true frans don't need permission to break into each other's places!! ...wait

[ex_seventh238]

Who: Ciel and Charles
What: Charles' house looked weird from her stalking angle for a while now so Ciel just decided to go ahead and break in gets a surprise housecall that he wasn't supposed to know about!! Shenanigans ensue, alas.
Where: 767 Bunker Street
When: Oct. 19th, ridiculous hour in the morning like at 2AM
Warnings: Possible spoilers for Tsukihime/Blood+, also casual talk of gore... will update this as needed!

[Not that Charles has been acting particularly suspicious of late, no. If anything, Ciel can honestly say that the babby bat's temperament has been improving. She'd know, with how much time she spends around the Chiropteran even if they're not remotely close in living together... How did this even happen.

BUT! What's essential is that for a while now, he seems to act... not quite as he used to, back at his place. NOT that Ciel actually keeps an active watch all the time to his house, but woman's intuition + her inherent passive perception + predisposed mama henbear instinct + legit stalking has tipped her off to something unusual. ...Which coincides with around the time when Charles confirmed to her that he's traded Horace back at the post office, come to think of it!! He never DID tell her what he received in return, though there has been another few rounds of regains distributed since also, if she recalls correctly.

Either way, it's been something at the back of her mind for a while now, even if she's never given any serious thought to act upon the desire to investigate... Until now, apparently, when she just so happens to pass by during her usual patrol at ungodly hours. Ciel's no amateur at this, specializing in stealth and well deserving of her true profession and title of 'agent', so even if there are non-drone members within the household, she ought to be quiet and discreet enough to slip in by a window completely unnoticed. This theoretically shouldn't take long, she's just wondering if there's anything noteworthy in the house! That means checking the basement would be top priority, buuut she should be able to afford a side trip or two in the living room/study... Charles is out now, probably for his usual midnight stroll, so it should be fine, no worries!~

...Except when have things ever gone to plan, huh. Time is definitely going to end up passing faster than she'd expected, after coming across a certain discovery that she definitely couldn't have guessed. Now when is Charles coming home, she might just need to ask him about this in person, even if she has initially planned for him to NOT find out about her impromptu break-in...]

Comments

[encored]

[another derisive snort. his apathy seems to be turning into a more solid contempt the longer she coddles 06, good job Charles. 06 doesn't seem to mind at all, at least...! he's quite pleased to have someone in the house that doesn't ignore him, and he even got a meal out of it, so he looks plenty eager at the prospect of her revisiting

which Charles promptly takes upon himself to crush under the heel of his nicely polished boot.] That won't be necessary. The time limit for trades is up, so I'll be trying my luck at the post again shortly. [not that he had been rushing before today, but there's a bitter taste he knows he won't get rid of until he's rid of the clone now.

EITHER WAY his patience with the situation is stretched pretty thin so he's just gonna mosey his way back up the stairs, assuming Ciel will follow after him after she's done fussing over his big dumb clone.]

[ex_seventh238]

[man all these babby bats sulking how will she deal with it all

...same as always, supposedly...]

My, how callous. [She doesn't comment further, but she will follow him to wherever he wants to talk. Not going to push this any further until she gets more deets too, it's already blatantly obvious that Charles is stretching himself much thinner than she's seen him for a good number of months now. LEAD THE WAY...]

[encored]

[she's practically developed a patented method for dealing with babby bat tantrums by now anyway, huh...

the statement is met with a shrug and then he steps through the threshold back into his house. he will of course be turning off the light and shutting the basement door once she's out despite the verbal but relatively mild noises of protest from 06, and then going to mosey off toward the kitchen. all of his stressful topic conversations seem to take place here...!]

I'd rather like to call it a night at this point, you know.

[ex_seventh238]

Yes, but you should know me well enough by now to make a few predictions of your own, may I presume that much?

[she'll just offer him a small smile with that. so about them options, charles...]

[encored]

Of course. You've never made things easy. [so exasperated! but she might find it interesting to note that his relationship with 06 is, visually at least, an out of sight, out of mind one. though it's clear he's still agitated by the topic itself and the discussion he can foresee, the apathetic chill and jealous agitation is rapidly dissolving.]

[ex_seventh238]

I could say the same to you, Charles. [does he need some headpats too because she's got plenty to spare... you can pretend to not wilt the moment someone gives you affectionate physical contact too, Charles, just a fyi

NOTED AND FILED AWAY no doubt this may come into play soon enough.


and d-daw IT'S OK YOU'RE THE ONLY SHOTAPIRE IN HER LIFE... (Merem's a different tier)]

Do you feel stressed?

[just

wondering]

[encored]

[that's how he's programmed to react to physical contact it is hard getting over himself enough to actually admit he enjoys hugs and headpats okay!! so instead he just seethes in jealousy when they go to someone else... healthy....

REGARDLESS, he waves the statement away and goes to sit on the edge of the counter since it's his kitchen and he does what he wants.]

Not any more or less than usual when you're involved.

[ex_seventh238]

[to be completely honest she

didn't expect him to get THAT jelly

maybe a few rustled feathers, but CHARLES...]

Your muscle structure should still be similar to that of any other normal person, right? I could knead your back and shoulders, if you'd like.

[is this an indirect acknowledgement that she causes him stress, the world may never know...]

[encored]

[EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES OKAY... being an envious person to start with definitely doesn't help.]

I've never suffered from muscle tension permanent enough to cause any lasting discomfort. [oh the varied and ridiculous benefits of being a chiropteran...! even the tiniest issues sort themselves out quickly. he seems somewhat proud charles why NOT DIRECTLY ACKNOWLEDGING THAT SHE'S THE CAUSE OF MUCH STRESS EITHER]

If you'd be so kind as to state your terms so that I could get on with my night, that would be appreciated.

[ex_seventh238]

[just sit tight

he'll get a boobsquish before the game ends yet]

It could still feel good, though. I can eliminate tension in my joints by myself too, but it's not so bad sometimes to have someone else help you. [well okay then!! she'll just lean by the doorway into the kitchen, she's good standing.

Crossing her arms and adopting a more sober expression, then!]

I'd like to hear more about your look-alike, of course. Especially why he's modeled after you, but I have a feeling that you probably didn't have any say in its creation to begin with. Am I close?

[encored]

[marshmallow hell: level nun why]

It would be shameful if I needed the help for something so minor and trivial. [now he's just being a brat because he doesn't want to feel like he's coming in second place to his own clone, even if that'd only be the case in his own head....

he responds to the slight decrease in the relaxed atmosphere by upping his own uncaring air, complete with briefly swinging one of his legs in what would be a somewhat child-like fashion if he wasn't... him.]

What is it you'd like to hear? I've already told you I can't explain much about it. Receiving it in return for that mouse of mine was a surprise even for me, you know. [because he had vague ideas of what the test results were being used for, but he had never really seen a "finished product" (though he kind of doubts that's the case since IT'S SO DUMB...)

as for not having a say in its creation, his skipping over that question entirely is likely a good enough answer in and of itself.]

[ex_seventh238]

[do you still need to ask yourself that

at the point that we're at now]

You're missing the point, it's not about needing help! But aah, I'll forgo the explanation this time, maybe you'll come to realize it on your own someday. [sagenods to self...

and at that, she blinks.]

Ah, is it one of those regains you don't remember ever owning?

[encored]

[there is always room for a few forlorn "why"s...

ANYWAY that's getting a skeptical eyeroll. he wouldn't take any explanations anyway!! he's too busy being petulant focusing on the more pressing topic at hand.]

Something like that. I've never owned it before, but it isn't entirely unfamiliar.

1/2

[ex_seventh238]

It's likely from your future, then.

[musing to herself...]

2/2

[ex_seventh238]

[until he's given one of her sober stares, like

now]

Again, Charles. Why you?

[encored]

Why me what? [he sees that sober stare and raises it one very flat stare!! mostly because he's not entirely sure if Ciel is just pressing for the sake of pressing, which irritates him to no end. eventually he settles on an answer that he hopes might appease her, while only being a vague half-truth.]

If you're asking why it resembles me, I can only hazard a guess. There are only eight being in my world who are veritable gods walking the earth, you know, so if those abilities needed preservation, there aren't many to choose from.

[ex_seventh238]

[charles pls everything irritates you to no end

But as a change of her usual easygoing trolly self, he's receiving a cool side way glance with this.]

You're talking about monsters. God doesn't need to walk the earth to prove anything. His power lays within the faith of the people, which will stay eternal as long as the human race continues to live on. [It's easy to forget she's Catholic sometimes, huh, but there's nothing light or casual about her expression anymore.

In fact, it's downright stern and judging. Her gaze sharpens.]

You're describing a sacrificial lamb.

[Not a question, but a statement. Not targeted at anyone in particular, just a comment to follow up on his, just now.]

[encored]

[some things irritate him more than others-!!

he glances off to the side for a moment in what might look like flippant dismissal, but is actually him taking a second out to muse over the phrasing. sacrificial lamb... it does sound much more elegant than lab rat.

and then he glances back and brushes a strand of hair from his face. at least she gave him a convenient out of that potential mess...! strange as it is to hear her wax on about her faith, it lays down a much simpler conversational path for him.]

Viewing it through the lens of your world, perhaps. Religion is a flimsy crutch in my own. The interest of most lies in tangible things now, and if a person is as indestructible as any fabled god of days past, it's not surprising that a great amount of investment would be placed in that, yes?

[ex_seventh238]

[doesn't change the fact that everything still irritates him

and wow charles are you rusting, who would've thought the day that someone would resort to more elegant terms than you in a conversation (and what a conversation this one is... turning out to be!!) would come...

but in all seriousness

It clicks in place inside her head quickly, too. ...Dissociation is a good way to deal with otherwise touchy topics, hm?]

Not lens, but reality. Faith is tangible in mine, you forget. [The efficiency of the Sacraments are a clear testament.] Neither does it change the fact that whether or not it can be achieved, invincibility and invulnerability lead to an outcome [read: immortality] that most living beings cannot cope with, much less adapt to.

Humor me. How much struggle went into these 'investments', if you're to be asked subjectively, not objectively? [The need to precise here is wired for her own reasons. Give her your opinions, Charles. Don't wriggle out of this one with a general statement about how everyone else that mattered back home treated this little science project with you as its head subject "star".]

[encored]

[he can pretend...

ONE SINGULAR MOMENT OF RUST!! it's hard to think of any other term when you've been hearing one for the better part of thirty years, okay!

regardless, that statement does get a flippant eyeroll of dismissal.]

It's the same thing, in principle. You oughtn't apply the rules of your world to one outside of your experience. I haven't. [during this conversation at least... DETAILS. as for her question... he leans forward to rest an elbow against his knee so that he can prop his chin up with the palm of his hand; a very relaxed pose, reflected well by the surprising amount of neutrality he's managing to keep in his tone (which might, all things considered, be working against him this time, given her theories of disassociation).]

Well I can't answer a direct question subjectively, can I? That's a bit of an oxymoron. If you're asking how much struggle might go into similar investments under similar circumstances, I would say it depends on the efficiency of any third parties involved.

[ex_seventh238]

[quietly shakes head...

On her side, she'll keep looking neutral and stop waxing Charles-level riddles and poetics. She's nevertheless starting to piece this together, and the direction is, unsurprisingly, macabre and unpleasant. ...Familiar too, how about that.]

You can, if you base on personal experience. Were they efficient then, from what you've witnessed?

[encored]

[but the riddles and poetics are his favorite part...! or at least his way to gauge the direction a conversation is going in. he doesn't at all like when she starts jumping to the point quickly since it gets more difficult to dodge questions. why can't she ever make things easy gosh]

Somewhat. [a shrug.] Efficient enough, from what I've seen.

[ex_seventh238]

[grow up, charles... and don't you already know the answer to that question being 'never'...]

What were they trying to test, really. The potential of life, or the limitation of death?

[it sounds like a rhetorical description of the same thing, huh, but she's fairly certain that he'll catch the nuance of just what sets the two terms apart.]

[encored]

[he's got a long road of catching up ahead of him in order to do that... (ie there's a "never" for that, too).]

I wouldn't know. In this nonsensical "hypothetical situation somehow based on personal experience" you've managed to come up with, I wouldn't have bothered asking. [he knows what she's getting at, and he definitely knows the difference between the two, but that's far too personal a matter for him to speak freely of if he wants to maintain his distance and composure.]

But that hasn't much to do with the end result. People crave perfection, so perfection is replicated when the means are provided. That's all there is to it.

[ex_seventh238]

[Giving him a flat stare, no get back here we're not done yet--]

It has everything to do with the end result. Means aren't magically provided, they're established through experimentation and are essential for reaching any form of conclusion - whether thatbe 'this is the extent of the subject's limit', or 'the subject cannot be killed'.

[...Hmm

are there any open windows in here

because that sure felt remarkably chilly for a second there...]