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[earwiggle]

[Well, this is a new username! Meaning this is clearly a new person. His text comes off as mostly curious. Inquisitive as he might be, he hoped this won’t come across as intrusive. ]

Hello there, as I have come to understand…this place is comprised of many people from many worlds.

Call it being curious, but won’t some of you tell me about your home worlds? Do you wish to return to them? It’s quite alright if you don’t wish to answer, call this satisfying my own curiosity.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Comments

[menphina]

He never did learn your name, did he.

[ A chuckle- ]

... of course I'll have you, though. I ended up... getting a place far bigger than I needed. Just in case more wished to stay together.

[ She's always liked things being loud and lively in her home. It helps her not miss her children. ]

[earwiggle]

No, he didn’t. That was my own fault.

[ He holds her hands in his still, he’s not willing to let go right now.]

You’ll take me there? I feel we have so much more to discuss.

[menphina]

Aye. I suppose we'll head there first. Also-


[ Lifting her hand and flicking her fingers between his eyebrows! ]

We need to get you settled in! Come along! We need to get food, get you some clothes and be on our way!

[earwiggle]

[ He startles! Making a ‘nyargh’ sound when he’s flicked.]

H-hey! Oh, very well. Let us be off to take care of those things first.

[Though, he won’t really hide the way he’s staring so fondly at her. ]

What is the matter with the clothes I am wearing? I happen to enjoy this outfit, unless you have a better suggestion?

[menphina]

[ Tee hee. ]

Surely you're not going to wear those clothes indoors, too! I've some indoor shoes for you to change into when we get there, too.

[ His look doesn't go missed, though a flustered feeling races through her at it and she extends her hand to his again- just wanting the reality of him being near again. ]

We live in Blossomcrown. Wait til you see it!

[earwiggle]

Of course not, lead the way then.

[Ah, he takes her hand again without thinking about it. Squeezing it as they go. Where she leads, he will inevitably follow.

She doesn’t have to worry anymore.]

I can’t wait, but, how are we getting there?!

[menphina]

[ Points to one of the teleportation nodes nearby. ]

How do you think I got here so fast? Just hold mine hand as we go. You'll get drained, but we can recover with touch once we get there. 'Tis like an aethernet we don't have to attune to!

[earwiggle]

What fascinating technology!

[Of course he would focus on that. He’s going to go through it with her.

The teleportation DOES feel quite similar to an aetheryte. ]

Incredible, and they don’t even rely on an aethernet..

[menphina]

Please don't wander off to study it while you're settling in. You'll turn to stone if you use them too much without replenishing your touch energy.

[ And it's a little walk to her place... it's become a huge estate of its own at this point, with Venat's treehouse grown in the lawn.

She gives his hand a squeeze and walks ahead. ]

There's some nice places nearby too that we can get your necessities from, but I'll show you where we can go back to in case we get separated.

[earwiggle]

I’ve heard that term already from someone else, touch energy. So we have to touch lest we turn into a statue.

[ Not that he’s trying to ask for that! Touch or turning into a statue! But Megumi seems comfortable enough with him to touch him. Hold hands with him.

Ah, his cheeks may betray him at this rate.]

Show me everything, we have all the time in the world, don’t we?

[ Another assurance that he would not willingly leave her.]

[menphina]

[ She always enjoys making him fluster, and she sighs as she keeps her hand in his- he's newly arrived, so the more touch he gets, the better.

Her ears lift at his words though, before she looks him over. ]

As long as you are here, anyroad. Don't make promises you may not be able to keep, my friend. Mine heart couldn't take it if I expected too much...

[earwiggle]

What if I wanted to promise you? It feels wrong of me not to give you some sort of reassurance.

…you have clearly been through a lot.

[He squeezes her hand again, for the touch energy and to hopefully get through to her. ]

[menphina]

Raha...

[ She feels it, and it's a pleasant rush. So much has happened here, and she knows that G'raha will mean what he says-


Especially after what he said on the gondola, too. It's still weighing on her heart, and she steps into the front lawn, holding his hand still and watching him. ]

I'm just afraid of being forgotten again. And again and again...

[earwiggle]

I won’t forget you. I haven’t forgotten you.

[ Tugging her into his chest once they get into the yard. Time for a nice hug! ]

I’ve already made a fool of myself once, I do not intend to do it again. I promised you that, didn’t I?

[menphina]

Which time? You've made a fool of yourself quite often, actually.

[ Teasing- but she does let him hug her, resting her head against his shoulder and the side of his head as she holds him tight. ]

But aye, you did promise. You did... I've just... wished to be back home as I know it so much. Full glad I am that you're here, though.

[earwiggle]

I have a tendency to do such, don’t I?

[ Though he would do it for such stupid and unfounded reasons.]

We can find our way home together. No matter how long it takes.

[There are so many unspoken things between them, but right now isn’t the right time for it all. ]

[menphina]

[ Fellatioing an ice cream wasn't crazy enough? :)

But she nods against him, inhaling his scent and pulling back just enough to look at his face. ]

Even should you disappear from this place on the morrow, I shall be glad to have had this moment at all, my friend.

[ She's being emotional but look. ]

... you're probably feeling mine reactions to be strange, aren't you?

[earwiggle]

[HE HAD TO DO SOMETHING.

He looks over her expressions. Measuring how she might be feeling. ]

It pains me that your reactions are so defeated, my friend.

[ His friend, huh. Do friends hold each other like this? They do today! ]

I wish that you hadn’t needed to suffer through like this for so long. I wish there was more I could do for you.

[menphina]

Forgive me for being so morose. Before we go inside, there is something you need to know. Perhaps it will explain mine attitude right now...

[ Motioning him to one of the garden benches, so he can sit under the shade of a wisteria tree and they can talk. ]


... you know most of our Ancient companions are here. And you know I've spent long with them, too.

I... also learnt some things, and grew closer to a few. A lot has happened. Will you hear me out?

[earwiggle]

Of course, I am listening.

[He settles on the bench with her, turning so that he can give her his full attention. ]

Tell me all you see fit, because I will always hear you out.

[menphina]

[ She tells him, then... about her time in Noctium, a world where she lived and met with friends like Hythlodaeus and even Hermes, as well as Warriors like Mira- and where her memory of others, save Haurchefant, is blurred- something that carried over to the dream Prison of Reverie, where she remembers Venat and Emet and Gaius, and knows she knew more, but cannot entirely recall them.

Finally... ]

... Some of them ended here, with the same recollections. And... our interactions changed, as well.

Emet-Selch and I- who met in the dream Prison of Reverie, were courting, until he married the Hythlodaeus I met in Noctium... when we arrived here. I officiated it. Then Hythlodaeus- left, until but a few suns ago, when we rekindled our courtship.

As of right now, I've no label to where I stand, because I do not wish to impose mineself on Hythlodaeus' relationship with Hades, and perhaps I need none. I've no qualms with anyone having multiple partners... but 'tis been a trying time, having to be the one stepping back. Fair, perhaps... but trying, all the same.

[earwiggle]

[ He listens to her as intent, if not even moreso, as he promised he would. He doesn't know how she experienced all of this, and yet he just saw her at home. Something about time working different. It's something he would have to wrap his head around. He knows in the end he will be able to.

He nods again, ears wiggle a little at her. ]

It does sound trying, and I cannot claim to know how multiple relationships work in great detail of course...though it is not a subject uncommon to our kind.

Though Emet-Selch and I have a strained relationship, I imagine he wouldn't be adverse to delving into the matter of where you stand. But...I feel there is a little more to it?

[menphina]

[ Just relate it to how the dome took thirty years away, except without the aging.

She looks down at their hands, ears lowered. ]

... I can only have their company here, in this world. They're all... returned to the Lifestream, as you know. Venat and I have a relationship here, as well- yet even she will return, and I...

I won't be selfish, and this isn't like what Sphene tried to do. As long as they're all here, they live, with no burden on the lives of anyone else. But once they're all gone...

[ She looks up. ]

That'll be it. It'll be over. And there's a chance, should I leave here... I won't even remember having them here, or this place. 'tis very difficult to wrap one's heart around.

[earwiggle]

No, I gathered that this place was not like Living Memory. But I think that you need to be okay with being just a touch more selfish. If they are here and you have the chance to spend time with them…then do it. Enjoy your bonds and relationships with them.

[He gently picks up her hands, squeezing them, cradling them in his own. He would be gentle with her, always and forever. He would also be honest with her.]


Your heart aches for something that has not yet happened, and you cannot dwell on the if or when. Enjoy what you have right now. If you need reminding of that…I am here to give you that gentle nudge that you need. Less gentle if you request it of course.

[menphina]

[ It feels so nice to have him hold her hands like this... she blinks at his words, though, and smiles weakly, falling silent and just enjoying the warmth of his presence. After a few... she finally speaks with a flick of her ears. ]

You always have the right words, don't you? Thank you, my friend.

[ She then lifts an eyebrow- ]

What kinds of things are you imagining, now? I could still rough you up in return if I wanted, you know!

[ Teasing. ]

... but I welcome your actions. Gentle, or rough. Or actions. Seems like you're alright with going hard, anyroad.

[ WINK. ]