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[Teach... honestly, hearing that after getting fucking dissolved is grounding. "People care about you," or "you've made an impact". Ah, she hates this feeling. A little warmth, some fondness... Ugh, friendship.]
I've been asked to perform a task for Kathova. It involves planting a few items in Springstar. Are you interested in joining me? We could utilize it as a soft re-start of our lessons.
I've been asked to perform a task for Kathova. It involves planting a few items in Springstar. Are you interested in joining me? We could utilize it as a soft re-start of our lessons.
[A small breath, a ghost of a laugh, makes its way through the connection. Yeah, she can see him doing that. The mental image lifts her spirits a little.]
I won't be asking you to reinforce anything. The lesson will be on application of other skills and creativity. True magician relied solely on their Mystics to do the heavy lifting for them. Limited as we are, a modern mage should be well-rounded. Besides, walking around an entertainment district alone would clearly be suspicious.
I won't be asking you to reinforce anything. The lesson will be on application of other skills and creativity. True magician relied solely on their Mystics to do the heavy lifting for them. Limited as we are, a modern mage should be well-rounded. Besides, walking around an entertainment district alone would clearly be suspicious.
You're overthinkin' it. I do it all the time, and no one ever looks twice.
[ Because he's only recently started making friends, but it sounds really pathetic to add that part, so he'll just leave that out. ]
Though I guess I ain't usually stickin' weird things in potted plants and the like.
[ Does he know how to properly plant a spying device? Ehhh... Look, it's good that Rin will also be there, especially because he's following this all up with a confident- ]
But I'm real good at bein' subtle when I wanna, so I'll get these things place for you no problem.
[ Because he's only recently started making friends, but it sounds really pathetic to add that part, so he'll just leave that out. ]
Though I guess I ain't usually stickin' weird things in potted plants and the like.
[ Does he know how to properly plant a spying device? Ehhh... Look, it's good that Rin will also be there, especially because he's following this all up with a confident- ]
But I'm real good at bein' subtle when I wanna, so I'll get these things place for you no problem.
Very good. I'll prepare everything. I... should probably give you a warning now, but I've been stricken with quite the bit of Discord. So I may not look exactly the same when we meet.
[A "please don't stare too much," goes unsaid. Though she's not actually all that worried about the horns. It's the scales that blemish her previously perfect skin that upset her.]
[A "please don't stare too much," goes unsaid. Though she's not actually all that worried about the horns. It's the scales that blemish her previously perfect skin that upset her.]
[Some days after the end of the Exalt Oracle trial, once life has returned to some semblance of normalcy, Atsumu will receive — a gift basket, cloth-covered, delivered by courier and filled with edible goods. Since Liem does not know him especially well, he includes a fairly wide variety: sweet and tart fruits, cheeses wrapped in paper, and a pair of fresh-baked little pies — one filled with soft, mild cheese, flavoured with orange and chocolate, the other more savoury, stuffed with meat and spices.
Tucked within the basket is a stiff card bearing a short note, written in a precise, elegant hand:]
Atsumu,
My sincere apologies for the meanspirited way in which I took advantage of your generous assistance in the ant tunnels. I unwisely partook in the faerie banquet held the night before, and was not myself thereafter.
I hope that this note finds you well, despite my previous efforts to the contrary. Please know that in the future, if you have need of assistance, you may consider me at your disposal.
—Liem Talbott
[Next to the signed name is a tiny drawing of a pie with steam rising from the crust, clearly penned by the same person to write the note. Enjoy your home-made, un-poisoned foodstuffs, Atsumu!]
Tucked within the basket is a stiff card bearing a short note, written in a precise, elegant hand:]
Atsumu,
My sincere apologies for the meanspirited way in which I took advantage of your generous assistance in the ant tunnels. I unwisely partook in the faerie banquet held the night before, and was not myself thereafter.
I hope that this note finds you well, despite my previous efforts to the contrary. Please know that in the future, if you have need of assistance, you may consider me at your disposal.
—Liem Talbott
[Next to the signed name is a tiny drawing of a pie with steam rising from the crust, clearly penned by the same person to write the note. Enjoy your home-made, un-poisoned foodstuffs, Atsumu!]
[ Very suddenly, there’s a sense of Communion touching your character’s mind. However, it’s as if they connect with the mind of a shared Aspect, as they’re not able to block out the brief, but sharp memory that comes to them. ]
A Shard-Bearer holds their own Shard and turns it over in their hands as they stare at it intensely. It fills them with a complicated feeling, because their master had always told them they didn’t have a soul at all.
[ ooc note — Just to avoid OOC confusion/misinterpretation, the details included in this memory are random and are not necessarily interconnected or plot meaningful beyond a surface level. However, your character is free to interpret this random memory however they’d like! This event will also be touched on somewhat during today’s NPC Communion Post. ]
A Shard-Bearer holds their own Shard and turns it over in their hands as they stare at it intensely. It fills them with a complicated feeling, because their master had always told them they didn’t have a soul at all.
[ ooc note — Just to avoid OOC confusion/misinterpretation, the details included in this memory are random and are not necessarily interconnected or plot meaningful beyond a surface level. However, your character is free to interpret this random memory however they’d like! This event will also be touched on somewhat during today’s NPC Communion Post. ]
[ Dimitri doesn't deliver this in person, but Atsumu will have a small parcel delivered to his address - where-ever it is he's staying. Inside is a small collection of little items - some baked goods and cookies, a small water-bottle or canteen, perhaps chosen because of Dimitri's association of Atsumu with sports, and a pair of knit gloves. There's also a little note: ]
With appreciation to my volley-ball instructor. I wish you the best.
-Dimitri Blaiddyd
With appreciation to my volley-ball instructor. I wish you the best.
-Dimitri Blaiddyd
[On the shortest day of the year—or the longest, by Springstar’s calendar—Liem makes his rounds to play Santa himself, though without the red-and-white costume. For the past few months, his regular visits to Springstar’s community centre have been in service of crafting handmade solstice gifts for the people in his life. This time, unlike last winter, he’s prepared.
Unfortunately, naughty Zenith boys don’t get personal deliveries, but Atsumu does still receive a small gift basket by courier. Inside are a couple pleasantly spiced bars of hand-mixed soap, a pair of fat, equally pleasant candles, and a jar of soup mix with a brief recipe tied around it. The note attached simply says “From L”.]
Unfortunately, naughty Zenith boys don’t get personal deliveries, but Atsumu does still receive a small gift basket by courier. Inside are a couple pleasantly spiced bars of hand-mixed soap, a pair of fat, equally pleasant candles, and a jar of soup mix with a brief recipe tied around it. The note attached simply says “From L”.]
[ Amos hasn't forgotten how he treated Atsumu a couple of months ago. He can't afford to.
With that comes two conflicting thoughts, however. He wants Atsumu to stay as sheltered from all of this as possible; to be given as much of a chance as he can to live a normal life, even if that seems increasingly and increasingly fleeting. He shouldn't contribute to taking that away. On the other hand, it's maybe for the best if he stays honest with him... if he doesn't let him get caught by surprise...
Amos doesn't exactly read the papers, but he knows Atsumu was there during the Harbinger Oracle. Just like he was for the Iconoclast, and the Exalt. There is, probably, no escaping this; the dream for normalcy is dead, a disservice.
Honesty it is.
He doesn't bother with calling ahead of time, figuring this should all be done face to face and somewhere quiet and safe. Atsumu still lives at Yima's, which fits that criteria — so that's where he goes, making his way through the manor (after some directions are procured) to knock on the door to his room. ]
Fox? You in there?
[ ... He maybe should have called ahead, just in case, but he's a little too far into this to backtrack now. ]
With that comes two conflicting thoughts, however. He wants Atsumu to stay as sheltered from all of this as possible; to be given as much of a chance as he can to live a normal life, even if that seems increasingly and increasingly fleeting. He shouldn't contribute to taking that away. On the other hand, it's maybe for the best if he stays honest with him... if he doesn't let him get caught by surprise...
Amos doesn't exactly read the papers, but he knows Atsumu was there during the Harbinger Oracle. Just like he was for the Iconoclast, and the Exalt. There is, probably, no escaping this; the dream for normalcy is dead, a disservice.
Honesty it is.
He doesn't bother with calling ahead of time, figuring this should all be done face to face and somewhere quiet and safe. Atsumu still lives at Yima's, which fits that criteria — so that's where he goes, making his way through the manor (after some directions are procured) to knock on the door to his room. ]
Fox? You in there?
[ ... He maybe should have called ahead, just in case, but he's a little too far into this to backtrack now. ]
[ Amos might not be entirely wrong about that either. There's no real sheltering Atsumu from all of this in the end. He'll be dragged into every one of these competitions of the Oracles, and whether or not he's directly responsible for Zenite efforts against Meridians, he'll still be found just as culpable as the rest of Zenith.
At least being given the warning lets him brace himself for what's to come if nothing else.
And when he opens his door, blinking owlishly up at Amos, it's clear he really has no idea what's to come for him. He's dressed in clothing that is casual and comfy, suggesting he was just lounging around at least, so if nothing else Amos isn't interrupting anything important. ]
What's up, man?
[ Amos has never come to visit him before. ]
At least being given the warning lets him brace himself for what's to come if nothing else.
And when he opens his door, blinking owlishly up at Amos, it's clear he really has no idea what's to come for him. He's dressed in clothing that is casual and comfy, suggesting he was just lounging around at least, so if nothing else Amos isn't interrupting anything important. ]
What's up, man?
[ Amos has never come to visit him before. ]
[ Casual and comfy is the way to go. Why bother with anything else?
Though that isn't something Amos necessarily recognizes — just that Atsumu is here, and greeting him, and receptive. (Something he wasn't aware of previously in him loosens. Receptive. He didn't totally fuck their relationship.) He doesn't exactly smile, but there's an air of amicability about him. In his voice. ]
Got something coming up you should probably know about. Could maybe even help with. [ He'd said something along those lines, before — Atsumu is a person he trusts, age and inexperience be damned. Gotta start somewhere, and when you get down to it... Amos did start younger.
It'll be fine. Coming to Atsumu with this will be fine. ]
Can I come in?
Though that isn't something Amos necessarily recognizes — just that Atsumu is here, and greeting him, and receptive. (Something he wasn't aware of previously in him loosens. Receptive. He didn't totally fuck their relationship.) He doesn't exactly smile, but there's an air of amicability about him. In his voice. ]
Got something coming up you should probably know about. Could maybe even help with. [ He'd said something along those lines, before — Atsumu is a person he trusts, age and inexperience be damned. Gotta start somewhere, and when you get down to it... Amos did start younger.
It'll be fine. Coming to Atsumu with this will be fine. ]
Can I come in?
[ Life circumstances can change so much about what responsibilities do or don't get put on a person's shoulders. Atsumu's previous existence allowed for a pretty minimal amount of responsibilities. He had classroom duties from time to time, and chores at home, and of course school work, but that was what was expected of every kid. He lived a normal life without the weight of difficult decisions crushing him.
Things had changed drastically, and Atsumu no longer had the luxury of very few responsibilities. He'd still gotten a late start compared to so many of the people at Kenos even given that, but sometimes life deals you better hands than others.
Either way, Atsumu's had time to adjust, and doesn't argue even if he looks baffled by Amos comment, nodding as he steps out of the way to let the man in, not even waiting to close the door before asking. ]
What kinda thing?
[ It had to be big if Amos was coming here in person instead of reading out over Communion. ]
Things had changed drastically, and Atsumu no longer had the luxury of very few responsibilities. He'd still gotten a late start compared to so many of the people at Kenos even given that, but sometimes life deals you better hands than others.
Either way, Atsumu's had time to adjust, and doesn't argue even if he looks baffled by Amos comment, nodding as he steps out of the way to let the man in, not even waiting to close the door before asking. ]
What kinda thing?
[ It had to be big if Amos was coming here in person instead of reading out over Communion. ]
[ Deep breath, because it's one thing to think this is a good idea, it's the right thing to do to be honest and another to have the kid actually standing in front of him, just the two of them, alone in his room.
Normally Amos would just. say it. I'm going to kill Cyrus, just thought you should know, except he takes a second to look past Atsumu. Out at the far wall, out at nothing, out at something only Amos can see in his mind's eye. Cyrus dying by his hand, which is one thing; the fallout that's going to result from that, which is another.
He should tell him.
Amos' eyes flick back to Atsumu's, and when he speaks, it's conversational. ]
I'm going to kill Cyrus. Yima wants him dead, so it'll be done.
[ There. That wasn't so hard.
... Waiting to see how Atsumu is going to take it is, so he hurriedly adds on, ] Not that I'm asking you to help me with that. I don't want you to kill anyone. Just...
[ A vague waving of his hand; yeah, he doesn't know. ]
... it's gonna happen. Thought you should know.
[ Oh, yeah. Nailed it. ]
Normally Amos would just. say it. I'm going to kill Cyrus, just thought you should know, except he takes a second to look past Atsumu. Out at the far wall, out at nothing, out at something only Amos can see in his mind's eye. Cyrus dying by his hand, which is one thing; the fallout that's going to result from that, which is another.
He should tell him.
Amos' eyes flick back to Atsumu's, and when he speaks, it's conversational. ]
I'm going to kill Cyrus. Yima wants him dead, so it'll be done.
[ There. That wasn't so hard.
... Waiting to see how Atsumu is going to take it is, so he hurriedly adds on, ] Not that I'm asking you to help me with that. I don't want you to kill anyone. Just...
[ A vague waving of his hand; yeah, he doesn't know. ]
... it's gonna happen. Thought you should know.
[ Oh, yeah. Nailed it. ]
[ There's always been a sort of nonchalance to Amos about even the most intense of topics that Atsumu has admired, though he's not sure he can praise that blasé attitude in this particular moment.
The way he admits to the fact that he's planning to kill someone, especially an important political figure, has Atsumu freezing in place. The way he casually tosses out the fact that Yima wants him to do it has Atsumu's breath catching in his throat, and staying there, until the need for oxygen reminds him that he does, in fact, need to keep breathing.
Even after that short stint of playing at being a statue ends, Atsumu still stares at Amos is stupefied silence for several seconds that feels like eons for Atsumu, whose brain is scrambling to catch up to the information that was just foisted upon him. ]
You... she... what?
[ It's not like Amos can say this in a way that's any simpler or easier to understand than the way he just did, but there's something about the information he's just been handed that is so hard to process for Atsumu right now.
When he finally gets his wits about him enough to not look like he's shorting out, his bushy brows crease in concern as he realizes what Amos is planning right now. ]
Are you serious?
The way he admits to the fact that he's planning to kill someone, especially an important political figure, has Atsumu freezing in place. The way he casually tosses out the fact that Yima wants him to do it has Atsumu's breath catching in his throat, and staying there, until the need for oxygen reminds him that he does, in fact, need to keep breathing.
Even after that short stint of playing at being a statue ends, Atsumu still stares at Amos is stupefied silence for several seconds that feels like eons for Atsumu, whose brain is scrambling to catch up to the information that was just foisted upon him. ]
You... she... what?
[ It's not like Amos can say this in a way that's any simpler or easier to understand than the way he just did, but there's something about the information he's just been handed that is so hard to process for Atsumu right now.
When he finally gets his wits about him enough to not look like he's shorting out, his bushy brows crease in concern as he realizes what Amos is planning right now. ]
Are you serious?
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