action/video → open, all things encouraged, come eat

[emends]

[ It’s only a few hours after sunrise when Lucina fetches up her communicator. She’s a seasoned hand at going without long stretches of sleep and has already made herself useful. There’s a steady, crackling fire going on the beach and above it, a fair amount of speared fish roasting calmly. (They’re dead. That’s why they’re calm.) There’s also a small selection of forest fruit – calabaza, naseberries and soursop – resting on her strewn cape, less than a foot away from the fire pit.

She’s noticeably sunburnt. Her boots are off and her trousers are rolled up to her knees, leaving her with bright red patches on her lower legs to match the one on her nose. She also doesn’t seem particularly bothered by the affliction, her tone even and her face halfway to a smile. ]

I have managed to get some food for us. Should anyone wish to break their fast, there is a serviceable selection at the beach. Come quick, for I’m afraid it will be first come, first serve.

[ The communicator feed clicks off, and then clicks back on. ]

And, um – good morning, friends.

[ She smiles! Inigo would be so proud of her. The call closes once again. You can call her back, either to yell at her for waking you up or yell at her for not grabbing the fruit you like, or just come down and eat. Threadjacking and mingling are encouraged. ]

Comments

[neverforgets]

Few days. Hurt like hell at first, though. Drove the old bastard nuts by complainin'. [ Grinning. ] Afterward, he bought me a hat.

Worth it, really. Out on plains like that, the stars're all out at night. Learned all the constellations. [ Yeah, we are kind of rambling. ]

[emends]

[ She doesn't seem to mind the rambling. ]

Every single one? [ It's the sort of thing Laurent would be more interested in than her, and she makes a tiny mental note to tell him later. ]

[neverforgets]

[ Glances over at her. Oh hi, she's actually still listening. ]

Well, not all of 'em. Just the northern ones. And they probably call them something different in Egypt or Mongolia, but I just learned the Western names. [ So far. Comparing constellation names and stories across cultures would be really, really interesting. ]

[ Rubs his nose and his grin turns sheepish. ] Sorry, got a bad habit of talking too much sometimes.

[emends]

[ He sat next to her. Not listening would be rude. Lucina sets her hands on her knees and leans forward a fraction, still giving him her full attention. ]

I've never heard of, um, "Egypt" or "Mongolia". Are they cities on your world?

[ Lucina's starting to figure out how this works. ]

[neverforgets]

Countries, actually. Both of 'em are old, but Mongolia's mostly plains and steppe, with nomadic peoples. Egypt's part river delta and part desert, and has cities that're thousands of years old. Never been to either, but want to go someday.

[ Leans his chin on his knees, turning his head to keep her in view. ]

What's it like where you're from?

[emends]

[ You're going to love this, Lavi. ]

I was born in Ylisstol, the capital of Ylisse. When I was young, it was a beautiful place -- peaceful, with happy citizens. The Exalt, Emmeryn, was renowned for her compassion and empathy. She inherited a land ripped apart by war before she turned ten, and pieced it back together without needing to raise a single hand in violence.

[ Lucina had only gotten there soon enough to see her die; the aunt she never got to meet. ]

She did not live to see her thirtieth year. Soon after her death, everything fell apart. Now it's nothing but war and cruelty. The Risen outnumber the living. [ She stokes the fire. The few crackling embers are a solemn enough punctuation to her words. ]