And then she's damp but at least it keeps her awake and of course she's tumbled on top of Leon again and there is confusion and infuriating parade music looming closer--]
[You're going to have to give him a moment, Lili. It's just... getting splashed in water that does it, really, that makes him freeze up for a moment, even if he's on dry land and it was just a bucket. Lili's voice does have an impact, snapping him back to the present a little bit (along with Chaltier's concerned yelling), but he needs a moment, shaking his head sharply, dragging in a shuddering breath.
And then he's shoving her off somewhat roughly (sorry, Lili), pushing himself silently and grimly to his feet.
Leon, breathe, it's okay.
He does, at least, reach down to yank her back up to her feet by an arm, not too terribly roughly (but not particularly gently, either). And then he clears his throat, and somewhat raggedly:]
Move.
[Let's run away from the parade, sure, that's fine.]
The thing is that Lili's seen Leon fight a bunch of different monsters and he was never as shaken up as badly as he was just then. Then it comes back to her -- he said that he doesn't like being wet, right? So even as she's thrown aside (with a noise of complaint), it starts to click together.
But fine, they can start to run and her first comment is--]
They run past a couple of stalls then and Lili's glancing at the wares, her fingers curling around a scarf cloth of some sort - it looked clean enough - and she's holding it out to him.]
He scoffs in response to that, but otherwise doesn't argue the point (because he was manhandling her) and when she offers him the scarf, he's not even going to fuss or argue about that. Instead, he takes it and wipes his face quickly. It's silly, really. Having water dumped over his head is hardly something he could drown from, but...the sensation was similar enough--
He clears his throat and tosses the damp scarf aside (it's not like it'll be of any use to Lili now that it's wet) and glances around. (Let's just pretend that never happened.)]
Whatever it was, it appears to have gone a different way. [For now.]
Admittedly Lili's already been running a while so when he does slow down, she's just going to work on catching her breath. It'll take a moment for her to be able to work back up to longer sentences but for now she manages-]
If you.... hear the parade.....
[wheezes gently.
Just going to put her hand over her heart and shake her head a little bit even as she shivers upon realizing that good god, she's damp.
But Leon just quirks an eyebrow at that, frowning even as he crosses his arms to look around them. (Ugh, he's damp.... but his face is dry, which is what really matters.) All he sees is people, and he doesn't hear any parades coming, so--]
[Ah... yes. Lili can't hear Chal automatically trying to defend Leon, which is why he snaps:]
Chal, she can't hear you.
[And then back to Lili, bristling and displeased (legitimately displeased now, instead of simply irritated).]
You know nothing about our relationship, so don't even begin to think that you can lecture me on it! Chal and I have been together for far too long for someone like you to understand.
[But that's.... more curiosity than anything, she doesn't want to be rude and ignore someone speaking to her?! But-- the rest of it manages to sit poorly with her. At first her instinctual response is to snap back, saying that it's not hard for her to understand that he speaks harshly toward someone that is only looking to assist him-
. . . . but well, she's always been troublesome and rebellious for Ayura and Tetora too, even if she's never been outright rude to them.
So her answer is more of a simmer.]
..... Just -
[A small, aggravated noise as she looks away, her gaze becoming more forlorn than she'd like.]
It's.... a shame when caretakers are taken for granted.
[... Is defending Leon, of course. Piping up with all of his complaints about how his young master is misunderstood, how he's always treated him well--things that Leon has no intention of putting into the outside air. No... he thinks that those things are better left unheard.
Instead, he shakes his head sharply, and responds to the rest.]
He is not my caretaker.
[Whatever experiences Lili has with caretakers, Leon has something else entirely here, and there's a clear misunderstanding.]
He is my partner, and together, we will accomplish our goals. It is something we have both agreed to, so don't act as though I am taking this relationship for granted.
[Leon already knows he'd be lost without Chal. That became clear... a long, long time ago. Perhaps at one point he was taking him for granted a little bit, but with "You're my only young master. I would follow you anywhere" still fresh in his mind, he knows there's no chance he could ever do so again.]
There's no denying that that's not what she expected, despite what she's heard of the relationship between swords and their swordsmen now. Yet it reminds her exactly of all of that and she finds herself sheepish as the wind gets taken out of her sails rather immediately. Her arms fold across her chest, more defensively than anything else.
Except Lili has enough sense to tell when she's wrong - at least in serious matters like this.]
.... Then I misspoke.
[There's a "sorry" in there somewhere.
As she glances away and fusses with her hair a little bit.]
It's... a relief then.
[That Chaltier is in good hands and that Leon has someone to be his partner. She tries very hard to ignore the vague feeling of wishing she had something like that too.]
[... It works in smoothing over his ruffled feathers, at least. He can't be too angry at her anyway, really; he's got a simplified understanding of how the world works in some ways, and he's too close-minded to really change it now. Which is why his response is an inevitable:]
... It doesn't matter. I wouldn't expect a civilian like yourself to understand a relationship like this regardless.
[It's... pretty insulting. Though he doesn't entirely mean it that way. She doesn't use a sword, so how could he expect her to understand the relationship between sword and master? It'd just be silly.]
It's rude and even though Leon's ruffled feathers are soothed now, apparently it's Lili's turn. So even though that pretty much comes as a "don't worry about it", she's suddenly definitely worrying about it. Her eyes narrow as she freezes up a bit.]
You--
I'd thought you would know better than to speak so callously about someone you don't know by now....!
[Even though they've definitely talked on multiple occasions.
I told you that I have no intentions of letting you save me again.
[SHE HASN'T FORGOTTEN and she's just going to huff, setting her hands on her hips. What a bunch of dumb teenagers and their offended posturing.]
I may not understand it entirely -- but that doesn't mean I'm not trying to learn. The day you escorted me to the park was when I began my lessons. A fr...... [ . . . . . ] acquaintance agreed to instruct me.
[It's probably a sign of Leon's own stunted growth that he doesn't realize she was about to say "friend" there.]
Then nonetheless, you still do not know it yet. Attempting to learn does not mean that you are already aware of the relationship between a sword and his master.
[Hmph.]
I won't allow you to get away with insulting Chal by implying that he is anything less than my partner at any point in time, regardless of what you are learning.
[He's... weirdly protective even if in some oddly twisted way, okay.]
-- Are you implying that being considered a caretaker is an insult?
[RUFFLED FEATHERS ABOUND.]
I understand that I was incorrect with my first assumption but by no means was that intended as an insult to Chaltier. You really go out of your way to find something wrong with everything, don't you?
Of course not! [Excuse u, Marian is a caretaker!!] I am implying that that is not his role! There is no way that someone who is able to take care of others in that way could be an insult--!
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[THAT'S NOT WHAT SHE EXPECTED TO HAPPEN AT ALL.
And then she's damp but at least it keeps her awake and of course she's tumbled on top of Leon again and there is confusion and infuriating parade music looming closer--]
We have to move!
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And then he's shoving her off somewhat roughly (sorry, Lili), pushing himself silently and grimly to his feet.
Leon, breathe, it's okay.
He does, at least, reach down to yank her back up to her feet by an arm, not too terribly roughly (but not particularly gently, either). And then he clears his throat, and somewhat raggedly:]
Move.
[Let's run away from the parade, sure, that's fine.]
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The thing is that Lili's seen Leon fight a bunch of different monsters and he was never as shaken up as badly as he was just then. Then it comes back to her -- he said that he doesn't like being wet, right? So even as she's thrown aside (with a noise of complaint), it starts to click together.
But fine, they can start to run and her first comment is--]
Stop manhandling me!
[YA RUDE SHIT.]
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They run past a couple of stalls then and Lili's glancing at the wares, her fingers curling around a scarf cloth of some sort - it looked clean enough - and she's holding it out to him.]
Here. Wipe your face.
[That'll make him feel better? Right?]
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He scoffs in response to that, but otherwise doesn't argue the point (because he was manhandling her) and when she offers him the scarf, he's not even going to fuss or argue about that. Instead, he takes it and wipes his face quickly. It's silly, really. Having water dumped over his head is hardly something he could drown from, but...the sensation was similar enough--
He clears his throat and tosses the damp scarf aside (it's not like it'll be of any use to Lili now that it's wet) and glances around. (Let's just pretend that never happened.)]
Whatever it was, it appears to have gone a different way. [For now.]
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Admittedly Lili's already been running a while so when he does slow down, she's just going to work on catching her breath. It'll take a moment for her to be able to work back up to longer sentences but for now she manages-]
If you.... hear the parade.....
[wheezes gently.
Just going to put her hand over her heart and shake her head a little bit even as she shivers upon realizing that good god, she's damp.
Carnivals suck?!]
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But Leon just quirks an eyebrow at that, frowning even as he crosses his arms to look around them. (Ugh, he's damp.... but his face is dry, which is what really matters.) All he sees is people, and he doesn't hear any parades coming, so--]
For now, it is safe here.
[For now.
How's that comfort going.]
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But for now she'll work on wringing the water out of her hair before it does something awful (stop worrying over something like that).]
Good.....
[ . . . . yeah.
Comfort.
Solid.]
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You should get out of here when you can. This festival isn't safe.
[ob...viously...]
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Do you think I'm even here because I want to be....?
[guess who got picked up and dragged in by gross ass jesters]
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... Then the exit has to be found. I believe it was this way.
[m...aybe....]
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Oh.
Would Chaltier know?
[They might've done this already.]
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What? You weren't paying attention?
[Ah, yes, he's talking to his sword... Chaltier's being very apologetic and all but--]
Tch. Whatever. It isn't as though I'm lost. I can find the way myself.
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Must you be so harsh with him?
[Lili will protect all the swords herself if she has to.]
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[Ah... yes. Lili can't hear Chal automatically trying to defend Leon, which is why he snaps:]
Chal, she can't hear you.
[And then back to Lili, bristling and displeased (legitimately displeased now, instead of simply irritated).]
You know nothing about our relationship, so don't even begin to think that you can lecture me on it! Chal and I have been together for far too long for someone like you to understand.
[So leave him and his sword bestie alone...]
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[But that's.... more curiosity than anything, she doesn't want to be rude and ignore someone speaking to her?! But-- the rest of it manages to sit poorly with her. At first her instinctual response is to snap back, saying that it's not hard for her to understand that he speaks harshly toward someone that is only looking to assist him-
. . . . but well, she's always been troublesome and rebellious for Ayura and Tetora too, even if she's never been outright rude to them.
So her answer is more of a simmer.]
..... Just -
[A small, aggravated noise as she looks away, her gaze becoming more forlorn than she'd like.]
It's.... a shame when caretakers are taken for granted.
[She misses her attendants.]
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[... Is defending Leon, of course. Piping up with all of his complaints about how his young master is misunderstood, how he's always treated him well--things that Leon has no intention of putting into the outside air. No... he thinks that those things are better left unheard.
Instead, he shakes his head sharply, and responds to the rest.]
He is not my caretaker.
[Whatever experiences Lili has with caretakers, Leon has something else entirely here, and there's a clear misunderstanding.]
He is my partner, and together, we will accomplish our goals. It is something we have both agreed to, so don't act as though I am taking this relationship for granted.
[Leon already knows he'd be lost without Chal. That became clear... a long, long time ago. Perhaps at one point he was taking him for granted a little bit, but with "You're my only young master. I would follow you anywhere" still fresh in his mind, he knows there's no chance he could ever do so again.]
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There's no denying that that's not what she expected, despite what she's heard of the relationship between swords and their swordsmen now. Yet it reminds her exactly of all of that and she finds herself sheepish as the wind gets taken out of her sails rather immediately. Her arms fold across her chest, more defensively than anything else.
Except Lili has enough sense to tell when she's wrong - at least in serious matters like this.]
.... Then I misspoke.
[There's a "sorry" in there somewhere.
As she glances away and fusses with her hair a little bit.]
It's... a relief then.
[That Chaltier is in good hands and that Leon has someone to be his partner. She tries very hard to ignore the vague feeling of wishing she had something like that too.]
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... It doesn't matter. I wouldn't expect a civilian like yourself to understand a relationship like this regardless.
[It's... pretty insulting. Though he doesn't entirely mean it that way. She doesn't use a sword, so how could he expect her to understand the relationship between sword and master? It'd just be silly.]
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It's rude and even though Leon's ruffled feathers are soothed now, apparently it's Lili's turn. So even though that pretty much comes as a "don't worry about it", she's suddenly definitely worrying about it. Her eyes narrow as she freezes up a bit.]
You--
I'd thought you would know better than to speak so callously about someone you don't know by now....!
[Even though they've definitely talked on multiple occasions.
Whatever.]
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Leon arches an eyebrow at that, inspecting her.]
Is that wrong?
[HE DOESN'T SEE A SWORD....... she doesn't carry herself like a fighter. He fails to see how he's wrong here.]
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[SHE HASN'T FORGOTTEN and she's just going to huff, setting her hands on her hips. What a bunch of dumb teenagers and their offended posturing.]
I may not understand it entirely -- but that doesn't mean I'm not trying to learn. The day you escorted me to the park was when I began my lessons. A fr...... [ . . . . . ] acquaintance agreed to instruct me.
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Then nonetheless, you still do not know it yet. Attempting to learn does not mean that you are already aware of the relationship between a sword and his master.
[Hmph.]
I won't allow you to get away with insulting Chal by implying that he is anything less than my partner at any point in time, regardless of what you are learning.
[He's... weirdly protective even if in some oddly twisted way, okay.]
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[RUFFLED FEATHERS ABOUND.]
I understand that I was incorrect with my first assumption but by no means was that intended as an insult to Chaltier. You really go out of your way to find something wrong with everything, don't you?
[the rudeness continues.....]
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[... Pause.
A-ahem.
A...nyway.]
... Just don't make assumptions.
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