driftfleet | Tha sin mar bhàs.

Entry tags:

Tha sin mar bhàs.

Who: Katie and you!
Broadcast: Yes!
Action: Planetside
When: Now-ish

[Amusement Park]

[So this is where she goes when she wants time to think, apparently. The bunker is a place she won't enter; between the heavy aftermath of a mass death and the understandably stricken reactions of its visitors, the atmosphere is far too toxic. But it doesn't mean she isn't grieving. The deaths could not be helped and are god knows how far in the past, but the fact that these people have been forgotten - not acknowledged even by this automated town, let alone the rest of space - is something that sits very poorly. She can't even change anything about the town to reflect its population's final days.

She's walking the rollercoaster tracks, very high up, thinking over the issue. Don't ask how she got up that high. And don't worry if you should be using the rollercoaster at the time; she can avoid you. Might give you a bit of a scare, though, sorry.

Eventually, she puts a call through to Sam.]

[Outside of town]

[As far as she can go before she suspects (or hopes) she's outside the range of the city's replication science so her work isn't scrubbed. She's not too far from the bunker; it would be pointless if she were too far away from it.

She finds a rock face smooth enough, and between a thick blade and Kirito's lightsaber she carves a memorial. Maybe nobody will ever see it, but if any other visitors come to this place, they should know what happened. It's worth the extra headache.]

[And Broadcast]

I've decided to quit making dreamcatchers and move on to voodoo dolls instead. It's more fun. So if you'd like to take one before I end up throwing them all out, feel free.

[Just so you know. Totally honest, as usual. Less cheerful than normal.

If anyone wants her she'll be curled up in her office with Licorice on her lap. She's so tired of these planets.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She blinks at him in puzzlement for a moment, before she recalls her roundabout post. Ah.]

I did say blatantly I was moving on, didn't I? Perhaps I'll change my mind.

Did you want to know if they really work?

There's no rule on what you have to do, so I suppose you can take your time with it.

[He offers up a slight shrug.]

I... was wondering for Sorey's sake, mostly. Seraphim don't need to sleep, so I can avoid dreaming if I want.

[A beat, and then-]

And I wondered if you were alright.

[Ah...]

You know, Sorey asked about them as well? He said he'd come by after. [He's already been.] Does that mean you can sleep and dream if you want to? I hope you do, sometimes.

[She considers how best to answer the other part.]

I think I'm all right. But I may not be in a day or two.

I can, if I want to.

[If he's in the right mood, if Sorey convinces him one way or another, if it's been a good day.]

I'm sorry to hear that. You should try the seraph method, if you want to avoid it- many of my kind opt to sleep off one calamity or another, although we're known to confuse days with years.

[It occurs to her he might not wish to sleep if he dreams of dragons. You know, that's fair. Something she might look into when she's feeling less... less.

She grins at that.]

Seraphs sound awfully like cats. Wouldn't it be awfully nice to just nap in the sun for a few months?

I'm sure it would be. Actually, I know a seraph who is a cat, and I'm certain she'd agree with the sentiment.

Really? [Instantly interested.] Who?

Her name is Morgrim, the Lord of the Land in Pendrago. She's one of the oldest seraphim I've ever met.

Morgim. What an excellent name. And she's a noble?

[That's what Lord of the Land means, right.]

[SNORT. That's hilarious.]

Lord of the Land means she's the guardian seraph of that particular city and its surrounding region. Humans provide prayers and offerings to the chosen shrine, and in exchange the Lord of the Land protects the region from an overwhelming level of malevolence.

[Hey look A CAT CAN BE A KING
oh wait a cat can look at a king that's how the saying goes oh well]

Well. That sounds far more important than being some paltry king, anyway.

[in this case a cat can be a god, which is much more impressive, in a way.]

There isn't even a king in Pendrago, paltry or otherwise- Rolance is ruled by an emperor. Not that it really matters much who's in charge to a seraph, so I'm told. Morgrim's probably seen so many rise and fall for it to even be an issue.

[You know, there's still comparisons she can draw between the Fae and Seraphs in general. Some of the details wildly differ, but the Lord of the Land stuff was kind of how it worked for them a good... five, six centuries ago.

Times change.] Is Morgim immortal? [Which thought occurs:] Are you?

Ah... technically yes, and yes. At least, I've never heard of a seraph dying of old age. Zaveid, Eizen, and Edna are all over a thousand years old, maybe two, and Gramps was older than all of them combined.

[He's a little uncomfortable about it; generally, the thought of living that long is still scary, especially when one factors in his very human partner. But then, if he was human, that would have brought about a whole number of other problems.]

[But you can become a dragon. Is that Bad End?]

That's a lot of other people to see come and go. [Definitely thinking of Sorey.] I think I'd rather live in sets of lifetimes, if I had the option.

[Very Bad End.]

I haven't given it much thought, admittedly. I'm still around twenty years old, still young enough to count in actual numbers. I probably won't know how I feel until I've lived a lot more.

At least you won't have to take the journey on your own, if Seraphs all live such long lives.

True enough. I have a whole seraph family to support me if I get lonely, and it might be exciting to witness the lives of many humans and their descendants.

[BRIGHT SIDE... reach for that bright side.]

Is reincarnation a belief where you're from?

[She has it easier in a sense because she just keeps recycling.]

It... exists, in a sense. Under the right circumstances, humans can be reborn as seraphim when they die.

[There's a sliver of unease and a quiet sadness in those words. His understanding of that process is... complicated.]

[She can pick up on some of that, but not the whys. So a little softer--]

Is that... not a good thing?

No, it's... that's not exactly it.

[The easiest explanation would be to dig into situation with Sorey- that the seraph rebirth isn't guaranteed, that it often comes with a price. It's a painful thought, to consider it might not happen, but mostly hopeful. His prospects are good.

He knows Katie, though. She's not a stranger, but rather someone he's come to trust. He doesn't owe anyone anything, but he'd prefer to be honest with her. So, after a slight hesitation,]

Sorey and I were found together as infants- a human and seraph. I was born human, though. And... died.

[It's an explanation, but open-ended- she can ask or leave it at that, and he'll spare her the grim details. Her choice.]

[Oh, that's a very young time to die. Her expression softens, but that long ago perhaps Mikleo can't remember it clearly.]

Did you have a human family?

[And of course she can't leave well enough alone.]

[It's hard to tell if he's relieved or concerned that she's asking; either way, he's entirely unprepared, hesitating awkwardly.]

I had a mother, and... an uncle. He was the Shepherd before Sorey- his Prime Lord was Lailah, actually. They lived in a little village below Elysia's mountain, in between the main countries of our continent. My mother... she left me with this.

[He touches a hand to his forehead, lifting his bangs- his gold circlet is there, inlaid with green gems. She's probably seen bits of it under his hair before, he's never without it.]

I was... maybe a year old, so I don't really remember them. Almost everything that I saw of them was through the iris gems- they can reveal important fragments of the past in our world.

[It's the awkwardness that makes Katie decide not to press more about them-- well, not in the way she would have as a child, anyway. Are they still alive? She suspects the answer is no.

Especially not if Sorey is the Shepherd now. There's generally only one, isn't there...?]

Who found you? [She's sifting through vague memories; calibrations brought her some information there, which was also painful.] Your grandfather? Or-- Gramps?

[Not grandfather by blood, she assumes.]

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