closed 🪶⚡ i'll be the light to lead you home

[garudas]

Who: Cidolfus Telamon & Benedikta Harman.
Status: Closed.
Where: The Roost, The Farplane.
What: Cid and Benedikta move to a new house in the Roost. Event stuff later.
Warnings: The usual. :)

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[garudas]

[Her stomach drops when he starts to cough, her hand wrapping around his wrist as if to keep him steady, the other around his shoulder. Mixed in with her worry is a pointed look.]

And you told me that you were fine after all of that. You are clearly not.

[A stern tone that fades with a sigh.]

Do I need to carry you back up there?

[ramuhs]

[He gives her a wry smile as he takes a few breaths, hand gripping his shoulder.]

And put you through it? Nah, I can make it. Just had a moment tis all.

[After one last squeeze of his shoulder and a clearing of his throat, he straightens up with a wider smile as if to reassure her. His hand even finds hers to take with a warm squeeze.]

Now c'mon. We'll breathe easier once we're out of here.

[garudas]

[Her eyes go to the hand at his shoulder, and then back to him, a brow raising questioningly, but she doesn't say anything.]

... Alright. But we will take it slow.

[He is in a bit of a hurry, isn't he? She is too, but...]

No sense in tiring ourselves out before we even get up there.

[ramuhs]

[A quiet chuckle.]

Treating me like some old man? Or are you really feeling worse than you're letting on?

[His arm slides around her waist as they begin walking after the light.]

[garudas]

[She shoots him a look.]

I am not the one who just had another little coughing fit. Every time you have used your powers since Ultima, it has happened.

[ramuhs]

[Ah ha ha ha.]

That doesn't mean I can't walk. The moment's passed and there is nothing more to worry about.

[garudas]

Mm...

[And now it's a dubious look that he gets because she is worried, though not for the reasons that he might think. Well, yes, those too, but the fact that he is shaking her concern off so quickly like that is...

Again, she shakes her head, trying to brush off that feeling. She must be imagining things.

She doesn't say much else as they make the walk up save for a few times when she scorns him for making her worried or cursing when she is the one who falters a bit. The trek is much longer than she thinks it is, but they make it out of the darker areas of the landscape, and it's when they reach a ridge that has a bit of colour returning to it that she decides to take a break, the soreness in her shoulders growing beyond them alongside her concerns with every step.]

Let us just rest here a moment...

[At least they're out of there.]

[ramuhs]

[As they start walking, a hardened expression flickers in his eyes, one she won't be able to see or notice due to how subtle it is. It is one filled with a strange mix of malevolence and torment, and it does bring about a strong chill in the air that can be felt before it disappears just as quickly as he smiles whenever she looks at him, as if nothing had happened at all.

Yet he is strangely quiet, any statement or comment he makes always with a smile that seems both familiar yet out of place each time, and whenever she stumbles he is quick to catch her and ask if she's all right, and hand running over her shoulders or her back in a tender gesture...one that sometimes lingers longer than usual.

When they reach that boundary between the Uncharted and the Breathing Depths, Cid takes a breath of the fresher air before glancing back behind them. His gaze will linger, the shadows and his back turned to her again hiding a darker, sharper look in his eyes before he turns back and it all gone again.]

And you were worried about me. [A light teasing grin.] How about over here, beneath this overhang?

[It's only a few steps more and would give them some shelter and shade along with what looks like soft moss to create a nice cozy place to relax. So before she can even answer, he takes her hand to lead her to it.]

[garudas]

[While she misses the hardened look in his eyes, there are other things that she notices. His silence, for one, is particularly felt in times when she is expecting a silly little quip in an attempt to make her smile when she gets frustrated with herself for tripping. The way that his touch lingers for longer, though that isn't so much strange as it is a little surprising.

When she sees him staring back at the shadows of the Uncharted, she watches him, wondering what might be going through his head in that moment. He's seemed rather distant all the way up in spite of his insistent closeness, like his mind was always anywhere but with her.

She doesn't even get the chance to respond to him before he's pulling her by the hand into the shade, and she can only stare at the back of his head with narrowed eyes.]

And I still am worried about you.

[ramuhs]

And yet I seem to be holding up better than you are, my dear.

[With a teasing grin he sits down, but instead of letting her sit beside him he just sets her right on his lap.]

[garudas]

[There it is again, yet why does it ring so strange in her ears when he says it? A question she—once again—barely has time to ask herself before she's being pulled right down into his lap.]

Cidolfus—?

[She sputters, nearly stumbling before she catches herself with her hands on his shoulders.]

What has gotten into you?

[ramuhs]

What?

[He just looks at her with some genuine surprise.]

After all we've been through, is it so strange to want to find comfort in your warmth?

[garudas]

It is not that...

[Her hand moves up to caress his face, but there's the slightest twitch of her brow when she feels how cold his cheeks are. More so than usual...]

But everything else.

[ramuhs]

Hmmm?

[He leans into her hand with that boyish cant of his as he looks into her eyes with a deep, warm smile.]

How so?

[garudas]

[He meets her gaze, but it feels like he doesn't quite make it all the way there. Still, her own eyes bore into his, the weight of them crushing.]

You seem...

[Her hand moves from his cheek to his forehead, pressing her fingers to it as if checking his temperature. A pause, as she tries to consider her choice of words.]

Distant.

[ramuhs]

[Another small look of surprise before he smiles ruefully.]

Perhaps I'm more tired than I thought. Thinking about that abomination and those souls...pitiful, truly.

[garudas]

... And yet you insisted that you were not the entire trek up here.

[A cant of her head, and she tries to keep the strain of worry from her voice, that little bit of fear and dread starting to trickle into her features.]

Tell me what is really going on.

[ramuhs]

Perhaps it's more mental?

[A wry grin as he leans in closer to her.]

Physically I feel fine, but... It's true I have been distracted.

[garudas]

[That grin...

That grin feels so... strange. Strange enough that she leans back.]

Distracted with what?

[ramuhs]

[Just a small shake of his head as his gaze drifts past her shoulder back out to the Uncharted lands. It's not so desolate where they are, but in the far distance some of that darkness can still be seen.]

Just what I said before—seeing all those souls taken for gods knows what. How even in death we may not find the peace we worked so hard for.

[A somber smile.]

Makes one appreciate their life more, eh?

[garudas]

... It does.

[Her words come slow, her voice quiet, as she watches his gaze move away to stare past her again. Still, she watches him carefully, her eyes transfixed on his.

So transfixed that there is no missing that change in colour. It's a flicker at first, and she thinks she might have imagined it, but when she blinks to try and correct her vision...]

Cidolfus?

[Her stomach drops, because no longer are they the emerald green hue that she adores so very much, but have started to turn more blue. A dark blue with gray flecks within the irises... A shade that feels far too familiar...]

Your eyes, they...

[She tries to push herself away from him.]

[ramuhs]

[There's something that flickers in his eyes at that, an unknown emotion as he stares at her before his arms around her tighten with that odd smile.]

What?

[And then he laughs.]

Benna, love, you keep questioning about me, but I'm starting to think you're the one that's acting a bit off.

[garudas]

[She feels his arms tighten around her, holding her in place, and that laugh sends a rush of panic shooting up her spine. Those alarm bells start to ring again, louder than before, as she tries to wriggle in his grip to loosen it. Most times, she would not mind being held so tight, but the way that he smiles at her feels so...

...

Empty.

It feels as though she has seen that smile before.]

Why are they blue?

[ramuhs]

Blue? I have no idea what you mean.

[He just peers closer into her eyes, seeing his reflection.]

They look green still to me.

[garudas]

Cidolfus...

[She whispers his name, her hands on his chest, and he'll feel the slightest bit of pressure when she pushes.]

Something is wrong...

[Her instincts are telling her to get up, to move away when he stares deeper into her eyes. They have been all this time but she ignored them, thinking that he was simply exhausted from all that magic use, but perhaps she should have listened to that dreadful feeling in her gut. Perhaps she should have looked a little deeper the moment that she felt something was off.

Which is why she is now trying to get up from where she sits.]