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Reflecting On The Past (SDB!) [M]

Started by Eckhart_Von_Musel, January 09, 2018, 01:12:35 PM

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Eckhart_Von_Musel

"Lady Hildegarde, that was amazing."

Hildegarde looked at her boyfriend as he slipped back into his pants, an almost hungry gleam in her eyes. If it were up to her, they wouldn't have stopped when they did- Terrence had been in her sights for nearly half a year, and spending only thirty minutes with him seemed almost criminal to the gang leader. Unfortunately, there were things she had to attend to. "I know it was." she said, a smirk on her face. "It was with me, after all."

"O-oh..."

The woman laughed as the boy went red in the face, and leaned over to ruffle his hair. "Don't worry about it." she said, eyes twinkling. "You did fine, I enjoyed it too." 

The boy went redder still, grinning stupidly. "Really?" he breathed excitedly. "Awe... Awesome!"

Hildegarde giggled. "You're such a a dweeb, Terry." She slid out of her bed, picking her dress up off the floor and slipping it back on. "Why don't you go introduce yourself to Ecks? He should be with Alderon, but he could also be in that unused room on the first floor."

Terrence put his shirt back on, eyes narrowed. "You aren't coming?"

The girl shook her head, smoothing out her dress. "No, I promised Vivianne I'd catch up with her." Noticing the look on her boyfriend's face, she gave the spy a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine, I promise. Just give me a few minutes, 'kay?"

Terrence sighed. "Alright. If you aren't back in twenty minutes I'm coming back to check on you though."

Hildegarde smiled, giving the boy's hand a gentle squeeze. The two looked into each other's eyes for a moment before Hildegarde swept Terrence's bangs out of his eyes, kissing him on the forehead. He blushed, and pulled the girl into an embrace. "Lady Hildegarde... I'm really glad I met you."

Hildegarde's eyes lit up, and she squeezed the teenager tightly. "I'm glad I met you too, kiddo." 

They broke the embrace, and Terrence nodded. "Alright. Make the right choice, okay?"

"I will!" the gang leader called after him. "I'll be right behind you, this should only take a few minutes!" Hildegarde turned as the door closed behind the boy, taking a deep breath. "Alright. I'm Hildegarde Von Musel. I got this, easy."

Walking to her mirror, Hildegarde quickly brushed her hair in to place. She reached for the glass, faltered for a moment, then tapped on it quickly. "Hey Vivi! It's Hilda."

"Please let this end well. This day has been great so far."

Celegwen

Vivianne had ordered the carriage driver to stop at the nearest inn. She paid him what was owed, then walked into building. "Alyce Costanza for one night," she said, making sure not to leave a clear trail. The innkeeper gave her a key, and she started up a flight of stairs.

The room wasn't exactly elegant. With dingy walls and hardly any decorations, she definitely had better. I've had worse, she reminded herself.

It was still pretty early in the day, so despite how tired she was, Vivianne knew that she wasn't going to sleep. She sat down cross-legged on the bed, taking out her mirrors and placing them in front of her. Brushing her hair aside to reveal the mirror on her forehead, she smirked and placed her hands on the mirrors.

Slowly, the smirk faded, and her hands withdrew from the mirrors. Vivianne picked up one of the mirrors and simply looked into it for the first time in longer than she could remember.

First Hildegarde, she thought, placing the mirror back down on the bed, now Eckhart. Vivianne laid on her back, staring at the ceiling in silence. Figures.

A booming sound echoed in her head, and she squeezed her eyes shut, cursing the annoying fuckers who tap on their mirrors. Then, it was followed by a voice. Vivianne shot back up into her seated position, looking at the mirrors with wide eyes. "No way," she said.

The girl inched forward, placing her hands on the mirrors while her heart raced. She closed her eyes, then opened them again, a mirror coating over them. For the second time in one day, Vivianne appeared in her old friend's mirror; only that time, Hildegarde had called her. She smiled at the pink-clad woman, glancing around. Messy bed, she thought, bringing her eyes back to Hildegarde. And I know that glow. Only it's changed... This one must have actually meant something...

"Hildegarde," Vivianne said with a chuckle. "Honestly, I didn't expect to hear from you again...well, ever. The same day, though?"

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Hildegarde put on a smile as her old friend's face appeared in the mirror. "Well I mean, I told you I'd catch up with you, right?"

"Sweet Ansgar, this is going to be so awkward."

Hildegarde scratched the back of her head. "Sooooo..." The gang leader pursed her lips slightly. "Um... What have you been up to?"

"Oh god, I'm slipping up. Just fucking kill me already."

Celegwen

She couldn't help but smile at Hildegarde's nervousness. In truth, she was worried her heart would run away from her if she didn't calm down.

Just relax, she told herself, taking a deep breath. She called you.

"I don't remember you being nervous about anything," Vivianne said, not trying to hide the shakiness behind her tone. "Uh, I've just been around... You know, traveling and taking jobs where I could get them. Actually..." She gave a breathy chuckle. "I-I majorly eased up on kill contracts, almost none anymore."

Rubbing her hand on her upper arm, she glanced down for a second. "What about you? You look terrific."

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Hildegarde's nostrils flared. "I'm not nervous." she said a bit too quickly.

"Damnit, that just made it obvious."

The woman swallowed. "That- that's good to hear." She shifted on her feet uncomfortably. "We've, ah, nearly doubled our territory since you..." 

"No, I don't want to talk about that."

Hildegarde trailed off. "Um... Anyway, Taza adopted a kid, so that's new."

"That's better."

Celegwen

"A kid?" She said, forcing a smile. "That's great! She always seemed..."

Her voice trailed off, and she shook her head. Vivianne sighed, dropping her hand from her arm. She knew Hildegarde. Even if the woman had changed over time, they had been very close and that never completely fades.

"Hildegarde, I'm so sorry," Vivianne said, looking at her old friend and almost choking on her words. "I know I fucked up. I... was young and stupid. I love you, and it took two years on my own for me to realize that I couldn't replace you." She felt like her knees were buckling, but she didn't know how that was possible when she was wasn't even physically standing. "You're the last person I would ever want to hurt."

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Hildegarde couldn't quite bring herself to look at the mirror, instead choosing to focus on her hairbrush. "...'s my fault." she mumbled nearly inaudibly.

Celegwen

Vivianne couldn't hear what Hildegarde had said clearly, but by the woman's demeanor, volume, and what Vivianne thought had been the word 'fault', she got the idea. She blinked quickly, fighting the tears that were pressing behind her eyes.

"Hey," she said, taking a deep breath. "It wasn't your fault. I was the one who chose to leave, then have too much pride to come back. Mainly because I was afraid you would react the way you did." Vivianne chuckled lightly. "We can go back and forth with whose fault it was, but the important thing is..."

Please let this work out...

She felt like there was a lump in her throat. "What now?"

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Hildegarde still couldn't look at the mirror, and was currently inspecting what must have seemed like a very interesting hangnail. "...Right." she said finally, her voice shaky. "We... Both were pretty stupid..."

Finally she looked at the reflections nose. "I... Suppose the first thing to do is to call off Sarah." She swallowed nervously. "I heard you were sent to find Ecks and I got... Kinda scared."

"God, please don't be mad."

Celegwen

"Ha!" Vivianne felt a lightness fill her suddenly, which she absolutely didn't expect to happen. "You actually sent a fucking assassin after me." She folded her arms across her chest. "Is it strange if I say I'm kind of flattered?"

The girl smiled, dropping her head and shaking it slightly. Taking a breath, she looked at Hildegarde again. "Not to be cocky, but what makes you think she could beat me? I mean come on; you know my magic. What's this Sarah girl have?"

Why does she even have an assassin? Vivianne thought. I remember her disapproving of my assassinations...

Eckhart_Von_Musel

"Flattered?" Hildegarde said, lifting an eyebrow. "Yes, that is fucking strange." She smirked playfully. "It's more tradition at this point really, Sarah killed the last assassin team leader too." The gang leader looked at her hairbrush again. "Ah... You're not the only one who left."

She looked up again,arms crossed. "As for her ability..." Hildegarde scratched her head. "She removes stuff from existence. It's honestly really confusing, I don't understand how it works. It... Just does."

Celegwen

Removes stuff from existence? Vivianne thought, furrowing her brows. She wanted to touch her forehead, thinking about the possibility that this Sarah person might be able to help her unleash her power. No. Stop. We're finished with that. For now...

"Wow," she said. "That just clears everything up, doesn't it?" She noticed that Hildegarde looked away every time she mentioned their separation, so Vivianne decided to avoid the topic as much as she could. "Well, I would definitely appreciate her being told to stop. I don't want to kill her, and I definitely don't want to be killed! How would you call her off?"

Eckhart_Von_Musel

"Oh, pfft." Hildegarde snorted, waving her hand dismissively. "Don't you worry your reflective little head about it. I'll just have Porcelina get her." She smirked. "We have portalmancers now, y'know."

Hildegarde's eyes suddenly lit up. "If I get Porcelina to paint a portrait of Vivianne, I'll have the one-up I always wanted!" The girl's lips began to curl into a smile. "Sweet Ansgar, I'm a genius!"

Crossing her arms, Hildegarde shifted her position slightly. "So... Did you want to rejoin the gang? I could put you in the espionage team with Terrence, if you'd like."

Celegwen

Portalmancers, Vivianne thought. She really has been doing well.

Hildegarde's offer for Vivianne to rejoin the Friends was almost too good to be true. She would have her best friend back after all. Even so, one thing still hadn't changed.

"You know I would do anything for you," she started, "but I won't rejoin the gang, and I want you to hear me out on this. I need the freedom to do whatever I want and the ability to deny ties with you. You need the same! We both take part in...questionable...acts, but mine don't only occur in Zantaric. Neither one of us needs to have our actions be traced to the other somehow.

"That being said, I will gladly come back to Zantaric in a heartbeat. I'll take part in your social affairs and whatnot, but I can't be considered officially one of you. You call on me, I'll be there. You want to talk, I'm always available. You need me to kill or spy or whatever, I'm happy to. Just not as an official Friend. Thoughts?"

Eckhart_Von_Musel

For a brief moment, Hildegarde's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. She stared at the reflection blankly, jaw slightly ajar. "What- what do you mean you won't?" she though, mind spinning. "But I apologized? I'm fixing things!" Her breathing became sharp, and clenched and unclenched her hands. "No no no no no no! This isn't happening, this can't be happening!"

And then, in an instant, she'd regained her composure. Her bangs cast a shadow over her eyes, and the mood in the room seemed to darken. "What is this about?" she asked, voice unnaturally cheery. "Is there something you aren't telling me?"

Celegwen

Vivianne sighed, seeing in Hildegarde's expression that the woman really didn't that answer. Despite Vivianne wanting nothing more than to rejoin the gang, she knew that they would end up the exact same way if she did. Both of them were alpha dogs, and neither one was good at easing off the reins. So close... she thought, pursing her lips briefly.

"Hildegarde, don't do this," she said. "I know that tone, and I don't like it. Just be genuine with me. If you want to yell, yell. If you want to get quiet, do it. Don't be extra nice when you're upset because I know you too well for that shit."

She took a breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I want to fix this." Vivianne looked at the woman again. "You know me well enough to know when I'm lying, so am I? I have no ulterior motive. I had the option of never speaking to you again, but I came to you because that's how important you are to me! What would I have to gain out of hiding something from you?"

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Hildegarde shook her head, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "I-I don't know!" she said, chest heaving. She ran her hand through her hair, lips trembling. "I... I just..."

"Fuck it. Terrence was right."

The woman looked at the reflection, an odd, longing look on her face. "Vivi..." she said softly, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I don't think this is going to..."

Hildegarde faltered. "No." she decided. "I will make this work. She'll rejoin, she just needs to be reminded what it's like having Friends by her side."

Hildegarde looked away. "Fuck." She sniffled, rubbing the tears from her eyes. "I can't say goodbye again." She looked at the mirror, taking a deep breath as she did so. "How do you want to do this, exactly? I can make arrangements to get you here, if you'd like."

Celegwen

Vivianne felt her heart drop into her shoe when Hildegarde started to tell her that they couldn't patch things up. I can't let her go again...

Then, Hildegarde completely turned it around. Vivianne smiled, covering her face with both hands. She released a breath that she didn't even know she was holding. "Oh, my gods."

The girl turned around for a moment, then faced Hildegarde again. As long as she doesn't get in my head again, we'll be fine. I can't let her control my life again.

Vivianne nodded with a smile. "If it's instant, make the arrangements," she said. "If not, I can get there in two weeks."

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Hildegarde blinked. It was an odd feeling, patching things up with both Vivianne and Eckhart in the same day. "Now all I need to do is find Kino, fix things with her." she thought. A slight smirk spread across her lips. "Yeah right, as if."

The gang leader put a finger to her chin. "I can't get you here immediately, I'm afraid." she lied. "Addie's out of mana, and I doubt Porcelina's been to your neck of the woods before."

"I'll need time to prep Taza, Terry, and Gris about this." she decided. "Ecks too, come to think of it- making him feel like he's a part of my inner circle will make him more likely to stick around."

Suddenly getting an idea, Hildegarde smiled. "Hey, so that Wasp broad is looking for Ecks, yeah? Do you mind taking her out for me? I'd really appreciate it."


Celegwen

"I'll be there in two weeks, then," Vivianne said with a smile. It wasn't obvious, but something about the way Hildegarde was standing told the girl that she was lying. Either way, it didn't matter. She was going to actually see Hildegarde again, whether in two minutes or a week wasn't important.

She wants me killing Wasp? Vivianne thought uncomfortably. But... why?

The girl chuckled, shaking her head slightly. "You don't need Wasp taken out. First, she would never come to Zantaric because she knows your reputation. And second, she's very smart. Like, close to Alderon level smart: she can be reasoned with. I'll talk to her. If she doesn't back off, I'll take care of it. I'll see you in a few days."

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