founderinglight | IC INBOX

IC INBOX - PHANRIFT

one for sorrow, two for mirth
three for marriage, four for birth
five for the truth and six for lying
seven for sickness, eight for dying
nine for silver, ten for gold
eleven for a secret that shall never be told
twelve for the moon, thirteen for the sky
fourteen for the accursed unable to die
and fifteen for my heart's last desire
a new day's dawn, reborn in fire

Izunia Lucis Caelum
Keystone Station Room #11
Network @elevencrows

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I wouldn't, anyway. Never again.

[Izunia is well aware that he may as well be speaking to the air - he takes a step back, not willing to leave until he knows that Ardyn's head is pulled up from what's pulling him under, but making it a point to step back, to give them space as he can in the hallway.

The tingle of latent, angry magic slowly fades.]

[Ardyn was vaguely aware of a comforting voice repeating his name, slowly coming back to himself past the cold chill of panic gripping his chest and making him want to just scream and escape as far away as he could. A deep, shuddering breath was let out a little too quickly, rattling in his throat like a barely-formed panicked sob.]

Leonard...? Wh-

[He swallowed hard, bringing his hands to Church's arms.]

I'm...here. Sorry. I--what happened?

[The last part was mostly to Izunia, but he didn't dare let go of Church just yet.]

[He leans in to place a quick kiss to Ardyn's forehead. Stop being tall, it'll be easier if you're not tall.]

It's okay, we can just go. It'll be better if we just go and let him have his hissy fit or whatever and we can just go and eat something out of the armiger, it's okay.

[Izunia, for his part, catches that the last bit was addressed to him, and he glances either way down the hallway before replying. The anger isn't entirely out of his tone, and so for that it's probably fortunate that his reply is only one word - ]

Nari.

[...Says all it needs to, doesn't it.]

...It's okay, Leonard. [A gentle squeeze to his arm, Ardyn calmer and present even if he did flinch just slightly at the tone in his brother's voice.] I'm here, it's fine now.

..I did warn you the week after mine would be something you'd need to brace for.

[Ardyn is out of immediate danger from himself. Which is good. Because the way Izunia growls that name--hell, that name itself, sets Church on knife-edge. His hands drop to Ardyn's shoulders, tight and tense, and he does not turn around.]

Turn around and keep walking.

[That sure sounded like giving Izunia an order rather than a suggestion for either of them.]

[The back of Church's head gets a look of - well. The Founder King hasn't completely dropped beneath Izunia's skin, and he doesn't take kindly to orders.

Inhale. Exhale.]

I was prepared for a murder and I could forgive it. I was not prepared to see her use Regis' face in such a way.

[And unspoken but clearly implied - he can't forgive that.]

Don't. Please. Just this once, I'm begging you, don't start arguing with him.

[That came out in a half-frantic whisper, Ardyn quickly putting his arms around Church's shoulders. Half to keep them both grounded and half to hold him back if necessary.]

You're doing it again, brother. That thing, where you don't know what a boundary is. Stop.

I am not. arguing. [His teeth are grit, and he stares somewhere right around the hollow of Ardyn's throat.] I'm doing the opposite of that and I would rather. not. have something in common with him.

[Izunia, being the mature human being that he is, does not point out that they already have far more in common than Church would like.

He meets Ardyn's eyes instead, briefly. Fiercely, because he's angry, but briefly, because he does know that his anger sends Ardyn into that fearful spiral.]

You don't get to decide my anger for me, Ardyn.

And you don't get to decide when and where we talk about this. Feel angry all you want, but do it somewhere else.

[Defiance won out, which was unfortunately the better option between that and irrational mortal terror.]

Can we all just stop being fucking angry for two fucking seconds so nobody has a panic attack, just, fucking christ, okay!

[And that's Church joining the conversation For Real, turning so that the brothers are on either side of him.]

The man gets to be furious, Ardyn. He's not gonna stay in his room and brood about it; that's not what he does when he gets mad. And maybe, Zuzuzudio, you should be able to tell when you're being a shit influence with your shit mood and manage to turn the fuck around and go.

And I'm the fucking fuckhead who can't forgive Nari for shit, and he hasn't even seen everything she did yet. [spoilers, she comes back?] Though he got the most, y'know, relevant part anyway. To him.

So let's maybe all take a collective fucking breath before fists start flying or something.

[Izunia is starting another temper-restraining inhale when Church opens his mouth. And ny the end of it, his anger is all-but-gone in favor of surprise, shaded to pleased, because holy shit, the rare occasion that Church speaking sense appears.

He sighs, instead.]

I didn't stop to talk about it, Ardyn. I stopped because I saw you panicking and I wanted to make sure you were okay, because I caused it so it's my responsibility.

[He explains out the whole of the reasoning because... you know, Church is here, being like he is.]

[He flinched again at the shouting--surprise rather than fear this time. But...well, Church was right and Ardyn of all people knew him to be smarter than he gave himself credit for.]

I...right. I just-- [He took a slow breath, shaking his head.] It doesn't matter. I'm in no fit state to be much more than confrontational right now.

...Okay. Your reasoning is sound if incredibly flawed, in that if you are the cause of panic, hanging around is generally only going to make the panic keep happening, but whatever. We're all okay here.

Right? We're okay. And we're gonna stay okay. This was all just an unfortunate coincidence of space and time.

It's not the first time we've been through this one.

[Still, he offers the both of them a weak smile.]

We're alright.

[A slight nod, gripping Church’s hand and looking to Izunia a little warily.]

We’re okay.

Okay. Okay, good.

...

So now what?

If you're both alright, then I'm going to resume my attempt to blow off some steam and you can go back to... Whatever. You might want to avoid the beach for a while.

...I'm going to the kitchen. I think I need to not be anywhere near that. Ever.

I...kinda like the idea of blowing off steam. [He's so?? confused?? by this??]

Sand explodes very satisfyingly.

[This is the Lucis Caelum "I'm gonna do a violence and it's gonna be fun" face, normally seen on Ardyn in the discussion of arson.]

Talk later?

...yeah. Alright.

[This is surreal what the fuck. He tugs on Ardyn's hand.] I won't be long. You make us up something good and I'll be here to eat it.

I won't punch his lights out. Probably. Seeing as he'll just warp away. Is that okay?

[All things Lucis Caelum are a little surreal. Izunia raises his eyebrows and gives Church an eyeballing for a minute, but then shrugs very slightly to himself and turns back down the hall.

If Church wants to follow, he'll wait out on the deck for a few minutes.]

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