cancry | Moving Forward

Moving Forward

[ The 7th day comes to pass and despite knowing that things are different now, Achilles still braces for the worst - only when time doesn't reset does he finally feel like he can breathe again. Like the final confirmation that the loops are indeed over.

Though it's what he sees in the coming days as they prepare for the Underside that really excites him, to the point that he messages the group chat about it. ]

Well, well. So is this the highly anticipated "school festival" I've heard all the students speak so highly of?

[ Indeed as Achilles says, the school festival has finally come. It is the most extravagant, anime-ass Japanese school festival you can imagine, with various student run stands outside full of food and even more things going on inside... and the entirety of the student council running around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to keep everything running smoothly.

This, even more so than the passing of Authority and the lack of time resets, puts him at ease. ]

I know we still have much preparation to do but I think after all of this a little bit of fun and relaxation might be good for us.

Of course if all the hustle and bustle gets to be too much for anyone you're more than welcome to make use of my office or faculty dorm, should you have difficulty finding an empty room.

[ Not that he'll be in either much, he's also in a mood to check out the ~~food~~ festival. But hey you don't need him to be present to chill in there.

You've done good work Executors. Enjoy this respite before the battle ahead. ]

((ooc: This is an open mingle post for everyone! Feel free to top level your character doing whatever you feel like doing and tagging around. :) ))

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[ Achilles himself is well... in a better mood than he has been all layer, that's for sure. That weird uncertainty that's been following him since he's gotten here seems to have disappeared and he's doing much less spacing out. Perhaps resolving matters with the Authority peacefully has really done wonders for his morale... or maybe there's something else.

Either way he's taking his time exploring the festival and trying what foods he can (not all of them obviously, but the vegetarian options he is ALL over). He can remember seeing his fair share of festivals in his life time, from the ones they Beastials would put on every year to the ones in Cygnia that Odile always had to be present in some capacity for, and something about seeing one again gets him really excited. It might be different than any of the ones he's ever been to, but there's still something almost comforting about it.

...Someone should steer him away from some of the stands though. Because he's definitely eyeing up a chocolate banana one and debating if it's worth the stomach ache later. (It's not)

At some point though he starts to feel a little worn out and seeks to get away from all the activity. Though he had offered up his office and dorm for anyone who needed some peace and quiet, he did not go back to either of those places himself when he needed the same. Instead he finds himself drawn to the edge of the woods, where he sits on the ground at the base of one of the trees. After a moment of reflection he takes out his harp for the first time in weeks.

He stares at it for a long time, finger tracing the strings without plucking or playing anything. His smile is gone and he's deep in thought.

"My name is..."

And then he finally starts to play.

Memories don't come easy to any of them. They can be hard, fast and devastating, or they can be agonizingly slow. For weeks now Achilles has felt like there was something in the back of his mind. Something that was almost there but not quite. Something that he knew was coming but still couldn't reach yet. And it left him feeling out of it, completely dazed, barely able to help the others or do much investigating without staring off into the distance.

...It wasn't all there yet. There were still some other things that felt like he was on the very edge of remembering (some of which he thinks he might not even want to remember yet). But one thing he did finally remember, and it was like a valve being turned, releasing all the pent up pressure he was struggling to overcome.

He remembers her face. Her long brown hair, her bright blue eyes with the dark circles under them that always made her look so tired, the freckles that dotted her nose and cheeks... all of it. He remembers finding her, discovering she was the legendary priestess and taking her to Orpheus. He remembers the way she held herself, like she was afraid she would fall completely apart like shattered glass if she didn't do so with all her might.

He remembers her slowly piecing herself back together. He remembers promising to protect her only to hear those same words said back to him a few months later, when she had gone from broken bird to soaring eagle. He remembers the way the Beastials pushed him to dance with her at their final festival... he remembers her holding him and being there for him when the beloved home he had protected for generations went up in flame.

He remembers her trying to teach him and Orpheus this song, and the way Orpheus slaved to recreate it as perfectly as possible. Because it was her favorite song and they wanted to give her something from her own world she actually loved. Because they both loved her so and just wanted her to be happy.

He remembers her name. Or rather, the name she chose for herself to start her new life in Rhearth.

"My name is... Odysseus."

Achilles feels at peace for the first time in weeks, not just because the loops have stopped and time has moved forward, but because he remembers. Remembers what it was like to fall in love a second time and actually know it was love this time. And so he continues to play this song that by all accounts he shouldn't even know, feeling content with finally knowing why he does. ]

[He'd caught the sound of something vaguely out of place at a school festival--of course he had, his hearing was sharper than his sword. It took him a fair amount of time to pinpoint and follow it amidst all the other general noise, but follow it he did all the same. A little bit curious, a little bit concerned, and more than a little interested.]

...That's quite the remarkable talent. Where did you learn that song?

[ He stops his playing only for a moment, slightly startled as he turns and sees the other man. ]

Ah, Phoenix.

[ Immediately he relaxes… and stares at his harp again before resuming to play. ]

I learned it the way I learned most of my songs - from someone important to me. Though this one in particular… came from someone especially so.

Forgive me, I quite literally couldn't help but overhear.

[He made his way over and sat down a short distance away, offering a small smile.]

That rather suits it, I think.

It is all right - this isn’t the first time my playing has drawn others in after all. I appreciate the compliment and the company.

[ Though Phoenix can’t see it, there’s a clear fondness in his voice that gives away Achilles’ smile as he continues speaking. A sort of fondness he doesn’t use too often, except perhaps when speaking to Rei or about his son. ]

…It does, doesn’t it? I’m thankful such a person taught me it, and that I can think of her when I play.

She told me that it was called “Clair de lune” meaning “Moonlight”.

You must have cared for her a great deal, if that's what it sounds like to play while thinking of her.

Yes… a great deal.

[ But he doesn’t want to get too into it now - he’s only started to remember her after all and though he had an idea of where their relationship went he doesn’t have the whole picture yet. That and it wasn’t that long ago he spilled his heart out to Phoenix about his son - he doesn’t want to bog his friends down with too much about his past life. It makes him somewhat self conscious. ]

But enough about me - how have you been holding up since the other day, Phoenix?

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