( he hasn't seen her in a bit. it's mostly lalli's fault, his stubborn refusal to hover because he hates being hovered over, but after so many people disappeared last week, he's had the increasing itch to check in.
[ The absence of contact has not escaped her notice. That it might be deliberate, however, hasn't precisely occurred to her, for she is so little accustomed to being looked after. Consulted, certainly, and observed to be sure - but there was always some other goal that drew other people to her regularly, rather than any concern for her well-being. Yet she's been struggling with a niggling thought at the back of her own mind; as dangerous a place as this is, it bore wondering how he was faring. She'd held back from searching for him out of her fear of imposing.
So she's thoroughly unprepared when her device alerts her that she has a message. It seems more likely to her to be a sign of some unpleasant machination of the Technicians than that she's being sought out, so it's with mild preoccupation that she lifts the communicator from the table where she'd left it. The surprise of realizing who it is that sent the message is a pleasant one, even if it does leave her with several more questions. ]
Of course.
[ In a place like this, freedom seems so much farther away than it did in Asgard. Only after she's sent the first message does she realize she probably ought to have fixed her screenname at some point, but having spent most of her time on the network lurking rather than showing herself made it easy to overlook. It's of little matter now anyway; more importantly, ]
[ It feels like a larger number to her; she's still growing accustomed to the population of a place like this after a lifetime spent in empty, lonely rooms. The implications of such a mass disappearance are already floating around in her head when she reads the next message, which subsequently puts those other considerations momentarily on hold. ]
I'm glad you're not missing either.
[ There was a beat before she worked through the strange feeling in her chest to find those words, and there's a beat after wherein she second-guesses her next ones for a variety of reasons. But the truth is, ]
I would have worried.
[ It takes less time to type, ]
Does anyone know what might have happened to them? I haven't seen anything obvious like what happened with the lake.
[ Pausing, she reads the last couple of messages over. The name 'Tuuri' is unfamiliar for obvious reasons; Naminé types out, 'I did?' and then deletes it. That doesn't bear asking, because by now she's come to realize that there's a good chance Lalli's got the right of it, and she's merely forgotten. It leaves her in an odd place, one where she knows she can trust him but she doesn't know him, not like she must have before. It prickles at her, not just because it's a cruel irony for a memory witch to lose so much of her past but because he's important, clearly, and yet she has nothing to offer him in return for the quiet sense of safety he provides. ]
Did I know her well?
[ Naminé asks, trying to stick her foot in the door while it's cracked open. Maybe she won't remember anything by learning more about what happened in Asgard, but she might learn something about him - and his cousin, too. Naminé's disheartened to find out she's forgotten even more people, but it's better to find out as much as she can now than to hurt someone else's feelings later by not recognizing them. ]
( 'i would have worried.' now there's a strange feeling in his chest. this isn't how he expected it to work, once he found out she didn't remember. but she isn't a person who lies, or who talks about things that she doesn't actually feel. )
don't know where they went. don't know why.
some of them went down the tunnel. weren't supposed to. could be punishment
( but that's just speculation. as for tuuri... )
drew her before you met her. just one of the faces you saw.
you met her later. watched over her for me while i was away from the city.
( he remembers asking tuuri to do the same for namine. he also remembers forgetting altogether that he asked such thing of either by the time he came back. that was, after all, when emil was killed. )
That could be. With everything that the people keeping us here are capable of, I'm not sure whether or not to hope that it's true.
[ Is punishment more desirable than disappearing permanently? Are they one and the same? There are too many unknowns, so although it unsettles her, perhaps it's better to leave the thought be. Shaking her head in the privacy of her cabin, Naminé elects to focus on the more pleasant topic. ]
That would make sense. I've drawn lots of strangers here too.
[ Which makes her wonder if she's already done the same thing again - but this Tuuri sounds like a recent arrival, so it's unlikely that Naminé happened to see her by chance. The blonde allows herself a moment to hold onto that last sentence; to be asked to look after someone important to Lalli seems like it was probably an honor. No matter how unworthy of it she might feel now, she still has room to marvel at it. ]
I hope that I did well.
[ Because failing at that sort of duty really would be unfortunate for all parties involved. She waits a beat, hesitant in her curiosity, but, ]
Why did you have to leave the city? Were you scouting somewhere new?
[ Quietly, Naminé attempts to fit together the pieces of the scenario into something resembling a reasonable shape for reality. It makes sense that she didn't go along, as ill-equipped as she would have been to assist in battle. But her past self must have been concerned, she imagines. How helpless she would have felt, just like she does any time something dangerous happens here. Still, it gives her some measure of comfort to hear she didn't do poorly at her own duties. ]
[ There is a delivery of food outside of the door when they come back one day mid-October, packed in a crate full of jars and wrapped foods. On the top is a note: ]
To kindly resident of the Lake,
For your winter stores, I have prepared this food for you to keep before the snows come. Whilst we have a glut of food at present, it is best to keep this in the case that should we be trapped inside your house, you can rely on this food to help you see through until the thaw frees any blocked roads back to town.
I hope you find it suitable and that it keeps you well.
In Health and to your Good Will, Gilia St. Loe, Second Child, Daughter-Sea, Of the Isle St. Loe, She Who Sings the Sea to Prosperity
[ The package includes:
5 x 1kg bags of Salt
5 x 1kg bags of Sugar
30 x 1kg bags of Flour
3 x 280g Yeast
30 x 1ltr jars of Butter
10 x Jar of Pickled Cabbage
10 x Jar of Pickled Tomatoes
10 x Jar of Jam Fruit Preserves ( Assorted: Strawberry, Blueberry, etc )
10 x 1kg sides of salted meat ( pork, lamb, beef )
5 x Jars of Dried Rosemary, Thyme, Basil, Coriander, Dill
20 x Pancake Mix
10 x Cake Mix
1 x 2kg Flax Seed ( + recipe how to use it for cakes to replace eggs )
1 x Recipie for How To Make Bread, 1 x Recipie for How To Long Stew Dried Meat
[ Naturally, Naminé finds herself a bit apprehensive about anything that might turn up on her doorstep in a place like this. But no matter her trepidation when she first spots the crate, it very quickly becomes clear that this is not a gift from the Technicians. (There's a very distinct lack of anything being made out of flesh or otherwise general horribleness, for one thing, and the note that accompanies it has a very fancy name that looks awfully familiar from the network, too.) Carefully, she picks through the contents with a growing sense of gratitude. Honestly, it's exactly the sort of thing she needs; it's not easy for her to build up stores, especially with no knowledge in the matter. Regardless of whether or not the winter really does leave them in trouble, it's way more of a safety net than she had before.
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carisma_sensei
9/2, evening. text. un: @scout
Date: 2020-09-12 11:15 am (UTC)tonight he finally caves. )
still here?
UN: @nobodyspecial
Date: 2020-09-13 06:34 am (UTC)So she's thoroughly unprepared when her device alerts her that she has a message. It seems more likely to her to be a sign of some unpleasant machination of the Technicians than that she's being sought out, so it's with mild preoccupation that she lifts the communicator from the table where she'd left it. The surprise of realizing who it is that sent the message is a pleasant one, even if it does leave her with several more questions. ]
Of course.
[ In a place like this, freedom seems so much farther away than it did in Asgard. Only after she's sent the first message does she realize she probably ought to have fixed her screenname at some point, but having spent most of her time on the network lurking rather than showing herself made it easy to overlook. It's of little matter now anyway; more importantly, ]
Did something happen?
no subject
Date: 2020-09-15 09:21 am (UTC)some disappeared. half-dozen, more. all at once.
glad you didn't.
( perhaps he shouldn't be. this isn't like asgard, where their lives are pleasant. but he's glad nonetheless. )
tuuri's here.
( ...but of course, she doesn't remember who that is. )
cousin. you drew me her picture once.
( he still has it. )
no subject
Date: 2020-09-17 04:17 am (UTC)[ It feels like a larger number to her; she's still growing accustomed to the population of a place like this after a lifetime spent in empty, lonely rooms. The implications of such a mass disappearance are already floating around in her head when she reads the next message, which subsequently puts those other considerations momentarily on hold. ]
I'm glad you're not missing either.
[ There was a beat before she worked through the strange feeling in her chest to find those words, and there's a beat after wherein she second-guesses her next ones for a variety of reasons. But the truth is, ]
I would have worried.
[ It takes less time to type, ]
Does anyone know what might have happened to them?
I haven't seen anything obvious like what happened with the lake.
[ Pausing, she reads the last couple of messages over. The name 'Tuuri' is unfamiliar for obvious reasons; Naminé types out, 'I did?' and then deletes it. That doesn't bear asking, because by now she's come to realize that there's a good chance Lalli's got the right of it, and she's merely forgotten. It leaves her in an odd place, one where she knows she can trust him but she doesn't know him, not like she must have before. It prickles at her, not just because it's a cruel irony for a memory witch to lose so much of her past but because he's important, clearly, and yet she has nothing to offer him in return for the quiet sense of safety he provides. ]
Did I know her well?
[ Naminé asks, trying to stick her foot in the door while it's cracked open. Maybe she won't remember anything by learning more about what happened in Asgard, but she might learn something about him - and his cousin, too. Naminé's disheartened to find out she's forgotten even more people, but it's better to find out as much as she can now than to hurt someone else's feelings later by not recognizing them. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-09-29 06:59 am (UTC)don't know where they went. don't know why.
some of them went down the tunnel. weren't supposed to. could be punishment
( but that's just speculation. as for tuuri... )
drew her before you met her. just one of the faces you saw.
you met her later. watched over her for me while i was away from the city.
( he remembers asking tuuri to do the same for namine. he also remembers forgetting altogether that he asked such thing of either by the time he came back. that was, after all, when emil was killed. )
no subject
Date: 2020-10-01 06:09 am (UTC)With everything that the people keeping us here are capable of, I'm not sure whether or not to hope that it's true.
[ Is punishment more desirable than disappearing permanently? Are they one and the same? There are too many unknowns, so although it unsettles her, perhaps it's better to leave the thought be. Shaking her head in the privacy of her cabin, Naminé elects to focus on the more pleasant topic. ]
That would make sense.
I've drawn lots of strangers here too.
[ Which makes her wonder if she's already done the same thing again - but this Tuuri sounds like a recent arrival, so it's unlikely that Naminé happened to see her by chance. The blonde allows herself a moment to hold onto that last sentence; to be asked to look after someone important to Lalli seems like it was probably an honor. No matter how unworthy of it she might feel now, she still has room to marvel at it. ]
I hope that I did well.
[ Because failing at that sort of duty really would be unfortunate for all parties involved. She waits a beat, hesitant in her curiosity, but, ]
Why did you have to leave the city?
Were you scouting somewhere new?
no subject
Date: 2020-10-02 02:38 am (UTC)succeeded. city was safe
( and, after a moment, )
you did well
no subject
Date: 2020-10-03 11:49 pm (UTC)[ Quietly, Naminé attempts to fit together the pieces of the scenario into something resembling a reasonable shape for reality. It makes sense that she didn't go along, as ill-equipped as she would have been to assist in battle. But her past self must have been concerned, she imagines. How helpless she would have felt, just like she does any time something dangerous happens here. Still, it gives her some measure of comfort to hear she didn't do poorly at her own duties. ]
I'm glad there was some way I could help.
[ But, ]
I wish there were more of those.
[ Opportunities for her to assist, that is. ]
○ MID OCT
Date: 2020-10-23 05:36 am (UTC)[ The package includes:
no subject
Date: 2020-10-25 04:21 am (UTC)(?) Naminé will remember this. ]