diadem ; inbox

[searingbond]

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"Bonjour! You've reached Sciel. Leave a message and I'll follow up soon as I can."

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text.

[savante]

[ Lune attaches a link to a particular forum conversation, and: ]

Could I have you on call during this meeting, in case I'm making a terrible mistake? I'll ring if something goes wrong. We can set up a code word.

[ Because she's curious to the point of recklessness, but also cautious and over-prepared. Like warning your best friend about a first date in case the guy from Hinge murders you— except here it's "the guy from the forums who looks like a tear in the universe". ]

text.

[searingbond]

[ ...Oh! Hmm. ]

of course. you're okay for now, yeah?
what should the code word be?

[ She'd suggest one, but Sciel has a feeling Lune will be particular about this, as with all things, so. ]

also, you're going to have to talk me through all of this when you're back.
"the cube in the sky is a god" is a really...strong start.

[savante]

Yes, of course; the meeting won't be until later. Perhaps... we'll pretend you're calling me to bring back some food afterward, and I'll say 'dessert' if everything is fine, and 'noodles' if something's wrong?

And I know. There's so much. I thought our world was full of unanswered questions, but it seems this one is just the same. I could dig and dig and there's still so much to learn.

[ Which means Lune is at risk of being ripped away from one mission only to immediately pick up another, but. ]

[searingbond]

plausible enough. dessert and noodles it is.

[ Sciel isn't the biggest fan of the fact that this is something they even need to worry about, given...part of the fantasy she's let herself live in is that this world is a respite, in many ways, from their own. But...it'd be more irresponsible than she's willing to be to act as though this place isn't dangerous when there's so much to the contrary. ]

that's life wherever you are, i guess.
just don't wear yourself out looking for answers. we may have more time, but you're still only human.
an incredibly driven human with seemingly-endless energy reserves for these things, but still!

[savante]

Doesn't it drive you a little mad too? Not knowing?

[searingbond]

we'll never know /everything/, lune. not even you.
i'll be honest: i haven't really spent as much time thinking about the great mysteries of the diadem as i should.
i've mostly been just enjoying the little things. the simple bits we never really had.
as much as i can.

delivery!!

[recreatable]

[ Left at Lune and Sciel's door are two flowers. Alongside Lune's daffodil is a marigold for Sciel—symbolizing warmth and positivity. The tag reads Bonne Saint-Valentin, mon amie. - V ]

222-1879; gommageiversary day

[recreatable]

[ Sometime in the afternoon, after a heavy amount of self-debate on whether he should say anything: ] Hey. You doing OK today?

[searingbond]

[ Sciel isn't, in fact, doing OK today. The unusually-unflappable Expeditioner has found the uncertainty of the time leading up to this possible-Gommage has gotten under her skin more than she'd expected. After her arrival, she'd assumed that being in this world had meant they'd be safe from the Paintress, but Lune had (rightfully) pointed out that they had no idea whether or not that power could follow them here. Follow them anywhere.

So the first of March had been a blur of badly-done jobs and a night of lots of wine. The following day — the day — has not been much better, and it's still early.

Crucially, though, she still exists. For now. ]

not really.

[ i feel like my skin is crawling she types, then deletes. It's enough to be honest in simplicity. She doesn't need to admit to the intensity with which not knowing whether she and Lune will be dead by tomorrow is eating away at her. ]

thanks though. for checking.

[recreatable]

[ 'Not really'. A rare thing to hear—or read, at any rate—from Sciel, who's usually so upbeat and unflappable. ]

Want to talk about it?

I've been told I'm an excellent listener.

[searingbond]

[ Does she want to talk about it? What is there to say?

(A macabre thought: if it does happen and she and Lune stop responding, then how long will it take for him to realise? Will there still be a pile of petals where they'd once been?)

She takes a breath. ]

sometimes it feels like, just as soon as there's solid ground under my feet, the rug's pulled away.

[ She'd expected to Gommage with Pierre, but he'd been taken too soon. Had expected to-...frankly, die before her Gommage at home, felled by some Nevron, but she's lived on anyway.

Now this. There is no Paintress, no Monolith, and yet. ]

i'll be okay. tomorrow comes.

[ Either she'll be there to see it, or she won't. ]

[recreatable]

You'll be okay. She can't reach you here.

[ Admittedly, he can't actually know that she'll be all right for certain. Maybe the Gommage can still reach her— but if it can, what's the point of spending the last day of her life full of dread? ]

Hey, how do you want to celebrate the 3rd?

[searingbond]

[ It's strange. The sentiment is simple, but it...helps. Like he's able to impart in kind some of the reassurance she's offered to him in their time together.

Today's still bad, but the words make it a little better. Even if they both know he can't say for certain whether or not she'll survive the day. ]

let's see...

[ She'll even let herself exist in a reality that, should she not be Gommaged, doesn't involve another day jam-packed full of working to stay afloat. ]

start with a nice breakfast. café au lait, bread, jam...and then...
maybe i'll make the trip out to acreage. start it, anyway.
been meaning to see what it's like. [ If it feels like home. ]

on gommageversary, you can thank verso

[coraza]

Hey
Got your bike fixed?

( .......................... )

Your scythe's pretty cool by the way

🙏 ty verso

[searingbond]

hi!
yeah, i did. thanks again for all that.
probably would've exploded or something if not for you.

merci! :) i'm a big fan of it myself.
but i'm equally impressed with your sword. is it as heavy as it looks?

[coraza]

It wouldn't have exploded, but it could have put you in a rough spot

( what does 'merci' mean again... )

Yeah. I can let you try to lift it next time we meet
Could bet something for it

[searingbond]

either way, it was nice not having a big problem to deal with. that day was already a lot to wrap my head around!

[ What with the...everything of it all.

Cloud doesn't know it, but he's activated her trap card: making bets on meaningless contests. ]

oh, i'll take you up on that. [ How heavy could it be?? ]
what are the stakes?

[coraza]

( you know, maybe cloud likes meaningless contests too. )

What do you want the stakes to be?
Betting joolies is too boring

( he wouldn't mind making it fun for the both of them. )

[searingbond]

i knew i liked you.
how about...if i win, i get to hear you play piano.
doesn't have to be a long one, but it's got to be a whole song.

[ She's been curious ever since he brought it up, so why not? ]

only fair that you get to choose what you get if i win, so. what'll it be?

Shortly after the power comes back

[sharranselunite]

Mademoiselle. How are you?

[searingbond]

my lady. i'm doing much better, thanks.
what about you? make it through the rest okay?

[sharranselunite]

yes perfectly fine.
glad to have a working bath again.
the lack of a river to clean up in is frustrating.
did verso end up finding you?

[searingbond]

did you prefer the river to a bath?
or you're just saying it'd have been nice to have /some/ option?

[ Sciel, who hates both rivers and baths, can't relate to that particular desire, though she had taken a very long shower when it became available again. ]

he did. i'm not completely sure what happened, but i have it in my head we talked about cows for some amount of time.

[ A truly healing subject. ]

what about you? find karlach and astarion okay?

[sharranselunite]

no just would've been nice to have the option. i had a lot of blood on me. i hate dried blood on my skin for too long.

[ Shadowheart is terrified of water. She doesn't linger in baths like other people do, but she still prefers to be clean. She's had enough mucking about on the road.]

good. he helped me steal some medical supplies, but i know he was worried for you.

yes, they're fine. we're all good in a crisis.

i was worried about your mind.

delivery.

[savante]

[ True to form, Lune has written up contingency plans for their next potential emergency. She delivers a neatly-written folder to both Sciel and Verso. Inside, they’ll find:

• A transcribed contact list with each of their telephone numbers
• A relatively simple paper map of Panorama, labelled with:
  • Their lodgings
  • A diner near a particularly tall skyscraper (so it should hopefully be visible even across the city), serving as a rendezvous point roughly equidistant between the Blocks, the Pavilion, and the Sanctum
  • Three dead drop locations in the city, one in each district — under park benches, in alleys, etc — as places to leave written messages if they’re unable to reach each other

She also mentions that she’s considering saving up and investing in a ham radio transceiver and handheld radios, so they’ll have another fallback communication method if the telephone network goes down again. Isn’t it great to have goals :) ]