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Post by skyeknight on Mar 28, 2017 23:38:56 GMT
"I have sparkling cider." Aqua replied.
She stepped into the kitchen to go get the cider. But... this was good, she told herself. They were talking. Clearing the air. In a way. It wasn't fully there yet. It just needed a little more pushing. She made sure to make enough noise so that they felt they had privacy, like she was looking for glasses for them, even though no one knew her kitchen better than she did. The wine glasses were above the sink and the sparkling cider (kept for occasional parties) was sitting in a cabinet beside the fridge.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2017 1:26:34 GMT
"What was that?" he asked, ear cocking as he looked at her with folded arms. "Okay. Sparkling cider then. That's fine too" he narrowed his eyes at his sister. "If I could take you I would. But mom and dad would probably put kidnapping charges against me. You know I would have taken you too. But I didn't have a choice" this was frustrating. He desperately wanted to be there for his sister but his parents had made it next to impossible. "I heard what happened with Thrax. Both times. I wish...I could have done something"
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Mar 29, 2017 2:47:19 GMT
Aqua left to get sparkling cider, but Weiss had a feeling she was still listening in on what she and Riku were saying. How could she not? This whole thing was her idea, after all. It'd make sense that she'd want to watch and see how it turned out. Weiss would be doing the same thing, in her position. She felt herself get mad at the word "choice" though. In her family, choice wasn't much of a privilege. Her parents decided most things for her: where she took fencing lessons from, where she should shop for clothes, whether she should sing for the family's next charity concert. Everything was decided for her. "But you did have a choice," she said, her tone cold. "You could choose between staying or leaving. And you chose to leave. You talked about leaving for a long time and joining the police academy, but I thought that maybe I was worth sticking around for." Really, that was the source of where all her bitterness came from. She felt like Riku had chosen the police over her. He had a new life, new friends, and a new future, while she had gotten left behind. Hearing Riku mention Thrax made her heart skip a beat, and not in the good way. That was definitely a subject she wanted to avoid. Anytime she heard his name, she remembered what happened, and what she had done. It seemed like the more time went on, the more frightened she became. Of course, her shadow spirits had a good hand in that. As long as they were around, it was hard to shake off what had happened. They were constant reminder that she had summoned dark creatures in order to win a fight. And what kind of person did that make her? "I hear enough about him from the press and the Internet. I don't need to hear about him from you too," she replied.
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Post by skyeknight on Mar 29, 2017 12:33:08 GMT
Aqua wondered if she should say something. But an argument, was a sure fire way to get the cure. Especially after her interaction with Weiss. She slowly pulled down the wine glasses and grabbed the bottle of sparkling cider. She sighed and went back to the dining room. The two siblings may as well as have been glaring daggers at one another because if looks could kill, both siblings would be dead and Aqua would look very guilty in court. She offered a tight lipped smile.
"Weiss, why don't you tell Riku what you told me?" she goaded. "About how you feel?"
Emotions were easier to guide. Enough coaxing and all of Weiss' hurt would unravel itself. The young human woman was nothing if not a time bomb of hurt and betrayal. Aqua didn't know the entire situation. She had only just come clean to her partner about her past but she couldn't force him to share his. It truly was the parents to blame. From what she gathered, they forced Riku into a situation where it was his job or his family, unable to live to their standards, he chose his job. But by doing so, they forced him to cut off ties from Weiss. Naturally, Weiss was upset. She was scared and alone and under the thumb of the same controlling parents who Riku had escaped from.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2017 19:16:08 GMT
"Yea. Great choice" he replied sarcastically. "Become a Voodoo King. Marry the right girl. Have darling children I'm not allowed to be invested in other than in their abilities. Make sure they grow up to be Voodoo royalty. Wash rinse repeat. For generation after generation. What kind of life is that? It has to change Weiss. And it can start with me. With you too if you're willing. Walk away from mom and dad. Choose to join me, I'll take care of you. Crazy aunt Henrietta left me most of her fortune. I can support both of us" He wasn't pleading. He was giving her another option ."I know Elsa. She can help us make sure mom and dad never try to take you. Stay with me" He scratched an ear. "I think you were brave to defend your friends like that" he said matter of factly. "If still needing more fencing lessons so you don't get hurt again"
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Mar 29, 2017 22:26:32 GMT
Weiss wasn't sure if she could put her feelings into words. All she knew was that everything Riku was saying was pissing her off. Just upping and leaving the family wasn't as simple for her. Leaving her parents behind meant leaving the voodoo life behind, her shot at being the Voodoo Queen. And she liked it too much to give it up. She had been working towards her goal for so long. She hated to just abandon it. "You may have thrown away your chance at being the Voodoo King, but I'm not," she replied, her voice steadily rising. "If I get to be the Voodoo Queen, then people will have to listen to what I have to say. I'll finally have a voice in what goes on. People will respect me and revere me and I'll finally have power for once in my life. And I'm not about to let that chance slip away!" Her fist banged on the table as she said the last word, almost without her meaning to. Once she was the Voodoo Queen, she would finally be in control of things, of herself. She could make choices that nobody could disagree with. Nobody would be able to make decisions for her. After feeling so powerless for most of her life, power was what Weiss craved the most. And she felt like she could get it by becoming the next Voodoo Queen.
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Post by skyeknight on Mar 30, 2017 2:28:40 GMT
Aqua bit her lip. She may have been a touch bias but she had to admit, that Riku's plans had merits. She didn't know what Riku's home life was like, just that his parents were stifling and he couldn't live like that. That he stood up and said no more but because he did, he was thrown out like yesterday's garbage. She also knew that Weiss felt like Riku regarded her the same way their parents regarded him.
"There's a lot of this that I don't understand," Aqua said. "But... if there's someone in your life who is toxic, it's better to cut them out. If they hurt you, you're better off without them."
Terra had been like that for her. Good and bad. He had been more forcibly cut than a willing departure. But moving past him had become a little easier now that she had people she cared about nearby. She wanted to help the LaFayette siblings, but at the moment, they only seemed focus on yelling at each other. Which, talking was good, but no compromise was being made. And no tears.
"But if something is going on at your house, you need to tell me," she said. "We can do something now."
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2017 4:15:58 GMT
Riku pointed at his partner as he looked at his sister after her tirade. "See? She gets it! They are nothing but bad for you! If our great-great-great grandmother could become a voodoo queen without family connections why can't you? It's not my dream to be a voodoo king. Never was. But if that's your dream I'll support it. Minus our parents. I feel like you're being eaten by bitterness and darkness is going to swallow you whole! You know what happens to voodoo witch doctors when they get eaten by darkness. Black magic. I don't want to see you go down that road. Our parents are pushing you in I feel the wrong direction" he forced himself to calm down. "Look. Being listened to is good. Being respected is great. But the future you're being pushed into isn't the only one where people listen. I found that outside of what mom and dad wanted" he pointed out. He glanced at Aqua and then glanced at his sister. "You wanna tell her about what happened when we were kids, or should I?" he asked, eyes glinting. He was going to make sure this got out in open air. It was why he was a cop.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Mar 30, 2017 4:37:33 GMT
Consumed by bitterness and darkness...Weiss felt like she was already half-way there. Didn't her shadow spirits prove that? How else could she have summoned them like that, and at such a young age? Maybe that was the reason she was afraid to tell anyone about them. Not because she might get in trouble, but because of what it might say about her. Good people couldn't summon creatures like that, and Weiss was far from good. At least, she felt so. She could be bitchy towards anyone at any given time. She refused to forgive her brother, despite the honorable path he had taken and the good he was doing for others. She wanted to be a Voodoo Queen not to help people, but for the power. Were those really the traits of someone who was a good person? "It's a little too late to make me part of your family again, Riku," she said bitterly. "Isn't that what your cop buddies are for? Aren't they your new family now?" Riku may not have traded in Weiss for Aqua, but she still had that feeling of being replaced. Riku had a new family now with the force, and it was a family where Weiss didn't belong. She only replied to Riku's question with an icy glare. This wasn't about what happened when they were kids, in her opinion. This was about what was happening now.
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Post by skyeknight on Mar 30, 2017 13:09:41 GMT
"Weiss," Aqua murmured in a soft shock, "Riku never set out to replace you. And... you just can't replace someone like that. After you lose someone, there's a pain that never ever goes away no matter what you do."
Aqua knew that from experience. Weiss had to know it too. No matter what Weiss did, nothing made Riku's decision easier, perhaps it was why she was so reluctant to listen and so easy to blame. Riku had always been so upset when he spoke about his family, always tinged with a sort of sadness that made Aqua's heart clench. She cast a look between the two siblings. They took two different routes to get the same respect and honor they deserved. Riku by becoming a police officer, someone to uphold the law and protect the weak. Weiss wanted to be the Voodoo Queen - a title which would have fallen to Riku by birthright, which was now hers to claim.
"You don't have to be powerful to be listened to. Or a Queen. I listened to you! You wanted to talk to Riku. He's here because you told me you missed him and you were afraid he would forget all about you, but it's not true." she said. "But please, don't let things end like this because you'll regret it for the rest of your life."
Humans had such short lives as it was. Riku and Weiss didn't see life the way Aqua did (at least not the way she saw it now). Aqua didn't want to waste time on petty hatred and grudges any longer than she already had. It only took losing her first partner and Riku becoming her second partner for her to realize she had fallen into the same human trap.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2017 16:28:23 GMT
"Weiss..." he nodded at Aqua's assessment. He felt incredibly crushed Weiss would ever think he could just replace her. "I can barely talk about you because I'm afraid I'll cry and I can't cry on the job. But I took every thing you ever gave me with me. It's all in my room. Your first voodoo doll, the one you made to protect me? drawings of you and I, the little nonsense poems you wrote when you were three because you were convinced that they were gonna be big voodoo spells one day. I kept all of it. I miss my sister but what choice do I have but to keep my distance? Obviously you hate me now. And our parents probably wish I never existed" he paused and ran a hand over his ears. "I want you safe, Weiss. I want you with me, happy like you used to be" He began picking at his food, very much not hungry. "Vous êtes une tête bête idiote" he said with a faint smile. He'd used to say that to make her laugh at dinner, to the disapproval of his parents. It meant 'you're a silly bughead'. Once a bug had made a nest in her hair for a day and Riku had called her 'bughead' as a term of endearment ever since. "Eat sissy"
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Mar 30, 2017 16:41:28 GMT
"That's what it feels like," Weiss snapped, glaring at Aqua. "You wanted to talk about my feelings. Which one should we start with first? How I feel replaced? Abandoned? Left behind? Do any of those sound good to you?" It was unfair of her, to take things out on Aqua, but she just felt frustrated with both her and Riku. They seemed to think so positively about the future, that they had the ability to fix her family, but they couldn't. It was far too broken. Her father was angry, her mother was cold, and they didn't listen long to people who didn't agree with them. What chance did Aqua and Riku think they had against them? As Riku spoke, she could feel tears springing into her eyes, but she wiped them away. She didn't want to cry over him anymore. She didn't want to look so weak. "It's too late to go back to how I used to be," she said, her voice shaking. "Too much has happened. I'm different." The way Riku talked about how she used to be when she was little, it sounded like a completely different person. Weiss was colder now, had a scar over her face, and shadow spirits trailing her every move. So much had changed, and if all those changes were exposed, Weiss wasn't sure if anyone would like her anymore.
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Post by skyeknight on Mar 30, 2017 17:04:06 GMT
"I've been there, Weiss. You might just think I'm saying that but I have." Aqua said. "My parents died when I was a little girl. I was put into an orphanage and I was never adopted. I aged out because no one wanted to adopt a faery."
She knew where Weiss was coming from. She knew what it was like to be unwanted and alone. Perhaps that was why she latched on to Terra when he had shown the slightest bit of kindness. Because she didn't want to be alone anymore. Being hurt because she had opened herself up, made her try to cut herself off, but Riku had been persistent. As had Sunshine and Elsa and Namine. Aqua wasn't alone because people hadn't given up on her when she gave up on everyone else.
"You're never the same person as you were," Aqua continued. "But it is only too late when there is no chance to make amends."
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2017 17:14:38 GMT
"Like I feel any different?!" Riku shouted at his sister. "You all got rid of me so easily! Did I ever mean anything more than a piece on a chessboard to our parents?! I'm a person Weiss. And I'm hurting but I can't look back or mom and dad win. Do you want those two to win? I don't. You need to leave those two. They aren't good for you. I love you still Weiss, move on with me. Leave the past behind. Maybe you can be a new person. Happier hopefully. I want that so much. For you"
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Mar 30, 2017 18:13:39 GMT
"You don't understand. Neither of you do. It's not that simple." Weiss felt like she was caught between a rock and a hard place. Leaving her parents...the idea almost seemed foreign. And who knew what they might do if she tried, especially to go and be with Riku. Standing up to them came with consequences. You could get cut off, disinherited, get hurt, physically or emotionally. Weiss had been hurt enough. She didn't want to feel anymore pain. "You really think I can just walk out the door like you did? They may have let you go easily, but not me. And you know the things they can pull off if they throw enough money at the right people. Getting me out could takes months, years even. Do you really want to spend that much time on it, especially when dangerous criminals are running around? People are going to want to focus on that, not a stupid little rich girl who's having family problems." No doubt there was a bunch of legal stuff to deal with if Weiss didn't want to live with her parents anymore. And knowing them, they would drag the process out as long as possible. Elsa was a good lawyer, but Weiss wasn't sure if even she could go up against them. And honestly, would she even be that much of a priority to the force? Sure, Aqua and Riku would put it at the top of their list, but that was because they knew her. Others didn't, and odds were, they were going to focus on the more dire threats to the city, like Thrax. Getting rid of a dangerous demon was far more important than settling a case like hers.
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