Third Shard [Action]

[soheartless]

Once upon a time...

There was a prince who was locked in a tower. His kingdom had been conquered by a dark king who was known for his ravenous greed, and he sealed off the prince from his people whom he loved. Alone and desperate, the prince was overwhelmed by sorrow until a miracle appeared. A swan had come to his window, and her feathers concealed letters from the people he missed so dearly. Day after day, the swan returned, bringing him more words of hope and well wishes from his people. These letters helped to rebuild the prince's heart, and he started to have hope again. One day, the swan decided to fulfill that hope. She lent him her wings, and with them he soared to freedom. The wings wore down as he reached land, and the prince was free to lead his people again. It was only then that he realized that by giving up her wings, the swan had trapped herself in his place. She was never seen again, and with that, all of the happiness that the prince had found began to crumble away.

In fact, it is said that this prince never smiled again...

[Action]

[Today, Mytho's wandering around town has something closer resembling meaning to it. Sure, he doesn't live near enough Duck to immediately notice her absence - nor does he come across her path on a daily basis. But he's still searching for her, without stopping. He goes around various locales around the town such as the library, the bakery, the fountain and most places around the plaza. And throughout his search, he specifically looks sad. He had felt that heart shard return to him the previous night, and that emotion - the emotion of sorrow - has been weighing on him ever since.

He will often stop passerby to ask them:]

Excuse me. Have you... seen Duck?

[Or, he may instead ask.]

Do you know... where Tutu is?

[Everyone knows Duck and Tutu, right? But all along, in a way, he knows. They're both gone. He's been able to feel it, ever since he woke up. He's not sure why both Duck and Tutu are associated with his feeling... He just knows that it feels like a piece of his heart is gone.

The search is over when night falls. He sits at the edge of the fountain, wallowing in this sorrow. And wishing he had the strength to try to dance.]

Comments

[imatreenow]

[A scoff, as if he pities Mytho. He doesn't.]

I've never been your friend. We were all forced to believe delusions. [He likes having someone else to blame, to hate. The distance is safe.]

[soheartless]

It was... like a story... [He muses, trying to remember what he was told after the event.]

But you're still here. My parents are gone, but you're still here.

[imatreenow]

A story, which means none of it was real. [His words are clipped, as if letting them settle for any longer would be a waste of his time.]

Are you really that stupid?

[soheartless]

I don't know. [He goes on slowly and vacantly. Mithos's words can't really sting him in his current state for the most part, aside from inspiring some twinges of fear.] But... I used to be in a story, once. Just like... my knight. And... Princess Tutu...

[imatreenow]

[There's still something incredibly off about this human, even now that everything has been set back to normal. He can't put his finger on it... Not that he cares, not on anything resembling a personal level. But it holds familiar echoes of echoes.

Mithos will humor him. In the least humorous sense of the word.]

And how did that story end? [Cold like the steel edge of a blade. He doesn't want to hear any happily ever afters. He wants to know that everything fell apart and they were never happy again.]

[soheartless]

I don't know. The story hasn't ended. I don't know... how it is supposed to end.

[There is something like struggle on his usually vacant face as he tries to remember what he can of the story.]

The story - the Prince and the Raven. The Prince... shattered his heart to seal away the Raven. And Tutu... Tutu was to repair my heart. But she is also... [He frowns; remembering what was read to him of Tutu's ending inspires that rush of sorrow.] to disappear, into a speck of light...

[imatreenow]

So she's gone, and your heart cannot be repaired. [He speaks with an ironic bite, unsure of how seriously he should be taking the story. Mytho may believe what he's saying, but that doesn't make it true - and maybe that solves the question of what's so strange about this human.]

What will you do? [A hint of taunting, anything but genuine concern.]

[soheartless]

That's right.

[He says, his shoulders sinking as he looks down.]

I don't know. I don't know what I will do. Maybe... Rue has a better idea.

Or... [He looks towards Mithos glumly.] what would you think I should do now?

[imatreenow]

[His face twists into a disgusted smirk. Is this human seriously asking him for advice?] How should I know?

I already told you...I'm not your friend, and I'm not interested in helping you.

[soheartless]

Oh. I see. [He bows his head and accepts it quickly.]

I'll ask Rue, then.

[imatreenow]

[It's like he doesn't understand malice... Which snuffs out any glimmer of fun toying with this fool could offer. On the bright side, he won't have to put up with him for any longer.]

As long as you stop wasting my time, I don't care what you do.

[soheartless]

[At least not until his raven's blood kicks in - whenever that happens, Mithos may be in for a fight. But as it is, he mostly has emotions that tie into passivity. And now, there is still an undercurrent of fear that he feels from Mithos's harshness.]

Yes. I will stop wasting your time, Mithos...