[ It's a pretty nice room. The decor is very blue and naturalistic, with wooden furniture in contrast to porcelain vases sitting around. There's an assortment of potted plants on the shelves along with random knick-knacks, and vases on a side table and the tea table, each filled with flowers. At one end of the room, there's a folding screen painted with plum blossoms set up, apparently to separate his bed space from the rest of the room. ]
More like I didn't sleep at all last night. [ That was the (second) longest night of his life. He gestures that Malice can take a seat by the tea table. ]
[Ah, a fellow lover of knick-knacks... The rest of the room is certainly quite nice, but his eye remains on those knick-knacks for a while longer than is truly necessary before he joins Day at the table.]
Sorry to hear that. It was a ton of commotion, huh...
[............wait.]
But you weren't asleep before all of that happened?
[He gestures in the vague direction of the courtyard.]
Yeah, we don't have anythin' like that where I'm from...
[If he'd had his other prosthetic arm, he would've offered to help, but given that he was wearing the claws and his arm's still a little iffy sometimes... Probably for the best he didn't. Still, he feels annoyed that he couldn't do anything to help anyone today.]
He's recoverin' well enough, anyway. I'm sure he'll thank ya properly whenever he gets the chance.
[ Yamato is quiet as Day speaks, as he tells the story of a legend and about how his sister had gotten her powers awakened. This truly sounds like a fairytale to him, but he's aware it's very, very real.
There's more to it, though. The story just doesn't end there, does it? ]
We don't either. Least now I know what put a hole in my floor. [ The dryest humor about this situation. ]
I'll check on him later. [ So Yamato will have plenty of chances to thank Day himself. ] How are you holdin' up? [ Since, well. He did watch Yamato get shot, and the ghost gave everyone a fun parting gift before being sealed away. ]
Yeah? It was... not exactly the easiest thing, though I was occupied with other worries so I don't think it hit me as hard as some of y'all.
[Malice was also a little further away, so he had that going for him. He did feel it though, and the memory of Cody lingers in the back of his mind, of what could have been, of what he willingly, eagerly threw away for something more...
But that's not the point. Malice isn't in the habit of forcing people to reveal things about themselves, but he can certainly offer an invitation for it.]
Oh, definitely. Think some of us got it real bad. [ He's thinking of Phil, especially, mainly because Phil nearly collapsed like a house of cards.
For a while after, Day is quiet as he weighs his options, tired as he is. ...Maybe he really is slipping up, like having told one person in a moment of intense emotion has led to a leak being sprung in the metaphorical dam, and now the idea of telling others some variation of the truth feels less meaningless.
(Or to put it another way, if people will end up forgetting him after everything is said and done, does it really matter whether or not he tells them something that cleaves a little too close to his heart? Talking into the void here can't really come back to haunt him, so to speak.)]
Well, only if you take what I say as a what-if. [ This is him compromising, in a way. ]
[Someone who can't quite bear to admit their feelings... yeah, he gets it. Malice nods at that, and while his voice remains unchanged, his expression's a bit softer than usual.]
'Course. An' what you have to say stays between the two of us.
Well, yeah. It ain't like she could hide from the authorities forever even if she wanted to. Took 'em a few days to come since we're a little out of the way, but they came, and she went without makin' any fuss once they were at our door. We said our goodbyes the night before.
[ (And it had hurt, because at that moment when they hugged each other tight, they both knew come morning their paths would diverge and likely never cross again. She wasn't just leaving, she was moving to a different station in life out of his reach, in service to a greater destiny that didn't have room for anything before it.) ]
But, you know... [ A dry laugh. ] After she left, I went to the city to look for an apprenticeship, and the funny thing is I found out the place she got taken to was just a day out from the city. So of course I got it in my head to try seein' her there. It's called the Obsidian Mirror, can't miss somethin' that dark and imposin' out in the open.
But ain't no way they're gonna let a peasant approach where they're trainin' new Princes of the Earth. Got caught by the patrollin' Black-Helms, and they caned me for tresspassin' on the spot. [ For emphasis, and maybe a bit of black humor, he makes a light chopping motion in one hand onto his other palm. ] Getting whacked 'cross the back hurts like hell, who knew? I tried twice after, got caught and whacked some more each time.
After the third time, one of them told me if they caught me again, I'd be goin' to jail. Maybe even just executed for repeat offences, though he mighta said that only to scare me outta it. [ If Day wants to be charitable about it, anyway. ]
...And that was it. Didn't try again. Haven't seen her since. [ And there is that smile again; reflexive, bitter, and cynical all at once. ]
[ That's kind of heartbreaking, actually. Forbidden to see someone you care about because of something beyond your control. All this talk about people missing their families is making Yamato really reflect on his own situation.
He can sense that Day is far from happy about this, even if that smile is practiced.
He's familiar with doing it himself, after all. ]
There's no way they'll let you see her, even though they're the ones who took her from you, huh. And they had to be violent about it, too.
[ That's how powerful people work, he guesses. Even if he's in no position to criticize them, given his current standing in society, but. ]
To be fair, I think...even if this hadn't happened, we prob'ly still wouldn't be seein' each other much. She wanted to become a monk and I doubt that's changed. Prob'ly one by now. Usually joinin' the order means you put yourself pretty far away from your secular life. And when I wanted to head for the stage, that's even further away from where she was goin'.
[ It's just that rather than bidding farewell when they were ready, it had to happen the way it did instead. ]
...But thanks for listenin' to this, even if it ain't a happy story.
Thanks. [ Which is a relief, to him. The only other person he's told anything about this is Ginger, and even then, not quite in this way. He isn't sure if Ginger has managed to draw the lines between the dots presented, now that he's thinking about it. ]
...Malice, can you imagine what it'd be like if everyone forgot 'bout you? Everyone who's ever loved you, hated you, dearest friends and despised enemies, everythin' else in between. Just suddenly, out of nowhere, every tie you had to the rest of the world gettin' snipped [ He makes a scissoring motion with one hand, for emphasis ] like it's nothin'?
[Malice listens to that, inclining his head a bit as he considers.]
...Yeah, think I can. It'd be like you never existed to 'em, right? An' it wouldn't matter who it was, 'cause they'd all forget, yeah? Losin' the people who love you an' care 'bout you...
[He trails off there, eyes flicking downwards as he considers it.]
[ He doesn't have much more to say, but his expression is one of understanding and sympathy. He wishes he had a family member he'd like to see again, but alas. Still, Day's pain is valid and real, and he gives him a soft smile. ]
Of course. It's fine if it's not a happy story. Not like what I told you was one, either, anyway.
[ Day nods along at Malice, as if to confirm he's got the right idea. ]
Like I said, it's a what-if. [ It's also not a "yes" or "no", so Malice is free to decide which it is. ] And there's a little extra salt rubbed into the wound after.
They forget you, but not the stuff you did. So there's just a bunch of little gaps and wrinkles left behind, things that matter to them that they can't recall the cause of, yeah? And most of the time, people's minds try to fill in those gaps. They tie it to other people and things instead, and fate just smooths out whatever wrinkles're left.
[ And Day smiles, almost reflexively, because this is what he tends to do in the face of troubles of any kind. It...probably comes off a little bitter, despite himself. ]
...Makes you wonder if you ever really mattered that much, if your spot can just be filled by something else.
[So it's not as if you never existed... it's as if someone else did the things you did, said the things you said, and helped the people you helped. The last part really hits hard, and in this totally hypothetical situation, Malice can see where someone would be deeply upset by having their impact, their presence, their being completely erased.]
That sounds... painful. Painful beyond words, really. Not only have they all forgotten, but every part of you's neatly covered up by someone or somethin' else.
[He glances up towards the ceiling, folding his good arm over his bad one.]
An' I'm guessin' there's no way to just... reverse it or undo it? In this hypothetical situation.
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