[Text | voice- locked from baddies]

[magitekrune.livejournal.com]

[And with one simple video, Celes' world has turned upside down again and she's not sure what to think. Gaia is messing with her now. Time was, she'd have rushed straight over to see him, but now... that's just what she needs: time. So she does the natural thing and high-tails it out of Figaro on foot in the middle of the night.

She doesn't leave without shooting off a couple of locked text feeds first, though.

Edgar:
Something's come up. I'm leaving for a few days. Don't try to find me. I won't be gone long.

and Terra:
I'm not in Figaro right now, but can we talk? Text, voice, or in person, I don't care. 

After that, she flicks on her Sky Phone to announce her departure to the rest of Gaia via voice post.]


If anyone needs me, I'm leaving Figaro for a few days. Call it cabin fever. I won't be gone long.


[For the early hours of the morning, she will be getting herself beaten up in the Sunleth Waterscape, as per her usual coping mechanisms. Once the sun starts peeking out, she'll head off somewhere else where she won't be found as easily, tucking herself among shelves of books and actually reading to pass the time.

After a while, she gets up the nerve to text Balthier.
We need to talk. Phone or in person, it doesn't matter.]

Comments

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[theleadingman.livejournal.com]

As did I. [He pauses, carefully considering his next words.] And Dr. Cid made sure I stayed deep within the Archadian Empire every step of the way.

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[magitekrune.livejournal.com]

[That makes her eyes widen in surprise. Well... that explains a lot. But she can't really fault him. After all, look what she grew up with.]

...I never would have guessed, though I never did know him personally. He... had some of the same qualities that made Kefka so dangerous, but I think Kefka was a bit more off his rocker than Dr. Cid.

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[theleadingman.livejournal.com]

That was part of what made him so dangerous. He was mad, to be sure... but he had enough control to continue to pursue his lust for nethicite with a single-mindedness that was... truly frightening. [He frowns.]

He sold me into military servitude to gain himself leverage; had me made a Judge. I was sixteen.

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[magitekrune.livejournal.com]

Kefka was too mad to care what he was doing. [He was bad enough.]

But you didn't stick with that any more than I stayed a general of an Empire that slaughtered its people. [Being forced to lay fire to Maranda had changed her.]

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[theleadingman.livejournal.com]

[He shakes his head.]

I couldn't stay there. I had watched his steady descent into madness over a matter of years. It was the last straw. I abandoned the Judges less than a year later and stole the prototype of a ship I had helped design when I had worked in aeronautics. Redesigned the ship so it wouldn't be recognizable, changed my name and took to piracy instead. It was about as far from being the star of Draklor Laboratory as I could get.

[There's another long pause as he questions whether or not to go further.]

I didn't see him again for four years or so. Not until I found myself a part of Princess Ashelia's struggle to reclaim Dalmasca from the Empire. He had fallen even father than I had expected, willing to go to any lengths to...

[He frowns again, discreetly fussing with his shirtcuffs.] We were forced to confront him more than once. In the end, I put him down.

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[magitekrune.livejournal.com]

[She listens silently, taking in what he's saying in quiet support. She understands what it's like to admit things, to show weakness like this. She doesn't prod him when he pauses, glancing back at the books to give him space until he continues. When he starts messing with his shirtcuffs, she hesitates... and then places a hand on his wrist. For comfort. Because she understands.]

I wasn't lying when I said I'd laid waste to innocent people before. [At least his hadn't been innocent.] But when I turned against the Empire, I turned against everything and everyone I'd grown up with. I know what that's like... to lose people important to you... to be unable to save them.

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[theleadingman.livejournal.com]

I cannot recall anything else so difficult. [He offers a small nod, agreeing. The past can be difficult to talk about, and he thinks it's clear enough that this isn't particularly easy for either of them.] I've not spoken of it so plainly before.

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[magitekrune.livejournal.com]

For both of us. [She wants to say something to comfort him, anything, but all she has is a story of her own. Still, maybe it'll say that she understands.]

Kefka destroyed the world... He didn't blow it up or anything, but... he as good as did that. By disrupting the Warring Triad, he unleashed power so great it rearranged the continents. I've... only heard about it, but I did see the mess the little island was in.

[She pauses, not moving her hand from his wrist.]

When I woke up, Grandpa told me it was a year later. The world was in ruin and it was Kefka's fault. Grandpa had nursed me back to health... at the expense of his own life. I couldn't save him.

[At this point, she does pull away, looking in the other direction and sitting back in her chair. Even after all these years, it still hurts to admit that she couldn't help someone who had saved her.]

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[theleadingman.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry. [Though he knows better than most that the words can never be enough to ease that particular pain. Only time will do the trick, if anything at all.]

... perhaps we have more in common than we initially thought. [That was saying something, to say the least.]

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[magitekrune.livejournal.com]

Mmm. [She doesn't offer the sympathy much attention, as she doesn't generally like it for herself. She does, however, at least glance at him to show that she appreciates the sentiment.]

Sounds like we do. That's more than I can say for a lot of people I've met. [In some respects, it's nice, but it also sucks for them both.]

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[theleadingman.livejournal.com]

[His sentiments echo her own.]

While I must admit that it's nice to be able to talk about such things without worrying whether or not the other person will understand, it's unfortunate that we both had to suffer in order to reach such a point.

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[magitekrune.livejournal.com]

[She nods, running a hand through her hair.]

I was hoping someday Gaia would be the end of that kind of thing. Turns out I was wrong.

[Feeling restless again, she stands and turns toward the bookshelves behind her. This whole thing is a mess and she has no idea how to take it. She should have known better than to get comfortable in any capacity in Gaia.]

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[theleadingman.livejournal.com]

[He frowns as he slowly rises to his feet. While he certainly doesn't feel unwelcome, he feels as though his extended presence may only make things more difficult at this point, especially with his own newfound difficulties with keeping things from getting too personal. Being so sharing was a very recent development, and one he had a feeling he might come to regret before long. He hoped not.]

It seems as though Gaia is full of surprises. I think perhaps I should take my leave.

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[magitekrune.livejournal.com]

[ Everything is making her life more difficult. That's the problem for her. She glances back at him as she hears him rise. ]

Only if you want to.

[ Not helpful, Celes. ]

I should... thank you for being so understanding.

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[theleadingman.livejournal.com]

Truth be told, I don't want to... but I believe that may be precisely why I should, if that makes any sense. [He shakes his head briefly.]

Of course I understand.

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[magitekrune.livejournal.com]

It does. [She looks back at the books in front of her and sighs. Sob her life these days.] You're probably right.

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[theleadingman.livejournal.com]

[He takes a few steps forward, closing the distance between them.]

One thing before I go, if I may?

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[magitekrune.livejournal.com]

[ Curious, she turns back to him. ]

Hm? What is it?

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[theleadingman.livejournal.com]

[Without further preamble, he takes the hand nearest to him and leans forward to seal parted lips over hers. In the event that she chooses to remain with Locke, he would hate to have this regret hanging over his head.]

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[magitekrune.livejournal.com]

[Well that wasn't what she'd expected. She tenses up at first, as an automatic reaction to having her space invaded, but then her muscles involuntarily relax into the kiss and she can't help returning it. ]

Cheater. [ It's whispered against his lips, though she makes no move to break away. ]

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[theleadingman.livejournal.com]

[He smiles against her lips, though it's a bit wearier than the usual.]

Pirates don't play fair.

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[magitekrune.livejournal.com]

Pirates, treasure hunters... You all play the same rules. [Well, Balthier? Are you going to do more or are you just going to hold her there? Her hand might be inching up to his hair though.]

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[theleadingman.livejournal.com]

Perhaps, but a sky pirate does it with finesse. [He smirks in reply, though it's more affectionate than usual, lacking some of its trademark haughtiness. He knows full well that he already should have taken his leave, but with her fingers edging their way towards his hair, he's having trouble finding the motivation to do so. He slips his index finger beneath her ear, his thumb laying flat against her jawline as he leans in across the very slight distance to kiss her a second time.]

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[magitekrune.livejournal.com]

[Maybe he did and maybe he didn't; she didn't get a chance to say. The second kiss she instinctively drives just a touch deeper, before common sense knocks and she starts to pull away. There's a part of her that doesn't want to, but she knows it's better if she does. Still, she's having a hard time doing it. ]

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[theleadingman.livejournal.com]

[He, too, has difficulty breaking the kiss, but even he knows full well that's precisely why he should. Though reluctant, he does take a step back, allowing his hand to fall away from her face, though the other remains beside the, fingers loosely curled over hers.]

I thought it best to make sure I left with no regrets.