The Seeds of Unrest: the Iconoclast Oracle

[beleos]

RUNNING OUT THE CLOCK

The situation is bleak.

The Blight - and the massive labyrinth of roots tearing both cities asunder, spreading deadly flowers wherever they penetrate - have progressed to a point beyond catastrophe. People are dying in rapid numbers. Bearers are having difficulty keeping up with the spread of infection - even among one another. The collapse of Kenos seems inevitable; a cure will not come in time. You can do nothing but watch as each new day brings further disaster, ticking down the seconds until it all falls apart.

And then, you feel something seize your Shard. As if physical fingers have wrapped around it, as if it is being clutched through you by invisible hands, you feel invaded. You feel wronged. But before you can panic, a voice enters your mind through Communion.

“Excuse the dramatics, but there isn’t much time for pleasantries. The Trees are about to hit the point of no return. But there's still work to be done. The Tree of Life will take you where you can find it: the Oracle and the creature causing all this mess. Fix this when you find them. However you'd like.”

Have you heard Aetos’ voice before? Perhaps it is the first time; perhaps it is familiar to you. Either way, the last thing you will remember is a confusing jumble: a spell of immense and incredible power, one utilizing the Tree’s strength to shelter you. The sensation of every cell in your body coming alive, yet seeming to break apart and render you into billions and billions of tiny pieces, all hovering in different times and places across all the different iterations, timelines, and realities in which you have ever existed. A voice that speaks not through words asking your forgiveness, unspeakably sad.

And then, there is nothing.

AWAKENING

Your eyes open, gritty with the feeling of a long, deep slumber.

Perhaps it takes a moment to shake off the heavy veil of exhaustion, to recollect what you were doing before you fell into this state of hibernation - but as soon as you do, you feel an immediate sense of foreboding around you. It is thick in the air, oppressive and pervasive, and you aren’t left long to wonder at its source. You lay beneath the branches of the Tree of Life, but as your bleary eyes focus… you see it. The Tree is all but bereft of life. Its bark has withered down to gnarled wood, the soft lichen dried up, and the grass that should be alive beneath you is long dead and gone. There is not so much as a single leaf on its decaying branches.

It has been this way for a long, long time... you realize this with a feeling of intense dread as you see it - the beautiful expanse of stars, of the cosmos, of universes scattered like starlight above the tree's boughs, gone. In its place hangs a sickly, ominously low-hanging, and dying sun ready to sing the end of everything.

You can't help but wonder how long Kenos has been in this state, but a sense of gratitude fills you as you realize that the Tree expended the last of its energies to protect you, the Bearers, during your state of rest. Had Aetos worked with the tree to see you sent here?

The next question comes quickly: how much time do you have left…? And can you find the Oracle before that time expires?

ABANDON HOPE (DAYS 1 & 2)

The cornerstones are still active and will take you to whichever city you wish to see.

Highstorm and Springstar sit like empty monuments to the cities that were once filled with life - yet the first thing you will notice is they are strangely absent the signs of the Tree’s overgrown roots, the Blight, the catastrophic damage that you can recall all too easily. Instead, each city sits as those they were summarily abandoned overnight, leaving nothing but their shells behind. There is a stillness in the air that is unnatural and unsettling. Despite the lack of any sign of the citizens of either city, you cannot help but feel… watched.

Something terrible happened here. Best you find the Oracle before something terrible finds you, instead.

The burning of a dying sun beats down on you wherever you go, unbearable heat sending waves off the aged cobblestone streets. Perhaps it is your instinct to seek refuge in the shade - but linger too long about the shadows and that feeling of eyes on your back, of being unable to breathe, of your world closing in around you will grow untenable and drive you back into the light. If you hope to explore the ghostly shell of your city in search of the Oracle - or to sate your curiosity, some problem-solving might be in order.

And while you acclimate yourself to your circumstances, you cannot help but note you feel wrong inside, somehow…

EXPLORATION

• If your characters choose to explore previously unreachable areas, please use THIS TOPLEVEL to report when they get there in the thread! We will get back to you with what is discoverable in that location.
• The following areas are off limits for exploration: below Yima’s Manor; below the Church of Heliopolis; Alenroux; Kowloon.
• The Great Trees of both Highstorm and Springstar are in a similar state to the Tree of Life and will not respond to Communion.
• Generally speaking, items will be of poor quality. Most will look as though they’ve aged thousands of years. Others will be in half-decent shape, but sparingly so. Oddly enough, it doesn’t seem like the whole city has aged at the same rate, so especially diligent rummagers can find worthwhile supplies. Please consider this should be rare and don’t go overboard!

NOTES

Here are some prompt reminders - see the full thing at the OOC Summary!

• Characters will have a diluted connection to the Zenith or Meridian.
• There will be periods powers are weakened or non-functional during days 1-2 (up to player discretion).
• The sunlight results in scorching; the shadows cause claustrophobia and fear while outdoors.

THE RITUAL (DAYS 2+)

The place you started your journey to Kenos is also where it seems it will end. As soon as the first Bearer makes contact with the Iconoclast effigy, you are collectively drawn to the roots beneath the Tree - like a pang sent through your Shard. Your objective has been found. The Oracle awaits.

Trusting Aetos seems like a fool's errand, but you must put your hope in the Tree. What choice do you have left? It's time to find what lies at the end of this.

Bearers descend, your steps echoing in the dark, cavernous space. Once brimming with life and vitality, the roots are now dried and brittle like the bones of some ancient leviathan that died long ago. As you make their way deeper into the earth, the deadened roots twist, leading you to a vast chamber deep within it; the air here is thick with the smell of decay, and the faint glow of luminescent fungi and mosses barely illuminates the space.

To your left, the Bearers will notice what has drawn them here - and the object of their search.

An effigy sits on the ground between two darkened tunnels. The effigy is made of gnarled, dead branches woven together in a humanoid shape; its hollow, empty eyes are sightless, yet you cannot help but feel it is watching your every move. Branded on its forehead is the Iconoclast symbol carved into the rough wood.

Once all Bearers are present, the Ritual will begin. Your means of exit have been sealed off, and you are trapped, slowly deteriorating together…

NOTES

• Bearers will have access to the Ritual Chamber which is a very wide, open space with the effigy situated against the far wall from the entrance. Several smaller tunnels off-shoot from the Ritual Chamber. They all run to dead ends; some are very small or narrow. This may afford you meager privacy away from the group.
• Once a Bearer steps into the Chamber, they can no longer head back out the way they came. They’ll find themselves automatically walking back into the Chamber as if of their own volition.
• For brevity’s sake we won’t list them out again here, but the complete description of effects Bearers will experience days 2+ is available in the OOC Summary.
• The effigy is impervious to damage.
• It Is Watching You.
• In a dead-end root tunnel attached to the Iconoclast’s Chamber is the Blighted statue of an Otter that may be familiar to some… Please see THIS TOPLEVEL for more information!

THE PURGE (DAYS 5+)

The sap has festered in your veins for what feels like days. It’s impossible to tell how much time has passed; this place has no sunlight. The effigy watches as you remain trapped, huddled together around it, unable to leave as you find yourself sick with the affliction of the Meridian, Zenith - or both.

And then… something finally gives.

Though it does not move and speaks no words, you feel the effigy offering you guidance. Knowledge. Much like the Tree speaks to you in impressions and feelings, you are conveyed wisdom you did not have before: a way to take what you want and rid yourself of what you do not. A way to make your convictions known to all who would hear them. A way to be known. To write your path in blood, be it yours… or theirs.

When all is said and done, only one force - Zenith or Meridian - will gain its favor.

Show it who you are. Show it what resolve looks like to you - and what you are willing to do to attain it.

NOTES

Here are some prompt reminders - see the full thing at the OOC Summary!

• You can Purge your alignment through various methods: Trading, Corrupting, or using the Effigy itself.
• All characters will understand the end goal is for everyone to Harmonize; the alignment with the higher rate of Harmonized Bearers alive when time’s up wins the Oracle’s favor.

NOTES

• A reminder that the Harmonization tally will take place on Friday, the 19th and be open through Monday, the 29th. The results will be released on Wednesday, the 31st OOCly.
• Don’t forget to submit any deaths to the Death Tracker, with a gentle reminder characters will remain dead until the event conclusion!
• Reminder to fill out the SETTING POLL ASAP if you haven't already!
• Have some MUSIC if you'd like. LYRICS here!
• HAVE FUN!!

CODING

Comments

Rin Tohsaka ✦ Harbinger ❉ ✦ Zenith ✦ Open

[erbe]

✧ 1. Give Everything One Death: Days 1 → 2

[Exploring the cities is such an eerie experience that after the first couple attempts at going it alone she will refuse to do so again. However anyone, whether they be Zenith or Meridian, might find themselves with a young woman asking if she can tag along. However with the sun and shadow situation being what it is, she'll always return at a reasonable hour (unless her partner insists on continuing).

Away from the scorching rays of the sun and paranoia inducing shadows Rin will be offering any sun-scorched individuals, regardless of faction, an after-sun balm. This is a great time to unload your grievances of explorations onto her, or find comfort in the presence of another person after a long day of investigating desolate places that used to be full of life.]

✧ 2. Offer Your Pure Prayer: Days 3 → 5

[The little beginnings. Branches begin sprouting from her skull as they twist and wrap into a crown. Beginning small and bare before thickening in growth with leaves, buds, and eventually blooming five petaled sakura blossoms. Over the days she also finds that small roots, like that of a new spring foliage, winds under her skin, breaches it, and burrows back in. It doesn't hinder her, but it's unpleasant to look at — especially as it grows with each passing day.

Feel free to tease her for attempting to gain privacy by dipping into the tunnels to explore them, or inquire about the agonized face she makes when plagued by the voices of her sister or Archer as the haunting hallucinations of them scold her.]

✧ 3. When Maddening Love is Filled with Nightmare: Days 5+

[The affliction of being overburdened with Meridian's influence feels much like the sickness that comes with her magic crest. Something deeply burdensome yet so very much a part of her. It's maddening, and thoughts of participating in old style bloodletting to ride herself of it comes to mind. However she sees others... trading and conversing with each other. Blood, yes, but something more being shared.

Desperation takes hold, and in the end she relents: reaching out to others for help in shedding the Meridian influence inside the sap-like blood pushing through her veins.]

✧ 4. Engraving the Joy of Birth in Your Evanescent Body: Wildcard

[Event Jam. Feel free to use this for your custom starter or reach out to me at my plotting post (includes other forms of contact). I'm 100% okay with Just Winging It so don't feel afraid to drop something here without planning if you don't feel like it needs that much.]

3

[muchalucha]

[ By comparison, Zenith’s influence was something that was only barely able to scratch at Quetzalcoatl’s resolve. It’s not for lack of trying, of course, because she can feel the despair of losing a world and knowing that the only way to continue is to move forward. She’s resolved herself to such a task four times before, both the unmaking and the making that comes after. In that, she’s vulnerable to Zenith, because when the time comes… Zenith is right.

However, it’s not time. Not yet. It’s something so simple, but also so factual for Quetzalcoatl that the doubts of Zenith have trouble digging in against that stubborn certainty.

So, outwardly, she seems to be faring better than a lot of Shard-Bearers. The conflict that most feel is subdued for her, and it’s that fact that makes her willing to offer a helping hand without hesitation. Literally, in this case. Whether she’s seen Rin struggling before or just has good intuition now isn’t clear, but she’ll approach with a little wave and a warm smile all the same. ]

¡Hola! You’re… Zenith, yes? I don’t think I saw you at señor Talbott’s party, at least!

[ She of course doesn’t quite realize that they’ve spoken before. Communion is different from meeting someone in person, after all. ]

[erbe]

[Oh no. Quetzalcoatl may not recognize Rin, but so far Rin has only come in contact with one person who communicates like that. Well, in a place and time like this there's no advantage to lying.]

Oh, why yes. Yes, I am. And you — you're the Meridian that was looking for a man killing liberally with offloading his accumulated Blight on others?

[muchalucha]

Oh, you heard it!

[ …Yes, obviously, Quetz, you blasted it out to everyone?? Maybe she forgot, maybe she’s just that airheaded, who knows… ]

Sí, that was me, but I found out his name! It turned out that señor Silco was pretty well known… He was just rude and wouldn’t tell me his name himself.

[ Quetzalcoatl laughs, then waves her hand with a sheepish look ]

But that’s between the two of us, don’t worry! And nothing to be done about it now… [ Partially because Set said she wasn’t allowed to juggle him, but. Details. ] We need to work together for this part a little, yes?

[erbe]

Yes, of course. In fact I was simply asking because I wanted to know the conclusion. I was rooting for you, actually.

[It's not like she had any emotional or practical attachments to the man, and it sounded like it would simply be Just Desserts.]

1

[epiprocta]

[ It's not like he really wants a tag-along. He's very much the type to want to handle things on his own when he doesn't have convenient lackeys to boss around, and Gen had made that disdain clear when Rin had first asked to accompany him on his exploration of Highstorm. But, well ... a few wayward sparring sessions after she'd caught him in a street brawl had at least taught him she can handle herself, and as brash as he is, Gen knows the dangers of venturing into such hostile terrain on his own. The dangers of sunstroke had been impressed upon him at a young age, and he knows the only thing worse than getting sunstroke would be getting sunstroke while out alone in this heat, so ... ]

Do whatever you want.

[ In the end, he'd only thrown her that flippant remark before forging on. At least he'd periodically glanced back at her to make sure she was keeping up as he made his way from building to building, breaking down any locked doors and searching for any useful supplies.

It's on the fourth or fifth building they've stopped by that Gen finally addresses to her -- looking over from the storage cabinet he'd broken into to throw toss her a packet of what looks like stale biscuits. (He's kept two for himself.) ]

You haven't noticed anyone else nearby, have you. [ He keeps his voice low as he glances around. ] Can't stop feeling like someone's watching us.

[erbe]

[Tohsaka respects his wishes to not indulge in too much conversation before this. She's typically a loner too, but with the tables so thoroughly turned her usual way of doing things has been temporarily cast aside. Occasionally she'd pipe up to make an observation or a suggestion on where to loot next, but otherwise keep to herself.

With a little surprise she catches the biscuits. Making a little noise as they fall into her arms.]

It was the same with the other people I went out with. Perhaps the whole area is being watched after the disappearance of the shardless?

[At least stale biscuits can be serviceable. Just peachy if warmed back up! Rin will start plucking through, and — oh! A cabinet full of preserves. She'll grab at a few before stuffing them into a wicker basket she picked up at a previous stop. Following that she'll close the distance between them and offer Gen a jar.]

[epiprocta]

[ He only answers Rin's very thoughtful contribution with a vague grunt at first, and Gen frowns to himself as he squints out the window into the sweltering heat outside. And, keeping his gaze directed out there for a few moments longer, as if expecting to catch a glimpse of some creepy watcher, rips open a biscuit package to shove one into his mouth whole.

Clearly, good manners and etiquette are the least of his concerns.

They're dry and stale, and especially unhelpful given he's a little dehydrated, so he's still chewing through it by the time Rin steps forward to offer him the jar. It earns a moment of dubious squinting -- Gen clearly isn't the type to play nice with strangers much -- before he pockets it.

Give him another few seconds to finish choking down that dry-ass biscuit before he can talk again. ]

We're gonna start dropping dead one by one if the cities stay like this for long. [ A clear of the throat. Fuck, it's so hot, and he's thirsty. ] What, this is supposed to be some sort of survival show? See which one of us is the last to collapse?

[erbe]

—Wait! Before we go down that depressive rabbit hole, why the hell did you just eat a stale biscuit raw like that?

[She understands survival, but nastiness where it's not necessary is just self-punishment.]

Are you really that hungry right now, or can you not stand taking food back and possibly having to share?

[She actually won't judge him for the latter. This is survival, after all — and being a 'team' at the moment is just meant to increase they're chances of finding something even if it means splitting it.]

3

[zenwhoberi]

[once, because it had taken so much of her own focus just to stay alive to the next day, everyday, gamora had turned a blind eye to the suffering of others in her immediate surroundings. all of her "siblings" had suffered, and it'd taken her years, until well after her escape, for her to realize the full extent of it. she'd resolved, then, to never turn away again.

she doesn't turn away now.

this girl is a stranger to her, but that doesn't matter at all; gamora is by her side nevertheless, holding up an arm for emphasis, telling her:]

I can help. [she tries for her best approximation of gentle.] If you'll let me.

[even if the girl had specifically requested help, it's still important to get the permission she'd so rarely had the chance to give.]

[erbe]

Oh, [Tohsaka is taken back by the positive response. She nods gratefully.]

Certainly. Would you like to exchange names first, or dive in blind?

[Rin cares not either way. There can be advantages to both.]

[zenwhoberi]

[it's difficult not to note the way that, even for a second, the girl is visibly taken aback by kindness. not so long ago, the concept had been foreign to her, too, with all memories of it so far from her reach they'd practically been dreams.

that isn't the only thing that possibly reminds gamora of herself. it's also in the way that she cuts straight to the heart of it.

that could hurt, the reminder, and in some ways it does. in others, it tugs one of the corners of her mouth into a fraction of a smile.]

Gamora. [a nod in return, and she cuts to point, too, lowering the wrap on her wrist until there's a faint orange glow illuminating their corner of the chamber.] Knowing yours isn't a requirement.

[again, options all the way.]

[erbe]

[The recognition is a bit unsettling. To know in some way that you're being perceived. Yet it's difficult to hide yourself in these circumstances, and even more troublesome still to try and hide from someone who may very well be so much like you — enough to know the warning signs. Tohsaka refuses to acknowledge it. However she does offer:]

Tohsaka, [Her surname should be enough for now, right?]

[She picks at the scab cut across her palm. Peeling away the freshly semi-healed skin. Ugh, by the time this is over her perfect complexion will probably be gently scarred.]

Do you find it easier trading with strangers?

3 (with a taste of 2)

[intervener]

[ whether it's the byproduct of the Bearers' shared state of heightened Communion or some innate pull of a Zenith seeking the Meridian and vise versa, Rin doesn't have to look far for help.

Vash finds her in the seclusion of a narrow tunnel, sinking to sit beside her, a red-coated, spikey-haired figure - just not the one she's been seeing, as of late. is that a boon or a curse...?

either way, he offers her a smile that's a little tired around the edges; the wear and tear of the past few weeks are taking a toll on everyone, after all. still, Vash is a particularly stubborn creature and one whose pain has always been alleviated by easing it in others. so... ]

Anyone ever tell you you've got a real familiar face?

[ ...even if Rin is crowned by flowers - it's unmistakably Rin.

or, uh. Gem Girl. ]

[erbe]

[As Rin keeps to herself an air of melancholy hangs around her. Yearning, loneliness, and a forlorn stare... In fact she twists a soft pink blossom between her fingers, and refuses to acknowledge Vash at first. In her peripheral vision she mistakes him (again) for another hallucination of Archer until he speaks.

When he does Rin is quick to flick away the tiny bloom and curl her knees up to her chest.]

No, this is the first time I've ever heard it.

[She wants to sound more prickly than she actually is.]

[intervener]

[ thorny (get it bc she's got flowers and plants and-- ok) as she might be, Vash's ~aura~ of a perpetual good-naturedness and concern doesn't waver. does he know there's no real bite behind it? maybe he doesn't care either way. ]

Yeah, something about that pouty expression you've got on, maybe... or that weird nose you've got? Huh. We haven't met before, have we?

[ he puts on a feigned look of Deep Contemplation as he looks at her, as if he doesn't absolutely, totally, for sure know who she is, ]

3!

[wolof]

[ Just as Rin wants to rid herself of Meridian's "corruption", Akua feels a similar urge, though it is to rid the Zenith from her own sap-laden veins. Though her dark skin looks wooden -- almost bark-like -- in places, she does not have any difficulty moving, and the Praesi moves close, when Rin reaches out for help. She does not know the girl, but there was nothing wrong with having a similar goal, was there?

Her will keeps her focused on her goal of returning to Meridian, even though Zenith holds onto her like a skintight suit, like she and it would be perfectly matched. ]

I, too, wish to rid myself of this force that tries to corrupt us.

[ She says, in a tone that is haughty, self-assured, and she looked Rin up and down, almost imperiously. Sorry, Rin. She's just a bad bitch. ]

I do not recognize you, can I assume that we would trade? Zenith clings to me like a foul odor.

[erbe]

[Rin can only find frustration with Akua's behavior because she is so much like herself. Were Tohsaka more of a veteran of Kenos it's probably how she'd go addressing people. Yet the young woman is still attempting to find her niche and determine what won't get her killed.]

Really? You wear it like designer handbag.

[In which the primary use is functional, but the intent is to show it off.]

[wolof]

A -- ?

[ The question is surprised. Not at the statement, she can put it together despite being from Generic Fantasy World Number 69 (heh), but it's the fact that Rin picks up on it that made her blink, and her hand fisted into her dress, wound it there. It's red, but dirty, a heart sewn into the trim at her wrists. ]

Yes, I suppose I do. A perfect accouterment to an outfit I do not wear anymore -- but it looked fantastic when I did so.

[ What a way to say: I used to be down with destruction, and now I'm not, huh? ]

That does not mean it fits my style these days, regardless. Does it match your own?

2

[consolation]

[Though her body has yet to start twisting in response to the sap twisting through her veins, Caren's mind is rotting from it all the same. Even at the most silent moments in the tree's dead roots (few and far between as they are), she's followed by a voice that she does not remember, does, shouldn't, wishes never to hear again. It should be a miracle. It is a miracle. It is a curse - and thousands of them, too, all compiled. It mocks her, infuriating and stimulating all at once. Had it not been selfish of her to turn her gaze toward Zenith's promise of building a new world out of loss? Wasn't it something that something that someone like him would have done?

Perhaps the anguish of it brings her some strange comfort, every screw twisted in that contradiction invigorating her, bolstered by the Meridian sentiment throbbing in her weak veins.

She knows this girl, though not well, as one knows a stranger they see daily on the commute. Maybe it's the memory that shouldn't exist thrumming in her veins that makes her so susceptible to Rin Tohsaka's presence, drawn to her as her own phantoms haunt her.]

How are you finding your moment of peace? [There's no respite here for anyone, even those who seek privacy in the dead ends of the dead routes. It's a joke but not a funny one.]

[erbe]

What peace?

[It falls out of her before she can even stop it, before she has a chance to reel it back and present the mask she usually wears. But hey? What need is there for masks when your heart just sends out its own stupid vibes into the ether? She hates this place, she really does. There is an immense need, yet hardly any need, to craft the same kind of persona she did back home. It would be incredibly useful, yet detrimental, to her. Tohsaka just cannot seem to land squarely on her feet about it.

And she's defensive. Scared to catch the feelings of others. Worried whatever rancid or pitiful showing from another would sway her. Like Caren, now. A torrent of negativity. Of confusion, and frustration — but also sick comfort and poisoned renewal. Caren brings what Rin was afraid of.]

Ah... you were that girl with the bird.

[consolation]

[That feels, in many ways, like a meeting that took place in both another body and another life. For a moment, she can't be sure if that was something that happened to her or to someone else, and she's simply absorbed the remnants of it like breathing smoke into her lungs. It's only in remembering the brief discomfort of the other girl's public embarrassment, the way her unnecessary, defensive ire flared, that Caren can fully remember the moment and the emotions as her own.]

Yes, [Caren says.] I suppose that was me. Creatures take after their Masters, is that it...?

[She's become, in the tangle of bodies and roots, quite vacuous. Perhaps that's the fate of someone whose soul is open to bear away the sins of others; everything culminating around them bleeds into her so easily, while her own dulled feelings pulse out of her in uncontrollable release. It's not unlike the symptoms of possession, if the whole world itself was possessed. Rin's discomfort absorbs along the surface of her skin, causing it to tighten and prickle, chilled or excited or both.]

We are both discovering that what we seek to leave behind isn't so easily unbound. [This could refer to so many things: the thoughts and feelings of other bearers; the worlds they had accepted as deleted as Zenites; or even the burdens they could have left behind in the dying cities.] Silence will only make it worse.

3

[gravings]

[ Gray isn't uncomfortable with Zenith-oriented ways of thinking. If anything, she's especially prone to agreeing with them, and for half a year before Kenos, she'd more or less embraced the idea of giving up on her home world and letting its inhabitants rest in peace. Joining Meridian was a departure for her, an outright rejection of her natural impulses. She had become sick of herself and hoped to rebel against her comfortably cowardly way of thinking.

So it's tough for her, trying to shed the influence of Zenith. She's at rest with the notion of the world's cruelties. How could she disagree when she serves as a living example? That passive acceptance blankets her like a foggy night, filling her lungs with static chill.

She's quite content in a dreary way to sit and conserve her energy, to wait and listen to the conversation around her. Her cloak, now looking aged and frayed at the edges, is lumpy with Gray's slow treeification beneath. It isn't until she hears and recognizes Rin's purposeful footfall that she looks up, preparing to be scolded or directed in some way. Rin doesn't seem like the sort for meaningless chatter, and Gray feels some nebulous intent coming from her besides. ]

Miss Rin... Is there something wrong?

[ She keeps things polite to a fault, because Rin seems to prefer things that way. ]

[erbe]

Yes.

[Tohsaka is quick to kneel down beside Gray. Her hand rests on the other girl's back as if to keep her from scurrying away (like a... a mouse...)]

I haven't seen you talk to anybody yet. Are you wanting to keep feeling like that?

[Tohsaka has no problem if Gray wants to harmonize with Zenith instead, but what it looks like from the outside is a grim acceptance of fate rather than an active choice. And that pisses her off. She cannot accept something like that. She cannot allow Gray to accept it like that.]

[gravings]

[ As direct as always. Gray's posture bumps up a little when she feels Rin's hand on her back. But ah, maybe Rin is looking for a transaction. The hand on Gray's back is a subtle bit of (literal) strongarming. Rin would know that Gray is on the passive side and therefore an easier target.

And in this case, headcanon Rin would be right. Even though Zenith's influence is comfortable in Gray, she hasn't forgotten that it's no longer the way she wants to be. ]

No. It's probably best that I don't.

[ She looks at Rin from around the edge of her hood. ]

Why do you ask?