[He takes the offered glass with a faint, barely-there smile and curls both of his hands around it, resting the glass atop his thigh. The water in this particular region of Ellipsa, he has found, benefits from being at room temperature more than cold when it comes to the taste.
Neuvillette is not certain what he expects from this conversation. They hadn't had the time to go over things in Fontaine with everything moving as quickly as it did and even though some people must have had their suspicions about what had happened, no one had had the nerve to approach the Iudex and ask him directly about just what his involvement in it all had been.
Navia, though..? Navia, he thinks, is someone who would certainly have that kind of nerve. He nods slightly to her question.]
To the best of my ability, if I am able to.
[It's not a promise. Even the Iudex is permitted some secrets. But... he does not think she would pry if he refused to answer.]
[ If he is able to, he says. That tells her for certain something she was already confident she knew: he will refuse to answer if he feels that he can or should not, or perhaps if he simply does not want to. And so, instead of asking him her one big question outright, it makes sense to lead up to it with a series of smaller questions. ]
About what happened in the Fortress, with Clorinde and His Grace... and the moment of the flood... and also when you rescued me... It would be one thing if the Water from the Primordial Sea simply did not affect you, as you are not originally from Fontaine. But all of us know by now that you have some degree of true control over it. Is this due to your nature as something other than human, Monsieur?
[ For a smaller question, it's a big one, and if he rejects it, she might have trouble finding another way in to the conversation she wants to have. ]
[To tell the truth, Neuvillette has found himself surprised that people have not asked. Perhaps no one else has put all the pieces together or perhaps others are simply not so bold as the Traveller, who had stated it so bluntly to his face so soon after meeting him.
Navia is one he would expect to come to the right conclusions even if she never raised the issue to him, but here, in this world... things are different.
Here, she does not have to worry about propriety, and what might happen if the 'secret' got out. Feeling no need to lie to her he nods in response to her question - a small question, yes, but he is sure that she is leading up to something bigger.]
Yes, it is. I have had such abilities from the moment of my birth.
[ She is quiet for a moment as she processes his answer. He was already certain of it being what it was, but it would have been impolite to start their conversation by stating things she never gave him a chance to deny, even if she knows their truth already.
She nods, and lets him see her nod, but rather than jump into her next question immediately, she sits in silence for a moment or two, as if in thought. Although she's probably not fooling him, she doesn't want to be quite so obvious about the fact that she has thought over these questions so many times already, sought their answers in her own head before even starting to think about being brave enough to address him on them.
If they were still in Fontaine, she may never have started their current discussion. ]
Then, about the seat of the Hydro Archon... It was said you took up Lady Furina's duties, no? It is known that Archons choose people to carry their element— [ a fact in which she is unknowingly incorrect, even if it has somehow led her to the correct conclusion ] —which is certainly not something just anyone could do, even in assuming parts of her role.
And yet Lady Furina herself was gifted a Hydro Vision. Is it true that you have assumed this power as well, Monsieur, despite not being an Archon yourself?
[She is definitely not fooling him, yet still he allows her the time to come to her next questions on her own. It isn't something he has ever led anybody to the conclusion of, with the Traveller being a rare exception to have worked it out so quickly and then confronted him with it.
And indeed, were they in Fontaine... it is likely she would never have confronted him with this.
Navia continues and Neuvillette does not correct her erroneous assumption that the Archons choose who is gifted Visions of their element. Neuvillette himself has taken the responsibility of creating new Hydro Visions so that they will not be missed, sacrificing only a little of his own regained power to do so, and that illusion is one that need not be broken here.
He studies her for a moment longer and then once again nods, the faintest hint of a smile touching the corners of his mouth.]
That is true, yes. I have taken on the responsibility of overseeing Fontaine as more than simply its Chief Justice.
[ She's quiet for a moment. Once again, questions that she knew the answer to, answers he sees no reason to lie about, and given the slight smile at the corners of his lips, answers that he knows are only another step toward bigger questions that she has. Even at this stage, perhaps she could go right to them, but there are still smaller questions to be asked, and Navia likes to think herself a detective worth her salt.
She takes a breath, and straightens her shoulders as she looks up at him again. ]
So while the seat of the Archon is by technicality empty, its role is still fulfilled in all the usual and important ways, by a man who is neither god nor human. [ He can't be a god, is her reasoning, or he would simply have taken the seat itself, not left it empty. ]
Meanwhile, I am not sure if you have heard, Monsieur, but there have been reports of Hydro Vishap sightings in our region— friendly ones, at that. Some have argued it's passing strange, but yet others have made the argument that we are the nation of the Hydro Dragon— and as such it only makes sense for them to return to us. Personally, I find the timing curious.
[ Her eyes search his face. There's no hiding what she's asking of him now, and if he's going to refuse to answer, it will surely be this question where he begins. ]
Am I correct in thinking that perhaps your "ascension", if I may call it that, has inspired the return of the vishaps to our shores?
[Navia goes on and Neuvillette listens. He will not correct her where she's wrong, simply because the things that she has wrong are not things that will cause her harm by being incorrect.]
Miss Navia... I am quite sure I have never known you to take quite so long to get to the point you wish to make.
[Not that seeing the way she is working towards her conclusion is not fascinating in its own way but Neuvillette has known for some minutes already just what it is that she intends to ask him, and already knows what his answer will be.
His being the Sovereign Hydro Dragon has never been a secret, not really. It's just something that never gets talked about, something Neuvillette does not talk about, and certainly not a thing that anyone ever asks him about. How would someone begin a conversation like that with Fontaine's Iudex, after all? Surely it would be the epitome of disrespect. It is wearying though, sometimes... Wearying, and isolating.]
But yes, you are once again correct in your assertions.
[ Navia feels her cheeks heat up a little when Neuvillette points out how exceptionally long it is taking her to come to her point. He knows her quick wit just as well as anyone else who has seen her argue in court, after all. But this somehow feels bigger than anything else she's ever addressed with him before— perhaps because it's about him, and something she technically has no right to ask of him, something that were they still in Fontaine she wouldn't even be considering asking him... ]
U-um. Yes, I apologize, I just wanted to be sure I covered all the bases properly—
[ And truth be told, there are actually more points she could make, more thoughts she could assert before asking that one final question. But she understands the implication in his words, to some extent, and so she's silent for a moment, breathing in a deep sigh as she hesitates over the right way to say the words. ]
Monsieur Neuvillette, what I mean to ask is—
[ But the problem is, there's no right way to say it when you're asking something so personal; for a moment, Navia flounders, her voice making small sounds with no follow-up, her hand fluttering in hesitation. Perhaps this is wrong of her to ask—
(But he saved her. He saved the Court. He would have saved them too, if he could have.)
[It's a far cry from how direct the Traveller had been in questioning him about his origins. Neuvillette had been surprised by the ease with which Lumine had pinpointed exactly what he was and had not moved to deny it when he was asked and it doesn't bother him that Navia asks him about it now.
Perhaps it might be time, even if it's only in this place, to allow a few more people in on the 'secret'.
Even now, though, she asks rather than asserts. Although he is sure that she already knows the answer to the question, she still gives him the opportunity to deny it without argument. Neuvillette exhales a soft breath through his nose and chuckles as he turns his body to angle it more directly towards his companion. His hands clasp loosely in his lap. He wonders if she is truly prepared to hear it, despite her being the one to open the topic.
"Dragonheirs of the Depths have evolved to wield the power of other elements and have hence lost their purity. As such, the Dragon of Water will no longer be born from among their ranks."]
I am.
["Prophecy holds that the Sovereign Dragon of Water will be born in a human form."]
[ It's strange for Navia, too— not the fact that she's asking, but the fact that she's been so round-about in how she's asked. It's like Neuvillette said— he's never known her to take so long to get to the point. So she asks, even though she's sure she knows the answer already, and when he answers, there's no surprise on her face or in her form.
Nor is there the immediate gratitude that she thought would follow, the answer to a suspicion long held of the ways in which he was her— their— savior.
What she feels instead is a deep, bone-wrenching sorrow, a feeling that comes quite out of nowhere to assault her heart, leaving her sitting in silence for a moment or two as she considers what it means— ]
I'm sorry. [ Of course, she knows nothing of the prophecy, nothing of why he holds a human form and walks among them rather than among his own kin, but— ] It must have been terribly lonely.
[ Then, of course, if one adds together all those little moments— when she accused him of having no feelings at all, right before it started to rain... when it rained the day her father died, and for a week after he was exonerated... all those other times that the skies have opened after a sentencing...
She takes a deep breath, and then reaches out, covering his clasped hands with one of hers. ]
Was it lonely? Could he really say that it was? The early years of his life are hazy and vague, though not so much as what came before, but he does not really recall a time when he noticed what humans would call loneliness until recently. He had thought for a while that it was because he did not understand humans and their emotions, the way they experienced life, but it had been his own carefully constructed isolation that had kept him from becoming truly cognizant of such things.
In more recent days... People call on him, he has what he might even venture to call 'friends', and he does note their absence when he does not see them for a while. He does not have to be alone anymore, and in knowing that... he has come to realise what loneliness actually is.
His thoughts churn, then abruptly still when he feels the warm touch of Navia's hand on top of his. Neuvillette looks down, surprised, and then back up at Navia's face.]
My isolation was mostly of my own design. [He tells her carefully, quietly, so aware of the way his skin is tingling under her palm.] There were many reasons why I could not allow myself to grow too fond of the people of Fontaine... though it would seem that I did, regardless.
[He did, and then he saved them all. Just as Focalors had always known he would.]
[ Her head tilts, a curious expression on her face for a moment— before she nods. ]
You were our judge first and foremost, our Chief Justice, our Iudex.
[ And then in the end, he'd had to judge them all.
She noticed, of course, the momentary surprise on his face. She says nothing of it, though, instead just offering him a small smile, her hand staying put and resting over his. ]
I suppose, if we were in Fontaine, that would still be true. [ Especially for someone like her. The Spina operate mostly within the law, but they've been known to bend it here and there as needed to get results, something by which she knows the Chief Justice could not and would not abide. ]
But we're not, so...
[ A breath as she considers the words. They feel hard somehow, more weighted than she would like for a question so ostensibly simple. ]
Monsieur Neuvillette, will you allow me to be your friend? I have found myself terribly short of them, you see— [ a soft, wet laugh ] —and so it seems we may have something in common.
[As the Iudex, Neuvillette was bound to uphold the letter of the law no matter how much it might pain him to do so. With the loss of the Oratrice that duty now weighed even more heavily upon him, even if the people of Fontaine trusted him to be fair and reasonable in his judgements, and he would be lying if he said it had not been something that troubled him at first.
He watches Navia's face as she speaks, easily seeing the emotion behind her words. She has never been one to hide her feelings even when speaking with him, even if he has often struggled to interpret her actions towards him, but he still finds himself a little surprised by her question.]
I would be honoured to have your friendship, though I had been under the impression that it was something we already shared.
[Had he misinterpreted..? Perhaps, but he had felt a sense of camaraderie with her since the true resolution of her father's case.
His head cocks just slightly, curious.]
But if you need it to be put into words, consider it done.
[ His words make her smile; he may be surprised at the genuine fondness in the expression as her fingers squeeze gently over his hands, as she shakes her head.
Then, when he clarifies, she laughs, her expression somewhat abashed. ]
Mm, I suppose that's more what I meant. Truth be told, I have considered you among my friends for a while now. But...
[ It feels silly for her to admit, but she wanted him to know it as much as she wanted it confirmed out loud for herself. Something nice for each of them to know for certain. ]
It makes me glad to know that you consider us friends already, Monsieur Neuvillette. Especially here, I think... it's nice to know that we can stick together.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2024-01-15 07:46 pm (UTC)Neuvillette is not certain what he expects from this conversation. They hadn't had the time to go over things in Fontaine with everything moving as quickly as it did and even though some people must have had their suspicions about what had happened, no one had had the nerve to approach the Iudex and ask him directly about just what his involvement in it all had been.
Navia, though..? Navia, he thinks, is someone who would certainly have that kind of nerve. He nods slightly to her question.]
To the best of my ability, if I am able to.
[It's not a promise. Even the Iudex is permitted some secrets. But... he does not think she would pry if he refused to answer.]
no subject
Date: 2024-01-18 11:18 am (UTC)About what happened in the Fortress, with Clorinde and His Grace... and the moment of the flood... and also when you rescued me... It would be one thing if the Water from the Primordial Sea simply did not affect you, as you are not originally from Fontaine. But all of us know by now that you have some degree of true control over it. Is this due to your nature as something other than human, Monsieur?
[ For a smaller question, it's a big one, and if he rejects it, she might have trouble finding another way in to the conversation she wants to have. ]
no subject
Date: 2024-01-21 02:19 am (UTC)Navia is one he would expect to come to the right conclusions even if she never raised the issue to him, but here, in this world... things are different.
Here, she does not have to worry about propriety, and what might happen if the 'secret' got out. Feeling no need to lie to her he nods in response to her question - a small question, yes, but he is sure that she is leading up to something bigger.]
Yes, it is. I have had such abilities from the moment of my birth.
no subject
Date: 2024-01-23 11:43 am (UTC)She nods, and lets him see her nod, but rather than jump into her next question immediately, she sits in silence for a moment or two, as if in thought. Although she's probably not fooling him, she doesn't want to be quite so obvious about the fact that she has thought over these questions so many times already, sought their answers in her own head before even starting to think about being brave enough to address him on them.
If they were still in Fontaine, she may never have started their current discussion. ]
Then, about the seat of the Hydro Archon... It was said you took up Lady Furina's duties, no? It is known that Archons choose people to carry their element— [ a fact in which she is unknowingly incorrect, even if it has somehow led her to the correct conclusion ] —which is certainly not something just anyone could do, even in assuming parts of her role.
And yet Lady Furina herself was gifted a Hydro Vision. Is it true that you have assumed this power as well, Monsieur, despite not being an Archon yourself?
no subject
Date: 2024-01-27 09:40 pm (UTC)And indeed, were they in Fontaine... it is likely she would never have confronted him with this.
Navia continues and Neuvillette does not correct her erroneous assumption that the Archons choose who is gifted Visions of their element. Neuvillette himself has taken the responsibility of creating new Hydro Visions so that they will not be missed, sacrificing only a little of his own regained power to do so, and that illusion is one that need not be broken here.
He studies her for a moment longer and then once again nods, the faintest hint of a smile touching the corners of his mouth.]
That is true, yes. I have taken on the responsibility of overseeing Fontaine as more than simply its Chief Justice.
no subject
Date: 2024-01-29 11:25 am (UTC)She takes a breath, and straightens her shoulders as she looks up at him again. ]
So while the seat of the Archon is by technicality empty, its role is still fulfilled in all the usual and important ways, by a man who is neither god nor human. [ He can't be a god, is her reasoning, or he would simply have taken the seat itself, not left it empty. ]
Meanwhile, I am not sure if you have heard, Monsieur, but there have been reports of Hydro Vishap sightings in our region— friendly ones, at that. Some have argued it's passing strange, but yet others have made the argument that we are the nation of the Hydro Dragon— and as such it only makes sense for them to return to us. Personally, I find the timing curious.
[ Her eyes search his face. There's no hiding what she's asking of him now, and if he's going to refuse to answer, it will surely be this question where he begins. ]
Am I correct in thinking that perhaps your "ascension", if I may call it that, has inspired the return of the vishaps to our shores?
no subject
Date: 2024-02-03 02:12 am (UTC)Miss Navia... I am quite sure I have never known you to take quite so long to get to the point you wish to make.
[Not that seeing the way she is working towards her conclusion is not fascinating in its own way but Neuvillette has known for some minutes already just what it is that she intends to ask him, and already knows what his answer will be.
His being the Sovereign Hydro Dragon has never been a secret, not really. It's just something that never gets talked about, something Neuvillette does not talk about, and certainly not a thing that anyone ever asks him about. How would someone begin a conversation like that with Fontaine's Iudex, after all? Surely it would be the epitome of disrespect. It is wearying though, sometimes... Wearying, and isolating.]
But yes, you are once again correct in your assertions.
no subject
Date: 2024-02-07 01:05 am (UTC)U-um. Yes, I apologize, I just wanted to be sure I covered all the bases properly—
[ And truth be told, there are actually more points she could make, more thoughts she could assert before asking that one final question. But she understands the implication in his words, to some extent, and so she's silent for a moment, breathing in a deep sigh as she hesitates over the right way to say the words. ]
Monsieur Neuvillette, what I mean to ask is—
[ But the problem is, there's no right way to say it when you're asking something so personal; for a moment, Navia flounders, her voice making small sounds with no follow-up, her hand fluttering in hesitation. Perhaps this is wrong of her to ask—
(But he saved her. He saved the Court. He would have saved them too, if he could have.)
—but she has to know. ]
Are... are you the Hydro Dragon?
no subject
Date: 2024-02-12 01:44 am (UTC)Perhaps it might be time, even if it's only in this place, to allow a few more people in on the 'secret'.
Even now, though, she asks rather than asserts. Although he is sure that she already knows the answer to the question, she still gives him the opportunity to deny it without argument. Neuvillette exhales a soft breath through his nose and chuckles as he turns his body to angle it more directly towards his companion. His hands clasp loosely in his lap. He wonders if she is truly prepared to hear it, despite her being the one to open the topic.
"Dragonheirs of the Depths have evolved to wield the power of other elements and have hence lost their purity. As such, the Dragon of Water will no longer be born from among their ranks."]
I am.
["Prophecy holds that the Sovereign Dragon of Water will be born in a human form."]
no subject
Date: 2024-02-19 11:22 am (UTC)Nor is there the immediate gratitude that she thought would follow, the answer to a suspicion long held of the ways in which he was her— their— savior.
What she feels instead is a deep, bone-wrenching sorrow, a feeling that comes quite out of nowhere to assault her heart, leaving her sitting in silence for a moment or two as she considers what it means— ]
I'm sorry. [ Of course, she knows nothing of the prophecy, nothing of why he holds a human form and walks among them rather than among his own kin, but— ] It must have been terribly lonely.
[ Then, of course, if one adds together all those little moments— when she accused him of having no feelings at all, right before it started to rain... when it rained the day her father died, and for a week after he was exonerated... all those other times that the skies have opened after a sentencing...
She takes a deep breath, and then reaches out, covering his clasped hands with one of hers. ]
no subject
Date: 2024-02-27 09:24 pm (UTC)Was it lonely? Could he really say that it was? The early years of his life are hazy and vague, though not so much as what came before, but he does not really recall a time when he noticed what humans would call loneliness until recently. He had thought for a while that it was because he did not understand humans and their emotions, the way they experienced life, but it had been his own carefully constructed isolation that had kept him from becoming truly cognizant of such things.
In more recent days... People call on him, he has what he might even venture to call 'friends', and he does note their absence when he does not see them for a while. He does not have to be alone anymore, and in knowing that... he has come to realise what loneliness actually is.
His thoughts churn, then abruptly still when he feels the warm touch of Navia's hand on top of his. Neuvillette looks down, surprised, and then back up at Navia's face.]
My isolation was mostly of my own design. [He tells her carefully, quietly, so aware of the way his skin is tingling under her palm.] There were many reasons why I could not allow myself to grow too fond of the people of Fontaine... though it would seem that I did, regardless.
[He did, and then he saved them all. Just as Focalors had always known he would.]
no subject
Date: 2024-03-30 10:46 am (UTC)You were our judge first and foremost, our Chief Justice, our Iudex.
[ And then in the end, he'd had to judge them all.
She noticed, of course, the momentary surprise on his face. She says nothing of it, though, instead just offering him a small smile, her hand staying put and resting over his. ]
I suppose, if we were in Fontaine, that would still be true. [ Especially for someone like her. The Spina operate mostly within the law, but they've been known to bend it here and there as needed to get results, something by which she knows the Chief Justice could not and would not abide. ]
But we're not, so...
[ A breath as she considers the words. They feel hard somehow, more weighted than she would like for a question so ostensibly simple. ]
Monsieur Neuvillette, will you allow me to be your friend? I have found myself terribly short of them, you see— [ a soft, wet laugh ] —and so it seems we may have something in common.
no subject
Date: 2024-04-06 09:50 pm (UTC)He watches Navia's face as she speaks, easily seeing the emotion behind her words. She has never been one to hide her feelings even when speaking with him, even if he has often struggled to interpret her actions towards him, but he still finds himself a little surprised by her question.]
I would be honoured to have your friendship, though I had been under the impression that it was something we already shared.
[Had he misinterpreted..? Perhaps, but he had felt a sense of camaraderie with her since the true resolution of her father's case.
His head cocks just slightly, curious.]
But if you need it to be put into words, consider it done.
no subject
Date: 2024-04-25 09:03 am (UTC)Then, when he clarifies, she laughs, her expression somewhat abashed. ]
Mm, I suppose that's more what I meant. Truth be told, I have considered you among my friends for a while now. But...
[ It feels silly for her to admit, but she wanted him to know it as much as she wanted it confirmed out loud for herself. Something nice for each of them to know for certain. ]
It makes me glad to know that you consider us friends already, Monsieur Neuvillette. Especially here, I think... it's nice to know that we can stick together.