assorted non-canon and AU threads

[aesculapian]

who wants delicious post-forest terribleness

Comments

[miraculess]

[ ...torn between wanting to comfort him, and wanting to tell him exactly why it isn't and can't be the same. Lilith won't have the chance to meet her mother, unless that woman dies in a way she shouldn't have— and even if that happens, the only home she can ever have now is the forest.

Lilith probably wouldn't want to change that, but now there will still always be a "what if?" hanging over her head. ]

She's been happy here. Happy enough that she chose to stay when she could have left, even though at that time things were much more difficult. Even if this shakes her... mm. I doubt she'd overly regret that decision.

[miraculost]

[he knows. he knows, he knows, he can't get the thought out of his head. that Lilith can never leave here, that she will almost certainly never get to have what he and Kaito had so painstakingly built between them. that his mirror, in Lilith's old life, will never get to tell her daughter how much she had always loved her.

but he cannot, cannot let himself drown in that despair. all he can do is listen to the Arbiter's words, and let them give him strength.]

I'm glad. I'm glad, she's found and chosen happiness here. If she's at all like my son, then she is strong. I don't doubt that at all.

[miraculess]

[


yes, all right. lifting one hand and putting it on his head. ]

...I should warn you.

Games are not always chosen and run by arbiters. Shades have some subconscious influence over the forest, and that extends to games as well. However... since it's subconscious, they have no control over the form it takes.

Lilith has run a game before. I think, considering the circumstances... she'll likely run it again. I can't tell you more than that—I can't give you that advantage over the others—but I want you to know that it is not deliberate, and to try not to blame yourself for it.

[miraculost]

[hand on head '^']

I understand. Thank you.

[miraculess]

[ she leaves it there for a few more moments, then awkwardly withdraws it to fuss with the wrist in a familiar nervous gesture. she doesn't have stitches anymore—not the way Kaito still did at home—but apparently some habits don't die, even in death. ]

In the meantime... my offer to listen is still open.

[miraculost]

[just seeing that aches]

... I appreciate that, and I'd like to, but...

[miraculess]

[ nods quietly and finally goes for her own tea. ]

[miraculost]

... Going forward, should I keep my distance? To give her the chance to approach me first, or stay away.

[miraculess]

Ah...

...I don't know yet. She's... "asleep?" Or— "out" is closer in some ways, though not quite accurate... I'm not going to let her avoid you entirely, but I don't know if what I'm doing now will change her unwillingness to engage or not.

[miraculost]

Well... let me know when you find out, if you would. After what I just dropped on her, I feel I'm the one who ought to accommodate.

[miraculess]

[ nodding, awkwardly ]

...in the meantime...

[ pausing for a long moment, apparently trying to work out what she wants to say ]

...please don't avoid me. Our feelings have some bleed over even when I'm not taking responsibility for the both of us. It'll be easier on her in some ways if she comes back to memories of you that don't have her... ah. That don't have anything negative to them.

[miraculost]

[momentary surprise flickers over his features, and softens into a smile]

That's a request I can take to heart.

[miraculess]

[ crooks half a smile of her own ]

Thank you.