abyssdressing | (no subject)

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characters: scionofhispower

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[Clearly, redheads have never been in short supply here.

As a result of this fact, seeing Asch sitting at a table with that smug "I'm better than you" look of his shouldn't really take too many people by surprise. Oh, sure, the lack of any discernible agitation is probably a little disconcerting as is the presence of a deck of playing cards set upon the table within easy reach of his right hand. Of course, this Asch is a little different from most, missing anger notwithstanding; it isn't too hard to tell he is a fair bit older, somewhere within his early-to-mid twenties.

Regardless, he is Asch. And he? He is challenging you to a game of poker.

Ready to try your luck?]

[ooc; Unlike

swallowfury, Asch here is definitely not reset, so he retains any CR he had from the last time I was around a couple years back. Of course, he's not going to come out and just let you know who he is; he feels like being a bit of a jerk, so even if you do know him, he's going to leave you guessing. Especially. If you're a certain replica. Why? Because he can. ~~And, no, he's not going to deal cards to kids. But he might go into papa mode on them.~~]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

What happened?

You know people come and go...

Oh! We could could have curry chicken.

...

Sorry...

Not your fault...

[But now Asch is really pissed at himself because he clearly has broken his word to the younger Asch.]

It's not yours either.

[ Luke doesn't have to be a mind-reader to know how Asch works. ]

I promised to protect him, and yet...

You can't protect someone from a place, Asch.

That's not what I meant!

Then try explaining yourself for once!

You know as well as I do where he must be now. What he must be going through. [And he refuses to even give voice to something he's fairly certain of: whether unintentionally broken or not, since his promise of protection has been broken, what are the odds Asch would really trust them again even if he ever were to come back?]

No, actually I don't! I don't know what kind of hell Van made you live in because you've never seen fit to trust me with that information! [ Luke has more faith than that after how close they'd become. But then again, no one would know Asch better than himself. ]

Did you really fail to comprehend what had been done to him? [Asch really doesn't want to have to spell out that he had it easy compared to what the Asch they adopted was put through.]

I got it, sort of... But if he's at Daath like you were, than Van will be there to make sure nobody else hurts him, right? [ Someone also still holds too much faith in their former mentor; he always made it sound like he cared for Asch and wanted to save him from the Score... ]

Van is the one doing it!

What?! Why would he hurt you if he needs your help?

He didn't use much physical force for me, but from what Asch told me, it's far different for him. As though manipulating his emotions wasn't enough...

...maybe now that he knows what Van's after, he'll be able to keep himself safe or find help. [ In case Asch is still miffed, she's careful in reaching to hold one of his hands. ]

[He lets out a frustrated sigh, but he doesn't pull his hand back.] It's not easy for a child to fight off an adult. Particularly when Van made him believe he deserved it. [He closes his eyes.] You never questioned why he felt he had to hurt himself? Why, at that age, he'd been driven to drink? You never found anything strange in that?

He has some skill with a sword and fonic artes, and I... [ She threads her fingers through his, gripping tighter. ] I thought the drinking was something he'd picked up. Children learn from the adults around them when they're young, right?

It was his way of coping. [He gives her hand a squeeze; his other arm is still around her waist, and he pulls her closer with it.]

[ Closer she goes, hugging him 'round the neck with the arm not pinned between them. ] ...was it really that bad in Daath?

...

[For a while, it seems like he won't respond. But, surprisingly...] For me, no. There were times... of course there were times I wanted out of there. Training was difficult and it's true Van manipulated me into believing in him, but I believed he was the only person who noticed I was me. It took years to realize the one time I returned to Baticul after my kidnapping, he'd let me escape. Seeing you there, in my place... seeing that absolutely no one noticed it wasn't me put me in the exact mindframe he needed to make me believe in him and stay with him willingly. Even knowing he only wanted to use me, at least he needed me.

Asch... [ The sudden onslaught of new information is somewhat a shock, to the point she ends up leaning back to listen. She knew Van had somehow convinced Asch that Mother and Father didn't need him once she'd been brought back to the manor, but no one had detailed how. And just how similar it was to what Van had done to earn her trust as well. ... Perhaps asking wasn't one of her better ideas. All the pain and guilt of knowing she'd stolen in place in life was coming back to her in waves. ] I'm sorry... I'm sorry...

Stop it. We're past that.