You already knew people were from different places, Gil. You definitely already knew a load of us aren't used to living like this. Don't get me wrong, I think kids should get to stay kids, but you think Junpei's finding everything he was in school for useful right now?
Junpei has never treated me or spoken to me as anything other than an equal, even when we quarrelled.
How others treat him or me is their own minds, not his. I do not fault with that...
[ It's not the part that bites in her throat. ]
I thought perhaps it was pride, at first. I am not clever, I know this, even to my own people, I am not regarded... as... as being so wise. To hear me speak knowledgeabley over others who are far more worldly than I could ever be... must not always sit well, and I have known those who it surprises.
... but I watched them talk to Master Junpei and it seemed quite a different matter, entirely.
Yeah, well, that's bullshit anyway. You're smart as hell. So's Junpei, just different. If everyone was the same kind of smart, we'd be even more screwed than we already are.
[ Somehow, she is not completely surprised that was his crime.
But still, most of reaction is just, what the fu- ]
That is... that is... I can only say but that is awful, and I fear that is not at all enough.
Did someone die in the fire for the price to be so steep?... And what of a person's remains? Does someone retrieve them? Time's Realm is fathomless and empty, I know at least that, all drift in it without end, who would help the soul transition from such a place? Unless the crime was so great I cannot believe they would leave a soul to wander like that?
[ Spirits, has she ever heard anything worse? Something so utterly, utterly heartbreaking? That the simple hope to meet those you love is too much? ]
... I have much, too much, I am told often enough.
[ She wets her lips, the little idea and plan with it. ]
... If... if you wish... you may tell me their names, the ones you lost...
... One of our duties is ferrying the lost at sea. So I know the rites and...
... I can make sacrifices to my Holy-Father and Time on your behalf, so that... that even if your hope is not real, mine is - and then... then you can be certain, they can find them, and they can know well how you love them, and ease their passing from the black to the next realm.
[ Packing up her sewing in a basket, she takes herself off to outside the tavern to sit there and sew the rest of his shift away.
She waits.
And waits.
And waits.
For whatever time it is, that he is leaving the tavern for the day.
Then letting him see her first - so that he won't be surprised by her presence as to startle - she just simply comes close to one side and wraps both her arms around his shoulders. Doesn't cling, just firmly, and sure, hugs him tightly with her forehead to his.
Then lets go. ]
Forgive me. I did not mean to pry into wounds that were not my matter to attend too.
[After shutting himself in the pantry for as long as it took to stop crying, there's enough of his shift and work to do that it - that specific pain - can settle back down to where it always lays, deep at the bottom of his mind. Ever present, ever potent, but rarely disturbed quite as strongly as Gilia had managed to.
Not that it was her fault, and he doesn't flinch or turn from her when he sees her. He leans into it, for that moment, the contact. Then shrugs when she steps back.]
It's fine, you didn't know. [More concerning:] How long have you been out here?
[ She would not turn it down, her fingers curling between his, as she looks up at the sky, briefly, then back down to him - but it's with a rueful smile. ]
This might as well be spring, to me. I promise, I am not that cold.
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Junpei has never treated me or spoken to me as anything other than an equal, even when we quarrelled.
How others treat him or me is their own minds, not his. I do not fault with that...
[ It's not the part that bites in her throat. ]
I thought perhaps it was pride, at first. I am not clever, I know this, even to my own people, I am not regarded... as... as being so wise. To hear me speak knowledgeabley over others who are far more worldly than I could ever be... must not always sit well, and I have known those who it surprises.
... but I watched them talk to Master Junpei and it seemed quite a different matter, entirely.
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But at least I have the clarity to understand better now how I am spoken to, and it certainly does make some things more understood, somewhat.
[ :> ]
What did you mean, by chance, when you said it was the only reason you are still alive...?
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[A beat, and realising he's used a term she'll probably misunderstand:]
That's executing someone by putting them in an airlock and blasting them out into space. "Floating", cause they float.
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But still, most of reaction is just, what the fu- ]
That is... that is... I can only say but that is awful, and I fear that is not at all enough.
Did someone die in the fire for the price to be so steep?... And what of a person's remains? Does someone retrieve them? Time's Realm is fathomless and empty, I know at least that, all drift in it without end, who would help the soul transition from such a place? Unless the crime was so great I cannot believe they would leave a soul to wander like that?
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That is monstrous!
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And no one retrieved the bodies. I don't know about souls and whatever, I never really believed in any of that stuff.
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... On a mountain you can just go and talk too. ]
And now?
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If? You are not sure?
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Getting to see people again after they're dead always seemed like too much to hope for, for me. I'm not even great at a regular amount of hope.
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... I have much, too much, I am told often enough.
[ She wets her lips, the little idea and plan with it. ]
... If... if you wish... you may tell me their names, the ones you lost...
... One of our duties is ferrying the lost at sea. So I know the rites and...
... I can make sacrifices to my Holy-Father and Time on your behalf, so that... that even if your hope is not real, mine is - and then... then you can be certain, they can find them, and they can know well how you love them, and ease their passing from the black to the next realm.
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[He is not good.]
I've got to work. Talk to you later.
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[ ?????? ]
ambush hug time
She waits.
And waits.
And waits.
For whatever time it is, that he is leaving the tavern for the day.
Then letting him see her first - so that he won't be surprised by her presence as to startle - she just simply comes close to one side and wraps both her arms around his shoulders. Doesn't cling, just firmly, and sure, hugs him tightly with her forehead to his.
Then lets go. ]
Forgive me. I did not mean to pry into wounds that were not my matter to attend too.
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Not that it was her fault, and he doesn't flinch or turn from her when he sees her. He leans into it, for that moment, the contact. Then shrugs when she steps back.]
It's fine, you didn't know. [More concerning:] How long have you been out here?
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Stepping back, she lingers in it, letting her hand slip to his, squeezing it tightly, and then finally drops it at last to step back. ]
As long as I needed. I have my embroidery to do, and I can do that just about anywhere.
[ Nuhhuh, don't you turn this back on her, it's his turn to be taken care of. ]
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This might as well be spring, to me. I promise, I am not that cold.