THE ADVOCATE ORACLE - A RIP VAN WINKLE IN TIME

[beleos]

Sweet dreams are made of Bliss

As the twilight falls, and bearers begin to tuck in for their evenings on the night of the 15th of March (OOC time) and whether they tuck themselves into bed fully, or simply drift away in the middle of their dinner, work, indulgences, or what have you; bearers will fall into a deep, deep sleep. Perhaps you slump in your chair, or you wrap your arms around a teddy bear, or partner, or cup a precious shard in your sleep, it doesn’t matter, because as you drift away, into a sleep that seems to tug you under like the undertow itself, a question will echo in bearer’s minds: “If given the choice, would you show compassion in the face of adversity?”

It sticks with you, even as you fall into a dreamless sleep. As if it rotates in your mind, over and over, letting you worm over that. You know for certain what it is, that it is the calming, soothing voice of the Oracle, reaching out to you across the ether, telling you – promise you – that if you accept its promise, you will find that the Oracle could be in your hands. That thought leads you to dream of something else – of home, or your loved ones – of what you are fighting this war for. Even as you dream, you feel a presence next to you, and unlike the Harbinger’s winding, rough digging, this is more akin to a friend, who is asking you soft, coaxing questions. Things like: what was your childhood like? What were your friends like? What did you do? You cannot help but think of them, think of your home and your loved ones. Of where you came from, and how it made you what you are.

The advocate seeks to understand you, and where you come from. You can feel it, that overwhelming Acceptance and love from it, even as you reminisce, compelled to answer the multitude of questions, you can feel something building behind you, around you. “Don’t you want them all to understand this?” the impression is given through communion, and you cannot help but answer: yes.

Click your Heels together, Dorothy!

As you awake for the first time, it’s alien, the world that meets you. New smells fill your nostrils, new sights, the gravity is perhaps different than you’ve gotten used to on Kenos, even those slight shifts enough to make the world feel wholly different. You remember the advocate’s words, and it wants you to feel what it feels. Understanding. Compassion, and perhaps there is a sense that doing so would hurt yourself in turn, if you understood too much. That is the advocate’s way, after all, isn’t it?

You feel an inexorable, slight tug in your chest. Something subtle and gentle, the slightest of sensations, that gives you a direction. You know it, your mind only just now comprehending the advocate’s confusing impressions via communion, that there is something of this world’s… Soul/center/heart or whatever word you want to use for it. Something about this world that will help you along your path, and help you with the results you so desire. You know it will not guarantee a victory, but surely it will help. Especially as your numbers dwindle from world to world. You are left with an impression from the Advocate -- if you die, they cannot bring you back. There is apology in this, but alone, one oracle is limited. Only united, can they truly change your fate.

The lingering presence of the advocate starts to fade. You know this is a bearer’s world, if not your own. You look around, to see perhaps a familiar face nearby? Or perhaps you are alone. Does it matter? You know that this place belongs to a bearer, but whether they are a friend or an enemy, one has to begin to determine that. You’ll need your wits, you’ll need your strength and resolve to make it to the end of this, won’t you?

After all, as bearers were recently reminded: this is War. This is not simply the fate of this world, but perhaps all, as it will require you to find the answer to this question. So you start to move, you start to look around, explore, and search. For the soul of each world, for the bearers that lie dreaming within, and your foes that will seek you out. Stay steadfast, for the way out will come, if you make it to the end. The longer you spend in each world, however, the more the shadows look darker, and deeper. Hungrier. The more the spaces seem smaller or compressed. As if there is something gnawing away at the sides, making their way to the heart.

Around the world in 60 seconds 12 hours

When you find yourself at the end, when you close your eyes – only a blink, but it hangs, as if the momentary motion is enough to suspend you into a suspended space before. You can see the two options stretched out before you – metaphysically – the impression of it. A long, long shadow cast over one. As if there is a presence hovering over and above, like waiting jaws, ready to strike. In the other, there remains…nothing. It is not pleasant, it is not comforting, it simply… is. A sense that there is now a lack of anything, almost like it had never existed before.

Does this world have value? You can feel the Advocate ask. Do you want to give them a chance to live? Or does should this world cease, is there nothing here to save?

And though you are compelled, required to answer, you know this question for what it is. Short-sighted. Both, in the end, will lead to its destruction, but which will you choose? Will you allow the world to continue, even with that long shadow cast, like a hungry beast with snapping jaws; or will you erase it from existence and spare it that oncoming apocalypse?

Catch [???] Winks

The last world’s fate decided, bearers float in an endless sea of stars. You can see them all, spread before you. Intermittently, they wink out, swallowed into the darkness, consumed as the shadows, that inky-black nothingness grows ever-larger. It looks upon you, bearers. It is nothing, but you have its attention, and your blood runs cold, your limbs frozen. You cannot move, you cannot speak, you cannot breathe. You feel it, the power of being drawn into it, like it wants to consume you. Like it knows you.

T̸̢̼̯͓̬̘́̀̋̆͊h̷͔̣̱̝͍̬̣͕̄̂͗̆͒͌͜ͅẹ̶̱̩̅͒̿̇͠ ̵̭̹͇͖̔̀ṃ̸̢̧͙̟̼̜͌͆̍͝͝ͅo̴̟̞̓̆̇̐̆͊̽͆̂̀r̶͈̺̮̠͙̗͌ę̸̤̻̈́͐͂̓̊͐̂͆ ̵̡̛͎̩̳̤͔͚̱̼̆̒̓y̴̺̞̹̺̝̤͂ǫ̷̡̣̱̥͊̈́̓͑̕͘ű̵̼͜͜ ̶̨̨̝̟̘̱͇̲̻̪̊͂̽̈̒͊f̴̱̐͌̌̓̋̔́̀͝i̶͖̤͎̬̝̦͒̂g̸̳̰̟̀̓̽̈́̐h̸̼͍̮͎̊̅͗͊̈͋̽̀͘t̴͔͚́̓,̷̨̧̱̠̙̠̙̱̒̍̽̾ ̷̖̰̼̬̟͐̊̂t̶̖̄͂̅̃̍͐̊̑̅͜͝h̴̢̛͙̪̞̫̝̺̋̅̿͛̇̚͝͝ͅͅȩ̶͉̤͍̠́̈͑̏͋̚͘͝ ̸̢̨̧͚̖̤̪̬̪̀̉̐͗̂͆͑̚̕̚c̴̠̩̳͎̲̪͔̟̈́͂̉͑́l̶̡̲̻̣̘̏́ͅo̶̢̧͔͈̬̳̰͈̝̻͌̋̆̃͒͗̏͘ş̴̪̺̣̥̎̽̿͗̒́͛̕̚̚e̴̺͍̤͖͂̇͑͂̋͂̆̾r̴̨̩̈́͋͠ ̷̧͚̲̩̖̋͒̉́͗y̶̘̖̝̑̈͊ǒ̵͚̽u̵͎͍̇̀̏̊̕͝ŕ̷͎̜̘͙̀̋ ̶͇̲̝̞̖̝̣̘̝̬͋d̷͔͈͔̀̿õ̴̝̯͇̹̘̏͗͜ö̵͚͓͆m̵͉̦̫̥̦̞̫͐̆͐̿͊͒͌͋͜.̷̼͈̻̥̜̾̏͐̾̐͆͘͜

You gasp, as you startle awake, and open your eyes for the first time in a long time.

CODING

Comments

Jade's World ▶ Silvergrove.

[dreamflowers]

i. a song in the silence

[At some point, after sifting from myriad dreams of distant worlds and Eventualities, one stops at a place she had come to know quite well -- a village, an eternal sunset, a beach.

[Jade recognizes Silvergrove like an old friend when she arrives with the flash of a searing headache, followed by sounds of rushing waters, jungle birds, and humming insects. A beautiful dream back then... and a haunting one now, knowing what lay underneath the veneer of pleasant smiles and overly friendly gestures.]

"What, are you going to just let me in the front gates? Just like that?"
"Why not? Trust has to start somewhere."

"You'd really let a total stranger into your home and speak to your son?"
"Of course. Trust has to start somehere, doesn't it?"

[Even the Boy had eagerly welcomed her back to this vivid mirage, seemingly hale and whole once again, devoid of the bumps and swelling and the clumped leg since the very last moments she had seen him alive.

["Sister, you're back!"

[Though Jade knew his true face, had seen the Boy's deformities underneath the illusion when they meet again... she didn't wince when he throws his arms around her waist in a brotherly hug. After all, she had promised that she wouldn't hate and abandon him when she saw his true self, and that much remains true, even now.

[And Jade plays along, at least in the first few hours, knowing that this dream would never last. It hurts. This place had been like home to her for a time, or an idea of what could be a home where people treated each other with trust and kindness, when she had known mostly hatred and rejection her entire life. Even though she knew there was a sense of wrongness in the air the first time, even when she knew she couldn't stay when she had so wanted to... What point was there in fighting anymore, anyways? She had lost so much, hurt what few friends she had left. Wouldn't it have been better for her to disappear, where she could at least make one person happy? So what if it wasn't real?

[But it didn't take long before she saw it -- the lingering shadows following the Boy. By now had traversed enough worlds to know what that darkness means. More specifically, what they were reaching towards.

["Is something wrong, sister?" the Boy had asked when the cold realization had sunk in.]

Don't worry, tēmī. I told you before, I won't leave you.

[Those who attempt to claim the World Shard of Silvergrove will have to go through her first. Of that, she has decided.]

ii. to ransom a world's soul

[On the golden beach below the cliffs of the village sits a woman, cross-legged with a yellow bottle in hand. It'll only be a matter of time before this dream dissolves, and she's accepted that. What she hasn't accepted is whether or not she'll accept the Shard that the Boy has been so insistent that she takes.

["Please, sister. You know it's the only way. It hurts so much...!"

[No. She won't do it. Not again.

[Maybe she's just being delusional, though.

[Once she's made sure that the Boy is somewhere safe, she wanders the town to see if everything is as she remembers. Shock of shocks... it is. Down to the same people saying the same thing at the same tavern, singing praises of the Boy to whom they owed their peace and prosperity. It's no wonder why he wants it all to end, or to at least keep those with some modicum of free will from the Shard-Bearers who have joined her this time.

[Even the liquor tastes exactly how she remembered it -- fake. But still, she drinks it, even when she finds herself in the company of another Shard-Bearer. She lifts the bottle at them, pretending to be drunker than she actually is with a lopsided grin and slurred speech:]

Banana brandy? I swear, it's just as disgusting as it probably sounds. Always hated this shit.

[Whoever it may be, they're probably looking for the Shards, just as those in the previous worlds as well. She would probably do best to distract them from the Boy as much as possible.]

i

[a_noble_flame]

[Is now the wrong time to call out? Alice had been wandering around Silvergrove for just a while now, constantly caught by the friendly townsfolk. She wasn't really seeking out the World Shard here as much as she was simply figuring out where she was.

It figures it would be this late when she finally ran into a familiar face. She lifts her hand to wave to Jade but then pauses.]

... Oh! Is he the Boy?

[Because absolutely everyone in town has been talking about this kid, okay.]

[dreamflowers]

[There's a brief moment when Jade hears a voice that clearly doesn't belong to one of the Silvergrove villagers she had gotten to know in which she feels the need to protect the Boy. Even when she sees that it's Alice, she can't help but shield him, placing herself between the other woman and the child behind her.]

Yes. He's my...

[Tēmī is what she had called him earlier, but that isn't entirely accurate. She used to say that because the Boy wouldn't have known what the word meant -- "little brother". Wouldn't have gotten his hopes up when she would inevitably have to leave him.

[But then he had started calling her "sister", and it just complicated things more and more, hitting her where it hurt. That's all Silvergrove ever did to Jade. It was both her own personal haven and little hell.]

His name's Rynéus. Though I don't know why folks aren't just saying that here. [Maybe further proof of the wrongness that Jade tries so hard to ignore. But the Boy looks and acts like Rynéus, and talks to her the way he did, so she just accepts it.]

[a_noble_flame]

[Alice seems to accept this no sweat. She gives Rynéus a friendly smile, the sort of one she often wore on war relief efforts when her own natural awkwardness kept her from giving real smiles. It's not bad but it's more forced than something natural might be.]

Hello there, Rynéus. I'm Alice.

[Normally she might lean down somewhat on the child's level but with Jade between her and him she thinks better of it. Clearly Jade is being protective so instead she straightens up and gives her a curious look.]

Perhaps they don't want outsiders to know his name unless he wants it known?

[That's what she had assumed. Even if the town felt strange Alice was fine talking the more logical conclusion until she figured out what was precisely going on.]

[dreamflowers]

[What Alice says... actually makes a good deal of sense. The villagers here behave in a way that Rynéus wills it, whether he wants them to or not. If the Stone -- Shard, whatever -- were trying to "protect" itself, would it not do so in a way that would draw less attention to it? Or at least coax people further away?

[As the realization sinks in, Jade glances down at Rynéus, who doesn't seem to regard Alice with the same fear or nervousness as he likely did with some of the other Shard-Bearers. In fact, he's cautious, because Jade had told him to be.]

It's okay. You can trust Alice. She wouldn't hurt you.

[They might not have known each other for very long, but Alice has never given Jade any reason to believe that she would harm a child, even if said child were carrying one of the Shards they're supposed to be looking for.

[As if jinxing that thought, the boy holds out his necklace tucked in his shirt collar -- the same one with a lingering sense of creeping shadows -- and looks up. "Alice... My sister told me there are people who are looking for this. Can you help me hide it?"

[Jade flinches.] Rynéus...

[He looks confused. "What?"

[Okay, maybe he's being a little too trusting for her liking.]

[a_noble_flame]

[Oh those creeping shadows. Alice had felt them in the other worlds too and they were much the same every time. She thought back often to Matt's words about creeping, devouring shadows taking over the bodies of others. Rynéus doesn't feel quite like that but that necklace of his definitely makes the hairs on the back of her neck stand up on end.

She glances up to Jade a moment then back down to Rynéus.]

I'll be glad to help the both of you hide it if you like.

[She'd seen Jade's wincing. She might not know the extent of what it meant but --]

It's important to both of you, yes?

[dreamflowers]

[Seeing Alice's reaction, Jade relaxes a bit, though she's still tense now that Rynéus has shown her his Shard. She knew there were other Shard-Bearers who would come looking for it, and especially those that would intend to shatter it, as some would come to shatter the Shards of previous worlds and the worlds to come. It's not the fate she wants for Rynéus, inevitable that it might be.]

If it's what I think it is... then yes. Very important.

[Rynéus frowns as he tucks his necklace into his shirt again. "I think I know a perfect place, but I don't want to go there alone."

[Jade sighs and runs a hand through her bangs.]

Well, if people see all three of us enter someplace by ourselves, they'll definitely know where it is. [She pauses, thinking.] I could try to distract them.

[a_noble_flame]

I doubt they would expect a newcomer to go with him.

[She smiles a little Jade's way, expression confident.]

If you can distract them then I promise you I will defend him with my life.

[Despite the slight smile Alice is thoroughly serious. It's not the first time she's promised such to someone else after all.]

[dreamflowers]

Exactly.

[It's a tactic Jade has had to resort to on more than one occasion, being someone who most wouldn't connect to a religious organization that she already so despised. Not her favorite way of doing things, but still. You do what you gotta do sometimes.

[With an appreciative glance towards Alice, Jade stoops down closer to Rynéus and does something she wishes she had the chance to before -- she hugs the boy. He seems surprised by the gesture at first, before returning it with his small arms around the taller woman.]

I'll see you soon, tēmī.

["Yes, of course you will." The child's voice shakes as Jade separates herself, but not without sparing one more final look towards Alice and the boy. Defend him with your life, it practically says.

[When Jade is gone for the time being, Rynéus takes Alice's hand. It's almost instinctive, as expected from a scared child reaching out for comfort when there are people probably looking for him.]

ii

[punkisntdead]

[Yeah, Chloe should be fighting just as hard as everyone else in search of these world Shards—and to her credit, she’s done plenty of digging around in some of the other locales. But by this point, she’s already getting tired of this whole song and dance. There’s no way she can let herself give up and half-ass things, but fuck. She needs a break.

There’s something calming and familiar about going to the coast and away from people. It comes with a fair amount of homesickness that was frustrating and painful to contend with under normal circumstances, and here it’s only more complicated. It’s still a comforting reprieve though, enough that she doesn’t even mind when she realizes she’s not alone here at the beach.

With a sigh, she lowers herself into the sand to sit alongside the other woman. Her gaze lingers on the water stretching before them for a moment before she turns her attention back this stranger, an eyebrow raised at the bottle.]

It sounds like shit. [A beat, then she’s holding out a hand for the bottle.] Lemme try.

[dreamflowers]

[There's a moment in which Jade sizes up the Shard-Bearer -- she got to know just about every person in Silvergrove during her stay there, and thus distinguishing the locals from her fellow... travelers is easy enough.

[What isn't easy is knowing which ones will be a risk to this world. Jade still isn't entirely sure what results occur when those Shards are destroyed, but knowing what had happened in her own world when she had taken the Black Stone from Rynéus the first time...

[It's not a decision she's going to take lightly. Not again.]

Here.

[She hands the bottle over to the stranger. Predictably it's a sweet smell, about what one would expect from something literally made from bananas and sugar, and brewed into a syrupy liquor. Definitely something that has been concocted in someone's personal kitchen, as opposed to a proper distillery. But it does its job.

[The taste itself isn't much different from the smell. Asides from the alcoholic sting to the back of the throat, there is an overly sugary flavor that makes it hard to imagine anyone guzzling the shit. Almost like something a child would imagine up.]

Not like it's real, anyways. [Jade shrugs, still maintaining a fake slur in her speech.] None of this is.

[punkisntdead]

[The fact that anyone might consider Chloe a risk to a world is… funny, in a way. Her very existence had started to feel like one back home, but out here? It’s totally different. There’s no denying that she’s out of her depth, so fuck it. She’ll take the opportunity to kick back with a stranger, even if she has no idea what side she’s on.

They’ve got sun, sand, and some apparently shitty booze. Seize the moment, and all that.

Chloe takes the bottle and gives the contents an experimental sniff—and her brows furrow.]

Wow, you weren’t kidding about the banana, huh?

[Pretty distinctive smell right there, but it’s not like it’s going to dissuade her here. She brings the bottle to her lips and takes a swig. Christ, it’s sweet, but it at least does have a bit of a burn to it. Not that it makes her all that eager to take another drink. She wedges the bottle into the sand between to two of them, where it lists to the side slightly but manages to remain upright.]

It might all be fake as hell, but we’re still stuck dealing with it. At least this place isn’t as bad as some of the others we got stuck in.

[dreamflowers]

[She snorts at the comment.]

Yeah. People'll make booze outta just about anything, it seems.

[It could be worse. At least it's not made from piss.

[Even so, Jade opts to leave the bottle between them, and just stares out at the golden sunset cresting the Red Sea, trying not to think about her responsibilities for two bloody seconds. For a moment, her expression seems almost serene, remembering how it felt like when she was here the first time. This little oasis in the middle of a hellish planet, torn apart by war with the end of the world looming over their heads.]

Yeah. Guess that's the crux of it all, huh? It's a nice dream. [One that she'll have to wake up from sooner than later, she knows. Much like how she knows what lies beneath the shiny surface and pleasant greetings from the villagers. Even if she can't see it now, the memory of the truth is forever burned into her mind.] I take it you got the headache when you first arrived, too? Kinda hard to ignore a red flag like that.

[punkisntdead]

[A nice dream. The faintest hint of a scowl begins to tug at Chloe’s lips, because to her it’s always felt like dreams were just stupid fancies. Deceitful. Something to let you get your hopes up before reality comes to smack you in the face and tell you how much everything actually sucks.

Maybe that’s why she’s been so ill at ease ever since this world-hopping started. It’s certainly why she’d chafed against the Oracle’s probing questions when this all began; life had let her down too many times already. Why would she let it taunt her with old memories when there was no point to it all?

She sighs and sits back, hands digging slightly into the sand as she props herself up in a casual lean.]

Yeah, the headache… that had been weird. [Frankly, she’d mostly dismissed it once it had passed. Chalked it up to a weird effect of all this… dreamy traveling they’ve been doing. But if she’s not the only one who felt that kind of thing when showing up in this world…] You think it means something? ‘Cause I’m gonna be real, I didn’t think much of it at the time.

[dreamflowers]

[There's a moment in which Jade considers how much is worth sharing with the other Shard-Bearers. How much she knows about this world could determine what fate comes from it should any of them come across the Shards.

[But this is just one Eventuality, she knows. In her own Eventuality, Silvergrove is already gone. Well, technically, it was gone long before she ever even stepped foot in the village... But does it matter? Maybe in another world, another life, the Prophetess stays, chooses the dream over her responsibilities. It's what she always wanted to do, anyways. The weight of the world's fate was never something she felt should fall to someone as pathetic as her.

[After a long pause, she sighs, pressing her knees to her chest, looking over at the seagulls pecking around the fishing nets set up at the beach.]

I think it means that the power over this place doesn't affect us. [Jade finally answers solemnly, dropping the slurred speech and drunken demeanor. No point in playing stupid games when her tēmī's life in this Eventuality is on the line.] I didn't think much of it the first time I came here, either. I mean, traveling that bloody jungle for days, what else can you expect?

[She frowns, her fingers drumming over her knees.] Now I know it wasn't just a normal headache.

["But whenever I look at you, it's like... like a part of you isn't really there." That's what the "Boy" had told her back then, when he had begged her to stay in Silvergrove with him. And if the Shard-Bearers are all dreamers as well, is that still not the case?]

[punkisntdead]

[Chloe lets her attention linger on the faint shimmer of the sea before them in that brief length of silence that follows in the wake of her question. It’s idle observation and idle curiosity—at least, that’s all it is until the woman finally answers with a demeanor much unlike the facade she’s put up until now. Chloe’s attention snaps back over to her, eyes narrowed a little as she listens.

As they’ve all gone from world to world she had wondered, not for any real reason because she mostly didn’t think that it mattered much, just which Shard-bearer was behind the appearance of each new place. Some places were obvious, others not so much. And the fact that she still didn’t know most of them well didn’t really help her in puzzling it out any. Seems like the mystery of this world isn’t so much of a mystery anymore, though.]

Guess that means this place is yours, then. [More a statement than a question, her attention still fully locked onto the other woman.] What was so special about a headache back then? Why would it be any different now?

[She doesn’t really get how all of this works still. Some of the worlds had some pretty obvious effects on them, so maybe it feels like it’s not a waste of time getting to know more about a place. Particularly when it comes to a topic that’s got the one who knows it best looking a lot more serious.]

[dreamflowers]

[The moment she dropped the act, Jade knew she was gambling just how trustworthy anything else she says might seem. But she figures if the Shard-Bearers here are faced with the question -- Is there any value to this world? -- she might as well be its advocate.

[Ironic, really. She didn't ask to be representative for the people of her home, much like how she didn't ask to be the Prophetess. All she can hope for is a brief moment of reprieve and some understanding that she isn't just another drunk or lowlife with delusions of grandeur.

[Despite this, she idly picks up the brandy, drinks, then makes a "why did I just do that? face at the bottle. It's still just as sickly sweet as the last time she drank.]

Well, you might've noticed there's something off about the people here. Or maybe you didn't, since it's not like you're from this world... [Shrug.] But anyways, they're dead.

[She says it so plainly, like she just dropped a casual fact. Surprise!]

II

[ex_fend346]

[ There was something hauntingly unnatural about the village. Subaru had swiftly sensed it: the presence of some powerful magic bending the people around him. This may be a dream, but he feels it still, just as perceptible as it would be were he awake. Yet it seemed there was nothing he could do for them, so he wandered.

Straying away from the odd village takes him to the beach, and there, he finds a woman muttering something about banana brandy. He tries to imagine what that would be like, scrunching his nose briefly at what he envisions before smoothing out his expression. ]

Why consume it then?

[ His voice is a soft thing, nearly drowned out by the lapping of waves against the shore, as though he's hesitant to intrude. ]

[dreamflowers]

[For the time being, Jade had been doing everything she could to ensure that the Shard-Bearers had as little contact with the Boy as she could help it. If overplaying the beach drunk until she's able to scope out whether or not the next person won't harm her tēmī over some rock-piece he's wearing, she'll do it a million times over.]

Meh. It's less about the taste and more about how fast it can get you drunk.

[She shrugs.]

Of course, it doesn't even do that job very well... but I've never had a discerning palate, anyways.

[ex_fend346]

Were you hoping to divert attention from that boy by pretending otherwise?

[ Subaru is a little too old, despite his youthful features, to be convinced that someone is more inebriated than they are. At least, not so easily. And not when they admit themselves that what they're drinking isn't at all good for the intended purpose. There are other things he suspects about Jade, and about this situation, but he only lends his voice to this one first.

It's the easiest place to begin. Her reaction will tell him well enough whether he's surmised correctly. Clearly, it must be her home due to familiarity — or at least a place with which she has a certain familiarity none of them do. Able to sense sources of magic as he typically is, the boy caught his attention quickly enough, and yet...

He isn't so ruthless as to act on that knowledge, contest or no. ]

[dreamflowers]

[Maybe she didn't ham it up enough... or maybe she was trying a little too hard. Either way, she bristles at first when she's called out, before her shoulders slump a bit in defeat.

[The villagers might be trusting because they were "designed" to be that way. Jade does not extend that level of trust to strangers and people she barely knows, not in this world and not in her own.]

Leave him be. I know that's gonna be a big ask to folks here, but that kid's been through enough.

[She knows he's not the same Rynéus from her Eventuality. That boy is already dead and gone. And it feels as if the Rynéus of this place understands that -- but even in the face of danger, he still seems to want to make others happy. Not because he wants them to be, but because they want to on their own accord.

[Jade sighs, gripping the yellow bottle in hand before absentmindedly taking a drink, making a face, and then corking the sickly sweet liquor again.]

[ex_fend346]

It would be shortsighted of me to mention if I planned otherwise.

[ There are those who would make a comment regardless, but Subaru isn't the sort. Had he intended to pursue that shard regardless of who held it, there'd be no purpose in approaching Jade instead. He and Kamui hadn't had the luxury of time in so long that he couldn't imagine choosing a path of greater attrition than necessary.

If this world is one she knows, then he imagines he can leave it to her, besides... Though he wonders whether the difficulty of that reality is part of what finds her here instead of guarding that boy.

Whatever the case may be, he seats himself on a driftwood log, reinforcing that he doesn't have any alternative plans in mind. ]

Others may be as you expect though.

[dreamflowers]

[Whether she believes him or not is uncertain, but Subaru doesn't seem to be lying as far as Jade can perceive. She grimaces, before looking out at the sea.

[The scene would almost be peaceful if not for the eternal sunset that never seemed to get any darker or lighter no matter how much time has passed. Jade had thought it was strange the first time she was here, after spending days, maybe weeks in Silvergrove... She hadn't really been paying much attention to the passage of time back then. Things hadn't ended well with her companions the last time she spoke with them, her mission with the Rhalâta had gone tits up, and Enderal was on the brink of war, being invaded by her former countrymen. Could anyone have really blamed her for wanting a break from her responsibilities? For having a moment of weakness?

[Can anyone blame her for it now?]

Others will. They always do. [Jade finally rips from her thoughts, casting a sidelong glance at Suberu from her one good eye.] Everyone's gonna have their own opinion on these worlds. What makes them worth a damn, whether they're real or not, that it's pointless.

[Of course, Jade doesn't think it matters what's real and what isn't. Even if she can't save Rynéus in this Eventuality, she can at least make sure he's happy. That he's in safe hands with Alice.]

[ex_fend346]

They may.

[ Subaru can't argue that point, nor will he try. Linking his fingerd, he meets her gaze evenly. For all the worlds, he's the picture of serenity, a still lake in a remote forest. Whatever may or may not weigh on him, it doesn't show.

Not until just before he speaks at least, eyebrows knitting together in a troubled line. ]

Yet how can they be worth any less than our own?

[ Subaru hardly remembers his own homeworld with any clarity anymore. Perhaps that's why he didn't recognize it, when it had come and gone. If it had come and gone. It may be a reflection or some image of what could have been, but that makes it no less real to his mind. ]

A dreaming soul is no less real, in my experience.

[dreamflowers]

[Maybe she's feeling pensive, but Jade considers his last words.]

Y'know... There was this concept I remember hearing once -- "the last moment that lasts forever", or a "final dream" of sorts.

[As she speaks, she starts pulling out a satchel of Peaceweed that she got at the Silvergrove general store. Even if this all is fake, at least she can indulge in some sense of familiarity while she's here, and she starts preparing a pipe. Might as well take it all in while she still can, after all.]

In my world, one can spend thousands of years in a single dream. But I don't think that makes the time spent in that dream any less valuable than in your waking moments, in a way. It's not about what's "real" -- it's about the experiences. [She pauses.] Doubly so when shared dreams are involved.

[And she isn't a stranger to those, either.]

For instance, I might still be a corpse at the bottom of that Red Sea out there. I've no way of knowing whether or not this all is my "final dream" -- but I've decided some time ago that I just don't give a damn anymore whether I'm alive or dead and dreaming.