regardless of what whip-crack defense he might have had at the time of the Regent's admonishing reminder, their words still remain with him now, even as the reality of his situation has had time to sink in beneath the skin. in a way, how much makoto has had stripped away from him was a bizarre sort of freedom — with so little to lose now (little more than his body, his name, and his agency), he felt largely unburdened by shackles that had chained him before but were now left behind in his wake. family, law, society, morality, hierarchy... now the only thing to bind them is there adherence to the Kenoma (and, by extension, its keeper, though the loyalty to that shadowy figure tended to vary wildly between the Aions). that perceived freedom, however, could be harshly curtailed at a moment's notice. if some force actually did have the ability to threaten those few pillars of individuality that he still clutched tightly to himself... well, he found it was all too easy for the last vestige of his self-preservation to betray what he might actually need to do to continue to move forward.
makoto receives the written response and its accompanying gift shortly after they arrive. he reads the letter and then opens the gift, separating each of the obfuscating layers until the arrives at its heart: the small, nondescript leather case, something so ordinary that it would fit in among any personal effects: as completely normal to find on one's person as a journal, a wallet, a flask, a lighter, or a handkerchief. he already understands what he might find even before he intuits to remove the more unyielding case from its leather skein and open its latch with the key that he had kept in an interior pocket on his person. from there, he sits at his desk for a long moment, looking into the cushioned hollow that he finds within.
he understands very clearly what is meant by the gift, even without the additional context of the letter. it's not that it surprises him. despite it all, J has always been all too concerned with his safety — any nonchalant comments about casual dismembering and scattering throughout warehouses aside, he likely would have found himself savaged by kieran or worse had it not been the activation of his master's protective glyph to summon him and dispatch his unruly brother. J has learned just as quickly as he had that they play by different rules here, and so that would necessitate a new gambit: a way to safeguard his shard by hiding it in plain sight, or at least until it could be recovered by J or anyone else who knew of its whereabouts.
as is his wont, the first feeling he gets from it is an impish sort of impertinence: it's so fiendishly simple, so why hadn't he thought of something like it? but once the youthful heat of his blood dies down and he's able to think on it more...
gratitude towards J always feels forced and torturous, like mercury drawn through his veins.
his reply is a far shorter message: )
J,
Everything I've learned, I have learned from observing one of the most well-feared demons in Hell. I will take your advice to heart, only if you hear my one wish in return: Preserve yourself by any means necessary. After all, it would be unacceptable to hear that you fell by anyone's hand but my own.
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regardless of what whip-crack defense he might have had at the time of the Regent's admonishing reminder, their words still remain with him now, even as the reality of his situation has had time to sink in beneath the skin. in a way, how much makoto has had stripped away from him was a bizarre sort of freedom — with so little to lose now (little more than his body, his name, and his agency), he felt largely unburdened by shackles that had chained him before but were now left behind in his wake. family, law, society, morality, hierarchy... now the only thing to bind them is there adherence to the Kenoma (and, by extension, its keeper, though the loyalty to that shadowy figure tended to vary wildly between the Aions). that perceived freedom, however, could be harshly curtailed at a moment's notice. if some force actually did have the ability to threaten those few pillars of individuality that he still clutched tightly to himself... well, he found it was all too easy for the last vestige of his self-preservation to betray what he might actually need to do to continue to move forward.
makoto receives the written response and its accompanying gift shortly after they arrive. he reads the letter and then opens the gift, separating each of the obfuscating layers until the arrives at its heart: the small, nondescript leather case, something so ordinary that it would fit in among any personal effects: as completely normal to find on one's person as a journal, a wallet, a flask, a lighter, or a handkerchief. he already understands what he might find even before he intuits to remove the more unyielding case from its leather skein and open its latch with the key that he had kept in an interior pocket on his person. from there, he sits at his desk for a long moment, looking into the cushioned hollow that he finds within.
he understands very clearly what is meant by the gift, even without the additional context of the letter. it's not that it surprises him. despite it all, J has always been all too concerned with his safety — any nonchalant comments about casual dismembering and scattering throughout warehouses aside, he likely would have found himself savaged by kieran or worse had it not been the activation of his master's protective glyph to summon him and dispatch his unruly brother. J has learned just as quickly as he had that they play by different rules here, and so that would necessitate a new gambit: a way to safeguard his shard by hiding it in plain sight, or at least until it could be recovered by J or anyone else who knew of its whereabouts.
as is his wont, the first feeling he gets from it is an impish sort of impertinence: it's so fiendishly simple, so why hadn't he thought of something like it? but once the youthful heat of his blood dies down and he's able to think on it more...
gratitude towards J always feels forced and torturous, like mercury drawn through his veins.
his reply is a far shorter message: )
J,
Everything I've learned, I have learned from observing one of the most well-feared demons in Hell.
I will take your advice to heart, only if you hear my one wish in return:
Preserve yourself by any means necessary.
After all, it would be unacceptable to hear that you fell by anyone's hand but my own.
Until next we meet,
M