[ The day began with such promise, and perhaps it was the depth of Aymeric's longing for peace that made him look forward to the conference with such hope. It was there in the faces of the people that he saw, and it surged even further to life when he saw Alkaid and K'thisru in the throng watching events unfold. And he would be lying if he said the sight of Alkaid's new dress did not cause a special kind of thrill to creep up his spine.
Everything was going so well, right up until the revealing of the relief he had ordered and until the moment that Nidhogg made his terrifying appearance and struck Vidofnir down. Aymeric's heart leaped up to lodge firmly in his throat, but he could do nothing but watch in horror as the events unfolded before him and the crowd below.
Even as he stands near the railing of his favored spot, these are the events that play themselves over and again in his mind. Well, that and the feel of Alkaid's hand brushing against his as she ran towards the fallen dragon to offer whatever help she could. His gaze snapped to hers even as she ran past him, and even then he found himself shaking his head.
As he returns to the present, he tries desperately to pull back together his scattered thoughts and attempt to form some sort of plan that can be put into motion when the sun rises again. He must decide what to do about Nidhogg, but thoughts are slippery things on a good day. Now, each time he tries to come up with a plan, each strand of thought runs away from him before he can even grab hold of it.
And so he stands where he is, face turned upwards to look at the rapidly clouding over sky. It has not even registered that someone has joined him and is standing beside him, at least not until said person wraps her hand around his. It is only then that he realizes that his hands have grown cold in the chilly air; it hardly bothers him, as he has grown used to this, but her hands are warm compared to his, and soft where his are hard.
At first, he does not turn his gaze to meet hers, but when he does, the first thing to spring to mind is this: ]
Are you well? [ He briefly closes his eyes, because that was not how he meant to open this conversation, but they open again soon enough. ] Full glad was I to hear that Vidofnir still lives. Even though everything has gone so terribly wrong, that is one thing that I am immeasurably relieved to know.
[ And then his gaze falls once again as doubt and uncertainty cloud his thoughts once more. ]
Nidhogg- I should have known that he would attempt something. And Estinien...
[ She may very well note that he is having difficulty finding the right words to verbalize his thoughts. ]
None blame Ishgard, you say, but they would be well within their rights to do so. [ And as for the weather and the encroaching snow, he merely shakes his head. ]
It hardly matters now. [ He is not such a fool as to believe that he must punish himself for the way that everything transpired, of course. That is not why he remains outside, even with the snow set to fall at any moment. ]
But you- You should be resting. [ That gives him something else to focus on besides his churning emotions, and he straightens up to the best of his ability, although he keeps his hand where it is, even as he gazes down to look at her. ]
Come, we shall go to my house, and I will see to it that you have something to warm you. The Forgotten Knight is not too terribly far, but if you intend to return there, I will see you well prepared for it.
no, we really don't
Everything was going so well, right up until the revealing of the relief he had ordered and until the moment that Nidhogg made his terrifying appearance and struck Vidofnir down. Aymeric's heart leaped up to lodge firmly in his throat, but he could do nothing but watch in horror as the events unfolded before him and the crowd below.
Even as he stands near the railing of his favored spot, these are the events that play themselves over and again in his mind. Well, that and the feel of Alkaid's hand brushing against his as she ran towards the fallen dragon to offer whatever help she could. His gaze snapped to hers even as she ran past him, and even then he found himself shaking his head.
As he returns to the present, he tries desperately to pull back together his scattered thoughts and attempt to form some sort of plan that can be put into motion when the sun rises again. He must decide what to do about Nidhogg, but thoughts are slippery things on a good day. Now, each time he tries to come up with a plan, each strand of thought runs away from him before he can even grab hold of it.
And so he stands where he is, face turned upwards to look at the rapidly clouding over sky. It has not even registered that someone has joined him and is standing beside him, at least not until said person wraps her hand around his. It is only then that he realizes that his hands have grown cold in the chilly air; it hardly bothers him, as he has grown used to this, but her hands are warm compared to his, and soft where his are hard.
At first, he does not turn his gaze to meet hers, but when he does, the first thing to spring to mind is this: ]
Are you well? [ He briefly closes his eyes, because that was not how he meant to open this conversation, but they open again soon enough. ] Full glad was I to hear that Vidofnir still lives. Even though everything has gone so terribly wrong, that is one thing that I am immeasurably relieved to know.
[ And then his gaze falls once again as doubt and uncertainty cloud his thoughts once more. ]
Nidhogg- I should have known that he would attempt something. And Estinien...
[ She may very well note that he is having difficulty finding the right words to verbalize his thoughts. ]
None blame Ishgard, you say, but they would be well within their rights to do so. [ And as for the weather and the encroaching snow, he merely shakes his head. ]
It hardly matters now. [ He is not such a fool as to believe that he must punish himself for the way that everything transpired, of course. That is not why he remains outside, even with the snow set to fall at any moment. ]
But you- You should be resting. [ That gives him something else to focus on besides his churning emotions, and he straightens up to the best of his ability, although he keeps his hand where it is, even as he gazes down to look at her. ]
Come, we shall go to my house, and I will see to it that you have something to warm you. The Forgotten Knight is not too terribly far, but if you intend to return there, I will see you well prepared for it.