exsiliumlogs | It's in your eyes (Closed)

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It's in your eyes (Closed)

Date & Time: January 10th - Morning
Location: Training Facilities
Characters: Clive & Elza
Summary: Two gunners have a fateful and awkward meeting at mandatory training.
Warnings: Potential threatening? Maybe gun-totting?

While making training a mandatory event reminded him of old times at the Guild, it was still a pain to have to come down here with a crowd of people just to practice with his new sentient weapons. He stroked the black and white butts of the pistols safely in their holsters at his thighs, watching as others tried their hand at long-ranged weaponry. Most were rather good, so they must have come with the experience.

Still, when one already knew a considerable amount about the simple act of cock, aim, fire, it lost a considerable amount of amusement. Lüge and Richtigkeit were fine pistols, but he preferred to get to know them beyond the city where targets were a little less predictable. He bonded with them better out there in the rain where he had to be certain his powder was dry while loading it and risk it catching first with the spark so close to his cloak. Both pistols seemed to enjoy the exercise more than this boring situation.

He stood still and silent against one of the walls, positioned to watch the coming and going of only those with long-ranged weapons. He could care very little for the brutes with swords and shields, as they were merely a gunners protection in combat, an active body to stand behind. No, it was these people using bows and arrows, pistols, rifles and all manner of crude weaponry here. Sturm was quite active as well, having never dealt with so many sentient weapons in one place.

He crossed his arms over his chest, pretending to be just a casual observer. It was good to know what one's competition was in case things went another direction in this place. Who knew when a betrayer would come about.

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Elza had disappeared after what had occurred over the network the night before. She had never thought that she'd ever see that face again, and yet there it was as if taunting her. Nash and Caesar had been pulled from fifteen years into her future, and it would have been logical to think the same for Clive as well. Clive... Just as young and handsome as she had left him back in Sajah. How could that be possible? Yet the words he had spoken had been far too much like the executioner who had hunted her down for years.

That was why she had gone into hiding. Her thoughts were far too compromised for her to make any proper judgements, which was why the gunner never had any other choice. How could this world be so cruel? They had taken her from the most important moment of her life, and then dragged the man she loved here. Clive had been stolen away from his happiness and his home, and she couldn't forgive them for stripping that from him.

The morning had come, and she'd found herself moving with the shadows when all of the Transports had gone to the training grounds. She had found him there, hidden within his black cloak and standing off to the side, watching the others. Elza's presence remained hidden from everyone, as she remained in shadows, and watched the scene play out - a scene that she had never thought was possible.

Yet this Clive was still hunting her, was her executioner...

That thought drew her out of the shadows as she appeared ten feet away from where Clive stood observing the training. She slowly began to advance on him until she stood only a few feet away. "Didn't think that you had it in you to continue chasing me here, kid," she murmured in her usual playfully arrogant tone.

It was rare that he could ever one-up Elza, a fact that was still strongly clear to him when he had confirmed her presence here. He had watched her from the shadows, waiting to see if she really was the one from his world. The voice had been the same, but she had never used video. As usual, she was cautious to a fault. Until the Silverberg and then he knew her for what and who she was.

He had suspected that they might start to hunt again, but his heart wasn't in it. It was why he hadn't bothered to follow her trail through the Silverberg. The idea of her being here made his chest hurt, and he hadn't suffered through that sensation for months because of her death and before that the ache had only been present for Kelley. Now, what was he to do?

Sturm made the presence of Stern and Mond obvious, louder, yet he carried Stern and Mond with him right now. This was different, which meant that she was here, no doubt watching. He didn't move even when she eased out of the shadows, a feat given her white cloak, but she always had been very good at such things.

He turned his head when she approached, not unfolding his arms and watching her with a detached sort of interest. Don't react, don't let her know it hurts. He knew her well enough to know her playful tone was there to hide herself from him, as much as him just standing there hid him from her. "Sturm makes its demands for satisfaction. I am merely the hands that give Sturm what it wants."

The lack of emotion on Clive's face didn't come as a surprise. Clive had been the best when it had come to the neutral expression, for she had always preferred to perform her assignments with a pleasant smile on her face. For her, it was the easiest method to hide behind, and one that often allowed for her to blend more into the people around her.

Her pale gaze trailed down his muscled form, and knew well that Sturm would be hidden within the folds. She couldn't hear it, but the soft humming of her own pistols hidden on her body. Seeing Clive there with Sturm at least gave her the answer to why her pistols had been so noisy lately. It didn't leave her feeling any better, even if she hid it all behind her usual pleasant smile.

"Sturm, huh?" Elza asked, before shaking her head. Of course this Clive had to have been taken from the past. Did he even know that Sturm would never fire on her yet? Cocking her head to one side, the gesture questioning, she smirked arrogantly at him. "And what satisfaction is Sturm demanding for?"

Clive was fully aware that she was sizing him up, and for as long as he had the information of his own time hidden, he had the upper hand on her. He had heard that many came from different times and worlds, and it explained why the Silverberg was so old. It also explained why Elza was still alive, yet he couldn't outright ask her what she last remembered.

Yet, seeing her, talking to her, being close to her without the intention of blowing a hole in her head made his perceptions of the situation change. He couldn't say that he liked it. She was teasing to hide, and he was stoic to hide. Normally he would rampage over and demand his satisfaction for the Guild. Now... it was hard to sort out how he felt; he wasn't very good at dealing with 'feelings'.

"For wrongs done against the Guild, as always," he replied neutrally, though he made no move to retrieve the sentient rifle from hanging at his side. "Always there are rule breakers, and always Sturm hungers for satisfaction of those who wronged it."

His usual angry fire that blazed within Clive's eyes seemed dull and almost mellow in its own way. There was pain there, a pain that echoed of Kelley's murder, and a pain that she heldd deep within her heart. It was her burden to carry though, and yet she had forced it on Clive when she had shot his brother before disappearing from the Garden. She had never stopped running until Sajah, and Clive had never stopped chasing her with the fire that seemed to have now dulled. What could have caused it?

He almost seemed older than when they had met within Sajah, and the neutral reply left her suspicious. All of this talk about rule breakers and Sturm's hunger didn't sit well. Something wasn't right, and she couldn't say that she was all that pleased about it. How could she protect him when she didn't even know how much he knew?

"You don't owe the Guild anything," Elza muttered with that same smile curving on her lips. It was the same argument as always, and she knew that he couldn't live without the Guild, without the Garden, and with that she glanced away from him with an amused huff. "Poor little Clive, still so lost."

He should have been amused by how she was reacting to him, probably uncertain of what vein to take. This was the first time he had had an advantage over her because he knew for a fact that she could be no further in the timeline than he was. She was dead and buried, the only honour he could give her at the time.

The thought of her being dead caused that pain in his chest to burrow deeper, which made it hard to ignore. Her motivations were unclear, though he suspected that she was still in the mode of trying to do some twisted right by him. "Don't I?" He let the question hang in the air.

"Not as lost as poor little woman who can't know who and where I am from," he jibed back, his eyes narrowing. "It must annoy you not to have the upper hand as you always do."

Elza never made any attempt to answer Clive's question. She had her own thoughts and opinions on it, but knew that when it came down to it, she would always pick him over anything else. The gunner had lost everything else in her life that mattered to her the day that she gunned Kelley down, which was party why she had taken the guns and disappeared to protect the one remaining thing in her life.

"Mmm that's quite the change from when we were at the summit in Muse," she stated more than said back after his jib. That, in itself, left her feeling uncertain about where to tread, but she had learnt long ago to never show that side of herself to anyone. Too many years had gone by where she'd been by herself, and when he spoke of annoyance, it almost left her thinking that he could be from her future. That, in itself, was a thought that didn't sit well with her. "You remember where we last met."

It hadn't been a question that he had expected her to answer because their opinions on the Guild had changed as they had grown older. He had only really recently come to understand that depth of her hate for that place, and while he would never mirror it, the warm place of home had become far less bright since her passing. He hadn't decided when to go back, ad now that decision was taken from him.

"As much as petty thievery seems to be for you here," he remarked simply, giving no answer to what he remembered about their confrontation in Muse or anywhere else. He shrugged his shoulders at the probing statement, not bothering to confirm or deny anything, just to see what she would do.

There was a shrug in reply to his simple remark. The thievery was done more for entertainment than anything else, and she had purposefully meant it as a taunting gesture for the young Silverberg. It had worked as well as she'd hoped with her test, but everything seemed to have been for nothing at the unexpectedness of Clive's simple appearance. No there was nothing simple about it, when she thought about it all, and the gunner was left with nothing but questions yet again.

When he remained silent, Elza huffed lightly in amusement. "You haven't been this quiet since before you became my executioner," she muttered, but the words were aimed more to herself than at him. "You must have gotten the justice deserved for your precious Guild if you can tolerate my presence, handsome."

He wondered how much of a branch he had thrown in her plans of tormenting that Silverberg with his impromptu appearance on the network. He couldn't tell if it had shaken her completely, but he knew by her bearing that his appearance here was unexpected. Considering she wasn't being playful and pulling her guns on him, it seemed that she wasn't quite certain how to take him on just yet.

That would come to pass soon enough. Elza was smart and even he knew that his upper hand would not last long. He regarded her passively for a long moment, letting her speak her piece as he tried to decide what to say to her leading statements. "Our Guild," he corrected simply. "A member only ceases to be a member upon their death."

"'Our Guild'?" Elza asked, gaze returning back to Clive as a slender brow rose up in question. Even at the end, Clive had wanted her dead and hadn't seen her as a member of the Guild. All she had been was nothing more than a criminal, and she had accepted it for the man beside her. There was so much that she hadn't said, and she doubted that she ever would. "Heh, and here I thought that I was nothing but a criminal to you - a witch."

Her gaze held on Clive as she took him in for the first time in over a week. It wasn't the longest she'd ever had to wait. In the grand scheme of things, it would have actually been one of the shortest times between their meeting, but this was one that was far different than all others. He had changed so much, ages well beyond his years, from the events that had started with her killing Kelley.

Edited 2013-01-11 06:04 (UTC)

Clive remained completely neutral to her question, aware that the more he spoke, the more he gave away. It wasn't in his nature to lie well to those he was close to, especially someone so aware of his habits as Elza was. It might have been years since they had last had a real conversation on neutral terms, but he knew he hadn't changed that much. "You are, but a Guild Member nonetheless. Until your death removes you from the pages of members."

He held himself in the same position as she appraised him, and he was glad for the length and thickness of his cloak in times like these. It covered all that needed to be covered to conceal Sturm but also all the others. He glanced her up and down once, noting she hadn't changed much since he had last seen her save she was very much alive.

She remained quiet while regarding him. Our Guild? And now he was calling her a Guild Member? Why she understood the theory and dynamics of the Guild, but given the last few years, none of it fit when it came to her. As Clive had said himself one time, the crimes she had committed branded her as a criminal of activities punishable by death.

"Heh, I didn't realise that they were changing the rules, kid," Elza said, fully aware that she was silently calling Clive out on his bluff. That was why she turned back to face him in the moments leading up to her approach. There was no hesitation in her steps, and she closed the distance between them with confidence until she stood right in front of Clive. "Don't think you're fooling anyone with this show."

He held his ground against her trying to call his bluff, which it actually wasn't at this point. As Guild Master, he could put forward a motion to change the rules as he deemed appropriate, and the council of Elders would vote on it in his presence. Yet, it was now his Guild to rule in his own way, to find justice for wrongs done and to punish all traitors as Sturm determined with the will of Stern and Mond.

"You have been out of touch with the Guild proper for a few years," he pointed out simply, still holding his ground as she approached him. He was taller than she was, yet the closeness made him aware of Sturm's awareness on them both. "It's a good thing it's not a show then."

It didn't matter to her that he was taller. That was something that had never bothered her in the past, and it certainly didn't here either. She had her reputation in the Guild for a reason, and part of that reason was why the disgusting Elders had sent Clive after her and not one of the Squires.

Yet standing there before him as she did, reminded her well of all the times they'd spent together in the past. Peering up at him with her scarred face, her pale gaze travelled over every curve and blemish she once knew so well. "I wouldn't change that much with you out here," she bluntly stated and knew the truth of it all. With Clive out chasing her, the Elders were free to plot and plan anything they wanted. All of her attempts to draw him away from his precious Guild over the last few years had ultimately been for nothing. "Then what is this?"

Clive knew the truth more than she did, based on the trickle of information that reached him with other travelling Guild mates. There was news that came to him of change, but not the sort that particularly bothered him when he was travelling. Now that he was finished that, he had began his spider web of intelligence gathering to the goings on so he wouldn't walk in blind.

"This would be you attempting to ascertain where I am in the timeline compared to yourself I believe," he replied, his arms still over his chest as if her closeness didn't bother him. They usually spent more time further apart where aim was better and easier, but clearly she hadn't the intention of shooting at him right now. "Unless you have other plans in mind?"

"I don't need to ascertain that at all, Handsome," Elza said with her lips pulling up into a pleasant smile. The answer was staring her right in the face, after all. So... the deed had been done, had it? Why else would he be so calm and without rage inside? The fact that he hadn't spoken of getting justice on her only seemed to confirm it.

She pulled away in the next moment, and made a point of showing her back to him. Subtly glancing back over her shoulder, there was something within her gaze before it hardened once again. "Looks like Sturm's finally picked its master. Good going, kid."

Clive didn't move a muscle to her words nor the smile that appeared on her lips afterwards. Was she happy about that? He supposed he had hoped to be once it was done, but he had been left emptier because of it and now completely alone. The good times of youth, the trials of the Guild, the friendship that carried him through when he thought he would just die... all gone. He had the title of Guild Master, but no one to trust but Sturm.

Slowly, he pushed himself away from the wall that he had been looming against and rose to his full height. His cloak still hung around him until he stepped away, and the new holster on his upper thigh became obvious until it disappeared with the next step. Being here with her, talking like he could have back what he didn't deserve was too painful. She was too real, too giving and too focused on making him appear weak.

He walked away from her, putting distance between them as he was no longer interested in being here. He paused to glance at the targets and the people around before looking back at her. "Sturm had no choice. The two before me are dead, so the choice is a forced one." He turned away again. It never bothered him being third in the Guild Master race; to be honest, he hadn't really wanted the position ever.

Edited 2013-01-11 06:49 (UTC)

Her attention remained fixated on Clive as he finally pushed himself away from the wall. She hadn't missed the momentary flash of his thigh holster, but didn't see anything more beyond just that. So, Clive came here without Sturm being his weapon? Then which ones did he have on his person?

She made no move to follow after him as he left, but his parting words confirmed her suspicions beyond any shadow of a doubt. The kid had killed her, as she had intended in Sajah, but in that single moment there seemed to be a loneliness and sense of grief clinging to his form.

Watching as he turned away, the gunner made no move to follow. She knew well that Clive was far from the 'third one picked'. Sturm had never accepted Kelley at all, but Elza knew Clive as well as she knew herself, and she found herself quiet in her own silent grief while she murmured, "Still such a kid."

What was she meant to do with him? Clive could never be happy until he was back with his precious Guild, after all.

When she made no move to continue their little gathering, he saw no reason to stay. Their business was obviously concluded at this point in time as she had the information that she wanted and could think about how best to use it to whatever end she had in mind. He would look into other matters of concern to him.

No doubt they would meet again. No doubt he would never grow up in her eyes and always be the youngest of the lost trio.

He walked away silently, easing into the shadows where possible to avoid people and then slipping out of the room.

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It's in your eyes (Closed)

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