Fifth Prayer: Loss

[faithfulflame]

[She'd just checked Usagi's room, and it was empty. Nothing remained of Sailor Moon save for a half-empty bucket of pudding just sitting in the fridge. With a cry of frustration, the normally reserved miko took it out and hurled it at the trash bin, chocolate oozing down the wall. This was just too much. First Ami, then that awful Apep creature taking Sabriel, and now Usagi!

Her friends would need to be told, of course. So, a few minutes later a Voice transmission pops out over the journals. Rei's voice is tight and controlled, but there's definitely an undercurrent of sadness]

I'm sorry to inform everyone that Tsukino Usagi-san has been sent home by the Malnosso.

Please think of her fondly, and wish her luck.

Should anyone wish to make a formal prayer for her, I will be available to help with that, so please contact me via the journal.

[Closing the feed, Rei picks up her journal and heads out to the little tent shrine she, Ami, and Usagi had put together months before, lighting a flame on the brazier with Eferin and preparing several prayer strips of her own for her friend and Sailor Moon. She burns them, and sends her wishes to the other girl, whereever she might be]

Be well, Usagi-chan.

(OOC: Feel free to respond via voice, or find Rei at her little hideaway)

Comments

voice

[noexit]

[She may not know Rei too well, but it's hard to see a young girl go through something so defeating. Loss seems to be a chillingly common theme these past few weeks and it grounds her in her own reality, the one she tries to ignore.]

I'm sorry to hear that, Rei. [She hesitates, unsure if it's really her place to say the next bit.] If...you need someone to talk to...

Voice

[faithfulflame]

(OOC: Just a heads up, she may be pretty sullen, don't take that as discouraging. Its been a bad month for her)

[Rei's actually somewhat surprised to hear Misato's voice. She liked the woman well enough, but didn't really know her]

I...thank you, Misato-san. I...think I'll be OK. Its just a little bit surprising, after everything.

[Voice]

[rollypolyclover]

... Usagi went home?

[Okay, well, people go home all the time. Some of them come back. Positive thinking. Gotta think positive.]

When will Usagi come back, tomorrow? Sailor Cicada wants to say hi.

[Voice] I saw this tag and was like "OOOF! RIGHT IN THE GUT!"

[faithfulflame]

Yotsuba-chan...I...I don't know if she's coming back. She went home...our home.

[And its really all Rei can do to not just break down and cry. Saying this to a little girl like that...]

I don't know...if you'll get to again...

[voice]

[redjacketthief]

[He didn't know Rei well at all, and in fact preferred to avoid her, but there was something in her tone that caught his attention. It was a something that had become very familiar to him over the last month.]

...Tsukino Usagi is a friend of yours?

[Not 'was,' because absence does not ruin a friendship.]

[voice]

[faithfulflame]

[This guy is the LAST person she wants to talk to...but...]

Yes. Did you know her?

[action]

[folklorist]

[ When he hears the message over the journals then Helios knows instantly that he can't just sit there without doing anything. He can't hide here like he would like to back home. Too many people to help and count on. Too many people that he could help when they needed it and who deserved it. So many people have helped him since his possession last week and he's trying to get through it slowly and as best he can. The one thing that's made it harder is the absence of his best friends, Ginia, Giles, Frederic. He knows how it feels to lose someone close to you. Giles was practically a brother and Ginia a sister to him. He knows all too well how much it hurts to lose someone here. And so he decides there and then to stop by Rei's but not before baking some fresh chocolate chip cookies and Luminair is coming too. Luminair has a way of cheering people up so the little dragon is more than eager to assist.

Helios will make it to the shrine a little bit after Rei's initial entry a not hot plate of cookies in hand. ] R-Rei?

[action]

[faithfulflame]

[Rei hears him, but she can barely answer. She's crying now, for the second time in a month. Losing Usagi was hard, her first friend in the world. Even...though this Usagi was slightly different, she was still Usagi. It was literally all she could do to not break down over the journals. Even here, faced with the soothing presence of fire, and the calm of the shrine?

Not enough]

H...h...elios? [Murmured around a sob]

[Action]

[thebellthatbinds]

[That voice message alone is enough to bring Sabriel out of the house after some preparations are made. Injured or not, Rei was a dear friend and after what had happened with Apep and Sabriel's promise to protect Usagi this comes as a complete shock.

She had first stopped by the house but it was empty...another cold reminder of the other missing resident. Pressing on, Sabriel checks the shrine next, hurrying closer when she sees the lit brazier and the silhouetted figure knelt beside it.]

Rei.

[Action]

[faithfulflame]

[Rei's sitting there, staring into the flames. Her face is stained with drying tears, and she's clearly holding back more. She has to remain strong. Loss is part of life, but this...on top of everything else? It feels like someone's torn out her heart.]

S...sabriel-san? [She coughs a bit, choking back a sob]

Voice

[ribbonbon]

[When she hears that Usagi has gone home, Pilouette is more than a little shocked. Though it's not the first time a friend of hers has gone home, it still hurts all the same. She stares at her journal for a second before it really sinks in.]

S-So, Usagi went home...

[Though Pilouette knew Usagi, she never really got to know any of Usagi's other friends and she hates that she doesn't quite know what to say.]

Voice

[faithfulflame]

Yes, she did.

[Rei doesn't know the other girl, and isn't sure what to say. She's kind of flailing at even keeping her cool]

You...were a friend of hers?

[action]

[chibifirebird]

[Omg a fire! YAY FIRE. The pyromaniac baby phoenix has already been fire watching earlier this week. Addiction is a powerful thing. But that doesn't mean he can't indulge in a little more. Oh wait, is this the girl from earlier on the journal? He saw her name on a list Marco wrote of prospective Davy Back allies, but she doesn't have the Whitebeard mark anywhere... Still, she was really sad! And that's sad. And he wants to cheer her up!]

Hello, yoi. Are you okay? [Still watching the fire a bit. Mmmm fire....]

[action]

[faithfulflame]

[She's been out here long enough, managing to stop crying at least. Her cheeks are still pretty red and puffy, but what can you do? She's 16. At the voice she turns and looks, surprised to find a young boy. Who...looks familiar]

I...I'm alright. Who are you?

[voice]

[quicktoanger]

Oh, hell's bells, this damn month.

"... You alright?"

[voice]

[faithfulflame]

I'll manage.

[Tough girl front now. What else can she do?]

[Voice]

[tailasoldastime]

[... Usagi. ... Usagi...

Another one has gone home... and it's Usagi.

... This... shouldn't hit him so hard... but it does. Think of what everyone said last time, Beast - she will be here in your memories, everything will be alright. But... what about her?]

... Will... w-will sh-she be... a... a-alright?

[Voice]

[faithfulflame]

Yes. Usagi-chan is strong. And she has her other friends. Ami-chan, Mako-chan, Minako-chan, and...me.

[No, she'll be fine]

She...is strong.

[losthorn]

I don't know her, but I'm sorry you lost your friend.

[faithfulflame]

Thank you, Dagger-san. I...appreciate it.

[A pause]

Did you find your friends?

[voice]

[godbent]

Why would there be a prayer?

[Chee. and she only really got to try to know this one recent. Some courage]

[voice]

[faithfulflame]

Because...its traditional to send well-wishes to friends when they travel.

[Obviously]

[no_compromise]

[Viral had avoided the village proper for a week; no note, no message, not even the removal of his meager belongings from his room in House 44 signaled it. He had vanished into the wilderness, exactly as he pleased. The battle with Sabriel had left more of a mark on him than he was willing to admit. Though his body was healed because of the Spiral King's gift, his mind felt violated on a deep level.

He trusted her. She shattered that trust with a few ringing words and quick thrusts of her blade. The ionized air signaled that her person was corrupted by the wild magics, but that didn't change the facts.

Sabriel tried to kill him, and he couldn't keep his promise.

The woods were a quiet solace from that. He spent his days rebuilding his cache and his nights fishing or swimming, all the while battling against a subtle strain in his muscles and an occasional haze in his mind. It was nothing to him--he could plow through it. He always did.

It was the subtle scent of smoke that drew him to Rei's shrine, clean if worn. He hadn't yet heard the journal feed, but there was something different in the air about her. It warranted investigating-out of curiosity, and concern after their last meeting. She was strong, but even Rei had issues.

She was someone who hadn't betrayed him; it was the least he could do.]

Cannot...be...that...introspective...

[faithfulflame]

[Rei sensed Viral approaching and mentally collected herself. Just sitting there, staring at the fire. She knew his feeling by now, and she wanted to make sure he was alright.

She just didn't know if she could. Not right now, not ever. But she doesn't leave. She waits.]

Action

[antivanleather]

[Zevran's had a nook here and there in the woods where he found it to be quiet. Devoid of most of the talking animals- and trees. Though the experiment is supposed to be over he shall remain forever suspicious of what they have to say about him. If he takes more care in his climbing and movement in the forest for it- no one else would know or care.

Today he's seeking out a new clearing in which to laze while he tests and makes up his mind about a series of beverages he'd ordered from the cafe. Espresso sounded Antivan enough, and the spirit in which it was presented and explained to him left him curious enough to try one. Or rather all. Two different kinds of hot chocolate are also balanced on his tray as he's been attempting to find someone, anyone, that knows of drinking chocolate. Thusfar he has been disappointed.

He's more than a little preoccupied with watching his feet and balancing the cardboard cups while keeping the umbrella about his shoulders when he stumbles upon...a shrine? With a lovely shrine maiden-

The flame clicks in his mind first and foremost. The appearance of the young woman is set aside once he takes a guess at the nature of her work here. A sister in the village? But she does not wear the robes nor has he heard of one in his time as of yet.

Her solemn expression gives him pause. It could be spiritual contemplation- but the air about her seemed very heavy for that alone.

He shouldn't speak to her.

And yet wouldn't making a sister smile pay off some of the guilt he ought to have, according to his dear Wynne?]

Could I beg a prayer for better weather of you, Suora bella?

Action

[faithfulflame]

[Rei felt the elf's presence long before he arrived, her spiritual senses picking up on him several hundred yards away. She didn't know him, but she had offered prayers, so she didn't move or turn away. She just swiveled and looked up when he approached and spoke to her.

An odd request]

You could, yes. Or you could make the prayer yourself, if you wish.

voice

[thelittlemacthatcould]

Usagi, huh?

[It rings a bell, being hard to pronounce.] ...We wasn't close but I 'member she was one a' the first people I talked to over the journal. Think she was gettin' people t'say happy birthday to a friend a' hers. [Had it been Ami's birthday?]

Seemed like a real nice girl. [Then, after a beat, he directs a message to Usagi even if she wouldn't be there to hear it.] G'luck back home.

Voice

[faithfulflame]

She's a good person, like that. Birthdays are really, really important to her.

[A half smile, remembering her enthusiasm. All the kind words really are helping. And she remembers Mac fondly]

[Voice]

[inburningshadows]

I may have not known her, but my condolences, miss. Deity bless her on her journey home.

[Voice]

[faithfulflame]

Thank you, sir. I know she would have wished for everyone to think well of her.

[The phrase "Deity" in that context...reminds her of someone]

May I ask her name, that I might offer a prayer?

[Voice] Man, good thing you commented on my entry or I would've forgotten this.

[lostinmyway]

[Another friend gone home. Usagi wasn't one of her closer friends, but she's still sorry to hear she's left. The last time they had spoken had been at her birthday party--she had been so happy then that she had made everyone around her happy, too. She's such a cheerful girl; Grune is going to miss her.

But...not as much as Rei, she doesn't think.]

Thank you for telling everyone. Is she one of your good friends, Rei?

[Voice] haha

[faithfulflame]

Yes, she was Grune-san. Usagi-chan was from my world, one of my best friends. It...is going to be hard not having her here.

[Grune knew Usagi? Of course...she did. Grune knew everyone]

Were you one of her friends?