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.))

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[Rei's been sort of expecting Kari, remembering that they were good friends and all. Seated by the fire, she turns and rises gracefully to her feet the moment she feels Kari enter the shrine grounds. Inwardly, she frowns at the sight of the dark wings. Something in her wants to act and expel...something but she keeps a tight reign on that for the moment.

Instead she opens her arms wide in a gesture of welcome. The older woman looks at the younger and offers a warm smile]

Kari-chan. It's lovely to see you. Please, come in and sit.

[So she can feel out that spirit more...]

[This is... weird. Graceful aging aside, it was obvious to Kari that Rei was much older that she was before. How well could she even remember Luceti with all that time under her belt? Eve for Kari, her first time here was still rather fuzzy in her memories, and she had only been gone a year.]

Uhm. Yeah, sure. It's... good to see you, too. [Despite the discomfort in her voice, she's still smiling, even as she goes and sits down -- which is a little more uncomfortable to do with the big wings, urk.]

So, uh. When you said it's been a few years, just how long were you home?

[The Silver Millenium's return changed quite a lot, including aging. Rei actually leans over to offer her old friend a hug. Time's done wonders for her issues with touching and being near people.]

Eighteen years. I just turned thirty five.

[Unfortunately, Twila's not doing much for Kari. Without the usual influence provided from the Hoshiko spirit, Kari's normal personality has been showing itself more and more -- and with a revelation like this, she's not much in the mood for returning a hug.]

Thirty-five? [Staring. And then looking up and down.] No way.

[Well, she can't say she didn't expect it. But the hug was hopefully not too offputting. Rei nods and stands up, spreading her arms and spinning in a circle]

I am. Of course, I stopped aging about seven or eight years ago. Things changed in my world. So maybe I look younger than I should?

I'll say you do... [And clearly this part was only alluded to in her world's version of Sailor Moon. Or maybe Kari's just in too much shock to think about that right now.]

[Though there's also the matter of something else catching her eye as Rei spins around.] ...so what's with the wings? Did they change when you got back here?

[Rei frowns and sits, eyeing the teenager doubtfully]

They...changed, yes. You noticed it too, didn't you?

Well... yeah. I mean, it's kind of hard to miss, you know? The village seems a lot livelier with everyone flying around all over the place. It's weird.

Yes, this is true. And you...have larger wings too, though. I don't remember them being this large.

[She shakes her head.] The size is definitely new. They look more like those third-party guys... you know, since they can fly around with theirs too, right?

They can, as I recall. Though, I'd say we're still a good bit different than they, wouldn't you?

[Not savage, murderous brutes.]

I'd certainly hope so! But. You know, it's still a little unsettling, I guess. For me, maybe.

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.

...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.

Are you certain?

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

Of course! I'm the same as I always am. You're the one who's different now.

[That probably came out a bit more bitter-sounding than she would have otherwise intended.]

Kari-chan. I have been gone for eighteen years...

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