Thaddeus followed Mai quietly through the door to the bedroom, glad that he had already seen it – less surprises were better right now, and he was certain he would soon have plenty to cope with.
Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he looked to Mai with a slight frown, though he nodded his head in understanding.
“No, I don’t…he told me quite a bit this morning and we agreed to wait on the rest.”
If he hadn’t been so anxious he might have been pleased – Mai clearly approved if her defense of Alfarinn was anything to go on. Even so, he felt a sense of relief at that, and assurance.
Biting down on his lower lip, he looked down at his hands resting between his knees. He spoke, quietly, uncertain of what to say but instinctually looking for a way to make this less painfully awkward.
“I get the impression this is difficult for –anyone- to tell me.” He looked up, his eyebrows still knitted together in a frown. “But I need to know.”
No news isn't always good news (private)
Mai walked quietly into the far bedroom, knowing that while many vampires did not have her keen hearing they heard well enough. She stood and waited for Thaddeus to find a place to sit down before beginning.
"I can understand why Alfarinn-san would find it diffcult to tell you this. I hope that you will bear him no ill will for waiting."
Tilting her head to the side Mai concentrated on the silence within in order to deliver this news with compassion.
((OOC: I figure they have gone into the bedroom that Thaddeus and Alfarinn normally share. She's standing at the foot of the bed. ))
Thaddeus Grey
17 years ago
Mai
17 years ago
Mai nodded and spoke softly.
"Hai, Thaddeus-san, you need to know."Â?
She turned her gaze upward and stared blankly at the wall behind Thaddeus' head. Mai believed that a sharp knife made the cleanest cuts and sometimes it was so with words as well.
"After much searching the two of you finally found the one responsible for Emma's death. There is, and we will go over it with you, proof to support this knowledge."Â?
Shifting her attention, Mai focused her unnaturally white eyes upon her Ba-di's grey ones. Her voice was quiet and her being was outwardly calm when she spoke.
"Sorin is guilty."Â?
"Hai, Thaddeus-san, you need to know."Â?
She turned her gaze upward and stared blankly at the wall behind Thaddeus' head. Mai believed that a sharp knife made the cleanest cuts and sometimes it was so with words as well.
"After much searching the two of you finally found the one responsible for Emma's death. There is, and we will go over it with you, proof to support this knowledge."Â?
Shifting her attention, Mai focused her unnaturally white eyes upon her Ba-di's grey ones. Her voice was quiet and her being was outwardly calm when she spoke.
"Sorin is guilty."Â?
Thaddeus Grey
17 years ago
Thaddeus listened with nervous anticipation as Mai explained, though he didn’t have to wait long before she was looking into her eyes and calmly telling him the truth.
He made a soft sound that was half pain and half incredulity, his head pulling back of its own accord as though trying to avoid a slap. The words were a foreign language, incomprehensible as anything more than a string of sounds.
Sorin is guilty.
Surely this was a mistranslation. He had heard wrong, they had thought wrong, what ever it was it was completely and utterly wrong. His mind rejected the very notion with every inch of his being, every inch save that sick core inside of him that knew the truth. Mai wasn’t mistaken. This wasn’t all some terrible misunderstanding.
Sorin is guilty.
Those three words were too much to process – he couldn’t even begin wrapping his mind around the implications. He fired off a question at random, more to prove he was still conscious than anything else, but he barely heard his own words.
“And you think that he did this” he said with a slight tap to his own head “as well?” He nodded his head slightly and muttered, mostly to himself. “Of course he did. Of course.” It all fit together now, he supposed. Their reluctance to tell him. The nature of this attack – clearly a command. He leaned against the bedpost, feeling sick and shaky, and closed his eyes for longer than a blink before opening them again. His hands still rested limply between his knees and he brought both up to cradle his head.
The idea that he, and Emma before him, had been so thoroughly betrayed refused to truly register, or at least that was what Thaddeus thought must be happening. No matter how many times he repeated those words in his mind (Sorin is -guilty-), he couldn’t seem to feel anything other than numbness, a sense of being outside of himself. As though all the pain of this were being inflicted on some other person.
“Where is he now,” this other person asked, in a faraway voice filled with all the grief he didn’t quite feel, not yet. That seemed to be the most important question – matters of proof could be dealt with soon but if Mai said there was evidence enough to determine his guilt, that was enough for right now.
It occurred to him, at that moment, that Sorin would be very disappointed that he had so readily believed in his guilt.
He made a soft sound that was half pain and half incredulity, his head pulling back of its own accord as though trying to avoid a slap. The words were a foreign language, incomprehensible as anything more than a string of sounds.
Sorin is guilty.
Surely this was a mistranslation. He had heard wrong, they had thought wrong, what ever it was it was completely and utterly wrong. His mind rejected the very notion with every inch of his being, every inch save that sick core inside of him that knew the truth. Mai wasn’t mistaken. This wasn’t all some terrible misunderstanding.
Sorin is guilty.
Those three words were too much to process – he couldn’t even begin wrapping his mind around the implications. He fired off a question at random, more to prove he was still conscious than anything else, but he barely heard his own words.
“And you think that he did this” he said with a slight tap to his own head “as well?” He nodded his head slightly and muttered, mostly to himself. “Of course he did. Of course.” It all fit together now, he supposed. Their reluctance to tell him. The nature of this attack – clearly a command. He leaned against the bedpost, feeling sick and shaky, and closed his eyes for longer than a blink before opening them again. His hands still rested limply between his knees and he brought both up to cradle his head.
The idea that he, and Emma before him, had been so thoroughly betrayed refused to truly register, or at least that was what Thaddeus thought must be happening. No matter how many times he repeated those words in his mind (Sorin is -guilty-), he couldn’t seem to feel anything other than numbness, a sense of being outside of himself. As though all the pain of this were being inflicted on some other person.
“Where is he now,” this other person asked, in a faraway voice filled with all the grief he didn’t quite feel, not yet. That seemed to be the most important question – matters of proof could be dealt with soon but if Mai said there was evidence enough to determine his guilt, that was enough for right now.
It occurred to him, at that moment, that Sorin would be very disappointed that he had so readily believed in his guilt.
Mai
17 years ago
Mai watched Thaddeus as he processed the news of Sorin's guilt. A small frown tugged at her otherwise calm appearance. Standing up straighter, she focused on delivering the information that he requested.
“Hai, It is a reasonable....deduction?”
That Sorin had command was rather well known. He was one of the most skilled with the ability. Most vampires, including the one sitting in front of her, were not alive when the Great War happened. The one time in their history when vampires had a foe that matched their strengths. Mai remembered and she also knew that Sorin was there as well. In the end of that monumental struggle their kind came out the victors and then a terrible peace was carved into the very minds of the surviving enemy. Those with command were called upon to set up a curse driving the bestial race out of their cities and into the wilderness. Sorin was one of those who administered the commands. Mai saw the creatures from time to time, living in packs. She left them alone, having pity for the remnants of their pride.
She shook her head slightly as she answered her Ba-di's next question.
“I have only one person watching him. Sorin is very perceptive and there are not many skilled enough to watch him other than myself. I left one trained Huntsman who will contact the Manor later this evening. I will take up the job once more when I get back."
"You were more important.”
Mai stepped closer to Thaddeus and reached out her hands light as a bird's touch to bring him to her. Holding him against her, she said.
“Ame futte chi katamaru. It will be better soon.”
She kissed him gently on the head. That she would promise.
((OOC: Literally she said "After the rain, earth hardens" ))
“Hai, It is a reasonable....deduction?”
That Sorin had command was rather well known. He was one of the most skilled with the ability. Most vampires, including the one sitting in front of her, were not alive when the Great War happened. The one time in their history when vampires had a foe that matched their strengths. Mai remembered and she also knew that Sorin was there as well. In the end of that monumental struggle their kind came out the victors and then a terrible peace was carved into the very minds of the surviving enemy. Those with command were called upon to set up a curse driving the bestial race out of their cities and into the wilderness. Sorin was one of those who administered the commands. Mai saw the creatures from time to time, living in packs. She left them alone, having pity for the remnants of their pride.
She shook her head slightly as she answered her Ba-di's next question.
“I have only one person watching him. Sorin is very perceptive and there are not many skilled enough to watch him other than myself. I left one trained Huntsman who will contact the Manor later this evening. I will take up the job once more when I get back."
"You were more important.”
Mai stepped closer to Thaddeus and reached out her hands light as a bird's touch to bring him to her. Holding him against her, she said.
“Ame futte chi katamaru. It will be better soon.”
She kissed him gently on the head. That she would promise.
((OOC: Literally she said "After the rain, earth hardens" ))
Thaddeus Grey
17 years ago
Thaddeus nodded absently as Mai explained that Sorin was being watched. Of course, the Elder of the Night’s abilities would make that difficult. He looked down, worried now, when Mai mentioned that he was her priority – what if this huntsman were caught and hurt because of him? How many people had he put in danger?
How many had he betrayed?
He had never been much of a ‘touchy’ sort of person, but he didn’t hesitate to rest his head on Mai’s shoulder now. It was, he found, much more difficult to stay at all collected with that comforting touch and gentle words threatening to break him apart, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to be completely devoid of feeling – the empty shock felt so wrong to him, inhuman if that word could still be applied to him. He didn’t want to go out there again, didn’t want to face the world at all. It was tempting to simply shut down, to turn into a dove and tuck his head under his wing or just lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Mai wasn’t pushing him to shake it off and move on and really it didn’t sound like there was much more he could do at this point anyway. He might as well hide in his room and let everything fall into place on its own. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, though, he knew it couldn’t be that way. He was in this, committed – even if he couldn’t remember how they had come to this terrible conclusion, he could well remember Emma’s murder, and he owed it to her to see this through in any way he could.
Of course, the ways he could help were severely limited because he didn’t have all the facts, and he didn’t want to slow things down because everyone was too busy coddling his feelings and catering to his lack of knowledge to get anything accomplished. Not that he resented the way his friends had handled this – he felt he could be expected not to take advantage of their patience with him.
He would only ask for a little more, he thought, as he pulled back and spoke softly to the bedpost.
“Thank you…for taking me aside.” That wasn’t, of course, all he was thanking her for, but Mai had a way of understanding him even when he wasn’t at his most articulate. “I just need a minute.”
He still had that faintly shocked sensation of waiting for this all to hit. Of course a minute wasn’t going to do much to change that but he thought if he could just get some small amount of time alone he’d be better for it, somehow more able to leave this room and face everything.
How many had he betrayed?
He had never been much of a ‘touchy’ sort of person, but he didn’t hesitate to rest his head on Mai’s shoulder now. It was, he found, much more difficult to stay at all collected with that comforting touch and gentle words threatening to break him apart, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to be completely devoid of feeling – the empty shock felt so wrong to him, inhuman if that word could still be applied to him. He didn’t want to go out there again, didn’t want to face the world at all. It was tempting to simply shut down, to turn into a dove and tuck his head under his wing or just lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Mai wasn’t pushing him to shake it off and move on and really it didn’t sound like there was much more he could do at this point anyway. He might as well hide in his room and let everything fall into place on its own. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, though, he knew it couldn’t be that way. He was in this, committed – even if he couldn’t remember how they had come to this terrible conclusion, he could well remember Emma’s murder, and he owed it to her to see this through in any way he could.
Of course, the ways he could help were severely limited because he didn’t have all the facts, and he didn’t want to slow things down because everyone was too busy coddling his feelings and catering to his lack of knowledge to get anything accomplished. Not that he resented the way his friends had handled this – he felt he could be expected not to take advantage of their patience with him.
He would only ask for a little more, he thought, as he pulled back and spoke softly to the bedpost.
“Thank you…for taking me aside.” That wasn’t, of course, all he was thanking her for, but Mai had a way of understanding him even when he wasn’t at his most articulate. “I just need a minute.”
He still had that faintly shocked sensation of waiting for this all to hit. Of course a minute wasn’t going to do much to change that but he thought if he could just get some small amount of time alone he’d be better for it, somehow more able to leave this room and face everything.
Mai
17 years ago
Mai let go when Thaddeus pulled away. She gave him a small smile while straightening the drape of her sleeves.
"Hai, it was best choice."
It was not fair to him that the others knew when he did not. They had no reason to be there with him, even though they were both his friends. She watched him a moment and knew that he would be alright. Her Ba-di was made of stronger metal than even he realized.
She made a slight bow of acceptance and understanding at his request. Turning, Mai silently left the room in order to give Thaddeus the privacy he deserved.
((OOC: Mai out. She's obviously being short on words again ))
"Hai, it was best choice."
It was not fair to him that the others knew when he did not. They had no reason to be there with him, even though they were both his friends. She watched him a moment and knew that he would be alright. Her Ba-di was made of stronger metal than even he realized.
She made a slight bow of acceptance and understanding at his request. Turning, Mai silently left the room in order to give Thaddeus the privacy he deserved.
((OOC: Mai out. She's obviously being short on words again ))
Thaddeus Grey
17 years ago
Mai left with a silent bow and Thaddeus sat, staring at the closed door as though it held all the answers in the world. There was no need to say anything more just yet - the hug, the light kiss to his forehead…those things spoke more than words ever could. It wasn’t the usual mode of expression for either of them, but sometimes, he reflected, there was simply nothing else one could do.
It was, he thought, good to be so well understood.
He buried his head in his hands again and closed his eyes.
/ooc Thaddeus out eventually
It was, he thought, good to be so well understood.
He buried his head in his hands again and closed his eyes.
/ooc Thaddeus out eventually