The apartment that Naru directs Lacrima towards is rather centrally located, being over the Osa-P jewelry shop. The shop is still open, no doubt Naru's mother is still working, but Naru provided an explination on where to find the stairs up that avoids the store.
Once upstairs, the hallway and the apartment itself looks fairly standard, although on the nicer end of amenities. Not quite Mamoru level of rich, but the store is clearly not hurting.
Lacrima wanted to visit Naru to check up on her, given that- she'd been in her 'dreams' twice by now and wanted to see how she was doing in a manner that did not involve following a magical dream unicorn into a dream.
Yeah, life is weird now and will never ever be the same- and this is after she'd already been a vampire!
She knocks, politely, on the door as she waits for an answer.
When that comes she politely gives a soft nod. "Hello, Naru-chan." she says softly.
She steps into the apartment and purses her lips- she takes off her shoes as expected and takes a few steps in.
She doesn't seem surprised at the state of Naru's apartment. Her family owns a well to do Jewelry Store after all.
"How have you been?" she asks. "Since the last dream thing?" she asks.
"...unless you don't remember." she says. "Do you?" she asks.
The apartment itself is obsessively neat and tidy, ever so faintly impersonal perhaps. Certainly not a lot of personal items around, not a lot of photos or random /stuff/. There is Naru's homework on the coffee table, with her sketchbook and a cup of tea.
Naru herself looks far more awake than she has of late as she opens the door and ushers Lacrima in. "C'mon in. Can I get you anything? Tea? Snack?"
Because clearly one should invite vampires in /and/ offer them tea.
Naru quirks a smile and nods. "I do remember, all of it actually. I've been a lot better." She admits as she gestures towards the couches. "So much less sore and utterly exhausted. Sleeping a whole night is novel."
Lacrima head tilts. "Good." she says. "I mean. That you've been better." she says quietly. She purses her lips and says. "Tea sounds good." she says softly. "Thank you." she says as she head tilts a little- as she walks over to where Naru has her homework laid out.
"Ah. Homework." she says quietly. "I miss school." she says.
She seats herself.
"I actually came to see if I couldn't find out if what's causing your dreams is internal. Or external." she says.
"I understand there's been a rash of 'dreaming' about." she says. "People where I work are all describing the same dream." she says. "I haven't had it. I don't really dream like a human does." she says.
"It would be nice to have it. I haven't had a 'normal dream' in a long time." she says.
Naru is only gone for a moment as she brings another cup and a tea pot out to the table where homework and Lacrima have settled, or will settle soon. "I'd miss homework if I couldn't go to school, I can see that. Right this second, I would happily burn it without a second thought and not miss it a bit. I'm still getting caught up."
"I'm not sure which it is." Naru admits as she resettles and pours tea for Lacrima. "Internal or external. I think, honestly, it's probably a bit of both. Or one feeding into the other." She offers the cup over. and then pauses. "A swack of people all commenting on the same dream, hmm? Did they say what it was about?"
Lacrima head tilts- and listens. "You don't realize what you'll miss until you can't do it anymore." she says quietly. She head tilts. "They've described talking to a creature I recognize as 'Kyubey' and the name 'Hana' was mentioned." she says. "It does not surprise me Kyubey is involved somehow with this." she says.
"The little rat gets his fingers in everything."
She head tilts. She digs over into a sidepack she's got slung over her shoulder and pulls out some kind of tablet. It's looks weird and has some sort of weird sensors on the back.
"This is a device I use when I study Dusk Zone creatures." she says. "It's just a scanner." she says.
She offers the device forward. "May I?" she asks. "Scan that is. See if anything is lingering. Or reaching out." she says. "If possible."
"That's the one." Naru nods in confirmation as she wrinkles her nose. "Well that is officially more disconcerting that Kyubey is popping up in more dreams, and that it seems to be all /over/ the place. I'd really rather like to have my own dreams /back/ personally."
Naru considers the tablet a moment, curious rather than concerned. "Neat! Certainly." She nods at the question. "I haven't had much luck with whatever has been in my dreams turning up in my waking self. I was scanned at least once when my powers were still wonky and irregular, but I was already having nightmares, and nothing turned up." She pauses a moment, thoughtful. "Although I admit, there's a moment pause when I consider being scanned and that info going to your boss."
Lacrima head tilts. "The dream isn't described as being interactive. It's probably a warning, or an explanation." she says. She purses her lips as she eyes the tea a moment and then back to Naru.
She head tilts. "This is not exactly a comprehensive scanning suite. To do that. I'd need to bring you back to the laboratory." she says.
"No, this will just tell me if there's anything 'dark' or 'bad' emanating from outside or inside." she says.
"To get more than that. Well. This is just a small device." she says.
"Besides, I don't know why Riventon-sama would want any scans of you." she says.
"I think he knows what'll happen if he tries anything. Considering." she says.
Considering what he learned from 'let's make a dark energy clone of one of your friends!'.
(Spoiler: Probably still hasn't learned.)
"No, I didn't get the sense of being able to interact with it." Naru shakes her head a little. "I couldnt in some of my nightmares too, though. Although the one with Kyubey didn't feel like a nightmare, exactly, either. I didn't die, just to start, which is always a delightful twist."
Naru ahs softly on the topic of scans and relative abilities of hand held devices. "I don't know why he'd want scans of me either. I'm not terribly exciting magically, so seriously not worth the bother. Just a momentary niggle of paranoia, which I think I can be forgiven on the justification for."
Naru nods after a further moment of thought. "Go ahead if you wish."
Lacrima frowns. "The feeling of death is not something I'd recommended to anyone, no." she says matter of factly. She raises the tablet and pushes the screen. Absolutely nothing seems to happen.
What did you expect, a laser light show?
She lets the tablet do it's work. It's trying to sense if there's any 'dark energy' disturbances around Naru. Emanating from Naru, or broadcasting into or from, Naru. It's been adjusted to filter out Lacrima's own signature, as not to contaminate the results--- something typical probably- of most people who work for Eclipse.
"Ariel's been hanging out in my dreamscape recently." she says quietly. "Trying to help me with some things." she says. "It's why she tugged me along recently." she says.
"It generally wakes me up, not in a good way exactly, but it is some measure of relief to wake up and be alive." Naru agrees as she watches the tablet look like a tablet while it scans.
As things stand currently, Naru is dark energy free. Energy, yes, but dark energy is a no. How long that status might last is a whole different question, and kettle of fish of course, but for the moment, Naru is clean. No escalations for her!
"I had wondered when she tugged you along." Naru acknowledges with a little nod. "Is she trying to help you dream again?"
Lacrima doesn't see anything horrible from Naru. She purses her lips and frowns a bit. "Hrmmmm. Nothing. Untoward." she says. "It may be more productive to try scanning you when you're dreaming or asleep." she says as she turns the tablet off and places it into her side pack again. She sighs a bit and looks up.
"I dream... but. Not. Really?" she asks. "I will either. Dream of colors. Or dream of being in some sort of garden-- with old style trellis and things like that." she says.
"Those are my regular dreams. But sometimes. I dream of events long passed. And sometimes they can be disturbing, given that- they are from Spain during a time of religious zealously." she says matter of factly. "or tell me things about my powers that I wish I didn't know." she says more quietly.
"I never pinged off anyone's radar awake before either, even when it was pretty clear /something/ was going on in my dreams." Naru doesn't seem surprised by the lack of result. "I can confidently say that I've never had anyone scan me when I was asleep, or dreaming, so I wouldn't be able to say if that had changed or not."
"Dreaming of colours, of gardens.. those seem normal enough to me." Naru points out and then adds. "When I'm not in non-stop nightmare mode. Which admitedly, is rare enough. My dreams aren't very delightful at the best of times, even when there aren't active malicious forces trying to drain me in them."
Naru considers, sipping from her tea. "Do you think they're telling you about the experiences of the item that you have?"
Lacrima head tilts. "No, they're telling me of the experiences of the being that had this power before I did." she says softly. "It's why I have those types of dreams, and why I know fluent Spanish and some customs despite not knowing a lick of anything about it before that." she says.
"Sometimes, it'll use those experiences to show me I'm capable of something. Then I know how to do it. But sometimes not all of it." she says. "It's how I learned to 'feed' and that I could hypnotize people... and turn into a bat and-- well lots of stuff." she says.
She head tilts. "The Garden is strange, because I'm certain it represents a place that exists- or existed- in real life." she says. "But I've never been there." she says. "It's similar to the garden in the courtyard of the manor that tends to be a major part of the other type of dream." she says. "But it isn't the same." she says quietly.
"Interesting. To me, that seems effectively the same thing, but I can see how they aren't." Naru nods slowly, thoughtfully. "It sounds at once really fascinating, and absolutely awful to be the one going through it. I have sympathy for you in that."
"Do you think the garden is in Spain?" Naru asks and then quirks her head. "Have you ever considered going to spain to look? Or even just google earthing it, to see if you can find out more history on the manor? I suppose it's hard to image search your dreams though."
Lacrima head tilts. "We should try having a passive scanner read you while you're asleep..." she says. "But... you may be better off. Doing that. 'In house'. This tablet is mine. I use it in my work. But bigger things like that- well. I'll have to fill out request paperwork-- whos hows and whys, and so on." she says.
"Least of worry- just being told 'no, not a worthwhile use of resources, a more major reason being someone higher up taking intrest." she says.
"So. I don't know who you go to for 'magical medical' but--- that." she says. "Try that." she says.
She head tilts. "I've looked into it before. I know the name of the place I need to go. And what's basically there right now. But. I feel. That's not all."
"I do feel like something is calling me there. Not.. urgently? But. Like...."
"'Come here if you want to know.'" she says.
"Like that." she nods. "But. Jia-chan won't let me go alone." she says. "In case what I find there decides to make me stammer and spout about ending the world or if I suddenly gain a unhealthy interest in pretty boy princes or something." she says matter of factly.
"I'll ask." Naru nods with a little smile. "I'm feeling currently confident, but I think that comes from getting a few good nights sleep all in a row."
"It sounds crazily suicidal to go alone." Naru agrees with a firm nod. "If you do decide to go, or the pull is too strong /not/ to go, I'll go with you. Or please do take someone. Or a few someones would be an even better idea, really."
Lacrima nods. "Amu....-chan. Wants to come with me. I'd feel... better if she was able to come. She can... do that. Big purification thing. Just in case." she says. "I trust Jia-chan too." she says. "If you wanted to come-- I'm sure you'd be welcome to. I'm sure you'd want to bring a friend just in case too. Or. Rather. Someone would insist they would." she says with a little grumble to her voice.
She sighs a bit. "I hope we figure out what's going on with your dreams at least. Maybe if we're lucky, whatever's there got driven out by our last encounter with it." she says.
"Big purification thing seems like an excellent choice." Naru agrees. "Hard on you, but good in general. I'm not any sort of combatant, magically, but fairly flexible generally." She smiles a touch. "Honestly? I'd be more likely to come alone than try and bring a friend. It's /your/ life, and making you uncomfortable is not part of my goals."
"I .." Naru pauses, thoughtful. "I hope so. I'm wary, I'm not sure it has, but possibly I'm just being paranoid without any reason. I'm enjoying the hell out of a respite, either way."
Lacrima frowns. "'Hard On Me' is an understatement. I'm bringing her to kill me if that happens." she says frankly. "Purifying attacks hurt me a lot. They rend me easily." she says. "But the kind of 'attack' .... that she uses is--- It's less like an 'attack' and more like some kind of 'healing'. But I can't be healed. There's nothing for me to go back to." she says. "So it just...."
"Destroys me." she says. "Because that's how you 'heal' beings like me." she says with a frown.
She sighs and sips her tea. "Sorry." she says. "But that's just kind of the truth of the matter." she says silently.
"As I'm not familiar wiht Amu's powers, I wasn't sure quite what hers entailed." Naru shakes her head at the apology, a little gesture. "It's alright. It's the reality of the situation. Is she aware that's how it would go? I'm not sure how comfortable she'd be with that notion, but I don't know her terribly well. I've only met her a couple of times."
Lacrima head tilts. "Amu's been told why she'd be brought along." she says. "She's already threatened to do it to me over...." a pause. "That's not really important. What's important is that she is aware, yes." she says softly.
She head tilts. "Good. I'm glad you understand. It is mostly tiring hearing people say 'there has got to be some way to save you', or 'surely that isn't true' and things like that." she says with a soft frown.
"It's incredibly insulting." she says quietly. "Because if I was so easily fixed- I would had gone through it by now of my own accord." she says.
She sighs and head tilts. "I wish there was more ways to learn about this necklace though." she says. "The necklace. It didn't belong to the man who had my power. It was used against him by what I can only assume to be 'Italian vampire hunters'- or some kind of cult like that." she says. "It belongs to them." she says frankly.
"I can't say as I think of it as easily fixed, exactly, but it's not relevant to our conversation at hand." Naru replies simply enough, her expression thoughtful at the mention of the necklace. "That is surprising, that it was used against him. I wonder what we can find out about Italian vampire hunters." She pauses and then offers a little smile. "You, really, me only if you don't mind me meddling."
Lacrima head tilts. "I don't mind others looking into it. But you're talking things displaced in time since the early 1800s." she says. "Even the records we found so far are tenuous at best when it comes to the things in Spain and I actually have memories and events to help with that." she says.
She head tilts. "Poderoso. That was his name. It means... 'Powerful'. This power... names us- and that's what it named him." she says softly. "But. That's not important." she says.
"He'd gotten to a point where. Purification. Just didn't work." she says. "He just bathed in things that cause me agony to even be around in the general vicinity of." she says. "And-- conventional attacks aren't fatal to us." she says. "We'll always regenerate." she says.
"So they used the necklace to separate his power from him. Then they killed him. Without it. No Regeneration." she says.
"Then the necklace ended up in Tokyo for some reason." she says. "and I bought it. And the seal had been damaged by then. So it's kind of like a damaged can of juice leaked all over me, but with dark energy." she says matter of factly.
"Sure, I'm likely to find nothing, but I am curious and it seems like a puzzle that I wouldn't mind poking at. I just didn't want to without your permission." Naru nods at the cautions from Lacrima.
"Ah, so the necklace got his powers, well that makes a certain amount of sense." Naru hunhs softly and nods. "How it got to Tokyo is probably just one of those things. Collectors and the like, I wonder if the seal was damaged or if its deteriorating. It /is/ interesting."
Lacrima head tilts. "Riventon-sama's theory is that the seal held until it reached Tokyo. Tokyo isn't-- like everywhere else. Magical activity isn't as strong in say... Paris as it is here. The energy here- is different." she says. "So he thinks it had an affect on the necklace, wore it down over time." she says. "That makes the most sense to me."
She head tilts. "The necklace is useful to me how it is now. I use it like a lunchbox." a pause.
"Sorry. I know that sounds.. morbid." she says. "But. It let's me store energy in a place where I also can't access it." she says. "Like a lunchbox." she says.
"I keep about a couple days worth of energy in it." she says.
"I feel like I need to keep it." she says. "I don't think it's crucial to my survival. More like."
"Keeping a gun that can only be used against you close to your person." she says.
"It's a good theory." Naru muses on Riventon's theory and then nods. "Tokyo /is/ its own thing, for certain. It's really like nowhere else."
Naru smiles at the lunchbox comment. "No, it sounds practical and pragmatic and very sensible, really. If you're eternally on the edge of hunting, well it's like having an empty fridge. It absorbs your thoughts and distracts you from everything else. Food or energy or both."
Naru considers the keeping of it close. "Best to keep it near, either way. I'd rather you not find out it /is/ crucial to your survival or well being the hardway."
Lacrima frowns. "I know it doesn't.... 'contain me'.. like a Puella's Soul Gem." she says. "I know that much." she says.
She head tilts. "Riventon-sama is very smart. He knows about a lot of things better than some of us." she says. "I'm a poor scientist." she says. "I'm studying what I study because it makes me feel... something close to content and 'helpful' that I'm able to." she says.
She purses her lips. "I'm sorry that I couldn't... discover anything with this visit. About the condition of whatever is causing your dreams. I do suggest a... 'scan' when it's active next. Like I said. Contact... someone else. About that." she says.
She sighs and places her tea down.
"I should get back home." she says softly. "Before Jia-chan wonders where I am."
"I'm glad you came to visit, and you did discover something this visit." Naru explains. "Finding out that there is no current dark energy when I'm awake /is/ information. It isn't the information that you wanted, or possibly expected, but crossing things off is still valuable. Thank you for checking on that for me, and checking on me. I appreciate it."
"I certainly understand the desire to be helpful." Naru gets to her feet as Lacrima comments about needing to leave. "I'll do my best to keep on top of the nightmares this time, I'll ask about checking while I'm asleep."
Lacrima nods a little softly as she purses her lips. "I'll check later to see if you've learned anything. I think Ariel intends to keep bringing me to help with the situation. I'm not sure." she says. "I was able to coerce those things into talking at least." she says.
She nods. "Thank you." she says. And out she is! After getting her shoes back on.