i know its rough, when you go it alone

BASTIEN

Bastien wasn't sure if Kiada was being polite or actually intended to make art in the Sanctuary, but he hoped she might try. When his motivation finally came back (which he could only pray it would) he intended to make halls worth of art to try and purge some of the sickening emotion clogged in his chest: whether or not she would find it helpful remained to be seen, but Bastien had found few methods as good as painting to get out those horrible remainders of traumas.

"You think Deimos would like it? I find the man so hard to read...I don't know if he even likes art." He commented, shaking his head; he liked Deimos (even after their Longnight quarrel) but found his stoicism and silence impossible to understand, the dignity of the man's calm demeanour completely alien to Bastien with his tendency to launch into passionate speeches at the drop of a hat. "Hotaru...I will ask her to come pick something. ...Did you know Hotaru in your old world?"

He watched her step around the paintings, unsure what it was she was thinking. When Kiada finally did speak, quiet and sad, he smiled. "You look like her, you know. In your eyes."

You always let me down so tenderly
So live fast and die young and stay forever numb

KIADA i wish that i could say, i am a light that never goes out. “Yeah I think so.” She says softly, managing to find a small smile spark on her face. “He likes art. He also likes any little mementos he can have of his friends and family, he’s just quiet about it.” She says softly, recalling how Deimos hadn’t exactly known how to take gifts. And perhaps it’s not her place to say it, but she turns toward Bastien a bit with a small shrug of her shoulders. “He never really had friends before here, ones that went all out like my mother and Hotaru did. I think he doesn’t think he deserves it, so he can be… Weird about it.” She offers, letting her gaze flicker along a few paintings before they land on Bastien again and his question is aired. She gives him a small nod. “Yeah, she was born in Helovia like I was.” An easy explanation. “She was like a second mother to me. She had twins about the same time mom had Kianzo and I. We all sort of grew up together.” And lived and died together. But she passes that thought over for pausing, a flash of surprise crossing her face before she’s tucking dark hair behind her ear, almost bashful in a sense. “Thanks.” Somewhere deep within herself, it soothes her heart to hear it. but i flicker from time to time.

BASTIEN

Kiada telling him about Deimos' secret sensitive side was certainly enough to make Bastien smile, even in the circumstances. He knew he'd love to tease the man about it, but that he shouldn't: he instead started looking for a good picture of Rexanna to give. "I see. I know he saw Rex as someone very capable and respectable, so, perhaps one like..." He scanned a couple over with his finger then seemed to decide, darting forward to grab a large canvas featuring a very regal, formal portrait. "This."

Putting it aside, he went to sit by Kiada again, listening to her talk about her mother. There was something comforting about hearing these different angles of Rexanna, as if as long as there was still more to learn about her, she wasn't truly gone from his life. "I hope that...Hotaru and Deimos and yourself, that you can find a space in your family for Azrael and me, even with Rexanna gone. It is the closest thing I have to anything like a family, now." He gave her a smile that for Bastien was surprisingly shy, hoping she might say yes.

You always let me down so tenderly
So live fast and die young and stay forever numb

KIADA i wish that i could say, i am a light that never goes out. At least it was enough to spark a smile on Bastien’s face. She hopes that he doesn’t use it in some sort of teasing way, but all things considered she doesn’t imagine he’d have the heart for it – not now at the very least. So she follows the artist, scanning the paintings as well until he decides on one of them and she looks at the details, the way her mother stands within it, a dip of her head in agreement. “That one’s perfect.” She agrees softly, still clutching her own painting close to her chest. But then she’s talking about her mother, of Hotaru, of the intricacies of their relationships in that other world yet so much the same. And then, she draws silent, waiting for his response when it takes her a small amount off guard. It’s… So surprisingly open that her gaze snaps to his face, some sort of surprise crossing her own, before she begins to nod slowly. “Of course.” She agrees softly, finding no reason not to. Bastien had never given her the idea that he was anything but family, even if Kiada hadn’t wanted to accept it before. If anyone knew what it was like to lose family over and over again, Kiada certainly did. “Do I get to meet them soon?” She asks with a small, softer smile. but i flicker from time to time.

BASTIEN

Well, he'd give Deimos the painting when he next saw the man, happy that Kiada thought it was appropriate. Gods, when had he gotten so cautious? Bastien realised all of a sudden that he'd moved a lot of his confidence and security in himself to his relationship, once Rexanna had become a regular part of his life: now that she was gone, he'd have to try and rebuild that from the bottom.

A good way to have it happen was to grow with his new family; honoured that Kiada would let him be a part of it, Bastien gently took her hands and squeezed them, a smile on his face that was impossibly soft. "Thank you. This means more to me than you can know; and yes. Soon...I will bring them to a gathering." Right now Azrael was having a much needed rest, but he knew he couldn't guard them close to him forever.

{FIN}

You always let me down so tenderly
So live fast and die young and stay forever numb