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...Should I worry about me surviving the attack?

[This is spoken good-naturedly; Atsuro closes and locks the door behind him.]

OK! Welcome to Kihara VIP Tours, your one-stop shop for experiencing the best that Hinoto-Ri has to offer. Please keep your elbows tucked in at all times and the tip jar is in the back.

...I also take video games, but those don't fit in the jar.

We'll go to Cancer and Scorpio; those are the most tourist-y. If you need to go shopping, we can swing by Virgo. If there's time, we can check out Aquarius, too - the library's over there and I work at the community college.

You've nothing to worry about, my focus allows my magic to do no harm to my allies, even if they're in the way.

[Atsuro's spiel actually makes Yurick crack the tiniest smile, which is a major accomplishment even in the best of times. With Zael missing, it's nothing shy of a miracle.]

You know this city far better than I, so I'll gladly follow your lead. Though I admit libraries are a weakness of mine, so if we can't get to it today then perhaps another time?

Oh! Gotcha. We'll stop by there at the end, then, so you can take as much as you want, and... why don't we cut out Cancer? It might be a bit much for you to handle right now...

[Atsuro only wanted to visit Cancer because it was his favorite district anyway.]

Honestly, I don't know the history of the city or anything, but I can show you where things are, at least.

I'm afraid to ask why it's a bit much....

[Not that he wasn't curious. Perhaps it was where Atsuro acquired all those odd devices in his room?]

And at the moment, practicality trumps historical curiosity. I can't keep stumbling blindly around this city.

[Yurick must be a psychic. Or Atsuro is just pretty transparent.]

Aha, yeah. When you're a little bit more comfortable with the place, I can give you some of the information we have on the background.

[The apocalypse probably wasn't a great conversation piece for someone who was already confused. ...Atsuro strides over to the elevator and presses the button; incredibly, it is actually set to their floor and opens up immediately. He steps inside.]

((Did you want to continue to thread or would you like to handwave? I'm game with either way!))

[Yurick follows him in, standing with his back against the rear wall so he's not near the doors. It has nothing to do with a lack of trust, it's just years of mercenary training giving him space to cast if need be.]

If it can help us devise a reliable way out of here, I'd appreciate it. Our first priority is always to return to our world. We're needed there quite badly.

Ah...

[He offers a slight sympathetic smile at hearing that.]

...I can understand. If it helps at all, time doesn't pass on your world at all while you're here. You can think of it as... a vacation without consequences, if it makes it easier.

[Atsuro certainly was.]

It helps a little, I suppose. Still, I worry about dying in this place.

[Though the roaming demons put a sizable dent in the concept of a vacation. Thankfully, Yurick is well-equipped to fight back if they're attacked.]

I wish I could communicate somehow with my comrade.

[Atsuro generally thinks of roaming demons as preferable to demons taking over Tokyo and murdering everyone. He isn't quite sure how to reassure Yurick, though.]

...All of us here from different worlds - we're all looking out for each other. Nobody's dying on our watch. ...Zael'll be safe as well. There are a lot of us down there...

[The elevator dings as they reach the first floor.]

...And there's always Samarecarm.

[Yurick frowns as if... well, as if Atsuro is speaking another language. He steps out of the elevator, turns, and folds his arms as he fixes the other boy with a curious look.]

What in the world is that? [A person or a weapon, perhaps? Something or someone that can bring the missing home?]

A resurrection spell. ...Well, sort of.

[Nothing could truly bring back those who had slipped past the edge into oblivion but for everything else...]

We used it a lot back home. Here in Hinoto-Ri, it fully revives people from the brink of death.

[A slight shrug.]

I was mostly just joking, though, eheh. You don't really want to rely on it.

The brink of death....

[Yurick had felt a power like that a few times back in their world. A memory of blue-white chains of light surrounding him, warming his body, binding his life into his flesh to keep it from slipping away....]

Zael gained a power like that, not long before we arrived here. I've seen it activate even when he was the one downed. Hopefully he won't need it wherever he is.

[He could feel his thoughts turning dark and shook himself out of it. Worrying was only going to make things worse.]

Hah... That's impressive. I don't personally have the magic power to use Samarecarm; it's a little beyond me.

You know, I bet it's the demons we need to worry about. They'll be beaten so black and blue we might not be able to get the information we need out of them.

[Atsuro tries.]

OK. We turn left when we exit, and we can take the train up to Scorpio.

((Bed again, goodnight!))

Edited 2013-08-30 04:49 (UTC)

[And Yurick appreciates the effort, even if it falls a bit flat.]

One of my lesser abilities is called Inversion. It allows me to turn certain damaging spells to healing ones. It's better than nothing but I can't use it to return someone from death's door.

[When they emerge from the Libra building, Yurick can't help looking both ways up and down the street. Lazulis is a large city, but it looks nothing like Hinoto-Ri. The strange lights, the towering buildings, the odd metal constructs called "machines," and the unusual clothing of the residents are totally foreign to the mage.]

I don't know if I'll ever get used to such a strange place.

[Atsuro, strangely, had the magic intuition of a rock, which was somewhat contrary to his role as the intelligent one in his group. At a pinch, he could manage a Mediarahan if he really needed to, but there was a reason he kept Laksmi around on his team. He decides that there's really not much need to embarrass himself by mentioning any of this.]

You're used to something a little more... 16th century, huh?

I'd like to hear more about your world, too, if you're up for it. My world is basically the same as this one. Even the demons.

I'm not sure what you mean by "16th century," but I can tell you my world is nothing like this.

[He goes on to elaborate mainly about Lazulis, the island-city he and Zael had been visiting before they were brought to Hinoto-Ri. It's quickly apparent that not only is his world medieval in comparison to Atsuro's, with Tudor-esque buildings and open air markets surrounding a grand castle, it's also definitely something that would remind Atsuro of a fantasy RPG.]

The closest thing I've seen to the strangeness here is the Lazulis Cannon, but its power comes from magic, not that bizarre lightning that comes out of the walls here. And while we have monsters, I've not seen a person who can control them the way you can.

[Atsuro listens attentively, all the more so as he realizes where Yurick's description is heading. He had, being relatively savvy about this kind of thing, expected something along those lines from the start due to Yurick's claim of being a magic-user, but everything sounded exactly like it came straight out of one his favorite games (called Last Fantasia or something pretentious along those lines).]

...Maybe it's just that no one has thought of taking Beastmaster as a class yet. Er. ...Occupation.

[Atsuro coughs discreetly before continuing on.]

Either way, it's probably for the best.

...Thanks for telling me all of that. It sounds like a pretty interesting place to live.

[He will refrain from saying 'I dream about living in a world like yours take me home with you' because that's kind of creepy. Still, his eyes are strangely shiny as he makes this casual remark.]

[If he could get home and there was a way to bring you with him, Atsuro? He'd likely do it. Deep down he considers the relative simplicity of his world superior to this noisy, strange place.

So long as they're not in the middle of a war with the Gurak, at least.]

It's my home. Life isn't always easy there, especially for a mercenary, but it's what I'm used to.

[Is that a very faint, nostalgic little smile forming on his lips?]

Zael always said friends make any place into home, but we all still wanted to settle down and live a quiet life.

Yeah...

This place would almost be perfect if all of my friends were around. ...Even different copies of them. ...Maybe my parents, too.

[A slight pause.]

Actually, they're probably fine back home. They'd just get worried about all of this demon stuff, hah.

But it's hard thinking about leaving all the friends I've made here, eventually, too. Especially since you know a good-bye would be for good. I can't imagine casually hopping worlds after this is all over and done with.

It makes forming friendships here a rather daunting prospect, I imagine. Knowing that eventually, one of you could die or be sent home... you have to wonder if it's really worth the effort.

[More than a little pessimistic, but it was an old wound from which those words came. Losing his family, being forced to deny attachment simply to survive... it had changed Yurick, and though he was more open than before, a part of him would likely forever be hesitant to open up completely.]

...It seems like that, huh?

[Atsuro glances off to the side as he suddenly becomes very interested in examining the architecture of Hinoto-Ri.]

When I was young, I thought about that sometimes. That maybe it was alright if I didn't have many friends, because I couldn't keep them with me, anyway. I was fine just being by myself.

[Zael would be ashamed of him. Instead of letting a positive person buoy his spirits, he's dragged Atsuro into melancholy. He mentally kicks himself for it.]

But something changed your mind?

[It's cool he's just building up for the inspirational speech anime style. Atsuro smiles slightly.]

Eheh... I guess something did.

I found it was pretty hard living like that. Or... someone ended up showing me. You have to weigh the costs, right? If the net gain of a friendship is positive, then it's still worth having in the end. It's true that you won't ever get hurt if you never let yourself get close to anyone. But... you won't ever be as happy as you could be, either. You won't make any fond memories or share any laughter. They say that about love - 'it's better to have loved and lost than to never love at all' or... something dumb like that. But it's true about most things.

[That lets Yurick relax somewhat. He's a bit envious that Atsuro can pick himself up out of a funk, though the mage knows his own attitude is better than it used to be.]

Is that why you've been so considerate toward me? You see someone worth befriending, then?

[He finds himself hoping it's true. Maybe it will prove that Zael's friendship isn't just a fluke, that the rest of the mercenaries aren't just confusing familiarity with true camaraderie.]

Oh...! Well.

[Atsuro looks faintly embarrassed.]

...I try not to think of it that way. What I said about the calculation is more the logical reason, but when it comes to friends...

Everyone is worth befriending, really.

clearly that means atsuro should accidentally freeze him one day

... oh Atsuro, you REALLY don't want to be Meteored.

/megidolaon'd

It's close enough, that's for sure!

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(Hell, I'm having fun! Keep going!)

(Sure thing! I didn't want to bore you if you wanted to leave off.)

(Not at all, I'm glad to finally have a reason to make him a CR chart!)

(Haha, glad you're having fun! I am definitely enjoying it as well!)

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(Enjoy this when you wake up!)

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