[From Neuvillette's perspective it had been an absolutely insane couple of days. So much so that he'd found himself a little surprised the past day or so that a million things weren't happening.
Neuvillette lets his hand lower to his side, still looking at the statue, the almost blank expression, like something had caught her a little unaware but hadn't gone far enough to startle her, in silent, soft gasp dying on marble lips.]
If it is a statue... I must admit, the scaling is exact. [There are even incredibly delicate looking stone eyelashes.] This is beyond any power I'm familiar with.
[He tilts his head slightly to glance over his shoulder toward Wriothesley.] What made you suspect that this would be her fate?
[He gives Neuvillette a little time to try and process the figure in front of him. He pulls his box of cigarettes out and shakes one out of the flimsy cardboard before pressing it between his lips. He had thought he kicked the habit of stress smoking awhile ago, but it had slowly been rearing its head up with this place.]
The same way I suspected that kids weren't being adopted. [Wriothesley was sharp even as a kid. Of course, he had fallen into that false happiness of living a blessed life under his foster parents. He had for awhile, until he had to confront all the wrong little details. Come to terms the lie his childhood had ended up being. This felt a little similar.] I suddenly couldn't contact her anymore and checking her room regularly just solidified that she hadn't been in her room for some time.
[He lights the cigarette with a lighter, flicking it shut with a clack.] A lot of the statues here give off an uncomfortable feeling and I've always been someone who trusted his instinct quite a bit. The appearances of all the statues seem to differ that I just made a guess. We aren't allowed to leave this place, so why would people just suddenly leave? Coupled with the state of the long term guests and some of them being dead, I feel like I had a solid guess. [Wriothesley obviously had been doing more than just having sex.
He sighs as he takes a long drag from his cigarette, holding it in for a moment, before exhaling smoke.] Honestly, anything could have happened and I don't doubt this is the only way. It's why I had been looking around.
[He echoes Wriothesley's words, lost in thought, the rain on the glass ceiling pattering more insistently.] But why her? Why now? Do you think she did something to cause this? Found something she wasn't meant to?
[He's wracking his brain for any and every possibility. New people, including himself, have just arrived, but he can't see how that would cause something like this. If the creator of this space had the conscious power to do this, what could Furina have possibly done to attract their ire? And was this their fate too? Could this happen to anyone? At any time?
The rain outside intensifies.
None of it makes sense and, yet again, he feels powerless to help.]
I don't think the answers to these will mean much nor offer any sort of reprieve. As far as I can tell, our arriving here doesn't offer much rhyme or reason. There doesn't seem to be any real pattern, so I don't think that there would be much of a pattern as to why she ended up like this either. [Wriothesley feels his words are not exactly kind, but he also thinks that lamenting on this would be helpful nor would it bring the peace that Neuvillette probably wants. It would be kinder to steer the man towards a different path.]
As far as I can tell, Furina stayed in line and didn't make much of a fuss in comparison to others, so it is highly like that her leaving has no real basis in anything specific. [Leaving. Because they don't know what any of this means. Perhaps she is comfortably back home handling Fontaine's affairs where she should be.
He sighs and after a moment, he reaches to brush his finger against Neuvillette's cheek.] You're thinking quite loudly, Neuvillette. I thought you would want to be aware, but it makes me wonder if I should have sought this out on my own. [Neuvillette never seems to lack worries and Furina was so quiet that it felt like it would have been easy to miss her. He could have never known she was here for as long as the warden had been.]
Leaving... [Neuvillette echoes Wriothesley's choice of words. He'd very much like to believe that, though he's not sure he can.]
She's been through so much lately... I hope that's true. She deserves to enjoy her newfound freedom. [Neuvillette swallows thickly, finally looking away from the statue to lean subtly into Wriothesley's light touch. The rain patters heavily on the roof and he finds himself wishing for nothing more than to be outside, to feel the water hitting his face.]
I'm grateful you showed me. [He glances back toward the statue, knowing he'll likely gravitate back to this place to visit her often.] Is this the only place the statues appear? [If others 'leave', he wants to know where to find them.]
Leaving. She isn't here anymore, no? So she has left. [It is up to Neuvillette how he wants those words to mean to them. Wriothesley would rather not dwell on it either way. There wasn't anything they can do for her at this point.
Like on Neuvillette's words.] What do you mean by newfound freedom? [He does not doubt that Furina has suffered aplenty. The prophecy had probably weighed heavy on her for awhile- ah.] Neuvillette. From your point in time, has the prohecy come to pass?
[He slides his hand into Neuvillette's hair, gently carding fingers through the long locks.] No. There's quite a few places where they show up. I'm sure you've seen them around.
True enough... [He still sounds mournful. He can only hope for the best, but the statue left behind in Furina's absence certainly makes it feel like less of an absence and more that she's been turned to stone.
Wriothesley's question offers a distraction from darker thoughts.] Hm? That she no longer has to parade as Archon. She is free to travel and live her own life.
[Neuvillette's puzzled pause speaks volumes. He reaches up to cover Wriothesley's hand with his own.] Yes... And your boat was invaluable in helping to save many lives. [His other hand comes to rest on Wriothesley's chest before sliding up to his neck, cupping the back of his head. The gesture doesn't exactly feel natural but it feels right. He finds himself longing for this closeness and physical touch. It's reassuring in a way he hadn't expected, or thought he would want.] If you haven't yet experienced the prophecy... then I have quite a bit to tell you...
[He chokes on his inhale, pulling his cigarette away from his mouth and turning away as he coughs.] I beg your pardon?
[His free hand immediately grabs Neuvillette's wrist, but he doesn't move the other's hand away from where it's cupping the back of his head. He seems to be trying to get his thoughts together. Especially when he feels like Neuvillette dropped information akin to the Fontaine Research Institute exploding.] Give me a second.
[You can't blame him for being surprised.] I haven't. The Traveler and Paimon are still inmates in the Fortress. They weren't due for release for a little longer.
[The urge to snatch the cigarette from Wriothesley and toss it to the ground to stamp it out is almost overwhelming, but he resists, instead simply giving Wriothesley a look of subtle disapproval as he coughs.
His gaze flickers to Wriothesley's warm fingers pressed against his skin before moving back to his face, letting him process what he's just said.] Hm... I see...
Much has happened in quite a short amount of time after that.
... How much do you wish to know? [He asks, but his gaze becomes unfocused as he thinks through everything.] There are some important revelations that it seems wrong to keep from you. Even if you've yet to live through them.
[He sighs and pulls away from Neuvillette so he can lean down and put the cigarette out on the top of his boot before tucking the remainder of it behind his ear. Look, he'll be good and not finish it around Neuvillette. He'll finish his cigarette away from Neuvillette. The cough is enough for him to at least stop at the moment.
Bad habits die hard.]
Apparently. [He can't help but chuckle this time.] You know me? If given the option, I'd want to know everything you can offer. You can just tell me what you feel I should know though. In the grand scheme of things, me knowing anything here really means very little.
[His gaze softens and there is a genuinely relieved smile.] It worked out in the end. That's good to hear. [Wriothesley did not need to hear the heroic doings they all had done. He merely is glad that Fontaine's people may move forward to a brighter tomorrow.]
Hmm? Do you not think you'll remember your time here? [He finds that a curious stance to take given that pocket dimensions occurred all the time in Teyvat and those who entered them did not forget their time there. But... he'd also never known for two people to end up in a pocket dimension from different times. Or worlds.]
There were some casualties, but Fontaine and its people persevere. In no small thanks to you.
Well... in the chance that you do remember your time here.
... Where to begin? Perhaps the source of the prophecy and curse on the people of Fontaine. The Hydro Archon who preceded Focalors, Egeria, granted human life to Oceanids using water from the Primordial Sea. This was seen as a sin by Celestia. Focalors inherited this sin and, in an attempt to deceive Celestia, split herself into two beings - one who was purely an Archon and one who represented her human-ness, Furina. Her plan was to... essentially destroy herself and return her elemental power to the sovereign hydro dragon. [He speaks slowly and evenly, but he knows everything he's revealing is complicated and impactful, even just finding out one was actually an Oceanid made human is difficult enough on its own. He pauses to allow Wriothesley to process what he's just said.]
The true Focalors succeeded - the hydro archon is no more, Furina is free to live her life as she sees fit... and my full power has been restored to me, granting me the ability to forgive the "sin" of the people of Fontaine.
I don't know about that, but I think that information about the current state of Fontaine doesn't matter here. There is very little I can do. I will say, knowing that Fontaine is safe and has been able to move forward does give me solace though. It has settled in the back of my mind most uncomfortably, so knowing this means I don't have to worry about the its fate. [It does make him wonder just what exactly is able to make the time discrepancy exist without causing issue. Like they can so be easily plucked from their world at any given moment in time...
And well, apparently the prophecy and the Fontaine's fate is possibly the least crazy thing that Neuvillette says to him.]
What? [No, really. What? He stares at the other with a blank stare and honestly, it's really impressive of Neuvillette to get him speechless.
So he's a descendant of an Oceanid? Is an Oceanid? Okay, you know what? Somehow the Primordial Sea dissolving them makes sense. A lot of it puts things into perspective. Furina...Oh. A lot of how Furina acted towards him in the short time they both were in the resort also made sense. That she was merely human all along...playing a part she didn't know how to play.
He had already had certain thoughts about Furina and, while surprising, made certain things that he thought click and make sense.]
Okay... [He's going to be chewing on all this for awhile. Quite awhile.] So...Sovereign dragon. Well, even I couldn't guess that. [He almost wants all this to be a joke. Not because of any of the details, but because of what it implied going forward. The future that loomed over them seemed...precarious.]
Hey. [He absentmindedly tucks some of Neuvillette's hair behind their ear.] How are you feeling? It must be heavy, monsieur, the weight of everything that happened at home and now here.
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Neuvillette lets his hand lower to his side, still looking at the statue, the almost blank expression, like something had caught her a little unaware but hadn't gone far enough to startle her, in silent, soft gasp dying on marble lips.]
If it is a statue... I must admit, the scaling is exact. [There are even incredibly delicate looking stone eyelashes.] This is beyond any power I'm familiar with.
[He tilts his head slightly to glance over his shoulder toward Wriothesley.] What made you suspect that this would be her fate?
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The same way I suspected that kids weren't being adopted. [Wriothesley was sharp even as a kid. Of course, he had fallen into that false happiness of living a blessed life under his foster parents. He had for awhile, until he had to confront all the wrong little details. Come to terms the lie his childhood had ended up being. This felt a little similar.] I suddenly couldn't contact her anymore and checking her room regularly just solidified that she hadn't been in her room for some time.
[He lights the cigarette with a lighter, flicking it shut with a clack.] A lot of the statues here give off an uncomfortable feeling and I've always been someone who trusted his instinct quite a bit. The appearances of all the statues seem to differ that I just made a guess. We aren't allowed to leave this place, so why would people just suddenly leave? Coupled with the state of the long term guests and some of them being dead, I feel like I had a solid guess. [Wriothesley obviously had been doing more than just having sex.
He sighs as he takes a long drag from his cigarette, holding it in for a moment, before exhaling smoke.] Honestly, anything could have happened and I don't doubt this is the only way. It's why I had been looking around.
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[He echoes Wriothesley's words, lost in thought, the rain on the glass ceiling pattering more insistently.] But why her? Why now? Do you think she did something to cause this? Found something she wasn't meant to?
[He's wracking his brain for any and every possibility. New people, including himself, have just arrived, but he can't see how that would cause something like this. If the creator of this space had the conscious power to do this, what could Furina have possibly done to attract their ire? And was this their fate too? Could this happen to anyone? At any time?
The rain outside intensifies.
None of it makes sense and, yet again, he feels powerless to help.]
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As far as I can tell, Furina stayed in line and didn't make much of a fuss in comparison to others, so it is highly like that her leaving has no real basis in anything specific. [Leaving. Because they don't know what any of this means. Perhaps she is comfortably back home handling Fontaine's affairs where she should be.
He sighs and after a moment, he reaches to brush his finger against Neuvillette's cheek.] You're thinking quite loudly, Neuvillette. I thought you would want to be aware, but it makes me wonder if I should have sought this out on my own. [Neuvillette never seems to lack worries and Furina was so quiet that it felt like it would have been easy to miss her. He could have never known she was here for as long as the warden had been.]
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She's been through so much lately... I hope that's true. She deserves to enjoy her newfound freedom. [Neuvillette swallows thickly, finally looking away from the statue to lean subtly into Wriothesley's light touch. The rain patters heavily on the roof and he finds himself wishing for nothing more than to be outside, to feel the water hitting his face.]
I'm grateful you showed me. [He glances back toward the statue, knowing he'll likely gravitate back to this place to visit her often.] Is this the only place the statues appear? [If others 'leave', he wants to know where to find them.]
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Like on Neuvillette's words.] What do you mean by newfound freedom? [He does not doubt that Furina has suffered aplenty. The prophecy had probably weighed heavy on her for awhile- ah.] Neuvillette. From your point in time, has the prohecy come to pass?
[He slides his hand into Neuvillette's hair, gently carding fingers through the long locks.] No. There's quite a few places where they show up. I'm sure you've seen them around.
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Wriothesley's question offers a distraction from darker thoughts.] Hm? That she no longer has to parade as Archon. She is free to travel and live her own life.
[Neuvillette's puzzled pause speaks volumes. He reaches up to cover Wriothesley's hand with his own.] Yes... And your boat was invaluable in helping to save many lives. [His other hand comes to rest on Wriothesley's chest before sliding up to his neck, cupping the back of his head. The gesture doesn't exactly feel natural but it feels right. He finds himself longing for this closeness and physical touch. It's reassuring in a way he hadn't expected, or thought he would want.] If you haven't yet experienced the prophecy... then I have quite a bit to tell you...
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[His free hand immediately grabs Neuvillette's wrist, but he doesn't move the other's hand away from where it's cupping the back of his head. He seems to be trying to get his thoughts together. Especially when he feels like Neuvillette dropped information akin to the Fontaine Research Institute exploding.] Give me a second.
[You can't blame him for being surprised.] I haven't. The Traveler and Paimon are still inmates in the Fortress. They weren't due for release for a little longer.
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His gaze flickers to Wriothesley's warm fingers pressed against his skin before moving back to his face, letting him process what he's just said.] Hm... I see...
Much has happened in quite a short amount of time after that.
... How much do you wish to know? [He asks, but his gaze becomes unfocused as he thinks through everything.] There are some important revelations that it seems wrong to keep from you. Even if you've yet to live through them.
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Bad habits die hard.]
Apparently. [He can't help but chuckle this time.] You know me? If given the option, I'd want to know everything you can offer. You can just tell me what you feel I should know though. In the grand scheme of things, me knowing anything here really means very little.
[His gaze softens and there is a genuinely relieved smile.] It worked out in the end. That's good to hear. [Wriothesley did not need to hear the heroic doings they all had done. He merely is glad that Fontaine's people may move forward to a brighter tomorrow.]
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There were some casualties, but Fontaine and its people persevere. In no small thanks to you.
Well... in the chance that you do remember your time here.
... Where to begin? Perhaps the source of the prophecy and curse on the people of Fontaine. The Hydro Archon who preceded Focalors, Egeria, granted human life to Oceanids using water from the Primordial Sea. This was seen as a sin by Celestia. Focalors inherited this sin and, in an attempt to deceive Celestia, split herself into two beings - one who was purely an Archon and one who represented her human-ness, Furina. Her plan was to... essentially destroy herself and return her elemental power to the sovereign hydro dragon. [He speaks slowly and evenly, but he knows everything he's revealing is complicated and impactful, even just finding out one was actually an Oceanid made human is difficult enough on its own. He pauses to allow Wriothesley to process what he's just said.]
The true Focalors succeeded - the hydro archon is no more, Furina is free to live her life as she sees fit... and my full power has been restored to me, granting me the ability to forgive the "sin" of the people of Fontaine.
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And well, apparently the prophecy and the Fontaine's fate is possibly the least crazy thing that Neuvillette says to him.]
What? [No, really. What? He stares at the other with a blank stare and honestly, it's really impressive of Neuvillette to get him speechless.
So he's a descendant of an Oceanid? Is an Oceanid? Okay, you know what? Somehow the Primordial Sea dissolving them makes sense. A lot of it puts things into perspective. Furina...Oh. A lot of how Furina acted towards him in the short time they both were in the resort also made sense. That she was merely human all along...playing a part she didn't know how to play.
He had already had certain thoughts about Furina and, while surprising, made certain things that he thought click and make sense.]
Okay... [He's going to be chewing on all this for awhile. Quite awhile.] So...Sovereign dragon. Well, even I couldn't guess that. [He almost wants all this to be a joke. Not because of any of the details, but because of what it implied going forward. The future that loomed over them seemed...precarious.]
Hey. [He absentmindedly tucks some of Neuvillette's hair behind their ear.] How are you feeling? It must be heavy, monsieur, the weight of everything that happened at home and now here.