Tale as Old As Time [Finished]

[accalia]

"...... How?...." Echo Sighs, defeated. "... How?...."

[yamikuronue]

Siegfried says nothing; It's Vi who speaks what he's thinking: "Therein lies the rub."

With Lance back, and Wolf safely tucked into his subconscious, the house was that much gloomier, more dark and depressing. Lance didn't scamper about, didn't like going outdoors, didn't talk much, wasn't playful; he instead tried to play the hermit, hiding in his room.

It's a minor miracle that Obsidian got him to come down and fold himself into the armchair in the living room, sipping a protein smoothie and scowling, but present in a communal living space. "This had better be worth it," he warns, not for the first time, as Obsidian returns, their guest in tow.

[CalamityJade]

"Because I'm a fan of wasted time?" O was coming in with a large, dusty box. It was probably from something deep in the attic, which he doubted Lance had ever actually gone through. "I thought this might help with a bit of context." He set down the box and started digging through it.

[accalia]

Bitch had taken to following Obsidian closely, and started sniffing at the box once Obsidian put it down. She quickly broken into a sneezing fir thanks to all the dust.

[CalamityJade]

After a few moments he pulls out a VCR and a couple of tapes. "Figured they'd still be there." He takes them over to the TV and starts hooking the VCR up. ";I fgured it was some time since you had seen any of these, that it might be a good time to look at them now."

[yamikuronue]

"...old tapes?" he asks, incredulously. "Seriously?"

[CalamityJade]

"Yes, seriously. You seem to have forgotten everything but what you think is important." Once he has that hooked up he holds up one of the tapes. "So, I figured it'd be much easier to show, rather than tell." With that he put the video tape in and hit 'play'.

[accalia]

"tapes boring" comments Bitch under her breath "do something more fun!"

[yamikuronue]

The tape starts up with what is obviously a home movie: it shows the kitchen area, wobbly, clearly being held in hand. The camera moves to the back door, peeping out at the grassy bit near the kitchen garden. On the grass, two children are playing: a young boy with reddish-brown hair, and a young girl, blonde. Both are about six, though the girl is slightly taller.

"Siri, Siri! Look! I caught a frog! Siri, stop running, look at it!" the boy is calling. Sure enough, there's a very uncomfortable-looking frog clasped between his hands. The blonde girl, clearly frightened of the animal, is shrieking and running away, but the little boy has a determined look on his face and plenty of energy.

Lance watches the tape, his frown deepening. He barely remembers the girl -- some distant cousin? -- but it's clear who the boy is supposed to be.

[CalamityJade]

"You would be surprised." O looked at the tape and chuckled. "That's how you always were then. Doing everything with the same amount of enthusiasm." After a while, an older man came into the picture. "Lance, I don't think she wants to see the frog, but I'll take a look." He was wearing some cover-alls, obviously having been working on something outside. "Heh...right, he did say something about planting flowers."

[yamikuronue]

There's a soft, feminine chuckle from behind the camera.

At the sight of the man and the sound of the woman's voice, Lance pulls his knees to his chest, blinking away the beginnings of tears. He'd thought he'd gotten over missing them, at least in such a concrete, physical way, but there they were, and here he was, without them, and it hurt like a knife to his gut.

On the tape, little Lance shows no such remorse. Instead, he turns to his father, stamping a foot. "She won't see my frog! Frogs are the best and she should SEE it."

[CalamityJade]

His father shakes his head. "I'm very sure she's sees the frog, Lance. You can't make her do anything like that. If she doesn't want to see it, then that's it." He puts his hand on Lance's head. "But you did find a big one. Didn't think there were any around here."

O gave a bit of a sigh as he watched. He did miss them...sure, his brother had been infuriating with how he acted, but it wasn't every out of character. He cared about everyone and tried his best to do right..more than O ever did, at least.

[yamikuronue]

Lance puts his head on his knees. "Why?" he croaks.

[accalia]

"sad pictures..." Bitch observes. "make happier ones!"

[CalamityJade]

"It's the past, so I don't have control over it." O shook his head. "And the reason was to make a point about how you used to be as a kid...here" He stopped that tape and put in another one. This one was obviously a different time since Lance looked older and he was being a bit scowly while someone similar to O was kneeling down next to him. "Hey kid...what's with the face?" The voice was also his.

O shook his head. "You did NOT like the idea of meeting new people. That's for sure."