#undeth

Though the hall was mostly silent, broken up here and there by the sounds of pages flipping or books being pulled from the shelves, there was the distinct pap-pap-pap​ of slippers as a little girl made her way down the hall. She was just barely tall enough to peer over the edge of the old oak tables, sneak a folded piece of paper onto the surface, and continue on without a word.

-----

creature stirs, yellowed eyes blinking at the harsh world beyond himself. something or someone had come close, the tromping of footsteps drawing him from the dreams that gave him what little solace he had from the wretched existence that was his waking world. 

                    𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐎𝐀𝐋   𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒   𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇   𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓   𝐎𝐅   𝐓𝐇𝐄   𝐖𝐀𝐘   𝐓𝐇𝐄   𝐒𝐄𝐀   𝐊𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐒   𝐓𝐇𝐄   𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒   𝐎𝐅   𝐏𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐎,     the   horizon   fatigued   and   content   and   BLUSHING   in   the   last   rays   of   a   blazing   sun ;     she   REMEMBERS   why   she   used   to   spend   so   many   years   in   Italy,     why   heart   felt   EMPTY   upon   leaving.     Vacation   hardly   ever   is   a   word   of   meaning   in   her   vocabulary   ――     she   works   because   it   gives   the   endless   days   a   PURPOSE.     Even   now,     silhouette   is   still   a   remnant   of   a   business   meeting,     though   the   sleeves   of   an   emerald   blouse   are   now   rolled   UP   and   hair   back   down   to   DANCE   in   the   breeze.

                    But,     alas,     una   bedda   jurnata   nun   fa   stati.     She   gives   him   a   weary   SMILE   when   he   joins   her   at   the   elaborate   railing   of   the   balcony.     Remembers   how   he   invited   her   to   San   Remo   to   visit   one   of   his   favourite   GALLERIES   ―――     and   she   never   showed   up,     got   distracted   by   work   as   usual.     That   was   forty   years   ago.   “   You   haven’t   aged   a   single   day.   ”     A   joke,     as   friends   TEND   to   do.     Almost   expects   him   to   fire   back,     neither   have   you.   “   Can   I   invite   you   for   a   coffee ?     Or   have   you   already   had   your   tenth   cup ?   ”

it  is  a  good  thing,  then,  that  she  has  not  HOPED  for  anything  in  lifetimes.  what  use  is  it  to  her  -  to  her  who  KNOWS  what  is  futile  for  her  to  do  and  what  is  not?  pearl  sometimes  wishes  things  -  DREAMS  them  -  but  she  does  not  HOPE  for  them.  there  is  a  difference  between  wistfulness  and  hope.  she  knows  it  too  keenly.  “OH?  which  do  you  strive  for?  being  hopeful  or  being  observant?”

                    UNDETH SENT : “ none of it matters in the long run.”

                    𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐀𝐘 𝐇𝐈𝐒 quiet, monotonous words were a punch to the gut would be quite the understatement. jack stopped short in the middle of his alchemical preparations and stared, brows knit, 𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐄of a proper response. though he never took anything too personally ( in his line of work, how could he? ) so he settled on an awkward laugh, quickly returning to his vials as something began to bubble and 𝐒𝐈𝐙𝐙𝐋𝐄. ❝ i do hope you're talkin' about that drink there, or it's the drink 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐈𝐍'. ❞ he resisted the urge to make some comment about 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐘 or the like, feeling such heavy handed subjects dealing in 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐄 would best be left untouched for the time being. anyways, it would be a pretty selfish thing to twist the subject about and bring up his own 𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐄𝐂𝐘 ------ even though it lingered constantly in the back of his mind. not a lot of things going on there, the mind of jack, so alduin's wall regularly got a front and center seat of attention.

EXT.  AN  ALLEY  IN  ITALY  -  DAY

❝  THIS  MAY  SOUND  SILLY  ,  A  BIT  CHILDISH  ,  ❞  he  starts  ,  glancing  over  at  giovanni  with  a  sincere  glint  in  his  eyes  ,  ❝  and  i  realize  that  ,  but  i’m  going  to  ask  anyway  .  ❞  a  little  out  of  breath  from  running  ,  a  little  shaky  on  his  feet  ,  but  by  no  means  deterred  ,  he  stares  at  his  friend  with  clear  ,  wild  intent  .  a  smile  even  starts  to  bloom  ,  to  break  across  his  face  .  any  severity  has  vanished  .  footsteps  down  the  alley  -  the  decision  must  be  made  now  .  ❝  do  you  want  to  go  on  an  adventure  with  me  ?  ❞