IC Inbox for Asgard Genesis

[lethechained]

Hello. Thank you for calling, and I'm sorry I wasn't here to answer.

[Pause.]

--Leave a message, please, if you want to.

Comments

text, day 59 (aug 6th).

[skittering]

❰ out of the blue, relevant to literally nothing, comes a text: ❱

still here?

[lethechained]

[ -- Ah. Well, it certainly is out of the blue - but given Roxas' relatively recent disappearance, Naminé's not inclined to question it too much. (Save, perhaps, to wonder at being worthy of such a question at all.) ]

Yes. I'm here.

[ Her response doesn't take long to arrive; she's not exceptionally busy these days. Obvious though it might be, she seems to find it worth noting, ]

And you are too.

[ Because asking the same question back would be kind of silly when he's the one messaging her. ]

[skittering]

❰ he doesn't bother to confirm it, for the same reason that it wasn't posed as a question. instead: ❱

good

❰ and that seems like.... literally the entirety of the conversation for a good couple of minutes, but then as an afterthought: ❱

which god's yours?

[lethechained]

[ Inexperienced as she is with text messaging, Naminé is relatively uncertain what the polite thing to do is when there's no further response. Surely he didn't message her only to ask that...? But he doesn't seem to be saying anything else, so she leaves it be long enough to almost get involved with her latest drawing again before the next ping comes in and she pauses, pencil held between her fingers. ]

Sigyn.

[ And since he's asked another thing, her curiosity is properly piqued. Now, it simply cannot be left alone. That question was rather out of the blue as well, so she does her best to extrapolate from two awkwardly placed points of data. (This is probably about as inefficient as it sounds.) ]

Do you need help with something?

[ That's a genuine question; what difference would her chosen deity make otherwise? ]

[skittering]

❰ does he need help? his brow knits, mildly confused. after a moment he says: ❱

just wondered

❰ text ❱ day 90 (sep 7th), early morning.

[skittering]

are you still here

[lethechained]

[ It takes a few minutes for her to respond. Perhaps it's simply too early, or maybe she was otherwise occupied - either way, when she sees the message it strikes her memory immediately; she almost doesn't even need to look to see who it's from. ]

I am.

[ It's - nice, being checked in on. Supposing she owes him the same, ]

How's your house?

[skittering]

❰ good. he's... relieved, that she's still here. he doesn't really know her, but it's still enough that she's not just some stranger's face in the crowd, and lalli would feel something (even if he isn't sure what) if she disappeared. ❱

it's okay

should be kind of done in another month

[lethechained]

[ While they haven't exactly gone through a litany of personal questions to become properly acquainted, there's familiarity enough for her to be glad for his having contacted her. It's a rare treat but a welcome one. Genuinely curious, ]

Kind of done?

[ There would be quotation marks around that if she knew it was appropriate. ]

What does that mean?

action; 10/8 - after odin's announcement

[dorzalta]

[ It's been... a long day, suffice it to say. By the time she steps into their cabin, the sun's begun to set. She doesn't know if the city is less active this eve because of the news and battle preparations, or because both natives and Wanderers alike are attempting to rest up for another long day, tomorrow. What she does know? It's going to take much more than a lollipop to lighten her mood.

That doesn't stop her from finding and offering her roommate one — pink for strawberry, or a pale green for melon — however, before settling into a seated position. Nearby for ease of speaking, but not suffocatingly close. ]

Seems that time of rest was short-lived. [ Instead of forcing a smile, she busies herself with peeling off the wrapper to the candy Naminé doesn't choose. Eventually, she'll ask: ] Do you intend to ride out, or stay here?

[lethechained]

[ It's quite possible that this has been one of the busiest, if not the busiest day of Naminé's life. Perhaps that's a boon; it leaves less room in one's mind for worry, for fear. Unfortunately for Naminé, however, she maintains plenty of extra space for both, and by the time sunset comes to relieve her of duty, she's both tired and preoccupied.

Enough so that the first looks she gives the offered candy is a blank one, uncomprehending as she tries to extricate herself from her thoughts. It works after a moment, and with a start she begins to lift a hand, instinctively reaching for the pink lollipop without actually having thought about it. ]

-- Thank you, [ she says, more early than late, and as Daenerys settles herself, Naminé pauses, studying her briefly before making to remove the wrapper of her own candy. She never quite gets around to putting the sweet into her mouth, however, because that inquiry seems to stop her short. That's the question of the hour, isn't it? Or the day, rather; her brow knits slightly, perplexed eyes lingering on her roommate for a moment before lowering to the item in her own hands. ]

I haven't decided yet, [ Naminé answers, and it's the weighty kind of sentence, the heavy sort of tone that suggests that's been on her mind a lot today. Her fingers tighten around the little stick that goes with her sweet, and she raises her eyes to ask, in a different manner that carries no less an undercurrent of thought, ] Are... you planning to go?

[ Only then does she actually start on the lollipop, almost more for something to do with her hands than for any other reason. ]

&& she gonna kill that ice turd deader than dead while she's at it lol

[dorzalta]

You'll be of great help in either place.

[ Were that weight tangible, surely it would manifest with the answer given. I haven't decided. It's not her war, and for that, Dany's glad. At the same time, however, it's a war now forced onto her... just as it has been for those in Westeros. A war she had no interest in, but one necessary to fight all the same.

She sighs, the sound soft and tired all at once, and picks at the wrapper. ]

It's the war we set off for in my world, before coming here. [ Her fingers still work on the plastic as she looks to meet Naminé's eyes. ] The first of two. The first against the dead, the second against the living.

[ Edd hasn't returned yet; she's glad for the privacy. It's easier not having another Westerosi to share the space with while she says these things. ]

I just discovered one of my children sacrificed his life for an empty promise.

much deservedly I'm sure

[lethechained]

[ Part of Naminé wants to express gratitude a second time for the compliment. She doesn't quite manage it, the words pressed away into her lungs by the rest of the situation that surrounds them. She hopes she'll be of help - wants to be in a way that's mostly from her nature and only a little bit because of that feeling of guilt over past mistakes that never quite goes away.

Lowering the candy, the girl pauses at Daenerys' description. It's occurred to Naminé already, sharp memory that she has, but-- ]

… So they'll be just like what he described at the meeting. [ Jon Snow, that first time - those creatures he spoke about sounded not wholly unlike Heartless in their single-mindedness as well as a few other peculiarities, and Naminé knows all too well how dangerous they could be. ] The wights, the ones that can't be killed by normal means.

[ Except as troubling as that notion is, and as much time as Naminé has spent mired in her own thoughts, her own troubled attempts to choose a course of action, Daenerys has only to utter those last words for Naminé to straighten, features immediately overcome with a mix of sympathy and concern. ]

-- What? [ Her shoulders sink slightly, the lollipop all but forgotten in her fingers as she tries to make sense of that statement. Not fully knowing the context, she can only ask what feels like a lame, yet genuinely perplexed, ] … What happened?

❰ text ❱ day 138 (oct 25th).

[skittering]

❰ it's a good thing he didn't promise. the text comes nearly four whole days after the war party returned, entirely out of the blue. ❱

alive

❰ not a question - he's letting her know that he's alive, just like he said he would. ❱

[lethechained]

[ Those are a lot of days to wonder.

It feels as though someone would tell her, if he didn't make it back. She tries to remind herself as much; Tuuri might have reason to, at least, though Naminé refrains with great effort from asking after him directly. Instead she keeps her mind as busy as her hands are, tending to as many wounds as she can among the soldiers and refugees. There's only so much she can do with the limitations of her powers, but she bandages until her fingers are sore and then goes back the next day to do it again. There's still so much activity, and it provides her a cold sort of comfort as she tries not to assume the worst.

But she nevertheless jumps to check the message that comes in when at last it arrives, heart quicker for it. The associated name is familiar, and with its recognition her worry for his life is replaced by a different manner of concern. Perhaps some people would be angry to have been left in the dark. For her, the first question is, ]

What happened?

[ It isn't her initial assumption that he was simply biding his time for no reason; there must have been some cause for his silence. He's not so careless as that, she thinks - and belatedly she hopes from a small, scarred part of her heart that he didn't just forget about writing her entirely. ]

[skittering]

it was better
not being anything


❰ it's not an answer to this, but it's an answer to something she asked and it'll have to do. ❱

[lethechained]

[ Oh.

The response can really only make her all the more driven to find out what went on, what had him that upset. But at the same time, it tells her enough to indicate that inquiring further that direction might not get her much of an answer. Despite the intensity of the frown she gives her screen and the furrow in her brow, she resists the urge to write some variation of the same message again. Instead, ]

Is that where you've been for the past few days?
Trying not to be anything?

Audio - UN: GallowsCallibrator

[mindseer]

Hey... uh, so... I'm ok. Promise.
Everything's fine, Naminé. We ... we uh got back.

...

[Siiiiiiigh. Oh man she was holding things back. She wasn't any good at this.]

[lethechained]

[ If there was anything that promise told Naminé, it was that everything was not, in fact, fine. She'd been quick to pick up once she realized who was calling, not exactly eager for news but searching for it in a fretful kind of way. From her end of the line there was a brief pause as she processed Terezi's voice. Then, ]

… What happened?

[ Naminé didn't sound accusatory - if anything, her voice was gentle despite the undercurrent of worry. For the sake of her moirail's own excuse, the blonde tacked on an only slightly belated, ]

While you were away, that is. [ The whole thing bore describing, regardless of what it was that had the other girl so hesitant. Only just remembering herself, ] And-- welcome back.

[mindseer]

[She was keeping a level voice, but an undercurrent of anger was in there when she did. She had issues with the orcs because of what they hadn't told the party that was about to leave. There might have been very different plans made had they been made aware of the actual problem and risk. She kept her voice level, but there was an edge.]

Those guys who came by asking for help? They... didn't tell us the whole story. There was a plague of some sort in the cave. That's why it was walled off. We... we kept it sealed in there, Naminé. I made sure it stayed sealed in so none of it got out.

[She cooughed into her hand. It didn't sound like a sick cough, more of a clearing of one's throat. Her voice calmed considerably afterwards.]

Some of the folks inside called Sigyn. She... uh... removed the disease from us when she sent the people inside back to the palace. So... we got kind of a really fast free trip.

[By, ya know... dying, which she was pointedly trying to avoid saying. And while that detail might not have been obvious, she was holding something back.]

[lethechained]

[ Even without the benefit of being able to see the other girl's face, Naminé could sense the displeasure under those words. It made her brows lower, drawing closer together as her eyes shifted with her thoughts. ]

That isn't surprising, [ was her only audible comment, soft and non-interruptive. The whole situation had seemed a bit suspicious to her, even from a distance - but that hadn't been enough to cause her to try to convince anyone not to go and help. Otherwise she was silent, save for her startled, 'A plague--?' which began a different tone of quiet on her part.

It all sounded pretty concerning, and yet-- even while telling her they'd succeeded in curtailing the issue, Terezi didn't sound quite right to Naminé. There had to be something more to it, of that the blonde was certain - although the cough did give her a momentary start before she registered it as unlikely to be related to illness. Through her patient, somewhat bemused listening, Naminé worked at the problem, the question of what it was that didn't feel quite right-- and then, ]

What do you mean... [ There was a cold feeling in her stomach, one that formed quickly as the possible implications of those words stretched out before her. ] … A 'fast trip'?

Audio - UN: GallowsCallibrator

[mindseer]

Hey, Namine. I've got something I want to talk to you about. Give a call when you've got the chance.

[lethechained]

[ It didn't take long for Naminé to pick the message up, and even less time for her to respond. In that short period she was already running through possibilities in her mind, though she was careful not to let herself stray too far into worrying. Surely there'd be more indication than that if it were something serious. If the troll answered the call, the first thing she'd hear was a slightly bemused, ]

Hello? Terezi?

[mindseer]

Alright, so... first off. I haven't signed up yet. I need to stress that, Naminé. But we've been given an opportunity and I'm not sure how I feel about it.

[She breathed in and out for a moment.]

They want to figure out what's going on with this cave. The blight inside. Heimdall's got a spell he's offering. Something that is supposed to be able to shield people going in. He wants to send in two person teams. Sentinel and a Scout. Someone who can investigate, someone who can protect. It is supposed to last about a half hour, so... it's... it's supposed to be safe, and my nose...

But I'm not sure.
I'm really not sure.

[lethechained]

[ There was a lengthy pause. When she did speak, her worried frown was audible. ]

They want you to go back?

[ Even so close to her initial reaction, she couldn't completely muster disbelief. It made sense that they'd want to be certain that situation was dealt with, and it was wise to send people who knew the cave already, yet - part of her balked at the mere suggestion. Still, she never was one to let her emotions get the better of her; it bore considering before she made a kneejerk suggestion. Letting out an unsettled exhale, she turned her mind to practical concerns first. ]

How certain are they that the spell will work?

[ 'Supposed to do' and 'actually does' were two different things. ]