[the screen comes on... and it shows a shivering Daimon Masaru, whose trying to make his digi-soul flare up around his whole body]

VATHEON! WE DON'T HAVE TO LET THIS STUPID COLD BEAT US!

DIG DEEP, AND TAP INTO THE BURNING SOUL WITHIN! LET YOUR SPIRIT HEAT YOU UP!

[his Digi-Soul flickers and starts to ebb a bit]

J-Just reach deep down and find that inner fire!

A-Any moment now!

...

I think I seriously need help....

[and yeaaaah, the Digi-Soul is just going to snuff out completely now]

[ Kohaku's dream is set in the back yard of a small house. There are a few backyard toys littered around the area, though they're left ignored for the time being. There's a familiar female voice counting down backwards somewhere. She reaches the final number and turns around. If it weren't obvious before, it's obvious now; the woman doing the counting was Kohaku.

She's got a different set of clothes on; a short-sleeved shirt, a long skirt, and a half-apron. Her hair is pulled back into a single ponytail instead of the usual low pigtails she usually wears. She looks as though she had been doing some work around the house prior to this event, and she's a little weary ... but she looks happy, otherwise. ]

Ready or not, Here I come!

( Rest of the Dream Beneath a Cut )

( ooc: Leaving it open-ended! If you want to have your character interact with Kohaku in her dream (hide and seek, anybody?), please specify that in your subject header. If you're interacting with her via SFC (or action, in some cases), please specify that, too. )

--aaah! I forgot!

[ The feed turns on with a THUD as the entire room looks to be on its side; looks like someone dropped their SFC in their haste. But wh--

-- oh, come on, it's Shing. Really, it's not that hard to figure it out. ]

... it was almost a month ago last year that I arrived here, wasn't it...? I'm seventeen now...

[ Yep. GJ Shing, please remember and don't forget like the mun did, shhhh... ]

... it's over a year since I arrived here. Wow... that's... kind of a long time to be stuck in a single place...

[ Now Shing's getting lost in his own thoughts... bother? ]

[ Wow, there's a very sheepish smile on that Kohaku right now. ]

If anybody was worried or looking for me over the past week, I'm sorry. Due to a certain something that was said, I had to go and make sure I was away from people in general until things calmed down. I only really let the people living with me know about this, and I probably should have let others know as well. So, um. For that, I'm sorry.

[ Thank you, anonymous rumor starter. You know who you are. ]

While I was in my little hidey hole, though, I had a lot of time to think ... and I realized something.

I've actually been in this place for over a year now.

[ The sheepish smile becomes a genuine one. ]

A lot has happened in the past year, some good, some bad, some just downright weird. I've met a lot of people, made a lot of friends, and have even gained some family. I really am very lucky ...

So, thank you. To everybody here who I've come to befriend and love, whether as family or as friends ... whether they're still here or have already gone back home. You guys have been there for me, helped me through some rough times, and I really couldn't be more grateful to have all of you.

[ She pauses for a moment, looking a bit thoughtful. ]

O-Oh, I ... I guess this means I'm 18 now, huh? My birthday's passed already ...

[So it's been a few days since he died, and it's given him time to think. Assess priorities. Figure out what he's going to do now that he's back.

He doesn't want Kohaku to have to suffer this kind of pain again. Not just her, too -- the hospital visits did little to help him feel better. If anything he was more or less focusing on all the pain he'd caused by his inability to protect those he'd cared about. So after some thinking it was then that he'd decided.

He would get stronger. So that this wouldn't happen again. But he couldn't face them all a third time. Not yet, anyway. Not until he was sure that he could properly protect them this time. So now he's in an undisclosed location somewhere in the area as he turns on the feed, speaking into it.]

Hey, Vatheon. I... well, after what's happened, well... I think I need to go away for a while. Think about things. I don't know when I'll be back, but... hopefully soon, I guess?

( Private: For Kohaku Hearts, Beryl Benito, Rin Okamura and Asbel Lhant )

I know it may seem extreme, but I think it's the best for everyone... I don't regret what I've done. I truly am happy that I got to meet you all when I did, though... and I hope to see you all again soon.

Until then... goodbye...

[With a quiet sigh, he turns off the feed.]

(( OOC: Do note that Shing won't be responding to any of the comments here, so... feel free to post responses and stuff here!

And with that, I go on hiatus! See you all... hopefully at the end of the month! Or less! \o\ ))

[ It sounds like a normal evening in the household; there’s sounds of dinner cooking, that much is made obvious from the sounds coming through the SFC. It doesn’t take too long before the SFC picks up the sound of a conversation, however … ]

Huh … you know, you’d make someone a good wife.

... I think my brother said that to me once.

Really? It’s kinda true!

[dryly] Oh ha ha.

You could be our wife! [ She pauses for a moment, before her voice comes onto the SFC again, a little louder this time. ]

HEY! SHING! I FOUND US A WIFE!

Hmm? [ There’s a shuffling sound before Shing’s voice is heard again. ] ... well, I agree he does have the cooking skills for it!

[something clatters against the oven noisily] What?! Shut up! Both of you! I’ll kick both your asses, I ain’t nobody’s wife goddamnit!

Awwww, I’d love to see you try, honey, but then dinner will burn! [ She sounds like she’s taunting him, but she’s really just playing around. ]

So mean, Rin... is this why your previous husband left you? [ Oh, boy, and now that he’s picked up on the teasing he’s joining right in on that... ]

[Heeee might be growling a bit] I should just let you two brats starve!

[ Kohaku’s laughing a little. ] We love you, Rin! Really! You’re just so easy to tease ~

We only tease because we care, Rin! Don’t be so angry? Please? [There’s more shuffling, and then the sound of footsteps.]

Hng--! Let go--! ... damnit, fine! You win! Leggo so it doesn’t burn!

[ And with that and a bit of laughing, the SFC switches off. Now would be a good time for more teasing/trolling/letting them know that they were heard! ]


( ooc: purple is Kohaku, blue is Rin and red is Shing. )

[ Good evening Vatheon! Sophie is apparently in the house tonight, standing in Asbel's room and watching him sleeping like a creeper--oh wait. Silently she slipped out of the room to let him rest. ]

I don't understand. Is it not okay to touch people? Cheria, and Hubert and Asbel touch me a lot... [ She means HUGS or hand holding or head patting of course. ]

My friend Mithos was upset so I touched him, but I don't think I did it right, because he got red and angry, and told me it's not okay if you don't know them. Is it really not okay to touch them if they're sad, but you only know them a little while? [ Because sometimes Cheria and Asbel pat her on the head or hug her, when she seems sad. ]

When is it okay to touch someone?

[ By now she's reached her garden outside of the house, where a familiar white coat is hanging. She reaches up to touch it, tugging it from the clothesline, where it flops over her head. It's still rather big for her, but she puts it on anyway. ]

Asbel's coat is dry. It's warm and smells like Asbel. And seawater.

[ A thought passes. ]

[Asbel is coughing violently; a gasp for air had sent a mouthful of water down the wrong way. His head along with his vision were spinning; it felt as though someone had clobbered him over the head with a hammer. He's content to remain on all fours as he fights off a second fit of coughing. Looking around he notices the distinct lack of snow that had surrounded him and the others only a moment ago...]

[The others...]

[Asbel's eyes widen and he jumps to his feet and stumbles.]

Sophie-!

[His rush to stand just blurs his vision again and a moment later, he's back on his knees. Asbel looks around again. Was this Zavhert?]

[He sees a bench with towels and just then realizes he's drenched. It takes him a few minutes to properly catch his breath before he attempts to walk over. He grabs a towel and spies two drawings on the wall above the bench. The first one seems to be a scribble of a stickman, with a porcupine on his head. The drawing of the man on the second poster looks strangely familiar...]

I wonder who made these.

[He glances around again, looking for people. That's when he spots the letters painted on the ground. He raises an eyebrow at the words.]

Ass Bell and... Sophie!

[He looks back at the posters, and sure enough the very same horribly spelled version of his name, along with Sophie’s, is written on them. Asbel looks down at the ground for more clues. This time he spots an arrow pointing toward what appears to be coral, which he follows at a run.]

[The idea that this might be a trap didn't occur to him as he sprinted toward the coral, his thoughts were focused on finding his friends. If Sophie had left him a drawing, it meant-]

Woah-!

[Asbel trips over a curled up ball of purple, his momentum sends him soaring into the air for a second before he crashes spectacularly onto the ground.]

((OCC: First action tag reserved for the Graces cast, open for video/action to everyone afterwards!))

( Canon gives us enough angst so I balanced it with silly )

Serph's awake now, though, and looks quite alert despite having just woken up. He addresses the network at large.]

Is this the true purpose of these new Dreamberries? [A pause as he thinks.] I don't recall activating the dream function.