2 ❀ Action

[failguardian]

[Guess who picked up a dog mask? Yup, that's right, it's Anise.]

[So, denizens of Luceti, you might be able to find this pigtailed loli in various humiliating situation today. Perhaps she's chasing your cat! Or perhaps she's on all fours, sniffing at your shoe and begging for scritches behind the ears! Or perhaps she's trying to dig a hole with bare hands and getting mud all over herself? The possibilities are endless!]

[Why not use this time to get some blackmail material?]

Comments

[distressedude]

[It's at this point that Anise will hear a soft knock on her door, followed by a familiar voice. But unlike the last time they spoke, his voice is just as it normally is: quiet, soft... and perhaps a bit sad.]

Anise?

[pigtailed-loli.livejournal.com]

Y-yeah...? [She stills, tossing over to fully face the wall. She didn't want to face Ion right now.]

[distressedude]

May I come in? I need to talk to you.

[He isn't quite sure what he'll do if she says no. What if she's still under the influence of the mask? He might not be able to even talk to her until the experiment ended... and the thought of that just hurt.]

[pigtailed-loli.livejournal.com]

[She hesitates, then sits up, running a hand nervously through her tangled hair. They had to confront each other sooner or later. There isn't really any point in delaying it. Anise steels herself. If Ion really had found out about all her deceptions and wanted her to leave, she'd do it. Luceti had plenty of other places to live, and she could probably find someone to stay with if she looked hard enough...]

Okay. [Her stomach twists painfully and she takes a deep breath.]

[distressedude]

[When he opens the door and sees her sitting there, he feels that same horrible twinge in his chest that he felt when he first tore off that mask... when he first realize just how terrible he'd been to her. He doesn't even know where to begin apologizing...]

[He lingers in the doorway only a moment before stepping in and closing the door behind him. Should she turn to look at him, she might notice he's holding that same mask from before in his hands, and it's broken in half.]

Anise, I... about earlier. I have no idea what came over me to make me act that way. I said so many terrible things to you... I'm so sorry.

[pigtailed-loli.livejournal.com]

[She's sitting up, but she's hunched over into herself and her hands are fisted tightly in the sheets. Unwilling to meet Ion's eyes, she fixes her gazse onto her own lap.]

[But the words coming out of Ion's mouth are completely different from what she had expected. She was waiting to be yelled at, cursed, thrown out, or perhaps just Ion's normal calm, soothing tone telling her to get out and never show her face near them again.]

[In the end, the only thing she manages to say in a thin, wavery voice is:] What...?

[distressedude]

[Ion has no idea what's going through Anise's mind right now, and as such, has no idea how to interpret that small, unsure-sounding voice. Did she... not believe him? Had he simply gone too far? What if she couldn't forgive him?]

[...]

None of the things I said were true. I would never talk to you like that, Anise... the only reason I did was because of this mask. [He moves his hand just enough so that she can see that he's holding it, provided she's looking at him.] The moment I took it off, I realized just how horrible I'd been... all the terrible things I'd said...

[pigtailed-loli.livejournal.com]

But...Ion...

[She swallows. Ion's voice is entirely truthful. She couldn't detect one hint of malice in his voice, and that makes her feel more nervous. Is he just trying to get her guard down?]

[But, no. She stares at the dog mask in her hand, remembering the way her mind had suddenly cleared when it had came off. What Ion's saying seems to be reasonable. There's no way he would hate her, right? Ion isn't that type of person.]

You don't need to apologize, Ion. [But she can't resist adding, her voice quiet and anxious:] You don't...hate me, right? Everything you said was because of the mask, right?

[distressedude]

[That was unexpected, and it certainly shows on his face. Hate...? Did this really shake her trust in him that much? ...no. No, there was more to it than that, wasn't there?]

[Setting the mask aside, he walks over to the bed and sits beside her.]

I could never hate you, Anise. [Though his voice is soft, the words are strong and sincere. That Anise could think, even for a moment, that he hated her... just the thought of it was enough to tear his heart apart.]

No matter what happens between us, that isn't something that's going to change.

[pigtailed-loli.livejournal.com]

[Anise smiles, although her heart isn't completely in it. Ion sounds sincere enough, but once he knows what she did, everything will change. Well then, she just had to keep it a secret forever, no matter how much it hurt. Revealing the truth would just harm everyone.]

[She reaches over, and gives Ion a small, loose hug.]

I'm glad...

[distressedude]

[If she only knew... of course, telling her he knows the truth would only lead to a conversation as to how he found out. And that wasn't something Ion ever wanted to have to tell her. It had been so painful telling Luke, and he wasn't the one who blamed himself for it...]

[He doesn't say anything, but he does return the hug, with perhaps a bit more fervor than hers. He doesn't know whether she truly believed him or not, but... he wished she could.]