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Post by Alex Meriweather on Jun 23, 2010 23:55:11 GMT -5
"'This world shall be theirs, time and again, and crowds of the powerful shall know them, revered and reviled, in short lives until brutal ends...'" Alex repeated in perfect cadence.
"Hitoshi, whatever is going on, are you sure we want to know?"
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Post by Hitoshi Gilespi on Jun 24, 2010 0:49:46 GMT -5
"There is a tendency, when dealing with prophecies, that the harder you fight against them, the surer they are to come true. All the same, I think I'd rather know what I'm up against, especially now that we've already got so many clues."
Hitoshi looked at him for a long moment and raised an eyebrow. "You remembered all of that?"
He paused for a moment, then foraged on. "The world shall be theirs, time and again..." he repeated slowly. "In short lives and brutal ends..." He closed his eyes, as if drawing on some knowledge he hadn't entirely been aware of.
"Achilles and Alexander both died young, and shortly after Patroclus and Hephaestion respectively. Achilles died avenging Patroclus', even though he knew it would mean his death. Alexander the Great died shortly after Hephaestion, before the funeral was technically even complete. And their similarities didn't end there. Many sources suggest Achilles and Patroclus were lovers, which would have been morally acceptable by Greek standards, and the same is widely believed about Alexander and Hephaestion."
Hitoshi's throat felt suddenly dry. While he was vaguely aware of all of that--in English class they had talked a bit about the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus, and most of the other information he'd either learned in class or read at the museum--it seemed to come out far more quickly and naturally than he would expect. He'd hardly needed to think for it...could almost picture it, in fact.
"I want to know what's going on," he murmured. "Because I really don't trust the conclusions I'm drawing."
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Post by Alex Meriweather on Jun 24, 2010 2:33:00 GMT -5
One side of Alex's mouth twitched up into a smirk. "Hmm. You'd be surprised what I can remember."
Alex stepped forward and looked around one of the informative-plaque-covered pillars. "What are your conclusions? Because all I'm getting is there's some sort of magic in the Iliad that makes men want to kiss and me want to play... more chess..."
There was a plate displayed on the other side, supposedly recently recovered from another museum; Achilles bandaging Patroclus' wounds, a scene he didn't remember from what Hitoshi had shown him of the Iliad, but supposedly very famous. Something about it made Alex sniffle, and he covered his face with one hand.
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Post by Hitoshi Gilespi on Jun 24, 2010 3:01:15 GMT -5
"I'm not entirely sure what conclusions I'm drawing, except that none of them seem remotely feasible. It's not like Achilles actually existed, at any rate--the stories are just myths. He's not any more real than the Greek gods themselves."
Hitoshi got the vague impression that something really wanted to slap him for that. He was suddenly reminded that it was a bit presumptuous to say that the Greek legends were fiction given the people he went to school with, and that how would he like it if people ran around saying that he wasn't real?
The same plate caught Hitoshi's eye, and a warm feeling settled in Hitoshi's stomach. He slipped his hand into Alex's and squeezed it lightly, and wondered if maybe he was over-thinking this.
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Post by Alex Meriweather on Jun 24, 2010 3:57:13 GMT -5
"Mm," Alex replied, squeezing his eyes shut. He laced his fingers through Hitoshi's and set about memorizing how his hand felt instead of thinking of whatever else was going on.
"Whatever..." He sighed. How did relationship angst become the less annoying problem? "Look, Hitoshi, I don't know what this means. I mean... the kissing and the other... I'm not trying to lead you on, but... I mean, apparently I do like you. Like that. But everything else..."
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Post by Hitoshi Gilespi on Jun 24, 2010 4:23:02 GMT -5
Hitoshi felt his stomach muscles tighten unpleasantly. "You're obviously still not sure." It kind of hurt to think about, and a part of him would much rather have been trying to unravel that damn prophecy than talking about what they may more may not have.
"If you need more time... It's going to be at least a week before you see Blaise again, at any rate. Why don't you give yourself until the end of the field trip to make any sort of solid decision, and until then just...use your best judgment. Breaking up wasn't something you chose to do lightly, and I'm not going to expect you to change your mind just because of some momentary lapse on your part."
He glanced back over at Alex and gave him a small smile. "And if at the end of the week your decision still stands, at least I got one last kiss."
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Post by Alex Meriweather on Jun 24, 2010 4:51:26 GMT -5
Alex looked away and nodded. "That was what I'd been planning..."
The last bit made him feel like he'd been stabbed. He pulled his hand out of Hitoshi's awkwardly and started walking off.
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Post by Hitoshi Gilespi on Jun 24, 2010 5:00:38 GMT -5
"Alex--?" Hitoshi stared after him for a moment wondered what he'd said this time, then followed after him quietly for a moment.
"I think we've looked through most of the exhibits, so if you're starting to get hungry, we can see if Hitomi wants to meet somewhere," he suggested. He was in no hurry to see Hitomi or her boyfriend again, but maybe being around other people would relieve whatever the hell had been going on since this morning.
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Post by Alex Meriweather on Jun 24, 2010 5:56:58 GMT -5
"I just want to get out of here," Alex said quietly, hugging his chest. "Get into the sunshine and away from all these old, dead things..."
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Post by Hitoshi Gilespi on Jun 24, 2010 6:11:41 GMT -5
Hitoshi nodded. As much as he wanted to figure out what was going on, a very significant part of him wished he could just forget about all of this prophecy nonsense and go about his life without knowing. That would be much, much simpler.
"I'll see where Hitomi wants to meet," he said quietly, digging out his phone.
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