[Closed] I'm still comparing your past to my future

[fairbrook]

Who: Integra Hellsing ( fairbrook ) & Phoenix Wright ( bewrightback )
When: Backdated to 12/12, after this thread.
Where: Integra's apartment.
What: Some boring adults have tea.
Rating/Warning: Talk of pointless Hellsing violence. :V

---

[No, Phoenix doesn't have a choice in the matter. Fortunately, in spite of Integra's disposition, he wasn't about to receive the blunt end of her rage... for the most part. No matter how inadvertently on her part, she had been towing him along.

It certainly doesn't help matters that she's hardly uttered a word since their departure, either. It isn't until she reaches her apartment she releases his hand, tumbling through her pockets for her key.]

Come inside, Mr. Wright. We have much to discuss.

[Resignedly, she holds the door for him. How thoughtful...]

Comments

I have that effect on people

[bewrightback]

[She seemed like she spoke puzzle! Now Phoenix will never know.

Sorry Professor, but this one got solved for me. ...So is this just some random trivia?]

Thanks for the lesson?

A little cream would be fine enough...

[fairbrook]

[She speaks fluently in tsun! Which has the tendency to become a puzzle within itself. She did, however, have a reason for bringing this up. But we'll get back to that later...]

I'm certain it has it has at least crossed your mind that we have met prior to your arrival in this world, has it not?

[She asks, setting down the tray on the dining table, then prompting Phoenix to accompany her.]

I owe you an apology, I suppose, for attempting to keep this from you.

[She just didn't expect him to discover this FROM RUBY. Needless to say that she would have to find a suitable punishment for her later...]

[bewrightback]

Something was up. I could tell that much. [He rubs at his head again; confusion will be his constant partner, it seems as he tries to make sense of this. But he follows her along towards the dining room table.]

I just don't understand how this works. You shouldn't apologize. I'm the one who doesn't remember you, apparently... and I wouldn't envy having to be in the position of breaking something like this to someone else. [Of course, he's also someone who sits on important revelations for over a year apparently.]

[fairbrook]

I deliberately attempted to mislead you, sir. It's not something that easily should be forgiven. [Despite Integra's noble intentions regarding the matter, it's difficult to tell if she's talking about Phoenix or herself.] To be perfectly frank, I hadn't expected you to recognize me, and in a sense, I wished you wouldn't.

[Though her willingness to admit to that should be rather telling. From the tray, she pours tea and a small amount of cream into a teacup, sliding it to Phoenix's side of the table.]

It's a gunpowder blend. If you find it's too strong, do let me know.

[bewrightback]

Unless they endanger people's lives, I find most white lies to be quite forgivable. I'm new to this whole thing, but I feel like I can already understand why this kind of thing might be necessary. Except... I don't understand why this is such a bad thing.

[He stares at the tea for a while.]

Gunpowder blend, huh? I guess I never had a cup this loaded... but I might as well give it a try. [Bottoms up?]

[fairbrook]

You are an extraordinarily patient man, sir. That is quite the admirable feat for your age.

[True, he was slightly older than Integra had last recalled him, but still fairly young all things considered. She nearly envied him for it, knowing how simple it was to trigger her own rage.]

Sometimes I fear that may lead to your own undoing.

[This time she pours herself a cup, stirring in a single sugarcube before taking small sips. It's Phoenix's comment that causes a tug at her lips, forcing an off-kilter smile. Perhaps her first trace of emotion since the debacle with Ruby.]

Quite explosive, I'm sure.

[She jokes, emitting a light giggle.]

[bewrightback]

[Is she calling me old, or young? He smiles sheepishly as he regards that.]

Thanks for the compliment. And the warning? [I think I hear about my own undoing more than I'd like.

The giggle does catch him off-guard as well. He hadn't been sure if her vocal chords were capable of making that kind of noise, but it's endearing all the same.]

I might as well take a shot at it, then.

[Bottoms up?]

[fairbrook]

All I'm telling you is it wouldn't harm you to be more skeptical others. [She wouldn't see him die of such carelessness, okay!!] But retain your kindness. [Heaven knows the world needs more of it.]

[Sighing, she spends a moment inadvertently staring into her teacup, uncertain.]

If you do not mind me asking, would your daughter happen to reside in this world with you?

[bewrightback]

[That sounds like a very specific combination.]

Thanks for the tips... [But he does glance up more alertly at the reference to his daughter.]

You know Trucy? Yeah, she's here, too.

[fairbrook]

I'm not certain if Mr. Edgeworth has said anything to you regarding the matter, but this wouldn't be the first world to capture its inhabitants and imprison them against their will.

[A harsh statement, considering they were allegedly 'saved' and restored as bits of data.

Without the use of her cigars, it should become apparent it's becoming difficult for Integra to quell her nerves. She retreats into sipping at her tea, but it's hardly enough to keep the grief in her tone and gaze from slipping.]

There is something you should know.

[bewrightback]

[He's likely heard something like that by now. He just gives a soft nod and leans forward a bit as he nurses his tea.]

Is there? [He asks with uncertainty. Whatever it is, he's not sure if he's ready to hear it.]

[fairbrook]

[Likewise, Integra isn't quite prepared to tell him. It's interesting how a woman so grounded in her resolve falls victim to such pesky things like emotions or empathy.

Inadvertently, her finger traces around the ring of the teacup, as her hair slips from her shoulders partially covering her face.]

My obligation to the church and crown deals in exterminating supernatural threats, specifically: vampires. Though I have yet to return to my world in the three years since my absence, I hold myself accountable for the defense against the undead and the protection of their victims, in addition to the tenets specified in my Oath of Knighthood.

[Remember the etymology of the word 'knight'?]

It's still unclear to me if the act was sent to me as a warning, but your daughter fell victim to a vampire from my world.

[Basically: she holds herself responsible. There's a moment of pause.]

If... you wish to disassociate with me henceforth, I shall not hold it against you.

[bewrightback]

[He watches carefully as he talks. As she mentions his daughter being a victim, he tenses and his eyes widen.

He's silent for a moment, taking in.]

No... [Then he gains some resolve, and he shakes his head.]

No, that can't be true. Whatever you think happened... Trucy is fine.

[He gazes down into the tea as if it's an abyss. Is that how Godot used to look into his coffee?]

I-in any case... You shouldn't hold yourself responsible for things that were beyond your control. Or that happened in some other life.

[fairbrook]

With the way death works in these worlds, it is seldom if ever permanent. Even I have succumbed to such a fate; it's hardly pleasant, I assure you.

[She had nothing to add to her piece. No matter what world Integra found herself in, it seemed, she was unable to shed herself of him. Normally, she would find this all too disconcerting.

However, there was something very different in his air than she had recalled prior. She had always admired his willingness to forgive, that she had already made evident. But this newlyfound resolve to withstand her? Curious. She enjoyed it. Perhaps Phoenix may notice the trace of a demure smile forming behind the strands of her hair. Her mask was slipping.]

I am happy to hear she is well.

[Perhaps she'll even take his advice to heart this time around.]

Mr. Wright, [Her tone suddenly more attentive than before.] call upon me, and you shall have my sword as your shield.

[+1 knight bodyguard???]

[bewrightback]

[He gives a sympathetic frown hearing that. It's still hard for him to believe - or probably moreso scary to believe - that people around him could have died. And it's a whole different level when it's on worlds that they don't remember...]

I- I'm sorry to hear that, Integra. But Trucy is indeed well, and she doesn't remember being anything other than well. I'm going to make sure it stays that way. [He'll let her story be just a nightmare for him, because he can't stomach to face that possibility.]

Thank you for your offer. [He offers a grim nod.] I hope that I won't need it... still, it sounds like I've ended up with a few swords to call on. [Hers, Edgeworth's and Blackquill's invisible one. What team of bodyguards am I assembling?]

[fairbrook]

[Well. She hardly told him this to garner his sympathy. Integra emits something of a soft sigh, thinking of how telling Phoenix the circumstances surrounding her death would only cause him more grief. For now, she would abstain.]

Please, it was nothing more than a temporary impairment. [She tells him in earnest.] As a soldier, death becomes your constant companion. I have long parted with the fear of it. [Fretting? Absolutely not.]

Life is not expendable, sir. [Weird death rules or not.] And I would never have been willing to sacrifice my own for someone I believed unworthy.

[Just who could that have been...?]

[bewrightback]

I think I understand where you're coming from. [He hasn't worked with much in the way of military people, but he finds himself thinking of Lana Skye, stubbornly ready to face a murder charge for someone close to her.] I still feel bad that it happened. Even if it's temporary, I doubt that makes it feel like a slap on the wrist.

[So she sacrificed her life for someone else. The way she's been acting, he almost feels like he can guess who it was for. At the same time, he's hesitant to accept the weight of knowing that for sure.]

Whatever happened back then... and whether or not there's someone 'worthy' in this place now... What matters is that you're here now. We'll just have to be careful to do what we can to keep it from coming to... well, something like that.

[fairbrook]

[Perhaps a year ago, Integra would have argued that because of her disposition, she was better prepared to accept the consequences of death than most others. Death, as hindering as it was, did not perturb her. It was not even an entirely unwelcome feeling. The weight of living was by far more burdensome than any torture she could have received, in her opinion.]

I know.

[It was in her death that she began to understand the impact her absence had caused to those who surrounded her. It was still difficult to accept that anyone could depend upon her, or care about her wellbeing-- yet alone wait inside the clinic for an entire week until her recovery. For what little purpose Integra saw in her own life, she couldn't bear to harm anyone with her carelessness again.]

Thank you, sir. I do not regret my decision, but I feel as if speaking with you tonight has helped.

[She's at him again, finding it difficult for her not to.]

I'll try not to make a habit of it.

[bewrightback]

I trust that you won't. [He says that with a bit of some soft wryness.

Somehow he had managed to finish his cup of tea throughout all of that, and now he moves to stand from his seat.]

I'm glad that I could help. And... I appreciate you trying to help me.

You've given me a lot to think about, but I think I should get back to the party now, and see how everyone is doing. [That story has definitely succeeded in making him more antsy to check on Trucy.]