[muffled spooky scary skeletons playing in the distance]

[geonomy]

Who: You! Me! Everybody!
Broadcast: idk but we've sure got a pretty broad cast of folks eh, eh
Action: HECK YEAH PLANET MINGLE
When: 10/7 until plot update or recaptcha

It's a deep, deep forest filled to the brim with fungi, mysterious life forms, and pitch black darkness. Explore if you dare and discover all these things and more! Just don't get lost...

Comments

[nerdeology]

[Mikleo watches her dissolve the ice, eyes widening slightly, a quiet wonder in his gaze. It's not like he's unfamiliar with the other elements - he'd grown up around all of them, even Gramps' rare lightning - but it's still impressive to see what can be done with those he has no hands-on experience with. She's not wrong, of course; it's true that fire can be destructive. But it can be beautiful, too, as she's just demonstrated.]

I don't think that's true, but if it was, then it makes sense for you to be a fire seraph. Like a campfire we're all drawn to... you bring us together, and you keep us safe. It's... pretty obvious what a mess we are without you.

[It's still hard to talk about (it isn't something he's even begun to unpack yet, not with Sorey, not with anyone) and they've made her aware of how much they missed her. But it's more than just her position as Prime Lord that he's talking about. Her presence makes them better, as a whole. All of them benefit from her, from Lailah, whether she's linking them together with her pact strings or not.

She's a comfort, a friend. A crucial core to their makeshift little family. That's the furthest thing from destructive that you can get.]

[sansseraph]

[Lailah lets the rest of the ice dissolve into mist before speaking again.]

I've heard some humans say that the heart of a home is at the hearth fire. It's where friends and family will gather together to talk or tell stories or do various other activities. As I learned more about my element, I decided that was what I wanted my fire to be like: a hearth. I wanted it to be something that can let people believe they're home, even if their home's half a world away.

[That she's succeeded in making people feel safe and comfortable around her is the best thing she could've accomplished, as far as she's concerned. After agreeing to her job as Lady of the Lake, she feels that's been more important than ever.]

Even I have my limits, though. It...wouldn't have been the first time one has fallen while with me.

[Lailah's doing her best to tiptoe around the confines of her oath to give him this information, just as she had with Sorey. She flicks her hand out and sends a small butterfly made of flames to flutter around in the air between them. After a few seconds, it fades away to harmless embers.]

But I think that if you had Edna here instead of me, you would've been fine, too.

[nerdeology]

[Mikleo snorts doubtfully at that last comment, but it's less sour than it normally would be. He's too distracted by the subject they're both carefully dancing around, and it isn't as easy to shrug off as he'd like. He's still barely two weeks away from those memories, and it feels as if no amount of time will be enough. Avoiding it isn't ideal, he knows - denial of reality only breeds malevolence, he knows that, he knows - but not yet. Not yet.

He stretches his hands out to touch the water, thin branches of ice crackling out across the surface from his fingertips.]

You keep trying, though. You keep moving forward, despite everything that's happened... everything you can't talk about. You're kind of incredible, you know that?

[There are some people he can't compliment so easily- for the sake of pride (his, or theirs), or shyness, or his own awkward fumbling with this sort of thing. Not so with Lailah. She deserves so much more than she's given; he understands that now the way he never really had before.]

[sansseraph]

[Lailah tilts her head in acknowledgement and acceptance of his compliment. She watches him mildly frost the surface of the water before answering.]

Perhaps, but it took years for me to figure out how to move forward without losing myself.

[She smiles at Mikleo.]

I know it doesn't seem like it now, but you'll find your own way, too. Just give yourself time to find it.

[nerdeology]

[That's always been hard to hear, especially with how important his growth had become back home- he'd worked as hard as he could whenever they had time to themselves, or when their human party members slept for the night, all to make sure that his youth and inexperience didn't hold them back. The closer they came to facing Heldalf, the more he'd wanted to train, and after Dezel died and Zaveid joined them, it seemed to become doubly important. He was a young seraph in the company of those who'd spent thousands of years learning, traveling, growing stronger. He had a long way to go before he could truly stand as their equal.

Her smile is as gentle as ever, and he knows she's never looked down on him, but sometimes he feels those years between them, like a tangible thing that he can't truly fathom.]

It's hard to be patient when I feel this lost already.

[sansseraph]

[She folds her hands delicately in front of her. The older seraph contemplates his words, carefully choosing her own to reply with.]

That's only natural. [Lailah pauses for a moment.] We may not be able to take you out of the woods completely, but you do have people who can help guide your path. Much like how we use the stars and moon to help navigate us to where we need to go late at night.

[She looks out across the lake thoughtfully.]

It's hard to keep patient and it can be very frustrating at times. In those instances, let yourself feel that and then use that energy for something more positive or productive. If it's too much for you to handle on your own, you know that we're all willing to lend an ear for you to vent those frustrations.

[nerdeology]

[Mikleo makes a faint, noncommittal noise in response as he considers her words, the sound only to acknowledge that he'd heard them. He won't deny that she's right; the fact that he's here now at all is a testament to her words. Without the support of all of them he'd probably still be a mess of frayed emotions and fractured sanity, holed up in his room trying to work through memories of the monster he'd become, everything he'd been forced and chosen to do in that form. Waking up alone on the Marsiva had been horrible, and even the voices of his friends hadn't soothed those lingering wounds. Coming back, seeing everyone... seeing Sorey... that's when the healing had truly begun.

Even now, with his body whole and healthy again at last, he can't help feeling out of sorts. He'd ventured away from the ships because even though he'd urged them to go and explore, he'd begun to worry that the loss of their presence would undo him entirely. The lake had helped, but Lailah being here helps even more.

He should really meet up with Sorey once he's done here.]

Lailah... if you're allowed to answer... can I ask why you made your oath?

[He's not sure if that counts as discussing the terms- there's still a great deal he doesn't know about the whole process. They've only gotten vague ideas about the limitations involved.]