diatu | [Closed] I wondered if I could do something

[Closed] I wondered if I could do something

Who: Eleven, Yotsuyu, and Hendrik
What: El Intimated his not-parent's birthdays and now it's time to celebrate
Where: Ice Creamatorium
When: July 13th
Warning: n/a

"We're going out today," he tells them with a grin, then leads the way into the First Ring without further explanation.

"I've been practicing Intimation," Eleven says eventually. "Yes/no questions are easy enough to interpret, but more variable answers can be more difficult to divine."

He turns on them once the Ice Creamatorium comes into view. "Neither of you told me about your birthdays, so since it's too late for gifts already, I've decided we're celebrating today for Yotsuyu's."

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"I had no idea when Yotsuyu's birthday was." Really, he had no clue damn it.

But his eyes went to her when she mentioned this ice cream. "I have not had this ice cream." And somehow to him even the words sounded silly. Looking at her and Eleven now, he shook his head.

"I have told no one my birthday. But it was in May..on the fourteenth. Jasper..used to celebrate it. To me it is just another day."

Really, it's nothing special.

Eleven whirled around and led the way into the Ice Creamatorium. The graveyard themed names and decorations were still a little off-putting, but he knew now that it was worth putting up with.

"Whatever you want," he offered when they got to the counter. "I know you haven't had ice cream before Hendrik, so just pick a flavor of something you usually like to start."

It might have been offputting to some, but really, the fact that it seemed like a cemetary only made Yotsuyu laugh. It seemed fitting, truly, considering they were celebrating the day of her birth, well after another foreboding date. It was like--spitting in her parents' eye. And Asahi's, as well. So Yotsuyu was going to enjoy herself!

But she had no plans to go overboard, either. "Two scoops on a cone, please. Chocolate and sea salt, if you would." She was certain that the latter was more of an acquired taste, but she was fond of sea salt as it were, and thought that it might pair well with chocolate.

"And perhaps a drizzle of caramel." Very well, she'd add on a hint of true indulgence, since it was her nameday.

Blue eyes blinked up at the menu with all of the names for the ice cream. He'd never even heard of it before, and now he was being asked to select one. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Body & Soul was one, I Scream Graveyard Pie..it just boggled his mind.

"I will have..something with vanilla in it." Sorry, this knight is just overwhelmed by the choices available. But the shop did have a display of some of the ice cream flavors in barrels, and vanilla looked to be the safest bet.

Eleven smiled to the attendant behind the register. "He'll have a single scoop of vanilla then, and I think I'll have a strawberry sundae this time."

She rung up their total, and Eleven counted the coins out while she went about fetching their order. It only took a handful of minutes.

"Thank you," he said, and turned to Yotsuyu and Hendrik. "Here you are, then. There's tables just there."

Yotsuyu accepted her treat from Eleven with a smile, and made her way over to a table with three chairs. She seated herself with grace, but there was still something of a smug air hanging around her. The reason, however, would become clear once Hendrik and Eleven joined her.

She watched them both for a moment as she sampled her ice cream--ah, it was much better than even she had remembered, to her delight. But she turned her gaze first to Hendrik, then to Eleven, once again.

"So I may do this in the correct fashion...it is my birthday, but I am the one with gifts?" Yotsuyu chuckled at that for a moment, then shook her head slightly. "I did not plan this, but it seems as good a time as any that I deliver them."

She gave Eleven a little nod, then, but the first item she took out of her sleeve, she handed to Hendrik. It was a pendant of yellow sea-glass on a chain, etched with the two-headed eagle of Heliodor in frosted glass.

"I did have help with that," she admitted, glancing at Eleven again.

He suddenly felt like a boy with a really sweet and cold treat. The vanilla tasted really good and the knight decided ice cream was awesome, silently.

Following Yotsuyu, Hendrik sat with his treat and cocked his head to the side regarding the gifts. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the gift coming from her sleeve, but he had to set the ice cream down on a napkin to open it.

When he saw the pendant, he just blinked a few times. He looked up at her then followed her gaze to the Luminary and it went right back to the pendant.

"This..this is amazing." It was all he could say.

Eleven grinned a bit, ice cream momentarily forgotten.

"I just did the design for the eagle. I didn't get a chance to look at it too much, but I hope it's not too far off."

"As do I! I do think I did a suitable job under your direction." Yotsuyu gave a rather pleased smile to Eleven--yes, even smug! She couldn't help but feel more than a bit of pride in her work.

"But do not think I forgot you--a complete impossibility! I did take a bit of liberty, though..." She glanced at Hendrik as well, brows arching. "And it is more than fitting that you are here, considering what I have inscribed here."

The pendant she offers Eleven is frosted teal-blue, but it does not bear the sigil of the Luminary. Instead, it has delicate script etched in black. It might remind one of kanji, were they familiar with such a thing. She leans in, setting it down so they both can look closer at it.

"This script is Yanxian--the kana say 'beloved son' in the Doman dialect. I...hope that I have not overstepped my bounds, here." Yotsuyu was not really afraid of that, but if she had, Eleven could always secret the chain in his room.

His eyes looked back at the Luminary and he tried to have some semblance of dignity so he coughed.

"You have done well."

But he blinked at Yotsuyu when she spoke and was admittedly curious. So when she revealed what the strange letters meant, he could only smile. At least if anything happened to him and somehow Eleven was still here, then the boy would be looked after. That filled his heart.

And he said nothing but the knight smiled.

Edited 2019-08-08 02:51 (UTC)

Eleven stared at the pendant, heart running rampant in his chest. When finally he could drag his eyes from it, he found Yotsuyu's and pinched his lips together to keep them from trembling. His eyes stung all the same.

He knew she'd said- but, this.. this was something far more demonstrable. Once again, words deserted him. It took an age to remember what she'd already said.

"I- no, it's not- I mean, I'm.. It's.." he swallowed, trembling fingers finally reaching out to touch it. "It's wonderful. ..Thank you."

"You are welcome. But if it is something you do not want to share with the world, I shan't be upset if you keep it in your quarters." He wouldn't be the first that Yotsuyu had given that permission to.

Still, she was quite pleased that he seemed to like it. Yotsuyu was a bit less smug at the moment, but that didn't stop her from going back to her ice cream--that only served to hide a smile.

The knight quietly watched the exchange and said nothing, while still getting used to this ice cream business. He had the pendant on the table and would continue to silently study it.

Yotsuyu and the Luminary had a good relationship going and Hendrik was more than happy for them to have such a precious thing here in this place.

"No, I.. I'll wear it."

He likely should have donned the Jewel of Dundrasil months ago, but a part of him still felt disconnected from the place- not to mention guilty. This, though.. his heart fell. Would it be a betrayal to the mother he'd never known?

But he'd already promised, and he'd likely never know the late Queen's thoughts on the matter. Too many lives had already touched his, and he would honor them as best he could with as few regrets as he could muster.

Eleven clasped the chain around his neck and let the pendant hang over his robes. "I guess no one else can read it anyway, but I'm grateful for your regard."

"By all means, if you return home someday, Eleven...please share that and its meaning with all who call you 'beloved son'. I care about you, but you were very clear that I was not the only one."

Nor did it bother her in the least that she wasn't the only one who loved him so greatly. While she felt he also could use the support, he also so easily cultivated it in many of the people he knew. Who was she to prevent him from sharing his heart?

Maybe some time ago she would have been so selfish, but she was no longer that person.

Hendrik was still silent and reached under his tunic to pull out a gold medallion. There were only two in existence that he knew of and Jasper had the other. He put the new necklace and the old one side by side in each hand after he finished his ice cream.

He was content to stay on the sidelines and let the two talk and bond. He was just there in case either of them needed his aid.

It was difficult not to feel bad about that, but while Yotsuyu may not have birthed or raised him, she offered as much comfort and encouragement as his own mum.

"I will," he said finally, catching a glimpse of gold in his peripheral. Hendrik, with the necklace Krystalinda had nearly stolen from him. "Thank you."

But- oh, his ice cream was beginning to melt.

"You are being entirely too quiet," Yotsuyu said, reaching over to place a hand on Hendrik's arm. She isn't about to tug his belongings out of his hands, but she is trying to get his attention.

She turned a smile on Eleven then. "Of course! You are welcome, you know!" Not that he wasn't always, when it came to Yotsuyu's opinion on him.

"What is that other chain, Hendrik?" she asked. She was, of course, curious, but not inclined to be obnoxious about it. If he wanted them to see it, he'd show it to them. Though it was likely that Eleven already knew what it was, and thus didn't need to ask.

He let out a soft gasp at the contact, as Yotsuyu's touch would never stop startling him. Hendrik looked at her and offered her the gold yellow shield pendant.

"The king of Heliodor himself gave me and..Jasper this pendant when we were children, so there are only two in existence. They are replicas of the Shield of Heliodor, which I now carry."

The knight hadn't let go of the one that she'd made for him, and was going to ask for Yotsuyu to assist him in putting the new one on, but hadn't gotten to that point yet.

Her touch always put him into brain freeze mode.

Eleven glanced between them, quietly attempting to eat his ice cream before it melted away, but his eyes lingered again on the pendant. Hendrik and Jasper had matching necklaces. That made sense, seeing as they were both-

He stopped, heart dropping into his stomach.

Matching necklaces. Krystalinda. The 'beautiful boy' that had released her and bid her to kill Hendrik. The traitor that had pledged himself to Mordegon.

Wide eyes turned on the knight himself, full of dreadful understanding.

"I'm sorry," he said, swallowing. "I didn't know.."

Yotsuyu looked over at Eleven, then, brows arching. The pendant was a handsome one, it was true, but she knew so little--

But clearly, Eleven did. Not a surprise, truly, since they both came from the same world and knew each other...

"What significance does that have?" She looked between them both now, confused. Had she ever heard of Jasper? She could not recall if Hendrik had ever told her, and Eleven had not. "Who is Jasper?"

Eyes turned to the Luminary first. "No. If either of us should apologize, that would be me, for all that he had put you through." He took some of the blame, with Jasper basically showing him how ignored and lonely he'd felt. All those years he couldn't take back and words that had gone unspoken. The black and white matching armor sets had been Jasper's idea and it was he who always made a big deal out of Hendrik's birthday. And this was why he didn't celebrate it anymore.

Turning to Yotsuyu, the knight shook his head and his voice dropped. "We were knights of Heliodor and had sworn to defend the kingdom. But he turned to darkness and let his lust for power consume him."

All to 'prove' he was better than Hendrik and deserved recognition.

Edited 2019-08-20 02:41 (UTC)

Eleven's eyes lowered, frowning and shifting in his seat. His ice cream no longer seemed quite as appealing as before, but he ate it anyway, determined not to let Jasper ruin such a simple pleasure.

"It wasn't your fault, Hendrik."

Ah, she'd stuck her foot in it again, hadn't she? Not by any design, but still. It was intended to be a celebration, and Yotsuyu--well. It wasn't ruined, yet.

"Tell me later. This is supposed to be a happy time, and I shall not let my ignorance invite in a presence who does not belong here! We are friends and we care about each other. If nothing else, let us celebrate that!"

It was as if she'd invited Asahi. He had as much place as this Jasper, in her mind. Though she certainly might ask Hendrik about him.

Only at another time.

Hendrik hummed at Eleven's insistence but he didn't comment on it. He would still take the blame, just because someone said it wasn't his fault didn't make it so.

His blue green eyes turned to Yotsuyu then and he nodded. He would deal with this in private later and once again try and figure out how things had gone so wrong. Sighing, he tried to give into what she wanted to do, so he put the gold shield pendant away.

"I may require assistance to put this new necklace on."

"I can help," Eleven offered immediately, standing. "..Unless Yotsuyu wants to, I mean."

"Please, allow me." She stood and reached over to pat Eleven on the shoulder, but then offered a hand to Hendrik to take the chain back.

Once she had it, she leaned forward to drape it around his neck, carefully, as she didn't want to catch either his hair or his beard in the links. Once that was settled against his chest, she fastened the back and let it fall with a satisfied nod.

Hendrik went to say something to the Luminary and then his jaw snapped shut as Yotsuyu took command.

He didn't know what to say or do so he remained quiet and didn't say anything at all. It felt..different to have her put a necklace on him but he couldn't pinpoint as to why that was.

But he would swear he felt different when the necklace fell into place and her hands were no longer at the back of his neck.

The knight's eyes sought Yotsuyu's as he nodded.

"Thank you."

Eleven sat and went for his ice cream, glancing between them and eating thoughtfully. He'd never seen them this close before. They almost seemed..

Oh.

He swallowed and elected not to interrupt.

"You are welcome." She patted Hendrik's shoulder gently, leaning in to give the knight a quick hug before she resettled herself in her seat.

She said nothing, but gave Eleven the most innocent of looks.

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[Closed] I wondered if I could do something

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