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

[everwalking]

Oh... [that bums him out a little. he chews his first bite quietly for a moment, and says] I'm so sorry to hear that. It sounds like it must have been very difficult for you.

They-- took the form of the dead? [uncomfortably familiar]

[emends]

[ She sees the way his expression loses some of its cheer, but she isn't about to change the subject because of it. To ignore his question would be impolite, and she's never been the best at coddling to begin with. ]

Yes, in a sense. They were the dead risen, hence their name. However, it was unlikely you could look at one and see a loved one or comrade. They were all eerily similar.

[everwalking]

Ah, I see... [he pauses a beat, before mustering a small smile] At least that presents some small mercy.

[emends]

[ It's hard to not feel a little awkward in the wake of his words. Lucina's lips press together awkwardly but she's steady, not slinking away or dropping her gaze. ]

My apologies, Allen. I did not mean to make you feel uncomfortable.

[everwalking]

It's all right. It's the truth, after all. [he assumes it's the truth. why would you lie?] There is something rather similar where I come from, both... better and worse, I suppose.

[emends]

You don't have to discuss if you do not wish to, [ she's quick to say, and just that. ]

[everwalking]

[chuckling] I suppose we're of similar minds on the matter... [he would have said the same to you, after all] I don't mind talking about it. Fighting akuma is my life. [simply]

They are -- the souls of the recently dead, chained to the bodies they once inhabited. They can look human, but they are suffering, controlled by an evil power to seek only destruction.

[emends]

[ That is certainly alarming. She's never heard this word before, "akuma," but they do not sound like any creature she would wish to meet. ]

Is this a part of how people pass on in your world?

[everwalking]

No. Someone does it to them -- he's called the Millennium Earl, and he uses the akuma as his own personal army.

That's why people like me exist, Exorcists, who can put the suffering souls to rest and stop him from tormenting them and harming the still-living. [he feels a wistful pang as he says it. it was nice when it was that simple]

[emends]

[ JUSTICE PRINCESS is ENRAGED!

Lucina sits a little straighter as she listens, not liking this one bit. The idea that a single individual would use the power of others for personal gain, especially personal gain gotten by the torment of innocents, is abhorrent to her. ]

I hope you are able to put a swift end to him soon.

[everwalking]

I hope so too. [murmured. but then he busies himself finishing off his fish and asks her] It makes it a little hard to relax, doesn't it? Feeling like you have so much unfinished work left back home.

[emends]

[ It's very familiar, his words. She can't do anything but nod. ]

You're right.

Fortunately, it does not seem as if this place wants us to relax.