[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]

[ No... It wasn't voluntary. The irony being now that, if the topic had come up at any point, Susato would have encouraged it--and still feel the same way she does now. Abandoned, lonely.

With the mess of new friends she has made, however--a budding relationship, and someone to look after her like Mr 76, and even Barok himself--she knows that is just the nightmares talking. She has always thought she's formed more of a support system than she deserves here, when she's supposed to be the one in the support role. Recent events have only cemented the fact.

She looks up at the older man, fully aware that she needs to tread carefully herself. ]

You speak from experience... [ His relentless pursuit of the Professor, no doubt, and the identity of the true Reaper of the Bailey. ]

[discourtesies]

[Barok does not hesitate to admit it. He nods, folding his arms.]

Yes. From the start of that life-defining trial... I managed every case I had with as little assistance as possible. Saw to every detail myself. And when that burden became too heavy, I fled to another complex process to control, lest I give myself time to feel.

[Those five years he was away from the Old Bailey did very little for him, in terms of emotional processing. He gave himself a moment or two, but they were far too short for the impact his brother's death and the surrounding circumstances had; he can recognize that.]

Even now, I occasionally find myself escaping to those habits. There is... much I have yet to confront.

[But he shakes his head; he's not here to ask for Susato's sympathy.]

I pray you may learn from my poor example.

1/2

[judicialassistant]

[ . . . As little assistance as possible. Susato recalls then that Kazuma being assigned to him as his disciple was Stronghart's doing. She can't help but think of him now, wearing that mask; but when Barok admits that there are still things he's struggling with, she's taken right back to that hellish dreamscape.

Though he eventually came out of the creature's spell, she knows the feelings it exacerbated would not be buried so easily. ]

Thank you. [ The words seem to hang in the air. It looks like she wants to say something else. She seems to continue, cautiously: ] I... I pray for your strength in facing the demons that still plague you. In the meantime, I...

[judicialassistant]

[ It's not like she doesn't want to be honest. Barok deserves that much, and she honestly feels like she's been dancing around the topic enough. ]

Well.

It... It is more than just losing my father.

[discourtesies]

[He knows that despite everything, Susato's expressed wishes for him are genuine—and though a part of him would like to show his gratitude for that, he didn't share those words for the focus to be on himself. So, when she admits there's more to the issues she's facing, he turns his attention fully to her.

... the discussion of her protection charms is prominent in his mind.]

Has something happened?

[judicialassistant]

[ 'I almost died.' Honestly, she should have just left it at that, but it's not in her nature to be so crass, even if she is direct. She takes a deep breath and swallows down any thoughts of backpedaling now. ]

A friend called out to me for help and I couldn't refuse.

[ ...He has full intentions to continue, though before she does, she'll take a glance as someone passes by. Another couple stops to look at the bottles as well, and Susato takes a step back to make room for them. One animatedly asks the other which one she should choose.

...Hmm. ]

Um, we should find a place to continue... If you're able to leave At Day's End unattended for a little longer. [ Or his vineyard. This can absolutely wait. ]

[discourtesies]

[His brow knits further with concern, though it may look like suspicion on the surface; he understands almost immediately that there was danger involved, and that the truth is simply that she couldn't refuse due to her character, rather than any other circumstance. He cannot picture her otherwise.

If they're to be discussing grave matters, this space is indeed not the right one for it.]

... I am in no hurry. We may return here later.

[He had, after all, taken this time for her specifically, even if he hasn't mentioned that outright. He turns to exit the shop, keeping an eye on her momentarily.]

With me, Miss Mikotoba.

[Though he prefers to keep private matters that way, to retreat to a proper venue would require too long a walk. He simply heads for whatever area is less densely traveled nearby, towards whatever seating is available.]

[judicialassistant]

[ That was not nearly as long a walk as she might have expected or wanted, but at the very least, it cut down on what would have been a somewhat awkward silence. She follows behind him, and pretty soon they find themselves sitting on a bench that is slightly out of the way, beneath the shade of a large tree.

She feels like it is a little easier to breathe here too, though the conversation they're about to have is anything but easy. ]

It was...

[ How does she even begin? Is he even sure he wants to hear this? ]

It...all started with a dream I had one night.

[discourtesies]

[As many eventful occurrences in this world do, he muses.

Whatever her inner doubts may be, the direct but patient gaze from the prosecutor as he folds his hands over his legs says that he is indeed intent on hearing her experience. He sought her out for no other reason than to understand her situation, both internal and external—the fact that there are other significant aspects involved than he anticipated doesn't change that.

Rather than spur her on with his words, he waits to let her choose her own.]

[judicialassistant]

Well, [ Susato continues, uninterrupted, as if wavering or correcting herself. ] it was not so much my dream, more that I... dreamwalked into someone else's. A dream that turned out originated from Tifa, a coworker and friend of mine at the Harvest.

[ There's a pause for breath, and a glance to gauge his reaction. She doesn't know if Barok has ever met her, or whether she ever visited At Day's End. In the end, it doesn't affect the way she continues much. ]

...She was in trouble. Encased in ice, in the middle of a lake. The vision was so real, and...

[ The more she speaks the more it becomes real again. She swallows. ]

and I was not the only one who saw it.

[discourtesies]

[Though it's possible van Zieks has come across her in their respective goings-on about town, the name and face aren't connected for him; his expression doesn't change much, his concern only growing somewhat grim as he considers the content of the described dream. He folds his arms.]

The aforementioned call for help?

[That she was not the only one to see is... good, he supposes. But the circumstances are beginning to fall into place, however vaguely, and he doesn't like where it's going.]

1/2

[judicialassistant]

Yes.

[ She takes a long breath that becomes shakier than she'd like, and the pause allows for a natural break during which that is all she does. Her breaths become steady again and she continues: ]

Aerith, Tifa's best friend. General Beatrix. Beat. Mr Phantom. Trahearne. Ori...

And... me. We all saw it. So we gathered.

[judicialassistant]

At the time, we didn't have a full grasp of the situation, but we knew it was dire. Eria... a wolf belonging to Eustace, led us into the Wildlands and to the cave where Tifa was trapped.

[discourtesies]

[A dream of being encased in ice, sent by a woman trapped. That's not an unfamiliar concept for van Zieks in particular, though turned about in some ways.]

By what, precisely?

[Something dangerous, no doubt.]

[judicialassistant]

[ Very dangerous. Perhaps they never really considered how dangerous, until that night. It takes her a moment before she answers, because to this day, she doesn't know how this all came to be.

Tifa won't talk about it. ]

...Eustace, her fiancée.

[discourtesies]

Transformed by some magic, I presume.

[If not physically, then psychologically. He would hope it would be former fiancé, otherwise.]

Were you injured in the process of attempting this rescue?

[Even with his own experiences, he has little idea of the exact nature of the danger. Was she harmed? Forced to face some nightmarish vision? Or was it simply horrible enough to witness such things happen to those she cares for?]

1/2

[judicialassistant]

[ Haha! Former! Well, to Barok's credit, that was very nearly the case. But no, in just a few short months, they would be wed, and Susato would stand by her side as a bridesmaid.

Anyway, she knows Barok is all too familiar with noctaere, so she'll spare him the explanation and the details leading up to it (because in truth, she did not have them anyway). ]

From what I understand, he felt threatened. He wanted a peaceful life where he could live, just the two of them. He thought we were trying to take her away from him, so he struck down everyone who faced him.

After everything, only I was left standing, but...

[judicialassistant]

...I could not leave Tifa with him alone. I only wanted to spread the Dawn flower petals, in hopes of offering him some clarity.

[discourtesies]

[His eyelids lower as a slow breath leaves him. He did not ask for his or her motives. Such things were important in the moment, and may be significant in other ways, but he was very specific about what information he's seeking.]

... You did not answer the question.

[judicialassistant]

[ It is not like it was intentional. Susato is direct at the best of times, and judging by the way it feels like her heart stops when he says that, she did not even realize. She swallows, but eventually lowers her head—either in an attempt at a nod, or because she feels shame.

Despite this, she speaks clearly. ]

Yes. He broke the ice beneath my feet. I fell in and nearly froze.

...But I was able to melt myself free before someone was able to guide me to the surface.

[discourtesies]

[The furrow in Barok's brow only becomes more pronounced, and his jaw sets into something even more stony than usual. The idea that this girl was so close to death, not just within a dream where such things are impermanent, but in this world where it may very well be real in some fashion... well. The former was terrible enough.

It feels like it shouldn't be his business. But he cannot deny the unpleasant, icy feeling that spreads out from his stomach at the thought. The legs of the bench underneath him suffer a similar fate.

It takes him some time to gather his thoughts and words, more than long enough for her to offer more explanation, should she like.]

[judicialassistant]

[ Susato...falls silent, because what more is there to say to that? At the very least, she will wait for Barok to say something, anything. Even yell at her. It is an eagerness she hadn't expected, but when the response doesn't come, she feels a familiar icy chill from below. There is a crackling sound, and when she looks, she sees ice forming and crawling at the legs of the bench.

She jumps out of her seat as if the ice might eventually get to her too, gasping in surprise. ]

[discourtesies]

[Her gasp draws him out of his solitary thoughts, and his head nearly snaps towards her. It's only after he follows her gaze that he realizes the source of the surprise, and... how aggravating. His scowl is now directed towards that ice, though the freezing doesn't seem to improve. It doesn't quite take over the bench entirely, but the idea that the magic from his reaction might cause her some distress after she nearly perished from similar circumstances...

Well, it's not great. His frustration comes through his voice.]

My apologies for the outburst. [No "pray forgive," this time.] I find the prospect difficult to process.

[Read: he's upset.]

[judicialassistant]

[ Ah...

Well, that is possibly the quickest she's ever been made to feel unwelcome, whatever the intent. Plus, the ice certainly doesn't inspire warm and fuzzy feelings, so even though it doesn't overtake the bench, she'll just......stand...

Looking much like a rabbit out in the open field, ripe for predators. ]

Um. Me, too...

[ Like, was any of that for real? Or not?

...But she knows it was. ]

[discourtesies]

[And now, if her hesitant reply is any indication, he's making it worse, which is the exact opposite of his intent today. Perhaps if he had simply kept to his own business and not approached her at all...

No. He will not allow himself to spiral. He simply will not. This is not about him.

Barok pushes himself to his feet, for once allowing himself a heavy sigh. The bench is now practically useless, and he won't sit there while the girl stands awkwardly there on her own. For the moment, he scowls at the ice and his own frosty trail, though he attempts to choose his words in a more sympathetic fashion.]

All of this, and you are still running about for the sake of others.

[It's not a surprise, by now, and he doesn't sound surprised. Mildly disappointed, perhaps; concerned, for however much that may come through his stony demeanor. And whatever he says, she's unlikely to stop. If anyone could get her to lie down and rest a while, it wouldn't be him, he thinks. Then what can he do? ... he has a notion, however much he might not like it.]

Miss Mikotoba. Have you received any physical, or... magical training?