Roses Roses

[Kristopher Roberts]

There was a lot of things that Kristopher Roberts was a afraid of in life, some might even consider him to be a coward compared to the rest of his family. However, that wasn't compeltely true but nonetheless, he was standing right in the middle of the walkway that would lead him back into the Palace.

Kris had been given a chore that took him across the large homestead of the boogies and to travel on foot a little ways. Though, he was taking a short cut after his trip to get inside faster and out of the cold that would lead him to his death with his poor immune system.

That was where the problem laid out, before his feet a good five feet where roses. Dead roses, dying from the cold of winter as the frist frost had hit not more then a day ago. Kristopher wouldn't go near the flower, not because he was afraid to step across the mess of flowers, but because they might reach out and harm him.

A silly fear to have unless you knew the reason the blond feared them so much. He wouldn't go near them, not in a million years but he wanted to go in to get out of the cold...but the roses...

And then something caught his eye, movement. He took a step back as his mismatched eyes narrowed. Great, he saw something he hated more then flowers.

Aione.

[Aione Higurashi]

After a while, loss and grief became as simple to handle as breathing in and out. For Aione, being stuck in her room for almost two weeks had been just enough time to get herself back together. In her black jeans and black turtle-neck she'd finally gotten the courage to leave her room and venture to the world outside. Seasons had shifted since that day. It was colder now, and frosty, and almost every plant around had succumb to the approaching winter's death. That was the only reason the young woman had even decided to wander the gardens today.

Being among the dead and dying gave her some comfort. She didn't think she could stand being in the palace, filled with crowds of the living.
Not yet.

Of course there was always something that broke that sweet silence. Before it had been Elric. Then again, that hadn't been too bad. But this time...Aione turned her steely gaze to see the one person she both envied and loathed at the same time. Envied because, despite this state-of-mind's protests, her other persona had had feelings for Augusta. And loathing because, unlike her own lover, Augusta was alive. But it was a shallow hatred. Barley skin-deep. Guilt seemed to be more prominent at the moment.

After all, Ai-chan has almost slept with this person's lover.

Kristopher.

"...good afternoon, Roberts-san..."

This might not end well.

[Kristopher Roberts]

Mismatched eyes stared at Aione and she was lucky enough to be on the otherside of the roses or Kristopher might of done something rather violent then. Granted, it wouldn't be much seeing as his arm had been seriously messed up and in a sling, thanks to a boogie by the name of Luther. Him and his crossbow had done a number to him and his twin.


"...good afternoon, Roberts-san..."

The blond rested a hand upon his injuried arm and shifted his weight to the right as he regarded the little bitch that tried to tempt his Augusta and almost succeeded. Drunk or not, he didn't like her or trust her and as for Augusta, he had forgiven him for his errors but not this woman.

It took a lot for him to not flip her off and march the other way to get back to the palace, the long way. So, he took a moment to reflect before replying, "Good afternoon, Higurashi." he didn't even bother greeting her with a proper title, she wasn't worth it in his eye.

"How...are you this fine...evening?" Clearly, the blond was straining to remain somewhat kind even though his brow was twitching as he spoke. God, he just wanted to go in and be away from this crazy bitch. A small crooked smile came to his face lopsidedly.

[Aione Higurashi]

For a second, Aione was a little surprised that Kris had called her by her last name. She hadn't expected him to even know it, considering they'd never actually spoken to each other outside of the incident a whiles back. And even then she hadn't addressed him, or him her. It had been an awkward meeting. But she was even more flustered by the lacking of honorifics. It was one of the highest degrees of rudeness in her culture to not use an honorific without permission...then Ai had to remind herself Kris wasn't Japanese and probably didn't know what he was saying offended her.

Then again, even if he did, he probably would have still done it.

What had the ex-redhead done to deserve this scorn? Oh, right, she'd let her stupid other-voice seduce his boyfriend. Duh.

It was like the urge-to-strangle was coming of Kris in waves. "I'm well...tending to the dried-up plants, as I was assigned..." Aione looked down at the field of dying roses between her lithe self and the injured blond. Absently she bent down and plucked one that hadn't lost all of it's color yet, appearing like an ashen-red. It was pretty. And she knew Kris disliked roses. Like a cat disliked water.

That wasn't the reason she liked them. But it helped.

"What are you doing in the garden?" The young woman mused, twirling the thorny plant between her thumb and pointer finger like a 'host' would. "I thought you got sick this time of year. That's what Augusta-kun told me the other day...was he was mistaken?" Bringing up Augy now was just asking for trouble, but Aione felt like she could use a good fight. Being pent up in her room without any shoulder angel was making her a little wild. Plus, even though she was smaller, Kris was still younger...and weaker with his hurt arm.

Is it wrong to pick a fight with a crippled sick-boy?

[Kristopher Roberts]

True Kris did not know that was an actual big insult to her, for one he wasn't Japanese and did not know about their culture. So thus, he didn't care and he probably wouldn't care anyways.

. "I'm well...tending to the dried-up plants, as I was assigned..."

Well, to Kris she was failing at her job because there were dead flowers everywhere, especially roses. Which brought about the reason he couldn't pass because of the roses and she wasn't cleaning them up fast enough.

"Well, you missed a few....dozen." He stated pointing down at the roses that blocked his path.

"What are you doing in the garden?I thought you got sick this time of year. That's what Augusta-kun told me the other day...was he was mistaken?"

His brow twitched, "I was taking a shortcut to get in out of the cold faster." Oh course mentioning Augusta only pissed him off a bit more. "You weren't misinformed, I do get sick very often, hence why I was taking this shortcut."

"However, it seems I have a few roadblocks..." Hint. Hint. Nudge. Nudge.

[Aione Higurashi]

The rose still in her pale little hands, Aione gaze Kris a little glare like that of a put-off child. She'd only just started cleaning up the dead plants. 'Give me a break!' she wanted to yell. But maybe it was a good thing she'd missed these roses. After all, Krissy feared the pretty flower, and now she had about few dozen around her feet. Maybe she could play a little game of darts before the day was over. Or 'pin the thorns on the uke and then feed him to a fly-trap'.

Wow, without Ai-chan to dilute her, Aione could get mean.

"Yes, well, I apologize." She spoke quietly and innocently, much like the cutie Ai-chan would have. Again the slave plucked a few more roses from the ground. "I'll get to moving theses right now." Without so much as a stitch of conscious, Aione had tossed the roses to her side...directly in the direction of Kristopher. She hadn't thrown them hard, just so they would hit his leg or something like that. The cruel little grin that showed on her once-sweet face was very out of place...and yet, it felt all too natural.

Then to twist the wrist a little more, the silver-eyed girl's cold expression shifted to the warm, happy smile she often gave to a certain glasses wearing watch-maker. It was nothing more than a mask. "So, tell me, Roberts-san, how is Augy-chan? I haven't seen him in a while...tell him to visit me again soon!"

A two-faced demon.

[Kristopher Roberts]

"Yes, well, I apologize."

Oh well, looky here it seems the girl had some manners afterall! He wanted to say that but he didn't, instead he merely watched her, not even offering to help in her chore for so many reasons. One, he didn't like her and two he feared roses.

"I'll get to moving theses right now."

"Than---OH MY FUCKING GOD!" Kristopher back paddled away from the flying roses that bounced off his pants leg and rolled harmlessly upon the cold ground. The blond almost lost his balance as his heart pounded in his chest wildly.

He looked down at the flower with wide eys and then to the smirking Aione. "You....little bitch." He muttered between clenched teeth. She knew what she was doing, he could tell by the look on her face that she did all that on purpose! How dare that little---whore do that to a cripple and tramatized boy!

"So, tell me, Roberts-san, how is Augy-chan? I haven't seen him in a while...tell him to visit me again soon!"

"Better without you lifting up your skirt at him." Augy-chan, It was such a friendly term and he hated it coming out of her mouth. He grew tense as he stared down at her in pure hate. He would never tell Augy to visit her nor would he let him ever go near this hooker again!

[Aione Higurashi]

At Krissy's little flail-and-dodge action, a laugh escaped Aione's pink from cold lips. He was so angry at her right now, and although it was Ai-chan and not her that held affections for Augusta, she was all too willing to pretend in order to have the fight she was itching to have. Wasn't one of the stages of grief anger? Maybe that was were she was right now. Either way, him cursing at her only helped kick her evil smirk back into place before she pulled up a few more of the disliked greenery and began lacing it together. A crown of roses, and thorns, as it were.

Maybe when she beat him she would put it on his head.

"Did I scare you? I'm so sorry, Roberts-san." Holding the circle of flowers in one hand, she placed the other against her cheek. "I didn't know you were afraid of roses..." She did, of course, know he was terrified of them. Who didn't? The scar and that horrid red eye of his was enough to tell the whole story. But playing innocent was the direction she was going with her cruel behavior. It wouldn't be any fun if she didn't mess with Kris before they fought.

Again with the insults. This time, however, little Barbie was making her sound like a whore. How mean. Aione, the real Ai, hadn't had any say when her drunken other-self had tried (and sorta succeeded) in getting her hands all over Augusta. If anyone was to blame, it would be Ai-chan. But would Kris believe that? 'I didn't almost-rape your boyfriend, my schizophrenic other-half did'...sounded a little too out-there to believe. Her eyes narrowed slightly as her grin grew, more dark and twisted then before.

"Oh...forgive me, I didn't know you two had made up. That's a pleasant surprise." Really, it was, but she was playing the enemy right now so the sarcasm forced to show. "I thought for sure he was leaving you. Or you him. What with all that 'marriage is for losers' and talking about how much you hate him..." Aione blinked when she cut her finger on a thorn, shifting the crown of roses to her other hand, but the smile stayed in place. She giggled softly as blood dripped from her finger.

"...and what with him being all over me..."

[Kristopher Roberts]

She was egging him on and he knew it and he was going right along with it. Lately, things haven't been going to well for him not with a messed up arm, illness, Augusta's personal issues and his own that was getting wrapped up in far to much.

Either way, he was falling for her bait. "How about you shut up and just let me pass." He stated with dislike, if things kept up like this, there was going to be a fight and a poor one at that!


"Oh...forgive me, I didn't know you two had made up. That's a pleasant surprise. I thought for sure he was leaving you. Or you him. What with all that 'marriage is for losers' and talking about how much you hate him..."

Ping. Hit right in the kisser, metaporhically at least. If the blond was mad, he just got furious. "You seriously, need to learn to keep your fucking mouth closed, woman." Kristopher Roberts took a step towards her, trying very hard to ignore the flowers. Kris was normally a peaceful man, but there were times he could be just as violent as anyone else.

"Before I close it for you." He threatened, god he hated this woman with a passion! She was a little temptress and a bitch. His working hand was clenched into a tight fist. Apparently, he was thinking very seriously about decking her out, girl or not!

"...and what with him being all over me..."

"Drop the attitude, its not very becoming of a lady. Heh, but you're not much of a lady are you?" He declared taking another few steps towards her, stopping a good foot away from the roses. "Ladies don't stick their ass up in the air and begging for a good fuck."

[Aione Higurashi]

"Is the pretty boy mad at me?" Aione teased, spinning the rose crown on her wrist. The sweater kept any thorns from hurting her. With Kristopher stepping closer, flowers or not, Ai could see this was cemented to become a fight. She was leading him along, he was falling for it. He was getting pissed off to the umptenth degree...she wasn't. Aione wasn't mad at all. The insults weren't towards her, they were directed at the girl she wasn't. The anger, the jealousy, the hatred...all Ai-chan's problem. All Aione wanted was the fight.

And hell, she was going to get it.

Taking a few graceful steps forward so she was just out of the blond man's reach, the human girl tilted her head innocently. "Maybe I don't need to be a lady. Augusta-kun swings both ways. So he'll want me either way, right?" The raven-haired woman laughed again. Then Kris let that last comment slip, and that devilish smirk grew even stronger. She leaned in, within Kristopher's arm-reach, and said in a sing-song voice, "Is that true? Then what does that make you?"

And before the boy could react, Aione swung back the arm with the roses around it, then back forward again, smacking Kris right in the face with a fist-full of roses.

Playtime's over...

[Kristopher Roberts]

"Is that true? Then what does that make you?"

What did it make him? A murderer is what it made him alright! As soon as the roses touched his face, he resisted the urge to run away from them, he reached out and took her by the wrist. He squeezed her wrist as hard as he could, which was surprisingly strong. He might look like a frail boy, but he had enough strength to cause damage. He wasn't related to Kyle Roberts for nothing!

While holding her wrist, the one hand that held the roses, he pulled her wrist down in an awkward angle and took a step into her. His face was bleeding from the thorns racking against his cheek. His face was pale and his hand trembled from being so close to the thing he feared. But he had control in this one.

Kristopher looked down at her with narrowed eyes filled of horror and rage. "Hit me with those again, and I promise to God, I WILL break that delicate wrist of yours...both of them. Then we will see how useful you are to them." Them, meaning boogies. If a slave couldn't work, then it was pointless to keep them alive. Unless, you where lucky like Kristopher.

To get his point across he pushed her wrist further back to the point of snapping. "And if I see you near him, well, I have no issue taking a knife to you. Trust me, I'm a doctor." He knew his vital organs well and a quick jab to a certain part of the leg was certain death.

[Aione Higurashi]

Well that didn't go exactly as planned.

Aione let out a little yelp when her wrist was grabbed and twisted in a bad way. She'd thought she was the one with the high-ground, what with having the roses, but damn Barbie was stronger than he looked. And that was really saying something. For the briefest of brief seconds, Ai's silvers eyes lost their edge. She wasn't to blame. It was Ai-chan's fault. Why was she fighting him? It hurt. Why was she even putting up this fight...?

To be in pain...makes it easier to forget...

The edge came back as soon as it had fled, that icy grin still in place. "Just because I look breakable doesn't mean I am, Krissy." She tried to pull out of his grasp. Didn't work. His next threat caught her a little off-guard. Hadn't he heard who her new master was? That they were both Naelona's slaves? "They might be angry, but who's stupid enough to mess with our mistresses belongings?" If he hadn't known, he did now.

"Do you really think Augy-chan would like to hear his lover killed his best friend...?" Ai pulled against his wrist again. When it didn't work the second time, she let her leg step back. "Or maybe you really do want him to be miserable." With another pull at her wrist, Aione used the momentum to kick her leg up and slam it into the doctor's side. Of course that meant her foot was hitting rather close to his injured arm, but did she really care?

Nah. She was to far gone at this point.

[Kristopher Roberts]

"Just because I look breakable doesn't mean I am, Krissy."

"Could of fooled me." He growled, keeping his hold on her and making sure she wasn't getting anywhere. He didn't know why, but he suddenly found all this very amusing, maybe it was because he was realizing some interesting bits of information he heard in the halls.

"They might be angry, sure, but who's stupid enough to mess with our mistresses belongings?"

The blond couldn't help it, he laughed, laughed right in her pretty face as he held her wrist with a shaking hand. He was doing his best to keep a hold of her and the roses staying away from him. "Funny, here's an interesting tidbit for you, Higurashi." He chuckled evilly, unfitting for Kristopher really. "Madam Naelona, hates female slaves. She finds them disgusting and useless as they day they where born. She wouldn't care if you just suddenly, up and lets say---disappeared." He mused on that for a moment, he wasn't afraid of his Madam if he did kill this girl.

Naelona would only pat him on the back and give him a treat.

Now, for Augusta, that was another story. "No one would say I did it. Let's recall, I am the most unlikely person to kill in all of wonderland. But if someone pulled out a life support chord by accident, whose to blame?" Ah yes, she better watch herself when it came to visiting the hospital!

Finally, he let go of her arm with a push as soon as she kicked him. He grunted in pain and pulled away, the contact hurt and she had clipped his arm just enough to send a jolt of pain to his brain.

"Best friend my ass! Last time, stay away from him! Don't you be trying to take my love just because mines alive and your is damn well dead and gone!" Yeah, he knew what she was trying to it, it finally clicked.

Tristan was dead, Augusta was not. It was always better to cause pain then it was to be in it.

[Aione Higurashi]

Aione hadn't really cared if her threat about Naelona worked or not. She didn't know much about the woman who claimed her now, so finding out she would be hated just because of her gender wasn't that big of a deal. Knowing it meant she was unprotected was a bad thing. Since she'd been in Wonderland she'd been protected by her master...but what did it matter now? She was a good, well-behaved slave, so only the crazy Boogies would have any reason to kill her. And she avoided Iugo for a reason.

Kristopher's little evil laugh did earn him a blink. That sounded way to demonic...way too Boogie...what the hell was up with this brat? At least she'd managed to get her wrist free in that little kick of hers. Now she had both fists, and her rose weapon, just in case this got worse. And Aione hoped it would. She was getting higher and higher off this little cat fight, feeling angry more than feeling the pit in her chest and the freezing air around her.

And then Kris said it. A blow way below the belt.

Immediately the grin fell, ice and urge to hurt drowning under the waves of loss that she'd thought had parted after weeks being lost in its grip. Tristan. He'd brought up Tristan, Aione's love and light...whose death had plunged her into this darkness. That's what I'm doing, isn't it? I'm pretending...I'm fighting...because... Aione's legs gave out and she fell into a kneel, jeans ripped from the thorns that dug into her legs.

The act was gone. Aione started at the ground, feeling the swelling in her eyes though tears didn't fall. Two weeks of crying had drained her eyes dry.

"...nn..." the broken girl buried her face in her hands, one of which was torn with thorns. The pain on the outside was nothing to the pain inside.

[Kyle Roberts]

It was on this night that Kyle found himself hobbling back toward the palace, trying to make it in before it got too dark to see. His face had the same relaxed expression that it most always had, and from simply looking at that it was impossible to tell that anything could be wrong with him. However most people never noticed that, instead seeing the arm that was bandaged and strapped to his side, the crutch that rested under the other bandaged arm, the leg with the odd limp to it, and the other leg that was so heavily bandaged and splinted that even the slightest movement of it was literally impossible.

Stubborn as ever though, Kyle wasn't letting the normally debilitating injuries slow him up for even a moment. He hadn't been in the hospital even half a day before he was out, granted he hadn't taken the liberty of informing any of the nurses of his departure. And the second thing he'd done, after checking on Kris and receiving a prompt lecture, was to go to Naelona for his daily assignments. She'd been none too pleased that he wasn't where he was supposed to be, but since Kris was mostly confined to the castle and Elric to a chair, he was sadly the only one who could get out and about.

Unfortunately he wasn't able to handle his normal tasks, stubborn or no, and so she'd simply sent him down to the market to pick up a few items she'd been wanting. It hadn't taken him long to get about and retrieve them, only about one and a half times as long as normal, and so he'd managed to beat the sun so far. From the looks of things he didn't have much time though, and once it got dark the risk of him accidentally setting his crutch down into a hole went up by spades. Luckily he knew of a back entrance to the palace, and so if nothing happened to slow him down he'd be there in just a few minutes. Looking up at the path in front of him, it as all he could do to keep from groaning. I just had to think it

Up ahead stood his little brother, Kris, fighting someone in spite of his injuries. His eyes automatically narrowed at that, and even more when he caught a glimpse of the person the blonde was going at it with. With a grimace on his face he hobbled forward, trying to get there before the two got hurt anymore than they might already have had. Unfortunately he couldn't move fast enough to stop them in time, arriving just as Kris spoke those last words.

Now, Kyle didn't know what the blond was talking about, but he could gather enough from the words to know that it could never be called for. Something like that was beyond necessary, and he was none too pleased that it was his little brother saying the words. "Kristopher Allen Roberts!" Leaning on his semi-good leg, he swung the crutch up and hit the boy in the thigh with it. It wasn't enough to injure him, but he hoped it'd be enough to knock some sense into the boy.

Just in case, he moved up between the two of them, grabbing Kris' good wrist and glaring at him. "Just what the hell is going on here?" He cast a glance over his shoulder at the girl, who despite her lack of injuries seemed to be the worse for wear. The grimace on his face hardened, as did the auburn eyes that turned back to lock onto the mismatched orbs before him.