#[ IM STILL EXPERIMENTING W/ THIS STYLE OF WRITING NOX!!!!! ]

[pilted]

unprompted.     /     always accepting   !!

@hamartio​ said :   "color me surprised," the herald's tone just isn't half as poisonous as it should be because of his augments, because of the metallic tone underlying his words. "but i did not expect to see the defender of tomorrow in zaun. not even in the entresol." there's no threat in his tone, just a bitterness typical to whatever interactions they have had the past many years.

              PRIDE'S EVERY SHADE DEEPLY WOVEN INTO HEART,     swelling    &    aching,     incessant beat promoting growth from scarred past     //     such does intact intellect state,     deriving answer from mundane concepts that heart could never begin to understand     ————    constant opposition,     clashing at every opportune moment,     ideological differences at center of conflict,     forced to antagonize one another for sake of progress.     forsaking prior notions of cooperation to pave way for those beneath them     (   oh,     how they must pursue guiding lights of tomorrow   !     how collective gaze of masses fixates on battered mind    &    heart,     whose goals remain in eternal conflict   !!   ),     this was now how it was meant to be.     //     growth comes not from every beat.     in lieu of desired progress,     shard of eternal reminiscence at each heart's bump against chest,     replaying fatal moments of their downfall,     where heart    &    soul,     conjoined under teachings of free will,     advocate for law of nature,     clamor that to be bounded by law of nature    &    not law of man is only possible means to move forward   !

& he still stands by it.

              sought light not a blinding one    ;    rather,     it is virtuous in design,     it is correct,     it is still the best possible solution.     to relinquish control is to forego sense of self.     to be blessed with opportunity to make smallest move,     minute act,     curling of digits for one,     it is to be granted liberty through nature's law.     safety priority,     always has been,     but not at expense of innate control over one's own actions.

& yet, he is here.

              foggy mist over head fails to mask darkness of night,     inky canvas above head,     blessing of light not yet bestowed upon.     supposed twinkling stars did not gleam,     for each star's fate known    :    bright light approaching inevitable dying ember,     marching towards end of time,     extinguished by her merciful hands.     natural light shall not be offered on this descent,     no,     no,     for varied lights of buildings around compensate what illumination drapes over city of zaun    ;    intensity without limits at some corners,     marking each step a natural flow that did not necessitate any prior musing where each foot must land,     no worry,     no worry.     vestiges of guiding light now more apparent with each further step,     treading towards entresol with meticulous steps,     every move slow    &    hesitant as doubt's lingering whispers plague every thought,     every step.     instilled in mind     ...     fear of falling   ?     or shall it be demons of the past,     their endless conquest seizing each untouched corner,     cooing placid sonatas with every intent of bringing to fruition seed of doubt lying at root of heart   ?     no,     NO   !!!

              he can't back down now.     not when he's already here.     (   why are you here   ?   )     to talk to him.     (   nothing will ever be the same   )     at what cost   ?     to remain in silent at stalemate where neither dared entertain thought of confrontation   ?     are they to be land    &    sea,     destined to never meet over theoretical differences   ?     shall stifling air caught in throat never experience flight   ?     gods.     resolute may heart's senses be,     mustered strength cannot be found.

              he stands before his door.     one minute.     two minutes.     five.     ten.     lavenders commit to naught more but gaze at frame,     at unopened entrance,     eyes shifting slightly to own gloved hand,     contemplating success of this     ————    whatever this is.     there is no time for sustained interaction,     for the days where they conversed from dawn's rise to dusk's fall are but honeyed memories that do not reflect current truth,     the objective truth which he so pursues to understand.     fate dictates such    :    strain in relationship continues to exist,     a malign factor that must be ceased to return to far gone glory days.     to speak to him again.     (     oh,     how foolish he for conjuring the thought,     but to dream is to feel,     to feel is to be   )     here to instigate first step,     courage's blessing facilitating his descent to mezzanine of zaun.     to leave behind comfort of city that acclaims him as hero.     to descend into town he'd sworn to never visit at prime of his youth.     to mend what an inventor's hand cannot hope to fix by own means    :    a friendship he yet yearns for   !!

he does not knock.

              deep inhale,     exhale,    &    he resolves to leave,     nearly turning on own heel 'till that door opens before him,     rendering jayce speechless for few moments at that familiar voice.     his voice.     deeply ingrained into each vocable a metallic tone,     a bitterness of the past revived yet again through mere reminder of all that happened.     resentment binded itself to both hearts,     coiling 'round organ,     for the woes    &    sorrow both inflicted on each other,     for the aching pangs at chest that wished for the past,     to return to simpler days,     to again have partner at his side.     he must not falter.     he must not falter.     not before him.     not if very moment was key that conjoined separate paths.     not if future can be crafted to have both at each other's side,     two minds of superior intelligence resolute to seek dulcet middle ground for each theory,     each invention they created.

              ❛     viktor.     ❜     foreign.     movements of the mouth,     drop of his name,     feels so foreign against own tongue,     rising cacophony at heart from slight utterance.     silence ensues,     lights around them dim,     shadows accentuated on jayce's personage    ————————    fortune favoring oncoming bravado,     lilac orbs betraying donned veil.     all for the sake of pride.     ❛    what can i say   ?     i just wanted to take a stroll.     ❜     hearty,     nearly convincing chuckle,     lacking any heart or passion whatsoever.     curve of his lips upward into grin is faux.     it's fatiguing.     this façade shall not be the foundation for brighter future.     it won't.      ❛     found myself here.     ❜     truth is difficult.     it is an obstacle as much as it is a virtue.     brows furrow,     no vestiges of prior grin as lips press into fine line.     for a man acclaimed as light of tomorrow,     there is no light in those eyes who have since then lost their spark upon past's folly.     doubt inhibits progress through perilous journey.     he must eradicate it.     ❛     viktor,     ❜     so comes forthright query,     foot conscious pressed betwixt frame    &    door,     cautious prevention of letting of them escape this.     it's time to stop running.     ❛     can we talk   ?     ❜     he blinks.     once,     twice.     laced in his tone a melancholic bitterness.

              ❛     i'm not taking no for an answer.     ❜