snowblindrpg | [log] Shed a few tears [open]

[ Sheena had been checking the hurdles when the door opens to reveal several people. Snapping her head around, she relaxes when she sees the group, having feared monsters coming in. A couple she recognizes from the network, but not all of them.

Smiling a faint smile to hide her own feelings about the news of yet someone else dying here, she shakes her head. ]

I don't mind at all. I'm Sheena. Sheena Fujibayashi.

[Fujibayashi. The name sounds distinctly Wutaian, and Kunsel can't help but give her a searching look for a moment. She's even got the right coloring for it, though her figure's a little more well-endowed than any Wutaian woman that Kunsel's ever seen.

...and that's not really where he wants his thoughts going right now. Kunsel clears his throat, just as glad for the dim light in the shed. Hopefully any sign of his thoughts on his face got obscured by the darkness and his helmet.]

Sheena, huh? Call me Kain. Come on, better get inside so we can close the door. It's just the two of you, right? Or is someone else out there?

[ Nope. Not Wutaian. Mizuhoan. Confusion is plain on her face even as her guard goes up from the way he's looking at her--as though he expects her to start fighting or something.

There's only one person she'll do that with, and everyone here has her humblest apologies over what will probably happen.

And luckily for Kunsei, the only thing the dim light reveals to her is that he had been staring at her--not his thoughts about her curves. ]

Nice to meet you, Kain. [ She steps inside, stepping back to glace out the door for any stragglers. ] No, it's just us. My companion is Zelos. Zelos Wilder.

[ His name is a warning... ]

Edited 2016-01-09 04:39 (UTC)

[Kunsel's eyes flicker over to the redhead with Sheena's introduction. He's only personally talked to Zelos once, over a month ago, and the exchange all took place through text, but he saw that post that he made just a few days ago.

The SOLDIER lowers his voice, intending it for Sheena's ears only.]

Is he... alright?

[Something in the inflection of his voice might make it sound like he's not sure that's the word he wants to use. Because really, he's not certain if he's asking about the sickness or if Zelos is just plain insane.]

Edited 2016-01-09 13:50 (UTC)

[ Well, if he had seen that post, he also would have heard and seen Sheena's reaction to what Zelos had been doing.

As he had done it.

She hadn't called him an "Idiot" for nothing. Still...

Leaning in so she can hear him, Sheena's eyes widen in surprise. She had caught both the inflection and the pause in his question. She glances at Zelos before answering. ]

He's perfectly fine and acting like he usually does.

[ And something in her tone suggests she's answering both questions at the same time. ]

Why?

Edited 2016-01-11 00:10 (UTC)

[Well, that's... reassuring? Or something. Kunsel's not certain what that actually says.]

Is stripping in front of people normal for him, then?

[He scratches the back of his neck wryly.]

You don't think that post he made is cause for concern?

[ It says he's acting like the Idiot he usually does. ]

When it's warm, yeah. He takes his jacket off. [ Hint. Hint. And not going any further than that.

Sheena gives him a look. ]

Of course I do! But probably not for the reason you might think. He couldn't feel the cold...

[Kunsel takes the hint and combines it with what he already knows about Zelos, and... yeah. Okay. Maybe not going there is a good idea. Pardon him while he rests his palm against his helmet visor like other people would press the heel of their hands to their foreheads.]

Yeah, I picked up on the fact that he couldn't feel the cold. That just made stripping even more dangerous. He wouldn't have been able to tell when the cold was starting to damage him.

[He's not aware of why else Sheena might be concerned by one of her companions losing their sense of touch.]

[ Sheena can't help the short, quiet, laugh that slips through when he facepalms. It's a reaction she's very familiar with making when it comes to Zelos. ]

Yeah. [ She looks towards the red-head. ] That's exactly what happened. If I hadn't pulled him back inside... [ She hated to think what would have happened.

She turned to him. ]

There were other things wrong with him, too. He was losing himself... [ Hearing, sight, sense of touch...reminded her too much of what happened to Colette. ]

[Kunsel's expression loses some of its exasperation, becoming a little more grave as she goes on.]

I think I know what you mean. It happened to one of my companions, too. Almost like he was losing literal contact with reality, right? Like... if a Summon was shifting back to its own dimension, or... [He gestures vaguely, not sure if he can accurately describe his idea.

He's not even sure if it's accurate.]

[ Sheena stares at him for a moment before nodding. ]

Kind of. Except more like becoming a Lifeless Being...Except he could still think and talk.

[ She tilts her head. ]

You have Summons on your world?

[ A much better topic... ]

[Becoming a lifeless being? Kunsel tilts his head at the odd turn of phrase. Is that some sort of euphemism for dying?

But she asked a question - one that catches his attention more immediately.]

Yeah. I take it yours does, too?

[ Sheena sees that tilt but doesn't try to elaborate. His theory is close enough anyway.

To his answer, however, she smiles. ]

Yep! The Summon Spirits! There are ten of them. [ Her smile fades a little. ] As far as I know, I'm the last Summoner on my world, though.

Only ten?

[Kunsel echoes the number in surprise.]

Is that just the number that are known? Because we're still occasionally finding Summons we've never seen before in my world. [A pause, then clear confusion wrinkles his face.] How can you be the last? Are you the only person left who can use magic?

[ Sheena's taken aback by his surprise. Does his world have more? Shaking her head, she explains. ]

There are eight for each of the Elements, and then Origin, the Ruler of All, and Maxwell, the Ancient Ruler of the Elements. Basically, the King of the Spirits, and the Father of the Spirits.

[ She looks down for a moment before shaking her head. ]

Magic can only be done by people with elven blood, or who go through a certain process. I don't have enough elven blood in me to be able to cast a spell. Only enough that the Spirits recognize me as the one with the "right to make the pact".

It probably also didn't help that the Spirits had been locked away for thousands of years, with a legend protecting them from being approached to make pacts.

Huh. Some Summons are associated with an element in my world, but it's not like there's only one Summon per element. Some aren't even necessarily associated with an element at all.

[He tilts his head at her remark about a "certain process," but... no. It's probably a coincidence. Right? Certainly that bit about people with elven blood doesn't make much sense to him.]

Not sure what you mean by "making a pact," but where I'm from, anyone with the materia and the magical capacity can summon. Summons usually need more magic than regular spells, so there aren't a lot of people who can do it, but there's no special blood restriction or... [Or other enhancements, but Kunsel doesn't really want to bring that up in this crowded room.

He shakes his head.]

But it sounds like your world has some interesting history, if all the Summons were locked away. [And isn't that an odd image, picturing a room full of hoarded and forgotten materia.] If it makes you feel a little less alone, though, I've used Summons, too.

[ Now it's Sheena's turn to be confused. ]

They don't use mana to control the elements of your world? [ Not that her world was doing so good in that department right now as things struggled to work themselves out. Shrugging, she continues.]

It means exactly that. I had to prove my worth to the Summon Spirits before they would accept me and my vow--my pact. Even though my friends helped me, I still showed them my heart, and the Spirits accepted me. [ Sounds easier than it actually was... Thanks, Volt. ]

Materia? What's that? Is it some kind of clothing? [ It sounds like "material" so why not? ] But...wait a second... Anyone on your world can do magic? Not just certain people? And yeah, it's nice to know someone else who can Summon. Are there a lot of you on your world--in spite of the restrictions?

[ How anti-discriminatory... ]

Yeah...my world's history. [ She lets out a short, disbelieving laugh. ] "Interesting" is one way to describe it. Ever hear of a world that went from being one, to two, back to one again?

Edited 2016-02-17 02:41 (UTC)

[Kunsel has to laugh for a moment.]

Slow down! I'm not sure I can keep up with all the questions.

[He holds a finger up to stall her while he tries to mentally organize his thoughts, then lowers it before he starts speaking again.]

There's energy in my world that's a part of everything. Everything needs it to live. Everyone can use it, to a certain extent, though it takes training to do much with it. Sometimes the energy in the world itself forms concentrations, and sometimes those concentrations condense to form crystals that we call materia.

[He holds up his hand, letting her take a look at his bracer, where three gem-like marbles are inset. If not for their green color, they might look an awful lot like Exspheres.]

People who can tap into their magic can use these to focus the magic into specific abilities or spells. In some rare cases, the materia actually allows a connection with a Summon, but that's only possible if the person's magic is strong enough for what the Summon needs. I've heard stories of Summons making you fight them before they'll let you use their materia- [Mostly from Zack, the unlucky bastard.] -but that's not usually the case.

Proportionately, there's only a small fraction of people with the training necessary to do any of this, but in terms of actual numbers, there are plenty of people who can use materia or pull of limit breaks. It is rare to get your hands on a Summon materia, though. I personally know maybe only a dozen people who've ever had one.

[He takes a breath.]

I think that covers all the questions about that? As for the split world, I can't say that I have. How would that even work?

[ Sheena gives a sheepish laugh. ]

Sorry about that. The good news is, I'm not as bad as my friend Raine. [ She'd probably have him sit down and recite the history of Materia from the beginning.

She blinks when he mentions that life energy. ]

That's what mana is on my world. The basis of life and magic. [ She looks at his bracer, taking a good look at the stones there. ] That's Materia? They look like the ExSpheres from my world. They don't connect us to magic, though. They enhance our natural abilities.

[ Her look grows thoughtful. ]

You said these Materia are actually crystallized forms of the energy of your planet, right? Is it possible that the Summons--well, their essence--are also crystallized? And that's how anyone can hope to use them? Which would explain why some would want to fight first.

[ Can't trust your essence with just anyone. ]

So, magic is available to anyone to use--if they want to. [ How novel. Too bad she wasn't home right now; she'd look into this whole "crystallization" thing so it was feasible for anyone to summon or use magic. ]

Well... With a sword that can control Time and Space--and a person with a lot of willpower. [ She coughs. ] It's a fairly long story.

So Raine is someone I need to be careful of if I ever meet her. Got it.

[Just a little lighthearted teasing, but don't think he's not mentally filing that name away.]

I haven't ever heard of Exspheres, but there are materia that do that, too. They're just not the only type.

[He rubs his chin, musing over her suggestion.]

It's possible that a Summon's essence could be condensed. That's delving a little more into Materia Theory than I've ever gone, though, so I can't give you firm answer on that.

[Assuming anyone even knows the answer. There's still a lot about materia that people don't understand.

He stares for a moment, then, not sure if he should be incredulous.]

I'm tempted to ask anyway. That sounds like quite a story. If you'd rather get some sleep, though...

[There's long stories, and then there's long stories. Depending on which category this one falls into, it might be better if they saved it for another day.]

Just don't mention ruins or anything academic around her, and you should be all right.

[ She totally understands. She loves her friend, but for those who don't know her, she may be a little frightening at times. ]

I kinda have my ExSphere hidden on me--literally. They're worn on your body. Otherwise, I'd take mine off and show you.

[ She's quiet for a moment. ] You said anyone with the ability to summon can do it, right? It sounds like these Materia act like these tablets and calls the Summon--if the right amount of magic is used to activate them.

[ She's not implying that she knows the answer, but it just sounds like a direct line kind of thing to her.

She coughs slightly in embarrassment when he stares. ]

Yeah. It's a little hard to believe, and I was there. Maybe I should wait until another time to tell you. I don't want to keep you or anyone else up with it. Not after traveling in this all day.

[log] Shed a few tears [open]

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I'm so sorry for all this tl;dr.

No problem! (And she has more questions...)

This is so late. Feel free to drop this thread.

I R Backtagger. (And sorry I'm late, too.)