zerotohiro | Some Legends Are Told, Some Turn To Dust Or To Gold [CEREALIA INBOX]

[It's a hint she doesn't miss, and she hardly minds the contact. She does, however, sit down and ruffle his hair. Because he's short. And honestly she knows he probably needs it more than her.]

You could ask that. But there's no real need. Yes. I died. I died doing something that was right. Something took offense to that and sucker punched me. I didn't have the right kind of shielding in place, and it did something to my sailor crystal. I don't know what but it didn't hurt.

[She shrugs.]

And then I woke up in a hospital bed with an adorable blanket. And hell, it's the most sleep I've had since Minako vanished. I honestly feel better than I did before.

[Auuuugh. She's not wrong. He likes the reassurance that she's here and that she's alive even if what she says still perplexes him a small bit.]

I'm glad you slept but I think you've gotta back up and explain the rest of that to me. What did you do that something was offended by? And who was "something"?

I honestly can't explain too much. It happened so quickly that I couldn't react. [And she's precognitive, so think about that for a second.] Starting at the beginning though.

I was taken to a prison. Literally an old dungeon with some other people. Yu-kun, Merlin, someone named Hyoubu-san, and Yuri-chan. We got out of that cage pretty easily, though there was someone's skeleton in it. Once we started exploring, we found a huge room, and it was filled with ghosts.

[True. Look everything's sort of a mess thanks to the last couple of days. He's not thinking too clearly. His eyebrows lift as she describes the prison and he bites his lip when she explains Yu was there, too. Yu should be back soon, too, he hopes. But he blinks in surprise as she continues.]

Why is is always you and ghosts? [Like. Always.] Were they the same ghosts as before or new ones again?

[Rei lifts her shoulders in a half-hearted shrug. That’s a good question, but one she doesn’t have an answer for.] Maybe it’s just my luck. I do like ghosts, after all. But no, these were not the five that I’ve talked to before. There’s no way they could be. They were trapped. It was a prison for ghosts, as well as people. If someone died there, they…[Her voice finally cracks a little, fist clenching.] they don’t leave. Ever. It’s a prison meant to keep even souls from leaving. [And what could be more horrible than being denied your final rest?]

So it has some kind of powers that denies the ghosts a chance to pass on. [That's pretty messed up.] How's that even possible? I always thought ghosts didn't move on by choice...did they get a chance to tell you who trapped them? Or why?

[He's weirdly sympathetic of that, but only because he can't imagine having his freedom stripped away like that.]

It's possible with some wards, or Necromancy. Magic meant to bind the dead. [Though, he may know it via video games.] It's evil. Probably the worst thing you can do to a soul. The dead earned their rest.

[Her jaw clenches, and she has to look away, a shimmering wave of heat beginning to surround her.] Merlin told me that the jailer said the people there were lowering company profits. That's why they were imprisoned. I...didn't get to ask the ghost myself. I was already gone.

[He knows about it, sure, but it's still hard sometimes to really wrap his head around the fact that these things sure do exist in a place like this. That's not what he fixates on though. It's the rest of the sentence that has him worried. Rei, please don't blow up...even though he thinks he can understand why.]

Company profits like...CERES's profits. Right? How could those people lower profits? That doesn't make any sense.

[That's just what she's expecting him to focus on, and it's what stuck in her head too. It was awful but they were free. The why, though?]

Right. CERES profits. It's the only company on the planet. And they very well could have lowered profits. If they were aggressive, or natives. There's any number of things that they could have done that would harm CERES business practices, and you've seen just how they regard the importance of profit.

CERES...deals with energy, right? If less people are on the planet using energy then there's more of it to profit from. [Once he talks it out it makes perfect sense. It's everything before that that he dislikes.] I don't get it though. CERES was the company that came here and took over from the natives. They should have been the ones outnumbered and unable to actually do anything.

The natives could have been unfriendly, terrorists or something acting against the deals made by their leader spirit? Which was it that agreed to work with CERES again?

[Because she has a thought.]

Also, who said that? They have access to all kinds of technology. Numbers aren't everything.

Some of Ardeo's people and some of Occidi's from what I remember. But that's still not all of them. Maris's people flat-out said no and Caeli's people disappeared completely.

...but point. Maybe CERES really did blow them all up or something.

Would it shock you to make me think that these people were some of Maris's? They were natives, they had to be, unless CERES is keeping political prisoners.

It wouldn't shock me at all, but what makes you think they were his specifically?

The blanket. It was covered in turtles, and a sea motif. Just a feeling. Is it a huge leap of logic?

Probably, but sometimes you have to take a few huge leaps. I'm just surprised you are. [He grins. He's actually pretty happy about that.] If Maris's people refused then...I could see them being taken prisoner against their will and being grateful that you helped them. I'd say "let's ask Maris" but he also kinda hates us.

Does he? Or is it CERES he hates? I think, maybe it's worth trying to contact him. If those were his people, he may change his mind.

...I think they're getting more angry. [He shifts his weight from foot to foot. There's something he should probably tell her.] Um. Athena, Edgeworth and I went to see Occidi a few days before all of this happened. It went about as well as you could expect. She kinda told us to bug off and that they don't need our help with anything.

[Is he pouting? Maybe.] I just wanted to warn her about the Bridge...

[Considering both him and Athena said they'd tell her before they talked to Occidi? Yes. He should. And it should be no surprise when she leans back in her seat and fixes him with a sharp look. Not quite a glare, but not happy, either.]

You didn't tell me that conversation had already happened...

[Look blame Athena, she's the one who picked the date. He's pretty sullen about the whole thing, too, given how that went.]

Kinda didn't get a lot of time. [At least he looks guilty about it and he's owning up to it now.] Athena picked the date and the three of us headed for the shrine. Merlin magic'd up some flowers in a bouquet as an offering but Occidi didn't like that because they were dead flowers that were cut at the stems. She shriveled them up...and Athena got mad. And Occidi got mad at us for assuming that she needed our help. [He looks at his feet instead.]

I didn't want to assume anything. I wanted to talk to her because we were told she was the one who was interested in peace while the Bridge was chaos. Shouldn't peace know about pending chaos?

Send me a message next time, even if it's short notice you can manage that.

[Rei exhales slowly, reaching an arm out for his shoulder. That girl. That girl...]

Because she also forgot to tell me. Despite promising. That girl...needs to be put on a leash, I swear. She's going to get herself killed again. [Sliding around to his back, she hugged him. That face was impossible to deny.]

I know why you wanted to talk to her. We did discuss that, you know. And she should. But you have to go about those things in the right way, and it sounds like Athena's big mouth caused the message to get lost.

I know. I'm sorry. [And he is. He'd been a little too focused on the goal to really think that far ahead. Perhaps that's just part of the fact that he's still growing up. But he's fine with this and he leans into that hug even while he's thinking. (It should be little surprise to Rei by now that this is how he functions best. Casual affection paired with letting him puzzle things out.)

Still, he makes a face at that. He doesn't really want to pin the blame on anybody even if he'd sort of thought the whole thing backfired spectacularly. Was it anybody's fault? Or did Occidi already have her mind made up from the start?]

I don't know if it was entirely Athena's fault. She thought she was doing the right thing and overreacted when Occidi destroyed the offering that Merlin made. It happens. [...did Rei know about Athena and Merlin? He's not sure, so he's carefully sidestepping that. People do crazy things when they like people sometimes.]It was just a combination of Athena reacting to Occidi destroying the flowers, Edgeworth asking what our part in all of this was and accidentally offending Occidi and I probably asked her way too many questions, too. [A huff.] I'm gonna go back to her shrine in a couple of days...I've got a new offering I'd like to leave to apologize. Even if she doesn't want our help, it's the least I can do.

[She's honestly just starting to treat him like Hotaru or Chibiusa, really. Sharp looks seem enough to get him to do what she feels is best, and he's really pretty good about actually listening.]

Athena's really clueless about how to deal with anything supernatural. And her boyfriend? [She knows. God does she know, and finds it terribly amusing] Merlin doesn't know much about spirits of any sort. We talk, quite a lot. He...doesn't know how to interact with them like some of us. Edgeworth-san is much the same as Athena. Ah...the closest thing their world has to the supernatural is Maya-chan. [Take that as you will. Maya Fey may very well be the most supernaturally ridiculous person Rei's ever met.]

My point is that they're touchy. But well thought out offerings may offset that. Caeli and I seem to have a solid understanding, after all.

An apology is wise, though. As is contrition if she shows up again. What do you intend to give her, if you don't mind me asking?

[Considering sharp looks and positive reinforcement is what happens in the Hamada household often enough, she's definitely got him pegged. He respects her opinion, too. That helps. His lips quirk up a little at the word "boyfriend" and also at Rei's descriptions of the two of them.]

I mean Athena's a lawyer. I didn't think she'd have that much experience but Merlin's a wizard. [He has no idea who Maya is, but he's nodding all the same.] We'll all just have to be a lot more careful next time. [He leans back a little to think out his offering, hands moving a bit as he describes.]

Well…Occidi didn't like that the flowers we brought were dead. So I started doing some research and planted some mint? You can grow new life from a sprig of it you can get at a grocery store, so I shoved it into a pot in my window. It's not growing really fast but…it's something? And it's meant for protection and won't require a ton of upkeep. And when Korra and I went to see Maris she brought some incense to light so I figured that might be okay, too? Sage seemed the most inoffensive so…[A shrug. He still doesn't quite know if that's the right way to do this, but he's definitely put thought into it.]

[Rei shakes her head.] Merlin doesn't deal with spirits of any sort. We've gone over it at length, and he's...smart but still kind of clueless.

[She'll leave it at that, and nod thoughtfully before giving him a very impressed look. Her lips peel back into a genuine, delighted smile.]

That is incredibly thoughtful of you. Mint is one of those things that will grow forever, given half the chance. Incense is another thing that should help, and sage is a fairly basic thing to use. Though, I'm not actually sure if a synthetic stick would be better or not. Ah...if she was bothered by dead plants, something maybe made from an extract might be better, so it's not harming anything and merely being used.

Some Legends Are Told, Some Turn To Dust Or To Gold [CEREALIA INBOX]

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