All things considered, it hadn’t taken him terribly long to catch sight of such a familiar, beloved face. An instinctive smile surfaced upon his lips upon seeing her, though in contrast to his common energies and displays, there had almost been a lackluster touch that reflected her own with both environment and context taken into account.[break][break]

”None at all, sister,” he hummed softly, chuckling within a gentler sense of amusement all the while. He reached out with his free hand, briefly tapping it against her shoulder as his eyes narrowed warmly. ”The concern is appreciated, though~.”[break][break]

With a quicker, albeit deepened breath, he cast a gaze towards the path before them before pulling his hand back. He glanced towards her once more, a weaker tug upon his lips in encouragement breaking through before he looked forward once more and began to walk along.[break][break]

”It’ll just be us, then, I assume?”

DAPHNE STONE [break]
n o t e s

☉

”...Ah, I see~. Busy as ever, then.”[break][break]

He understood, of course.[break][break]

”...Maybe next time, then.”[break][break]

Even then, a soft sigh of hidden disappointment escaped his lips, however vague it may have been.[break][break]

While lingering upon the dusted paths before them for the initial trek, the Stone found his gaze eventually and gradually trailing towards the vast array of stone and memoriam strewn within their surroundings. Conversing had been something that he had always been well versed in, and conversing had been something that he’d always found enjoyment within— especially and specifically when in the presence of his own family and companions.[break][break]

Yet as he led the way, he found the lack of words upon his own lips unnerving and unavoidable. Only steps within his midst had been the sort of thing he could muster as he took familiar turn after turn; path after path; landmarked memorial after landmarked memorial.[break][break]

It hadn’t taken long before the trails grew more and more familiar, and the sight of a site—albeit small and distant at the time—caught his eye. His eyes narrowed faintly as his steps brought him further along towards it, a failure of words continuously meeting his lips.[break][break]

…Even then, he had to try.[break]
Solemnity hadn’t been a familiar guise for him, after all.[break][break]

”...Do you think he regretted it, sister?” had been the question that left him as he walked ever forward. It surprised him, truthfully, but far be it for him to shield himself from his own thoughts after they’d already pried themselves out.

DAPHNE STONE [break]
n o t e s

☉

Once more, solemnity had always been a rather foreign concept to him. By no means had it meant that he hadn’t the capacity to act beneath it, but for one reason or another—whether from reasons personal or beyond his control—it had been something that he found himself in avoidance of.[break][break]

Perhaps it was due to his more common demeanor.[break]
…Perhaps it was due to his tendency to see the light, rather than dwell within the dark.[break][break]

Regardless, however, solemnity had been something that had come naturally with the situation before them; with the reason they stood upon the very soil that they dwelled upon. Though his footfalls remained softened amidst their brisk pace, the gentle rustle of the grasses beneath him had proved to be somewhat of a pillar and support for leisure and reprieve to the tension he’d always felt out of instinct whenever he visited the cemetery grounds.[break][break]

It helped to ease the silence prior to the response he’d waited for.[break]
A chuckle left him upon receiving it, however soft and void of his normal vigor it seemed to be.[break][break]

”...That definitely does sound like him~...” he hummed gently, amidst the shadows of the common smiles he wore so often. ”Yet even then, if he could do it all over again, I can’t help but feel like he would~...”[break][break]

DAPHNE STONE [break]
n o t e s

☉

Truth.[break]
All of it, the truth.[break][break]

From their agreement to their assumptions, to everything in between— even if the only person who could confirm the validity of it all was long gone, the younger Stone felt nothing short of truth, plain and simple, within the words they shared. The smile upon his lips lingered in all of its gentle, apprehensive thought; a display of willpower that seemed to finally falter within a sense of insecurity so rare to surface.[break][break]

He sighed softly, closing his eyes.[break][break]

”...I definitely understand the sentiment, though,” he murmured, much quieter than any of the tones and the like he so often exhibited. Before long, hues of amber unveiled themselves beneath such a dull lidded gaze, idling upon the placard before them as his lips relaxed further. ”He died for our home; died for everything he knew and loved”[break][break]

Another breath.[break]
Another sigh.[break][break]

”...I already know I’d have done the same thing— would do the same thing, if I was ever given a chance.”[break][break]

Will do the same thing.

DAPHNE STONE [break]
n o t e s

☉

Through truth did come disagreement. [break] [break]

He was noble and his sacrifice will never be forgotten. His death has caused a ripple throughout Hoenn and the people he’s ever worked with, and the company that was passed along to him, and she knows, deep somewhere in her, she’d have done the same - despite her thoughts, and the hardened glare towards the mound of dirt that covers the coffin six feet under.[break] [break]

“He didn’t.” the words come from her lips before her mind can keep up, as a hardened gaze and clench of her teeth are what keep the rest of her words rolled up in her mind. “Don’t do the same as him.” because if only they knew; his death could have been avoided - or maybe she’s looking and clawing for another thing to cling on, to keep herself from the repeated thoughts and scenes that goes through her head. [break] [break]

Speaking ill of the dead isn’t something she’ll wallow in, so her gaze turns to the side, eyeing her little brother shortly after the soft, and slightly stern words had left her lips. In eyes of blue-tinted green, the image of a man reflects back (pleading, desperate and afraid), her brows lower, and her lips are curled into a defeated smile as she tilts her head to respond[break] [break]

“Please.”

Leonidas Stone [break]
yo

☉

Though his gaze hadn’t deviated in the slightest, he couldn’t help but feel a brief tinge of tenseness overcome him at the note of her tone. Rather, it narrowed faintly in silent acknowledgment, all beneath the cast by the shade of offset, furrowed brows.[break][break]

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes once more.[break][break]

”He did,” had been the first words to leave his lips. Flatly. Immediately. Uncharacteristically, yet at the same time, still fittingly so as the weight of confidence and conviction carried them along. ”Both for the League, and for the family, he had a duty, and you know it.”[break][break]

Once more, a gaze revealed itself beneath narrowed lids, casting a sidelong eye towards her.[break][break]

”He did what he had to do, and no amount of survivor’s guilt could ever change what happened,” he murmured, a hardened look bidding reply to the worried one she gave him. ”You can’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same, if it came down to it.”

DAPHNE STONE [break]
n o t e s

☉

No, she wants to say, he didn’t. [break][break]

But she won’t, because Daphne doesn’t like conflict, nor is she one for it. Always quiet, but when did she start allowing other people’s words to be spoken over her own? When did she, a proud Stone, start becoming so quiet and meek that it’s become an icon of shame? [break][break]

Maybe she was always like this, and only now she’s embracing it. [break][break]

“And I did, by participating in that god forsaken–..!” she catches herself before her voice raises, and she only now realizes how hard she’s been clutching her fist. The nails have embedded marks in her skin, and the somber air of the graves is what brings her back. How ironic. [break][break]

“I would do the same, but–” she nearly chokes on her words, yet her gaze still wavers as her nails begin to dig. Again. “... I don’t want to lose more family. Not like that.” [break][break]

Alex had a duty - but what was it? To die a meaningless death in a war that was waged upon humanity and Hoenn as it was? To fall from the sky, into the sea, without her knowing what happened to him? To die a death that was so unfitting of a man so revered to be a hero, and still be called one in his grave, saying he died with honor? [break][break]

But who was she to decide? Only Alex could do that. [break][break]

And Alex was dead.

Leonidas Stone [break]
yo

☉

Desperation met her words, all while his gaze met anywhere other than hers; watching her and her movements—however subtle and negligible they may have been—with a degree of calculative thoughtfulness that so rarely settled within his demeanor. Hues of amber settled upon the little ticks and hints strewn before him within such a fleeting, yet noting manner; the clench of fingers reflective within his eyes, similar to the creases within her expression, as well as whatever else that may have surfaced within her disdain and distress.[break][break]

So uncharacteristic.[break]
…So relatable.[break][break]

Yet despite the relation, and despite the sympathy, there had been a sense of idling, pensive distance that settled within his gaze as it lingered upon her. The words she spoke cut through the air so eagerly and sharply amidst the opposing nature of the very grounds they stood upon, and yet, he dwindled upon them quietly for a while longer.[break][break]

His eyes drifted down to the earth beneath him for a moment or so before finally lifting once more— that time, at long last, to meet hers.[break][break]

”No one ever does, Daphne,” he murmured, his gaze ever watchful upon her, ”but things happen. You even said it yourself, too— you’d do the same, and yet you’d sooner gatekeep someone else from following through with their decisions in their life.”[break][break]

He crossed his arms softly, tapping his fingers against the opposing arm.[break][break]

”...Isn’t it a bigger disrespect to the dead to lament over their choice—their ambition—instead of remembering them fondly?”

DAPHNE STONE [break]
n o t e s

☉

She's human. [break][break]

A cowardly, fearful, tired, hypocritical human. [break][break]

But is she supposed to tell him that? Can she tell him that? Daphne, you were never so close with your siblings - it's never to late to start, but there's always a time and a place. What is it that wells up in her chest? What's this nausea that wells in her stomach? Why does it feel like there's a weight on her shoulders, and her heart? (The dead crawl and grab at her ankles, and her knees, and she has to remind herself that she's being selflessly hypocritical; isn't that also a form of selfishness?)[break][break]

"You're right." she's speaking, but in the usual tone - icy and distant, it's become a bit of a habit - as her gaze falls back to the grave. Still, her nails dig into the palm of her hand as the stress (and the frustration, and the boiling anger well) accumulates. "But I still--" she wants to say, and continue to say, but she can't do that here. [break][break]

She hates that he's right, hates that she's being unreasonable, hates that she's acting so childishly. So, before she can say much else, her shoulders raise as the tension leaves her hand. "I just.. don't want anyone else dying." instead, she gently bites her lip with her brows furrowed. [break][break]

Then, deep hued eyes meet his. [break][break]

"... Not like Alex, or dad."

Leonidas Stone [break]
yo

☉