View source for 3298/Recovery... Or lack thereof.

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2018/08/17
|Location=Earth Court Frat House
|Synopsis=After The Nature of a Hero, Rashmi, Miho and Lacrima all come 1) Make sure that Alexis is okay 2) Explain to Lacrima what happened 3) Talk about Ryo.
|Cast of Characters=182,220,160,198
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;When the Earth Court's apartment on top of the skyscraper is more or less empty, Alexis tends to take full advantage of the entertainment system in the combined living room, knowing there's no one else around to bother with the noise. Sometimes he sort of misses living with his parents just for being able to have his own home theater in a sound-proofed room. But also sorta not.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The late morning after the battle above the rooftops next block over is definitely one of those times. The wya Alexis has slumped up in the couch, with his eyes all dreary and blanked out makes it apparent enough he's at least trying to recover from a measure of a burnout. And of course, the TV is blaring anime-- some thing following the adventures of a spiky-haired boy whose right hand evidently dispels supernatural effects upon touch in a highly technologically advanced city filled with espers and sometimes magicians. There's also a few scenes that make it ABUNDANTLY clear that teh show is predominantly aimed at teenaged boys, but ''nevermind that''. Alexis is moping, okay?

:'''{{#var:220|Miho Kagami| (220)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Miho arrives on the balcony, gets out her cracked phone to text Lacrima that Alex probably needs her company, then ... pauses as she steps in when she sees what Alex is watching. "... yare yare da wa, Alex-kun," she says without rancor.<br /><br />Then she goes to sit at the desk near the balcony, pulls out a Switch, and starts playing Sonic Forces. Soon, Sonic is dashing through the stage alongside Miho's avatar, a pink-furred catgirl wearing a sky-blue and white dress. (... which is to say, her avatar is in the colors of the trans flag. She feels safe doing this because nobody's actually going to notice.)

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima looked in the mirror and frowned as she poked at that wound. It had started to wane-- a little. But it still looked awful, and she twinged when she poked it. "Nrrrrrg. I forgot how much it sucked to have a wound like a normal person." she muttered to herself. She sighed as she opened the mirror and found a roll of gauze she bought for the more mortal of the housemates and began wrapping it around her armpit and around it. After getting dressed for the weather- black tank top, knee length shorts and sneakers. Nothing fancy. Boring.<br /><br />She was getting ready to take off for the ECFH anyways, she wants to see if Mamoru can't or won't attempt to heal it for her- when she gets a text, and she purses her lips in concern. She was going to take the bus. Like a normal person like she does every so often--- but instead now she just disappears into a sudden wisp of black mist from her basement room and appears on the balcony of the ECFH- the usual side- as she peeks in. "Hello?..." she asks softly. The bandage is visible with the tank top--- really she did the bandage thing because it hides the wound-- not so much to protect it-- but anyone that knows her should know she doesn't /need/ bandages usually.<br /><br />She comes up behind the couch.<br /><br />"....if that girl jumps, she's gonna pop r----ahhahah nevermind." she suddenly catches herself as she clears her throat.<br /><br />"...something wrong...?" she asks quietly with concern.

:'''{{#var:198|Rashmi Terios| (198)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Not long after, comes a knock at the door, followed by the door's opening and a merry call of "Kara-age~!" And indeed, Rashmi emerges from the shoe-changing station with a hefty takeout bag in one hand and a six-pack of assorted drink bottles in the other. "I wasn't sure if you'd eaten yet, Alexis-kun, so I went for something you'd probably like, and oh hi Miho-chan, Lacch-- ... .........Lacchan what happened?" This last, spoken while staring in obvious concern at the bandage.

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"DAH!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Alexis promptly fumbles akwardly with the tv remote when Lacrima and Miho come in, though in his hurry he likely ends up making it bounce around in his hands before he actually gets a proper grip -- and by the time everyone has likely seen the screen already anyway, even if he still changes the channel quickly to some news report. "I WAS CHANNEL SURFING AND THAT WAS JUST WHAT WAS ON RIGHT THEN," he protests, face grown red to the point where one might worry his head was about to explode. Also, nevermind the fact that the DVD player is *clearly* running.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He calms himself back along the couch, though, to turn to face the gathered girls-- and of course, his eyes sweep to Lacrima, first, with a slow blink of his somewhat bloodshot eyes. "... Why the bandage?" He asks, bluntly, right on the heel of Rashmi's question.

:'''{{#var:220|Miho Kagami| (220)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Miho jumps in surprise at ''sudden sensation of darkness!'' Her Switch produces the sound of Sonic losing all his rings. She pauses the game and says, "I forgot you told me you could teleport like that, Lacchan," she says in her clear bright voice. "Or, wait, no, Kazeko-san said ... something about it. Man, I don't even know now."<br /><br />She turns to Rashmi and Alex. "Ryo happened," she says, not dignifying him with an honorific. "Maria-chan invited us to a picnic, and ''that boy'' somehow saw through her disguise." She frowns at Lacrima. "It's just so frustrating that ''I'' can't heal you."

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima gently rubs at the bandage and frowns. "'Saint George' happened." she says quietly. "...he fricken ambushed me in the park, somehow saw right through the 'Maria' disguise..." she says. "Apparently. That weapon of his leaves wounds that I can't heal quickly on my own." she says. "I can close it, but it leaves a painful mark as far as I can tell." she says.<br /><br />"...I was actually heading over here to see if Mamoru would try to heal with it..." she mutters. "Miho's healing is based enough in purifying magic that it isn't a good idea." she says quietly. She nods as Miho confirms this for me.<br /><br />"It's not quite teleporting but it's close enough I'm not going to argue the point." she says. She sighs. "Did something happen?" she asks.<br /><br />"I got a text about.... something." she says.

:'''{{#var:198|Rashmi Terios| (198)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>At the pair of stories about Ryo, Rashmi's face darkens for a moment, as she sets the bag on the table and starts to get out multiple boxes of steaming, crispy fried chicken nuggets and onigiri. "I don't think Mamo-kun's here just now, but it's pretty probable he'll turn up. As to what happened..." She pauses to give Alexis a long look, then sighs, heading to the kitchen to get plates and sauce bowls.<br /> <br />"So Alexis-kun was tracking who was responsible for that lab we rescued those people from. Followed the lead back to a city councilman. Gave all the evidence he picked up to the police. Councilman gets called into the station, then walks back out a little while later. Which, y'know, that's frustrating."<br /> <br />Eyes flick once more to the mopey German. "Alexis-kun.... didn't take it well."

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For a good moment, Alexis stares at Lacrima, after the story about Ryo. His nose wrinkles, brows knit together, and finally he growls, "That guy needs more than just his nose broken."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With a huff, he turns to looking after Rashmi-- and his expression falls. Somehow the fatigue and the red color in his eyes becomes all the more obvious. "That's..." He whispers out, and then turns his gaze away from everyone. "... You heal okay?"

:'''{{#var:220|Miho Kagami| (220)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Miho grimaces. "Don't worry, Rashmi-chan's fine now," she says softly. "I made sure to heal her." She looks awkwardly over at Lacrima. For all the skills she's developed so far, she has ''no idea'' how to delicately say 'and then Alex went berserk and attacked us for telling him he shouldn't go and kill someone'.

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima looks between Rashmi and Life Mahou Joy. She purses her lips and looks back to Alexis. "I don't know what he needs at this point." she says quietly in regards to Ryo. She just sighs a bit. "Councilman?" she asks as she furrows her brow.<br /><br />"....some politicians work for Eclipse." she says. "I... can't actually tell you who. It's all covered in codenames and obfuscation magic." she says. "But if you find out anything, let me know." she says. "Maybe I can f**k with them from my side." she says curtly.<br /><br />"If they work for Eclipse that is." she adds. "Other rouge groups have gotten hands on Eclipse tech before." she says. "But... I've never seen that in that large a volume." she says. "Usually when that much go missing they'd send out Taskforce 'Repo-man' because someone's in some massive trouble then."

:'''{{#var:198|Rashmi Terios| (198)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"And I've had worse," Rashmi says gently after Miho speaks up, offering Alexis the first full plate. "Like I said; nothing happened that couldn't be apologized for." Arranging plates for Miho and Lacrima, the redhead arches an eyebrow at the vampire. "...Repo-man? That sounds... probably as chilling as it's supposed to."

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I still hurt you," Alex insists, his hand reaching over to grab Rashmi's own when she has set the plate down-- rather than letting her go. It's not a particularly insistent grip, that, but still. His head tips down, to press his brow against her knuckles, as his eyes close. "...I was ready to plow right through you just because you wouldn't let me... go snap that guy's neck. And part of me still feels like I should just go do that." He bites at his lower lip. "... I'm sorry. I'm sorry."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;His head lifts up, then, eyes opening and blinking away some faint hint of moisture there, when they look to Lacrima. "... It sure looked like he was supplied and working for Eclipse," he murmurs. "So that would make sense. But... my mom being back there, saying she was there to shut it down? That would... mean he isn't? And he took the equipment from her instead? But..." His brows furrow down. "WOuldn't she have made sure he *didn't* get away from the cops, then? Or done something even worse with him instead of going half-measures?"

:'''{{#var:220|Miho Kagami| (220)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Miho frowns at the Repo-Man comment. "There are ''many'' things about Eclipse which sound incredibly ominous," she says. "So, possibly like what Mom Raskoph was doing there?"<br /><br />She frowns at Alexis's words, then scoots her chair a bit further from Lacrima, and then grimaces as she reverts her henshin. "Hey," she says, in her now-scratchy-and-androgynous voice. "You didn't hurt either of us that bad, okay?" she says. "I ..." She looks over to Rashmi. She really isn't any good at saying things like this.

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima leans over the couch more. "Welcome to working for Eclipse. Where every other subdivision or subproject is trying to fuck one another over." she says bluntly. "Someone from within the company hacked UMBRA's servers once- stole my Dusk Zone Research. Stole Takashi's Nullheart research." she says with a frown.<br /><br />"Then there was Precia's stupid division that cut funding for a bit to UMBRA, somehow. I think she might had bee-----ahahahaha--noooo. Look." she says.<br /><br />"What I'm saying is, it isn't uncommon for two divisions or projects to try to dick one another over, either indirectly or directly. We call it 'Corporate Warefare' and it's pretty much a standard part of Eclipse culture." she says.<br /><br />"So your mother being there to ruin another Eclipse member's project isn't unheard of, and actually quite common. It's also why I haven't been reprimanded or punished for these altercations with your mother. I'm engaging in Corporate Warefare." she says bluntly. "From the Eclipse perspective."<br /><br />"It's like. If I am able to beat you up and steal and or destroy your stuff, then 'oh well', should had been stronger.'"<br /><br />She then looks between Rashmi. And Alexis and Miho and frowns.<br /><br />"...did you guys. Fight one another?..." she asks softly.

:'''{{#var:198|Rashmi Terios| (198)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Rashmi simply pats Alexis' hand and smiles gently. "I think it was pretty easy to forgive you after, Alexis-kun." She doesn't ''specifically'' say 'you were crying and snotting into my Barrier Jacket,' because c'mon, boy-rep needs respected.<br /> <br />Looking up at Lacrima, Rashmi simply nods. "I didn't want him to do anything he couldn't take back, Lacchan. And if I got a few builses and burns along the way, well, I called a healer to help me. I knew what might happen when I stuck an angry Belkan Knight in a cage with me, y'know?"

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Nnnh," Alexis sounds out when his head gets patted, and his other hand comes up to wipe at his eyes. "... WHy are you so good to me?" he mumbles, in a whisper.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He looks to Lacrima again with that, and frowns in thought. "...I don't get it, though. I found that place to begin with by investigating mom. And it sure seemed like it was her equipment...?" He shakes his head. "I don't get it..."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He seems to have also forgotten his hand is still holding onto Rashmi's.

:'''{{#var:220|Miho Kagami| (220)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Miho nods to Lacrima. "I was wondering about that, actually," she says. "The 'corporate warfare' thing was one of my guesses. Definitely fits what I know about 'em." At the question, she just ... nods slowly. "And ... I kind of unloaded angrily on him. Verbally, I mean." She gets up and puts a hand on Alex's shoulder. "Sorry for that," she says softly. "I ... don't think I actually apologized before."<br /><br />She grins lopsidedly at Rashmi. "... Well, Alex-kun ''probably'' wasn't gonna smash you through the roof, but, I mean, yeah." She pointedly does ''not'' complain about the usual healer woes since Alex already feels guilty enough.<br /><br />She frowns at Alex. "Probably some sort of ... appropriating equipment, or whatever?" she says. "The way Lacchan puts it, it sounds like Eclipse isn't ... like ... completely closed or whatever, they just ... snipe at each other. Maybe they bought Raskoph Conglomerate equipment and then your mom decided she didn't like what they were doing with it?"

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima says. "It's possible she had a partner who went rogue and now she's clean it up." she says softly. She looks to Miho and snorts, no reason here, but she keeps it to herself. "Really, I need more information either way to make a final conclusion, but all those would be my best bets." she says.<br /><br />She eyes Miho. "Eclipse is basically 'Dilbert' but with more stabbing." she says dryly.<br /><br />She sighs a bit and frowns. "Well... as long as everyone is okay." she says. She does eye that extended hand hold. She isn't bringing it up. But she is staring at it for a moment.<br /><br />She rubs at her wound a bit and curses under her breath. "I forgot. How much having wounds that don't heal within seconds feels." she curses. "It burns every so often."

:'''{{#var:198|Rashmi Terios| (198)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"It's what friends do," Rashmi says, lifting a shoulder. "That's why people are stronger together than alone, Alexis-kun." Chuckling, she gently pulls her hand away, pushing the boy's plate closer to him. "Now eat. You look like you haven't had anything all day, I'm surprised Kriegsfauste hasn't been nagging you."<br /> <br />Filling up her own plate, she takes a seat at the table, tilting her head at Lacrima. "Dilbert with... Okay I have to forget I heard that or I won't take Eclipse seriously and that's just a ''bad'' idea," she says with a chuckle. "Would food help? Cos there's enough for you too, Lacchan."

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Completely oblivious to any staring or what have you, Alexis just kind of pouts indignantly at Rashmi urging him to eat. "You say that only because you don't have a constant telepathic link to him," he mutters.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Cue a sudden piping up of synthesized voice going, &lt;&lt;DAS HABE ICH GEHORT&gt;&gt;<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Alexis just *sighs*. "I *know*."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He finally looks back to Miho, a bit sheepishly so. "... It's okay, really," he murmurs. "Though maybe less comparing me to Ryo, okay?"

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Alexis also quickly adds in to Lacrima, with a wry expression, "I could have told you *that*," in regards to the feeling of the wound.

:'''{{#var:220|Miho Kagami| (220)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Miho giggles at Lacrima's 'Dilbert' comment, then frowns. "I'd offer to let you drain me, but like I said before ..." She glances at Alex and Rashmi. "... we don't know whether my Life Blessing will cause problems, even in this form. And if draining has ''no'' effect on it ..." Her shadow briefly flickers with blackness, but then Miho immediately folds her arms with her left hand grasped by her right.<br /><br />She sits down and nods to Rashmi, and starts digging in on the meal. "I've had an uptick in appetite since I started transforming, by the way," she says. "My parents ... attribute it to me being a growing girl." That seems to bring a smile to her face for some reason, although Rashmi if not Lacrima might be able to deduce that it's about. "But anyway, seems like ... there ''is'' some kind of food-connection."<br /><br />She nods to Alex. "Sure," she says softly. "Sorry. I ... yeah, sorry."

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima shifts. "...Ryo... Saint George... didn't respond to a purification attempt. At all." she says quietly, and a bit uncomfortably. "It means what he's doing is his own damn choice, probably." she says softly with a sigh. "I have asked Hino-san, the miko that works at Hikawa Shrine, to see if from a afar, she can figure anything out..." she says. "If... if Ryo is doing this. By choice..."<br /><br />She just sighs. "At least you're all okay." she says quietly. "Just.. killing. Killing isn't something you can take back." she says quietly.<br /><br />"...I keep thinking of what happens if someone kills Ryo." she says. "What I'm going to tell mom and dad..."

:'''{{#var:198|Rashmi Terios| (198)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>At this, Rashmi shakes her head. "No, Lacchan. We'll do everything we can to make sure that doesn't happen," she says, reaching out to put a hand on the vampire's uninjured shoulder for a moment. "And it's ''us,''" she continues, smiling. "I mean, we just beat a world-breaking Jewel Witch and brought Mamo-kun ''back to life.'' Pretty sure we can eventually bang some sense into Ryo-san's head."<br /> <br />"Oh, there ''is'' a food connection," Rashmi says. "Far as I know, Linker Cores are pretty analogous for almost everyone except Puella, and Linker Cores need energy to fill back up. So there's a reason for the post-fight munchies, y'know?"

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Alexis looks back and forth between Rashmi and Lacrima, and then frowns. "... I am probably not the right person to be around for this conversation right now," he murmurs, and starts rising up from the sofa with his plate. "... I think... I am gonna go eat in my room and then rest up for a while."

:'''{{#var:220|Miho Kagami| (220)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Miho nods to Lacrima. "Yeah," she says quietly. "If he randomly ticks off someone who's tougher than he is has no compunctions about killing ... that's something that we have absolutely no control over." She sighs. "But he's just so ... ''frustrating''. It's not that he's unobservant, it's just anything that isn't his own angry nonsense just ... goes in one ear and out the other."<br /><br />She nods to Rashmi. "And Linker Cores are ... the ... part of your soul that produces magic, right? I think I read about them on ..." Her eyes briefly flit Lacrima-ward. "... Virtue's network."<br /><br />She frowns as Alex gets up. "Hey, uh ... take care, will you?" she says, glancing worriedly at Lacrima and Rashmi.

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima nods a little, as if she understands. "Alright, Alexis-niisan." she says softly, as she fidgets a bit. She sighs to Miho and nods. "Yeah. Like. Kyouko. Kyouko won't hesitate to kill him probably if he does something stupid like try to stab to Mamoru or Kunzite or something." she mutters.<br /><br />She looks to Miho. "Linker Core is a 'generic' term for someone's magical heart. The form it takes depends on the magical girl or type they are." she says. "For mages like Rashmi, usually a glowing colorful orb or something." she says. She shifts. "I have one." she shifts as she looks down, then back up.<br /><br />"My linker core is held in my body, probably where my soul is. Where 'I' reside. I'd rather not poke it." she says.<br /><br />"I've theorized I could move it to the necklace." she says. "I just don't know if I could get OUT of the necklace." she says. "It was specifically made to contain something like me."

:'''{{#var:198|Rashmi Terios| (198)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"That's actually a good idea," Rashmi says, giving Miho a reassuring look. "Kriegsfauste, make sure he eats everything before he sleeps, okay?" As Alexis lumbers off to his room, she turns back to the conversation, poking a piece of chicken into her bowl of sauce. "That... yeah, that's not something I'd chance either. Any way you could build a mock-up, just without the containment stuff?"

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;On the way to the hallway, Kriegsfauste promptly pipes up with a &lt;&lt;JAWOHL&gt;&gt; in response to Rashmi.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And of course Alexis sighs heavily again. "It's like I have two moms besides the one shitty one..."

:'''{{#var:220|Miho Kagami| (220)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Miho considers this. "I dunno what my Linker Core would look like," she says, "but given the emblems that're on both my costume and in an old photo of Life Mahou Wonder that Hokuto-chan showed me, it's probably heart-shaped." She frowns at the bit about Lacrima's necklace. "Yeah, that ... does not sound like the kind of thing you should be experimenting with using your own soul."<br /><br />She continues eating for a moment. "... Is ... you know what, I'm out to both of you plus Mamoru-kun and half the other people who live here. Lacchan, that thing you've been wanting to ask me about ... Is it transgender stuff?"

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima shakes her head. "I could talk to Kunzite about that. 'Soul Gems'... but. That's a touchy subject to approach him about." she says. "I don't know how the Italian hunters that made the thing, made it. It had a powerful sealing spell on it in the past. It's how they killed the original owner of the power. They took his magic. The body and mind fell apart after that." she says.<br /><br />"Then the seal weakened like a toxic waste drum and I bought it in a second hand shop so." she sighs. "Yeah."<br /><br />She head tilts at Miho. "OH!" she says "Right."<br /><br />"....You said that. Your curse-- as it we're-- passes from... mother to daughter?" she asks. "Was at that birth?" she asks. A pause. "Oh, this is for my own. Hypthosis. About something." she says crossing her arms. "Not... judging..or anything...." she suddenly says worryingly.<br /><br />"I mean I'm a horrible black mass of awful that if you want to get embarrassingly technical about only looks female. I'm in no place to hate on anyone for any reason like that." she says.

:'''{{#var:198|Rashmi Terios| (198)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>At the shift in subject, Rashmi simply tilts her head in curiosity, listening and eating in silence.

:'''{{#var:220|Miho Kagami| (220)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Miho grimaces at the 'toxic waste drum' bit. "Oh, so the necklace wasn't originally the 'source' or whatever?" she says. "I somehow jumped to the conclusion that Poderoso-san had gotten his power ''from'' the necklace or whatever."<br /><br />She smiles and waves her hand at Lacrima's worries. "Don't worry about it, Lacchan, I figured there was exactly a zero percent chance of ''you'' being judgmental," she says. (Well ... maybe ''ten'' percent, but that clearly isn't what Lacrima needs to hear right at that moment.) "But yes, I ''do'' believe I've been a girl my whole life, it's just that it took until ... approximately the beginning of middle school before I figured it out conclusively enough that I actually decided to do something about it." She shrugs. "What was your hypothesis?"

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima shakes her head. "Poderoso did not use the necklace to gain power. It was a prison, the necklace for the power. He wasn't able to be killed by purification magic. So some Italian hunters thought laterally and found a way to defeat him." she says. "That's the necklace." she says. "I... do not know how Poderoso became a vampire. But I know he did so willingly. And you don't really... become a black energy abomination by yourself through good works and community service." she says with a lopsided smile.<br /><br />She shifts. "I've often thought about the nature of magic and it's connection to the heart." she says. "Please understand that. When I talk here. I don't mean offense." she said curtly.<br /><br />"The magic, this curse could had went 'wait no, that isn't a girl we're not getting passed down'. But it didn't. It just accepted you as you." she says. "It makes me wonder if it's always like that." she says. "With other magical things." she says tapping her bottom lip.<br /><br />"It also makes me wonder other things. Like. Ryo. As Saint George, brings a whole lot of weird existential questions. I mean..." she says. "It'd mean all those stories are true in some fashion. The dragon. The Crusades." she says.<br /><br />She scratches the side of her head.

:'''{{#var:198|Rashmi Terios| (198)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"That does make sense," Rashmi pipes up after a moment's thought. "A ''lot'' of magic deals with and sometimes feeds on emotions, how you 'feel,' y'know? So it... would kind of make sense, from the way you talk, that you inherited your family's magic; in your heart, you've always been a daughter, and if the magic responded to that..."

:'''{{#var:220|Miho Kagami| (220)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Miho nods, considering this. "I know when I came out to Kukai-kun and Rashmi-chan," she says, "he mentioned that there's some sources of magic which seem to care more about the biological side of things than they should in my opinion, but we all agreed that ''mine'' working for ''me'' is the important part. No idea where Ryo fits into all this ... Are you saying that ... the fact that his emotional state is basically a perfect fit for St. George ... was a sort of 'predicate' for his reincarnation?"<br /><br />She thinks, putting a hand on her chin. "... Also, do you think Noroiko had something to do with my ... situation? At the time I was just sort of praising my good luck and leaving it at that, but ... the fact that there's actually something ''intelligent'' in my curse is starting to raise all kinds of troubling questions."

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima shifts. "A little." she says. "He was always cocksure and kind of an ass. But never to that extreme.. he was an ass in the way you expect a big brother to be." she says quietly. "It's more all these existential questions recently, I've had." she mutters.<br /><br />She winces and touches her shoulder. "Nrg. Dammit." she says. "Horrible immortal dark beings shouldn't be subject to such trivial things like a cut!' she huffs.<br /><br />She looks down. "There is a place in Spain." she says. "Poderoso's old castle manor." she says. "It was burned down. The hunters burned it to the ground." she says. "But. It appears to still be intact. It's on a mountain. Over the town of Vados. That used to be 'his' village." she says.<br /><br />"I often wonder if I should go. What I'll find there." she says.<br /><br />A pause, she looks to Miho. "Always beware of an entity that might share your body, but always remember one thing, Miho-chan. It's your body. Not that things. It's your shadow, not that things shadow. It doesn't exist without you. You have the car keys and that thing is only in the passenger seat." she says softly.<br /><br />"Oh!" she says. "Right. Miho-chan." she says. "I know all this because I have dreams about his life. It's weird. But some of my earliest dreams we're... dying to those Hunters. It's how I learned many of the things I do now, by parroting him from the dreams." she says. "But then I have a dream of a really dumb boring day sometimes. Because 'Poderoso eats an entire ham while he's waited on by his servants' isn't really exciting." she says.<br /><br />"I don't... have my own dreams..." she says quietly. "I either dream of a black void... with weird... sparkle shapes. I sometimes enter a weird dream landscape of my head, which looks like his castle." she says. "Or I dream of his life." she says as she fidgets. "Ari-chan likes the dream landscape though. It has a ballroom!" she says with wide eyes. She leans over to the two girls and says almost in a giddy whispers. "There's nothing more romantic than dancing in a ballroom in a dream with just the two of you." she says begining to drift off into a happy thought when she suddenly grabs her arm. "@$%#! Owwwww."

:'''{{#var:198|Rashmi Terios| (198)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Rashmi nods along with Lacrima as she advises Miho, clearly agreeing with everything the vampire has to say to the other girl. As Lacrima goes on to talk about her dreams, and the ballroom, the redhead gets a bit sparkly-eyed, sighing happily. "That does sound lovely, Lacchan. I'm almost jealous you get to dance a ball in your dreams, ''with a unicorn!'' An-- ohgosh Lacchan are you all right?!"

:'''{{#var:220|Miho Kagami| (220)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Miho nods along. "Well, I sure as heck wasn't going to listen to anything Noroiko had to say," she says dryly. "Sounds like you have some pretty wonderful dreams, though --" She frowns, alarmed by Lacrima's sudden ''reaction'', and puts a hand on Lacrima's unhurt shoulder. "Lacchan!?" she says. "What's going on?" She fights against the urge to try to bring the Life Blessing to bear, since ''nothing'' she can do with it would help ...

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"It's this cut." she mutters at Rashmi. "It stings and hurts. If Mamoru can't help I hope that it heals on it's own eventually...." she says worriedly. She eyes Rashmi and smiles a little as she rubs across the bandage. "I don't love Ari because she's a unicorn though." she says. "But.. it is nice." she huffs a little.<br /><br />"I'll be fine. I just feels sharp and stinging. Enough it jolts me out of my current thought." she says.<br /><br />"That spear ... or sword of his means business." she says.
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