[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

[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!

[judicialassistant]

[ How villainous. She immediately thinks of Lord van Zieks' "Reaper of the Bailey" moniker; and also the mask Genshin Asogi was forced to wear as the Professor, though neither had earned those titles at all. It's a thing of the past, just like the Iron Mask is for Alphen, so she nods. ]

I like Alphen much better.

Were you already wearing the mask when you woke up?

[refire]

I was! The weirdest part was I didn't even know why I was wearing it. It's kind of ironic when you think about it.

[He's thankful that Susato seems accepting of his story even if it sounds completely absurd. ]

Well, I don't need my mask anymore so you can just see my face too. It's easier to talk that way.

[judicialassistant]

[ It's an unusual story. Perhaps she should be more skeptical, but it's Alphen, and he has given her no reason to distrust him so far. ]

You never found out what the mask was for?

[refire]

It took a while but I found out what it was for eventually. The mask was there to save my life. People don't normally age until they're centuries old but thanks to that mask I was able to keep my mind in tact. I can't say I hated it after learning that much.

[ There was a good reason for it being there. His life was saved so he should appreciate it more. ]

I'm better off now so I should be alright. You seemed worried.

[judicialassistant]

... [ At the very least, Susato seems to ease a bit after hearing the context behind the mask, and after being somewhat called out. She always has been an open book. ]

I suppose the idea of an iron mask doesn't call forth the most pleasant of memories for me. If it saved your life, however, then... in a roundabout way, it also allowed us to meet! So for that, I am grateful.

[refire]

Did you see something like an iron mask before? Anything can happen in this world.

[ So the possibilities are limitless. ]

I'm thankful we're friends too. You're always looking out for everyone in your own way.

[judicialassistant]

[ She tries to look out for everyone she cares about, for whatever that's worth. His words are a comfort, even if she doesn't verbally respond. ]

Not here. Back home, there was a...

...someone who was forced to wear a mask like that, to hide his identity. It was even locked with a key so that it couldn't be easily removed.

[refire]

That sounds like the worst possible thing that could happen. I'm sorry to hear it.

[Alphen is sympathetic with his tone and language. When he wore a mask it was for good intentions but it sounds like this other mask had a different purpose. He frowns.]

When you're forced to do things against your own will you only feel miserable. Did you ever find the key and get that thing unlocked?

[judicialassistant]

[ When you're forced to do things against your own will you only feel miserable. She appreciates the sympathies, though she can't help tensing when she hears that. Genshin Asogi, he...... ]

...Yes. We eventually found out the truth.

[ There's a smile to help reassure him. She can tell he's getting worried, and getting the full story here certainly won't help. For now, she'll leave it at that. ]