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]

[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...]

[encored]

[the immediate reaction he displayed in the tree that one time seems miraculously absent this time! it takes a lot of concentration to keep a fragile front up.]

Fancy that. [basically another "I wouldn't know". his shoulders rise like he's going to shrug again, but remain there for a few seconds too long.] I don't make it a habit to go peeking through shut doors, unlike some people.

[ex_seventh238]

[Keep it up, Charles. You're going to need every last drop...]

Peeking is unnecessary when you're already on the other side. Hmph. Don't tell me blindfolds were involved? Neither humans nor monsters would be that considerate.

[If there's a derisive quality to her features, it may well be because this is one of those few times when Ciel actually displays open contempt. Telling, isn't it...]

[encored]

[it's already being tried... that minute display of contempt, for example, is enough to briefly shake it, and a small amount of surprise causes his shoulders to raise a tiny bit higher before he drops them back to a relaxed position.]

This seems to be rapidly detaching itself from the subjective scenario.

[ex_seventh238]

[Impressive what expressions can do depending on who's wearing it... Nobody would bat an eyelash if this was from Charles]

Not at all. I'm speaking common sense, regardless of what's objective or subjective. Whether it be to gauge the potential or establish a limit, thorough research would always involve controlled experimentation. Isn't the advancement of science also considered by many as the very antithesis of traditional religion? In that case, this should apply to your world all the more than mine. [She gives a careless shrug, and a small pause.

...So. Want to interject something now, or should she keep going?]

[encored]

[he always looks disdainful, it's hard to tell when something actually garners real disdain from him! Ciel, on the other hand...

of course he's going to interject something then, gotta keep her from barreling over him with her conversational might]

You were getting quite specific. [unless the blindfold thing was metaphoric, which is why he doesn't say anything more than that for the time being. he doesn't want to accidentally shoot himself in the foot...]

Science and religion are only considered the antithesis of one another by people who haven't lived long enough to see the similarities tying the two together. But yes, gauges are often set that way, if gauges are needed or desired at all. Traditionally speaking, of course.

[ex_seventh238]

[Let him worry about accidentally shooting himself in the foot, then maybe he won't notice the scope aimed at his head. ...METAPHORICALLY SPEAKING, that is!]

There's another difference you're leaving out. Science would seek to develop the unknown, religion would attempt to destroy it. You don't need that explained, do you?

[encored]

[IT'S SAD THAT IT EVEN NEEDS TO BE SPECIFIED...

and he almost laughs at that because this is a case where the differences she's pointed out are dead in the water. he does wind up smiling, though it's an oh you smile rather than one that actually highlights what about the situation he finds worthy of the sudden change in expression.]

True, true. Science is a very curious thing filled with curious people by comparison, I suppose.

[ex_seventh238]

[ALAS...

Hey watch it, if the difference was that dead then she wouldn't be standing in front of him right now, does he know that huh huh :|]

Not at all. People can be just as obsessed with destruction than creation. [A beat, and her eyes focus back on him.] Which one do you think they excel at more, whether these third parties are humans or monsters?

[encored]

[he considers them to be nevertheless!! it isn't so much that he believes religion doesn't destroy, or that destruction isn't something people obsess over. on the contrary, it's that he believes science doesn't create or develop, and when it does, it only destroys its developments later or uses its creations for that same purpose.]

My, am I the best person to answer a question like that? I'd say they're equally capable of either, but if it's of monsters and men, those hands aren't truly meant for creation.

[ex_seventh238]

[and in the end

Everything comes in full circle and it's all the same damn thing once the smoke clears, huh.

She's not looking at him with her next question, merely passively glancing out a nearby window to the quiet night outside.]

Why not ask you? Is it the first time, because the opinion of a lamb ultimately never matters?

[encored]

[pretty sad, isn't it. sad, but definitely not unexpected.]

I've never been asked, no. [which is apparently pretty amusing - either his own statement or her question - since a short burst of laughter follows it] But the question doesn't matter, so it likely wasn't important enough to ask.

[ex_seventh238]

It doesn't, no. But shall I receive that as your confession?

[That he's been there. The lamb, the rat, call it whatever you want. It makes no difference.

Still looking outside, though.]

[encored]

I've had a long time to be a lot of things, you know. God, monster, knight, playwright, and most everything in between.

[lamb too, or as he preferred to hear it, the perfect specimen. his pride won't allow anything less, in the same way it won't allow him to face this topic with any shred of attachment or true verbal confirmation.]

[ex_seventh238]

[Well, that's more or less what she'd expect. This is getting a tad tiresome, but she can play along with the charade if it stays as an indirect means of obtaining some answers in the long run.]

Why did you auction? You don't seem too pleased with the finished product.

[encored]

Anyone would be displeased with something like that. Would you appreciate it if someone with your face was waltzing around sounding like a complete moron?

[granted he regards drones in a very similar light...]

[ex_seventh238]

I don't care how it sounds, I'd be more interested in its physical specs. If my flesh and blood went into it, I want to know everything about it.

[A beat, and in the same passive tone:]

Though if I had a choice in the matter, I would prefer if it never existed. Is that why you keep it locked away?

[encored]

I already do, so there isn't much of a need to be interested in it. [he lifts his chin a little, haughty indifference replacing the previous look of mild amusement.]

It and the mouse share a similar annoying sound, but thankfully this thing is easier to store than the one that came before it. I'd get questions if I left it in the yard, you know? Though it was a mistake on my part, forgetting the potential actions of inconsiderate barbarians.

[ex_seventh238]

[...

Growing a bit more sober, now. Maybe it's about time they stopped beating around the bush and squander time away on irrelevant tangents.]

So what was in it for you?

[encored]

I'm hurt that you wouldn't assume it was out of the infinite kindness of my heart.

[sure is a ping-pong game of emotions in here right now... he shifts on the counter and wishes for a moment that he had something to rest his elbow on, since he's most comfortable reclining with a hand to his cheek.] I never asked for anything in return.

[ex_seventh238]

Of course not. Reality is different from plays. There is no registration, no auction, no rehearsal, no scheduled performance dates. Roles aren't chosen, simply given. Things aren't planned, they just happen. [You don't say, with the thin transparent smirks and the pokerfaces all up in here...

He can act like an amused kid all he likes. She's standing still like a statue, still leaning against the door frame and looking his way with a detached and empty air.] You weren't asked, neither have you done any asking. Do you honestly expect anyone to believe that things went by the way you wanted them to?

[encored]

[ALL THE FRONTS. Ciel might have perfected hers, but his underlying defense mechanisms are definitely something to be reckoned with. one doesn't go through one hundred years in denial over various this and thats without having some hearty walls, which is likely the only reason he's able to keep up said thin transparent smirk in the first place.]

They did, in some ways. [at which point he allows himself a brief, private smile before turning an even brighter one to Ciel.] But that's none of your business now, is it? If you want to hear yourself talk so badly, I'd rather not be audience to it. Ah, but thank you very much for taking the time to remind me of the kind of person I'm dealing with. It's always a refreshing experience, rare as it is.