[ Similar. Verso resists the urge to laugh. Sure, they've got quite a lot in common. ]
Yeah. I bet.
[ It was never a question, for him. Alicia had been special to him from the moment she was born, from before the moment she was born. He'd been a little brother for so long; he'd been so excited to be an older brother, like it was his destiny, like he'd been missing Alicia his whole life and hadn't realized it.
Or is that the way he felt? It's unclear which memories belong to him and which were simply given to him, stolen from someone else. ]
Sorry, [ he blunts out on impulse, because Gustave's love for Maelle has him feeling extra guilty. ] That I didn't introduce myself sooner. I think seeing you and Maelle, it just...
[ There's not really a good way to finish that sentence. 'Made me feel awful'. 'Made me resent that she loves you more'. 'Made me worried that she's too attached to you to leave this place'.
He just lets himself trail off. Gustave can fill in the blanks on his own. ]
[ Gustave had been nervous when they had taken Maelle in, he thinks.
It was a common thing, fostering. Parents died, younger each year, and so many orphans needed tending to, taking care of, raising. He wasn't entirely sure he was equipped to help raise anyone, or at least be a brother to them, but he had wanted to try. For years, he had dreamed of having his own children, something he could love and cherish in that way, but he hadn't had the chance, so this...?
It had been enough.
Maelle was more than enough.
When he thinks of how it might feel to live his life without her, it's hollow, and empty. He doesn't want to imagine it, to dream what it could be like, because it hurts. Right now, she is everything to him; that's why he had been prepared to die for her, isn't it? She is his heart, in a way, moulded and shaped to her laughter.
Shaking his head, he looks over at Verso with a pained smile. ]
It's alright. I can imagine how painful it must be.
Ah, [ is a flippant sound, and Verso shrugs his shoulders. ] It's... ancient history.
[ Like he doesn't spend every day feeling like he's missing a limb. Clea and Alicia are so integral to who he is; life without them feels like playing the piano with one hand, the melody lonely. ]
You two just remind me of the past, that's all.
[ He can make out the faint sounds of feminine voices in the distance, the rustle of footfalls on leaves. Verso reaches over, pats Gustave cordially on the shoulder—gently, so that he doesn't jostle anything sensitive. ]
But there'll be plenty of time to impress you with my tragic backstory later. I'll go help the girls with your poultice.
[ Gustave would know: he studied it for years in preparation for this mission.
It's obvious that Verso isn't comfortable with this particular conversation, though, and he shakes his head, waving his fingers absently. He'll need to repair his arm eventually, maybe do some tweaks to make it work better, but that's something for another time... When he feels more like himself.
He doesn't feel like himself right now.
Humming softly, he sinks back into his position, sliding down the wood. ]
[ Wow, Gustave really must be nice, because only someone really nice or really insane would thank Verso for this awkward, inexplicably tense conversation. Maybe Gustave simply thinks he's socially inept and has decided to take pity on him.
He shrugs. ] Ah, it was nothing. I just wanted to spare you from being Esquie's captive audience.
[ Although, honestly, one has to imagine talking to Esquie would have been more pleasant.
Still, he shoots Gustave a not-unfriendly glance. It would be reasonable to assume that the conversation has made Verso warm to him, at least. ]
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no subject
Yeah. I bet.
[ It was never a question, for him. Alicia had been special to him from the moment she was born, from before the moment she was born. He'd been a little brother for so long; he'd been so excited to be an older brother, like it was his destiny, like he'd been missing Alicia his whole life and hadn't realized it.
Or is that the way he felt? It's unclear which memories belong to him and which were simply given to him, stolen from someone else. ]
Sorry, [ he blunts out on impulse, because Gustave's love for Maelle has him feeling extra guilty. ] That I didn't introduce myself sooner. I think seeing you and Maelle, it just...
[ There's not really a good way to finish that sentence. 'Made me feel awful'. 'Made me resent that she loves you more'. 'Made me worried that she's too attached to you to leave this place'.
He just lets himself trail off. Gustave can fill in the blanks on his own. ]
no subject
It was a common thing, fostering. Parents died, younger each year, and so many orphans needed tending to, taking care of, raising. He wasn't entirely sure he was equipped to help raise anyone, or at least be a brother to them, but he had wanted to try. For years, he had dreamed of having his own children, something he could love and cherish in that way, but he hadn't had the chance, so this...?
It had been enough.
Maelle was more than enough.
When he thinks of how it might feel to live his life without her, it's hollow, and empty. He doesn't want to imagine it, to dream what it could be like, because it hurts. Right now, she is everything to him; that's why he had been prepared to die for her, isn't it? She is his heart, in a way, moulded and shaped to her laughter.
Shaking his head, he looks over at Verso with a pained smile. ]
It's alright. I can imagine how painful it must be.
no subject
[ Like he doesn't spend every day feeling like he's missing a limb. Clea and Alicia are so integral to who he is; life without them feels like playing the piano with one hand, the melody lonely. ]
You two just remind me of the past, that's all.
[ He can make out the faint sounds of feminine voices in the distance, the rustle of footfalls on leaves. Verso reaches over, pats Gustave cordially on the shoulder—gently, so that he doesn't jostle anything sensitive. ]
But there'll be plenty of time to impress you with my tragic backstory later. I'll go help the girls with your poultice.
no subject
[ Gustave would know: he studied it for years in preparation for this mission.
It's obvious that Verso isn't comfortable with this particular conversation, though, and he shakes his head, waving his fingers absently. He'll need to repair his arm eventually, maybe do some tweaks to make it work better, but that's something for another time... When he feels more like himself.
He doesn't feel like himself right now.
Humming softly, he sinks back into his position, sliding down the wood. ]
Thanks for talking to me, Verso.
no subject
He shrugs. ] Ah, it was nothing. I just wanted to spare you from being Esquie's captive audience.
[ Although, honestly, one has to imagine talking to Esquie would have been more pleasant.
Still, he shoots Gustave a not-unfriendly glance. It would be reasonable to assume that the conversation has made Verso warm to him, at least. ]
Bon rétablissement, my friend.