inkedspell | [IC] Inbox

[Early in the evening, there's a knock on Sarona's door. It's one of the academy guards, recently demoted to the most dreaded of assignments: watching Toki. Toki waits off to the side, and has obtained a child leash. He couldn't convince the guard to let him knock on the door himself and start one simple conversation.]

[Sarona hears the knock despite her headphones, as she usually keeps the volume on low. She looks up, pops the earbuds out of her ears, and then heads over to the door to open it. She isn't expecting anyone, so she wonders who it might be. When she opens the door, the guard throws her off and she takes a tiny step back.]

Uh, yeah?

[She hasn't messed with any of the golems on campus in over a week.]

Miss Gayle.

[The guard nods at her in greeting, and then gestures to Toki.]

Mr. Rikugou would like to speak with you. Is this acceptable?

[She sees Toki then and her eyes go a bit wide.]

Sh--[Oh right language.]--Crap, Tik-tok! Come in here. [She looks to the guard.] That's cool, right? I won't let him jump out a window or anything.

[The guard nods and moves out of the doorway for Toki to get by. He'll remain the hallway. As soon as Toki gets inside, he's hissing in a whisper.]

I'm not going to jump out a window! Okay, I did, once, but I'm not going to do it again!

[Sarona is shutting that door to give them some privacy is the guard doesn't try to stop her.]

Good to now, but I wouldn't blame you. I'd jump out of a window to get away from a babysitter like that too. What is that thing they're making you wear?

[She grew up rich enough to never have even seen a child leash. That is what nannies were for.]

[This is not how we wanted to start things off, but it's fine. Sarona seems her usual self, and he's happy to see that.]

It's a leash. [Awkward.] Uhh, I picked out the cat, though. I almost went with a pink sparkly rabbit, but the cat was just a little cuter~!

[He smiles a bit, trying to make light of things.]

[A leash. For a teenager. She's sure that somewhere is her Master Guard thinking about how much he needed that a couple years ago. And it's probably justified considering that Toki can sometimes not be...completely safe for himself, but it still feels patronizing as hell.

But it would be better not to push to hard about it. She doesn't want to make him uncomfortable.]

It is cute. You do have good taste about some things. Now, what's going on? [Seeing as he's been gone for weeks, but she's polite enough not to say that outright.]

I know it's kind of late, but I wasn't here, and I wanted... I figured you went to Australia, and I wanted to make sure you were okay. Which, you look fine, so... But if you want to talk about anything, I just want you to know that I'll listen. I don't think that I ever told you that I care about you and that you're my friend. So... You are okay, right?

[He hadn't meant to be that rambling about it. There were more articulate sentences prepared.]

[You would think that rambling about being friends would make someone worry less, but Toki manages to do it in a way that really makes her wonder what's going on up there.

But he's her friend and rambling is very much Toki's thing.]

I'm more than fine. A couple bruises and scrapes. Already healed. Thanks for asking though. It's been so crazy lately. I hadn't had a chance to check in on you either. How are you doing?

I'm glad you're okay.

[No. This wasn't supposed to happen. Though he can't really blame her for turning it around on him. He makes it easy, unfortunately. There's a little bit of a sigh before he starts; not that he minds the topic. There's just... a lot.]

I'm... not okay, but I'm getting there? [He won't tell her he's fine when he's not.] After the website, there was... an incident. And then I realized how bad it really was, how bad I was. I'm working on things.

[She appreciates that honesty and that he doesn't seem like he's trying to reassure her just for the sake of it.]

Well, my old therapist used to say the first step was knowing there was something to work on, but the hardest part was seeking out help. [Which she never fully listened to.] I'd say you're already half way there.

[He won't ask why she saw a therapist, but that comment gives him a lot of hope. Because Sarona always seems to have everything together. He's choosing to believe that's not a facade.]

That's where I've been all month, getting help. I really think it's going to work this time. It's very hard, but I'm trying. I know a lot of things I said to you, or tried to explain, when you were helping me study- they didn't make sense. Which is what I'm primarily focused on; better communication from an analysis of my absurd thoughts.

[He's half-quoting therapists, but he has the general idea of what's he's aiming for.]

[Sarona gives an understanding snort then.] Absurdism has its place Toki. Just maybe not when someone's trying to explain alchemic transmutation placement to you.

[But then she tries to give him a reassuring smile.]

You said I could talk to you if I needed to, but that goes both ways, okay?

[She leans in so she can elbow him playfully on the arm.] I don't think I would know what to do if I didn't have you around to tutor. You're gonna be my doctorate thesis if I ever go into teaching.

I'll remember that!

[He appreciates that, and may even take her up on the offer one of these days.]

Speaking of tutoring~... So like, because summer classes got cancelled and everyone who signed up got As, I actually passed this time, but... I didn't learn anything and it's not fair. I've been studying on my own about things, but I'm kind of starting from the beginning with magic history and things that everyone else already seems to know, and I get some of it, of course... [He's been reading 1st grade level things.] But it's going to take a while until I actually... understand the things in the classes I'm taking, and anyway, what I'm getting at is that when classes start again, you'll be seeing a lot of me because I'm completely unprepared for 10th grade~!

[Now that sounds a bit more like the Toki she knows. She leans against the side of her bed, hand on the mattress.]

You make it sound like it would be a bad thing? I've been taking random classes for the hell of it that some of the teachers are offering. Seminar kind of things really because they're so short. If you want I could rec some books for you to get you going before classes start up.

[He smiles genuinely; things aren't as hard to get back to as he thought they might be, in some respects.]

If you wouldn't mind, that would be great! Oh! I learned English, or a lot of it, while I was gone and I've been keeping up with it, so like you can recommend English books too!

Works for me. My knowledge of Japanese rune literature is a lot less than my English and Nordic translated texts, anyway.

[She goes over to her desk and starts jotting down a quick list on a sheet of paper in one of her many notebooks. She keeps talking as she writes.]

Anything else you have planned for the rest of vacation? Or wherever you can ditch the babysitter?

No, I don't have any plans... Not immediate ones.

[Because he doesn't know how far they'll let him go, and when, or if, he'll stop being watched constantly.]

I have something I want to do, but it might have to wait.

[There's a roughness in his voice at that, a determination.]

[She doesn't know whether to be glad he sounds like he has something to focus on or worry what kind of thing that is.]

Anything I'd want in on? [Because of course she needs more things to do.]

[Toki glances at the door; he doesn't think the guard would be listening to their conversation, but he lowers his voice anyway.]

I don't know... Have you ever killed a daemon?

[Oh. Well... She replies back in an equally low tone.]

I've had a run in or two back home, when daemons were causing problems and people thought they were originally natural disasters, but most of my daemon fights are lower level ones they give us on missions here. Just how big deal a daemon are we talking here?

[That's not a lot of experience, but it's more than he has.]

I don't know, really. I figure he can't be like a really powerful one or he wouldn't have picked me, right? I was a very easy target, convenient. I plan on talking to him first if I can find him, and trying to dissolve the contract that way, but, I mean, is that really a possibility? So, I have to have a backup plan, right? Kill him. Only... I mean, I'm willing to, if it comes to that...

[That's a bit heavier than she expected, but then she gets why he would want this. But then there's the question...]

Are you sure killing him will solve the problem? Some daemons do poison pill contracts.

A poison-

[He puts his hands up in a "stop" gesture, but it's for himself and not her. Don't panic.]

Okay, wait. First, I should say that like killing this daemon is Plan C. I'm working on Plan A, but if that doesn't work, talking to the daemon is Plan B; which I did discuss with Professor Atchison, kind of, and he said I had a good chance of like out-talking the daemon or something, but he may have been sarcastic or joking. I can never tell with him. Anyway, and I don't remember if he actually said that killing the daemon would break the contract, and he probably didn't, like we may not have even discussed that part, I don't know... Anyway! Where was I? Uhh... It's Plan C! But that wasn't what I wanted to say... Oh! What's a poison pill contract?

It's another night in the library, another night of pouring through books searching for... some kind of solution and finding a whole lot of nothing. Far from the first time and it probably won't be the last either.

Sarona's even caught him at it before, so he's not surprised to see her again. He lifts his hand in a light wave, intending to go right back to reading (or at least trying to parse the horribly obtuse archaic text) but then it hits him. He jumps to his feet.

"Sarona!" He calls. "Are you busy?"

Edited 2020-02-23 15:47 (UTC)

Sarona has been in a bit of an overdrive for the last few weeks, finishing off this invulnerability tattoo she's been making for herself--got to find a way to make it permanent. there's got to be a way to get rid of the time limit for the rune without lowering it's effectiveness--when she sees Héctor. And because it's him, she actually comes to a bit of a stop and smiles curls a bit of a disarray and falling into her face. She brushes them back a bit away from her glasses.

"Hey, Slim, you need something?"

The smile warms his heart. He makes a note to himself to find time to talk with hee that doesn't involve asking favors. Especially when, he notes with some guilt, she does indeed look like she's been busy enough.

"Kind of. Maybe? I was wondering if I could borrow your expertise. Specifically, I've only just realized I can finally actually ask for it."

Oh well, when he puts it that way, Sarona is definitely interested. She adjusts her glasses a bit and easily slides the stack of notebooks and papers and books onto the nearby table.

"You've come to the right girl, then, obviously," she smirks. "What runes are you working on now?"

"Blight repellents," he says rather bluntly. Though, he smiles sheepish.

"Specifically, I want something I can use that won't burn me up too. Or just go off when I don't want it to around other blighted people I care about." The more detail he gives the more of a long shot it seems. He's reminded one of the reasons he didn't pick up research again after his recovery.

"I guess, I wonder if such a thing is even possible," he sighs.

"Oh." Her eyes go a bit glassy, unseeing, her mind already looking into options and possibilities. She's reviewing different runes she's used, seen, and experimented with in her mind. The ones she keeps coming back to would make the most sense, but one of the main ingredients needs to make them work isn't exactly...

"...Well, Slim, how well do your bones grow back?"

An 'oh' and a glassy look isn't the most promising but he holds his breath. She's smart. Crazy smart. Far more than he'll ever be already. And more to the point, he trust she'll tell him if the answer is that he's out of luck.

Though he does blink a little at the answer he does get back.

"Uh." He winces. "Not... well. Probably worse than someone living. It's been a long time since my bones healed on their own." Not since he was freshly dead and that didn't last long. "I go to a friend who knows how to heal old bones. He uses magic but certain things like... if there's missing pieces or this bum leg of mine where the bone pops out, he can't fix that. But, you know if there's something I need to do I wouldn't write it off."

Sarona's nose wrinkles in a wince at that because it's not the optimal answer here. She runs a finger through her hair again, letting out a little sigh. Damn, she's tired. Stopping long enough to think about something else besides her current project has made that hit her.

"It's just that...you don't have blood. Or tissue," she explains. "And those are full of your own energy signature, which has Blight in it. You can't repel Blight without making sure to not repel your own Blight, you know? Blood and tissue would be best but since you don't have any the closest thing you've got is...well, bone marrow. And a bit of hair, but bone marrow would have the highest success rate."

The revelation is clear on his face as her explanation sinks.

"Oh... I see..." His mouth presses. He looks down. And then he steels himself.

Firmly, he says, "I can handle it. Whatever it takes. This is... really important. I don't just want to be able to do this, I need to. To get home and, well, to last, I guess."

He brings a hand up, rubbing at his arm. It would hurt. He knows that. But all the same.

"...Last year there was a monster. It hunted the dead. It could change them, make any of the dead into monsters like itself. A lot of people were hurt. I mentioned to you breaking and then shattering an arm around then." He smiles mirthlessly and then looks down again. "It did worse than that. I can't... I won't risk my family. It's why I didn't just stay home the first time I got back. I couldn't. And besides that, I'd rather put a hole in me than go through that again."

She can see how serious he is and it hurts in a way to see it. He sounds determined and desperate to her and maybe he is...maybe he should be. Losing yourself is the worst thing that can happen to anyone--she knows. She's seen it happen.

It makes her feel more awake, despite her fatigue from days of less than three hours of sleep. She's focusing on him and this new challenge he's presented her.

"You wouldn't have to feel it," she tells him. "A numbing rune and a sleep rune would knock you out until after the marrow is taken and then you're healer friend could come in and take care of the hole. Or I could slap a regeneration rune patch on you and see how that works. Might need to take a bit more marrow to sync it to you, but it'd heal you up in a couple hours."

She's a rune expert, not a doctor. She thinks it should work just as well, but she'd have to do more research on that.

He lost himself, he lost the joys in his life, every bit of love, and for a brief bit of time in there he lost even the desire to exist at all. That scares him most of all, that there's anything in the world that could make him give up on his girl.

Though, if he knew just how badly Sarona was running on fumes right about now he might have saved this for another time. Another week at least.

He looks up and listens as she makes all of this that much easier for him. This time his smile is real and deeply grateful to boot.

"You are... amazing," He tells her. "That's way more than I'd have even hoped. You can take as much as you need. In fact, here." He works his power, just up the one arm. He turns the bone over for her, letting her see a tracking rune already carved in. "A couple of hunters put this on me. You won't have to drill as deep if you stick within the pattern of it." He works his power back and the arm is flesh again. "I'll literally owe you my life, Sarona. Unlife. You know what I mean."

There's the initial burst of elation and feelings anytime someone compliments her--stupid and irrational, maybe, but she'll take her pride and ego where she can get it--and also that sense of yes, good, i'm doing good because helping people always provides the best endorphins.

"Don't thank me until the jobs done," she tells him. "I prefer five star ratings upon completion." Then Sarona turns to pick back up the stack of notebooks and binders and books she'd been carrying and motions toward the exit with her head. "How about go somewhere with better equipment and less noise restrictions?"

"I'll give you rave reviews," He tells her. And then, with he gesturing to go, he grabs his own things and follows, a book under his arm and a cane in the other hand.

He didn't expect to get started on this right now but he's not about to protest. The sooner the better and it will knock one less obstacle between him and home out of the way.

"Lead the way, Saronita."

Of course Sarona would want to get started right now. She's never been one to wait when it's time to get things done. She wants to get started and start making plans. Best way to do that is get the bone marrow and start turning it into ink.

"Come on, it'll be easier to do it in my room. I've got additional sound dampening runes so no one will be going to the RA about noise ordinance."

It's later in the day, but not so late that the golems will be getting on her about curfew. "And you can take a nap on the extra bed until it's all over."

So out of the library they go, headed right for Aube's first floor.

"Ha! Perfect!" There are not a lot of people he would trust to lead him to a soundproof room where he'd have power tools taken to him but he trust Sarona.

He looks thoughtful then.

"I haven't actually slept much these past years," He muses. "Mornings come for my kind and we're kind of just dead. No dreaming or anything. But between this and that weird thing a while ago where everyone fell asleep, I'll have about two point five whole rests. It's kind of weirdly relaxing to think about."

Aube is good, at that. Aube means he's close enough to his own dorm.

"I guess not having organs comes in handy sometimes, but geez Slim, take a nap more often." Snorting, Sarona shakes her head as they move out into the chilly air. It perks her up, shaking some of her own tiredness from her shoulders.

She moves quickly, knowing he'll keep up considering he's taller than she is even in her heels and for a guy with a limp he's no slowpoke.

"But that just means I need to be on your ass more and make sure you're taking better care of yourself."

Says the girl who thinks sleep is a suggestion for a living body.

He scoffs.

"I'll sleep when I'm double dead!" He declares, joking along. "Besides, I rest all day. The night is my oyster! Or however that saying goes."

She's right. He does keep up. In some ways it's nice, like a small bit of faith in his abilities, even if just to walk along. Of course, then she turns that thought on its head. He grins wry.

"Psh, I've already got a posse of worry warts. Look, I'm even getting a major problem fixed right now! Self care." He waves a hand. "And what about you? Who's looking after you, huh?"

"I think it says a lot more about you than it does me that you have so many people worrying about you," Sarona points out, completely sidestepping the question he'd just asked her. Because it's never about her right now, so she'll keep it completely on the real topic at hand.

She pushes open the door to Aube enjoying the warmth of the inside of the building versus the cold outside. "Come on, I'm down the hall."

He squints a little at that side-step. Also because it's difficult to argue that point even if he really, really wants to. (He never did entirely mature past twenty-three.)

"Still! I'm getting this covered! I've got it! I've got this."

He slips in through the door, following.

"But seriously, how have you been doing lately?"

"Who do you think you're asking?" she asks with a roll of her eyes, but it's fond because she knows that Héctor does care. "I'm not one of the people constantly getting into trouble around here."

She adjusts the stack of books and notes in her arms so she can get her key out. "Works in my favor really. I don't get the looks I used to for my research."

By which she means that with so many people out there getting into trouble and needing looking after, she doesn't have to deal with people getting on her about how late she stays at the library or questioning her when she's maybe doing things she shouldn't with the campus golems. Research.

"Hey! All the more reason to ask, right?" He says with a grin. "You're not hogging the terrible nightmare spotlight."

And if she does have anything going on, things might just be quiet enough they could be missed. And, liking Sarona, he wouldn't want her left under the bus.

"While I'm glad people aren't giving you flack anymore, I do kind of hope I can join you in the quiet corner soon. That would be nice."

[IC] Inbox

July 25th

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Gonna take this to Action because Y Notte

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