CICONIA: WHEN THEY CRY

[insinning]

It's a holy night. Silent night.

All is calm.

Everything is b r i g h t.

Comments

[dissimulative]

... Nope! Not really. Why?

[ Oria looks at Sinclair, head slightly tilted. ]

[insinning]

I was just wondering if you wanted to get anything from your room.

[His curiosity is the worst sometimes]

[dissimulative]

I don't need anything from my room, since I already took it all to put it in the sleeping quarters.

[ After a short pause, he gives Sinclair almost a wry smile. ]

You wanna see it, huh? It's nothing big.

[insinning]

[Ah.]

Am I that obvious?

[He ducks his head sheepishly]

It's okay. You don't want to stay here for too long, do you?

[dissimulative]

[ Oria thinks it's cute, but he might as well. He doesn't foresee himself coming back, so Sinclair should satisfy his curiosity. ]

... Come on.

[ He holds Sinclair's hand and moved two doors down the hall. ]

This was my room. I dunno if they did anything with it, but this was the room that I used to stay in.

[ He opens the door and... it's so messy. One would think Oria just lives a messy life and while that is half true, even Oria looks surprised at the mess. ]

[insinning]

[Sinclair wasn't sure he was expecting this. Especially since Oria looks surprised too]

Um...is it meant to look like this?

[Sinclair isn't the tidiest person ever, but he does try to make sure things have their place and out of the way (he doesn't have much to begin with). But this is...]

[dissimulative]

No...? I don't think so? Damn, it looks like a hurricane ripped through the room.

[ Oria steps inside. Clothes are flung everywhere to the point that the floor is impossible to see, miscellaneous things stacked on the computer desk chair, the shelves with a lot of things knocked over inside them... it's a lot as if a burglar came.

Well, at least the bed is pristine and well made. ]

[insinning]

[Sinclair automatically picks up the clothes along the way]

Someone must have been looking for something here.

[dissimulative]

To the point they flung all my clothes out of the closet? What an inefficient burglar...

[ However, Oria is curious. There doesn't seem to be dust, which means his mother hired servants to do their job, but they just left it like this? Aria's room was much better and it was supposed to have been untouched. He's not dead, so his room should have been actively cleaned.

He frowns and looks up to see Sinclair picking up the clothes. ]

Emil, you don't need to do that...

[insinning]

Huh? Oh. Sorry.

[Instincts from countless cleaning punishments had kicked in. He sets the clothes aside carefully but there's so much...]

It really is weird though.

[dissimulative]

... Yeah.

[ Unfortunately, Oria can't think of a reason why it would be like this. ]

It's not much otherwise, but welcome to my room in this house, I guess.

[ It's just a mess. Nothing in particular stands out otherwise. ]

[insinning]

[ Sinclair frowns a tiny bit. It was strange seeing this mess here. Like... no one actually used this room, not even once. He takes Oria's hand]

Thanks for showing me. [ but now he has more questions] Is there really nothing you want to take back with you?

[dissimulative]

[ Well... Oria did use it when he was forced to live here. It can't be a guest room, but it doesn't feel like the room belongs to anyone either. ]

No, I already took everything I wanted a long time ago. If there's something you wanna say, just say it.

[ He can tell that Sinclair is brimming with curiosity. ]

[insinning]

It's just weird, what's happened to your room.

[An anomaly, glitch in the system etc]

It's like someone was searching for something...or was planning a big spring clean.

[dissimulative]

Weird to try looking in a room whose owner left years ago. What important thing would I have left behind? Nothing.

[ He's a little offended that they think he's that stupid. ]

Anyway, let's—

[ The sound of the door opens.

"Oria?"

Oria stays still. That sure is his mother. ]

[insinning]

[Ah. Sinclair squeezes Oria's hand. He hadn't even noticed any footsteps approaching]

[dissimulative]

[ Oria's hand doesn't respond right away to Sinclair's squeeze, but does like a delayed reaction time. He can hear footsteps coming up the stairs. ]

There's only one set of stairs... I guess we can't escape without getting noticed.

[ tch. ]

[insinning]

[ He glances out the window. Too bad they don't have gauntlets]

...um. Should I be in front?

[What is this family relationship]

[dissimulative]

[ Oria follows Sinclair's glance towards the window. They don't have gauntlets but they have Oria, which might be good enough. ]

No. I'll catch you, so I'll go ahead first.

[ Is this the world where Oria still does in-line skate parkour? Kinda. Either way, he puts his foot on the windowsill, ready to jump from the high second floor— ]

[insinning]

...!

[Sinclair reaches over to try and pull Oria back]

Oria! There's no way you can break my fall--

[parkour king or not, no???]

1/2

[dissimulative]

[ Oria looks at Sinclair, a little exasperated. ]

Emil, I probably weigh more than you do.

[ lol. lmao. ]

[dissimulative]

I can catch you. Don't worry... so, let go.

[ let it go

let it gooooooo ]

[insinning]

If... you're sure you can make that jump.

[ mentally screaming. common sense vs faith in Oria at war]

[dissimulative]

I am!

[ The only reason why he hasn't left yet is because Sinclair has a hold on him. He wouldn't be surprised if his mother heard them through the door. ]

[insinning]

[ Sinclair lets go and glances over his shoulder. Go Oria, go!]

...okay. I really don't want to see you in the hospital again.