awashlogs | Catch All for May!

Yes. ...A little bit. Lonely, I mean.

[ She closes her eyes for a moment. ]

But it's better this way, though. Safer. [ She draws a breath. ]

[Likewise, he lets her go, his smile fading a bit in sympathy. He knows what loneliness feels like, and what it's like to be cautious of others to avoid being a danger to them, but he can't imagine being alone for-- well, however long Mythra has been sealed away for. Perhaps he'll ask her for specifics on that story another time.

He gives her some space, pausing as he thinks of a solution.]

Okay. How about I visit you once a week, and we can talk about whatever you want and hang out?

[ That's... ]

...Heh. [ Although she's sighing, she's smiling to herself. Who would have thought, that it would come to this. His offer makes her happier than she's willing to let on. ]

I wouldn't mind that. Although... Look at this place. I can't say that it's particularly fun here.

[ SHE... SUPPOSES, THOUGH. That if he wanted to just go ham on the town it wouldn't matter, because it's just a memory that can be re-built at a single thought. ]

I don't want to come just to see the town. I want to see you.

[Dummy!! Although he'll be curious to explore it, it's not like it's the main draw, and he's a little amused that it's the first thing she worries about.]

And since this is your place, if you get tired of me, you can kick me out whenever.

[ ~~Tsuning!~~ Scoffing! ] Keep on saying cheesy things like that, and I really might kick you out.

[ But from her smile she's just playin' ]

[He laughs and holds up his hands, guilty as charged.]

I'm just being honest! [He's no good at the cool aloof thing she has going on. He can only be sincere, however corny that is.] What's so special about that town, anyway?

[He turns to look down the hill. It has to have some significance, even if she doesn't think it's exciting to explore.]

[ Ah. ] This whole place... It's a paradise....

Elysium. [ Once again, her tone is notably more sober as she explains. ] Eons ago, mankind used to live in harmony with their creator. They built that town, those roads, that church...

We were "born" here, too. [ She's holding it together than Pyra ever would. She even doesn't look as sad as Pyra would when speaking about it. Maybe it's just because she's grown used to this place... ]

No one lives here now, obviously. And I couldn't tell you much more. My memory is.. [ Blocked. ] Faded a bit. It's been a long time.

So... It's your hometown.

[Akira knows she's sad, even if she won't say as much. His voice is heavy.]

I'm sorry. [That must be even more lonely somehow: both sealing herself away within Pyra, and being trapped in the past like this. It hurts to think about.] Were you created, like the humans who lived here?

[ Her eyes narrow for a moment. ]

Created... Yes. [ She's unable to help how flat her tone goes. ] As a benevolent servant to my Father, the Architect. God of this world.

I didn't interact with humans until five hundred years ago, though, even with the ones who... were in Elysium.

[ Her stance seems just a little uncomfortable, though, so. She changes her tone slightly to be a little more playful: ] Imagine my surprise coming here, where there are humans, and I guess... devilmen.

[Akira notices her change in tone, but he won't press too many questions on her at once, accepting the slight shift in subject.]

Yeah, I guess it's a lot to get used to. But lots of people here really like Pyra, so I'm sure you're learning a lot from everyone.

[ Aaaaand they're walking!

She's leading him down the hill towards the empty town. It looks like a quaint little city with no buildings that are taller than five stories. There seems to be a nice little downtown area, so she'll be leading him towards that. ] A long time ago... just after I was awakened.

I was told by someone that over time, I would slowly become more and more human.

[ She presses her lips together. ] Being awoken on the earth was like taking a crash course in humanity. I never was really good at it, but Pyra--... mm. She was.

[Akira walks with her, looking around at the buildings. It's definitely more like Chroma here than anything he's seen back home in Japan, though of course Chroma is no paradise.]

To me, you're just as human as Pyra. Feeling lonely, or sad, or even telling a joke... All of those things are human.

[Having feelings at all, in Akira's opinion, is proof. She could have sealed herself away and not cared, and yet she does.]

[ A long time ago, she would have taken that as an insult that she seems human. Because she definitely didn't have the best thoughts about them. ]

...Huh. You think so?

[ She's keeping her gaze forward as they walk, although her look has become a little more thoughtful. ] I guess that's true. Having emotions... caring for others. I had to learn and gain about those too. It's not like I was created with a big-ass heart like yours. [ Har har, but then pausing: ] ...I don't think even all humans have hearts sometimes. Metaphorically speaking.

Not all humans are good people. [He can agree on that much, easily.] But I still want to protect them, because most are worth it.

[And when the alternative is letting his world be overrun by demons? Definitely, humans are better by a long shot.]

[ And now she looks over to him. ]

Yeah, that's... actually how I feel, too.

[ WHICH IS STUPID, she knows she's an idiot too for wanting to protect even terrible people (unless of course, they're about to kill someone else), but it's the truth.

Her lips curve upward into a more peaceful smile, but unlike with Pyra, hers don't always last. That it was made at all is very telling, however, and the memory seems to respond to it, becoming a little less... stagnant. The light that comes from no sun feels less artificial, and he might even begin to smell a few baked good coming from one of the downtown cafes. ] People can change, from good to bad, or from bad to good. And their potential is limitless... especially when they work together.

[ It took her a long time to believe that, though. ]

And sometimes people do bad things when they're afraid.

[The war back home is proof of that. But even if it's in human nature, he still can't help but feel angry at the demons for driving them to it... At Ryo, for starting the war between humans and demons in the first place, manipulating them and watching all the while.

That familiar, unpleasant twinge of conflicting feelings around Ryo isn't something he wants to think about right now, though, not when he wants to enjoy this place and being with Mythra. He follows the smell, peering through the windows of shops and cafes as if looking for some trace of life.]

I think I can smell bread...

[ ...She definitely knows that, when people behave horribly or unlike themselves when they are in fear of something. ]

...Hungry?

[ WEll, might as well stop in? It's just a bakery-cafe, nothing too fancy. Slightly modern, but it has a quaint feeling to it; the whole town does. ] Help yourself, it's all free.

[ It's also just all... energy. And part of her memoryscape. It's not exactly real, but it'll taste and feel like it is. ]

[An uninhabited bakery would feel a little spooky in any other circumstance, but with the sun shining and with the food all looking so appetising, it's more like the owner stepped out for a minute and they have the shop to themselves. Akira keeps it simple, grabbing a couple of bread rolls and taking a bite from one.]

Hey... It's still warm. Look! [He passes one to Mythra to try, like she hadn't already had plenty of time to figure this stuff out herself. What a genius.]

[ She... takes the bread. It's a baguette.

........... ]

Bet you can't eat it all in under five seconds.

Are you asking me to deepthroat a--

[Wait no Mythra is a LADY he needs to keep his nasty teenage boy humour out of this.]

--N-never mind. Okay, watch this!

[Drumroll, please.

...And then, in no more than a few quick bites, he's shoved the entire baguette in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. The whole thing is gone in about three seconds.]

[ Ho...ly.... ]

What the hell?!

[ She's glad she didn't actually bet anything in particular! ] You... That--

Make it two seconds-- you can't finish that in two seconds!

Oh yeah? Let me try.

[He grabs a drink of water from behind the counter to wash down the previous baguette, then gets another. Time for a second drumroll...]

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