Inbox

[lifelight]

If you need to get a hold of me quick for a job, contact me over the amulets. If not, shove it in the mailbox outside.

Comments

Action;

[gunlabels]

[ Seeing as how Cae has become something he actually recently started enjoying the company of, Reo came by for a visit. After waiting a while it didn't seem like she wanted to answer... so instead he left a gift on her front porch. Hopefully no one takes it by the time she comes back from her crystal state.

Inside is just a cute little tea cup decorated with a big red flower on the side.]

Action - around the Emp equivalent of Oct 20th

[tenyearswaiting]

[After taking a while to find what he needs, Jecht leaves behind the following on her table:
- half a dozen freshly made soft chocolate chip cookies from a bakery in the slums, neatly sealed and packaged
- a jar of jam [(flavor pending)]
- a small box of some kind of bran cereal with dried fruit pieces
- a bottle of mixed fruit juice

And a note that reads:
Morning, firebug. Bout time you woke up. Enjoy the food. I'll be over shortly. The juice's fresh. Don't drink your coffee.

-Jecht

Also, The teacup Reo left behind has been placed on the table she's sitting at.]

action; sometime before mid Nov? ish?

[tenyearswaiting]

Caelia will find Jecht hanging out with her chocobo in his stable, sitting on the fence and petting his neck feathers. Nothing looks particularly off about him, except that bits of the fence has ice on the top but there are also a few red flowers that don't quite fit in with the grass.

Look. Feelings are complicated.

He looks up when she finally comes home, grinning.

"'bout time."

[lifelight]

There's nothing quite like coming back to a home to see the object of your affection already there waiting for you, even if something seems off with the ice and all. Seeing him with her favourite chocobo, who is very much soaking up the attention with happy kwehs and chirps and even some beak bumps against him.

See, Jecht is okay, Locke guesses, just as long as Jecht doesn't take away too much of Cae's attention. So when he sees Caelia, Locke starts fluttering his wings and happily chirruping and 'talking' to her. The sight puts an instant, soft smile on her lips.

"I can get used to seein' you here when I come home from doing what I do, Charming. But maybe without the ice." It only seems like there's something wrong here, but there's a certainty that she'll find out about it soon enough. So with that in mind, she goes easily to Jecht to slip her arms around him loosely.

"Gonna tell me what has you flustered like this, or am I gonna have to guess?"

[tenyearswaiting]

Jecht laughs softly when Locke lights up at the sight of his master. So much for trying to win him over the past hour, not that he minds. He still has one hand on the chocobo's back when Caelia comes over. His own arm going around her in return. He doesn't move from the fence, since it puts him in a better position for a hug.

"Thought I'd speed up the turnin' of the weather. I ever tell you that ain't a thing in Zanarkand?" It's always nice weather, warm with the scent of the ocean. Sometimes mixed with ocean rain. But he's stalling. He knows he is. Yet he still huffs anyway.

"I ain't flustered." He finally pulls his hand back from Locke and faces Caelia properly. His tone growing somber. "My son's here... But I think he's from a time earlier than me and Auron. Before everything's... over."

Immediately after Tidus encounter

[tenyearswaiting]

It's not comparable to being trapped as Sin. There's not a lot that can compare to that level of despair and hopelessness. But this is despair all the same. He trails an uneven patch of inky black under his feet as he makes his way to Caelia's home, eyes on the ground ahead with a tight expression. Even his person is shrouded in a bit of shadow where the remaining light of the day can't touch.

He tries the handle of her door first before smacking his palm against the door three times. One hand braced against the door frame while he pressed his forehead against the door itself, closing his eyes to wait.

He opens his eyes when the door does. A complicated expression crossing his face, relief, a sadness he doesn't know how to convey, frustration... And do his eyes appear a bit watery? He hugs her. And it's only then that the darkness starts to ease. Light touching his skin again and the dark patches lessening.

There is definitely a sniffle, but his face is hidden from her with how he's hunched forward to meet her height. His voice is thick when he speaks.

"I'll explain later. I'm not hurt." Not physically. "Just... give me a minute..."

[lifelight]

"No, you haven't told me that yet, but that sounds like you're tryin' to stall."

Hah. Which, he was. She knows. When he says that he isn't, she just sneers, giving him a "uh huh, sure" look. But when Jecht's demeanor changes completely and he's not his usual self, that worries her a little.

"What do you mean before everything's over? And... it sounds like it's a bad thing he's here?" It's hard to figure why it sounds like it's a bad, or not so great thing that his kid is here - not that Cae knows how old he is, or what he looks like, but... "Or is this storytime with Prince Charming now?"

[lifelight]

The problem with living in the slums, despite it not being too bad on some days, is that when people try the door like that when it's starting to get dark? Is that it puts her on edge. The smacking against the door doesn't make it any better, and while she's not usually the kind to use daggers or anything, she has one for good measure when she can't use magic quickly or get to one of the magical rods she's got.

That dagger is in her hand while she goes to the door.

The door cracks, and when she realizes who it is, despite the darkness swirling around him, she barely has time to put it on to the side table next to the door before Jecht's pulling her into a hug. What in the world has gotten him like this? It doesn't take long after the confusion wears enough for Caelia to wrap an arm, and then the other, around him. He's already answering any questions she would have asked him when he says that he's not hurt, so instead she steps back, pulling Jecht along with her to get him in the house.

Seeing the black around Cae and Jecht, Locke kwehs with worry for the two of them, though Caelia hushes him. The problems with having part of the chocobo pen inside the house.

"Jecht? What in the seven hells is going on?" There's no movement to pull away from him, mainly because she doesn't want to make him look at her when he's trying to be manly and not cry here in front of her (it's fine, Jecht, she won't care) but... he's going to have to tell her eventually. She's going to want to know. She's already worrying.

[tenyearswaiting]

He grins, amusement that's lighter than usual, figuring out she's caught on on his stall.

"Weather's always nice and warm. Sometimes it rains." He brings his other hand to rest against her waist. "Yeah, it's story time. You got time to listen?"

[tenyearswaiting]

Jecht follows her inside, almost burying his face in her hair as he lets the tears fall. A moment of weakness, though he's had a lot of that around her since they met, hasn't he? He shakes his head and nuzzles her as a response, taking another few seconds for himself before inhaling to steady himself. An imperceptible tremble in his shoulders as he completes the deep breath and straightens without pulling away.

He looks to the side so he can wipe at the corners of his eyes with his fingers, drying it off quickly and flashing her a smile again. The darkness is fading rapidly, staying a dark gray than black and the shadow across his body lifting completely.

Another sniff to clear his nose and he's trying to reassure her by running a hand over her hair.

"I'll be fine. I needed that." He sighs. "I ran into Tidus in the lake... Must have caught him off guard too cause he choked. I saved him but I set him off. Bad. There's so much he doesn't know, firebug. So much I wanna tell him, but his feelings about me are so strong his own emotions damn near killed him." He keeps his gaze somewhere off to the side as he talks. Shame and quiet disappointment becoming a small pool of water by his feet. When he looks at her again, there's a deep sorrow there burying a darker anger.

"I punched him out before things got worse... Can't talk to my own kid cause he hates the sight of me." He huffs, self deprecating. "Pathetic."

[lifelight]

"You'll have to tell me about that later, then. With memories, of course." That's important. She wants to see this place with her own two eyes, so to speak. She'll hold him to it, too!

But after this. This seems pretty damn important, and she's going to tell him that that's most important here, as if he didn't already know that.

"Of course I do. But maybe we should do that indoors, aye? I'll make you some coffee, warm you up after that icy display you gave me. I can at least make that right for you to drink." Anything else is... well, it's better left unsaid. "Come on, then. Inside." For as much as she would rather not break away, enjoying the closeness between them, she knows that this is probably not a conversation she wants her neighbours hearing Jecht's problems. So, with that, she steps away, but a hand isn't far to grab his, pulling him along with her into the house proper.

[lifelight]

There's no words exchanged while she waits for him to compose himself, no matter how long it takes. While she's not really great at comforting people in the sense of trying to make sure people aren't upset, she knows that she can shut up and let people talk. That's a comfort in itself usually, isn't it? But with Jecht it's also different, because now he's her own idiot that she likes a little more than others. So while he holds on tighter and nuzzles into her, Caelia runs a soft hand down his back, resting at the small of his back momentarily before running back up.

She really is trying to comfort him in the best way she knows, here.

When he pulls back, she gets a good look at him and the shadow falling away from him. She grins a little, and idly traces part of his tattoo. "Good to know I wasn't just tryin' to comfort a shadow version of you instead of you," but the grin falls when he mentions Tidus. Cae's quiet a bit longer, to let him speak up and get it out. She sure does notice that puddle at his feet, and... ah. Tidus is his son. That makes sense. But...

"Why does he hate the sight of you, an' why's that pathetic? I'm not sure I really understand here. I don't think I'd hate the sight of my father if I saw him again." Then again, it's also been thirty years and she misses the time she's not spent with her parents here. There's a difference, but right now she doesn't know what that difference is.

[tenyearswaiting]

"Heh. Deal." He's always happy to show off, especially using the pyreflies for a memory projector.

Is there going to be cooking disasters in their future though?

"Coffee sounds good." Especially if it's bitter. He follows her with his hand when she steps back and sighs softly when she grabs him first, offering her a playful grin as he follows her into the house that is more than familiar now.

"Feels like I've been unloading on you since we met," he huffs.

[tenyearswaiting]

"Y'know I wouldn't be surprised if that's happened before 'round here. Shadow people runnin' around." He huffs. At least his sense of humor is still intact?

"I was really hard on him before I was taken to Spira. Thought the best way to raise him to be like me was to be tough on him." He closes his eyes. "Was too stubborn to let go of my pride until it's too late to do anything 'bout it. And he paid for it." He lets out a breath slowly, not realizing how chilled it is, remembering how it felt when Tidus's emotions physically rejected him. "Auron was with him the past ten years but he never should've been stuck with that job either. He ain't the most personable type."

"... I gotta find another way to talk to Tidus. But not right now." Right now, he just wants to be alone, near someone he loves.

[lifelight]

"I'd prefer you bein' you, and not some weird... Shadow Jecht."

Just throwing that out there. A Shadow Jecht would be rude and horrible to her, and she doesn't want to deal with that.

Caelia's quiet when he talks about what he had done with Tidus. She has to really think on that, what he meant... so eventually, she looks up at him curiously.

"Hard on him how? I don't remember my father much, but I don't think he was ever hard on me. My grandmother, she's a different story, but she loved me all the same." And "hard on her" in this case was telling her granddaughter not to be so hard on herself when she couldn't use white magic like everyone else, among other things. She doesn't know what Jecht means when he says he was hard on his son, but she won't be ready for it, that's for sure.

[lifelight]

No cooking disasters here! She knows what she can and can't do, but coffee is something she does well, at the very least. Tea as well, but Jecht doesn't seem like a tea kind of guy. It's not in-your-face like he is. She catches the smile when she takes his hand which only gets a soft squeeze. Yeah, Caelia-senpai noticed you, Jecht.

She leads him on over to the table, and begins to start on some coffee for the two of them.

"Just think, it all started with you shovin' your sword at me to hold and I damn near chopped myself in half like that." Okay, look, it wasn't that bad, but gods that sword was ridiculously heavy. She does give him a glance back with a shiteating grin when she says that. "An' if I cared, I wouldn't have brought you into the house to talk about this, aye?"

[tenyearswaiting]

He can fill the cooking disasters gap. He can cook some things but he makes a mess. The squeeze gets another soft chuckle out of him. He definitely loves her. No question.

He sits at the table and leans forward to rest his elbow on the table, head in his hand as he watches her like a charmed teenager. A genuinely more playful grin flashing back on his face.

"You're the best, you know that?" He doesn't know who he pissed off and pleased at the same time but there are good things on top of the bombshell of Tidus's surprising arrival. And it's nice to remember that. He chuckles louder more openly this time. "Still think you'd look amazing holding a huge sword like that."

cw: mentions of alcoholism, verbal abuse

[tenyearswaiting]

"Nothing's ever gonna change me," he asserts, hands on her hips now, absently running his hand along there. "Not this me."

He looks sad, regret creeping in like a bad shadow.

"He wanted to be a blitz player like me. I told him he couldn't do it. Everything he tried to do, I showed him up. I called him a crybaby, made fun of him for it..." He lowers his eyes, not able to look straight at her now. His hands slowly falling away. "I told you I was a star back home. Truth is I was losing it before I was brought to Spira. I was a drunk. Too proud. Too up my own ass to see what the hell I was doin' to my life. I was missin' passes and shoots because I was drunk and kept drinkin' cause I was angry I missed. The last game I played in Zanarkand was the first game I lost in a long time."

He barks a laugh. He was an idiot.

"Kid told me to stop drinking once and I said I'd do it tomorrow. 'cause why do today what you can do tomorrow. I didn't stop drinking. Not till almost half way through our journey in Spira."

"Those were the last things he remembered me for, Caelia..."

[lifelight]

Wow. He sounded like a right arsehole, didn't he? Caelia doesn't say anything while he talks, an emotionless expression on her face while she does so. Obviously something changed him between that time and how he is now, and it was probably the Sin thing that he told her about after their hunt. He didn't go into a lot of detail, just that he became a summon, a Primal, and then became Sin. But whatever that entailed, it changed how he was as a person.

So, while it was great that he'd changed and wanted to atone and make up for everything, at least from the sound of it, especially that last bit he says...

"You were a fucking arsehole, weren't you?"

A little different than the brand of arsehole he is now; someone who actually cares about people and wants to help instead of being... the way he was. They're not too far from each other, so while he's not expecting it, he gets a nice slap across the cheek.

"That's for your son." She's quiet for a moment, taking in a breath. "I can see why he wouldn't wanna talk to you or see you. But if he changes his mind, it's gonna be on his terms. But when he does, you better bow your head and beg for his forgiveness, aye?" However, she didn't know that Jecht, she knows the one in front of her. The one that worried over so much with her involved. Her arms slip around him again, and she holds him as tight as her arms can.

"You obviously changed, an' I'm glad you did. I probably wouldn't be standing here with you if you hadn't. So if you can do right by him now, you need to. Else I'll have to slap you more," as a grin tugs at the corner of her lips.

[tenyearswaiting]

The slap is, well, like a slap to the face. He pauses mid-inhale and stares at her, stunned. He touches his face and eventually chuckles low as he listens, shaking his head slowly.

"Can't just apologize. I've got an image." He's smiling wryly, mirthless. "And he ain't gonna buy it." Look. Feelings and manliness are complicated. He keeps a hold on her by slipping his own arms around her so she can't pull back and try to slap him again. "Don't get mad. I wasn't disagreein'. It's just complicated."

He dips his gaze.

"He wants answers and he ain't gonna be ready for it. I gotta prepare... And get a grip." Because he's in no way composed right now. "Can I stay the night? Auron's gonna be pissed at me too."

[lifelight]

That gets a little look back at him, a smile creeping on her lips as she does. A Charmed Charming, that's definitely what he's looking like right now and it amuses her a lot. Before he says the next bit, she starts humming, just a bit. Well, she can be the best for him and hearing that does make her a little happy. The humming is there, but there's a warmth in the house now that's like a nice cozy fire.

Yeah, she's happy.

But when he mentions the sword she turns back around with a frown before she holds up an arm, pulls a sleeve down over her arm to flex and show there's no muscle there. "Yeah, not gonna happen with these arms, sorry. A dagger is about as good as it gets. I can somehow hold a bow to shoot arrows, but that's not really great either. You don't wanna know how often I don't hit a target."

It's not terrible, but she's can do well enough... sometimes.

[lifelight]

"You can drop your 'image' to say you're sorry to your kid if he wants to hear one. One you actually mean, Jecht. You sound like you regret the things you did an' all, but I know it'll be more than just sayin' it."

Not that she knows his kid is the kid she's helped and teased a few times now... wait til she finds that one out and can tell Jecht that the apple definitely didn't fall far from the tree!

When he tells her not to get mad and that it's complicated, she makes a disgruntled sound; she wouldn't have slapped him again, but she doesn't sound very happy about his reasonings. It's followed by a deep sigh, and while Cae's preparing for some explanation (because you don't just say what he said about his kid not being ready for answers and not explain yourself!!!!) she nods.

"Aye, you can. Not surprised Auron would be angry with you for that. But you're gonna have to explain what you mean by answers your kid isn't ready for and all that."

[tenyearswaiting]

"I wouldn't know what to do with a bow and arrow." Whack enemies with it he supposes. He's watching her flexing without any concern for her lack of muscle though. In fact he looks like he's admiring her still.

"Ahh." He waves a hand. "You're super powerful with your black magic. You don't need a sword." She'd still look cool with one but maybe he can work that into conversation again later.

He'll wait for the coffee before he says anything else but the weight he's felt before is already much lighter. There's something about being here that makes everything else feel small. And he really can't ask for more. Doesn't dare to. He can only try to do the same for her in return. Love her for as long as possible.

[tenyearswaiting]

"I told you 'bout what happened to me, right? The pilgrimage, the price for defeating Sin. Who killed me in the end." He brushes a strand of hair ineffectually behind her shoulder, watching it fall back forward. "I set him on that path. I wanted to be free so badly I went to our Zanarkand ten years after I became Sin and destroyed it. I brought him to Spira. I made him kill me."

It's a lot more complicated than that but cliff notes.

"He doesn't know any of that. He knows I'm Sin but not why or how. He doesn't know summoners die when they succeed and he's started on his own pilgrimage with Yuna. I gotta tell him myself but... He's rejectin' me. I gotta do this another way. He's gotta stay calm enough to listen and he ain't ever calm 'round me."

"... The only way to make it up to him is to tell him the truth. My apologies ain't gonna be worth shit until then."

Jan 1st

[tenyearswaiting]

[It appears as an innocuous looking but lovely box (the kind for necklaces and their pendants) on her table (did he bribe Kineta to bring it inside through Locke's stable access into the house? Possibly... She can't prove it!!)

There's also a note attached to it 'don't open till I'm there. -Jecht'

If she takes a peek, there's a reddish-tinged ladybug pendant sitting on a cushion, attached to a necklace.]