[ Friday Afternoon - House One ]
( Introspection - Locked to House One )

--

[ Saturday - Action / Voice ]
[Today was a new day.]

[For the first time in a long time, Ion got out of bed as soon as he woke up. It took more effort than he'd like to admit, but eventually he leaves his room, wheeling himself along in the wheelchair he borrowed from the clinic. He has only one goal for the day, and that goal is to make today as fundamentally normal for himself as possible. Though still feeling far more tired than usual, without the added strain of trying to force his leg muscles to move, accomplishing that goal actually seems to be within reach.]

[His first stop is the library. It's the place he frequents most often and the trip he knows he'll need to get used to first. Thankfully, these past few weeks of being unable to stand for very long have let him grow accustomed to asking for help reaching the books on the higher shelves. Now, it just means there are a few more rows he needs help with... though on the bright side, the previously inaccessible bottom row was now much easier to reach.]

[From there, he makes his way around to various other parts of the village, sometimes to actually go in but mostly just to get a feel for getting around. The school, Seventh Heaven, the clinic, the plaza... he's not quite brave enough to try venturing much further than that for now, but that was more than enough for one day. He's not exactly a champion of upper-body strength, after all. Before it even starts to get dark, he'll head back to House one.]

--

[Later that night, he pulls out his journal. His voice sounds tired, but his exact mood may be hard to place outside of anyone who knows him very well.]

Perhaps this question is a bit vague... but has anyone ever changed in a way that seemed to be for the worse, only to realize it could potentially be for the better? Not quite a physical change, but... a change in the way you think about certain things.

If you're willing to share, of course.

[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.]