Floor 4, Room 4

[revengier]

KURAPIKA

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[troublereduction]

[ Day can respect taking risks—he lives by the Hunted Maiden's way, after all—so he can only hope that Kurapika truly thought it was worth it at the time. Things turning out this way is, in Day's mind, a separate matter, and they're dealing with it now he supposes. ]

Are you sayin' you got possessed?

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[ Kurapika shakes his head. ]

Not possessed. I think... it's closer to a curse.

[ That's the only way he can describe what happened to him, and what has been plaguing him ever since he touched it. ]

When I touched it, I felt something inside of me break. I felt different. [ ... ] And then I felt normal again.

[ And that was the worst part of it to him. ]

[troublereduction]

[ This is both better and worse in Day's opinion. If it had been a possession he'd have to worry about collateral damage, and he sure as hell isn't what you'd call an expert in handling possession, but at least it'd be something that could be fought, in some sense. A curse is more difficult, but at least he has a better idea of what he's doing there. ]

What do you think broke in you? If you could give it a name.

[ Kurapika can practically see the gears turning in his head as he's trying to figure out the how and whys of this, so he can come up with a way to handle it. If he felt normal again after, then maybe whatever this curse does only activates under certain conditions... ]

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[ He shakes his head again. ]

I don't know. All I know is something happened to me.

[ It's hard to explain, though it felt like the little pieces that have broken inside of him each time he's killed, threatened, blackmailed... ]

I felt a sharp pain radiate up my arm from the hand that touched it. It was almost unbearable. I saw strange images in my mind, too, of the moon shattering.

[ He frowns at Day. ]

I would guess that it's related, at least in some way.

[troublereduction]

[ It's fine, Day was just trying to see if he could figure out something from that. ]

The rock we found is a chunk of the moon—Comet can confirm it—and the one you guys found is prob'ly the same... So your curse could be related to the Great Calamity. [ Or at least whatever power it has that lets it wreak havoc every year.

...Which would make this a lot more complicated if so, shit. ]

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[ ...Ah.

That makes this a lot more complicated, doesn't it? Kurapika breathes in, and breathes out. ]

I suppose we've learned one valuable thing, at least—that something like this is possible.

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[ What a way to learn it, though. He wonders if any of the previous Sage's Wizards had to deal with something like this. Is it possible to break a curse from the moon? Are they going to have to test that? ]

Startin' to wish we knew more, instead of havin' to make our best guesses like this.

I think it's safe to say that since your arm felt normal again after, whatever this curse does has some kinda...activation condition. [ That neither of them know! ] 'Less there's been some ominous portents happenin' 'round you recently?

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[ He lifts a hand to his chin, giving that some thought. ]

I believe its effects have happened to me a few times, but the conditions have been different each time. I don't know what causes it.

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Try tellin' me? We'll see if we can figure somethin' out.

[revengier]

I feel an intense pain, though it's location changes from time to time. The entirety of my eyes turn red, and I can no longer see.

[ ... ]

It goes away eventually, but it's not ideal.

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[ Oh that sounds like it'll be trouble if it strikes with terrible timing. ]

Well, damn. And there ain't any apparent cause for it?

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[ He shakes his head. ]

No. There isn't. I can't find any correlation between what I've been doing at the time and suddenly finding myself hit with that pain.

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So it's just like...bad luck, I suppose you could say?

[ Day, inwardly rubbing his face about this: ]

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Mm, or entirely random.

[ He sighs. ]

I haven't been able to predict it at all. It'll happen twice in the morning and then not at all for the rest of the day.

[ It's a pain and a huge detriment too. ]

I'll have to learn how to deal with it when it comes, especially if it's in the middle of a battle.

[troublereduction]

Not being able to see is gonna be real inconvenient. [ To put it mildly. ] Wonder even if we can't remove the curse, there's a way to make it more predictable... [ But that also feels like such a risky thing to try, given how Kurapika described it. ]

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[ He crosses his arms, trying to think of some sort of method he could use to predict it... ]

I may be able to tell when it's just about to happen by the pain, but that only gives me a second or two of warning.

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[ That gives Day an idea, judging by how he's suddenly deep in thought. ]

...There's a thing my colleagues could do back home that I might be able to wing as a charm or blessin' to give you advanced warning. [ There's a "but" hanging in there, though. ]

[revengier]

[ Ah, he can hear that loud and clear. ]

What's the catch?

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Well, the thing is, it warns you of any incomin' danger, so there's no guarantee it'll be warnin' you about the curse actin' up or some other bad stuff headin' your way. It ain't that specific.

The other thing is my blessings don't last very long, and when I put them into charms they seem to only work once 'fore they run out. [ Which don't make them a lasting solution. ]

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[ Hm. That's a pretty big caveat and while Kurapika wouldn't mind a warning to general danger... ]

If there's a lot of effort that needs to go into this blessing, I'd rather you save it for something else.

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If I'm just blessin' you directly it ain't much, and if I'm makin' a charm, I do all of mine as bracelets, so it's not too much effort.

[ He already knows what it looks like to make a huge-effort protection charm by now and...well, he learnt that asking the spirits to do him a solid that huge again will probably cost him the next time. ]

So...we could give it a try, though I ain't sure how practical it'll be for you. Your call.

[revengier]

[ Hm.

He needs to learn to accept the kindness of others, even if he feels like he's taking too much from them. There's a bit of hesitation evident on Kurapika's face, but... he nods. ]

Let's give it a try.

[troublereduction]

[ Day is relieved, though he gave Kurapika the choice. He'd rather try and see if there was any way to try and make it more manageable for Kurapika, if they can't try removing the curse yet. ]

Great. Give me 'bout a day to make one for you? That way, you can decide to wear it when gettin' an advanced warning would matter to you most.

[revengier]

[ He nods. A day isn't a bad wait at all. ]

That works for me.

[ And, because he feels like he owes Day a bit of a smile here, the corners of his lips turn up slightly. ]

Thank you. I appreciate your help.

[troublereduction]

Hehe, you're welcome. [ He returns the smile. ] And thanks for trustin' me enough to tell me 'bout this. [ Because he got the impression that Kurapika's the serious sort. The kind that tries to handle things by themselves when they can. ]