( Closed ) Stepping forward out into the day, shrugging off the dust and memory...

[fairbrook]

Who: Integra Hellsing ( fairbrook ) & Miles Edgeworth ( prosecutory )
When: IC: 6/4 - OOC: 3/10
Where: The Police Department
What: Some celibate losers have an impromptu tea party.
Rating/Warning: None!

---

( For Integra, visitors-- even during work, were rare. If there was truly a disaster on her hands, she would have already been notified, and oftentimes, preferred to work alone. Because of this, she finds the gentle rapping at her office door surprising-- to say the least. )

Ah--! ( Bewildered by the sudden course of events, it takes her a moment to find proper words. Really, who would want to visit her? ) Please, do come in!

( Your move, Edgeworth. )

Comments

[fairbrook]

I see. ( At that moment, for the first time since they began this conversation, Integra locks eyes with Edgeworth's, a mixture of pain and uncertainty lingering in her gaze. ) Then I'm certain you understand how suffocating it can be-- to have such a thing imposed upon you.

( Which was true for many of her own mannerisms; always conforming to expectation, as opposed to embracing her own ideals.

At his next statement, she appears half-shocked, half not. It definitely fit, given his knowledge of combat against the droids. )

That certainly clears up a few things, I must admit. ( Steeling herself, she cannot help but ask: ) If I may, what did your duties entail during your time spent in this world?

( She doesn't want to pry too much, but talking with him about such things, admittedly, seemed to help. )

[prosecutory]

[He closes his eyes briefly, imagining himself back in that other world, memories of that life playing over and over again. When he opens his eyes again, there seems to be a lingering shadow in his gray gaze - the shadow of his life as a soldier of sorts.]

We were given a choice - to join a war against creatures that fed on human souls, among other enemies, or to live under the protection of the city in which we arrived.

[Edgeworth places his hands on his knee.]

Those of us who chose to fight would embark on missions to seek and destroy monsters around the world, train, and help keep our home safe.

To be fair, we were given powers to aid us, and teachers to guide us.

[fairbrook]

( Here, she's watching him intently now; taking in the shift of his gaze and the features of his face as he speaks. For a brief moment, her hand rises, inadvertently touching her cheek before joining her other to be studiously folded against her desk. )

You did it because you had friends you wished to protect, am I not correct? ( Her voice is softer this time; quieter, lacking the judgement she held against herself prior. ) It's admirable.

( Had this role not been expected of her, would she have still chosen it: the life of a knight defending her country, and the people in it? She had cried out for a knight to protect her - the night of her uncle's attack - but found she had to become the very thing she wanted to defend herself. Why did she feel a sense of obligation to carry out orders out of obligation, when she oftentimes could not condone them herself? )

[prosecutory]

Hmph. [Edgeworth shrugs, shaking his head with a wry grin.] Yes, but first and foremost, I didn't want to be a burden. I felt duty-bound to do my part in the war effort.

[He's not as selfless as people might think. Also, he was pushed by his own experience getting stranded out in the desert with only a disbarred Phoenix Wright and a bunch of monsters for company until someone saved their collective bacon.]

[fairbrook]

( Well if that doesn't sound suspiciously like Integra's reasons for doing anything. She scoffs, nearly wanting to shake her head. Yes, he was more like her than she previously assessed, and that was disconcerting. )

Mankind is a slave to duty, or so they say.

( There is something darker-- nearly sardonic to her words; much as if she had more to say, but was mentally restraining herself. She could, if she wanted to: about the Round Table's distaste for her, or her determination to persevere in spite of that. What was stopping her? For now, these questions plagued her mind. )

[prosecutory]

It depends on how much of a slave one wants to be. One can choose to what extent they can give themselves over to that duty.

[Edgeworth's tone remains even and matter-of-fact.]

After all, didn't we establish that a person's feelings are just as important?

[He reaches up to adjust his cravat, feeling the fine cloth against his battle-weary hands. So much for hands only stained by ink, sundered by paper cuts and aching from excessive writing.]

Anyway, the opportunity to travel and fight also opened up opportunities for me to learn more about that world. I had more than ample time to do so; I spent a year and a few months there before coming here.

[fairbrook]

( Well, that's not quite what Integra was getting at, but... )

That isn't--. ( She stops herself there. ) Please. I am... relieved to hear you were comfortable with the work which you agreed to.

( BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T KNOW A THING ABOUT BEING UNCOMFORTABLE WITH OBLIGATION... ever. Although she was prepared to blow up at him, she unbristles, slowly reverting back into her aura of calm. )

[prosecutory]

[Edgeworth stiffens; had he said something wrong. But when she calms down, so does he. Okay...that was weird.

He sighs and purses his lips, a wry expression on his face as he makes a sound that almost, almost resembles a chuckle.]

I wasn't always comfortable with a life of combat and the supernatural, as you can imagine. I had every intention of returning to a normal life...and then I arrived here.

[fairbrook]

( Did he say anything wrong? Not exactly. She'd misinterpreted him, and felt awful for it as a result. But really, when it boiled down to it, she didn't want to admit that after that time spent away from her own world that she was still shellshocked; that certain words or phrases could still set her off.

Still, when she speaks this time around, her tone is softer, hinting of empathy. )

I don't think many of us ever truly are. It means that-- despite the atrocities you bear witness, you are fighting to retain your humanity.

[prosecutory]

[Edgeworth shifts in his seat, relaxing and clasping his hands together on one knee. He nods slowly.]

Of course. It's so easy to lose sight of that in the legal profession, or in the battlefield. In your home world, or an entire universe away from it.

[fairbrook]

It's work that makes you want to convince yourself that you're a soldier before you are a person, I know. ( Regrettably, she's been there. ) It can be such a crippling mindset.

( She didn't want to talk about how the Round Table would call her an Iron Maiden, and that-- at times, she was still prone to believing there was some truth to it. And in a way, she didn't want to worry Edgeworth more than she already had.

However, she cannot help but remark: )

It's strange. You always used to be so reserved when I knew you before.

( Not that she's complaining or anything. To Integra, it was refreshing to see him finally embrace his softness; something which had previously been difficult for him. It was something she struggled with, as well. )

[prosecutory]

[Edgeworth just grins - actually, his grin is bordering on smirk territory - and tilts his head back. Boy, had he come that far? He most likely did. Not that he didn't like it; it was a good change. He chuckles again.]

The Miles Edgeworth you knew most likely did not have the same experiences I did. We may have been from different points in time, as well.

[That world most likely did not have a war, let alone a war wherein you had to trust your partner with your very life to fight more effectively.]

Tell me, what do you know about him? What has he told you?

[It's so surreal, talking about myself as if I were a different person. Then again, that much is true. He and I may both be the same person, but we were shaped differently, in different worlds.]

[fairbrook]

( Stunned his display, Integra spends a moment (just a moment) staring. She'd never seen him grinning like this, and once she notices, turns her head to conceal her embarrassment. )

Very little, I'm afraid. Your friend-- Mr. Wright, saw fit to fill in the blanks for me.

( She was always closer to Phoenix, truth be told, but later would come to enjoy Edgeworth's company. )

However, I recall that when fist met you, I'd been transformed back into a child. I had no memory of where I was or why, oddly enough. You unwittingly stumbled upon me crying on one of the park benches-- actually, and stopped to ask me why that was. I responded by telling you that I was lost, and that my father passed away.

( At this next part, there is a soft smile gracing her lips. )

You then said that you understood how I felt, and offered me your hand, asking if I would like to have tea with you.

( Perhaps that was why she chose to tell him the fuller story today, because he had been so kind to her before. )

It wasn't until some month later I learnt you had an adoptive sister. A ghastly woman, who attempted to whip me when I explained to her the gravity of her circumstances. ( For whatever reason, Integra doesn't mind talking smack about Franziska in front of him, or not addressing her by name... wait, "attempted"? ) Which leads me to presume Mr. von Karma was her father?

( That was never clear after she had met him, it felt like too much of a coincidence. A pity to think her his daughter, though. She actually liked him. )

[prosecutory]

[Transformed back into a child? He blinks owlishly at that part but says nothing; these different worlds were all strange. Edgeworth listens, drumming his fingers on his lap, not at all surprised that Franziska had wanted to whip Integra. Although his eyes did widen at that part and his hand twitched as if he wanted to just raise it to his forehead and groan.

Well, considering that Integra was raised to become a knight, surely she would be competent enough to dodge a whip.]

[Manfred von Karma is far more ghastly than Franziska. And Franziska can be more or less ghastly depending on what point in time she is from.]

[His expression hardly changes at her question. The truth about Manfred...was not something Integra needed to know right now.]

That's correct. I presume you met him while he was here?