They show up in the lake. Not here, not now, and I don't see what you see!
[Damn it. Few things in the world could make him feel as bad as dragging away a girl from something she wants, 'for her own good' even if he believes down to his core that that's really true. And Alisaie might not be the calmest or most controlled girl, but the sound of her voice and the panic and the tears is like a knife to the heart.]
[ he's not wrong, but.. but still.. mayhaps she simply missed him at the lake, or mayhaps something changed, there are a hundred things she would want to believe if it meant seeing her grandfather again. a sob rises in her throat, and alisaie reaches for the image of her beloved grandsire. ]
Grandfather -
[ clearly perturbed, the siren dives nearer, its shadow fast beneath the water, and while her grandfather's expression remains serene, below the water the siren roars, and lunges - ]
[That last one? That's for her dignity, which he compromises pretty damn dramatically by scooping her up into a princess carry in the same motion as he kicks the damn siren straight in the face.]
[God. He really could've used someone to just talk to, too. But such a person never existed -- that had been the siren's promise, so he really isn't losing anything by kicking that promise in the face, right? Laugh about it later, accept reality, and if it leaves a wound, it'll be a small one, and it will heal without scarring.]
[One obnoxiously high backflip later finds them on the fence surrounding the pool, which Morgan is grateful isn't pointier.]
Ouch. [He says that conversationally, balancing there for a moment as he hopes Alisaie gets a grip. If she starts fighting him, whether out of frustration or just because he's carrying her, he's probably going to fall over.]
[ thankfully, alisaie is a bit too distraught to be worrying about her pride overmuch; being torn away from her grandfather is terribly painful, even though, logically, she knows that what morgan is doing must be right. he might act like a self-important jackass sometimes, but he's always been kind to her, and never given her reason not to trust him.
so when the siren finally leaps from the water as they scale the fence, alisaie is.. not surprised to see its true visage, however much she might be disappointed. she said goodbye to her grandfather long ago, found peace in his passing, but sill she cannot deny that she had been hoping to see him again in this place, in this world beyond time, where even the dead may walk again. but this, it seems, was nothing but a cruel trick. with the fence between them now, however, the siren does not pursue them.
alisaie sucks in a breath, scrubbing at her eyes, her voice thick with emotion. ]
L-let me down, please.
[ she's not fighting him yet, but she will if she has to be princess-carried a moment longer. ]
Sorry... [He just keeps saying that because who knows what to say in a case like this?]
[Morgan hops off the fence, landing lightly and setting Alisaie down in the same motion. The lines the siren had gouged into his leg in one unfortunate moment sting, but don't compromise his strength for this. But rather than completely setting her down and free, as he straightens up he reaches out again -- this time, to scoop her into a hug. Again, totally aware that she's not ordinarily the sort, but also totally aware of how much she really, really looks and sounds like she needs a hug right now. She can fight and protest it in a minute when she feels better, and then he'll promise to never speak of this again.]
[ he is completely right on both counts. alisaie is definitely not the hugging sort, but she also is the secretly-enjoys-hugs sort, and she definitely could use one right now. her mind might rebel, but her heart all but requires it - there's a moment where she stiffens in shock, her immediate response to fight or fly, but gods how her chest aches..
alisaie neither fights nor flies, she only slumps forward, hot tears spilling from her eyes as she squeezes them closed, a sob heaving in her throat. it's been quite some time since she allowed herself a good cry.
it isn't fair. it isn't fair that a creature should be able to do something so terrible, that it should target her weaknesses so easily and effortlessly that she fell for it in an instant. this isn't the sort of battle that she is used to fighting, or that she is good at fighting, it isn't the type of enemy that presents itself openly, that she can take on with her sword and never look back.
this pain will pass, she knows it will, yet for now it sears. ]
[And Morgan is very lucky that he guessed correctly. He'd been pretty certain that this was the right choice, but the risk of a kick at best had always been there.]
[This is something he shines at, though, because he's tall and reasonably broad, warm and strong, all those good qualities that make for a really good hug. Not the best hug he's ever given but that's just because Alisaie is teeny, which he attributes to her being whatever race she is that isn't quite human.]
[(Not for a second, though, does he imagine that in a few years she'll likely tower over him.)]
[For a few long moments he lets her wrestle with whatever demons had come into her from that vision, as his shirt gets progressively damper. Then, when her breathing and shaking begin to slow, and she seems like she might be coming back to herself, he finally brings himself to ask the question.]
[ it takes some time for her to fully school herself back together, and alisaie is quite embarrassed by the time she does, but it's over with now and she cannot take it back. she had thought herself well past her grandfather's death - and she is, she can think of him and talk about him without weeping now - but that monster dangling him as bait had been.. too cruel. it has been some time since she has faced something so terrible. perhaps avalon has softened her.
nevertheless, alisaie gives a big sniff and scrubs her red eyes with her wrists, shaking her head in an attempt to rearrange her thoughts. ]
.. my grandfather.
[ she says blearily, taking in a deep breath, and steadying herself. ]
He passed long years ago. I should have known better, but.. in a place out of time like this, I suppose I was.. hopeful.
Family is a cheap shot. [Time to let her go, in part because he can't keep from clenching a fist at that response. What he'd been offered is bad enough -- but if he had memories enough of his parents to have seen one, he can't say he'd be in better shape than she is.] But not surprising. Don't feel bad or foolish because you love your grandfather, okay?
[A little nudge to her shoulder is his encouragement to her now. She might've needed a hug, but Morgan suspects now that a little roughhousing is way more her style to help her get back to herself.]
[ family is a cheap shot, and alisaie's scowl says she agrees. stepping back, she scrubs her eyes on her sleeve again and exhales slow and hard. her face looks a red, puffy mess, but at least now she is looking more angry than sad; alisaie's despair often translates to fury before tears, though this, it seems, has brought about both. ]
You'd do the same for me. Straight down to the princess carry, I am 100% certain. [He cracks a grin, hoping that joke lands -- though he totally believed Alisaie would scoop him up like that if need be.]
[A moment's thought, then he snaps his fingers as he figures out the only logical course of action.]
Proposal! Let's go find a training area, beat the crap out of some target dummies for a while, then get food and ice cream. [That sounds just the ticket to get her back to a more even keel!]
[ the joke does land, and alisaie chuckles roughly, she doesn't have a belly laugh in her right now but a tearful chuckle is still good enough.
but all right. it's time to straighten her spine and move forward; the siren is gone, taking with it a little of her dignity, but morgan is right in offering his distraction. she won't give that beast one more moment of her pain. ]
Aye, that sounds ideal.
[ there's nothing she would like more than beating on a training dummy right now. ]
[If he isn't as cheerful and energetic as he pretends to be, she sure isn't either. But oftentimes 'fake it till you make it' is pretty good advice. A grin and a charge, even a walking charge, brings more energy and more warmth than an exhausted trudge, and that has its own therapeutic benefits. Plus this way Alisaie can pretend she's her old self again and none of what just happened actually happened, and he figures that's a way better way to get a girl like her back on an even keel than being extra-considerate and gentle.]
[So, a dramatic turn that makes his coat flare just a smidge, and an advance!]
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[Damn it. Few things in the world could make him feel as bad as dragging away a girl from something she wants, 'for her own good' even if he believes down to his core that that's really true. And Alisaie might not be the calmest or most controlled girl, but the sound of her voice and the panic and the tears is like a knife to the heart.]
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
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Grandfather -
[ clearly perturbed, the siren dives nearer, its shadow fast beneath the water, and while her grandfather's expression remains serene, below the water the siren roars, and lunges - ]
no subject
[That last one? That's for her dignity, which he compromises pretty damn dramatically by scooping her up into a princess carry in the same motion as he kicks the damn siren straight in the face.]
[God. He really could've used someone to just talk to, too. But such a person never existed -- that had been the siren's promise, so he really isn't losing anything by kicking that promise in the face, right? Laugh about it later, accept reality, and if it leaves a wound, it'll be a small one, and it will heal without scarring.]
[One obnoxiously high backflip later finds them on the fence surrounding the pool, which Morgan is grateful isn't pointier.]
Ouch. [He says that conversationally, balancing there for a moment as he hopes Alisaie gets a grip. If she starts fighting him, whether out of frustration or just because he's carrying her, he's probably going to fall over.]
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so when the siren finally leaps from the water as they scale the fence, alisaie is.. not surprised to see its true visage, however much she might be disappointed. she said goodbye to her grandfather long ago, found peace in his passing, but sill she cannot deny that she had been hoping to see him again in this place, in this world beyond time, where even the dead may walk again. but this, it seems, was nothing but a cruel trick. with the fence between them now, however, the siren does not pursue them.
alisaie sucks in a breath, scrubbing at her eyes, her voice thick with emotion. ]
L-let me down, please.
[ she's not fighting him yet, but she will if she has to be princess-carried a moment longer. ]
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[Morgan hops off the fence, landing lightly and setting Alisaie down in the same motion. The lines the siren had gouged into his leg in one unfortunate moment sting, but don't compromise his strength for this. But rather than completely setting her down and free, as he straightens up he reaches out again -- this time, to scoop her into a hug. Again, totally aware that she's not ordinarily the sort, but also totally aware of how much she really, really looks and sounds like she needs a hug right now. She can fight and protest it in a minute when she feels better, and then he'll promise to never speak of this again.]
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alisaie neither fights nor flies, she only slumps forward, hot tears spilling from her eyes as she squeezes them closed, a sob heaving in her throat. it's been quite some time since she allowed herself a good cry.
it isn't fair. it isn't fair that a creature should be able to do something so terrible, that it should target her weaknesses so easily and effortlessly that she fell for it in an instant. this isn't the sort of battle that she is used to fighting, or that she is good at fighting, it isn't the type of enemy that presents itself openly, that she can take on with her sword and never look back.
this pain will pass, she knows it will, yet for now it sears. ]
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[This is something he shines at, though, because he's tall and reasonably broad, warm and strong, all those good qualities that make for a really good hug. Not the best hug he's ever given but that's just because Alisaie is teeny, which he attributes to her being whatever race she is that isn't quite human.]
[(Not for a second, though, does he imagine that in a few years she'll likely tower over him.)]
[For a few long moments he lets her wrestle with whatever demons had come into her from that vision, as his shirt gets progressively damper. Then, when her breathing and shaking begin to slow, and she seems like she might be coming back to herself, he finally brings himself to ask the question.]
Who did you see?
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nevertheless, alisaie gives a big sniff and scrubs her red eyes with her wrists, shaking her head in an attempt to rearrange her thoughts. ]
.. my grandfather.
[ she says blearily, taking in a deep breath, and steadying herself. ]
He passed long years ago. I should have known better, but.. in a place out of time like this, I suppose I was.. hopeful.
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[A little nudge to her shoulder is his encouragement to her now. She might've needed a hug, but Morgan suspects now that a little roughhousing is way more her style to help her get back to herself.]
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I don't. It's all right.
[ another deep breath. ]
Thank you.
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[A moment's thought, then he snaps his fingers as he figures out the only logical course of action.]
Proposal! Let's go find a training area, beat the crap out of some target dummies for a while, then get food and ice cream. [That sounds just the ticket to get her back to a more even keel!]
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but all right. it's time to straighten her spine and move forward; the siren is gone, taking with it a little of her dignity, but morgan is right in offering his distraction. she won't give that beast one more moment of her pain. ]
Aye, that sounds ideal.
[ there's nothing she would like more than beating on a training dummy right now. ]
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[If he isn't as cheerful and energetic as he pretends to be, she sure isn't either. But oftentimes 'fake it till you make it' is pretty good advice. A grin and a charge, even a walking charge, brings more energy and more warmth than an exhausted trudge, and that has its own therapeutic benefits. Plus this way Alisaie can pretend she's her old self again and none of what just happened actually happened, and he figures that's a way better way to get a girl like her back on an even keel than being extra-considerate and gentle.]
[So, a dramatic turn that makes his coat flare just a smidge, and an advance!]