[003] - Voice: Excuse Me.

[mysicksadlife]

[She's been putting this off. Actually, she's managed to put it off for a very long time now. But as slow as she may be, she knows when there's something she needs to say.]

Look, this probably isn't how you're supposed to do this sort of thing, but I'd rather get it out there up front and over with. I'm sorry for any... strange things I may have said or done while I wasn't quite feeling like myself.

That goes for Valentine's Day, and more recently. Though I have to admit recently wasn't that bad. In fact, if it was always like that here, I could probably get used to it. Eventually. Enough to hold my complaining down to a dull roar, anyway.

So I was wondering, too, about these filial spirits. If magic is really something here, it probably behooves me to try to see it at work. Anyone willing to volunteer to let me? I'm not saying I'm going to try it out myself, or anything like that. I just want to see it.

Comments

[mysicksadlife]

Then there comes a time when learning about them isn't enough. [The flat voice keeps this from being insulting - for once she's only being practical.]

[wise_maiden]

Trying to keep the bigger picture in mind when we can only see a fragment of it isn't exactly an easy thing to do.

[mysicksadlife]

No. It isn't. But 'easy' stopped being the operative word here a few years ago, from what I've heard.

[wise_maiden]

Honestly, that word never really was in the picture to begin with.

[mysicksadlife]

You've been here pretty long, right? What was it like then? Was it much different than now?

[wise_maiden]

For one thing, the barrier was much smaller in it's circumference. We weren't even aware of the desert until later, and eventually the ocean took that over.

Those with abilities found that they were very suppressed. It's part of how the filial spirits were discovered in the first place, really. People were drawn to learning their power in absence of their own. Eventually that had changed as well.

The way the Malnosso deal with us - there weren't any missions, or drafts; we were pretty much only for experiments, and we've seen their leadership change hands several times.

[mysicksadlife]

A desert turned into ocean? Isn't that carrying terraforming a bit far?

[Wouldn't it damage the ecology of the area? Unless... Yeah. No matter how she looks at it, the place doesn't make sense unless it's artificial or fake somehow.]

[wise_maiden]

It's detailed in the guide. There was a draft to an underwater city, though the damages there resulted in the ocean shifting. The floodwaters raced all the way here; the desert sands were shifted downward to be able to hold and support all of that water. It's absolutely ridiculous. [No, she's still not happy about it.]

[mysicksadlife]

A project like that would take a lot of time and manpower. Doesn't that suggest it's a bit naive to just accept 'it's a shift'?

[wise_maiden]

I doubt it was intentional, and it didn't take very long for it to happen. If the land wasn't converted, the village would have been completely overrun with water. There are a lot more to shifts than just experiments, more than we've been exposed to.

[mysicksadlife]

The problem I have with that is the fact it was done that quickly. It's not really a complaint, but it also doesn't seem very likely. [And definitely doesn't seem accidental, to her.]

[wise_maiden]

It was known that the area would flood if that base was compromised. John likely had enough time to make emergency preparations for the project if only because staying alive in the village suits his needs.

[mysicksadlife]

That might be the first motive I've heard that sounds likely. If it's saving his own skin, he'd probably tell whatever would help his case.

[wise_maiden]

That can explain a lot of John's actions, honestly.

[mysicksadlife]

Well, there's not really anything wrong with wanting to live. Even if it's uncomfortable for us being on this side of the equation.

[wise_maiden]

We know what he is, and his presence here has had it's benefits, so there is that.

[mysicksadlife]

'Better the enemy you know'. I can't really disagree with that. But you'd think if we have him here with us, we'd know more about his friends by now.

[wise_maiden]

I suppose that depends on what your definition of 'more' is. [With the factions and missions, there are only so many 'unique' people to keep track of. Though she's not exactly comfortable having this conversation on the network, anyway.]

[mysicksadlife]

More than we know now. If he wants our help, he should be willing to help us, too. So that makes me wonder what he's really up to.

[As far as she's concerned, everything related to him coming to the village could be staged.]

[wise_maiden]

You could always try asking him. Although he's not exactly receptive to accusatory tones. Or to people in general, at least not anymore.

[mysicksadlife]

[A shrug. When has she ever gotten along with people in general?]

Neither am I. And yet, I still manage to communicate when I need to.

[wise_maiden]

Indeed.

In any case, it's all been some food for thought.