zerotohiro | Some Legends Are Told, Some Turn To Dust Or To Gold [CEREALIA INBOX]

We wanted to. [That had really been the only answer at the time and it turned out to be kind of a bad idea. They received new information that's come to light since then...but they also lost two people.] It's pretty dangerous if you go alone, that place is crawling with monsters and the trees can trick you into thinking a lot of things. We needed to go back and scout ourselves though and we found some of the natives. Occidi's people? They didn't want to talk to us at first until they saw that Hiccup had a dragon and decided we weren't a huge threat. It's just taken a while for us to really understand everything they were talking about. [He pauses in his explanation finally.] ...Adelina, they keep bringing in kids. Like young kids who really can't defend themselves. How messed up is that?

[And speaking of messed up...he frowns suddenly.] It's...did you hear about that house of mirrors?

[she was about to comment on the explanation he gives about the jungle when he mentions how children are being brought here. it's not as though this is new information for her; she's met several of them, after all. even so...]

I know. [despite the normal calm tone of her voice, she looks angry. of all the things ceres has done, this might be the one that's hardest for her to take in stride.] They will come to regret that one day.

[another pause, and a short inhale.]

Yes, I did. Did something occur for you there?

I mean they're pretty tough kids. Have you talked to any of them? They're getting by better than some of the other people I know, but that doesn't make it any better.

Anyway...you could say that. The mirrors were designed to show really bad memories, I guess. It showed one of mine, but it was one Tadashi didn't know anything about until he saw it down there. It was something I was going to tell him someday but I didn't want to tell him until I knew how. You can guess how he responded.

It's good they can keep themselves safe as well as any other, but they shouldn't have to.

It's difficult to say how he would have responded without knowing what the memory was. I don't mean to pry, but...

[...sigh.]

I guess it doesn't hurt to explain it. A ton of other people saw it whether I wanted them to or not. [But that doesn't make this any easier.] The short version of it is that he saw me trying to kill someone. The long version of it was that he saw me confronting a man who'd been trying to kill me and my friends for knowing too much, someone who actually stole one of my inventions and was using them for revenge, and someone who'd caused Tadashi's death. And he was Tadashi's mentor.

I don't know what he's more upset about, that it was Callaghan, or that I tried to murder him by myself.

[she listens to him calmly; her expression grows surprised when he mentions attempted murder, but she doesn't seem angered or disappointed.]

If it helps at all, I understand why you would have done so. I don't think it's right to say I condone it, but...

[which is to say she thinks tadashi wouldn't want her to condone that kind of behavior when speaking to his younger brother.]

Are the two of you quarreling over it?

[There're still plenty of unresolved feelings when it came to Callaghan but it's only out of Hiro not taking the time to really deal with it. Cerealia needs him more.]

It's funny. Other people have said the same thing, too. That it's understandable, but...it's not something I'd do again. [He shrugs.] I wouldn't say we're "quarreling", but we're not really talking about it either. He knows I didn't do it and that it won't happen again and that was all that mattered to him.

[A pause.] Adelina, you're friends with him and I know he likes you...think you could look out for him for me? Just in case he does say anything.

I'll look after him, of course, but I do think it's something the two of you should speak about.

[she hesitates. she doesn't want to moralize or lecture, nor does she want to make him worry, but she does think this is important to say.]

I'm certain you've realized it, but you're very lucky to have him here. If he were to leave and anything were left unspoken, or a problem unresolved...

[It's meant to be a withering look that he gives her, but in the end it sort of makes him look much smaller and more pathetic than he really is.]

You don't think I think about that every day? [Because he does. He thinks of what it would mean if Tadashi disappeared before Hiro could fix things, how it would mean never seeing him ever again and saying goodbye all over again.] I know...I know I'm lucky to have him back. But if he doesn't want to talk about it I'm not forcing it. That's it.

I didn't mean you don't think of it. I simply...

[she knows that for those she's lost, there are still things she longs to be able to say to them, arguments or tensions long past that still come back to gnaw at her with regret. she doesn't want that to happen to hiro... but she could be overstepping her bounds, or misjudging the situation. she shakes her head.]

My apologies. I shouldn't have said anything. Regardless... I hope things go smoothly for the two of you. Has he seemed to act any differently toward you than he normally does since he found out?

...no, sorry. It's not your fault. [And it's not. He looks up at her with a small sheepish smile that says he knows he's overreacting a little bit even if he doesn't think he is. Adelina's always been that way. Blunt and to the point. It's what he appreciates about her.]

Things'll be fine eventually. I think he just needs the time to process it. I mean...I've got a couple of months of history on him that he never got to live through. I'll tell him the rest of the story when he's ready. That'll hopefully solve everything.

When you do tell him, let me know how it goes, won't you?

[hiro and tadashi are important to her, after all, and she wants to see this end up well for them.]

I will, ah, keep my fingers crossed. Is that the correct saying? And in the interim... I want you to know that you can always speak to me about this matter. I believe I understand a bit of what you must be going through.

Yeah, sure. [He doesn't think it's that odd of a request now, though it does make him nervous. What if it doesn't go well?]

You're definitely getting better at the modern lingo thing. [He can't help but flash a cheeky grin, though it fades just as quickly.] ...the fact that you might be able to get it kinda worries me a little. Just how much is "a bit"?

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you.

[it's said quickly and sincerely; she can see why he would be concerned, given their current topic of conversation, but it certainly wasn't her intent. she pauses a moment to think of how to phrase this in a way that relates to him rather than draws attention to her.]

You must look up to and care for him more than you can say.

[There's a soft snort, which really is all the confirmation she needs. However, he chooses to keep talking anyway.]

I mean of course I do. Tadashi and Aunt Cass are the only people I have left. Sometimes they're the only people that matter. [...okay, usually they're the only people that matter.] Tadashi and I are seven years apart, so he's always looked out for me. And you know Tadashi, Adelina. He's really smart and he's too good of a person.

["What's not to look up to?"] What about it?

Just that... I know what it's like to have someone who matters much more to you than any other, even if you have the opportunity to form more bonds here. I can imagine how you must feel about him being here.

[although...]

What do you mean by too good?

Oh. [Given the way he doesn't elaborate immediately, he definitely seems to sympathize with the fact that Adelina can even remotely imagine something like that. It's...complicated, the thing with Tadashi being here and Hiro being here. But that's for them to eventually work out on their own and instead he focuses on the other piece.]

I mean he's selfless and will pretty much do anything to help another person even at the risk of himself. That's what went wrong in the first place.

Some Legends Are Told, Some Turn To Dust Or To Gold [CEREALIA INBOX]

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;