#reipasento

This time, after watching Shin play his game some more (and after they’d ordered a yummy take-out dinner to be delivered), Colette asked if she could make her own character. Shin had seemed surprised, but he was so into this game! Plus, it seemed kind of fun, even if she didn’t understand a lot of it. 

After a long time of indecision, Colette finally decided to make a dwarf character. They were so small and cute! Even on the character creation screen she was having some trouble, though, having to continuously check the keyboard to make sure she was hitting the correct buttons. 

She spun her character around, currently on her next very difficult decision: a hairstyle.

“Hmm. Shin, what kind of, um, class do you think I should be?” Colette glanced over at the sidebar where she could pick from a few character types... some of which she’d already forgotten what they did. “My character should look the part for her job! Right?”

The Chosen herself sat beside Lloyd, smiling at her friends’ animated conversation. Each of them had a big plate of food in front of them, but in front of Colette there was nothing. It smelled delicious though, and she was happy everyone was enjoying their last big meal before leaving in the morning. With the situation as tense as it was, she was so happy everyone was able to have a little bit of fun the night before like this. 

Lloyd tried to include her in the conversation, but Colette couldn’t stop her mind from wandering, as much as she tried to enjoy the moment. She wanted so badly to hold on to this feeling of being close to her friends. It was her last chance. 

Something in the corner of the inn lobby caught her attention, however. A feeling of being watched. 

Colette glanced over her shoulder, trying to be subtle about it. There, at a tiny table against the wall, sat a young man with teal hair, whose face raised some strange feeling of recognition in her, though she was sure they’d never met before. He was dressed so strangely, and seemed a bit lost. 

The feeling only grew, pulling Colette towards him. Her brow furrowed as she stared into the wood grains of the table, trying to settle on a decision. Quickly, she got Lloyd’s attention and wrote something on his hand. 

“’Be right back’? Where are you going?”

Colette pointed, and smiled at Lloyd as she stood from the table. The rest of her party members glanced at her curiously, and as Colette hurried to meet that familiar stranger, Lloyd explained it to them. “I dunno. Do we know that guy?”

Thankfully, the tiny lobby made it so it wasn’t like they’d be out of sight from her group. She knew Lloyd would be keeping an eye on her, and that felt reassuring.

In front of the table, she paused. Oh no, it wasn’t like she could actually speak with this person normally. She should have asked Raine for something to write with. After hesitating, she pointed to her hand, pretending to write on it, and then held it out, silently asking for his. 

It felt weird, doing this with a stranger, but at the moment there wasn’t another option. 

Colette turned his hand over and, using her finger, spelled out her question on his palm:

Do I know you?

That day, Colette decided to take the more scenic route home from Mariela’s shop. It was fun, getting things started up there again and helping out, feeling useful. On top of that, this area of Whisperwood was so beautiful and quiet, surrounded by acres of orchards.

She realized she wasn’t alone when her hearing picked up a quiet hiss, like someone in pain. Standing on her toes like that would give her a better vantage point, Colette whipped her head around this way and that before finally her eyes landed on a familiar head of green hair. 

Her heart pounding with worry for her friend, Colette’s feet brought her to him in record time. He sat on the ground, carefully grasping his leg near his ankle.

“Sou!! Are you alright?” Before waiting for an answer, Colette knelt beside him, taking in his condition. There were no visible wounds she could see—though, the only visible parts of his body were his hands and face, really. 

While others may find the serene atmosphere a time for relaxation, she does not think it so⁠— Does not believe it to be, rather. She steers far away from the waves grips, only watching from afar. Behind her, she can hear the typical chatter expected of her peers. A bicker here and there, even a word or two of encouragement.

Sara diverts her attention from the water, letting her eyes fix on the sand below. She sits down cross-legged, fingers trailing atop the warm sand. She feels childish, almost⁠— Perhaps Kanna would enjoy building a sand castle to divert from the otherwise absurd scenario. If she asks her later, she’d hope to do so with a smile on her face. The last thing she wants is to wear an image of weariness for someone like her. Still, she cannot mask her emotions.

Talk about one person you’ve met recently. 

"...Why? Are you looking for connections?" ba dum tss. "But fine....that young lady, Miss Colette...is certainly a strange one. She's...too nice. If someone doesn't keep an eye on her I wonder if that obliviousness might put her in harm's way. Ah well. She's not my ward."

What habits do you have? Do you annoy people with them? 

"For one, it's been pointed out that I cause trouble for others by spreading harmless rumors. I wouldn't call it a habit, since it is done entirely on purpose. It would be an honor to hear that I've been a nuisance! To ignite such passion in others."

Are you allergic to anything? 

Feelings

[ 😱 ] does your muse have any specific fears? where did those fears come from?

Yeahh Mariela has a number of fears that inform how she navigates life. Some notable ones would be the fear of dark cramped spaces, monsters, and ultimately the fear of missing out on life. The first and last of those three are rooted in the time she spent asleep underground for two hundred years during the Stampede of Endalsia. Immediately after waking she found out that everyone she had known had long since passed on. She never got the chance to say goodbye and I think that really lingers on as guilt in her heart, even if it meant that she would be alive to save Endalsia in the future. Monsters wiped out the city and were responsible for generations of pain and rebuilding from the ground up, and the Labyrinth that the city fights for two hundred years is built on a foundation of her dead comrades (literally. her neighbors from before the Stampede are undead at the bottom of the labyrinth, some horrifically disfigured or absorbed into one another).

 At her core the most impactful fear would just be her fear of being alone. This developed early on in her childhood as Mariela had convinced herself at eight years old that because she didn’t have any measurably talents no one would want to adopt her. Seeing other children with extensive details on their skill appraisal papers get adopted during that time really did a number on her self-worth until her master Freyja came along. Even still while she gave Mariela a purpose, Freyja never considered herself a mother to Mariela and was lacking in affection and stability that Mariela really needed. Not only that, Freyja left Mariela (more like she disappeared) to live on her own at thirteen years old for three years before the Stampede. Freyja did this again after the Labyrinth was defeated, too.

[ ⚰️ ] what are your muse’s greatest regrets? what would flash before their eyes when they’re on their deathbed?

Welcome to The Chronolium, Sou Hiyori.

Techno Solar has sponsored you. Your housing assignment is TS-01.

Stay safe, and make yourself at home.