♢ 12 ♢

[formervanguard]

[Marta arrives on the Plane. Alone. There's a different sort of air about her than she usually carries - her usual pep is muted, but there's a strength about her that only comes with a sense of understanding. Duty. Hope. There is a small smile on her face - it's incredibly faint, and carries more than a tiny twinge of sadness, but it's there.

Her hands are clasped together behind her back, and her gaze is cast upward to the stars in the sky.]

Emil... I hope you're watching.

[She takes a deep breath.]

I'm going to convince the Tethe'allans to accept the Sylvaranti, without resorting to any of Daddy's harsh methods. I'm going to bring peace to the world you're guarding for us. [That smile grows a little.] I think... that will also be fitting to pay for my crimes. ... It's the least I can do.

[She pauses... shakes her head at herself as she lightly pulls at a strand of her hair with one hand.]

It feels better to say it out loud.


(( OoC: this will be Marta's final post. ♥ No time limit, of course. Just clarifying that this is the end of her story. It's been a fun ride, 'Shifted. ))

Comments

[perfectpartner]

[He is watching, and listening, though she probably isn't aware of it. He's just a few yards behind her, dressed in shorts and a white shirt he borrowed from someone-- the downside to being sort of separated from part of yourself and not having enough clothes to go around.]

M... Marta?

[His voice is a little quieter than he expected. He tries again.]

Marta!

[formervanguard]

[She hears him, hears her name... and she freezes. It's a voice she never thought she'd hear again, but it is nigh unmistakeable. She'd never, ever forget that voice.

She lets her arms drop to her sides, slowly turns. She's nervous, shocked, but... it's him. It's really him. How...?

It doesn't matter. She stares at him, eyes wide, for a very long moment.]

Emil...?

[You're here..!]

Emil!!

[And she runs to him, arms outstretched. It's a miracle, and this had better be real - either way, tears are already welling up in her eyes, threatening to fall.]

[perfectpartner]

[He catches her as she slams into him, giving her a twirl before he sets her down. His head feels light and dizzy. If he were at home, he might even be able to feel Ratatosk watching, but Ratatosk is still at the Ginnungagap and has no reason to come to the Plane.]

Marta...

[Her name is like a promise, a truth. He smiles gently and holds her close, pressing his lips to her hair. This is real: he can feel the familiar weird Plane ground beneath his feet, and he can see her little soul's glow, and it feels right.]

I'm here. I'm here and I'm not gonna leave you again. I promise.

[formervanguard]

[He catches her, and she swears it feels like her entire world is a hundred fold brighter, warmer, just because he's here. She's with him. They're both back where they belong. He says her name again, and she barely contains a sniffle as those tears in her eyes begin to fall after all.

But she's smiling. She can't help it, couldn't dismiss it even if she wanted to. It's a good thing she doesn't. ]

I know. And I'm here too, okay? Emil... You're not alone either.

[She stays against him, and will stay there as long as he lets her.]

I can't believe it... you were actually able to come back...

[perfectpartner]

I know... I know that now.

[God, he'd felt so alone, but it was his fault. He made it that way. He thought he had no choice. So stupid of him, with all his friends there... but nothing terrible had happened. Marta, with her love, had stopped it.]

Ratatosk and Tenebrae found a way. They said-- I should have a chance to live out the rest of my life like a normal human. I looked all over for you, but then I remembered you could come here, so... here I am.

[He holds her as tight as he can manage without squeezing her to bits.]

We can go home.

[decrypts]

What kind of crimes could you have possibly committed?

[ hey, little sister. what's going on here? ]

[formervanguard]

[She looks up at the familiar voice with a soft "Hmm?" and smiles when she sees him.]

Oh, um... it's a long story. [She tucks her hair behind her ear - an excuse to look at the floor for a second... but then she's looking back up at him again. Because it isn't like this is something she can't face anymore.] Daddy did a lot of awful things in the name of trying to keep our people from being prosecuted in the new world. But... that doesn't excuse it. And even after I realized his methods were wrong, my own methods of making amends were just as misguided until I learned the whole truth.

[She pauses... shakes her head. That peaceful smile never leaves her face. It's clear she's come to terms with a lot in such a short time, for someone so young...]

I hope that even makes sense.

[formervanguard]

[And she would do it all over again if she needed to. She would do anything to prove her love - but more importantly, she'd do anything more to be sure he knows that he's far from alone, that he's become important to so many people. Not just her.

She takes comfort in his embrace, stands on the very tips of her toes so she can press a small kiss right to the corner of his lips.]

And here I am. [She laughs, faintly.] You're right. Let's go home, okay? Everything's going to be all right.

[And that is the absolute truth.]

[decrypts]

[ they may not have spoken much about where they're from and what things are like – but marta will always be close to him in a way that he can't really put a finger on. ( never mind that she'd helped him through being terrified of eyeballs and radishes when he had no idea who he was … that kind of goes without saying by now. )

but he listens to what she says, and though he doesn't know the whole story, it does make a fair bit of sense. so he nods, arms folding over his chest. ]

It does … but what makes you think you need to make up for somebody else's mistakes, even if they're family?

[ because sometimes … you just can't do that, no matter how hard you try. it's just something he's always thought. ]

[formervanguard]

[She shakes her head.]

I was part of the Vanguard, too. I didn't get it at the time, sure, but... I'm not going to pin any of what I did on him, even if he was in charge. Still, even after I left the Vanguard, when I tried to do things on my own, I didn't have the whole story and I've hurt a lot of people that didn't deserve it. Just because I didn't listen.

You're right, though. [She bites her lip.] I... think I do want to make up for his mistakes, too. If I can. Just... someone needs to make it right. Right?

[perfectpartner]

[He flushes dark scarlet at the little kiss, ducking his head. Oh no, she's embarrassing him~]

Yeah. This is just the beginning of a new journey, right?

[He reaches out and takes her hand. His smile is soft and warm, the blush lingering. He's so much stronger now than when he first began. He takes a moment to look at the stars and take it all in, and he takes a breath, and then he squeezes her palm.]

Let's go home.

[decrypts]

[ oh, so that's it. well, now it seems a bit clearer … but he still doesn't think she should be the one to atone for everyone's mistakes, when it all comes down to it.

especially when it seems she was doing things for one reason without having the whole of a pretty important story. ]

Someone, yeah. I guess. [ i still don't think it should be you, but … what power do i have over that? ]

So … what does that mean, exactly? Making up for all of that?

[formervanguard]

[Tales of If People Would Open Their Mouths Then Most Of This Shit Wouldn't Have Happened At All.

I mean what sorry]

I'm not really sure yet. [She sighs.] I just want my people to be accepted. To stop being persecuted. So at the very least, I think I'll have a lot of work ahead of me. If I can do it, though... I think that will be enough.

[decrypts]

[ heyyyyy that sounds vaguely familiar! kind of like what's going to happen in the project in future!

but we don't know about any of that yet, do we. so just. moving right along.

he's nodding, a fair amount of comprehension seeping into his expression the further she goes. ] Well that's not such a bad thing to want. Sounds like you've got a lot of pride in them. [ and that's always a good thing. ]

And once you're done, all that work will have been worth it. Right? I'm sure you can do it.

[formervanguard]

[Gotta love trouble brought about by ridiculous secrecy ~for the greater good~...]

I do. We're good people - just different. But if I can make friends from all kinds of places, then I'm sure the rest of the world can do the same.

[Her smile grows, a little closer one fit for that lively, beaming girl he's run into before.]

Right! I hope I can do it. I'll find a way. [She nods.] Thanks.

[decrypts]

[ actually, no we don't. trouble brought about by ridiculous secrecy is kind of the worst thing ever.

ah, there's the smile he's more used to seeing – though it's still a shadow of what it should be, there's hope in him that she'll have the full one back one day. hell … seeing other people smile gets him all fit to do it himself, and he's glad that she can be so optimistic about what lies ahead of her. ]

If there's anything I can do to help, lemme know, yeah? [ lookit you, trying to help when you have no idea of what's going on!

you really have been hanging out with north for too long. ]

[formervanguard]

[Of all time.]

Of course! Well... do you have any ideas? I'm starting from the very beginning, after all.

[You may have no idea what's going on, but she's so, so grateful for the offer anyway. It's people like you that help her remember the faith she has in people in general. She just needs to stick to it.]

[decrypts]

[ asdlkhg ]

Um. [ quite intelligent, york! you're helping! like a five-year-old in the kitchen wanting to help with dinner and banging about on pots and pans in the middle of the floor.

he scratches the back of his neck, mouth pulling to the side in a one of his i'm-totally-thinking-hard-about-this expressions. ] Maybe if I … knew more about the situation?

[ even then … ]