The world is all one! Unity mind!

[brandnewday]

[Another week, another set of disasters. Hibiki’s head is still reeling from the lengthy ordeal that was Solf J. Kimblee. But it’s because of that exasperation that she’s able to turn her restlessness into something useful. It’s too late to set about making curry for everyone, so it’s time to make some easier dishes. A replication of Fern’s mac-and-cheese, somehow she’s whipped up some kind of donut to go with her animal-shaped rice balls. There’s coffee, tea...hopefully it’s enough? And if it’s not, Rin has provided some delicious Chinese food. And that always tastes better late at night, doesn’t it?

And for the adults (or the exasperated teenagers), Susan is carting down booze from the bar. Joy. Hibiki’s never written to the group en masse before, but she delivers a piece of paper to everyone while Rin and Susan finish up the preparations. Each paper has a drawing of an animal on it, too.]

Too much has happened today. Whether you want to get angry, cry, smile, laugh, or just be out of your room, you don’t have to do it alone. Rin and I have prepared food for everyone, and Susan’s brought the drinks downstairs so none of us have to go into the bar tonight.

Even if it’s just for a little while, won’t you think about joining us in the dining room tonight? Being together is just as important as working hard. And remember, nankurunaisa!

-Hibiki Ganaha

[Three more candles are lit today. Tabitha Smith. Sigrun Eide. Solf Kimblee. They’re all Cabanela’s doing. There aren't any decorations, but the food is spaced out so everyone should be able to grab something and munch if they need it. It’s not clear how many people will come, but a serious attempt was made this time.]

Comments

[heritrix]

It's how things are done. Any unwanted attention threatens the existence of magic in the world, and the Mage's Association will never stand for that. They'd hesitate only long enough to determine how to kill so many people as efficiently as possible while still making it look like an accident, to make sure word doesn't get out.

Without me there to mitigate things, it's well within their authority to do so, too. I'm the supervisor, so I'm tasked with keeping these things from happening. Someone who slacks off on the job doesn't get a say in these things.

[That's just how it is, but there's a bitter inflection when she admits to it now.]

[sleepytimegal]

You're not slacking off, you're kidnapped. These aren't exactly normal circumstances- a-and besides that, this is bullshit! That can't... That can't be for the good of everyone, it's--

[ But she knows so little about the Mage society. So little, so the context is beyond her. All she has is this anger. ]

...It's fucked up. I'm... We have to see how to get you back before anything like that happens.

1/2

[heritrix]

[Rin finally looks at Alex, her eyes large. They're still a little wet from crying, but about this she's calm and serious. The bitter tone from before is even absent once again.]

Of course it's slacking off. All I had to do to avoid this outcome was kill a single person, and I didn't.

I have to pay for that now. It should have been the easiest decision in the world, but I chose the wrong strategy. [She ducks her chin.] I can only accept the consequences.

[It doesn't sound like she's beating herself up for this. Rin has so much regret—so much—but she can't change anything now. Pragmatic as ever, she knows the score here.]

[heritrix]

...But if I can minimize those consequences, that would be good.

[Eyes falling back to her lap, her posture relaxes somewhat. Her fingers trace over the adorable kitty pattern.]

Returning home as close to the moment I left is the best strategy, so don't worry. I'm already working towards that goal.

[sleepytimegal]

Rin...

[ There's something stuck in her throat. Yes, Alex would be lying if she said she hasn't thought about it, with some of the incentives. But... ]

...It wouldn't have been a single person. You...know that, right? It's a hard decision. I don't think you've taken that lightly.

[heritrix]

[...]

You shouldn't look at me like that. I did try, you know.

[sleepytimegal]

[ ... ]

You what?

[heritrix]

I tried to enact Rule 7.

[She doesn't hesitate saying that, but she does look away as she continues.]

In a way, at least. I thought I could cheat the system with a strategy that in hindsight wasn't clever, but desperate... I got interrupted at any rate, and I couldn't bring myself to try again.

[sleepytimegal]

[ Does she...want to- ]

How? ...What were you trying to do? Was it...for your secret?

[ Honestly, Alex doesn't look too... The shock's settling, and there's just this sad sort of understanding; if it was that, saving that many people... ]

[heritrix]

Of course it was for my secret. [Rin scoffs, eyes narrowing as they land on the horse figurine once more. She reaches out to pick it up in her hands.] I wouldn't risk my life for anything else. I want to live.

[...there's a lot of meaning behind those words, especially. Under no circumstances does Rin want to die here, even if she acknowledges the possibility she very well might.]

[sleepytimegal]

Of course. I was just- it was a stupid question.

[ Stupid, in a way. But the desire Blue mentioned made sense, with how Rin was talking before. ]

[heritrix]

...it's not a stupid question. [Rin doesn't want Alex to feel like that.] That's the sort of thing to ask, when you hear someone could have gotten you killed. It's strange you're beating yourself up about it, and not me.

[She's surprised Alex hasn't stormed out, honestly. Maybe she's too shell-shocked.]

[sleepytimegal]

Oh no, I feel bad 'cause this whole situation's horrible and I've done some pretty bad things too? [ A little sarcasm there, but- ] So I don't think of you as some kind of monster for not considering. I think most of us considered at one point or another.

[heritrix]

You should still think of me as someone capable of being your enemy for it. That's just the facts.

[Considering is different from trying, after all. But she went about things a little strangely, so she doesn't bother reminding Alex of that again. If it had gone wrong, though, in a sense it could have been like that.]

The way I planned it out, I didn't think there would be a trial, but if it had gone wrong there would have been.

[sleepytimegal]

...Huh? That's...but how? It doesn't seem like they'd let you do that.

[heritrix]

[She makes a little hmphing sound, like she sees Alex's point. Rin did say before, in hindsight she thinks her plan was more desperate than clever.]

I wasn't thinking about that at the time. I don't think it would work now.

[She shakes her head.] At the time, though I couldn't decide who to kill. I wasn't getting anywhere finding a way out either, so that's when a different thought occurred to me. So long as someone dies, your secret wouldn't be shared, right?

[Simple as that. She turns the figurine over in her hands, careful not to leave fingerprints.]

So I definitely had to kill someone. But what if after that person died, they were resuscitated?

[If they died, two weeks ago her logic insisted it should count, but if there's no corpse there's no trial. It felt like the perfect solution.]

[sleepytimegal]

...Then...

[ That is a good point. Alex can't help think that she's been here for too long, though, because already she's going off in directions of "but what if a body has to be discovered for the rule to be enacted" or something of the like. Still, it sounds like a valid loophole. ]

...then maybe you'd have a way around all of this. So- you tried to do that but it didn't work, or...you changed your mind?

[heritrix]

It's the kind of strategy that needs two people. Instead of the person I was expecting however, someone barged in uninvited.

I couldn't make myself try a second time after that. It wouldn't work with that one, and I... [Her mouth tightens as she glances uncomfortably towards the closet.] I didn't want to.

[sleepytimegal]

[ There's a very long moment of silence, there, as Alex tries to decide which question to ask. The moment feels long to her, at least, and it probably does to Rin too. ...There's a hissing in her head, but she ignores it. She's getting used to ignoring it. ]

Was... It was hard enough to get ready one time, is that...it?

[heritrix]

[Rin shakes her head.]

It was easy. [Her laughter is quiet, and watery.] It wasn't until after my hands shook, or I felt afraid. A-And—

[Her words are cut off with a noiseless sob; a sound she keeps trapped in her throat. Every thought that passed through her head in the aftermath can't fit into a single emotion, or a single sentence. That was the scary part.]

[sleepytimegal]

Hey.

[ Alex's voice is soft. She stands and...hesitantly approaches. ]

It's okay. You don't have to say anything you can't.

[heritrix]

[Rin's posture straightens, as if to say say she'll be fine, just give her a minute. But her shoulders shudder not a second after, tears splashing off the crystal figure she holds and off to her thumbs. She takes a corner of her pajama top and tries to wipe it clean.

Maybe two minutes.]

[sleepytimegal]

[ Alex doesn't reach out to her. But she stands by the desk. ]

It's okay. [ Softer. ] Take all the time you need.

[ It's only fair. ]

[heritrix]

[With her figure nestled safely in her lap and the pajamas as cushioning, Rin draws up her feet onto the chair, so she can hug her knees close to herself, and lets her forehead drop down. When she speaks again, her words are a little muffled for it.]

This is only the second time I've been backed into a corner like that. [At the time it felt like the first, but still. Throat thick, she can speak, but her voice shakes slightly.] I thought I had a handle on it. But then you said what you did, and I felt depressed all over again.

[Maybe she wasn't doing as well as she thought, if that's all it took. Maybe she really was just bottling it up.]

[sleepytimegal]

You gotta let yourself feel things. Especially...in this place. If you don't, then... It'll just keep getting worse, Rin.