caughtinanetwork

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[After a little jostling of the frame--she's kind of fidgeting with it until she thinks it's at a good spot--Sheena sits up, straight-backed in front of it with a little wave. She's awkward, but putting her best face forward nevertheless.]

Um. Hi, Vatheon! I wanted to ask, since it's been on my mind a couple times since I got here. Do you guys have any spirits in your worlds? Like, that embody the elements and stuff? Back where I'm from, we have Summon Spirits--eight primary for the main elements, two that are way older, a third for the Kharlan Tree that supplies the world with mana, and [She falters just the tiniest bit, but it's over in less than a second.] a newer one that sees the hearts of people. Anyone have something similar? Or even something different! I guess you could also say this is also about how magic works in your worlds, if you don't have spirits like we do.

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Whoa. There's really that many Summon Spirits in our world? I had no idea.

Yep! Efreet, Celcius, Shadow, Luna and Aska, Undine, Volt, Gnome, Sylph, Maxwell, Origin, Martel, and Verius. Verius is a new spirit.

[She forces a laugh, but it comes out lighter than she expects it.]

He used to be Corrine.

Man, how do you remember all that? I still get the element ones mixed up sometimes. There's even a Summon Spirit named after Martel?

[Oh. Corrine. His face softens. He remembers what happened with Corrine. But...

Wait a minute.]

How can Corrine be a Summon Spirit now? I thought Corrine was dead.

Because I have to! I'm a Summoner.

[She grins brightly at the screen.]

And the Spirit of the Kharlan Tree kind of is Martel. And a lot of other people. I don't have a pact with her, though. With Corrine...

[Her grin dims to a smile, but she shrugs a shoulder.]

He was reborn as Verius, the Summon Spirit of Heart, who resides in the temple outside Iselia.

I guess it's a good thing I'm not a Summoner, then. Although, it'd be really, really cool if I was. Imagine if I could say things like "burn to oblivion!" And then Efreet came out and fried any monsters that were around!

So, does that mean Martel is... still alive? And Corrine?

[She laughs at that, a bit weakly; it's definitely a good thing Lloyd isn't a summoner, and him not being able to remember all the Spirits is only the top of the list of reasons why.]

Not... in the way you're thinking.

[She deflates a little, but it's only replaced with a sort of thoughtfulness, a sort of looking off into the distance. And not one that's really all that upset, either.]

Martel isn't the Spirit by herself. I think every Chosen who's been sacrificed to be her vessel is with her, so they're like... a big group of souls that make up the Spirit Martel. I'm not even sure if I should be calling her Martel, since that ignores everyone else. With Corrine... Well, that's a bit different, too. Verius is a new Summon Spirit, which means he isn't just Corrine with a new body.

[Her smile wavers a little.]

He has Corrine's heart, in a way, but he isn't Corrine. Iii'm not really sure how to explain it.

[Sheena drops her chin, laughing self-consciously as she scratches the back of her head.]

I've never heard about that kind of thing happening, you know? So I'm not sure how to define it, yet.

[She lifts her head, smiling bright as ever.]

But it's pretty cool, huh?

Sheena...

[Lloyd might not be the brightest in the world, and maybe he can be a little bit clueless, not always catching on to the way people feel, but he isn't completely blind, either. He knows Sheena well enough, knows how she felt about Corrine, to know that that smile is covering up a part of her that still hurts.

[But she's trying to smile, trying to be glad for what she has, for the fact that not all of Corrine is gone, even if he's someone different now. He won't call her out on the lie that he can see in her eyes. He smiles back, not quite as brightly, though he tries not to let it be sad.]

Yeah... I'm still not sure I understand it exactly, but yeah, that's pretty cool. Corrine did something no one's ever seen before.

[He pauses, letting Corrine have that moment, then he rubs the back of his neck. His eyes lose focus as he loses himself in a thought.]

I wonder if we should give Martel a new name...

[The only way to tread when she gets like this is like nothing's wrong. Trying to soften things doesn't help her at all, she can't handle being babied or coddled; it just makes her feel weak.]

Yep! I kinda wanna ask Verius more about it, but I'm not sure if even he'd know.

[After that pause, she makes a thoughtful noise.]

Hmm, maybe. We could always ask her, whenever we get back.

[His smile widens, just a little bit.]

Yeah, let's talk to them when we get the chance.

[A pause, then his smile fades as he searches Sheena's face.]

Hey, Sheena? Are we... good? I mean, you and me, are we...?

[Suddenly all of the awkward. How do you ask these things?]

Edited 2012-12-20 14:49 (UTC)

[She beams.]

Yeah, let's do that.

[But then suddenly everything just kind of slows, and she can feel the colour racing to her face. Oh. Damn. She'd thought she'd escaped needing to talk about that...! She makes a show of scoffing, waving it off.]

Of course we are! I mean, that was just another one of those curse things, right? Nothing to really think about!

[Except it's... actually a lot to think about. Which is why she's been avoiding the topic and, as a consequence, Lloyd. But still, she's all bright smiles and laughter, though it's not as genuine as it could be. Pushing the issue to a side and opting not to worry over it. To not be trapped by it.]

[Lloyd opens his mouth, then closes it. Just a curse. Had it... really been just that? It had felt so real, and he still found himself thinking about what Sheena's mouth felt like against his, or the way her tongue...

A flush spreads across his cheeks as he tries to jerk his mind away from those thoughts.

Y-yeah. I mean, you're still you and I'm still me. We're still the same, so it's... it's not like things should be different.

[He feels like he's ducking behind something safe and familiar, but he doesn't know what to do. He's never handled something like this.]

[Sheena does her best to ignore the way Lloyd's turning colours. She's pretty sure she knows what he's thinking about, and much as that's a bit flustering, he's a guy. All guys are alike in some ways. It, it's probably just because he'd never really been kissed, right? Not because it's her. And besides, she'd made her decision! And, really, it's okay. She's okay with it!]

Yep! So: friends? We should get everyone from our world together for something.

[She's quiet for a thoughtful moment.]

Maybe...

[It's hard to finish that statement, so she doesn't. Not yet. But the upward tilt suggests that it's just that, unfinished.]

[Okay, he thinks he's getting his blush back under control.]

Of course. We're definitely friends, and... Yeah! That sounds like a great idea! What if we got together and went swimming sometime? It's not too cold for that yet, right?

[The weather has been fairly mild of late - though that could change any day, given how late in the season it is.]

If not, then... We could think of something else.

Maybe?

[He echoes the word curiously, catching the fact that it doesn't feel finished. What had she been about to say?]

[Good! That.. that makes both of them.]

Hmmm, well, I guess it'd depend... We're running right into winter, though, and I'm not so sure about any of us catching cold being a good thing.

[And she's not... sure about walking around in a bathing suit. Not around Zelos or Lloyd.]

I wonder what else we could do, just in case. Hmmmm--mh?

[At his echo, she kind of glances back over a shoulder; not at anything, just a little unsure.]

Well... Lloyd, what's the last thing you remember happening before coming to Vatheon?

Yeah, I guess you're right.

[The mild disappointment only lasts long enough for Lloyd to perk up at another idea.]

We could go exploring! There's pirate ships in the southwest part of the city!

[He blinks, his train of thought momentarily derailed by her question.]

Huh? We were going through the Otherworldly Gate, when the Papal Knights were chasing us. Why do you ask? What do you remember?

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