relinquishing | [Written / ANON]

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[Written / ANON] - 001 ☼

[To wake up in the middle of the night wasn't the issue at all. His sleep hadn't been restful at all, considering what their travelling party was getting ready to do once the sun had risen. Even after all this time, having to fight Van was a tricky thing to try and think about.

But when he opens his eyes to the sounds of woods, the crackle of leaves and branches and rushing of water, he instantly knows something is wrong. The air against the bare skin of his chest is confusing enough, but it's the ache against his shoulders that makes this seem... familiar.

Too familiar.

Memories of months that he didn't even know existed were flowing back, all muddled and cloudy and hard to make out without giving himself a headache. He knew... he knew he had been here before. He knew this was Luceti. He knew he wasn't the first Guy Cecil to have been here.

And he knew Luke had been here as well. A flash of swords, of red hair, of split blood...

Luke lying in the grass, engulfed in a golden light, a dark-haired girl weeping at his side.

Guy jolts up, nearly tripping over the pile that contained his clothes. Without a light source, the only resort he is left to is fumbling around for what's on the ground, doing his best to change from his garments and look for the one item that he needed the most: his journal.

It's as he's groping for his other boot that he finds it, and he quickly pulls his footwear on before wandering to find an adequate light source. He had to send a message.]

PRIVATE - LOCKED TO Luke fon Fabre (!FAILED!)

Luke. It's Guy. If you're awake, I need to talk to you.

[...Wait.

Failed?

Guy can feel his heart pound in his neck. Next best thing - the girl that was, more or less, attached to Luke at the hip.]

PRIVATE - LOCKED TO Xion (!FAILED!)

Xion, it's Guy - Guy Cecil. Hey, I know it's late, but I need to know where you and Luke are.

[...

Failed.

He slams the book shut, jaw tight with fingers pressed firmly to the bridge of his nose. It was too late and his memories are too much of a mess. Had they still been here? He could have sworn... But the idea of Luke having never come back fro that previous memory is enough to make him sick. There was already plenty of suspicion for the Luke he remembered back home. For this one, who he'd watched vanish into thin air---

Screw that. Forget about asking around. Something had happened while he was gone. Perhaps too much. So he presses forward through the muddy ground, trying to find the river he knows he hears, all the while prepping his journal for another set of writing.

He'll just... start with the basics. There wasn't any need to lose his cool just yet.

Right.

...]

[Even with the sun already set, this author doesn't intend to be seen at all. The camera is intentionally covered as the text slowly appears on the journal's page.

First comes a foreign script, written hastily in a language that the writer knows only a handful of people will be able to understand. Whether they respond is a different matter.]

[Underneath it, another message, this time in the more common tongue. Might as well play dumb until he knows exactly what's going here. His mind is a little too muddled to try anything else, anyway.]

I guess we'll start with some basic questions -

Is anyone else here?

What year is it?

What direction is civilization from the river?

And what should someone be expecting to see in the woods this late at night? Can't really say I'm in the mood to get pounced on.

((ooc: For Abyss Cast's convenience: Anyone from Auldrant: Age, rank, background, really just your name will do. Respond if you can.))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[There's a notable pause before he writes a response.]

I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't keep track of that. The calender here is rather different from what we're used to on Auldrant. It would be different for everyone who arrives here, and would change whenever someone went home.

[That and there was little reason for Ion to cling to a calender he'll never use again.]

[Huh. Not quite what he was going for, but he won't push the subject. So either Ion had been here for a longer period of time... or, well, he could just not keep track of the dates. Who knows.

There's not much he can ask specifically without spilling the beans too soon, but he can at least make another jab at one more fact.]

Different seasons, different calendars - I can't imagine how confusing it must get.

But people can actually go home, then? Does that happen often?

Very often.

[Too often, recently. Just how many people from Auldrant have gone home now in the past few months?]

There are even cases of people who go home and return sometime later as well. Although there doesn't seem to be a pattern for how long people stay at a given time. Some people stay for a few weeks, while others may stay for a few years.

That would explain some of the hesitation, then. If people are coming and going like that, that makes it hard to know who to treat as a friend and who is just a stranger.

I don't blame you for being cautious.

[It doesn't confirm his hopes, but doesn't deny them, either. He's curious as to how far he can press. But he'd rather not raise any more suspicions than he already is. Ion might be young and an easy target for kidnappers, but Guy knows that he is not stupid.]

If you considered me a friend on Auldrant, then it's likely safe to assume you're someone from a time where I would feel the same.

[That would be assuming he's telling the truth. Ion was from the end of his "story" after all, so it's not as though anyone could know him from a time further into his own future.]

I'm only cautious because I don't know whether or not you're lying. I would think only someone with something worth hiding would go to the effort of hiding from a "friend".

[Which may beg the question as to why Ion has the journal tilted so that the camera is fixed on the ceiling rather than his face, but in truth, it's just easier to write when it's like this.]

[Wow, Ion, you basically summed up Guy in one sentence. Congratulations.]

If I had that much to hide from you, wouldn't it have been foolish to say I was from Auldrant? Or to recognize your name? Not everyone who hides intends to be deceitful.

And frankly, I owe you an apology, Fon Master. Not to mention some gratitude.

[Ion would argue that if he didn't intend to be deceitful, he would have offered his own name when asked. But if he wasn't going to tell him of his own volition, there was probably no point in trying to convince him to do so.]

Gratitude?
May I ask what for?

[If that'd not more than he's willing to share, of course.]

Well, it's not every day someone's lucky enough to have themselves saved by the head of the Order.

[...]

Especially twice.

[Aaaaand let's just add that filter now and turn on that voice function. No use keeping the camera covered any more, either.]

Not exactly the way I thought we'd see each other again.

Sorry for the trouble, Ion.

What do yo

[He doesn't get time to finish writing that sentence before he sees the filter go up, and then hears the familiar voice. In turn, he responds by voice as well, though the voice may not be very familiar for Guy -- it's still recognizable as Ion, but is a tad deeper and more mature.]

Guy! I was wondering who this could have been.

[He tilts the journal up so he's in the camera too. He looks older too. His biggest growth spurt was in the time Guy was gone, after all.]

But why the charade?

Hah hah. Nothing too serious, I promise. Just call it a precaution.

[Circumstances were a bit intense the last time he'd been around and all.]

Really, though, I didn't mean to worry you. Adjusting just isn't as easy I remember.

[As it is, Ion's mind isn't anywhere near those particular circumstances, if only because he's not immediately sure "which" Guy he's talking to. Even knowing they were still technically the same person, it was difficult at times to really think of them as such.]

I don't think worry is quite the right word for it... [Irritated might be better. But he just brushes it off with a chuckle.] Does that mean you remember your previous stay here?

Hmm...? Yeah, I do. Can't say any of those memories are crystal clear or anything, but they're there.

[Just don't ask him to pick anything super specific out right now, lest his head explode or something equally unpleasant.]

It's been a while, though, hasn't it? It was still the 5th cycle year, last I remember.

Yes, at least a year now. In fact, I believe it was around this time of year when you went home the last time as well.

[Or when one of Guys went home, at least.]

I'm sure your other memories of Luceti should come back eventually, but you shouldn't worry about pushing them now. You've only just arrived after all, right?

[He doesn't answer at first, mainly because his thoughts have completely stalled at Ion's observation. Guy may not remember much, but he knows the last thing he saw. He remembers that last week in an empty apartment. He doesn't remember this wet, nippy weather.

It was hot. It was summer. This was definitely not summer.

So... another Guy had been here.

A million things rush in and out of his head before he lets himself remember that oh, yes, he's talking to someone.]

Y-yeah, of course. The community buildings are still around, right? I can just duck in there and figure more out in the morning.

Pretty sure Luke would like some privacy, anyway.

[Ion doesn't know what to make of that pause. Was he remembering something? Or was it because of something Ion said? Hm.]

[Unfortunately, that train of thought goes out the window at that last sentence. His tone grows a bit somber.]

I'm sorry, Guy. I'm afraid you missed Luke by a few weeks. He's been sent back to Auldrant.

[Guy can feel his throat go tight.

Luke was gone. A technical error such as that of the journal is something he can brush off and deny. A clarification from someone else? That... that was a little harder to ignore. Like a slap to the face, bringing those memories right along in its wake.

That cloud of gold...

He has to grit his teeth before he can allow himself to speak. It's been a long enough while. That means Luke had to have come back. He had to have recovered, just like Guy had assumed he would. He could still fight for the reason to ignore that pit in his stomach. He knew he could.

...

The blonde's words are low when he finally speaks up.]

I see.

Was he in one piece before he left?

[Not died. Left. Leaving meant that there was a chance.]

What?

[It takes a few moments for Ion to remember why Guy would ask something like that. The summer that Guy left, the summer that so many terrible things happened, was also the summer that Luke died.]

[If Ion had any lingering doubts about just which "Guy" he was talking to, they've all but dried up now. But somehow, he's not really sure how to feel about it.]

...yes, of course he was. Actually, in the time since you haven't been here, he's been sent back home and returned again with his memories in tact. Perhaps... if you've come back with your memories now, it means he could still come back again as well?

[He's trying to be optimistic for Guy's sake -- something that he might be able to pick up on, given the way it falls rather flat, even with someone like Ion saying it. But it was difficult to know what truly was the bes thing to hope for: was it a good thing that one might be able to see their friends again? Or was it a bad thing that they could still become trapped here indefinitely?]

[That... does not sound genuine. Not that he doesn't believe the Fon Master exactly, but the words sound so dead compared to the normally light cadence of Ion's speech. Something isn't right.]

Are you worried for him?

...I don't think worried is quite the right word for this either.

[Unfortunately, that may be something Guy will have to get used to. It wouldn't be entirely correct to say Ion's grown more pessimistic since arriving in Luceti, but it wouldn't be entirely wrong, either.]

[Though this is certainly a special case. It seemed just as he was getting used to Florian being gone that Luke was sent home. The combination of all of this with everything that's happened in the past year has made him more stoic when it comes to things like this.]

I'm sorry. I'm just not sure whether or not it would be good for Luke to come back. After all, Xion isn't here anymore either. I don't know whether or not he'd want to go on living here, perhaps especially if he remembered being here before.

He'd find a way.

[It may seem like a harsh response, but Guy means it. He knew Luke was stubborn, and while he might stay in a rut, he could be pulled out of it. It might be difficult. But Guy believed the kid was resourceful. He had determination under all that ridiculous self-doubt.

To say that he couldn't adapt to life again wasn't something the servant could easily let slide.]

If he does come back, he's not going to be alone. The last I checked, no one around him would want him to give up, even if things aren't the way he'd prefer. Yeah, it would be hard. But he's pulled himself up from difficulties far worse already - maybe more than we can know about.

Give him some credit.

Xion went home at the same time he did the first time. I know he'd be able to pull himself up. I know how strong he is. But that's not what I meant.

[Ion knew how strong Luke was -- but there was a difference between being able to handle a given situation and wanting to handle that situation. There weren't many people who, give the choice, would choose Luceti over their home world.]

It's less a matter of giving him credit and more a matter of knowing the nature of things that happen in this world. Even as someone who wants to continue living here, I know how difficult and painful it can be. Especially when our only allies in this world are also, in turn, our enemies...

[There's an unfamiliar bitterness in that last sentence that doesn't really suit Ion. Regardless of whether he catches it himself, he shakes his head and changes his tone.]

--I'm sorry. This isn't the sort of thing to be discussing when you've only just arrived, is it?

Don't worry about it. Just remember that your allies aren't so limited, even if the world makes it look like that. It's not the first time things have revolved that way.

[How many times had the sides been debated on Auldrant? How many times had friends been enemies, enemies been friends, or ties been threatened simply due to mistrust? The nature of the world called for some understanding. But it didn't mean one should just resign to it in this regard. Not without understandable proof.]

Not to disrespect you, Ion - it sounds like you've been through a lot. You're just not usually one to sound discouraged.

Edited (reeedundant) 2013-11-15 09:45 (UTC)

...it's been a difficult year.

[And even that was something of an understatement. For all the good that happened this year, there was also plenty of bad.]

[As it is, he's at the point where he'll try and shift the conversation away from all that. For now, at least. There'll no doubt be some things Guy should be filled in on.]

I'm sorry, I'm not usually this gloomy. Perhaps the change in the weather is just affecting my mood. It's nearing winter now, after all... oh! You're not still walking around in just those new feather clothes, are you?

[Topic change heard and noted. He won't press it for now. It's enough of a shift from the Fon Master's normal mood that Guy would rather have this sort of conversation when they were both a little more... alert.]

Nah, I actually got lucky this time! It looks like I just missed a rainy day or two, with all the mud that's already out here.

[No barefoot trekking through the slush for him! It's much better than being thrown into a frozen lake, by far, but he'll just cherish those little things right now. Like having shoes. Shoes are great.]

With that plus the cold and the time right now? I'm sure it would make anyone feel a little off, much less a kid your age.

[If his hunch is correct, at least. Ion's changed enough at first glance.]

[Written / ANON] - 001 ☼

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[Written] wow Ion so touchy

[Written] Well he's at that rebellious age now...

[Written] 1/2

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[Private - Voice] "see show tall her in," huh

[Private - Voice] "sees how tall he is" SHUSH

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