[Console: Video] [Subject: Moving the Turtle Part II]

[purered]

I regret to inform you all that it seems Miss Lazuli has returned to her world.

For those who were her friends, I am deeply sorry.

[There's a moment where he shifts, eyes flicking downwards, but he's back to his usual attentive self in a moment.]

This may make things with the upcoming move tricky - while I'm informed that the tidal surge will be more than enough to dislodge Tu Vishan, Miss Lazuli was one of our primary movers.

I would ask then for anyone who has control of the elements of wind or water to lend your aid in keeping the turtle as steady as possible. I would also ask for help in ensuring buildings are structurally secure. We suffered some minor issues during the primary move, and while I don't foresee disaster, it is better to be safe than sorry.

When the time comes for landfall, any aid in anchoring would also be much appreciated.

Comments

[purered]

For the moment, though I can't guarantee how long that will last.

[He expects Erskine would like some privacy.]

[edgeoftheknife]

It won't take long. I'll be over in a few minutes.

--> Action;

[And sure enough, a few minutes later there's a soft knock on the door.]

[purered]

[Klaus knows exactly who it is, and opens up the door.]

"Please, come in, Mr Ravel. Make yourself comfortable."

[There are a couple arm chairs in the room.]

[edgeoftheknife]

[Erskine offers him a small smile and nods, and after ducking into the room he slows for a moment before taking one of the chairs. This is a very different situation than the last time he was in this room--when he'd been both small and fuzzy and then normal-sized but quite naked. Thankfully it doesn't seem like Klaus is going to fuss too much about that.]

Thanks.

[He knows he's here to talk about the Echo Stone, but he'll let Klaus get settled again before he pulls that out.]

[purered]

[Once Erskine was situated, Klaus sat down across from him, hands folded in his lap]

You've been more distant than usual, Mr Ravel. Has something been troubling you?

[Everyone had their own ways of avoiding their troubles. Klaus threw himself into his work. Erskine made himself scarce.]

[edgeoftheknife]

I... suppose that depends on your definition of 'trouble.'

[He offers a small smile, not exactly cheery but at least friendly, and one hand moves to the pocket of his trousers. When he withdraws the hand and opens it for Klaus to see there's a blue gemstone in his palm, just slightly larger than a golfball.]

Do they have Echo Stones where you're from?

[purered]

[Klaus shook his head.]

Perhaps. If they do, I haven't heard them go by that name. Though if I could fathom a guess, it sounds like a stone that recounts the past.

[Klaus was rather well versed when it came to discerning the purpose of magical artifacts. His job depended on it.]

[edgeoftheknife]

[Erskine nods.]

Close. They're used by the dying. If you sleep with one by your bedside for three nights, it imprints with your memories, your personality. Your consciousness. They're left for your loved ones, to ease the grief of your passing. They're incredibly rare.

[purered]

[Klaus could be naive on some matters but he was far from stupid. He could put two and two together.]

I gather that you've received such a stone. Was it someone you were close to?

[edgeoftheknife]

[There's a brief hesitation, and then he nods again.]

My best friend. He was assassinated during the war. He wouldn't have had time to imprint a Stone, even if he'd had one. And yet here it is.

[purered]

[There it was. Well, it certainly explained everything.]

Has it helped you cope with the loss? Or has it driven you further to secluding yourself?

[Question of the year. When it came to real talk, Klaus didn't mince words.]

[edgeoftheknife]

[Wow, right to it Klaus. Erskine gives him a thin smile.]

A little of both, I suppose. It might be more of both if it weren't broken.

[He shifts his thumb and presses it to the gemstone, and the stone begins to glow. After a moment there appears a third figure in the room with them--just a little taller than Erskine, thin, with red hair and brown eyes and a small, kind smile. He's dressed in old-fashioned clothing, a linen undershirt and trousers, rougly Civil War-era if Klaus would recognize them as such.

Instead of looking at them, however, the hologram begins speaking as if he's talking to someone else, someone that neither Klaus nor Erskine can hear or see.]

That's all it is--old memories. He doesn't see anything. Doesn't talk to me.

[purered]

[Klaus watched intently. He had a broad knowledge of magic as his work often required he look into various types of mysticism. But even if he didn't, it was very clear something incredibly powerful was at work here.]

If he did speak to you, would you ever be able to tear yourself away from the stone?

[edgeoftheknife]

[The answer is almost immediately obvious--Erskine seems almost transfixed by the image of his friend. It takes him a moment to answer and when he does he looks down, away.]

I don't know. Probably not.

[purered]

[Klaus dealt with death on a regular basis. Even in Libra, for all their precautions and superhuman abilities, there had been losses. Especially in the first year. No discussion was ever the same.]

When we lose someone we love, there's a great deal that is left unsaid.

[He bowed his head, his brow knit.]

Regret is a heavy burden and one that nobody should carry alone. If you're looking for closure, it's not inside that stone.

[edgeoftheknife]

[He shakes his head slowly.]

No, not closure. I don't deserve closure. I just--

[Erskine's voice breaks and for a moment he closes his eyes.]

I don't know what I'm looking for. It sounds childish to want him back, but that's really all I want. To give him the chance that was stolen from him. To give him a better life than war and torture. Even if I don't have any place in it.

[purered]

[Klaus shook his head.]

Such things aren't childish, Mr Ravel. It's natural to feel that way.

[Trite as it sounded, it was true.]

Do you really think he wouldn't want you to have a place in his life? You said you were best friends.

[edgeoftheknife]

[Erskine just shakes his head again, eyes still closed for the moment. When he finally opens them again he goes right back to staring at the image of Hopeless.]

I'm the reason he's dead.

[It's not exactly the reason he's convinced Hopeless will hate him, but it's the part that's eating at him at this particular moment.]

[purered]

[Klaus looked up at this, astonished. He'd known people to blame themselves for things they weren't really responsible for - survivor's guilt could do that to anyone. But something in Erskine's tone made it sound like there was more to it than that.]

You said he was assassinated, though.

Spoilers for Skulduggery Pleasant through the end of book 8

[edgeoftheknife]

He was. But he was a Dead Man. They shouldn't have been able to get to him.

[The image of Hopeless wavers for a moment and then he's sitting, his back leaned up against something, and he starts to sing. It's a hymn. Hopeless sings softly, but his voice is clear and lovely and the feeling behind the hymn is genuine.

Erskine lets out a sound--a huff of protest, perhaps, or perhaps the beginnings of a sob--and thumbs the stone again. The image of Hopeless disappears and the gemstone ceases to glow. It's hard enough to talk about this without Hopeless singing. If he leaves the stone playing he'll break down for sure.]

I was taken prisoner, during the war. Tortured. After a few days I broke. I told Mevolent everything he wanted to know. I told him... I told him about Hopeless's magic. I gave him what he needed to get to Hopeless.

[purered]

[Klaus had heard a bit about Mevolent. He wasn't sure if it was from Erskine, Skul, or Anton, but he'd heard the name before and with a tone that left him mostly certain of what kind of man he'd been. From Klaus's perspective, the only one to blame was Mevolent. But he knew in Erskine's shoes he'd probably blame himself as well.

If only I'd been stronger. If only I'd fought harder.

...Yeah. He'd been there.

Klaus may have been the embodiment of professionalism, but there's a point where that just didn't apply. He and Erskine had reached that point when Erskine stumbled over a repressed sob.

Klaus knelt and very gently pulled him into a hug.]

[edgeoftheknife]

[He's so wrapped up in the memories connected to the words he's saying, in trying not to break down in front of Klaus, that the hug catches him almost completely by surprise. It's only at the last moment that he moves his hands, one hand cradling the Echo Stone to his chest to keep it safe as the giant pulls him closer.

The movement is a surprise, and the sentiment almost more so. Anton hugs him. Valdis has hugged him, once or twice. Other than that, hugs aren't exactly a common thing for Erskine. Not anymore. Then again, Klaus still doesn't have the full story. Who in their right mind would have a lick of sympathy for him if they knew it all?

Still, it's... nice. The hug. After a tense moment, trying to figure out just what the hell Klaus is doing, Erskine relaxes a little. Lets his head drop so that his forehead is resting on Klaus's shoulder.]

[purered]

[He wasn't going to go on some trite reassurance of how 'it wasn't your fault'. He wasn't there, and he doesn't know the whole story. Besides, hearing 'it wasn't your fault' never helps. Empty words are useless as a sheet of tissue paper in a hurricane.]

[Eventually, he does speak.]

Though that moment of weakness has left you with no end of regret, you are here now.

[Here and faltering and growing more reclusive. Klaus was definitely worried about Ersk's downward spiral.]

You won't find a second chance in that stone. Only an echo.

[edgeoftheknife]

[Undoubtedly Klaus is trying to help. Erskine knows this. Even so, he can't help but shake his head against the other man's shoulder at the words that are surely meant to offer support. He shakes his head, first while he's still leaned against Klaus, and then as he's pulling away.]

I don't deserve a second chance. I haven't asked for one.

[Skulduggery seems to be offering him one, however tentatively, and Erskine is grateful for the opportunity Anton has given him to keep his life, but he's never asked for a second chance. Only offered endless apologies.]

An echo is more than I had before. It's all I have.

[purered]

Few who get them ever have.

[Klaus's tone was as level as ever, but there was something in his voice that made it sound like he was speaking from experience. Or perhaps not. He wasn't entirely an open book.]

What I mean to say is that the stone is not him. It won't bring back the man you lost. And I worry that you will also lose yourself.