Floor 2, Room 6

[lustro]

GINGER

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Comments

[lustro]

Aw, a meeting??

[ Must they… Meetings are so tedious and boring. Ginger is definitely one of the people who has to be herded in on time, perpetually late as he is. ]

If I get the preview, do I have to show up?

[troublereduction]

[ Man, Ginger truly is a bureaucrat too, huh. ]

Up to you. Depends on if you wanna hear what the scholarly types might have to say 'bout a moon rock.

[lustro]

[ Reaaaally not sure he wants to hear about a moon rock. Anything related to the moon sounds like a headache in the making. ]

What if I beg Mr. Day to give me more than just a preview?

[troublereduction]

Haha, like a free pass from the meeting?

[lustro]

Pretty please?

[ Don’t make him wake up early. ]

[troublereduction]

Like I said, you're free to not attend.

[ Smashcut to Day cursing everyone with a vuvuzela summoning call for the meeting. ]

[lustro]

[ Day why

Yeah, those words when uttered by his superiors never came back to bite Ginger in the butt or anything - ]

If I don’t go, and you were ever in trouble, would… not knowing make it so I can’t help you?

[troublereduction]

[ Because it sounded like a good idea? He's got to make catherding a little entertaining. ]

...Well, to be honest, I ain't sure. I mean, it's obvious stuff to do with the moon's bad news, but right now all we've got is a sample size of one. I dunno if what we saw down in the South will repeat somewhere else.

[lustro]

Is it… really as bad as they say?

[ Day had said he was okay, but Ginger studies him closer - just in case he can tell if something malignant lingers. ]

Is it a calamity?

[troublereduction]

[ The good news is that he's fine. He luckily had the foresight to protect himself before handling the rock before they purified it, and the Southern wizards all cast protection magic to keep themselves safe from its taint. ]

It...was pretty bad. I dunno if this is a part of the Great Calamity they were talking about, but as far as we can tell, a piece of the moon ended up wreaking havoc in a town's crop field. The crops started turning black and dying, and everyone who was working the field or ate the wheat harvested then fell ill.

One farmer's leg was all...withered. Bad enough that we couldn't heal it.

[lustro]

Eh - what?! And they sent you out there?!

[ What if some of that had infected the Southern wizards? ]

And you’re absolutely sure you’re okay? Really? You’re not going to - wither or disappear?

[troublereduction]

[ Gently: ]I think if that was gonna happen I wouldn't be here talking to you.

We could tell the rock was radiating some kind of...nasty-feeling magic, and a lot of it, so we all cast protection magic on ourselves. We purified it once we managed to find it in the field.

I was the one who dug it up from the ground and... [ He pauses, like he isn't sure if he should say what he's thinking because Ginger is already in full-blown worry mode, but now that he's brought it up he can't not say it. ] Y'know, even though I didn't touch it myself, I could still feel something like...like a weird resonance from it? Then it was gone after we purified it.

[lustro]

That’s -

[ They weren’t even gone for that long? A short amount of time compared to the days since they’ve arrived here. Too short. It’s frightening to think that Day could have died in that amount of time. ]

I don’t like that. I’m… worried. [ Clearly. ] The next time you go out, we should go together - or, or come up with stronger protection spells.

[troublereduction]

Well, it's done and we're all safe. [ So there's no real point in worrying about what had happened, and it's only fair to worry about what could happen up to a point. ] Though, speaking about protection spells, I do wanna practise them more.

[lustro]

[ He’s glad they’re safe, but… nothing has been solved in the grand scheme of things… So… ]

… Will you teach me the ones you know? I’ll ask around and see if I can augment them somehow.

[ Signing up for overtime - ]

[troublereduction]

Never thought I'd see someone volunteering for overtime. [ He's joking. ]

But sure, I can teach you. Though, uh, I guess also explain how I've been...thinking of my spells.

[lustro]

[ The briefest face when Day mentions overtime.

He tilts his head. ]

Huh? What does that mean?

[troublereduction]

Oh, 'cause I've been trying to see if I could recreate something I could do back home here, with magic. Magic here is cast from the heart, but the stuff I could do back home is... [ How does he put this in a way that makes sense... ] Hmmm. Based on the constellations. Borrowing power from the meanings associated with them. So the protective magic I've been trying to do is more like... blessing someone in dodging danger, I guess you could say.

[lustro]

[ Huh. That sounds like it would be something easier to handle - for Ginger, anyway. He’s not taking too well to magic that’s reliant on his indecisive heart. ]

I think I understand. What constellation would that be?

[troublereduction]

The Ewer. Sign of romance, hope and smilin' at your troubles. [ He says this fondly, like he's talking about a familiar friend. ]

[lustro]

Ah, so you’re a romantic?

[ It does sound like a constellation Day would take to. What he’s seen of him anyway. ]

[troublereduction]

Haha, do I seem that way to you? [ Perhaps not in regards to his own relationships, because it's gotten complicated and will probably stop having a certain wrinkle. But he still believes in the value of love, even love that's since been lost. ]

[lustro]

[ He takes a sip from his mug, letting the tingle of wine draw out the words he’s searching for. ]

You’re kind despite the blood. [ From the first time they met. ] You smile despite the weight of your job. And you try, even as you think I might forget you.

Right?

[troublereduction]

[ ...

Day takes another drink of his wine too. Note to self, Ginger is more perceptive than he gives him credit for, at least some of the time. Maybe he shouldn't have asked that question that night. It gave away a little too much. ]

I guess if you'd consider making the best of things romantic, yeah.

[lustro]

It’s the hope that makes it romantic. Something… you can’t let go of.

[ Making the best of things, sure. But Ginger thinks it’s a little more than that. ]

But I don’t know. Maybe you’ll prove me wrong.