

[scourgingstars]

...

[He didn't relax or move one way or another, still watching Izunia as warily as his limited energy could manage.]

...not Angelgard. Where-...?

[founderinglight]

[Izunia, for his part, barely moves at all, only turning down the screen brightness of his phone. Which? Is probably slightly confusing for an Ardyn from a time when smart phones haven't been invented yet, but.]

...It's something of a long story. We're not in Eos at all.

[scourgingstars]

You're really not....going to...?

[founderinglight]

...There is nothing I regret more in my entire life.

[The matter of exactly how long 'entire life' is, here, can wait until Ardyn has settled down a bit more.]

[scourgingstars]

...

[Ardyn sank back to the ground, lying with his head on his arm.]

...want to go home.

[founderinglight]

...I'm sorry. But the home that you knew... It's not something that exists anymore.

[Even if it were physically possible to return, mentally, emotionally -

It cannot be taken back. It will never be the same again.]

[scourgingstars]

...

[Another long silence, as if Ardyn had passed out again. Then:]

...don't care. Anywhere, then. Don't want...to go back.

[founderinglight]

You're not going back there. Not... No matter what happens. Not as long as I have life in my body.

[scourgingstars]

...m'sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I-

[Ardyn's voice cracked harshly, and he fell silent as his shoulders started shaking.]

[founderinglight]

...Shh. Shhhh, Ardyn, it's okay. You didn't do anything wrong. It's okay, anaia, just take a deep breath.

[Gods take him, he is so bad at this.]

[scourgingstars]

...

[Hesitantly, Ardyn reached out with one hand from his position on the floor, not quite sure what he was seeking out in the darkness but needing it all the same]

[founderinglight]

[And that is invitation enough - Izunia is there immediately, light bobbing at his shoulder, both of his hands taking Ardyn's.

It's cold. He had known it would be, but it still sends a shiver to his spine that he's barely able to stop, as all of his brain screams at him to get away.

Shut up, brain.]

It's okay. I'm here.

[scourgingstars]

[Ardyn gripped his brother's hand weakly with a cold and trembling hand, back to silence for a long minute or two...]

[Which was eventually broken by the sound of strangled and hoarse half-repressed sobs against his other arm.]

[founderinglight]

Shhh, shhh...

[Soothing sounds - he lets go of Ardyn's hand with one so that he can run his fingers through his brother's hair. It's matted and greasy and might, at this point, be easier handled by shearing it all off.

(A disengaged part of his mind notes that they're going to have to distinguish this one somehow, anyway.)]

I've got you. I'm not going anywhere, and I've got you.

[scourgingstars]

...sorry. Sorry. Don't send me back. Please. Don't send me away, don't...don't leave me alone.

[founderinglight]

Oh, anaia...

[Fuckit. He's reaching down to pull Ardyn close to his chest in an embrace, because this is his brother first and a daemon second and that's how this always should have been.]

[scourgingstars]

[Ardyn flinched again at the touch, weakened and gradually healing body going rigid. But then, after a moment or two to process he wasn't being executed again...something cracked, Ardyn breaking down in hysterical and exhausted black-teared sobs on Izunia's shoulder.]