trusthell | that's not what we usually mean by 'dance with death'

[That certainly did happen. Cherryblod's not the type of person who will judge one person's value as being more than another's, so he can't say whether it was better or worse than the first week. It came as less of a shock, maybe, but even so...

It's not the kind of thing people usually want to go through alone.

So, after he spends some time in the kitchen preparing (with assistance from Bruce), he'll slip some personalized notes under everyone's doors.]

[Name],
If you'd prefer to spend this time alone, that's fine.
If you'd prefer not to, I've made some food and set it out in the dining hall.
Even if you're just hungry and would rather not talk, feel free to come take some.
But if you'd like the company, we're here for you.
-Cherryblod

[Those arriving in the dining hall will find an assortment of food - a fair number of sandwiches and other, actual meal-like options since most people missed a meal or two, but also a goodly number of desserts. There's tea, as well as coffee for those who favor it.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Sigrun?

[ Her voice is soft, a murmur more than anything. She watches her work, then motions to the rune. ]

What is that?

Old thing that we kinda picked up on using within the recent generations. It's a rune that's carved here and there.

[She's quiet for a moment, concentrated, then blows off the bits of dust, holding the peice out for Aqua to see.]

It means "defense of that which one loves," so basically it's a rune that's supposed to protect others. I figure that since both of them were pearl people and both of them wanted to have that person they loved so much back I'd just carve something on here for them.

[ She studies the piece, then nods. It's nice--Aqua's not well-versed in runes at all, but she does know that it's a wonderful sentiment. ]

It's beautiful. Which others will this protect? Us? Or those they loved?

[Back to finishing it, then.]

It's a wish for their loved ones to be protected, but keeping it around could help us too.

[Not that she's sure if the gods can see them here. They'd probably enjoy the glory of the fights, but kin against kin (so to speak) might not be their stein of mead.]

I mean... If the Kingmaker's not lying when he says they're definitely dead, then they're, what? Ghosts? Ghosts can't touch people. You can't even see them unless you're a Mage.

Edited 2016-03-13 02:58 (UTC)

I'm even more confused than last week. We hadn't found a body--Caren had said that pearl housed Pearl's soul. How, then? Can he create copies of us, somehow? That seems impossible, even for the Kingmaker.

And I'll bet he won't answer a single one of those questions, even if I ask him about it. But at least we're certain now that it'll happen again if someone else gets killed.

[The whole fiasco from start to finish. Maybe not the threatened torture part though.]

Could be some kind of shapeshifter, but that's about as far out there as ghosts are for me too. I've never seen one.

You did manage to convince him to post a profile. I'm still impressed.

But a shapeshifter...

[ ... ]

It may be another from this world, if so. We can't be sure--but whatever the answer is, it's unpleasant to think about. And it serves only to rattle us more.

[It doesn't feel like anything one should be impressed by, really, but Sigrun loves compliments so she'll take it.]

So let's not think about it until it happens again. There's no point in worrying about things we can't understand but... I'll try asking him about it anyway, if you'd like.

If it's not too much trouble, I'd appreciate that. Though... you speak to him often, don't you?

[ It's more curious than anything. ]

Every few days, yup. Usually to ask him questions, but lately he's been asking me questions about myself and where I come from. Why?

[They're besties.]

I haven't tried to contact him, myself. I didn't think he'd be so receptive to us--at least in some ways.

It's like my great-grandmother used to say: You never know until you try, and when that doesn't work you try try again until they toss you out into the troll infested hills!

[... Admittedly her great-grandmother was Kind Of An Ass (TM) so.]

It's not like he can stop us from calling him or anything, so as long as you're persistent there's bound to be places he'll give. But you gotta be polite or he'll give you lip.

[ ... that's sure a saying, Sigrun. ]

I'll keep that in mind. What all have you asked about, if you're comfortable telling me? The last thing I'd want to do is annoy him.

[ WHO KNOWS WHAT HE'LL DO TO HER LBR. ]

[is it any surprise she's named after this great-grandmother of hers]

I've pretty much asked him everything I've been giving away at the meetings. The only things I haven't mentioned is the fact he won't give us a picture of what it's like outside and that the alarms aren't changeable. The rest's fair game.

[ nothing is surprising when it comes to sigrun anymore tbh ]

It's a bit suspicious that he won't let us see the outside. I suppose the point stands that none of us may not want to leave if he chances it, though.

Right? Other than that, it's like I said: He's asked me questions in return. Mostly some personal stuff, but others are just about the kind of world I live in. He likes to get to know people as much as anyone else.

He's asked you questions... even knowing what he does about us, and that information on our profiles?

Guess he's not as all knowing as he'd like to be.

I wonder if it's frustrating for him.

... It'd be pretty fun to feed him false info and see how crazy we could get them to think we were.

[ you have a weird sense of fun ]

I'm not even sure where I'd begin with that.

[her sense of fun includes bloodletting, let's not forget how that will have saved us twice now]

By lying, probably. Can you lie?

I can do my best.

[ read: someone's not good at lying ]

that's not what we usually mean by 'dance with death'

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