wildsaber | 01 ♪ video/action ♪ wake up sleepyhead!

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01 ♪ video/action ♪ wake up sleepyhead!

[The feed shows a nice view of absolutely nothing. There is, however, the sound of someone spitting. Very lovely. He just woke up with a mouthful of dead rotting leaves. His day is off to a great freaking start, that's what.]

Ugh, nasty! Ow--... ow... ow. [Don't let the nonchalance fool you. He's realizing he's alive. Taking in a deep breath, and letting it out.

He's alive.

... And also FREEZING COLD. But wait until he finds a way home! This is impossible, but maybe-- just maybe--]

Hahah... jeez, it's c-c-cold. Am I in K-Keterburg or something?

-- Hey, what's...

[And here's when he brushes the journal off. Hello, there's a half-naked redhead getting up close and personal, and turning it upside down, and then shaking it out a bit. What is this strange and mystifying technology? It sure as hell isn't his journal.]

Weird.

[Feeling something tickle his shoulder, he reaches over to brush it off. And then he notices the wings, red with gold tips just like his hair. He has wings. This is not a drill. Luke drops the journal in favor of screaming like the grown man he isn't.]

W-what the hell is going on!?

[NO LUKE DON'T PULL ON THOSE--] —OW! [Yeah, that hurt more than anything else in his life. Now he's curled up over his knees again, trying not to cry. He almost blacked out there.]

G-guess they're real...

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[Okay, that gets a small laugh.]

I think "mansion" might be something of an overstatement. The house isn't that big. It can feel a little crowded at times, but it's been really nice living together with everyone here...

["Like a family" goes unsaid, but he's certainly thinking it, even if he doesn't really have a frame of reference to go by. For all the bad things that happen here, he just can't imagine calling anywhere else "home" anymore.]

[Well, if you have that many people living together, you gotta have a big house.]

That sounds really... really nice.

[Luke picks up on that. He's also clearly focused on the important details.]

Does Asch live with you guys, too?

[The most important detail ever, obviously.]

No, but he doesn't live too far from where the rest of us are staying. He and Arietta are living together. [aka: Casa de God-general.]

Asch and... Arietta?

[... It's almost like Asch had FRIENDS in the God-Generals. A weird thought.]

There sure are a lot of people from Auldrant. I hope things are okay back home...

[To be fair, if you had to work with people like Dist and Sync, you'd probably keep your distance, too.]

Actually, they say time doesn't pass back home so long as we're here. Or rather, people who come and leave won't even remember being gone. And... sometimes people get sent back, only to return without any memory of having been here.

[Point taken.]

If time didn't stop or something like it, then everyone's memories of home would be a lot different. [Luke himself is proof of that. He would've noticed if the others had disappeared suddenly.]

They only forget being here? Nothing else?

That's right. There are cases of people who remember being here in the past when they return, but so far no one has ever been able to remember Luceti back in their own world. [That they know of, at least.]

I'm afraid even after being here for so long, there's still a lot we don't know about how this world works.

That's kind of weird. But I guess... if they have some way of pulling us here, there probably isn't much they can't do.

[He rubs some snow out of his hair.]

... How long have you been here, Ion?

Let's see... I'd say it's been about two year now? The years are a bit different here than back home, so by Luceti's calender it's been nearly four.

[Essentially a lifetime, in Ion's case.]

That's a long time...

[There's no doubt Ion misses home a little-- Luke wouldn't ask something like that-- but if this is all he has... Luke is in the same position now, isn't he? But he's not satisfied to just sit here, dead or not. No, he needs to come home. Even if Tear and Guy and everyone else come here, it's not home.

It's a big thought right now though, too big for Luke to really deal with on top of everything else. He has a lot of energy but too many places to put it, and it just ends up dissipating.]

But that calendar sounds really confusing. I mean, how does anyone find time to get stuff done?

Edited 2014-02-13 22:40 (UTC)

Yes, it has been. [But there's nothing in his voice to imply he thinks of it as a bad thing. Though it's true not a day goes by where he doesn't miss Auldrant, Luceti is where he's found a home.]

And the calender is a bit strange, but I've gotten used to it. They only have twelve months, and even the days of the week are different. But most of the people here come from worlds that utilize this one, so we're the odd ones out I'm afraid.

It sounds like you know a lot. Do you think--

[He pauses, then he colors a bit more. Obviously he's embarrassed by this request.]

Sorry. Could you teach me about it? When I'm a little more settled in, I mean. And... if you have the time.

Of course, Luke. You don't even need to ask.

[There was still a lot more about Luceti to cover than just the calender, but along with that, it would probably be for the best to wait until he's settled in a little. Or at the very least, for when he's inside and warm and not sitting out in the cold by himself.]

If you'd like, I could show you around the village sometime? It may be small, but there's still plenty to see.

Really?

[Of course there's a lot more than that, but Luke doesn't want to pester Ion too much. And he thought it'd be fun to learn something together, seeing as they're both replicas... and had to go through some similar stuff.]

Y-- yeah! I'd like that a lot.

[Nonsense -- Ion's probably going to be pestering Luke a bit himself for awhile. He missed his replibro!]

Though I imagine the first place you'll see should probably be the clothing shop. Everything in the village is free, so you don't have to worry about needing to borrow anything from Guy or Jade.

[Or Ion, but the mental image of Luke wearing something of Ion's is kinda ridiculous ~~dem flowy tunics and mandresses~~.]

[REPLIBROS FOREVER. He's so happy, the embarrassment of accidentally calling him Florian momentarily forgotten. Because Ion.]

Ergh, I'd end up swimming in whatever I borrowed from them.

[He's still sore about his height.]

Why is it free?

[He'll be even more sore about it when he meets Ion face-to-face and learns they're almost the same height now. He can't help but chuckle at Luke's reaction, though unfortunately, the explanation for his next question is a bit more somber. Most of the explaining will probably happen later, but he can at least answer a few questions. It'll keep Luke distracted until the others find him.]

Well, I'm afraid there's a bit more to it than to simply say we're here in another world. Luceti itself is actually the name of the enclosure we're in, and the ones keeping us here are an organization called the Malnosso. They may not be the reason we were brought to this world, but they are the reason we can't leave the village.

[... Yep, that's gonna make him feel lots better. :|

Luke pays attention when Ion's tone shifts. What he's saying is serious, and it's the truth (because Ion is incapable of lying, everyone knows that). So, if they're prisoners, then... yeah, there's not really any point in charging for stuff.

But that doesn't mean he likes what he hears. He grits his teeth for a moment.

No. A second chance is still a second chance. It's not borrowed time. He's not going to make it like that.]

The Malnosso...

[He lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding.]

How much do you know about them?

A fair amount. But from what I've been told about the years before I arrived here, they've gotten better as time has moved on. Their biggest fault lies in never knowing how much we can trust them, since they've done little to gain that trust in the first place.

[There's a bitterness in his voice that he's trying to suppress, but it may very come out anyway. Back on Auldrant, Ion wouldn't have been able to say he ever truly hated anyone. That wasn't exactly true anymore.]

It wouldn't be entirely accurate to call them an enemy, though it would certainly be a stretch to consider us equals as allies.

[... Wow, Ion never even talked about Mohs like that. Luke blinks, but doesn't say anything about it. After all, they're in the same situation and Luke is pissed too.]

Why keep us here like this? It's not like we're a threat to them.

[Not unless they made it so.]

We've been told part of it is because the world outside of the enclosure isn't safe. And from what little we've been allowed to see outside, that much appears to be true. [That is, there is truth in how dangerous the outside world is -- the iffy part is whether or not they're truly safe here. It's hard to believe that to be the case following the invasion this past summer.]

[But the third-party still isn't really a topic Ion is comfortable talking about, so Luke will just have to hear about them from elsewhere.]

Unfortunately, the larger truth seems to be that we're here for them to test their experiments, using a technology they call shifts. They're not always bad, but... they are something of an unpleasant fact of life here.

[Awkward would be a better word to describe them. So much awkward.]

But still...

[He doesn't push, thankfully. However, the mention of experiments makes Luke's expression darken.]

They're experimenting on people?

Yes. Though as far as experiments go, they're rather unorthodox. To be honest, I'm not sure I even fully understand how it is they're able to do some of the things they do.

[He's not even sure the malnosso fully understand how it is they're able to do what they do. If they did, there wouldn't be as much need to experiment, right?]

In the past, they've been able to do things like temporarily changing a person's age or gender, turn people into animals, or cause them to suddenly appear and disappear in various locations throughout the village. At the very least, they never last more than a week, and are usually more embarrassing than dangerous.

[Like that time Ion turned into a girl for a week and no one noticed. That was fun.]

That's...!

[That kind of stuff should be impossible, but he's in a whole other world. Alive. With wings.

He can definitely suspend disbelief for a little while.]

... Ugh. At least I know what to look forward to. If I ever see one of these guys, I'm gonna give them a piece of my mind.

I'm sure you're not the only one who feels that way.

[Even Ion shares that sentiment, to a certain degree.]

But even with the experiments, life here isn't so bad. All of the villagers here are so kind, and I've been able to meet so many people who I would have never gotten the opportunity to meet otherwise.

[Not to mention, he's alive here. But hopefully that's implied.]

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