logs | november catch-some!

Borrowed...

[ Kaito eyes Lumine intently as she explains, thinking back to the displays she's put on for him so far. Hm. It's a thought-provoking explanation, and he's about to comment when he hears the word 'freak' spill out.

To that, he shakes his head. ]

'Exceptional' is a better way to put it. 'Strange' is at least polite. I suppose it's a constant across worlds that people are so quick to give harsh labels to what they don't understand. If anything, the fact that you can take that world's borrowed magic and make something of your own with it is quite incredible.

[ He's not trying to gas her up or aggressively combat some presumed stance she may or may not even have on the matter, but Kaito is quite firm and matter-of-fact in his speech. ]

Many schools of magic treat the craft with a form of reverence, and their practitioners as borrowers of the gift. If you go off that philosophy, the fact that the world allowed you to harness so many elements can be seen as a sign of deep respect.

[ Finally, he quirks a smile. ]

Or coolness, I guess. Maybe also marriageability, if you're a magic-obsessed nerd.

[ lumine manages a faint smile. it isn't that she's discriminated against, though she won't deny that possessing such abilities had gotten her in heaps of trouble in the past. but it does keep her from blending in well with teyvat's populace and instead causes needless attention to spotlight on her.

she supposes a fresh perspective on the matter gives her a bit of optimism on the idea of borrowing the archons' powers without their permission. venti, zhongli and ei sure didn't hold it against her. ]

It's either that, or I'm forcibly taking their elements.

[ perhaps to fill in the void left by her sealed powers? who knows. ]

Oh, is it also a qualification for finding a good marriage partner?

We don't always choose our gifts. [ Kaito rubs the back of his head, chuckling. ] Sometimes they choose us, and we just have to deal with it.

[ If he only realized how right he was. January's gonna be a fun month. ]

Mmm... Maybe. It's hard enough to find someone who could put up with me as a dating partner, let alone for marriage. But if I had to list some actual qualifications, I'd like to be with someone who's curious about magic the same way I am.

Also, they can't hate ramen or I'd be depressed.

I suppose you're not entirely wrong about that ...

[ there had been many situations where she was supposedly "chosen" and she simply had to deal with it. so much so that she's gotten so used to it that, despite her complaints and insistence that she won't do something, all she can do is sigh and nod and let the flow carry her. ]

Was there ever anyone who met the bar?

[ look, she's not saying that those qualities are mutually exclusive. the combination is just very random, that's all. ]

Though I suppose if they don't like ramen, you could always convert them.

There were quite a few, when I was alive. But I never gave them my time. Hm. Maybe it's more accurate to say I didn't give myself the time.

[ A shrug. He doesn't elaborate. ] Here? I'm not really looking, but there might at least be a few who I could befriend out of an interest in spellcraft.

[ The conversion comment prompts a chuckle. Kaito shakes his head. ]

I could. All I'd need is a chair, some handcuffs, and time. [ He glances over to her, mischief gleaming in his gaze. ]

Just kidding. I wouldn't need the cuffs.

[ sounds like someone she knows. but is she really any different when she's dedicated her whole life—at least, back in teyvat—to finding her brother? her friends are one thing, but even they don't get the full extent of her attention, especially when she's in the middle of something serious. ]

Let me know if you need help with handcuffs. I could probably create one ...

[ out of stone. a kind of construct, maybe? the way zhongli managed to create certain forms using the element he lords over. perhaps the only predicament she'll face is if it'll hold its shape. ]

Both for converting and befriending purposes.

[ "befriending" purposes. she didn't miss that look of mischief on his face, after all. ]

Maybe I should be concerned if you're this eager to "befriend" someone with cuffs?

[ His tongue pokes out again. The trees have slowly begun to creep up around them, and the rest of Stygia has vanished behind the thicket. Perhaps they're close? She'll know for sure, since she's already been there once.

There's a beat where silence fills the air around them, broken only by the crunching of soles against dead leaves and underbrush. Eventually, Kaito cants his gaze towards the blonde and blurts: ]

So, are you thinking about getting out of here or making do with this new un-living situation?

[ she grins back but says nothing in response to that quip. maybe he should be wary about befriending her, especially when she's realized she's slowly starting to lose her grip on her shadow and might just cuff him with a geo construct to a tree. ]

There's doing both, making do with the situation and eventually leaving.

[ there are islands where people are disappearing, areas outside of the stygia that remains to be unexplored due to the existence of the tempest. if she's able to explore those, perhaps figure out the reason why people are disappearing ... a door out of the world, maybe?

but until then, she has to settle down for now and make do with what she's given. ]

A lot of things don't make sense at the moment, making me even more unconvinced that I've un-lived ...

[ And maybe she should be just as wary that he might actually not mind the cuffs.

Wait, shit, not that.

MAYBE SHE SHOULD BE WARY THAT ONE DAY HIS SHADOW WILL CONVINCE HIM TO DO TERRIBLE THINGS TOO. ]

Fair point. Most of us have only seen a fraction of what this hellscape has to offer, and some regions are beyond our reach. I'm sure that in time many and more of the Restless will find reasons to expand their horizons.

[ Kaito's gaze strays to the side, where he can start to smell a hint of smoke. ]

Mmm... It's possible. My heart still beats, and my soul still remains. But at the same time, I know what my 'final moments' were. Was my 'death' a hallucination? Or perhaps simply a prerequisite to travel down here?

I suppose we'll find out eventually.

[ Find out or vanish. ]

[ ............................ if it's cuffs you want, kaito, it's cuffs she can deliver. or at least, her shadow will deliver since his own shadow can be easily convinced to do so.

anyway, lumine reaches out to tug his sleeve, gesturing to follow a path leading off from the main one. now that they can smell something in the air, she's pretty sure they're slowly closing in on their target. the question currently running through her head is will those little seelie creatures still try to incinerate them.

only one way to find out, she supposes. ]

So you remember dying?

[ he's going to be the first person, if ever. everyone else she's spoken to doesn't seem to recall it. she can't even recall hers. ]

[ 💧

W-We can talk about this later.

Kaito jerks to pivot in the new direction when she pulls at his sleeve, shuffling alongside the blonde until she poses her question.

Footsteps slow to a halt, and if she turns back to face him she'll find a vacant gold gaze staring off into the distance.

He hasn't told anyone since arriving here. Not Hibiki, not Mavis, not Zagreus. He's allowed one of them to connect to his soul and another to learn his true intentions. But no one's been privy to the details of his death.

By the time he finally answers, he looks as if he's been dead on his feet for the past minute of silence. The words he mutters may as well be silent, however—they come out as a bare whisper. ]

...Yeah.

Quite clearly.

[ so open-minded, i like it.

ah well, she didn't think he would admit it openly. then again, she doesn't see the point in denying it when they're all supposedly. still, lumine can understand how sensitive talking about it is, the details possibly opening a wound that has yet to heal. which is why she doesn't wish to pry further, even after hearing his admission. ]

You're the first I met who remembers it.

[ or perhaps the first who admitted that they remember it. but she doesn't think the others would lie to her, kokomi or childe especially. ]

I myself can't recall anything.

[ Water is flexible, wink-wonk.

Her reply isn't insignificant by any means, but Kaito takes his sweet time in processing the words. Or maybe he's still rebooting after a purported internal BSOD. Whatever the case, another minute passes without him moving before he tugs his gloves on tightly (tighter than the skintight fit they already had on his fingers) and finally focuses his gaze on hers. ]

I never really asked anyone else about whether they remembered the details or not. Unfortunately for me, that entire day remains imprinted in my mind. It's a terrible time to have near-perfect recall.

[ That gets him to chuckle, but the smile that accompanies it doesn't make it halfway up his cheeks. ]

Death and I have a weird relationship anyway. Maybe that's why I remember everything. Or maybe I'm not that unique.

[ A beat. He smiles again, brighter this time despite it still failing to reach his eyes. ]

Do you think the grass is greener on my side, or would you rather not remember what happened?

[ all you water boys

lumine knows that smile all too well, having worn it a few times herself, but again, she doesn't call it out. in a conversation between two people who are closer to acquaintances than friends, she doesn't think she has every right to point these things out. instead, she simply clasps her hands behind her back, the ramen container he handed to her cradled between them. ]

Mm, it's hard to say, but I think I'd rather know what happened to me.

[ was it someone who managed to take her life? or was it something else? an accidental fall, perhaps, or an unexpected poison? ]

I'd rather have closure, you know. [ she smiles wryly, turning her gaze to the sky. ] Since I'm a very nosy person.

[ dw about it when his canon update rolls in he'll have other elements to make people concerned over—

Kaito follows her glance upward, nodding as if to acknowledge whatever invisible being she might be staring at. Or maybe he's just silently agreeing with her points. After all... ]

We're kindred spirits in that regard. I can't not know what happened. It's hard not to know anything.

[ After a moment, he closes his eyes and chuckles.

'Ah, fuck it.' ]

I̷ ̸d̷r̷o̶w̵n̸e̶d̴.̵

H̵o̶w̵ ̸p̵a̸t̸h̷e̶t̸i̷c̵ ̷t̷h̵a̶t̵ ̷s̶o̸m̸e̵o̸n̵e̴ ̸s̸o̸ ̴i̵n̷ ̶t̷u̶n̵e̴ ̸w̸i̶t̷h̷ ̴w̸a̷t̶e̷r̸ ̷d̵r̸o̶w̸n̴e̴d̷,̵ ̶d̵o̶n̸'̶t̷ ̴y̴o̸u̶ ̸t̷h̴i̸n̷k̶?̴

[ Kaito doesn't break his composure. Although nothing in his tone directly betrays his Shadow's brief takeover, the self-loathing remark is a bit of a sharp pivot. All he can do is sigh inwardly. ]

...I was looking for something very important, and that journey took me under the waves. Until then, I thought I could freely breathe underwater—I had discovered that fact early on after awakening to my water magic.

Well, I was wrong. So my closure ends in a lack of closure. It's a very frustrating fate for someone who can't mind his own business.

[ her gaze flickers to him, brows furrowing in concern. there is no distorting, nothing that would give away the fact that it's his shadow that's taken over, but she can feel the hair at the back of her neck prickle despite the warmth of the sun above them. it's a strange sensation and she doesn't think she can ever prove it, but it didn't sound like kaito.

at least, when compared to everything they've spoken about in the time they've spent walking through the hinterlands. or is she simply paranoid after her own shadow's attempt to take control during her last stint in this area?

lumine can almost hear her shadow giggling as if it knows a secret she doesn't. how annoying. ]

Water is an element that could soothe and destroy. Predicting it is as effective as predicting the weather.

[ even the most in-tune hydro vision holder can't always control their own waves. the elements will always have a mind of their own. which is her way of saying it's not pathetic; drowning is one of the worse ways to die, tbh. ]

But I can see how it would be frustrating. I would've been plagued by the thought of not finding what I want to find ... [ she trails off. ah. ] Though I'd say we're not so different in that regard.

...The sentiment is more than I deserve.

[ His thanks goes unspoken, but the smile he offers implies his full understanding—and appreciation. They're more acquaintances than friends, but at the rate they're going Kaito might just start to consider Lumine as the latter.

D̷o̷n̸'̷t̸ ̶d̵e̶l̴u̷d̴e̶ ̸y̸o̴u̵r̶s̴e̸l̷f̵.̷ ̴S̶h̸e̶'̵s̴ ̷t̶r̴o̵u̴b̶l̷e̵,̶ ̷j̷u̵s̶t̶ ̶l̴i̸k̵e̷ ̸e̸v̵e̸r̶y̵o̶n̵e̴ ̵e̵l̴s̵e̷.̷ ̴W̷h̸a̸t̵ ̵i̸s̴ ̴i̵t̷ ̷w̸i̷t̵h̶ ̸y̴o̷u̷ ̴a̷n̷d̴ ̸b̵l̵o̸n̴d̵e̵s̴,̵ ̸a̶n̸y̸w̵a̷y̷?̶?̵?̶ ]

It's comforting that you can empathize. Unfortunate, yet comforting. I was this close to resolving so many mysteries, and now I'm here. Now we're here, I guess.

I ...

[ lumine closes her mouth, running the words through her head. letting her own shadow see it, giggle at it, judge it. a reminder that she's not alone in this world, at least not literally. every thought, every consideration she makes is open to a side of her that she's never acknowledged before.

shall we wager how long this one will take until he betrays you? ]

Too was trying to solve the mystery of my missing brother, after all. [ calling him missing is misleading, to say the least. estranged might be a better term. ] The closer I seem to finding him, the farther away he seems to get. Almost like he's running away from me.

[ she snorts at how ironically accurate that is. ] And then now, I'm suddenly here like you, so.

[ He doesn't stare when she trails off. It doesn't take a genius to guess that she's mulling over whether she wants to share something so significant with him. Or, well, significant enough that she might not openly reveal it to someone she's only spoken to once or twice.

S̵h̶e̴'̴d̴ ̴b̴e̷ ̸r̶i̵g̷h̶t̵ ̸n̷o̶t̷ ̸t̶o̴.̸ ̸I̴f̵ ̷s̸h̸e̵'̷s̶ ̸s̸m̷a̵r̶t̶,̸ ̷s̸h̵e̴'̷s̸ ̸j̵u̵s̸t̶ ̶a̷s̵ ̷w̵o̷r̷r̶i̷e̴d̴ ̵a̷b̸o̴u̶t̵ ̵y̶o̷u̴ ̷b̷a̴c̷k̸s̸t̸a̸b̷b̴i̸n̷g̵ ̷h̶e̶r̵ ̶a̷s̴ ̵w̴e̸ ̷a̸r̴e̶ ̵o̸f̶ ̶h̷e̶r̸ ̶b̶a̸c̸k̷s̷t̸a̸b̷b̶i̸n̴g̸ ̸y̶o̸u̴.̵

He doesn't refute the Shadow's annoying prattle. After all, a not-so-small part of him is always on edge around others. His Shadow wouldn't be magnifying that paranoia if it didn't already exist.

Still, Lumine chooses to divulge, and when she finishes Kaito's expression becomes much softer. Gentler, as if a curtain between them has been drawn back. She didn't have to entrust those details to him, and maybe it's not that significant in the greater scheme of things... but Kaito's just silly like that, finding significance where there might be none. ]

For me, my mother. I was told that she died, but I know that isn't the case. I was so close to reuniting with her, y'know?

[ A beat. He chuckles and shakes his head. ] So I'm going to. And if I can take as many people who want to leave with me, then I'll do that too. But until then, I've gotta make sure I'm not destitute.

[ just because she's shared her own feelings on the matter doesn't mean she expects him to do the same. lumine simply wants to get it off her chest somehow, unable to share it with anyone now that she's alone in this world—or well, not alone, but without anyone to confide with.

and yet here is kaito, spilling his own story to an almost-stranger. a part of her wants him to stop, to ask him to reconsider since she might not be someone he could trust with these things. but she's grateful nonetheless that he would, without another thought, offer this information to her. lumine smiles, the crescent gentle and understanding.

if there's one thing she can empathize with, it's always family. ]

You can't exactly return if you've starved to death. [ she laughs too, shaking her own head. ] Got one more empty seat on the return trip, though?

[ if not for her, then for someone she knows. ]

[ points at eyes points at u points at me forgetting it was my turn ]

I'll have as many seats as there are folks who want to leave. Consider your trip booked.

[ Sorry Lumine, he has already Decided; you're not getting away from the ticket out of Hell. Protagonist energy tends to have the terrible side effect of extending a hand to anyone who'll ask and especially to those who normally wouldn't. ]

How close do you think we are now?

november catch-some!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

hough, walks in here a million years later

you'll need a million more to stop me from tagging back

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject