[07] move along, move along just to make it through

[judicialassistant]

Who: Susato and anyone
Which: Open catch-all log for September + network option
Where: The Wild Harvest garden, but open to other locations.
What: Yujin Mikotoba has left Songerein.
Warnings: Will add if needed.

🌸 A. an apple a day keeps the doctor away.

Sender: Susato Mikotoba
To: Everyone
Subject: Reverein's clinic

[ It's short, and to the point. Susato doesn't use the journal often to broadcast like this, but now that she is, she feels it prudent to be as direct as possible. ]

To whom it may concern:

For the past couple weeks, the Reverein communal clinic has been without a proper doctor to run it. If you are in need of aid, please be patient, as the volunteers are doing the very best they can.

If you have medical experience and would like to help, please let me know. Thank you.

Regards,
Susato Mikotoba

🌸 B. move along, move along, like i know you do.

[ Within the garden of the Wild Harvest, among the faint hissing of snakes and the lull of the waterfalls, Susato closes her journal and tucks away her pen. She takes a deep breath as she moves to stand from her favorite bench, and she walks with purpose into an area littered with stars that look like stepping stones upon the ground.

For a moment, she stops and simply stares. There it is. A blank star, waiting for a name. Perhaps it appeared some time ago. Perhaps she simply ignored it, but after digesting recent events, she has no time to wallow in the remaining stages of grief. He's not even dead, but she wonders if that doesn't make things worse.

Either way, she doesn't even need a pen. She slowly bends down, spending another moment feeling the rough surface of the starfish with her hand before she commits with her pointer finger.

The strokes appear in a glow, and the end result looks engraved. ]

御琴羽 悠仁

🌸 C. wild card.

[ If neither of these fit! ]

(( ooc: Feel free to write your own prompt/starter, or if you'd like me to write a personalized starter for you, hit me up at yammdere or via PM!

Side note: I would love to incorporate Quest #902. Hug it out if you hit prompt B. uwu ))

Comments

[judicialassistant]

[ Somnus...

Not someone Susato has met, but she seems to perk up at the name in a way that suggests she will in the future. She smiles encouragingly. ]

You should take all the time you need. That way, when you are ready, you can be the one to forge me the best sword ever.

[refire]

You can count on me! If I went back to work now it'd be too soon. I'll be distracted and my blades will suffer for it.

So it's better to just take it easy for now.

[ He can't go pushing himself so much. Plenty of people still need him and depend on him. Plus, he did promise he'd make Susato's sword. ]

[judicialassistant]

[ At some point, Susato will encourage him to have a seat. She'll continue idly munching as they speak, enjoying the moment's respite. ]

What about your own blade? Did you also make that one yourself?

[ The questions seem to flow easily-- ]

Does it have a name?

[refire]

It's called the Sincleaver. This sword used to belong to a hero from my homeland.

[It's such a nice blade. Looks like there's something special behind it after all.]

Back in Dahna it's rare to find a weapon with this much history behind it. It's over three hundred years old.

[Old as dust.]

[judicialassistant]

[ Susato looks fascinated. If he'll let her, she may even lean in for a better look. ]

That is amazing. And what a name indeed...

If it has found its way to you, that must mean you are quite the hero yourself.

[refire]

No, that's not true at all. The real hero is Law's father Zephyr. He should have been the one to take this blade and lead.

[ He's not Zephyr and there's no way he could ever replace Law's old man. ]

I learned so much from him. He taught me how to live so that I'd be able to manage. Zephyr and Doc were the ones looking after me back home. I hope you give yourself time to rest too.

[judicialassistant]

[ Law's father...? By now, she knows they are close, so it's not so surprising that Law's father would be like a father to Alphen, too. Susato remembers him mentioning that Dahna was a place torn by war.

He still thinks Alphen is heroic, but... ]

What happened to him?

[refire]

He died. No, that's not right either. He was killed in front of us.

[ It was really hard watching Law go through that. Alphen still remembers it clearly. He grits his teeth in frustration at how he was powerlesss to stop it. ]

I'm sorry, but could you do me a favor and not mention this conversation to Law? He might be struggling with it still.

[judicialassistant]

[ Suddenly, Susato isn't quite hungry anymore. Her fingers tighten against the countertop, struggling to find something to grip. She doesn't cry; she doesn't know Law well enough, but it looks like she might want to. Something about a father, murdered in front of his son, resonates with her. ]

Of course. It is not my place.

[ Someday, maybe. She opens her mouth, perhaps wanting to ask how he died, and if he ever saw justice, but she doesn't think Alphen wants to talk about it any more than Law. ]

[refire]

Sorry I know I'm asking a lot from you and this isn't exactly a plesant conversation. I just want to give him room to work out his feelings.

[ It's a lot for someone as young as Law. Alphen just wants to respect his space. He notices how Susato isn't eating as much and looks apologetic.]

It's something else if he brings it up on his own. When he feels ready to talk about those things more it'd be great if you could be there to support him too. He needs friends.

[judicialassistant]

[ Susato shakes her head. She hasn't quite noticed that she's slowed down her eating, but she's not one to talk with her mouth full either. ]

No need for apologies, I understand. We all need those we can rely on.

He is lucky to have you, Alphen.

[refire]

I hope that I'm someone dependable too. I bet you have questions you want to ask or things you want to talk about. Hey, I'm all ears! That's what friends are for.

[He gives an encouraging look to Susato.]

I want to be there to help you as well.

[judicialassistant]

[ Susato goes quiet and contemplative. As a general rule, she is a woman of many questions. They still have a lot to learn about each other, after all, so she only wonders where she should start. ]

How did you and Law meet? I want to know more about you.

[refire]

It'd be nice it we could know more about each other. You know I'm a soldier, right? I'm from the realm of Calaglia. Calaglia is always hot and we're living near a volcano.

[ Calaglia is always on fire too. He remembers the soaring heat. Alphen nearly got a heat stroke back at home once. The weather seems tame here by comparison. ]

Law's father was the one who helped me around and showed me how do things properly. I met Law under some bad circumstances. We were fighting because of some misunderstandings. Even so I'm proud to be his friend. Law's always working very hard. I just didn't see it at first.

[ To be fair, at the time Law was also working for the enemy. It feels like so long ago when those things happened. ]

He's still just a kid so he struggles a lot. Sometimes it's just like that.

[judicialassistant]

[ Susato nods. He mentioned that, being a soldier; not Calaglia, though. ]

Law seems to look up to you like a brother. I suppose it makes sense that you two would have clashed at times, though I'm not sure I ever thought about how young he really is.

He...

When we met, he had to put a snake that had been corrupted by nightmares out of its misery.

[refire]

He's only sixteen. As for me, well I'm older so I'd be the older brother. How old do you think I am? You don't seem to be that young but you aren't exactly a grandma yet either.

[Alphen seems to be speaking with a very casual tone, but he's trying to not sound so down about their situation.]

That must have been hard for you both. I can't imagine something like that being easy. Nightmares and dreams have its way of being personal with you.

[judicialassistant]

[ It was probably harder for Law. Susato blinks, getting lost in the memory, but then his words seem to process, and she can't help but laugh lightly. She has no idea how old Alphen is, but... ]

I'm only 17, so I suppose that would make you my big brother, too.

...Although, I suppose my birthday is in a couple months. [ Time sure is strange here. ]

[refire]

A much older, older brother. I'm actually over three hundred years old.

[He can feel his age showing and his white hairs falling out. Law's right, he's extremely old. ]

You'll be 18 before you know it. Time just passes by in the blink of an eye. We've already been living in this world for a long while now.

1/2

[judicialassistant]

...Yes. I can hardly believe it's been--

[judicialassistant]

[ Record scratch.

What she means to say is "a year," or rather, "almost a year," but then she is shaking her head. ]

Three-hundred?

[refire]

It's a long story. Let's just say I was asleep for that long so that's why my age is like that.

[ Time travel is wild. ]

It's not like I was actually awake for those years. Do you believe me?

[judicialassistant]

[ Susato is quiet, not wanting to refuse him outright, but she doesn't want to lie either. She is staring at his features, looking for some tell one way or the other--or maybe some indication that she should have known. ]

I... I don't know. I suppose I might believe anything in a place like this.

I have heard of a deep sleep that can plague someone for a whole month, but never centuries. [ Is Songerein even that old? ]

[refire]

I had some special circumstances that lead to that happening back in my world. I don't know if something like that would be possible here but it might be.

[He could believe that someone would sleep for that long in Songerein too.]

I'm so old that there's a scripture about me written somewhere. Hey, your father seemed old too. At some point all you do is just age more.

[judicialassistant]

[ ......He really does sound like a total grandpa. It completely changes the way she sees him, but at the very least, it doesn't seem to be in a bad way. If anything, she is just more intrigued.

He's... not wrong? ]

Well, what kind of special circumestances? And... what did the scriptures say about you?

[refire]

Nothing good. I had a strange mask on my head and I didn't know my name so everyone just called me Iron Mask.

[ He sounds insane the more he talks about it but he's being honest and genuine. ]

Iron Mask is a thing of the past so it's fine to just use my name. Alphen is much better!