libertatearchitecto

[libertatearchitecto]

"Happy All Saints Wake!" Alisaie dressed as her twin seems innocent enough, especially with her pillowcase full of sweets. It was the perfect diversion from Nero - rendered invisible by powder gifted by Brona - as he snuck around to the Excelsior. A simple switch of the wires, connecting the steering to the wipers, and an extra pinch of powder to turn the engine invisible as well. But Cid would not know that. Not yet. Not when a child was begging him for sweets.

“And a happy All Saints’ to you too, Al---” Cid pauses, eyes crinkling around the corners as he smiles in amusement, then finishes “---phinaud. And curiously without a costume, I see. Yet begging for sweets all the same.” He knows perfectly well which twin this is, but there’s no harm in playing along. “I’m afraid I don’t have much in the way of treats. Jessie will have those --- I think she’s giving them out in tins with the Ironworks Logo on them. Advertising, and all.” There’s something odd about this situation, but for the life of him he can’t yet figure out what it is. (Though he’s lost track of Nero for the moment, and that can never lead to anything good.)  

[libertatearchitecto]

alandeathweaver‌:

“Of course it did,” she grumbles. “Everything always does. It was causing a bit of trouble, so we had to go in there and deal with it, and— honestly!” She pauses to frown, expression deadly serious. “You can go get Nero, if you want, because if he even thinks about trying to recreate that, I’ll strangle him. I’ll strangle both of you.” The warning is fond, but very sincere, really. “I do want to tell you, though, if just to see the looks on your faces.” She really, really wants to see it when she tells them the enormity of what they’d designed successfully. “I’ll wait here, it’s alright; it’s nice to be home for a bit, anyway.” And even so, even if she doesn’t tell Nero and Cid about the Tycoon…she still has to tell them who and what it took to the First— that’s something they need to hear. They were…there, after all. Part of NOAH just like her. Just like him. They deserve to know his fate.

“This is going to be a tale,” Cid says, raising an eyebrow and trying to keep from being too amused at whatever it is Alan has to share this time. A pity he missed it, but even if he had been called to some other world in an effort to save it, Jessie would have followed him and dragged him back to his paperwork through sheer willpower alone. “I’ll fetch him, then, but if we don’t turn up in a timely manner you can assume that what he’s working on has likely come to life and begun chewing on us.” With that said, he smiles at her and heads off to try and extricate Nero from his latest madness. It shouldn’t be too hard, all things considered; he’s been worried about Alan too, and knowing that she is home safe should be enough of a lure to draw him in with or without the promise of the tale behind that out-of-place Ironworks logo.

[libertatearchitecto]

alandeathweaver‌:

“Yes!” She complains, tipping forward to bury her head in his chest with a sigh. “At least partially. And yes, it was for a very good reason, but still.” She’s so, so tired. But she has to explain, so she takes a breath. “Leaving out all the, ah…unpleasant details, you know we were all Called elsewhere, right? We were called to another world, because we needed to save that one in order to save this one from another Calamity, one of the worst yet.” She pauses, not wanting to go into too much detail of that part, but— well, this is the part he’s both going to love and hate. “Future you and future Nero, from the time after the Calamity, sent someone into the past of the First shard to call us there to stop it from ever happening,” she deadpans. “And I don’t think I need to tell you what you two absolute madmen,” she emphasizes this with another swat with the plating, “did to facilitate that. Or should I say built?”

Cid considers that for a long moment---the absurdity is one thing, the sheer weight of it another--- and finally sighs. “Alright, alright, I can’t say I’m sorry for something I haven’t done yet and hopefully will never have to do, but I do apologize for the headaches it’s given you.” He pauses and looks the plating over again, then has to fight down a laugh. “...Don’t tell me--- it tried to kill you, and you had to smash to pieces a perfectly serviceable and entirely terrifying piece of technology. I’m torn between asking you to wait to fill me in until I can drag Nero away from whatever it is he’s working on now, and hoping he never finds out. If it was that terrible...”

[libertatearchitecto]

"Cid!" Hey, it's Alan, she's back from her couple-months long trip. She looks a bit the worse for wear, but that's nothing really new; even so she also looks incredibly exasperated, and she stalks up to him to shove a piece of plating off of--- something at his chest, half fondly and half very annoyed. "For the record," she says. "Future you and future Nero are /insane/." Will she explain? Yes, in a minute, just let her finish being incredibly tired. [from @alandeathweaver]

At first, Cid smiles when he sees Alan--- that she’s returned safely is, of course, good news, and something he’d been hopeful to hear word of soon. But the smile turns into a sort of befuddled confusion as he takes hold of the plating being shoved at him, noting the Ironworks logo on it with surprise. It only grows worse with Alan’s words, and he frowns, raising an eyebrow at her expectantly. “Future... Alan, have you been getting into more trouble with time-travel? Is that what this has all been about?” Damn, if that’s a part of what led to her trip, he’s going to need to find something to deal with the headache hearing about it is no doubt going to give him.

[libertatearchitecto]

exscientiavir:

He’s genuinely startled, he thinks, when Cid speaks. “…we do,” he says finally, only a little relieved to hear it. It was hard to admit for the both of them, he thinks, and…he’s glad Cid said it. Not that he disagrees, really, but it’s…it’s difficult to say out loud. But it’s true, they…they had a lot of work to do. No more attempts to tape over the breaks and try to run the machine with a slapdash repair job and hope it’s good as new – they have to sit down and do it right, even if it takes a long time. 

What kind of engineers would they be if they didn’t?

“…I’m sorry,” he says finally, after a long, long silence. “I…I never said that, did I? I’m sorry.” For leaving, for the fight, for whatever else. It was stupid and they were young and ridiculous, and he wishes he could take it back. But he can’t, and now…now this is what they’ve got to deal with. But they can and they will, because they’re both stubborn bastards.

But he is sorry, and he wishes…mm. Well,there’s a lot of things he wishes, but he’s always been good at working with what he had, so small steps are still steps.

“...I am, too,” Cid finds himself saying, thinking back to days long ago, when the world caught fire and everything he cared for burned away. “We were both young, and caught up our own problems.” What Nero’s were, he doesn’t know, but he knows they were there - he’s analyzed the moment too many times over the years, wondering what he said that drove another person away from him, and the most he could ever work out was that there were things he didn’t see. Things that Nero either didn’t want him to see, or that he was simply too oblivious to notice. Possibly even both.

... He really was an ignorant, spoiled little fool back then.

“It’s in the past, now,” he continues, daring to risk a shrug despite the wince it prompts as it tugs at his wounds. “No need to irritate old wounds.” They’d both said things they didn’t mean, and their lives had changed because of it. Cid had always hoped that Nero had at least found some kind of happiness after he had gone, once the initial anger had faded and only the hurt remained - and it does seem that it has. (And, alright, maybe he’s a little jealous of that? But he is happy for him, because he wouldn’t want him miserable.)

[libertatearchitecto]

exscientiavir:

“No, but you’re getting there,” Nero says with an amused roll of his eyes, fond despite himself. He’s tired, he really is, and he needs a nap after this shit and dealing with Jenomis and everything else, but at the same time he’s run for longer on less sleep, and there’s things he still needs to take care of. Not least of which Cid.

He’ll leave if Cid wants him to, he thinks. Stepping back, he thinks…maybe he needs to. If it’s not helping…if he needs to learn that they’re not the same people, and that pushing only made it worse, then stepping back might give them both a chance to relearn how to work with each other again, learn who they both are these days. He hates that thought, he won’t lie, but he’d rather have Cid back at some point then keep pushing too hard and lose him entirely.

He pauses, though, and lights up again when Cid speaks, though he’s trying not to– “Well, if you want me to stay,” he says with a grin, shifting slightly so that he’s sitting comfortably again. “I won’t say no. Far be it from me to enable your boredom. You’re almost worse than I am being trapped in bed.” He always had been, just like he’d been sick more often than anyone else. 

He shifts a little again, reaching for Cid’s hand and catching himself a bit, but he at least doesn’t leave. “I…” He begins, and then trails off, crossing his legs and somehow managing to fold properly into the chair. “So…” So…now that he’s not trying, he finds he has no idea what to say. Damn it.

“Hardly,” he counters, shaking his head. “Your reckless adventurer friends are on the whole far more successful than I’ve ever been.” It’s a pathetic fact, probably, but true nonetheless - with a few exceptions, the people the Ironworks associates with seem to get the job done and save the people they mean to save while they’re at it. Not that he’s resentful of that fact - not much, anyway. Someone needs to do what’s right, and do it well, else the world fall to ruin. And so long as he’s failing at managing to do anything suitably good for the world (at least without getting himself damaged in the process), he’s at least not succeeding at causing further harm.That’s good enough, all things considered.

There’s something sad in Nero’s gaze, in the way he almost reaches out, and Cid closes his eyes so that he can pretend he didn’t see it. It isn’t as though he doesn’t miss the friendship they once had, too, but - they aren’t connecting like they did back then. Maybe they can’t, even if Cid does try to let him in. He knows, after all, that the person he’s become is... not the man Nero misses, nor is he the sort of person anyone would want to befriend without nostalgia blinding them. But Nero is trying, and he’d be a fool to turn that away.

“...So,” he agrees, as lost for words as the other man. But one of them has to find them, and it may as well be him, while he’s still lucid enough to do so. “We have a lot of work ahead of us, don’t we?” It... it isn’t what he wanted to say, not really - but it will do, and it’s a start. He doesn’t think this is going to fix itself overnight, and tearing down the walls he’s put in place hurts in a way he can’t define, but at this point he has quite literally nothing left to lose.

[libertatearchitecto]

exscientiavir:

“Only somewhat,” Nero admits with a wry smile, looking up from where he’s draped. “My hair’s going to end up like yours at this rate, with you lot constantly getting hurt and jumping headfirst into the jaws of dangers.” Not just Cid, but all the Warriors, too! Gods, it’s like lack of self-preservation is an epidemic. Not that he isn’t guilty of it, too, given– given a lot of things, but the point stands. People he cares about keep getting wounded.

He knows he’s…he knows he’s been pushing hard to make things like they were before he’d left, probably too hard, but it’s Cid. He’d hoped and waited for the man to follow him for years, and hung onto that for as long as he could until Carteneau, when priorities…changed. But now that he was here, he just wanted it to be the same again. But if this proves anything, it’s that the boys they were no longer exist.

He’s quiet again for a moment, face hidden from Cid, before he lets out a long sigh and sits up. “I know,” he says quietly. “Biggs and Wedge got their arses back in bed, and the Warriors are all mostly unharmed. You’re our only real casualty, which isn’t reassuring but it’s still not a bad thing.” He manages a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes, then, and shifts slightly. “I…if you’d like some space, I can leave,” he offers reluctantly, but there’s a sort of understanding in his eyes. Maybe…maybe pushing so hard is only causing the walls to get stronger. Maybe he needs to back off. Even if he doesn’t want to, he…doesn’t want Cid to close off worse and end up letting this happen again.

“I hardly fall into the same category as the adventurers,” the injured man grumbles, an edge of something good-natured and fond under the complaining, the ghost of a much more personable man brought forth, just for a moment. But the man he was once, or rather who he might have been, is long-since gone, drowned in an ocean of blood. There’s a darkness in his eyes now; a shadow that didn’t exist in the sheltered schoolboy Nero remembers and misses. He knows it, and it seems like Nero’s finally seen that, given his offer.

But at the same time, he’s not... he’s not wrong, either. Cid has never had much regard for himself - not since Bozja, at any rate, and only growing worse over time as his loyalty to the one person who stayed led him down an ever-darkening path, and he knows he’s pushed away everyone who might have tried to breach the walls he’s built around himself... to the degree that he didn’t bother telling anyone when he’d been dealt a blow that could easily kill him, instead choosing to treat it himself so that they could continue their work. (And it isn’t as though it wasn’t important to let them work, any distraction could be dangerous - especially the way Nero has taken to fussing.) 

So... perhaps he can try to reach out in turn. Just a little.

“...And leave me with naught to do but count irregularities on the ceiling? I hadn’t thought you were cruel, Nero.”

[libertatearchitecto]

@exscientiavir, from here

“At this point, I’m half convinced you might,” Nero mutters, draping himself not at all dramatically over Cid’s bed. “You keep doing this and you need to stop.” How many times was this, now, he’d thought he’d lost him? The Praetorium, then the bloody Tower, now this? And this was the worst one, because he’d nearly died because he was stubborn enough to avoid them and stubborn enough to say nothing until he collapsed.

A sigh escapes him, then, and he lets out a soft moan. “Any scolding I could do has probably already been said, and I’d be a bit of a hypocrite if I said it, too, but I…” Another sigh. “Don’t do this again. Please.”

“Would it reassure you to know that I don’t intend to repeat the experience?” Cid asks, grey eyes ringed by dark circles that stand out against a face made waxen from blood loss. He’s healing, or beginning to, but it’s going to take time to recover from this one. (It’s just as well, really; the longer he takes to recover, the longer it may be until whatever other incident makes Nero look at him like that.) He is serious, though - he’d rather not experience this sort of wound again, let alone one dealt by an omnicidal machine.

But... he knows that’s not really what Nero is getting at, and they both know it.

 “I...” He starts to say, but his tongue gets tied partway through, and so he stops, instead choosing to watch his old friend with an expression torn between wariness and guilt. He knows he’s been slow to trust, slow to rely on anyone after all the times it’s been proven that those who matter the most aren’t going to stay. (And yes, Nero has been trying to counter that, has been ever since the tower, but he’s been trying so  hard that it doesn’t seem entirely genuine, even now.) “...Must you fuss so much?” He asks instead, one hand coming up to rest over his injury as he smiles faintly. “One might almost forget you have other people to worry over.”

[libertatearchitecto]

lighttheabyss:

@libertatearchitecto | from x

The Keeper male bowed. “Kenj’a Cohrce, master of the merchant caravan known as The Swan’s Sundries, and father of Khaida Ahmahno. I wanted to thank you, for all you’ve done for my daughter. I know she’s…headstrong, and rather reckless with herself, but she’s got a good heart and it overjoys me to know she’s got people who know that looking out for her when I cannot.”

“Ah, I thought you seemed familiar,” Cid said, smiling at the Miqo’te man more warmly than before. “Your daughter’s done more for the world than most ever dream, and more than that for her friends. It’s only fair that some of us attempt to return the favor whenever we find it possible.” He wondered what had led the man to seek him out - was it really so simple as a thank you? The Ironworks Chief supposed that it could be, but nonetheless he couldn’t be certain. Not yet, and not when there were others who looked out for Khaida as much or more than he did.

[libertatearchitecto]

[lighttheabyss, Kenj'a] "Excuse me, you are Master Garlond, correct?" The well-groomed man in the doorway was on the tall side for a miqo'te, and on the rounder side of things, with bright blue eyes and darker skin, and a smile that might be familiar if it were in a female face. "I was wondering if I might have a moment of your time."

“Yes?” Cid asked, peering up from the half-assembled trinket he had been working on. (A gift for Alma, not that he intended on mentioning it to anyone. The young lady had been going through so much of late, she deserved something nice.) He didn’t recognize the man in the doorway, but there was something familiar about him nonetheless... It took Cid a moment, but then it struck him. A relation of Khaida’s, perhaps? “Of course, I’ve nothing pressing at present. May I ask what it is you need?”

[libertatearchitecto]

lighttheabyss:

The story is easier for her to get out. It’s still a bit painful, but not in the way talking about Tsukuyomi is. Of the Lighthouse and Goug. Of the bangaa and Ba'Gamnan’s fate. And the resulting conversations afterwards. And of Ramza’s decidedly odd behavior. “Something is going on there, and I’m not sure I like it one bit. Even your friend seems to realize that once this is over, because we sadly cannot put it back in the box, those stones need to go to those who will ensure they’re locked far, far away.”

“...I don’t like the sound of that at all,” Cid said, frowning. “But I suppose I knew that it would be coming, regardles.” He only wished it hadn’t been one of the children that had been affected somehow. Though the boy being more polite wasn’t necessarily a bad thing... given that he was acting like someone else entirely decidedly was. “The best we can do is hope this means Jenomis will exercise caution for the remainder of this little adventure,” he said at last, frowning. “Though I do still mean to have words with him about his parenting at some point - I may not be a father myself but I know the problems caused by a lack of one.”

[libertatearchitecto]

lighttheabyss:

@libertatearchitecto

“It…it did not go well, no. I may want a hug in a bit, in all truth. But yes! I do have something to tell you.” She took a deep breath to steady herself. “You left Kugane rather quickly, and I certainly understand why. Well…things did not go…entirely well after you left, either. Needless to say, the whole affair seems to have knocked some sense into your old friend.”

“I see,” Cid murmured, making a mental note to give her that hug before she left, even if she forgot about it - whatever had happened had shaken her enough that she absolutely needed it. For now, though... “I can’t say I’m pleased about things going wrong,” he said, sighing. “Nor surprised. But he’s aware of the danger of what he’s been playing with, now? And may I ask what went wrong enough that it managed to make him see sense on the matter?” If so, that was at least half of the issue dealt with. There was still the matter of how he had been dealing with his children, but one thing at a time.

[libertatearchitecto]

[lighttheabyss] Khaida isn't fully herself yet, but there's much and more still to do. Like perhaps relay some information she'd not had a chance to before tensions in Doma had escalated. "Cid?"

“Ah, Khaida, hello,” Cid greets, but the smile that had been on his face at first fades when he sees her, expression turning grave and concerned. “I take it things didn’t go well in Doma?” He asks, then holds up a hand. “No, no, there’s no need to go into detail if it’s painful. Let’s speak on something else instead - did you need me for something?”

[libertatearchitecto]

exscientiavir:

There’s silence for moment. “What?!” He demands, eyes wide and expression stunned and furious. “He’s messing with auracite?! Is he mad?!” He throws his hands in the air. “He’s read the story! He knows what auracite does! Wiegraf, Delacroix, Elmdore, Dycedarg, Folmarv, his daughter’s bloody namesake– they were all possessed by the monsters in those bloody things, and even if that’s not how they truly work, it’s sure as hells threat enough in and of itself!” He hisses. “Even I’m not so stupid as to think playing with those is a good idea, and I’m not half as obsessed with the tale as he is!”

He groans. “He’s fast on the same road as I was with Allag, even if it’s dressed differently. You’re right, Cid, if this keeps up…” He’d ended up in the Void; god only knew the horrors that could happen to Jenomis. “And unlike me, he has children to drag with him.”

Cid lacks the other man’s knowledge of the Ivalice tales, having never been drawn to them the same way as either of his friends, but he knows danger when he sees it. Nero’s anger only makes it more obvious what a fool Jenomis is being. While normally this might serve only as a confirmation of the suspicions and feelings Cid already harbors, when Nero goes on to mention his own follies, it stops his train of thought there.

He knows what Nero means - the void, and six months in the dark. He winces and reaches out to put a hand on Nero’s shoulder, the need to reassure the taller man outweighing his own irritation at Jenomis for the moment. “Speak to Alan,” he says, expression serious. “To any warriors you think might need to know - we can’t prevent him from rushing headlong into this, but we can be prepared to catch him. And the children, if necessary.” 

...Cid hopes it won’t be necessary, but at this point he’s hardly optimistic about the situation. If only someone could open both Jenomis and his son’s eyes about what they’re each doing, before it’s too late...

[libertatearchitecto]

exscientiavir:

“I…” He’s, for once, speechless. “Someone’s worse than I am about that?! What in the world–” How is that– how is Jenomis cen Lexentale worse than him about matters of technology?! “I’ll go at you later about the flattery,” he says with the briefest of smiles. “But– he really did call them Ramza and Alma?! God, I always thought that he’d never have children, because he was so deeply obsessed with his story and so in love with Ivalice! I was surprised that he did, but to hear he really is barely even recalling he has them in the first place? Are they even children to him, or are they just part of his collection, I wonder?” He’s surprised at how much this is annoying him, but it is. Damn it, Jenomis…

“Auracite,” Cid says, voice flat. “Those crystals are every bit as deadly as the weapons of the Empire, but Jenomis is blind to the danger - even after what’s happened with the bloody rocks.” He heaves a frustrated sigh and shakes his head. “I don’t know. He wants to solve the mystery of it all, to prove every belief he’s ever held -  but I fear what it’s going to cost him in the end. If any harm comes to those children because Jenomis’ daydreaming has taken priority over the flesh and blood people that need him...”

[libertatearchitecto]

exscientiavir:

“Do you mean Jenomis?” He asks, brightening slightly. “Ooh, did something exciting happen? Do tell! Or– no, no, I’ll ask Alan, she probably got to poke about more than you did.” Cid was no fighter, after all. But– wait. “Hold on, what’s he got his boy into?” He asks, quickly losing the enthusiasm in favor of mild annoyance. “Didn’t he name the boy Ramza? That’s disconcerting enough on its own, what else is going on now?”

“I do,” Cid grouses, and folds his arms over his chest. “Do poke Alan for more details later, I left before I lost my temper and did something I would regret.” He sighs and shakes his head. “Say what I may about your love for all technology, meant for good or ill, at least you acknowledge that it can be dangerous! What Jenomis is wrapped up in, however...” He shakes his head and groans, shrugging off the thought before continuing, “This on top of naming his children Ramza and Alma! Worse yet the boy is terribly entitled and rude beyond measure - even to his own sister. How she’s the sweet child she is I’ll never know, given I’ve half a mind to believe her father would forget he even has children if left with a tome long enough.”

[libertatearchitecto]

[ @exscientiavir​ ] "I'd be mildly insulted given I know I'm well within that comment, but I'm more curious as to who else you mean."

“At least you’re not neglecting a child in the process,” Cid grumbles, and moves to sit by Nero and groan. “Or leading said child straight into danger by virtue of your unhealthy obsession.” He hates how incautious Nero can be, yes, but... he doesn’t think he would ever be the kind of parent Jenomis has turned into. “In fact, as things go, you’re far more tolerable about it, even when you’re being irritating.”