caughtinanetwork | 25 ★ v i d e o;

[ Gracia shows up on the feed with rather curious expression. She sits by one of the cafes in the plaza, the SFC atop the table. She takes a sip of a warm vanilla milk, and with a slender finger on her lower lip, she begins to speak. A small dog can be slightly glimpsed running around behind her. It barks twice before Gracia's able to get her question out in the open. ]

Tell me something, Vatheon! What does it mean to be an "adult?" [ She leans on her elbows, and pouts. ] Is it really all about how old you are? Or is it more about how you act? That's what Father said to me once...[ Once? More like every time xD ] If that's the case, then how should an adult act?

[ Gracia sighs. This looks like something she's been pondering over for a while now. But speaking as a child at heart herself—regardless of her twenty years of age—Gracia only confused herself trying to look for an answer on her own. ] It's confusing! No matter what I do, it seems that my actions aren't those of an adult! Are adults not allowed to protect their loved ones the way they see fit?

[ Her dog, Futon, barks again. Gracia smiles and reaches down to pet him under the chin. ]

I wonder if to be an adult, I really only need to smile to become part of his strength...? I wonder if that will be enough...?

[ Her last words are no longer aimed at Vatheon's general public; they were questions aimed at herself, concerning a particular person. Her Father was always right, even if tried his best to tell Gracia otherwise. She believes in him fully, and so she wants to protect him no matter what. That was her reason for fighting—to make his dream of peace a reality. But how will she protect him now, when he gave her explicit orders not to? And that, whenever she disobeys him out of love, she is childish? Selfish, even?

Gracia is desperate for answers! (The last thing the SFC shows before she switches it off is her gulping down the rest of her milk with a satisfied and giddy smile. She sighs contentedly.) ]

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[ Those words are too familiar for her liking. She hears them and she reacts impulsively; those are the words her Father has repeated to himself time and time again. It was as if Gorthan was not speaking at that moment, but Mitsuhide. It was as if she was suddenly transported into a scenery of gloom and darkness, one where her Father refuses to let her in, and all she can hear is the echo of his pained voice; I am sad and tormented, that I have done nothing to deserve it.

She won't have it. Gracia shakes her head in such frustration that her headband goes slightly loose. She stops pointing at him and puts her hands back on her hips. She's extremely irritated, but not at him directly. ]

Hey! Stop that! I don't like hearing those kinds of things!

[ Gracia was making a bit of a scene; most of the patrons of the cafe were already staring at their general direction. But she wasn't one to care much. ]

Gorthan will prove that he deserves it! Okay? Because you do! So stop telling yourself things like that!

25 ★ v i d e o;

TOO KIND