caughtinanetwork | I // [video]

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I // [video]

[The screen flickers slightly before revealing a smiling young face, red eyes wide in wonder as she stares at the camera. The girl looks very excited, or at least eager to see what this device does. There's almost a sense of pride emanating from her - after all, being in a family of magi meant that they avoided contact with modern technology as much as possible. So getting this thing to work is quite the accomplishment, and she looks around for a few moments around the edge of the screen - checking things, probably - before looking back at the camera.

Unfortunately, she doesn't notice that it's upside down.]

Hello everyone! I'm Ilyasviel von Einzbern, but Ilya is fine. I'm new here, so I'm looking for someone to be my older brother!

[She smiles again. It's not in her intention to further explain what an older brother entails, since the best older brothers would already know what to do without her telling them. Ideally, the older brother would be someone who's actually older than her, but if they act and look older than her, that's fine too. All things considered, that really shouldn't be too hard...]

I guess a big sister would be okay too... but a big brother would be better. So, someone come play with me, okay?

[Her eyes wander off to the sides of the screen again. A few moments pass by as this continues, and the girl mutters a barely audible 'how do you turn this off?']

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Ah... the screen's upside-down, you know!

[ Shing pauses, tilting his head at the question -- as well as her name -- before he answers. ]

... how do you pronounce your name again? Ill-ee-yah?

Anyway.. I know a couple people I think of as siblings, and I don't think they're gonna mind!

[ Welp, guess he'll have to ask both Rin and Bianca about this later... ]

Oh! Uh...

[A few moments pass by as the small girl rotates the screen around. There! Now everything's right-side-up.]

Yep! You got it right. Ilya. And what about you?

[Wow, it seems like everyone has siblings around here...]

My name's Shing! It's a pleasure to meet you, Ilya...

[ And he smiles. Goodness, this girl is just plain adorable. ]

Aau... I could also be a big brother to you, too, if you'd like! There's a girl I'm very close with whom I think you'd like, also...

[ Where's Kohaku when you need her... ]

[A big brother! Oh, that makes her rather happy. And Shing seems nice, which is always a good start.]

Really? You would?

[Of course, no one just becomes anyone else's sibling. Ilya knows that even if she asks something like this, people who say yes are still going to be under a close watch. Trusting easily is hard for her to do.]

I would, if that's okay with you...!

[ Shing pauses in thought as something else comes to him. ]

Auu... I should introduce you to my girlfriend. I'm sure she'd love having a little sister like you, Ilya...

[Girlfriend? That does give Ilya a moment for pause. Not that there's anything wrong with having girlfriends or lovers or whatever. As long as he can be a good boyfriend and a good brother, there shouldn't be a problem. It can be like a screening test for him to see if he can.]

Okay! I'm glad, Shing.

[Another brief pause before she comes up with another question.]

What's your girlfriend like?

Ah... Kohaku's amazing. She's playful, and she can be a tease... but she's got the biggest heart of anyone I know. Kindhearted, compassionate, supportive... I'm very glad I met her.

[ All of the blushing ever. Can you tell he adores and cherishes her very much...? ]

Oh, I think I've seen her too! So she's your girlfriend?

[Shing looks really funny right now, and Ilya can't help but giggle. People in those situations are just easy to make fun of! At least, it seems like that to her.

But at least it does seem like they're both nice people.]

... yes. She... she is my girlfriend, Ilya...

[ HEY STAHP MAKING FUN OF-- okay, no, even the mun admits that Shing looks pretty silly right now, so you're more than welcome to laugh, Ilya.

In any case, it doesn't take him long for the realization to set in. ]

... ah! You've met her already, then?

Yep! She's really nice. And she said she'd be my big sister.

[Again, she considers how... strange this family tree will look, but only for a second. Otherwise, it'll get too confusing.

In any case, Shing looks like a mix between embarrassment and pride. So like any curious child, she decides to ask the usual questions:]

So how did you meet her?

Ah... I'm not surprised, actually. She's definitely the kind of girl who'd make a great older sister.

[ Probably had some experience from Hisui, in any case. He pauses for a few moments to gather his thoughts. ]

Well, we met back home... when I first encountered her she'd washed up on the beach near my hometown. After rescuing her, I decided to help her with something she needed, and, well... a lot of things have happened since then.

[ WAY too many, in his opinion. Between having an enemy sealed in your Spiria, getting stabbed, having to save the world, getting thrown into Vatheon, dying, and a whole bunch of other crazy things happening to the two of them it really was a lot... ]

And you decided to help her... just because?

[That's pretty selfless. Not that she doesn't understand the concept, but it's never been something that she's sympathized with. When your dad basically leaves you behind to try and save the world and then doesn't come back, it kind of gives you a damper on life.]

Just because I wanted to, yeah.

[ Though wow, Ilya's dad. That's just "father of the year" material right there. :|; ( /sarcasm )

... then again, it helped that Kohaku's a very pretty girl but shhhhhh. XD ]

[Well, her dad did say he was going to come back. He just... didn't... and although she does have her reservations about what the elders told her about him, she still treats it as a betrayal.]

Wow, you're a really kind person, Shing...

[She really is surprised. Truly nice people are, in her experience, extremely rare.]

Do you think so, Ilya? I was just doing what anyone would've done...

[ Of course, Shing kind of forgot that Ilya's world isn't his own, so most likely everyone else would have reacted differently... ]

[Or maybe it's natural to be this nice where Shing is from. That must be a pretty nice place.]

Mhm! [She nods.] I don't think I know a lot of people who would have done that.

[Granted, she doesn't know that many people in general, so that might not be too grand of a statement anyway.]

Really? I... I see...

[ Shing tilts his head in curiosity; was he really that special for being so kind? He really didn't think so, to be honest, but it could be just him... ]

[From her experience, really nice people will also do really stupid things for other people... but all in all, she can't say it's a bad thing in the end. Or rather, they can make very irrational decisions and yet somehow it ends up all right for them?]

It makes you special! Maybe that's why Kohaku likes you.

[Most people probably like him too, now that she thinks about it.]

A-ah... I hope so! I know I love her very much...

[ Shing is very obvious with his affections for Kohaku, can you tell?

In any case, Shing pauses for a few moments before asking. ]

A-anyway! You just arrived, right? Where are you? I can come get you right now...

O-oh...

[She looks around. Well, she's not completely fresh out of the water, but she does need some help exploring!]

I'm just wandering around in the Plaza right now!

Ah, I'm close by! I'll be there shortly, then -- don't go anywhere, okay, Ilya?

[ And he's already on the move now! ]

A-ah, okay!

[She turns off the weird starfish device and takes a seat near the coral. She'll wait for Shing, then!]

[ And eventually he does show up, glancing around the plaza and looking for the girl. ]

Ilya--! Where are you?

[She looks up from her starfish thingy to see a brown-haired man calling out for her. Waving enthusiastically, she tries to flag him down - ]

Shing! Here!

[That someone actually came out to find her... she's really happy.]

Ah--! Ilya!

[ It doesn't take long before he runs over towards her with a laughs, smiling in-between panting. ]

I didn't make you wait long, did I...?

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