Several thuds resonate through Jericho's office-- the result of Nakada banging his head against the wall that he leans on out of boredom.
The meeting had been going on for three hours now, and he had grown very impatient and sick of standing in the same spot for so long. Despite hitting the wall with an intense force each time, the noise and damage was dampened far below what it would normally be.
He stops banging against the wall and looks next to him at Alcard, who seems a little irritated-- likely from Nakada's inpatient banging.
[Nakada]: "How much longer do you think this will take? Don't we just have to give them things and take stuff in return? How long could that take to sort out?"
[Alcard]: "It takes as long as it takes. Muriel just signed the main contract, so I doubt it will be much longer."
Jericho looks over at Nakada from the table with a warm smile-- locking eyes with him, she could easily tell that he was a pretty inpatient person, and she had no problem with that.
[Jericho]: "Our deal is nearly concluded, sir Nakada. But if it would entertain you more, you are free to explore the city. I'm sure you will be able to find something that piques your interest."
Nakada's eyes widen slightly, thinking about her offer. This moment is only brief, as he seems to make up his mind pretty quickly.
[Nakada]: "Well, if I've got your permission-- then I guess I'll go take a look around."
Jericho continues to smile at him, watching as he waves before walking out of the room.
[Nakada]: "See ya'!"
The door slams behind him and his footsteps slowly fade away as he wanders the halls, looking around at the art and architecture.
since most of the rooms looked the same, Nakada's poor sense of direction was challenged, brought to its limit as he roamed around the castle.
[Muriel]: "I'm sorry about him, maybe I'll pick the wolf next time."
Muriel rests her index finger on her bottom lip as she speaks, somewhat regretting her choice to bring Nakada.
[Jericho]: "Oh don't worry about it, nothing to apologize for, really. Cataphrania's royal guard certainly are strange though-- I'm not too sure what i expected from them."
[Muriel]: "They're... Different."
[Alcard]: "You realize I'm still here, right?"
Alcard slowly steps closer, taking a tall stance at the edge of the table with his arms crossed, a small smirk on his face.
[Muriel]: "Of course, I'm not one to talk about someone behind their back, am I?"
Alcard and Lucille chuckle to themselves quietly, Lucille covering her mouth with her hand to seem more polite.
Completely out of the blue, the door to the room flies open, making a loud clicking and swooshing noise-- catching everyone off guard, and causing them to look towards the doorway.
Standing in the doorway, still holding the handle, is the familiar man with blue hair who has a very confused look on his face.
[Nakada]: "Aggghh! Here again!? Sorry for interrupting, my bad."
Nakada brings his hand up to a very sloppy salute before closing the door once more, and again his footsteps are heard walking away from the room, this time in a different direction.
[Alcard]: "Ah- hah...."
Alcard stares at the closed door in disbelief, along with Lawrence and Muriel.
[Muriel]: "I am... So sorry."
Jericho laughs louder than anytime she had before since meeting her, slightly lacking her usual formality. She speaks while trying her best to stop her laughter.
[Jericho]: "Different indeed. Alcard, your friend is certainly interesting."
Alcard lightly rubs his necks, looking at Jericho as she brings herself back together.
[Alcard]: "We aren't really friends, just forced to work together. If I was with him any longer than I had to be I think I'd loose my mind."
[Jericho]: "I suppose that is fair... Oh, Alcard... Can I ask you a personal question while you're here?"
Her sudden seriousness catches him off guard, staring at her with a curious face.
[Alcard]: "Sure?"
[Jericho]: "--Is it true that you inherited Great Dragon Everard's commandment?"
[Alcard]: "Mh-"
Her question comes as a shock to him, it was something that he hadn't told many, but it was only a matter of time until people started to question his youth.
Everyone else at the table remains quiet, listening intently to see how he responds.
[Alcard]: "... Yes. That is true."
His words come out hesitantly, breaking the eye contact as he speaks.
[Jericho]: "I see. That is very fascinating. Does that mean that... Everard is in this room with us right now?"
[Alcard]: "H-Huh!?"
Alcard's stance breaks, and he is taken back by the fact that she knows about the soul merging aspect of performing inheritance. The rest of the group seem to look confused, their gazes flickering back and forth between Alcard and Jericho.
[Alcard]: "How do you..."
[Jericho]: "I know a thing or two about inheritance. Rantari is blessed to have such knowledge like that-- given to us by someone in our very own army too."
[Muriel]: "Someone in the Rantari guard has inherited a commandment?"
[Jericho]: "Mmhm."
Jericho continues to look at Alcard with fascination, and bearing a prideful smile. Alcard slowly regains his demeanor, and hesitantly speaks once more.
[Alcard]: "Yes... Everard is here."
A interested smile slowly grows on Jericho's face, letting a small chuckle escape from it.
[Jericho]: "That is truly fascinating. Would it be okay to ask him about some things?"
[Alcard]: "Sorry but no."
Alcard's response was stern, and seemed to break the atmosphere that had been building in the room.
[Alcard]: "Everard isn't the compliant type, he refuses to give any information that he holds. We've tried everything to get him to say something worth a damn-- we even tried torturing him, but being unable to touch him, the only thing that seemed to hurt him are some old music records we found that pissed him off."
[Jericho]: "Ah, I see, I'm sorry to hear that. I guess it's not out of character for him though."
[Alcard]: "Right."
Alcard rubs his neck again, starring at the spot beside him with sharp eyes, as if irritated by something.
[Jericho]: "Well, that pretty much concludes it for now. Please make yourself at home, feel free to check out the city. I'll be here in my office if you need me, there's still a bunch of work to be done today."
Jericho slowly stands up, followed by the rest of the group. Muriel shakes the queens hand once more, smiling at her with her sparkling brown eyes.
[Muriel]: "Thank you for your hospitality dear, we will be sure to come find you if we need anything."
[Jericho]: "It's my pleasure, let me know if there's anything I can do to make your stay here more comfortable. I've had rooms set up for you on the second floor, you should be able to find them."
Muriel nods her head and bows, Lucille and Lawrence follow her actions, bowing alongside her before starting to walk towards the exit of the room.
[Jericho]: "Oh! One more thing. I've arranged a show of fireworks tonight when the sun starts to go down, something to celebrate this meeting, so please enjoy them when it happens."
The group seems surprised, but also equally excited-- fireworks were rare in Cataphrania, only used a handful of times throughout the year.
[Muriel]: "That's very kind of you dear, we wont miss them for anything. Thank you."
[Jericho]: "Mmh!"
Giving one last wave to each other, Muriel and Jericho lock eyes as the door closes behind them, shutting with a slight slam.
-
Julius lies on his bed, covering his eyes with his forearm for a while before sitting up. Another few hours had passed and the boredom had made Julius start to regret his decision to stay in his room.
Muriel had visited him after her meeting and took Lisa to wander the city, but he declined their offer to join them.
[Julius]: "Gaaaagh. New places like this are so daunting. Why do I have to be so nervous. I'll go out next time, absolutely."
Julius talks to himself softly on the bed, staring at the door that leads to the balcony. Outside his room, is a platform that overlooks a major part of the city-- also fitted with a wooden table and metal chairs that have soft red cushions on the seats.
Julius can hear faint footsteps outside his door, the footsteps of queen Jericho. Walking down the second floor halls, she pauses just outside the training room doors that are unusually left open, and a particularly large ruckus can be heard from within.
Jericho looks into the room, and sees the familiar form of Nakada, who seems to have accidentally stumbled upon the training quarters when he left earlier.
[Nakada]: "HAHAHAHA! IS THAT IT! COME ON! MORE! MORE!"
"Agggghh."
Nakada shouts and taunts the large group of students that he stands upon, raising his fist into the air as he yells-- firmly footed upon the large pile of people.
The group of students seem completely beaten, and worn out-- most of them emitting small groans from the blue haired man's ruthless sparring session, something that was forced onto them after he suddenly burst into their room looking for a way to pass time.
[Jericho]: "Hmhmhm."
Jericho chuckles at the sight, glad to see that Nakada found some entertainment-- and she was sure that fighting him would give some good training to her future royal guard. Or at least give them a good story to tell.
She continues to walk down the hall, slowly striding her way through the fancy corridor.
Julius hears a knock at his door-- something that makes him jump from the sudden noise. "O-oh. That's probably Lisa!" He thinks.
He rushes over to the door and swings it open, but makes an audible gasp of surprise when he sees the queen standing before him.
[Jericho]: "Oh good, you're still here."
[Julius]: "A-OH! Um-... Your majesty!"
Julius frantically recovers himself and bows before her-- something that makes her laugh and raise her palm towards him, a dismissing action.
[Jericho]: "It's okay, there's no need for such strong formalities. We know each other now, right?"
[Julius]: "Mh-... Mmmh. Yeah..."
Julius awkwardly rubs the back of his neck, standing back upright. Looking into her eyes, he finds such casual behavior with the queen a little uncomfortable, but her soft voice and gaze calms him down rather quickly.
[Julius]: "So, um... What can I do for you?"
Jericho slightly adjusts the golden jewels in her hair, then continues to look at him-- speaking with her usual quiet and soothing voice.
[Jericho]: "Do you have a moment to talk? If it's okay, I'd like to watch the show with you."
[Julius]: "Huh? A show? With me? Um, sure."
-
Julius closes the door behind her as she walks inside, immediately heading towards a cabinet that sits to the side of the room.
He watches her kneel down to the bottom cabinet door, still a little confused and surprised that she had come to visit him.
[Julius]: "So... What's this about a show?"
[Jericho]: "To celebrate the meeting and forming of a prosperous trade deal with Cataphrania, our city will be holding a firework show. It's quite beautiful-- and you would get an amazing view of it from here."
Julius speaks while continuing to watch her as she rummages around in the cupboard, talking with a surprised tone hearing about fireworks.
[Julius]: "Fireworks? Wow... So you have those here too."
Jericho looks back at him with a smile, pulling out a large unopened bottle from the case. The bottle is a dark green and narrows in at the top-- where a gold cap lies to seal the it.
He looks at the bottle that appears colossal in her hands-- along with two wine glasses, raising his eyebrows in surprise again as she stands back up, closing the door to the cabinet.
[Julius]: "H-hm? What's that for?"
[Jericho]: "Well, when I said that I had these rooms prepared for everyone, I really did mean it. It's imported from Duriddia-- it's quite sweet, so I think you'd like it."
Julius pauses briefly as he stares at the large bottle in her hands, noticing how well adorned the bottle is, finished with a wax stamp of Duriddia's logo.
[Julius]: "A-ah! Oh no, I can't... Well. I'm not old enough to drink, so..."
[Jericho]: "Hm? Is it different from where you're from? You look old enough to me."
Jericho looks at him with a raised eyebrow and confused face, trying to gauge his age just by his looks.
[Julius]: "I'm... I'm only nineteen."
[Jericho]: "Nineteen huh... Hmgh, you're fine then, the drinking age here is seventeen."
She smiles happily when she hears his age, humming with delight mid sentence.
"Only seventeen?" Julius thinks. He watches with an open mouthed expression as Jericho walks towards the glass doors that lead to the balcony.
[Jericho]: "You Coming?"
[Julius]: "Mh. Yeah."
Julius follows her out onto the balcony, where a table and two chairs sit, overlooking the whole segment of the city. Jericho pulls out one of the chairs, and sits down, smiling at Julius and eagerly waiting for him to join her.
Julius takes a seat across from the queen-- who still continues to observe him, watching as he looks over at the city, admiring the dome of branches that partially cover the city's sky, and the lights that have started to appear everywhere now that the sun is going down.
[Julius]: "I haven't actually been out here yet. This city of yours is really quite a sight... It's beautiful."
The woman smiles proudly as he continues to stare over the edge with wide eyes-- completely captured by the city's lively and unique presentation.
[Jericho]: "I'm glad you think so. It has come a long way, hasn't it."
[Julius]: "Mmh. From what I've heard, it looks like you have really brought this city back to life. You must be one hell of a ruler."
The woman giggles to herself, her smile growing wider as she picks up the bottle. As she unseals the golden cap with a 'pop', Julius is immediately hit with a sweet and alcoholic scent, coming from the now open bottle.
[Jericho]: "Thank you, but it isn't just me. Everyone in this city has played their part in its revival-- especially our knights, they were crucial in the process of bringing everyone back together and reforming our home. I was just at the head of it all, so I couldn't see myself as a ruler at all if I took the credit."
Her soft voice and words bring an inspiring and encouraging feeling to Julius, who further understands why she is the leader, having such a humble attitude towards it all.
[Julius]: "That's really admirable. But it was your words and guidance that brought them to do all that, wasn't it? You were the one to really unite people again, I can tell even from our brief moments together that your words have a strong effect on people. I think you make a perfect leader."
[Jericho]: "What's with all the flattery, we haven't even started drinking yet, hmhmhm... But thank you. I appreciate it."
Jericho tilts the bottle over the tall glass that sits before Julius-- who now has a slight blush, pouring a golden liquid into it that fills the air with a strong aroma.
The liquid fills to the top of the glass, somewhat bubbling and fizzing as she stops pouring it, beginning to do the same to her own glass.
The wood emits a clunking noise as she places the bottle back down, picking up her glass by the stem. She looks at Julius intently-- who remains still, staring down at the glass before him with a nervous and intimidated face.
[Jericho]: "Daunting, is it? Have you really never drank before? Not even a sip given to you by that one uncle when you were young or anything?"
[Julius]: "M-mmh... No, I never have. No one in my family drinks, aside from my father I guess, but even then, it was only on occasions."
[Jericho]: "I see. Well there's no need to worry, if it helps you, we'll only have one since it's your first time."
Julius glances up from the glass, locking gazes with Jericho-- who's warm smile and soft expression calms his nerves a little, allowing his body to move and grab the glass, albeit a little hesitantly.
Jericho raises her glass towards him with a wide smile, showing her teeth. He returns the gesture and connects their glasses-- resulting in a 'clink' noise.
[Jericho]: "Drink up."
She brings her glass back to her, taking a slow sip from it, her eyes remaining on Julius, who audibly gulps with a still nervous face.
He brings it towards his mouth, taking a small sip from it. The taste hits him immediately, a shockingly strong but sweet taste-- almost like a mix of berries and velvet cake.
Without removing the glass, he takes another sip, this time much larger. Jericho gulps and puts her glass back down on the table.
[Jericho]: "Aaaah~ Always so refreshing, right? How is it?"
Julius places the glass back down, his face no longer showing any nervousness. He licks his lips slightly, getting another wave of the strong sweetness that makes him look down at the glass, trying to figure out in his mind what he can compare it to.
[Julius]: "It's really good, actually. I guess I was scared for nothing."
[Jericho]: "Hmhmhm. That's okay, caution is necessary-- especially for new things."
Julius looks back up at her and returns the smile, humming in agreement. The moment is warm and happy, a moment that fills Julius with comfort.
The golden hue that cracks through the branches above slowly begins to fade, giving way to a darker sky that starts to light up once more with small, green lights-- millions of tiny moving bulbs that capture Julius's eye.
He looks up at them with a confused face, his mouth parted slightly. A face that slowly turns to awe as more and more of the lights appear.
[Julius]: "W-what is..."
[Jericho]: "They're bugs. An uncountable amount of glowing bugs that fill the sky every night. It's beautiful, isn't it?"
[Julius]: "Yeah... I can only imagine how Lisa would be reacting right now, hmhm. This city just keeps amazing me."
Jericho smiles and closes her eyes for a moment, relishing in the praise to her city. After Julius finishes staring up at the sky for a long time, he looks back at her as she opens her eyes again.
[Jericho]: "It's interesting that you're so shocked by them really."
[Julius]: "Hm? Why is that?"
Jericho places her elbow on the table, resting her chin on the hand as she stares at Julius with a curious expression.
[Jericho]: "Because these bugs are found in two places. Here, in eastern Meriddia. And in the snow up north... Where you're from. They shouldn't be new to you."
[Julius]: "A-ah. Um... I guess it's just the tree thing still, haha."
Julius smiles nervously and rubs the back of his neck, closing his eyes briefly as he smiles at her.
When he opens his eyes, he sees her still staring at him with a blank face-- as if looking deeper into his soul. It makes him a little bit uncomfortable.
[Jericho]: "I see. That's interesting."
[Julius]: "M-... Mmh."
There is a small moment of awkward silence, most likely due to the fact that Jericho was no longer smiling, and caught Julius off guard with her question.
[Jericho]: "Julius."
[Julius]: "Y-yes?"
Her sudden calling of his name causes him to jump a little-- her statement about the bugs had gotten him to be on edge, still nervous about his situation.
[Jericho]: "Let's tell each other something. If I tell you a secret about myself, will you tell me one of yours?"
[Julius]: "Hm? A secret?"
Julius stares at her with a surprised face, his lips still parted out of confusion. "What kind of secrets could a woman like this have?" He wonders. Taking a moment to consider it, he finally nods his head gently.
[Julius]: "Mh... Sure."
[Jericho]: "I'll start then... A secret about me. I was born with a gift. An aspect."
[Julius]: "An aspect? Oooh, that's really cool. Is it something that relates to how good you are at being a ruler? Or are you just naturally that good, haha."
Jericho doesn't break her stare, still with her blank expression. Julius smiles at her, trying to revive the mood that they previously had.
[Jericho]: "You could say that. My aspect, is the aspect of truth."
[Julius]: "Of-... Of truth?"
[Jericho]: "Mmhm. It means... I can always tell when someone is lying."
[Julius]: "Ah-..."
Julius's eyes widen and his mouth parts a little more. He stares at her in shock that he tries to suppress. "She knows I've been lying about being from the snow then? Shit, does she think I'm a spy or something?" He thinks.
[Julius]: "Um, Jericho-"
[Jericho]: "Your turn."
She cuts him off, taking another small sip from her glass, her eyes remaining on Julius with a blank face.
[Jericho]: "Tell me Julius... Where are you really from? Who are you?"
[Julius]: "- - -"
Julius looks down at the table, where his hand turns into a soft fist, struggling to find words. "What do I say? How do I even explain this?" He thinks.
She stares at him patiently, watching as he slowly looks up, once again locking eyes with her.
[Julius]: "Just... Nowhere... I guess."
[Jericho]: "Just nowhere?"
[Julius]: "I'm not from anywhere in this world. I'm from a completely different world, one without all the magic, and more advanced, I guess. I woke up in Cataphrania over a week ago with no memory of how I got there. Lisa found me."
He starts to shiver a little as he speaks, hesitantly getting the words out with a struggle. His voice begins to break slightly as he gives up on trying to hide anymore.
[Julius]: "I still don't know how or why I got here."
[Jericho]: "... You... Aren't lying."
Julius's eyes flicker between the table below him and Jericho. She places her hand further up to her mouth in thought, as if deciding whether to fully trust him or not.
[Jericho]: "Okay. I trust you. Not that I really understand either way."
[Julius]: "I know it's confusing. If I had the answers, really, I would tell you."
Jericho starts to drink from her glass again, and the intimidating aura that had filled the air was gone, replaced with the previous friendliness from a few moments prior.
[Jericho]: "Your situation must be rather frightening then. Your confusion and surprise makes a lot of sense now. Can I ask, what is your world like?"
[Julius]: "Um... Well. Like I said before there's no magic or anything. We mainly use machinery for the purposes that everyone here uses magic for."
Jericho listens intently, taking a strong interest in his world. Julius tilts his head up to face her, finally fixing his gaze to one point.
[Jericho]: "Interesting. I think my father would have taken a lot of interest in you. Hmhmhm, he would certainly have a lot of questions for you."
The queens smile returned to her, giggling at the thought of Julius meeting her father. The mention of the previous ruler took Julius by surprise, he had heard a lot about him.
-- And now with his daughter right in front of him, he took the opportunity to ask about him.
[Julius]: "Your father. If it's okay to ask... What was he like?"
[Jericho]: "Hm?... Well, he was very charismatic. And he had a way with words. Always knew what to say at any time."
Julius listened to her explain her father to him, forming a picture in his head about what he was like as she went on.
[Jericho]: "Everyone listened to him, and his words were incredibly encouraging. Definitely the leader type."
[Julius]: "He sounds like you."
Jericho smiles wider, happily accepting the praise. She leans her chin back onto her hand.
[Jericho]: "I guess so, hmhm... What about your parents? What are they like?"
[Julius]: "O-oh."
His eyes widened in surprise, he hadn't expected her to ask about his parents, but the thought of them just seemed to bring him sadness-- homesickness kicking in like a thorn in his foot.
[Julius]: "Well. I..."
He trails off, overcome by the memories of his old world. Jericho notices this and an understanding look appears on her face. Her words remain soft and kind as she speaks-- working to relieve him slightly.
[Jericho]: "It's okay. If you'd like, we can keep it between us."
Julius gulps slightly, looking up at her with his head tilted towards the table.
[Julius]: "Right. I didn't really know my father all that much... My mom says he left after I was diagnosed with an illness that would affect our family pretty heavily."
[Jericho]: "I see. Sorry to hear about that."
[Julius]: "It's okay... My mother at least stuck around. She cared for me a lot-- and even took up more work so she could care for me... It made me feel terrible though, I could tell she was stressed even before working more-- and it was all for me."
[Jericho]: "She sounds like a really nice person. You must have gotten that from her."
Julius tilts his head to look at her more clearly, locking eyes with her as they both take another shallow sip from the glasses.
Julius's thoughts are interrupted when he hears a faint ringing coming from the center of the city's segment-- something that gets him to break eye contact with Jericho and look towards the noise.
[Jericho]: "Looks like it's begun."
He watches as the sky quickly lights up with fire and sparks, a form of magical firework. The pretty explosion in the sky captivates him, and his mouth opens slightly as he watches it quickly fade, only to be replaced by several more that go off one after the other.
[Julius]: "Woah..."
[Jericho]: "Hmhm... Woah indeed."
Julius can only imagine how Lisa would be looking up at the sky right now in utter awe, imagining her face and sparkling eyes.
[Jericho]: "Could you tell me more about your mother?"
[Julius]: "Hm? About... My mother?"
[Jericho]: "Mmh."
He takes his eyes off of the sky to look back at Jericho. The loud bangs continue to resonate through the sky, accompanied by the cheering of locals, and bright colors that fill the air.
He thinks about it some more, before continuing to describe his mother.
[Julius]: "She was very soft spoken, I don't think I ever heard her raise her voice at anyone."
[Jericho]: "What did she look like? Was she the one you got your features from?"
[Julius]: "Well... My eyes are from my father. She had black hair that reached to her shoulders. And she had really bright, green eyes. I don't know her exact height, maybe around the same as Lucille?"
Jericho looks up as she paints a picture in her mind about Julius's mother. She imagines a young woman in similar clothes to Julius, trying to link the two together-- but given that she's from Julius's world, the clothes were completely wrong.
[Julius]: "I... I miss her a lot."
Julius looks down at the wooden table with a sad face, closing his mouth and frowning to try and suppress the feelings that breach his heart.
[Jericho]: "That's perfectly understandable. I know how it feels to be suddenly taken away from a loved one... I'm sorry that you have been put in these circumstances."
[Julius]: "M-... Mmh..."
Overwhelmed with emotions and memories of his mother, along with those of his previous world, the effort he needed to put into not crying was growing with every second. Jericho takes one last sip from her glass, finishing the drink and placing it back down in front of her.
She looks at Julius with an understanding expression, one filled with empathy and friendliness.
[Jericho]: "Muriel told me about what happened before you came here. Going through all of that must have been difficult, especially since you're aren't even from here."
[Julius]: "Right..."
Julius grits his teeth, forcing back the tears that threaten to fill his eyes. Jericho's face softens once more, seeing that he is in a lot more pain than you would assume just by looking at him, or even by being with him.
She watches a single tear slip past his facade, falling down his cheek, illuminated by the bright array of colors and sounds that fill the sky.
The moment is slow, and impactful. Remaining seated while the memories of his old world wash over him, remembering his mother, and imagining how she must have reacted after he was transported here-- only proving to worsen his emotional state, chipping away his barrier.
[Julius]: "H-hm?"
He looks up with raised eyebrows, a confused face as he watches Jericho slowly stand up. His eyes remain fixed on her as she walks around the table, stopping at his side-- looking down at him with a warm smile.
[Julius]: "What are-... Gh."
His words are taken from him as he feels Jericho wrap her arms around his head, pulling him close to her chest. He feels her body's warmth that seeps through the cloth, a soothing contrast to the cold air that filled the balcony.
Her gentle embrace had caught him by surprise, she had never even so much as touched him until now, so the sudden act had confused him.
[Jericho]: "I know what kind of person you are Julius. And I can see that you are suffering a lot more than you put on."
[Julius]: "- - -"
His eyes widen, feeling her words cut deeper than before, likely due to being so close to her, and being wrapped in her soft but firm embrace-- holding his head close to her chest.
[Jericho]: "You don't have to say anything. I just want you to let go in this moment. Don't try to put up this front of an approachable guy, or someone who takes it upon himself to be the hero so people will like him more-- accept him... Just throw it all away."
[Julius]: "I..."
Another tear falls from his eye, his face drops into another shade of surprise and sadness. His lip starts to quiver as she speaks about him, despite not even fully knowing him until a few moments ago.
[Jericho]: "Julius. Please just do me this favor... And cry."
Her words struck his heart directly, forcing more tears to fall from his squinted eyes. He brings his hand up and holds onto her forearm that sat around his neck, holding it in place as he began to break down further.
He stopped trying to hold back, letting the beautiful moment take him in slow motion. His breathy gasps for air fill the balcony as he threw away all restraint and cried desperately into Jericho's arms.
With her right arm, she trailed her hand up the back of his neck, and began to stroke his hair, bringing another layer of comfort to him as he cried-- something that reminded him of his mother. The loud noise of the fireworks had faded out in his mind, the moment taking hold of him like a soft cradle.
Jericho hushed and hummed as she pet him and held him tight-- keeping him firmly against her own body, all while he still sat in the chair.
[Jericho]: "Julius... You are definitely, the most interesting person I've ever met..."
"I think... I would like to know more about you."
---