distressedude | 026 ~ [Voice/Action] | Forward-dated to Sunday

[It's been two weeks since the incident with Arietta, and there was still no sign of Anise in the village. They never even had a chance to speak before she left for a mission, likely in an attempt to put some distance between herself and Ion after their argument. It's strange to think that the last time they went this long without speaking to each other by choice was around this same time last year, though for a very different reason. He's been so caught up in dealing with all of this that he actually let the anniversary of the day he first confessed his feelings for her pass by without a single thought!]

[It was strange to think so much time had already passed. He wasn't entirely sure how to feel about it really.]

[But sometime in the late afternoon, he opens his journal. There's no need to bother with a filter while Anise is still out of the village, and it isn't as though Arietta is the one he's trying to reason with here. Her anger is easier to understand and deal with. There's an uncharacteristic hint of exasperation in his voice when he speaks, having spent the last week and a half mulling over this without any obvious solution coming to mind.]

How do you stop two people who hate each other from continuing to hate each other? [Not a very eloquent way of asking, but it's the simplest way he can think of to explain the situation.]

Though this isn't the sort of problem I'm expecting an easy answer to, I was hoping someone might be able to offer some suggestions. Or perhaps if anyone's had any experience in dealing with a situation like this, it might be of some help.

[And regardless as to whether he's heard any solutions to this problem or not, he'll be spending the remainder of the evening in various places around town. He spends about an hour at the library, not quite able to concentrate on his reading. Giving that up, he goes for an aimless walk, lingering on the various bridges around town for a few minutes before moving on again. He probably looks more spaced out than he usually is, and the cold chill in the air probably isn't helping matters. By the time he arrives back home, it's been dark for awhile and he's shivering quite a bit. He probably should have worn his winter coat today.]

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[The idea that there's nothing he can do to help has certainly crossed his mind, but it's just not an answer he can accept on good conscience. Especially after what Anise had said... would she really go so far as to kill Arietta?]

And what if they're never ready to talk? I can't just let things stay the way they are now...

What's wrong with it if you do? You can't force people to get along. Getting in the middle will only make them pissed off at you, too.

That may be true, but it seems as though they become more violent every time they see each other. They're my friends. I don't want to see either of them get hurt.

It sounds more like they just need to stay away from each other.

If I could get them to do that, this wouldn't be a problem. But neither of them seem to ever let an opportunity to tease the other go by without trying to start something.

[Something he regrets having not learned sooner.]

You could always try locking them in a room together, and see which one comes out alive. They wouldn't be able to argue with the other one then.

[If that didn't have a very real possibility of happening, he probably wouldn't be so horrified by the suggestion.]

That's not acceptable. I can't allow them to harm one another. What would it even accomplish, other than to give the other more reasons to seek revenge when they come back?

[Yeah, guess what no one's told her yet?]

Come back? This place isn't turning into a zombie flick, is it?

...you mean you don't know?

People can't die in Luceti. Or rather, this world. Everyone who dies comes back a week later, usually with something missing. They call them death penalties.

Well, I'm definitely not jumping off any cliffs to test that. But for now, I'll just ask what you mean by death penalties. What happens?

It's the price paid for being brought back to life. Sometimes people lose memories, or something like their ability to see or taste food... it's like losing a piece of yourself every time you die.

[So he's really saying that except for that, people are immortal here. Between that and the dress and wings... yeah, the thought of a traditional heaven has to cross her mind. But she's pretty sure she's not the sort who'd get in. You have to have faith for that, at least that's what pretty much every religion claims.]

And it's always different?

...I can't say I've known enough people who've died here to be sure. But it wouldn't surprise me to hear that some penalties were similar to ones suffered by others.

Has it happened to you? [This... is probably a sensitive question to ask, but that doesn't seem to occur to her as she asks it forthrightly anyway.]

[...]

No. It hasn't.

[Not in Luceti, at least.]

And I would imagine the less people who could answer yes to that question, the better. Even if people come back... it still means dying.

[She agrees. She may not get along with many people, but she certainly doesn't wish death on them.

... aside from one very unfortunate accident where the guy did, in fact, die shortly later. It wasn't her fault, but it sure was weird.]

If there's a way to get them back, isn't there a way to make sure there's no penalty like that, too?

I imagine if there was, we'd have been able to find a way around it by now. Unfortunately, we're rather at the mercy of the malnosso so long as we're in Luceti.

Maybe they don't know it, either.

I suppose that's always a possibility as well. After all, the malnosso aren't the ones who bring people back. Death just isn't possible in this world.

[This might be a lost warning when people in Luceti seem to believe everything they hear, but...]

I'm not so sure I believe things just because these people you say are our kidnappers tell us them. It'd make a lot more sense for them to lie to us.

[In short, the Malnosso are probably behind a lot more than they claim they are, if they exist.]

That may be true in most cases, but seeing as we've witnessed enemies of the malnosso come back from the dead, I doubt that would be something they'd lie about.

Though in terms of the penalties... perhaps you would be better of asking someone who has experience with them. Rather than someone over the journals.

[He's not exactly sure how much is safe to say over the journals in terms of what John does for the villagers, after all.]

[Daria takes the hint at secrecy, and makes a mental note to ask around about the subject in a less obvious way later on.

They're also finally getting to reasonable evidence to suggest Ion was right.]

That makes more sense, at least. Thanks.

026 ~ [Voice/Action] | Forward-dated to Sunday

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