faithfulflame | Eleventh Prayer: Burning Brightest [Action/Video] May 26th to June 1st

[Rei's head swam, her entire body swaying dangerously as she staggered through the forest. Something wasn't right. Nothing was. The last thing she remembered was talking to Helios, and then...nothing. The kidnapping had thankfully been quiet, and she'd been taken in her sleep but the return? This...this was something new. Her body felt off, too tall and heavy. Lean. muscular. Older. She had new memories, her head a jumble of them. Being young in Luceti...leaving it...and returning older. Almost as if it'd been no more than an afternoon or two.

Her body, still not adjusted to the changes suddenly brought by an extra fifteen years, found something else. The wings she remembered. But not the enormous ones. And from what she remembered they were grey, not orange. Making her way out of the forest, she felt a sense of loss. And a cooling sensation as well. And then there was the heat. The sheer raw heat that surged in her. She could feel Eferin even more keenly than she had before. Something was not right, she could feel that. But the power and heat? She wanted that. Walking out of the forest, heat shimmers distorting the air around her, Rei made her way home. To what had once been her home anyway, some...eighteen years ago.

Staggering inside, she all but collapsed onto the floor in her New Feather Dress.]

I'm...back.

Video

[After she's had some time to collect herself, Rei makes a short broadcast. The voice and accompanying video are a good deal older than when last she was here. Her elegance and beauty are only amplified by time. Maturity has been quite kind to her, it seems. To say nothing of the angelic wings sprouting from her back. Angelic things patterned in red and gold that wrap around her as she addresses the camera.

Her voice is somewhat brusque but excited as well, her eyes sparkling with interest.]

Good Afternoon, Luceti. This is Rei Hino, and I seem to have returned. It seems that I've only been away for a few days here, but it's been a number of years for me. But it seems there are quite a lot of strange things going on. I don't remember the wings being quite so large.

I'm pretty certain that unless I'm imagining things...there's something going on. I'd like for anyone with information, or experiencing strange symptoms with their Filial magic to please contact me or come by the shrine. Unless of course some fool's managed to burn it down or the caretakers didn't bother to keep it up while I was away.

[There's a rueful tone there, as if she didn't really expect anyone to do what she asked.]

If you want to catch up, I'll be there as well. It's been a while for me, and I'd love a chance for a tea ceremony or even Western tea with old friends, teachers, or even family. I will be providing fortune telling too, for...[Her smile grows nostalgic] old times sake.

[Rei'll be at the shrine during most afternoons, but she'll also be taking some time to explore the town again, curious to see what's changed while she's been away. Of course...it's only a kidnapping, but she believes she's been at home for 18 years. Feel free to catch her pretty much anywhere, though Sona and Twila possessed people beware. She's got a strong connection with Eferin and it's amplifying her already strong tendency towards being argumentative and zealous about dealing with what she perceives as darkness!]

((ooc note: Rei is returning from a mallynap for a while as well. She's currently 35 years old, under the full belief that she returned home and came back. That is to say she'll be played based on the end of the manga, mixed with a bit of her Parallel AU self.))

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh, I didn't say it wasn't disturbing dear. Just...not so worrisome as all that. There are certainly worse things than sprouting bigger wings.

Possession, for instance.

...what do you mean by "possession"?

[That hard edge in her voice? That's Twila, getting just a little restless being so close to Eferin, and starting to take a stronger grip on its target.]

An outside entity taking residence inside your mind or body.

[Rei's voice grows slightly hard as well, but from her own choice and not Eferin's. A miko takes this seriously]

As Eferin has done to me.

Wait. You mean you're possessed? But isn't that, like, a bad thing?

It...is. Though, Eferin and I share a strong connection already. Or we did, at least.

A strong connection and possession are totally different things though! I mean, what do we even know about the spirits here? For all we know, they could be just as bad as the malnosso, or the third-party!

I don't know, Kari. They are different, but I'm not letting it control me.

[She is, a bit...]

It's just there. And something tells me you've had the same problem.

[Rei, that is the opposite of subtle. The very opposite.]

Well...

Yes.

...what do you mean?

Your wings are different too, dear.

Well. Yeah. But I'm not possessed by anything. They just changed. Just like everyone else.

Powers I didn't even know I had until it was too late. [Note to self- burn down shrine later.]

Have you considered the possibility of learning some control? Fire is something you have to take a firm hand with.

[Like her. And burning down the shrine with the Senshi of Flame and Passion guarding it might be harder than it sounds.]

Hmm.

I'd like to go down and take a look myself, but that does sound like a pretty good theory. It's a new thing, and this is a new thing. Though, I'm wondering if those two who just showed up in the village the other day were the catalyst. Something would have happened back then otherwise, right? Unless it's a time-release...

[Subtle as a tornado in a trailer park.

The older woman's composure cracks now, and she claps her hands together and gives Ami a hug.]

Congratulations! I'm so happy for you, dear! It must feel lovely!

Are you certain?

[She looks doubtful, like Kari's clearly in denial.]

[Hey, he doesn't know that. He'd give it a try and probably fail miserably.]

I've already been working on that ever since I discovered it. I shouldn't have any issues by the end of the day, if not sooner. [Hahaha, yeah right. Try a few days, you don't learn this overnight but having the spirit inside you helps.]

[It's weird to be the younger one, and she's reminded of it at times like this. It's sort of nice. She'd always wanted siblings growing up, and Rei being a bit older is like having an older sibling to look up to and get advice from.]

So you don't think it's something we shouldn't think about here?

Wait, what happened?

If you say so.

[She waves dismissively. But then, not everyone can be the Princess of Mars.]

No, why would I? I think it's wonderful!

[Why should she think anything else? Her friend is happy!]

[That's the trouble with Ami: She can think of dozens of reasons, which don't precisely mean that Rei has the same qualms, but they mean it's hard for her to be wholly relaxed about it.

And of course, this Rei might be a little different, but Rei's views on men and relationships are... well known.]

I'm glad you support it.

If it makes my friend happy, I should.

I am happy about it.

[Right. Keep thinking of that part, Ami, and not all the practical worries.]

A part of me always wanted to meet someone like him some day.

[Eighteen years...certainly enough time for many major developments in one's life. Sabriel nods as Rei summarizes the lot of them, her smile gradually warming a little by the end of it.]

Very agreeable if you ask me. I'm glad.

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Eleventh Prayer: Burning Brightest [Action/Video] May 26th to June 1st

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