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Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 8:15 pm
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Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 8:20 pm
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Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 8:36 pm
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Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 8:47 pm
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Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 9:32 pm
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Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 2:34 am
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Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 10:20 am
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Luke followed as best he was able, though he understood from the volume of the sounds he followed that he was trailing quite some distance behind, until he cleared the brush and emerged in the clearing where the pair of dark-types had taken respite. He paused and recoiled as he recognized the human form, unable to prevent the trembling that readily took his hands. Zorua could cast the illusion of being human. This certainly wasn't the first time he'd seen it, but it was still…
The noble drew in a long breath and released it shudderingly, advancing slowly from the tree line to join the two, fighting his own anxiety as he did so. It was only recently that he had been able to accept the fact that Asch was dead, and facing the image of his brother as though he were alive was still cruelly difficult, even - or perhaps especially - after the encounter with Izaya. He didn't want to run, though. He knew too well the pain the Zorua was experiencing to simply let him bear it.
Luke sat on his knees before the crouched figure, unable to raise his eyes to it. "Tyke, I--" You what? How many times had he heard the empty apology, the seemingly heartfelt 'I'm sorry' that better translated into an inability to express any deeper sentiment? How often had he tried in vain to understand the promise that it would be okay someday? The words he found came in a voice that was quiet and tense, "It's my fault. I made a choice that should have killed me, and he chose to bear that consequence for me." He bowed his head in a halfhearted effort to hide the pained grimace that took to his features at the memories. His voice was just a bit smaller when it resumed, "Asch asked that I look after you, but I understand if you hate me. I want you both to live lives that you're happy with, and if that's not with me, then I'll do what it takes to find where it is."
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Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 6:50 pm
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Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 7:09 pm
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Luke inclined his gaze in the direction of Zoroark, relieved and grateful at the absence of ill will he found. His attention was pulled sharply back at Tyke's angry tone; he didn't need to understand the language to grasp the intent of the message, and he retreated inward unto himself. "For what it's worth," he said, the words small and on the verge of revisiting agony, "I'm sorry. I know it doesn't mean much, but still. This isn't… I never would have asked for this. Never." He leaned back on his heels, grasping loosely at his elbows, his tone faint and distant, "But we can't change it, no matter how much we want to. No matter how much we try. All we can do is keep living." Painful as it was at any given moment.
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Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 7:14 pm
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Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 9:30 pm
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Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 2:43 pm
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Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 11:36 pm
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Posted: Thu May 09, 2013 5:13 pm
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Posted: Thu May 09, 2013 6:14 pm
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Rather than an illusion, this was like some kind of recording, like existing within a video. It was disorienting, all the more so when the image of his brother began to speak. He listened unwillingly to the words spoken by the illusion - or projection, or whatever it was - and was taken by a bitter anger that Asch could have said such a thing so calmly. Last wishes were reserved for people who had lived to the end of their years, or people who were already beyond the reach of medicine. Luke, who had been given so strict an ultimatum for his survival that he had for a time given up entirely, had never thought in terms of last wishes. It was Asch's right to live, as it had been from the time he was born normal and healthy, and he had given up that right to correct a choice he had had no hand in making.
But Luke wouldn't argue with someone who wasn't actually there, and he wouldn't again allow himself the pleasant respite of believing in the possibility that Asch was indeed in front of him.
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