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

[lethechained]

[ Naminé's silence was turbulent, the sort of pause that suggested she was primarily holding her tongue for the sake of letting Terezi say her peace. Only once it seemed the troll was finished did the other girl speak up. ]

No matter what dangers there are, I-- do agree that it's important to make sure that it's over, and that nothing will surprise us later. But that doesn't mean that it's your responsibility alone.

[ She wished it were as simple as being able to say it wasn't Terezi's problem and having that be the end of it. Neither of them, she figured, were the type to actually leave it there. ]

… Or that my personal feelings should have anything to do with this. I don't want you to put yourself in danger any more than I ever have, but if I worry... then that's alright. It's my job to worry about you. You should do what your heart tells you is right, even if it makes me afraid for you.

[ That was how Naminé had always handled things, anyway; her own emotions be darned. ]

But your power... even if you don't get to use it fully, isn't it better than not using it at all? And if you have someone with you to look after you, to make sure you get out when you need to, how likely is it that something will happen? Was the cave-- dangerous, besides what happened before?

[mindseer]

The danger in the cave is the disease itself. That's the only real danger in there, but it's ever present, and if the charm wears off, there's no way to cure it that we know of. Even Sigyn couldn't do that, and she's supposed to be a god.

[She raked her hand through her hair.]

It's your job to worry about me, like i worry about you... but it's also my job not to make you worry too much. I ... I don't want to put you in that position, Namine. Not without good reason.

I think that my nose might have gotten everything that it could already. I don't know that niffing again, when I took a whole hour of my powers before would tell me anything I didn't already know.

I ... I think you might be right. I've done my part. It doesn't have to be me this time, unless they think they really need me specifically. I feel more sure of that now. I needed to talk this through with you, I think.

[lethechained]

[ The blonde spent a moment mulling over the new information about the cave, at least until Terezi spoke again. Naminé hesitated, tempted to deny again that her own feelings were worth worrying over - but that was hardly fair, was it? Terezi wouldn't like it, and besides, the troll was trying to be a good moirail. ]

I understand, [ the Nobody conceded softly. ] I wouldn't want to do that to you either, if it were me.

[ She perked at the addiional new information; if Terezi really had sniffed the whole place out... ]

So you've already done everything that would have tried anyway? I didn't realize...! [ She'd definitely have weighed that into her suggestions if she had. No matter her attempts to stay neutral, she couldn't help the relief in her voice. ]

If that's the case... then yes. I really do think you've done your part. [ Her exhale is quiet, yet audible. She holds herself back a beat, then adds, ] It's your decision. But-- I don't think anyone will blame you if you choose to stay here.

[ Least of all her. ]

[mindseer]

Yeah, I did what I could before we... you know, before we died. So it would only matter if there's been a change, or if something got more obvious once we got there. I'm not sure how much that would change things. Sorry, I reaaaally should have said that to start.

[She nodded, feeling a weight lifted off of her shoulders.]

Ok. I think I'm going to hang back this time. I don't need to take unnecessary risks. If they're smart, they'll handle this.

[lethechained]

Unless someone else has been back there since, it would be strange if anything changed that drastically. Aside from... what usually seems to happen around here.

[ The world doing that shifting around that it tends to do, and all that. Still, the chances of that happening and requiring Terezi's specific powers to notice seemed pretty slim, and in any case, the troll's reaction seemed to say what needed to be said about her feelings on going. Breathing out a decidedly less burdened laugh, ]

But it would have helped if you'd told me that first, yes.

[ Naminé made an effort not to feel too selfish about being glad Terezi would stay home. It was for the other girl's sake too, right? ]

Alright. [ Trying not to smile, ] Maybe it'll even be a good thing - it'll give the others a chance to get more experience figuring stuff out for themselves.

[mindseer]

Ehehe, sorry, my think pan's been a little confused with everything that is going on. Here I am, forgetting the most important parts, right? [She sighed and smiled through the feed over at Naminé. It felt good to talk about it at least.]

Yeah. And it's not like I'm the only one with this divination stuff. I am pretty sure I know another guy who has something like that... but not his nose. Too bad, that. We could compare smells.

[lethechained]

You've had a lot to think about, [ Naminé soothed, voice colored by her own smile.

That other comment had her perking, looking momentarily pleasantly surprised. ]

Oh? [ And when the other sentences followed after, ] Oh. That is too bad. To be honest, I'm a little curious what all of that's like for you.

[mindseer]

I wish I could show you... I mean, smelling truth and lies is kind of like smelling unpleasant odors. It's not really that complicated, but when I turn on that one power...

It's like the world explodes with odors everywhere I sniff. They're the kinds of smells I never got unless it was back home, and there's even more now. I can't just smell colors, I can smell everything. I have to learn to tell all the smells apart. It's kinda psychedelic really.

[lethechained]

I wish you could, too. If we were in my worlds-- [ -- She'd take a look for herself - with permission, of course, before snooping around in memories. But that was a moot point anyway, and she gave her head a shake. More quietly, ] ... Well, I guess you wouldn't have the same powers there anyway.

[ Naminé went quiet a moment, trying to picture what Terezi was describing. ]

It sounds almost-- impossible. To have to pick one smell out of so many - how would you be able to do it at all?

[mindseer]

That's where all that experience sniffing weird things comes in, Naminé. [Nod nod] I'm used to lots of odd scents on top of odd scents. When you smell smells and smell colors, you have to be... so it's... it takes practice.

You know how you can train your tongue to pick up flavors that are subtle after a while?

[lethechained]

You do have a lot of experience, [ she agreed, still sounding contemplative. Face scrunching at that last question, she hesitated. ]

Um-- [ If she'd ever heard of that it was probably only a dim recollection. ] Maybe...? I don't spend a lot of time tasting things. But-- I suppose if the rest of you can learn things, it makes sense that your tongue can, too.

[mindseer]

As far as I know... they say it's a skill. You don't get to be a critic overnight. Well, that's not true. Everyone can be one, but you don't get to be a good one overnight.

So it would make sense you can train. I know my nose is getting more refined all the time, after all.

[lethechained]

Well, with a power like that you can practice often, even here.

[ There's a short pause as she mulls over the prior conversation, and decidedly doesn't tack on a, 'so you don't need to go to the cave to do it.' Now that her mind's back at the start, it occurs to her to ask, ]

Was that everything that you needed to talk to me about?

[ She says it a little hopefully, though that's only because she'd rather not find out there's some other concerning news or terrible potential risk to discuss that Terezi has yet to bring up. ]

[mindseer]

I think... yeah, I'm good. It's nice to talk with you, but that got off my blood pusher what I needed to chat about. I don't have any more big surprises right now.

...

Thanks, Namine. I needed to talk with you about this.

[lethechained]

Okay, [ she responded promptly, and it sounded noticeably closer to a relieved sigh than it strictly needed to. No more big surprises was just the answer she'd hoped for. She allowed herself to take that pause to sort her worries away in her mind - at least for the moment - and after Terezi spoke again, ]

I'm glad that you did...! I know that you can make good decisions on your own, but... it's important to me to hear about them, whether I can help you with them or not.

[mindseer]

[Yeah, that was enough surprises for one month. Definitely.]

I can... but it also affects you, and this is definitely the kind of question I want to ask you, to make you part of. It's important that you're involved too, isn't it? So... I'm glad to ask.

Thanks, Naminé.

[lethechained]

I... [ She couldn't help herself but to falter (if only briefly), chest tight with a warm feeling of emotion. It was... nice, hearing that she mattered. Having the excuse of it being her duty made it easier not to feel the urge to deflect. ] Yes, I suppose you're right. And-- I'm glad that you want to include me.

[ Mouth warming into a smile, ]

Sure. You know I'll listen to you anytime, no matter what.

[mindseer]

I'll always want to include you, Naminé. Thanks for being there. I'll uhhhh catch you again soon.

[lethechained]

Right. [ She sounds considerably happier than she did when they started the call. Comfortably, ] Talk to you soon...!

[ And with a click, they part ways. Good talk? Good talk. ]