its_rose_damnit | Nineteen Rose Petals Fall - [Action

[Backdated to Christmas Eve]

[Action for House One]

[Dist had never put much stock into that gift-giving holiday, really. It was nice, yes, but he honestly never celebrated much of any holiday, even back home on Auldrant. Perhaps that's mainly due to never having anyone to celebrate them with, or that his research always kept him busy, but this time around, he does have people to celebrate it with, or at least people he'd like to give gifts to. ...If only it were so easy, though. Being socially inept, Dist is at a loss for what to get even his closest friend. He opts to get her last, hoping the method "save the best for last" will help him get her a fitting gift.

So, It's Ion' gift he delivers first, on the night of Christmas Eve, a few good books he'd thought Ion would enjoy reading, with a small list of good novels that Dist recommended, many of the books being from the "Sherlock Holmes" series. He recalled how fascinated Ion was that one time he read to the boy. That should do, right? A simple gift, but it'd be one Ion would hopefully appreciate and enjoy.

For Tear...a recording is left in his journal under a private filer to her alone. It's the piano version of the Grand Fonic Hymn. He's heard her sing it enough in Auldrant and even in Luceti to... somewhat memorize it, and added in his own piece. A written note accompanies the recording:

"This is the best I could do, without contacting you directly for assistance. I hope it will suffice."

Anise...Anise is perhaps the most difficult one. In only that he had to sneak into her room, somehow manage to pry her doll away from her (it was not easy), and fix up the mechanics, upgrade some of the hardware to the best of his abilities, and he even washed the raggedy thing for her. As much a monster as Anise is, she was the first person to contact him at the Order, and from the time she was here before...hmph. This is more than what she deserves.

Tokunaga will be placed back on her nightstand, looking ~~so handsome~~ dapper and soft and clean and fluffy, and with a rose in his plush arms. BE GRATEFUL.

Jade. ...A bottle of scotch. That's it. BE EXTREMELY GRATEFUL.

For Gelda, he...actually has a gift more for the school grounds. It's something he's been fooling around with building on and off ever since the snow started coming down in boat loads. They were two little, relatively light weight, snow catapults that the children in Keterburg used to play with. He makes a filtered audio to her, just to get permission to place them sometime.]

[Private to Gelda | Voice]

Professor Nebilim? I'd like to have a word with you, if possible.

[And once he's finished with that conversation, and whatever follows, Dist head into town to get Nephry's gift. She'll be getting a large bouquet of roses as well at a new coat. He also debates on some jewelry, but decides against it, or to wait til after their new years party.

Anyone's free to catch him around the town, but getting a conversation with him is going to be difficult. He'll opt for snubbing off any and everyone who isn't getting a present, or giving them the cold shoulder until they get the message and bugger off. He's on a mission today, after all.]

[OOC: Heading off to work soon. If I don't get back to you, I will tonight! /o/]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Even if that is true, it would not stop Tear from expressing her gratitude. Yet when she reaches his room and raises her hand to knock she finds herself pausing mid-gesture, unsure of how to address him. They have not spoken on personal terms often, and ever since those experiences where she believed him to be her father she could not simply refer to him as 'Dist.' It felt awkward to.

Taking in a deep breath she knocks softly, pressing that matter back for the time being. She could ask him later, perhaps.] ... May I come in?

[Dist pauses in his work, and sits up straight, his chair creaking at he shifts his weight. ...Well. This is certainly peculiar. He hadn't expected to speak with the melodist at all unless truly necessary. Yes, she shared a home and tolerated each other, but Dist had been taking care not to get too close ever since...hn.

He looks back toward his door and nods, pushing up his glasses. Best make this quick, like most of their conversations.]

You may enter, yes.

[Now that she knows she has permission Tear enters the room, feeling vaguely awkward and out of place in his company even if it doesn't show past the usual soldier façade she defaults to so often, even after all this time. However it was not as strong as it once was, not that she yet realizes it.]

You are the one who left the recording for me, correct? [She didn't mean to come off sounding so professional, casual communication with those in a position higher than herself was something she had yet to grasp.]

[The professional, almost business-like tone suits Dist very well. It's impersonal and practical, and he prefers any and everything between himself and Van's sister to remain as such. Crossing his legs, Dist nods slowly in her direction. This...just got a whole lot more awkward. He could handle Anise's thanks (kind of) because he gave her a gift, her doll, so long ago, but this was completely different. This confrontation Dist wasn't entirely prepared for.]

That is correct. I've recently learned that particular instrument, and I tried my hand at composing. That song is the first that came to mind... [Seeing as how you've used it against his glorious machines so many times, hngh--] The song was yours, or closely associated to you, my dear, so I thought i should inform you of its completion. ...Nothing more.

[He shifts, and pushes up his glasses. A clear lie if he ever uttered one, but...]

Is that all...? [She doesn't know Dist as well as Jade and Nephry did, even after having lived with him this long, so Tear can't really tell that he's blatantly lying even though a small part of her tells her that he is. Nevertheless she finds herself smiling softly, glad for it all the same.]

I wanted to thank you for it. It's beautiful... [It isn't often that she gets to share the hymns with others. While she may sing for her friends if asked correctly, none of them had ever been able to accompany her in carrying out the composition or delivering it back to her. The only other person who had... she preferred to not think about right now.]

[vhcjcvhd--! Dist balks under her accusation, and her smile, and her compliment, turning red around his face. He fidgets more nervously than ever before, practically flailing before he turns around to hide his face from her terrible, horrible, hideous, searching eyes.]

O-Of course it was! Why in the w-w-world would it be anything more?! It's certainly not as if I was gracing you, or anything of the sort! Y-You're not worth the time, nor the effort! There is nothing more to this than the tradition of the holiday!

A-And of course it was beautiful! [Huffpuff!] I created it, you know! My genius mind does not develop anything if it is not of the utmost grace and beauty! It would b-be unfitting of my illustrious title of Rose!

[Tear almost wants to laugh at how flustered Dist becomes, and his attempts to deny such reactions with his words. But she knows better than to do such a thing, at least in front of his person. And if she had heard him correctly moments ago... he had referred to her as 'my dear.' She knows better than to believe they would ever be as close as he was with Ion or Nephry, even when they were under the impression that they were family she was the distant daughter who had a family of her own to care for.

It didn't change that along the way she came to start caring for him as a person. A far cry from being so wary of living under the same roof as he when she first arrived.] Yet you mentioned placing a lot of effort into composing it...

W-Well, of course! [Immediately, his eyes go back to Tear, before they begin to wander. Wander anywhere but at her. He stands, and heads toward his bookshelf, where he picks out a music book and skims the pages, finding what he was looking for. Tucked away within the pages, and folded like a bookmark, was his original composition.] I stated it already, correct? When I create something - anything, regardless of what it may be, I create it to be perfect. Perfection takes time, effort, skill, and a great deal of work. I pride myself and my genius on that kind of flawless work, young lady, and I do not settle for anything less.

[He unfolds the papers, and hands it out for Tear. There's actually a small pile there, the final, finished score is on the top, followed by the in-progress works. If Tear can read the sheet music, she can see how much work he actually did put into it, and how they progressed. There's scribbles and writing and small notes, circled pieces and crossed out ones... The very first page is the messiest, indicating it to be the first composition of the piece he wrote, and progressively, the mess becomes less and less on the papers - finishing into the final.]

You may keep the final piece, if you like, I have several other copies. But d-d-don't think any of this is f-for you! I-It was merely for s-sport and tradition! I wanted t-to challenge myself!

[Now that she is holding all these papers in her hands, Tear finds herself gaining a whole other level of respect for Dist. While their goals back in Auldrant often... conflicted, and the way he always coated descriptions of his works with flowery words that annoyed far more often than impressed, there was still something lingering behind it all that implied just how much he did work on them. The proof was right here, and in the music she had heard.

Needless to say, her gratitude toward the gift only grows more.] Then I hope you continue to challenge yourself, and that I still have the honor of hearing more of your pieces should you continue.

Nineteen Rose Petals Fall - [Action | Voice]

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[action] RUDE tear

[action] it's a matter of telling the truth!