[There are several envelopes addressed in slightly archaic cursive left around camp where their recipients will be sure to see them.]

( Raphael )

---

( Seth )

---

( Merryweather )

[The paper is folded small and tied hastily with a length of ribbon. Once unwrapped, a little ring falls out: not expensive, by any means, and it looks as though it has been well-loved. At some point -- who can say when? -- the entire tiny package was slipped into one of Ciel's pockets.]

Ciel,

I expect that you will be home by the time you find this. Do not ask how I knew -- suffice to say it was clear enough, if one knew where to look for the signs. I wonder if perhaps I should be insulted that you chose not to say goodbye, but I shall choose not to be. After all, this will not be the last time we meet.

For reasons that will go unmentioned -- I wonder if you ever realized?-- I think it would be best if Riff and I did not return home to our own London. As such, I find myself in something of a quandary as to where I should depart to when my own stay in camp draws to a close.

Perhaps I will drop by your manor house one day for a spot of tea.

Yours,

Cain C. Hargreaves

P.S. The ring belonged to my cousin. She was rather attached to it, and I find myself entertaining similar feelings about the thing. Do keep it safe, won't you?

[Cain flings his jacket haphazardly over the foot of his bed as he enters his room.]

... yet who would have thought-- well, any of them-- to have so much blood in them, hm? I think my shirt is ruined.

Shall we talk? As there is a 50% chance you will not survive this round, I would find it interesting to hear whatever you find pertinent to discuss.

Shall we talk? As there is a 50% chance you will not survive this round, I would find it interesting to hear whatever you find pertinent to discuss.

... well, then!

[Once upon a time, there was an attractive earl who, despite being extremely intelligent, was unfortunately sometimes also very stupid. This is one of those times. Enter Cain, pursued by a... well, it looks a bit like a Deku Baba. The mobile kind. And knowing Cain, it's probably poisonous. He swears, turning around to gauge its progress and stumbling over a tree root.]

Well, I knew that apparently Kaori Yuki had mentioned what the "C" in "Cain C. Hargreaves" stood for in one issue of Hana to Yume. But it turns out she mentioned it somewhere else, too.

ONLY EXPLANATION: they let Neil choose the middle name, thus explaining why it's actually normal.

...

Riff.

Perhaps you can explain why there is a... a seal in the bathtub?

Name: Earl Cain C. Hargreaves
Age: 17
Height: 5'7", maybe? ...I don't know. What's an average height for a teenage Victorian male?
Weight: Less than a barmaid. Thank you, Oscar.
Eyes: Green with gold flecks.
Hair: Dark brown.

Physical Traits: Cain's eyes are often mentioned as appearing to be gold at first (especially if he's angry or otherwise being creepy) but are actually green with gold flecks. In any case, they're very noticeable. His only other major feature is that his back is entirely covered with scars from a whip (see the icon used on this post). Unless you are Riff, you will never see this. EVER. Cain always, always keeps his back covered.

( Read more... )

Enclosed in a cookie tin, along with cookies and a note that "I don't know why the sprinkles turned red when I mixed the dough. They were white when I stared. Really. :)"

Dearest brother and occasional sister,

I send the fondest of greetings, belated though they may be, to my family - yes, my family, dysfunctional though we may be. Oh, and if your bastard of a butler is reading this, please relay this message, straight from me to him: "I AM WATCHING YOU ♥" He will know what it means. Along with this letter I do send a care package of delectable treats for your enjoyment. Please do take great pleasure in them. ♥

Yours in body and soul,
Jizabel

IN OTHER WORDS, RIFF AND CAIN LOEV JIZ ♥

The cookies are indeed delicious ♥

Slightly NSFW? Maybe?

( Jizabel's mortal foe. )

[Cain is down in his room in the dungeons, sitting at the table. Though to a casual observer it may seem that he is reading the thick book open in front of him, in reality he has been staring at the same page for about ten minutes.]

Is the water ready, Riff?

[There is a crumpled piece of paper lying on the floor of Cain's bedroom, half under the bed. If one were particularly nosy and decided to, say, smooth it out and attempt to read it, they would find the following, in neat handwriting:

"My dearest Emmeline, though you would no doubt protest to being addressed as such,

You are likely wondering why I am even writing this. Perhaps I am wishing for your advice. After all, you would be the one most likely to be completely honest in your advising, which would probably entail yelling at me and calling me a fool. Especially if you knew the nature of my quandary, which is as follows.

The man ultimately responsible for your demise, and yes, that of Meridianna as well (though perhaps you wish to stop reading this letter right now, after seeing me mention her name?), has arrived at this establishment. Though you never knew it, he is my half-brother, and despite his many crimes and his hatred of my very being, he has helped me on numerous occasions. Were he anyone else, I might consider myself in his debt. Knowing what I do now of his past and the cruelties that have befallen him at the hands of my father, I find myself with no small measure of pity for the man. After all, we have endured Father's madness in much the same way, he and I.

But he remains the mastermind behind your death, as well as the murders of many other unfortunate souls, both of my acquaintance and otherwise. And his hatred of me remains. I wonder what you would think of me if I were to confess that part of me wishes there were some way to make peace with the man? Would you slap me across the face with one of your lovely hands? (If not for my sentiment regarding the Doctor, then certainly for the preceding sentence.) Though we did not truly know each other for any great length of time, I find myself missing your frank opinions. Sometimes I fear my mind is too hopelessly convoluted to be of any great use to me.

I suppose I am proving every sharp-edged word you ever spoke about me true by only writing this when I find myself in a situation that, by its very nature, does your memory a disservice. It is a bit of a humbling thing to realize. Forgive me, won't you? I remain

Selfishly Yours,
Cain"

A large X has been scrawled through the entire page before it was crumpled up and discarded.]