maskormenace | xenologue 3 || voice

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xenologue 3 || voice

So the day has worn on...and on. And the sky shows no sign of incoming terrors from where I'm standing. Will this be one of those long lapses I've heard tell of?

Whatever was done was enough, friends and imPorts. I'm grateful to those who found a way...

[a beat.

exhale.]

Forgive me. I wish to ask of things touched upon again and again -- much more than the span of days we've just endured. I've already read so much about the past here that I may go cross-eyed to scour any further, and...and there's...something to be said of hearing truths from first-hand sources.

Should you be willing, please tell me: how long did it take you to know for certain your friend or loved one has left-- returned, as it were. What did you do? How many days did it take you to find it in you to be certain?

...How did you know they had forgotten, too? All of this, good and ill. [with an empty laugh in her voice:] There's a lot to be said about fools who believe anything in life is certain, of course, but all the same... A fool like me can at least do her part to ask.

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You can't ever be sure, that's the rub. But practically speaking -- a few days, it might be temporary. A couple of weeks, the chance they'll come back with their memory is lower, but it's still a solid possibility. Longer than a month...if they come back at all, you can't count on them remembering you.

holding out hope for a month is reasonable. i think after that it starts to fade regardless of how hard you try to keep it.

>private

are you okay?

[He wants, so badly, to answer this.

But every time he writes something the guilt bleeds through, and despite Owain not mentioning Lucina by name, his request not to tell Peter still rings in his ears.

He hates it.

But he can't tell her.

So instead he turns off his comm and turns off his neural link and hopes nothing else today reminds him. He still has a job to do.

Three days.

Owain's got three days, to come back.]

[with some grim humor in her tone:] As certain as a soldier sent off to sea, then, but less likely to hear from it second-hand. [she exhales softly.] So more or less: the longer it takes, the less hope one holds?

[there's a little delay, and she sounds sorry for it:] Hello, Archie. Forgive me, I-- [ha.] My eyes are a bit tired from reading so much. [and straining so much, scouring streets from above.] But, ah... I've been searching for Owain. Since the day has finally marched forward in time, he's...

[it's what he'd expected and he'd used text to hide any emotion he might betray by talking but... lucina wants voice. she'll get voice. he switches.]

Ah-- sorry. I shoulda guessed, you did mention it.

[he's sitting at home, and is grateful for it when she confirms it out loud. he scrabbles around, finally grabbing the tv remote. it's... not the best thing for this situation, but gripping it tightly helps a bit. archie makes a mental note to get some stress balls or something.]

Are you at the Clocktower? If, uh, if you're okay for company I can bring something over...

[he selfishly hopes she says yes. if he's trying to help her, then he doesn't have to think about his own feelings on the matter.]

Oh, I'm-- My apologies, I'm not, actually... [mm...] Though...I ought to return soon all the same, if only to be sure Leo's doing alright. [she sounds like she already knows the answer to that.......because she does.]

It's kind of you to offer, all the same.

No-- it's fine. I get this is a hard time for you both, you just gotta do what you feel is right.

[he rubs a hand over his face.]

Er, do you wanna talk about it? If nothin' else I can help ya find stuff to keep you busy for a couple weeks.

In my experience? Half a day to know they're missing.

Month to assume they're not coming back. Or that if they do, that they won't be the same.

[There's a reason he picked text for his response, after a long beat of deliberation.]

It sucks.

[she makes a soft, kind sound, but it's really just a buffer for her to hesitate. she fears laying such things bare, especially like this, not only because it's unbecoming for a princess of Ylisse, but because she wants to keep at bay many sad memories that are tied with her loved ones vanishing despite promises of return.

she'll never hold it against herself for believing in them, nor hold it against them for dying, but it doesn't mean it doesn't ache terribly, even now! the promise of "oh they'll port back in such-and-such amount of days" is as flimsy as "oh we'll receive word by raven that they're on their way in such-and-such amount of days."]

I think...I'll go looking for some furnishings for that house of ours. It's gone quite unfinished since all this madness, hasn't it.

Not the same...

[exhale.

it doesn't take much time at all to be not the same, does it? she can play around with those possibilities and torment herself to sleep with them all she wants!

but later. she can push herself aside for a minute to recognize the kind man Owain cares so dearly for -- it's easier to do than sit with herself.]

Have you eaten already, Peter? I'll be seeing to dinner shortly, and you're always welcome to the tower should you wish to.

Whenever the name goes missing from the network listing, they have been Ported back. Anything else is just left to chance. They could be gone just few days, weeks - months. And they could come back with their memories or not. There is no certain way of telling. Do you wish to talk for a bit, Lucina-san?

That sounds like a good idea. Uh-- I got something put in the garden for you. Or any visitors really, but they're mostly for you. You'll know 'em when you see 'em.

[anyway]

Do you know how to use a chip card? I can give you mind and just.. let you loose.

...Hey, are you okay...?

It seems like people were acting weird again, but I don't really know what's going on. Who's missing?

[she needs a bit of time to get around to reading the response -- she's tired of reading -- and...some time to actually muster a response that's level.

she makes a soft sound, quiet for a beat longer before speaking up.]

So it's only that name on the screen being absent as the tell. More than many can claim to get in other cases, but still... [it's not fair, it sucks, etc. it need not be said.]

Thanks, Kaneki. I know of all people, I could go to you first for a reliable answer. [but part of her didn't want to hear it, so. you know.] I suppose there's little else to say of it though, is there?

You can never be certain, of course, and it's not foolish to want that certainty. I think it's all about managing expectations but not giving up hope. Hope is important, too. They might come back. It's always possible. It's not foolish to give up on that hope, either.

You needn't worry; there's still plenty of loose cash about the tower. [beat. oh--] And I've been better taught on how to handle it, too. It should be no issue...

[...]

But you ought to come along, as well. You have as much claim to the look of the place as I do...if not more. It was your idea in the first place, after all.

[her end stays dark, quite content to keep it just to her voice, thank you. her mouth quirks with a smile all the same, and maybe a hint of that can be heard through her weary tone.]

I'm still on the lookout. Do let me know if you come across Owain as you're about, alright?

[a beat to absorb this. he sounds wise and reliable, yes, but...]

...The way you say it, you make it sound like it doesn't matter how one reacts, one way or the other.

That's good. Crazy, but good.

[he can't help the small sigh that escapes him.]

I'll come if you want me to, but I get if you wanna be alone for some of it. Don't feel like you gotta drag me along for any reason.

There've been a few notable exceptions, but pretty much, yeah. Some people never return, some people have a built-in revolving door and come back again and again, but if they're away longer than a month or two in between disappearances, they've probably forgotten. Or they're an alternate universe counterpart. That happens, too.

Oh. I guess I should have figured...

[His voice might have dipped somewhat in his response, but... if he says it, he'll do it.] Yeah, and I'll ask Red if he's seen him. Is he not responding to his comm or something?

I could hardly drag you anywhere you didn't already want to go, I wager, but all the same... [exhale.] Thank you. I don't feel much for shopping right now, but, perhaps later...that will change.

[under her breath:] It's torturous...

[a beat.

more level:] You've seen it happen a lot?

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xenologue 3 || voice

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thanks for NOTHING you spicy space SADBOY

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