Shore of Memories

Shore of Memories
Date of Scene:	16 May 2013
Location:	Traverse Area - Bodhum - Beach
Synopsis:	Ivo, returned from his long absence, and Maira, weary from her long struggle, meet again at last, so that knight and princess may come to terms -- and join hands and hearts in friendship.
Cast of Characters:	Ivo Galvan, Maira

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Ivo Galvan has posed:
A lone figure stands on Bodhum's beach, his elongated shadow splashed across the sunset-hued sands. The horizon is a cascade of orange and indigo, and the waves are dark and gentle, their sound a soothing rhythm. He faces away from the ocean, blue cloak and shirt's high white collar rustling with the occasional breeze, gazing down at the lit display of the pristine replacement cellphone in his hand.

"The beach, huh..."

Ivo has seen much of the beach these past few months.

"Appropriate, I suppose..."

But this shore--

"Could be I'll need to be forgiven all over again."

--is special.

Ivo smiles to himself, but there's no trace of irony. His eyes are soft and warm as he looks down at a list labeled Call History, with just one item: a connected call between 'Me' and 'Maira'.

Maira has posed:
Maira was pretty surprised to hear from Ivo, but since she was still in town she agreed to meet with him. Yeah, he'll be needing an explanation and it may not be good enough.

Maira shows up in a pale blue sundress with a bit of lace around the neck, her feet in sandals. She's about ready to get going--to where she wasn't even sure yet. But she can do this first.

It was weird to see Ivo after all this time. She gives him a look over. He looks....well fed. He looks...tan!

Maira blinks. "Uh....hi Ivo. I'm glad to see you are well...puzzled, but glad."

Ivo Galvan has posed:
She seems a little different now.

"Hey, Maira."

As anticipated... more or less.

"You look lovely in that dress."

Typically he wouldn't be Ivo if he didn't add just a hint of a suggestive tone to a compliment like that -- just enough to make a self-conscious girl blush, not enough to get justifiably called out -- but there's none of that right now. The knight-errant closes his phone, slips it into his cloak, and straightens, smiling as the fire mage approaches.

"There were a few close calls, but it all worked out," he says, explaining by way of not really explaining. "You know, when I thought I was going to die, I saw your face and heard your voice." Grinning now, he spreads his arms in a shrug. "I heard Avira too, but she was mean to me."

Well, if he's joking at a time like this, he hasn't changed /too/ much.

"I'm sorry."

His grin has faded, as swiftly as it arrived.

"I didn't have any way of contacting you -- or anyone. You look like you've been fighting your battles without me. I've let you down as a knight... no, as a friend." After a moment, though, he smiles again, ever so slightly.

"I can't keep apologizing forever, huh?"

Maybe he sounds a little wistful there, for a moment, but he changes the subject, his tone turning more serious, in case anyone thought he was just going to keep talking about his feelings or whatever.

"How are things? You look a little grim."

Maira has posed:
She doesn't blush. She doesn't even seem to hear the compliment. She simply tilts her head slightly as if he were a strange creature she was trying to figure out.

When he says he'd seen her face and heard her voice when he'd had a close call (assumably with death) she raises her eyebrows, then smiles slightly. "Along with other ladies, I'm sure," she says. She does immediately feel a little bad about it though. She sighs.

Maira shrugs her shoulders and looks out over the water. "You didn't fail me at anything....I just wish you'd have told someone...but if you coudn't, well--I was worried something really terrible had happened to you," she says, frowning now.

"Yes I've been fighting...I've been fighting for my life. Sorry, if I look grim. There are some very scary people who want to see me dead or eternally miserable."

Ivo Galvan has posed:
If anything's strange about Ivo--

"Other ladies? No... Well, one or two."

--it's that he seems like he's hiding a lot less.

"I'm sorry I worried you... but I'm grateful you were." He's smiling again, reaching up to brush his dark hair away from his blue eyes; it's gotten a little longer. "Hey, you're not the one who needs to apologize. Sounds like you've made some powerful enemies. But I'm sure you have faithful allies, too. You're a woman who inspires the trust and love of others."

A woman-- definitely no longer a girl.

"You know... Maira..."

For the first time, Ivo falters slightly, glancing away, lips parting but issuing no words. He furrows his brow faintly, exhales quietly, and then looks back, his eyes having cleared.

"I've been thinking about what you said about me here, last time."

The sound of the waves.

"You were right, of course. I played with you because of my own fears, my sense of unworthiness. Still, you forgave me. And I've realized... you're still a bigger person than me." He straightens, smiling again, raising his hands palms-out. "I don't mean that in a self-loathing way. I just mean... I have a lot of growing to do, and I don't know exactly what that'll take, so I can't... ask anyone to wait for me to finish, you know?"

He slowly lowers his arms.

"I do know one thing I'll need, though."

His smile fades until it is only a ghost of itself.

"Your friendship."

But as a ghost, it remains.

"Do I still have it?"

Maira has posed:
Maira's eyes soften. She's still the same person, she's just tired, weighed down by her fears, but there is also a confidence there that had been somewhat lacking. So much has happened in so little time. Some changes take a long time, some sneak up on you. Some are worked in a moment--a heartbeat.

"I'm not a bigger person than you Ivo...I'm...just me, and I'm just trying to do the best I can and heh, pretty consistently coming up short. I'm glad though, that what I said stuck with you. I hope that you will be kinder to the people who care about you, in whatever way they care about you. Raiya is really worried, and angry. I hope you'll be kind to her. I think you two would make a great couple," she says with a sincere smile. There isn't an ounce of jealousy left...how strange.

"My friendship? Ivo, of course," she says, reaching out to take him by the hand, then covering that hand with her other. As always, her skin is warmer than average, her inner flame burning strong. "Just try not to disappear and not tell anyone, that's all I can ask! I can't blame you for...whatever happened. Well maybe I could, but what would be the point?" she asks with a smile.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
"You're better than you think you are," Ivo murmurs, in a strange tone; it may take a few moments for it to be apparent that his tone is strange for him because it is one of complete sincerity. "You shine with a special light; it's warm by your side. I think... you have something to give these worlds. Trust me."

He pauses for a moment, then grins.

"Well, I guess that's a lot to ask!"

It's a joke.

"R... Raiya..." The thought of his teacher causes Ivo to wince slightly, evidently with the thought of the punishment he's likely to endure-- and, so distracted, Maira's next comment seems to completely blindside him. "Us? Couple? Ahah, that's..." He trails off into silence, smile half-fading, as his gaze shifts off to the side, focusing on nothing.

And then he flushes, just a little.

"Yeah... maybe you're right."

When he looks back at Maira, he's smiling almost bashfully, but that soon broadens into a warm grin as she takes his hand, and when she adds her second hand he does as well, clasping hers and squeezing slightly. "I'll certainly try," he says. "I prefer to be with my friends. I don't," he adds softly, "want to be alone anymore."

A few moments pass.

"Oh, right, of course it's warm by your side," he remarks, just realizing it. "You're on fire half of the time."

Maira has posed:
Maira laughs lightly, nodding. "Yes...yes I am. I had kind of relapse...kept lighting on fire in my sleep. Almost burned down VALKYRI HQ...luckily Perci solved that by getting me some...sleeping pills? I don't know, but they made it so I didn't dream so much," she explains with a shrug.

As for what she could do for the worlds, she blushes at that. "Heh...I don't know. I did something recently a lot of people want to know how I did--that's a reason one of the Shadow Lords is after me. There was this...being...calling himself the Dark Knight. He was terrible, murderous, going around the world 'testing' people, killing...he was a font of darkness. But I've known people with a lot of darkness, and his wasn't /right/. It took me a while to figure out, but there was a person locked away in there, and I used my....Light...to find him and break him free. He was apparently a creature of an Emperor named Mateus--who is likely very angry with me," she sighs.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
"At least you don't have to worry about your clothes anymore," Ivo says lightly. "Worst mistake I ever made."

He's grinning.

"So that's what happened." He listens to her story, and is surprised by his own intuition. Typically, Ivo is not a spiritually sensitive person, but he does tend to read people well, and closeness to Maira had vaguely clued him it that there was something-- particularly comforting about her, something her spirit represented, that everyone could pull together, that everything would be alright. "Shadow Lords and Emperors... seems like things are getting a little hot. Good thing you're hot too." Though his words are playful in a lively sort of way, they're not teasing or prodding in the manner they used to be. "If you wield the power of Light, then--" Memories of Jasmine, of the power she wielded. "--doesn't that make you some sort of-- Princess?"

He places his hand on Hauteclare's hilt, smile broadening.

"So you must be in need of knights." He lets that sentence linger, before: "I'll let you know if I find any." Another grin. "I may only be a knight-errant, in all too many senses of the term, but when you need my help..."

Another smile.

"...I think I can err on the side of Light."

Maira has posed:
Maira rolls her eyes at the same old teasing, but she bears it better than she once did. She's grown use to Ivo, and more use to...well...life.

The woman shrugs, reaching up to idly run her hands through her hair. "That's what most people think, but we don't know how to confirm this or anything. We're working on it. But right now I'm trying to help Leon--the former Dark Knight--to stay himself. Mateus did something to him very strong and complicated, and I guess I couldn't break it completely...but I hope I can at least hold it at bay," she explains.

She turns to Ivo again, smiling as he talks about knights and princesses. "Heh...it's all pretty silly, but--its really dangerous Ivo. Not only Mateus, but....Garland. He's sworn to 'break me'. If you're going to try to protect me, you need to know what you are up against."

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Ivo, always smiling slightly, nods as Maira explains.

"I hope so too. If anyone can, it's you."

Seeing the blonde smile at his words warms his heart in a familiar way, and he experiences a rush of nostalgia and affection. But he is abruptly brought back to reality when she quotes Garland, and Ivo's smile instantly vanishes, his expression turning grim, eyes narrowing. "He's got some debaucherous tastes," he remarks, but behind his quip is ice. "If he's going to try, you'll have to be the last, after me and all your friends."

Eventually, he softens.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to lose to some Shadow Lord."

And, of course, he grins.

"Handsome fighters always win."

Maira has posed:
Maira laughs lightly. "I hope so Ivo!" she replies.

Then Maira tilts her head toward her link-pearl, listening, responding a few times quietly, then jumping to her feet. "Ivo! Trouble over in Traverse, a friend is hurt really bad. Let's go!" she says, grabbing him by the wrist and hauling him after her!