[quote]“You are right deary. That history is several generations before my time. Generations that might have died out by now. Though war may bring opportunity and bounties, it’s hard to deny the costs others have to endure. Costs that those displaced were forced to pay. I can’t imagine the memory being that fresh and to watch as the offspring of those abusers forget the role of their ancestors.”[/quote] [color=#F4E7CA]"Miss Fia..."[/color] the archeologist said in a defeated tone. The elves as a race didn't ask much, or even wanted to have their grief to be understood. A gesture of acknowledgment was enough and laudable.[color=#F4E7CA] "Please, don't take it the wrong way. It was part of history that your kin nowadays played no part in. We elves don't believe in inherited sin. All we can do now is to learn from the past and make sure we do better in the future." [/color] Pausing to allow the somberness to pass, he continued. "Now enough of that. Who is next?! Mr Gray?" The masked elf handed him his sword, which was a single-edged elven falchion with a flawless blade. Unlike his older compatriot, Elc maintained his demeanor throughout the entire introspection. [color=#C7C6C5]"Vesemir, I think we have been in this vault for three hours. Unless we plan to stay overnight, I recommend we quickly conclude our business here. Just a suggestion, but I am sure you know how troublesome it is navigating the Land of Twilight at night." [/color] [color=#F4E7CA]"I think we can have two or three hours more, Miss Jazdia still has things to attend to."[/color] [color=#C7C6C5]"Right, she is----Well, all is up to you boss. We still have that room to clear,"[/color] he transferred his gaze to Rezello, who had just finished admiring his sword. [color=#C7C6C5]"Aren't you and that Miko girl Miwa wanted to investigate that room?" [/color] [@Valkon][@Randomness] ____ [@Akari] Eblana suddenly recovered from her small breakdown. Her posture was straight, and she walked like something had taken hold of her. The accumulation of embarrassment and lack of any meaningful explanation---not even a sorry!---had awakened another side of her gentle, healer archetype. She stood against Akari. Eyes fixed on the black-haired kunoichi. Was she pausing to collect her thoughts? Searching for words? No, she let the silence be her opener. [color=fff79a]"Miss... Akari,"[/color] she said, plain and calm. [color=fff79a]"You read my lips carefully this time."[/color] She paused to breathe out bottled exasperation, and the next 'you' came straight with veiled disgust. [color=fff79a]"[b][i]You[/i][/b]... and Miss Miwa shares the same homeland, yet I can see her behaving far more appropriately than you. I will not see that kind of impudent gesture anymore--- it's violating my personal space. I care not if it is permissible in your culture. Are we clear?" [/color] Without letting the kunoichi retort, the radian-looking elf stared at the foreigner viciously one last time before turning her back. [color=fff79a][b]"Hmph!"[/b][/color] [center]******[/center] [b][color=#38b000]"It matters when it leaves unfinished business, no?"[/color][/b] Verdant inquired, mostly rhetorical. A hand rose, drawing a thumb across her throat, the implication quite obvious. [b][color=#38b000]"Kill it, be done with it. Or it'll come back to haunt you at the least opportune moment."[/color][/b] In the olden days, the proud Arcan would dismiss such premonition, but now there was a foreboding feeling that made him unable to produce any rebuttal. He could not explain; it was an instinct he honed after a millennium of existence. Truth to be told, he had none of this feeling when receiving the wizard's party ten years ago, but today, from the moment this party entered the gallery, all that instinctual alarm was sounding gradually, to the point that it had become hard to ignore. [quote][b][color=#38b000]"Guess we'll have to respect each other's boundary, then."[/color][/b] That much can be acquiesced. They'll depart the gallery soon enough anyway. [b][color=#38b000]"To be free is to be unbound and limitless. I could say more about our differences, but I suspect that will go nowhere. Changing our nature is not happening in a single conversation, yes?"[/color][/b] [/quote] [i][b]"Yes." [/b][/i] But the ancient djinn did not care anymore about fundamental ideals. His entire focus was already on the sitting elf. Arcan has been keeping an eye on her even before they entered this section, but now he glared at her like a wild jasmine blooming where it shouldn't. The tears had a connection that was faint but traceable, fleeting but felt, and it was about to fade. He would find out now. At least that was the plan until the foreigner sauntered between the desk and the painting. [quote][color=6ecff6]"Perhaps the true reason for Theriadore to keep this painting was exactly for this. To try and understand exactly where everything started to go wrong. Was it everything because of greed and envy? Jealousy...? Did such dark emotions poison and corrupt Lythiel's mind over time? Were they always there? Or perhaps... although unlikely... was it born out of a misunderstanding...?"[/color] [/quote] Arcan had to rein in his temper. He could not explain it, but there was something about this... Miko, that steadied him, as if her very presence exuded an aura of patience and restraint. So he stopped dead in his tracks. For a moment, what he sought after was forgotten. The Miko's words seeped in. [i][b]"There was no misunderstanding."[/b][/i] He said in a precise monotone. [i][b]"Lythiel was shortsighted. The brothers wanted peace between the elves and humans to last, but she undermined what they were trying to build. She spat on the offer to make justice institutionalized and refused the direct order to stand down."[/b][/i] He shook his head in a gentle dismissal. [i][b]"It was just the beginning of her crimes. The error was apparent from the moment Shirathal family took her in."[/b][/i] [b]The [i]error[/i], righted way too late.[/b] [center]****[/center] [quote][color=6ecff6]"I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have asked about the previous member... It seems I am being quite tactless today... I am really sorry, Jazdia."[/color][/quote] [color=ec008c]"Oh, about that? Don't worry too much about it." [/color] Truth be told, Jazdia too, was taken aback by the revelation; she didn’t know how to register the entire thing. Her cheek was still wet with tears, yet she hesitated to wipe them away. The sadness lingered, but her logic struggled to recognize its origin. She dismissed the phenomenon like a judge dismissing an unfair blow---her way of asserting control, not merely a show for the others. But the inevitable march of hopelessness was still looming, undeterred by emotional pretense. Every page she skimmed added more layer of distress. The elven ranger's hand betrayed that illusion of control as she held Miwa's hand, squeezing it for assurance. She lifted her gaze and saw the curator. [color=ec008c]"Curator Arcan. Do you have some other collections---"[/color] But the towering ancient Djinn has already an inch away from the desk, bending forth as his face studied her closer. [b][i]"I have a better idea," [/i][/b]he said, curt, detached, and methodical. In his spectral blue eyes, an intense emotion sought a momentum to manifest, held by something she couldn't fathom. [i][b]"You will not find whatever you are looking for by reading, unless you are willing to spend a few years here poring over every book and flipping every page." [/b][/i] The curator's gloved fingers stretched across the table. [i][b]"Hold my hand, so I can see what is wrong with you. My knowledge is vast, and it could save us from all the tedium of... waiting. This is the method I learned from my eastern kin."[/b][/i] His gaze slid briefly toward Miwa, silent but deliberate, seeking a wordless confirmation. It sounded tempting, but Jazdia was torn between her instinct and mounting desperation. The rationale in Arcan's assessment was undisputed. Yet, still she looked at Miwa and Verdant. A glimpse of vulnerability that she was willing to show to those who cared enough to know her plight, and now it begs for an answer: should she take his hand? [@13org][@A5G]