the fading sounds of crying; [open] [forward dated to January 31]

[amnesiadragon]

Who: Ryu and ???
Which: Log, open
Where: All around Reverein and in the dream world.
What: Ryu was missing. Now he's back. ... He's not okay.
Warnings: First two prompts likely will include discussion of mad science/magic, viscera, death, and mercy killing. Last prompt has claustrophobia warnings.


[A - Arrival]

[Ryu arrives on his back, blinking in the Reverein twilight. The observatory looms large behind him, and he rolls over in the grass to look at it.]

[... He's back. Of course - everything comes flooding back to him and he closes his eyes. Not just here, but what just happened at home.]

['Oh, and Ryu? Would you mind leaving the Dragonslayer here?']

[He'd known, somehow, in that instant. She had been turned into an Endless somehow. And she'd wanted to die. ... It wasn't an attitude he understands, but he doesn't understand a lot of things. He'll have to give it some thought. But even still... he knows Nina will never see her sister again.]

[He bows his head, silently crying in the darkening grass. Nina hadn't cried... but he knows she'd needed to. He'll cry for her, then.]


[B - Plaza]

[He's feeling better, if only slightly. He sits in the plaza, watching people go by as he writes in his journal - not the magical one, the personal one. He could go home, but it's... so empty and lonely right now, being just him. He might be cold, but there's nothing there, and that feels somehow colder. He doesn't speak to anyone, just watches them casually in between writing.]

[Maybe he's been staring too long. He's not sure. He may have zoned out, thinking of what happened to him at home. What happened to her.]

[He's so exhausted. He still feels like crying, but he doesn't have any more tears left.]

[... Honestly, he just wants a hug.]


[C - Dreaming]

[There's a feeling of longing in his chest. An emptiness, something that should be there but isn't. A piece of the puzzle that's supposed to be there and yet... it isn't.]

[He sits in a room and tries to figure out where he is. It's chilly, and -]

[Lights suddenly turn on - bright and cold and clinical, nothing from his world. He looks around and he's... in a blank white room. He gets up and tries to find a way out, but this room... it's closed. There's no door.]

[He frantically runs around the room, but between the metallic floor and the white walls he's starting to feel trapped. He has control of his forms, and yet he can feel his control slipping slightly. Maybe he can bust his way out? He tries slashing the wall with his sword but it doesn't leave so much as a mark.]

[He needs to leave. It feels like the walls are closing in.]


[D - Wildcard]

[Got a different idea? Reach out to me on Discord or Plurk and we can come up with something else!]

Comments

[amnesiadragon]

... Thank you.

[He takes a deep breath, trying to settle himself. It pretty much just happened for him, so the scene is fresh in his mind.]

Ira... what sort of things make you happy?

[He has a point to this, honest.]

[iracorn]

[Ira doesn't push, knowing that these take time. The question does come as a bit of a surprise, and does make Ira have to think.]

That's a good question. One I probably don't think about enough.

But, I suppose, finding a good book and really getting into it, seeing my friends, and thinking about them. Also the look on my students' faces when they achieve something that's been challenging them.

Off the top of my head, anyway.

[amnesiadragon]

And those things that make you happy... you'd protect them if you could, right?

I... I want to protect those kinds of things, too. But if it was better for... say, someone like your student to do something that would make them upset instead... would you make them do it?

[iracorn]

Of course. It is important to protect the things that are important to you.

[Ira does have to think about that for a moment though, in light of what they were just talking about.]

It. It would depend on what the thing that upset them was.

If it was more homework and more practice, then yes, I would. But I wouldn't want to push them into trying something they were fully uncomfortable with. If they knew in their Heart that they wouldn't want to do it.

[amnesiadragon]

Even if it was the right thing to do?

... Sorry. I shouldn't have - I just... I don't know if it was the right thing to do. To make Cray do. He was in love with her. I could have come back in and done it for him but...

I don't know. I think she wanted him to do it. But he's my friend, so I want to protect him, too...

[iracorn]

That does complicate things. But again, I would have to trust that they know in their Heart what that would be.

[It sounds like a truly horrific situation. And Ira's own Heart aches for Ryu.]

It does not sound like an easy situation and probably had no correct answer. I would say it comes down to what your Heart tells you, but it doesn't change the fact that there will be grief no matter what.

Did you have a chance to talk to your friend, before coming back here?

[amnesiadragon]

... No one really wanted to talk. We all went to bed pretty much right after that, and... then I came back here.

[So they haven't really talked it out, no.]

[iracorn]

After something like that, I can imagine that everyone would want some time.

It does make it difficult to talk to your friends, but you do have more opportunity to find your own answer.

[He's trying to find some optimism here.]

[amnesiadragon]

I think so. I just...

... They traveled so far with me, but their whole goal was to find Elina. I hope Nina and Cray don't just leave.

[For one, they're friends. For another, Cray packs a punch and Nina's good at healing.]

[iracorn]

I'm sure they won't just abandon you. It's times like these where you'll need to stick together.

And you should know firsthand that no time has passed.

[amnesiadragon]

I know. I just... my friends are all I have in the world. I don't really own much, and what I do own isn't really important. I don't really have family in the same way that others do. ... So they're what I hold closest to me. They give me strength.

[iracorn]

[Ira nods.]

I understand. Quite well, in fact.

And that just means that you need to trust your friends. If they are your strength, there's a good chance that you are also theirs.

[amnesiadragon]

... I'm glad to hear that. I don't... I only really know what I've seen. Everyone seems to know so much more than me. I only know what I've experienced...

So I don't really know how or why people act the way they do a lot of the time.

[iracorn]

I'm sure if you asked anyone that question, they would give you many reasons back. It's not an easy answer.

You have to trust your experience.

[amnesiadragon]

I'm trying... it's difficult to know when I don't have a lot of experience to draw on.

[iracorn]

It certainly it.

And it's frustrating to hear that the only way to gain experience is to go through it.

But we are stronger for it.

[amnesiadragon]

That's why I want to have more experiences, meet more people. Learn more about my world and other worlds.

I want to learn as much as I can.

[He's just... not sure how much time he has left.]

[iracorn]

That's a good goal to have, and one that you'll be able to achieve quite easily.

Just, keep moving forward.