our tears are painted in red

[bloodyashes]

A shade of white fading away, and a severe feeling of deja vu, as the magic disperses...

But not entirely. And so Aodhan hovers on the wind, not even noticed, as the Crystal Tower draws deep, and this memory plays through to its conclusion. (He remembers thinking, at a time he was still too afraid to fly, how good the wind must be up here, at the Emperor's throne. Now, he knows it to be truth.

The scene plays out, and he takes the time, to confirm what he saw, a child left alone and then gone -

When it is just him, the Auri woman, and the crystalline figure of a friend, Aodhan takes the mask from his face. No reason to imply any alliance with the defeated and the lost. It goes on his belt, in front of the faint humming of the flight engine, which he flicks off with the turn of a switch.

And then he touches down, heels a distinct sound in the silence as they land on the stone. It's good as an announcement of his presence, before he actually speaks. A moment for her to react, to spin and see his hands held up without any obvious weapons in them. He considers several forms of address, but... There are none that aren't weird, in this situation, so better to leave all of them off.

"I hate to interrupt," he says instead, "but I'm afraid I must point out that the 'sending back' part of your summoning did not work exactly as intended." He gives her a weak smile, with enough genuine cheer in it to seem strange from someone who was swinging a greatsword and the powers of bone-deep hurt only half an hour before.

(He hopes she didn't look too closely at Asch. He'd die again before wearing a helm over his hair.)

Just another day and another problem for the Warrior of Something or Other to solve. Hopefully more quickly than the last few.

Comments

[astralera]

Era clutches G'raha to her breast as she turns to face the one who hadn't left, fully aware of just how precious and fragile what she holds in her hands is. Her Carbuncle stands between them, though its posturing is neither offensive nor truly defensive. With her mind in utter turmoil she does her best to focus on the situation at hand.

"You are from beyond the rift," she says, voice thick with emotion she refuses to let herself feel. "I'm not sure why you weren't sent home. Will you be able to wait a handful of days?"