spellbinders | [WORLD ONE | FINAL GOODBYES]

Entry tags:

[WORLD ONE | FINAL GOODBYES]

Who: Coven members and the Palai
Where: The Palai Marketplace
When: Days 75 & 76
Open/Closed: Open to All
OOC Note: This is for any and all unresolved threads you'd like to get out of the way before the coven leaves Aimintas. Feel free to backdate specific prompts to whatever day is suitable for you.

The initial setting information found here should be utilized for threads here.

There's no official OOC account for the Palai people. You're free to roleplay their actions and reactions on your own, as in depth as you want -- asking questions, hand-waved interactions, becoming best friends. The new world is your oyster!

Since the Palai discovered that the coven is preparing to leave, they've been preparing for the moment their friends do eventually vanish. This means wrapping up large baskets of food and other supplies that will be given to the coven for their large caravan -- but they also like to give out little personal gifts to those that they recognize or have formed a bond with.

Though the Palai are usually people of celebrations, this event is much more muted and personal. Gifts are given and they're certainly congregating, but there's also a dull hum of sadness in the air. The coven has done a lot for their people and helped them establish protection for themselves, so how they fare from here should be positive. With the Uvi gone, will another threat arrive? Who knows -- but the coven won't be here to witness it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It's true that they have been trying for weeks to get together for this cafe date. Between the fighting, the healing, and the speed dating...well, it just hadn't really worked out for them.

Today however, their last day in Aimintas they are finally getting that chance.

Haru found herself a little nervous, she's never really asked someone to just go out with her on a friendly basis. It's not something that she was used to, and yet with Jude it just seemed so easy? In the end this caused her to show up a half hour early for their scheduled time.]

Oh, Jude-kun!

[He's finally here, thank goodness. No more awkward stares from people who thought she may have been stood up.]

It's good to see you.

[ jude slides into the seat opposite of her and tilts his head with another smile, already easing into it. haru's presence alone is a comfort. seriously, what did he have to be so nervous about? ]

It's good to see you, too. I'm glad we could finally make this work.

[ a light laugh. ]

How have you been? No more strange vials, right?

No more strange vials. I don't think I'll ever drink another strange anything someone gives me.

[She still feels a tinge of embarrassment from the way she acted. She was lucky that Jude was so understanding.]

Other than that, I've been well. I took care of helping the Palai set their bakery back up. I'm happy I could help them with that. How have you been?

[ jude laughs again, but sort of cringes a little too. still, he's glad they talked it over. he's glad things haven't changed between them just because they got a little cozier than they anticipated. ]

Really? That's great, Haru. I'll have to check it out as soon as I can. In the meantime, though, I've been pretty good. A good friend from home showed up out of nowhere awhile ago, and I've been keeping an eye on him. He's eleven years older than me and still needs a babysitter. Good thing he didn't drink any strange vials...

[ jude makes a face. who knows what would happen then. ]

I've also been looking into gardening. Julius gave me some seeds, and I figured, why not? There's a certain someone I know who said she enjoys it, after all...

[Really, Haru doesn't seem to mind that part anymore. Getting cozy was a little embarrassing...but she trusts Jude. It's fine. She knows it only because she knows her trust isn't to be taken lightly.]

Oh? I'm glad someone from your world showed up. Even if you're having to babysit them. Heaven forbid he drank a vial and you had to do overtime, right?

[She giggles.]

Oh? Is that right? Julius-san approached me about gardening not too long ago.

Edited 2017-09-25 03:25 (UTC)

[ truthfully? once it was clear that haru wasn't bothered by it, he realized that as long as she wasn't, he wasn't, either. like he said before, it was nice. haru is nice. everything about her fills him with warmth. ]

Did he? I'm actually working on a little project. For a friend. Apparently I have a green thumb, because the flowers are sprouting much quicker than I anticipated.

... I'll make sure I save one for you, though. It's the least I can do.

[Look, it's just a nice, warm, and comfortable friendship. Haru could dig it as long as Jude did.]

I would love to see how our gardening skills match up. I've been growing a lot of things in trial to see if I can slightly alter them or make them for a medicinal use.

[She's been successful with a small handful of things!]

I anticipate what kind of flower it will be, and I think it could be a challenge to keep it alive for as long as possible.

Medicinal use, huh?

[ he hums. ]

Well, that's something you'll definitely have to introduce me to. Maybe we can work together on seeking out the most efficient method of growth.

So you like challenges, huh?

Mm, that's right. We would take the plants we grew into the metaverse with us and they would have new and sometimes medicinal effects. It's strange. I'm hoping to replicate it here... but I'm not sure that I can.

[It would be helpful in so many ways if they found themselves in a position where they needed to fight again.]

Challenges make everything more fun. Wouldn't you say?

[ the metaverse... should he ask? he doesn't see a reason not to. they really haven't discussed their home worlds much, and isn't the whole point getting to know each other better? ]

I would have to agree with you there. Speaking of medicinal herbs, though, that reminds me. I'm not sure whether or not you know him, but I met a guy around your age named Akira, and he asked me whether or not I sell medicine on the black market. It was a little jarring, to say the least.

[ didn't seem like a bad guy, though. just an interesting one. jude would like to get to know him better, and not just because he's curious about hibiki's boyfriend, although of course that's what triggered his burning curiosity in the first place. ]

Oh, Akira-kun... I really hope he was just joking with you.

[Though knowing Akira, he probably wasn't. He was probably being completely serious. Knowing that they pretty much all used black market medicine while they were in the metaverse. Advil won't really help you there.]

Forgive him he can be a little...weird.

So you do know him.

[ jude just laughs, genuinely amused. ]

Don't worry. I wasn't bothered by it; just surprised. His boyfriend can be a little weird, too. That's how I met him in the first place. Through Hibiki.

[ not that that was ever hibiki's intention, but again: vials. potent stuff. ]

Akira-kun is from my world. He's our leader.

[She wonders if she ever really explained why she was in that musketeer like outfit that time that Jude forcefully pulled her off the battlefield. That whole day was a blurr so she suspects that she didn't.

Maybe this is something she could trust Jude with if he asked her about it.]

That doesn't surprise me in the least. Hibiki-kun can be...quite strange. But he is also a really good person. Much like Akira-kun. I swear he's a good person. I can't believe he actually asked you that though.

Your leader?

[ he puts a finger to his chin, thinking it through before deciding to just go for it. what reason does he have to hold back? ]

Does that tie into this metaverse of yours? I have to admit I'm really curious to hear more about it. It still feels like I know so little about you.

Very well. I will tell you about myself specifically. Akira-kun will tell you about himself if he wishes to do so. I suppose it really isn't much of a secret here since the public we deal with at home hasn't followed us here.

[The metaverse, their rating, nothing. It didn't apply here.]

Would you believe me if I told you that besides being a student, I lead a life where I take on another identity essentially?

Of course I would.

[ jude doesn't miss a beat. ]

I would believe anything you told me, Haru. What reason do you have to lie?

In the metaverse I use the name "Noir". What I'm trying to say is that I am a Phantom Thief who steals the hearts of criminals.

[Ugh, that still sounds so...weird. Jumin thought she was praising her good looks when she mentioned that she "stole hearts".]

It's not as self centered as it might sound, I promise. There is an entire team of us. We just want to change the hearts of those who do wrong.

Steals... hearts?

[ jude tilts his head. okay, so, while he absolutely believes her, he is still more than a little confused. ]

If this were a serious date, insert terrible pickup line here.

Really, though, how do you... ? I believe you, I just — don't quite understand.

With the use of a Persona. A Persona is a manifestation of our soul. I suppose in past conversations I just haven't really discussed that I have powers that will be taken from me whenever we return to the island hub.

Losing that mental connection with my Persona is rather strange since I'm so used to it.

[Look, this date is totally serious...ish.]

Stealing hearts is hard to explain. But think of it this way. We steal someone's distorted desires, and without those desires they become more willing to admit their wrongs.

I see...

[ he doesn't see, not really, but he's at a loss here. what else can he say? he's sure his world, spirits and the like, can come off as just as confusing and muddled to others. different set of cards, but same deal. ]

But if you're stealing a whole piece of them, especially something as crucial as their heart... well, is that really okay? Are they still really them when they admit their wrongs? Atone for their crimes? Are they still, fundamentally, wholly themselves?

It seems like a complicated issue, morality-wise, something I might simply fail to grasp without seeing it for myself, but...

[ jude looks her in the eyes. ]

I wouldn't doubt you. Rather, I don't doubt you.

I have asked myself that question a lot. The morality of it is very touchy and something we have often spoke of.

[Haru would have done anything in the world to fix her father. To fix the mistakes that he made and to get him to see his wrongs. But, her father ended up paying the price of the game. Killed after what would have been a successful change of heart.]

We don't go after a target unless they are particularly nasty. It just isn't something that we can see ourselves doing.

[ jude rests his hands in the middle of the table. they're there if haru wishes to grasp onto something, and if she doesn't, that's alright, too. they're there because jude wants to support her in whatever way he can. he's not going to ask, but he can tell something is eating at her, something she might not be ready to discuss. ]

So it's a whole group of you leading a double life, and Akira is the leader.

Needless to say... I never would have guessed. I suppose that explains that mask of yours back during the Uvi raid, right? Back then, I had been so concerned about your health it's not something I really thought to ask about.

[Her father is a whole confidant rank away, she doesn't really want to discuss him right now. The feeling of his passing is still far too fresh for her.

She hesitates for a moment, looking at Jude's hands on the table. She wonders if he meant to put them there. She doesn't want to read into it too far.]

That is correct. We wear masks and go by code names. The code names are so that our real names don't effect the environment around us. The Metaverse is a tricky place.

Thank you again for all of that. I don't think I would have been able to see the forest through the trees at that point. I had been so focused, so angry...

As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing to thank me for. I was just doing my job. I'm only glad that I managed to grab you in time. That focus is a good thing; I can see just how driven you are to help others. It's important that you take the time to help yourself, too, though. Do your best to remember that.

... But who am I to talk?

[ a dry smile. he's doesn't exactly practice what he's preaching. ]

I believe that goes for you too. We are similar in that regard. We care the world about others, but we forget to take the time for ourselves.

[It's true, and Haru is just calling it like she sees it.]

There is a lot to thank you for though. Healing me, listening to me... I appreciate it all.

[Placing her hands over his.]

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rip when jude doesn't have time to check it out

shhh jude, there will be another world and another bakery to fix.

he will visit them all

that's very dedicated, jude-kun.

he is very dedicated to haru's smile

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just realized i used 'huh?' twice last tag, thread ruined

i can't believe this!!!!

tragic

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