test drive meme #1.

[seeingyou]

Hello, passengers and potential passengers!! Welcome to the first-ever eyemind Test Drive Meme. Here you have a chance to play around in the game's setting before deciding to app, test out new characters, or just roll around and have some fun. Enjoy!

No invite is necessary to play in the test drive, but please remember that eyemind is a (semi)private game and you must request an invitation before submitting an application. Request an invitation here!

Please note: Threads from the test drive meme DO NOT count toward AC and ARE NOT considered game canon, but you are welcome to use them for your app samples.

SCENARIO ONE: LIGHT UP THE NIGHT



The ship has stopped on Arion, near the settlement of Taunican, at the height of harvest season, and since the planet is largely agricultural, that means there is a big harvest festival a-happening.

What's neat about this festival is that it's not just a celebration of the harvest - it's a celebration of the community, and of the planet as a whole. The dominant local religion (for lack of a better term) isn't exactly experienced in term of worship but of honoring the planet itself - the seasons, the landscapes, the crops. Natives talk of Arion as if it is a living, breathing entity, because for them? Arion is.

Every evening while the ship is docked, there is a bonfire in the fields outside the town square, starting at dusk. There's a giant potluck feast, with everyone in attendance encouraged to bring dishes to share, but no one will be turned away if they arrive empty-handed. Fiddles and flutes and drums provide the soundtrack for the folk songs about Arion the locals sing around the fire; dancing and games and laughter are everywhere. This is a peaceful, joyous celebration, and you're invited!

SCENARIO TWO: WE NEED TO GO DEEPER



You're asleep, but maybe you don't know that - in the middle of a dream, it's not always easy to tell the difference between reality and the scenes your subconscious creates. You find yourself somewhere that may or may not be familiar, doing something that may be mundane or fantastical, but you're not alone. This is a dream you're sharing with your shipmates. What secrets and truths will you learn about each other?

SCENARIO THREE: STOP HITTING YOURSELF



Ope, looks like Navi’s wandered a little too close to an interdimensional rift in space-time, and now things are getting a little weird. If you happen to have superpowers, you may find that you don’t have quite as good of a hold on them as you do normally, or maybe now there are unintended side effects that occur when your powers are used. Maybe your character usually possesses enhanced strength or speed, and now they suddenly find themselves too swol to handle ordinary objects without crushing them, or they may have uncontrollable zooms and be physically unable to slow their roll.

No superpowers? No problem! Non-powered characters may find themselves deprived of one or more of their natural senses, i.e., sight, hearing, smell, taste, etc. Have fun being suddenly and temporarily blind! Walk into walls, eat trash, be free.

Comments

Gaius Baelsar | FFXIV

[forgarlemald]

[1. light up the night]
[There's something to be said about traveling through space, of all things. And that's that it is an entirely disconcerting experience, to look out the ship's windows and see the vast, empty expanse of nothing.]

[So it's a real damn blessing when the ship finally docks and they can all step out onto sweet, firm earth, the unfamiliarity of the star far less of a concern than it is to simply be on a star again.]

[He does his best to avoid the celebration, when he can. Politely declines all invitations to dance, to join in their games, and largely keeps to himself by the warmth of the bonfire, keeping his own shipmates in sight as often as he is able.]

[And when a mug of...something, is passed to him, he takes it without a word. At least, until he can tear his gaze away from the festivities to look down at it. He frowns then, and pale eyes look side-long at the one responsible.]

Do I want to ask what it is?


[2. we need to go deeper | SPOILERS up to patch 5.3]
[It takes some time before the children are finally asleep. They should have been in bed well over an hour ago, really, and any other night Gaius would have told both of them firmly, yet not unkindly, to return to their rooms and go to sleep, while he himself continued to work long into the night.]

[Tonight, however, he finds himself unable to. Ricon and Milisandia all but beg to stay up just a little longer, eager to regale him on how their tutoring had gone that day, to ask questions on where it is they're traveling to next, and their presence alone is a comfort, soothing over the dull ache at his core. By the time the two of them do finally exhaust themselves to sleep - Milisandia curled up on his lap and Ricon tucked under his arm, snoring softly against his side - Gaius, for long moments after, can't find it in his heart to move them, bandaged fingers carding gently through Ricon's hair as he sits there, watching them.]

[It's a little more difficult than it used to be, he finds, to lift both of the little Au Ra up into his arms as he stands. He's grateful for them to be so small again (again?), careful of both childrens' horns and tails as he adjusts his grip without waking them. But he stops short as he turns to the door, brow raising in faint surprise as he takes in the person standing there.]

[When had they...?]

My apologies, if you were waiting on me. I was...

[A look down, at the two little forms in his arms.]

Busy.

2 - blanket spoiler warning forever

[ancestor]

[ Hemera should not be here, witnessing something so precious and private, and yet she cannot bring herself to leave. Instead she lingers, watching from a doorway she has no recollection of stepping through, arms and heart both aching with the phantom weight of what could have been if fate had been kinder. ]

So I can see. [ When the man speaks she smiles with a warm affection that cannot be faked. ] Do you need any help?

[forgarlemald]

[Gaius opens his mouth, only to close it again before the "no" can pass his lips. He wants to decline; there's no need to burden someone else when he's handling the two fine on his own, after all. When some niggling, insistent little worry in the dark corners of his mind tell him that letting either of them go now (again) means they might suddenly disappear.]

[There's an odd familiarity to the young woman before him, though. Very much like someone he knew, he thinks, though he can't for the life of him place who or from where. He should know...but he doesn't get the chance to think much deeper on it before Ricon starts to stir, and Gaius' grip on the small boy tightens, a hushed word of reassurance pressed into his emerald hair before Gaius looks back to the stranger, his frown softening as he sighs, and nods.]

I wouldn't be opposed to it. If you could take Milisandia... [And another small nod, to the little girl passed out blissfully against his other shoulder.]

She's the deep sleeper, of the lot. She should give you no trouble.

[ancestor]

[ His answer comes as a most pleasant surprise, and there is no hiding the sheer joy that sees fit to burst from her chest at the prospect of carrying a sweet, precious, sleeping child to bed. Hemera does make a concerted effort to not let her eagerness be to readily apparent, aware enough to know it may be off-putting.

She moves closer, watching the little boy stir and his father hold him more firmly in response. Her smile turns even softer now; warm and yearning. It turns softer still when she reaches the little girl slumbering against her father's shoulder. ]

Milisandia... [ Hemera reaches out to stroke the girl's hair with a tender, careful hand. ] A beautiful name for such a precious blessing.

[ It takes more effort to lift the child from his arms than she would have expected, but she has Milisandia held securely in her arms soon enough. She is solid and warm, with gentle, slumbering breaths dancing against her neck.

There is only one burden Hemera has ever carried that weighed more than this sweet little girl, and she hopes with all her heart that Milisandia will meet a kinder fate. ]

[forgarlemald]

[Ah.]

[Perhaps some would find the eagerness off-putting. And Gaius could see just how eager she was, despite her attempts to appear otherwise calmly collected. The woman's warm smile, and the gentleness of her touch against his daughter's hair, made what apprehension still lingered slowly fade, the corner of his mouth quirking the faintest bit as he allowed the young woman to take Milisandia from him. The care that she took with the child was more than enough to quiet his concerns, and he took the time to adjust his hold on Ricon, a soothing hand on his back as Gaius positioned him more comfortably in his arms.]

[The boy squirmed, and fussed, and then stilled, much to his relief.]

A name I fear I cannot take credit for. Though...I'm inclined to agree. Her parents chose it well.

[A shame that he would likely never know what it meant, unusual a name as it was even among the people of Werlyt. He reached out, once Milisandia seemed settled into the woman's hold, blissfully unaware of the world around her, and smoothed a hand over her hair as if already regretting letting her go. And though his gaze was tired when he turned it back to the young woman, there was a measure of gratitude, the smile faint but there.]

And thank you. But forgive me, I don't believe we've met yet.

[ancestor]

[ Hemera rubs the girl's back in an absentminded, reflexive gesture of reassurance despite her remaining soundly asleep. She recalls what it was like to lose ones parents so young.

But unlike her, Milisandia is not left all alone in the world, and it brings Hemera no small amount of comfort. ]

Indeed they did.

[ She has next to no experience in handling children when situations are not dire, and so she continues to hold Milisandia close, happy enough to enjoy the moment for as long as she can as she waits for the girl's father to lead the way. ]

I am Hemera. And you are... [ Someone with a great deal of Hades in the tone of his soul, and while she does not know how or why this is, it's enough to have made him someone of great importance to her. ] ...Important to my dearest friend, I believe.

[forgarlemald]

[It's not a long walk back to the childrens' berthing, at least. At least, he doesn't believe it is. Once he's certain that the young woman... That Hemera (a familiar name for a familiar face-) is ready, that Milisandia is well in hand, he starts walking down the hall, Ricon's tail flicking lightly against his arm at the movement.]

[Although he almost pauses. Has to look over at Hemera again as they walk, brow furrowed, because he...no, he did hear that right. He's getting on in years, but he's hardly deaf.]

[That doesn't mean that what she says makes any more sense.]

Am I, now? [That is...certainly news to him. Him? Of all people? To his children, perhaps, but he's quite certain that is not who she's talking about here.]

I dare say that it's been some time since I was important to anyone. And your dearest friend is...?

[ancestor]

Would you dare say such a thing were your children not soundly sleeping? [ For all that she teases there is still an undertone of seriousness to her words. ] And you would not know him by the same name...

[ But she can recall a dream she had what feels an eternity ago now, of Hades as an old man, burdened by a heavy crown atop his head. As she follows the father she has the opportunity to take in her surroundings, and the place in her dream felt similar enough to this; cold and unforgiving, yet warmed by the people who inhabited it, and filled with all manner of odd technological trinkets. ]

The people referred to him as 'your radiance', and he wore the most ridiculous of ornaments upon his head.

[forgarlemald]

Were my children not soundly sleeping, they are both bright enough to know themselves exempt from that statement.

[An undertone of seriousness, yes, but seemingly buried quite far under the teasing, as far as Gaius can tell. But he bows his head even then, as if to dutifully take the woman's implied chastisement in stride, although...]

[They haven't walked much further before he stops, turning to Hemera with a frown that seems to etch itself deeper into his features by the second.]

[That time he knows he heard correctly, his expression unreadable as those words turn over in his head.]

You were a friend of Emperor Varis? [Commentary on his majesty's crown aside, that is. Not the answer that he had expected, to say nothing of incredulity of his tone. Hemera isn't Garlean, that much is clear enough to see, and while it perhaps couldn't be outside the realm of possibility that Varis had "dearest friends" beyond van Hydrus...]

[No, something about the notion still doesn't ring quite true. Hemera looks so young, and regardless of Gaius' own efforts toward putting the man on the throne, he was hardly seen as any more important than any other Legatus.]

[And after a moment, his brow raises.]

You couldn't mean Solus.

[ancestor]

[ He stops, frowning at her, and she looks up at him in quiet curiosity, only sparing a moment to readjust Milisandia's positioning in her arms. It shouldn't be so troublesome to carry so small a child, yet Hemera finds herself struggling to maintain her centre of gravity. ]

Emperor? [ It isn't often she comes across words she has no concept of, though she can set that aside for now in favour of the other name the man speaks.

Solus.

That seems somehow very fitting. She smiles, bemused, recalling how his presence brought her such solace in those final days of Amaurot. ]

Yes, that sounds right—Solus. His form was that of an elderly man with the most spectacular beard.

[forgarlemald]

[It's entirely without thinking that Gaius reaches out to gently grab Hemera's shoulder, her struggling to recenter herself under Milisandia's weight a sight that feels familiar, though there's no time to place just why.]

And he was told on many more than one occasion to rid himself of it, if I remember. [And that, while something about her choice of words rings just as strangely as before, is also not the most concerning thing going on in this conversation. Oh no.]

[No, what's concerning here is the Hemera is claiming any of this to begin with.]

My apologies. I am Gaius Baelsar, and I served his majesty, Emperor Solus zos Galvus, for several decades. Before he passed.

For being one of his dearest friends, I don't recall having ever seen you around the palace.

[ancestor]

[ She jumps slightly at the touch though doesn't move to pull away, instead glancing to the culprit with a grateful smile. Milisandia mumbles something incomprehensible, apparently having sensed her father's hand near her horn. Hemera can't help but press her cheek against the crown of the little girl's head and give her a gentle squeeze, overcome by a flood of affection she has no inclination to hide. ]

I don't doubt it. He had always preferred being cleanshaven when we were young.

[ She chuckles at the comment, knowing full well Hades would have been more adamant about keeping the beard had he been told to be rid of it. Milisandia reacts to the sound (the vibration?) of her laughter, gripping her more securely and tucking her face into the crook of her neck before letting out a sigh of sleepy contentment.

Hemera stands very still for a moment, looking overwhelmed to the point of tears by emotions she can't quite place. She does her best to brush it off, refocusing her thoughts to the rest of what the man—Gaius, as she learns—says to her. ]

I—

What is an emperor? Why would you need to serve him? Hades and I— We have ever been the servants to our people... It has never been the other way 'round.

The two of us sat upon the Convocation of Fourteen together. He is the Architect and I was the Traveler. Hades still holds his seat. I...

[ Her brows furrow. ]

The Convocation made a decision I was vehemently opposed to. I would not stand by it but I could not stop it, and so I resigned.

I... don't believe he has ever forgiven me for leaving. Just as I have never forgiven him for what he permitted.

[forgarlemald]

Our people have ever been servants to him.

What you speak is nonsense. What Convocation? Who is Hades, and what-

[It's too late when he realizes his voice has been steadily raising. Too late to notice that Milisandia is stirring in Hemera's arms again, that Ricon is whimpering quietly in his sleep, and that Hemera herself is...]

[Crying? Misty-eyed, at the very least, though the young woman is doing her best to act otherwise, and the sight of it is enough for Gaius' mouth to snap shut before he can continue interrogating her.]

[That...isn't his fault, is it?]

[A tiny first curls more tightly into his shirt, and a mumbled "father" leaves Ricon's lips, and isn't that just a fine bit of guilt to feel now. His hold on the small boy tightens, as does his grip on Hemera's shoulder, a soothing apology before he quickly drops his hand again and nods down the corridor, releasing a long breath.]

Come. Their cabin is the next to the right, and then we can discuss this elsewhere.

I can take Mili back, if you wish. If you're struggling.

[ancestor]

The Convocation of Fourteen. We were... We were elected by our people to guide and protect them... We were the shepherds of our star—

[ Milisandia stirs in her arms, distracting her. Hemera hasn't had a great deal of practice with sleeping children but has lived long enough to know how to soothe them, and so she rocks the little girl gently, humming softly against the horn resting near her lips. While she may have long forgotten the words, Hemera has never forgotten the melody of her mother's lullaby. ]

Shh, shh, little one. Dream of things as sweet as you, hm?

[ The child settles back into deep slumber blessedly quickly, leaving her to exhale a small breath of relief.

Gaius' offer is answered by her stubbornly resuming the journey to the children's quarters. She is not struggling, and she is hardly willing to relinquish such precious cargo before she absolutely must. ]

[forgarlemald]

[Watching just how quickly she soothes his daughter back into peaceful sleep is enough for his frustration to dissipate almost entirely, the small twinge of guilt suddenly an incessant gnawing at the back of his mind. More so as he watches her continue her march down the corridor, very pointedly without his help, and...]

[Well. He can't very well force her, now can he? And he doesn't hesitate to follow, again rubbing soothing, gentle circles into Ricon's back as he walks, the boy again calm and content under his touch. With luck, the little Au Ra will continue to sleep soundly even after he's put to bed. The poor boy always woke so easily, and it would be quite a feat to place him down without doing so now.]

[Although... When they do reach the childrens' quarters, Gaius stops. Stares at it, for a long moment, brow furrowed.]

[It's silly, honestly. He knows, logically, that nothing is actually wrong. Rex, Allie, and Alfonse are all inside, safe and peacefully sleeping themselves, but the thought of opening the door now, of returning Milisandia and Ricon to their beds... The thought alone makes Gaius' chest tighten horribly. Makes him want to hold Ricon all the tighter, to take Milisandia from Hemera's arms without a second thought, because if he goes in there now-]

[If he lets them go now, leaves them there and walks away, he's never going to see them again. Somehow, he knows that without a shadow of a doubt in his mind. They'll be gone, again, and that ache in his core will break into something unbearable.]

[It's abrupt, the way he immediately turns away from the door, walking instead to the one directly across the corridor from it. No warning is given to Hemera at all, save for a distracted gesture for her to follow as he opens the door and steps into the room.]

On second thought- [He pauses. Clears his throat, so his voice doesn't crack a second time, and tries again.] On second thought, they'll stay in my quarters tonight. It wouldn't do to wake up their siblings this late.

We'll just need to continue to speak quietly, while we're here.

1 - also just gonna. blanket warning for Shadowbringers (and late Stormblood) here

[unnecessaryflourishes]

[If there's been any consolation thus far it's that Gaius has been a relatively recent arrival on the ship. Enough to make it at least easier to avoid direction confrontation. True, there is naught he can do about the fact that his name will no doubt be on the lips of any of a number of their fellow travelers. But it is, at least, not the name that should go with his (borrowed) body. Not the name that Gaius will no doubt know as soon as he looks at him, despite him being so much younger like this.

And it's not that he has any objections to facing his past. He has done so before, and will no doubt do so again. But he has, ever and always, preferred to do so at the moment of his choosing.

Alas, fate has different plans in store, and thus it is that he finds himself all but face to face with Gaius.

(It is, perhaps, a mercy that he is not the one who has offered the drink in question, to say nothing of the fact that Gaius has yet to turn around.)]

I would consider it unlikely at best. Oh, no doubt they have a name for it, but I would hardly call that worth the effort.

[There's no mistaking his voice, and he makes absolutely no attempt to try. What will be, will be, and better here than in closer quarters.]

so much warning

[forgarlemald]

[Oh, there's no mistaking that voice at all, no matter how he may have wished to.]

[It's an odd sort of sensation. A not small part of him tenses at the sound of that voice, alighting a sense of urgency ingrained through decades of loyal service. To stand, to turn, to show respect, clashing violently against the need to instead reach over his shoulder for the weapon that's no longer there. Gaius straightens with a start, the mug not halfway to his mouth before it's haphazardly placed aside and he turns around, pale eyes searching out-]

[Not a corpse. Not the haggard man whose passing he had mourned, not so very long ago now.]

[No, this man - Solus zos Galvus, alive whole and hale - looks just as he did back when Gaius had first enlisted into the military (and doesn't that feel like a lifetime ago, now), entirely untouched by time. And Gaius should stand.]

[It's memories of the bodies he and Estinien discovered, there under the Imperial palace, perfectly preserved copies of their emperor one and all, that keeps him rigidly where he is, holding to the distance that Solus so graciously keeps between them. It's easy to keep the snarl from breaking across his face. Less so to keep it entirely from his voice, or the vitriolic edge to his words.]

And who it is that I'm speaking to, exactly? Solus zos Galvus himself, or merely a trespasser in his body?

[unnecessaryflourishes]

[The vitriol in Gaius' voice, when he speaks, does not go unnoticed. Nor has he failed to note the masks hanging at Gaius' hip. Not that he imagines that Gaius will have done anything worse than inconvenience any save the least of his brethren without access to white auracite or similar. But it does make Gaius' position more than clear, and that in turn is what decides his choice.

He has, after all, been Solus for decades; it takes little more than the briefest of thoughts to step back into that role.]

Do you doubt in whose presence you stand?

[The tone of his voice is very nearly calm, despite the words, but it's a calmness that is very much a threat. One that is far more imperial than Ascian, the whisper of a knife's edge wielded with far more subtlety than Varis or Zenos had ever cared to, and there's an almost imperceptible shift of his posture to match. He may be likewise unarmed, but he is not without power, even if he must lean on Gaius' long years of service to make the most of it.

(As for the other sorts of power he wields... he has spent half a mortal lifetime or more hiding those very same. Continuing to do so is no hardship.)]

[forgarlemald]

[Ah. And that sounds like...]

[Responding to the authority in that voice is just second nature, and this time, Gaius does stand. A little more stiffly than he once had, perhaps, though no less swift in answering the other man's unspoken order, and he hates it, the shame that creeps up on him for his reluctance. For questioning the man he'd held so highly.]

[Still holds highly, it seems, paranoia feeling like exactly that in the face of someone who, by all accounts, is Solus. It's one thing for an Ascian to simply wear anothers body, as he's seen before, but it's another to pretend to be their vessel. That tone of voice? Is the very same Gaius has listened to, taken orders and confidence from, for decades. That imperial air, that even Varis had failed to quite match, is just as he remembers, entirely unchanged, and it's hard to imagine one of Lahabrea's ilk portraying such a regal bearing so flawlessly.]

[It's harder to imagine that he would feel such discomfort standing there, broken and disgraced and looking every bit the disappointment he feels, if it were an Ascian before him.]

[The frown doesn't leave his face. Neither does his gaze move from Solus, watching the man warily, and he hesitates before he finally speaks again.]

I find myself doubting quite a lot these days, your radiance. [There's no point in being dishonest. He's never been one to lie, least of all to his emperor, and regardless of who or what he may be speaking to, he isn't going to start now. The pause that follows is uncertain as he considers his next words, before he takes a breath, motioning toward the man.]

Not least of all how you could be standing here, like that.

[unnecessaryflourishes]

[There are many things he could fault Lahabrea for, of late.  Not his single-minded desire to see Rejoinings completed, perhaps.  But very nearly everything else has caused Emet-Selch at least some amount of grief.  In this singular regard, however, Lahabrea’s complete lack of anything like subtlety works in his favor.  Galling though it is to still be picking up after him. Still, it's something that Gaius will not expect.  He knows full well that Elidibus had not much deigned to work with the Empire even after his 'death' and though he doesn't know the full details of Lahabrea's efforts in that regard, he knows the man well enough to know his methods.  Such as they might have been.

(He hadn't cared to know the full details either.  They had been less important, as compared to the fact that he had managed to die.  And properly, at that.)

All the same, he can't deny it's a relief to see Gaius standing in his presence.  Not that he'd had any doubts about his ability to step back into Solus' role but it's still something that he'd thought he'd been done with, when he'd finally allowed Solus to die.  And while he has recently (if briefly) picked up the reins of the Empire once again, neither had it been precisely as Solus.  Merely something that had been closer to that role than it might have been otherwise.  But for now, he can work with relief, and he lets his posture shift just enough to suggest that he has found Gaius' answer satisfactory.  The imperial manner with which he holds himself isn't gone, of course, but there's no more need for the sharper-edged threat he'd implied and so he gently tucks it away again.

(He does not address the stiffness with which Gaius stands.  It's easily enough attributed to age - and Gaius is rather older than he would have been when Solus was this age - and with any luck Gaius might take him not doing so as something like a minor favor.  Especially when he could easily lean harder into taking Gaius to task for it.)]

I was unaware that I should not be.

[The look of mild concern he offers with the words is feigned, of course.  But it looks genuine - every bit of it matching to the sort of expression the man Gaius remembers might have worn, had he heard something that had the potential to pose a genuine problem.  There's a pause then, and he continues on, expression shifting slightly towards calculating as he sets to work on the problem that Gaius has (supposedly) set before him.]

Should there be someone who would lay false claim to my identity, I would hear of it.

[By the tone of his voice, it's more than a simple request, although it's not - yet - an outright order; Gaius has room to choose to not answer, should he wish.  (Should he be able to.)]

[forgarlemald]

[And again, it's hard to imagine any Ascian would know what concern was, let alone would know how to convey it so masterfully. How often had Gaius seen that same look over the years? That the man doesn't press on him for answers is another, generous familiarity, and after a long, heavy moment, Gaius releases a breath he wasn't entirely aware he'd been holding. Unclenches his fist, unsure of when it had tightened in the first place.]

[And though the tension may not be entirely gone, it's hard to miss the way the man's shoulders sag, under the filthy scarf and heavy coat. There's something there, now, far to fragile to be hope but some part of him wanting so desperately to feel relief. This has to be Solus zos Galvus, without a doubt - no Ascian pretender, and not the aging man he had been, but Solus nonetheless.]

[Who else could it be, after all?]

[It's difficult to say if that makes the situation altogether better or worse, in the end.]

You died, your radiance.

[Blunt. To the point. Accusing, perhaps, when the man had died and been mourned, but the heat and venom that had earlier laced Gaius' voice is no longer there. Exhaustion is always too quick to settle back into his bones, these days, when the fury is no longer there to sustain him, though he refrains from being anything but straight-backed and attentive to the man before him. Tired, and confused, and with far too many questions as the situation unravels around him and makes far less sense-]

Of nothing more treacherous than old age, I can assure you.

[But Solus is making a request of him. And while he sees that offered out, that allowance to hold his council...] But... I have every reason to believe that someone is yet plotting to use that to their own ends against our people.

[unnecessaryflourishes]

[Slight though it is, he absolutely doesn't miss the way the tension seems to go out of Gaius, as he releases that breath.  Unclenches his fist and lets his shoulders sag, for all that it might not be anything that he's done consciously.  True, there is no denying that this will complicate matters should the truth come out.  But that truth would have been a difficult one regardless; he is more than glad to put it off for a time.  Still, he has managed to foster some fragment of belief, in Gaius.  All he needs to do now is to maintain that self-same belief.  And that is hardly a difficult task.

(He cannot do anything for the fact that it might yet seem impossible.  But the ship itself is beyond anything either of them might have had cause to experience, prior.  If he can leave the oddity of his current appearance merely an artifact of that it may yet remain an impossibility that doesn't completely jeopardize his attempts.)

He blinks, at Gaius' answer to why he should not appear as he does.  It's not a surprise, of course. He knows full well that he had done so, and that his passing would no doubt have been mourned by at least some of his subjects.  But the way that it's very nearly an accusation is surprising, and if he's using that to stand in for the surprise Solus would have no doubt had to hear of his death at least the emotion is still genuine.

It's just as well, too, that Gaius takes a moment to clarify how he'd died. If only in that it spares him the necessity of feigning any further concern. Or at least, any further concern for the idea of his person, which gives him freer reign to focus on the larger problem.

(The theoretically larger problem. He knows full well that he had created the Empire in large part to sow chaos. That the chaos should, on occasion, take place within her borders is no great surprise.)]

How so?

[He knows, of course, of his own plots, and is not unaware that Elidibus has his own agenda, if not where that might take him. But if there are other agendas, far better to hear of it - and he cannot deny that he has been too busy elsewhere to keep fully abreast of matters on the Source.

Still, it is no significant trouble to marshall his expression into an appropriately concerned frown. Though he might not care overmuch for the majority of the Empire's people, it is still his Empire, and his hand that has guided it for so long.]

Or is it a matter to which there is no concrete proof, as of yet?

[forgarlemald]

[It's surprising, actually, how much reassurance he finds in Solus reacting to the news so calmly. The concern is there, oh yes, and appears to deepen by the moment, but the man wouldn't have been the Emperor that he was if he had been anything less than completely control of himself. He was the rock that their nation was founded on; ever steady and ever confident, as all Garleans should aspire to be.]

[A shame, really, that even that calm makes it no easier to answer the man's next question, Gaius' gaze falling for just a moment before he answers.]

Less so now that Varis has been killed, I'm afraid.

[And doesn't that still sting to say. It wouldn't be this way if he'd been a little bit faster, then, had ignored his emperor's command and simply ended Zenos when he had the opening to do so... But it's far too late to wallow in the what ifs and if onlys. His failures can't be changed now.]

[Nor are his lingering injuries from each and every one of them going to let him ever forget. Once upon a time, standing at rapt attention came as easily as breathing. Now, he moves with a certain stiffness as he turns, pale eyes searching their surroundings, before he looks back to Solus, exhaustion in every line of his features.]

May we speak elsewhere? Away from others?

[unnecessaryflourishes]

Varis?

[Though he knows he and Varis haven't precisely seen eye to eye of late (and not without good reason) it is a name he hadn't expected to be involved in anything to do with.  That he has been killed in whatever unrest has happened is only all the more concerning, to say nothing of the fact that Varis' involvement at all complicates the already-delicate balance of misdirection and partial truths that are all that are keeping his true identity hidden.  Regardless of how well he might have managed such things so far. Still, his appearance does allow him some leeway. Enough that it would not be unreasonable for him to know Varis' name, if naught else. Enough to explain away his confusion at hearing the name spoken in reference to anything nearly so concerning as what Gaius has already mentioned.

Still, confusion or no, it's easy to see the stiffness with which Gaius holds himself and the exhaustion written through him. Easy, too, to see why he might wish to speak elsewhere. This may not be anywhere even so much as remotely near their own world, but the topic is no doubt delicate all the same.]

Ah, yes. Of course.

[There's a nod with words. An indication of a request granted, mostly, as if it is only now occurring to him that Gaius might prefer such things. Still, it's a simple enough thing to manage, though unless they mean to simply find a quieter place among the party there are precious few places to actually sit.

It takes very nearly every fragment of willpower he has, to turn his back on Gaius, knowing that should his facade falter but an ilm Gaius would undoubtedly seek to strike him down. He does it anyway, and without so much as a flicker of hesitation. As if he expects that Gaius will follow along in his wake, as he goes; the unconscious habits he'd left behind when he'd left Solus behind falling back into place the longer he spends returning to the role of emperor.]

Though I doubt most here would understand the details of what we speak.

[Still, he does continue on even as speaks, heading away from at least the worst of the crowds.]

Re: Gaius Baelsar | FFXIV

[lifeshinesbright]

[ Standing in the doorway is a young woman with long silver hair. In her black and white gown she looks rather out of place in such a scene of domesticity. The look on her face is almost wistful as she watches him scoop up the children. ]

I think... I am the one who should apologize...