Twelfth Prayer: Some Flames Never Die [Action/Video] Late Afternoon

[faithfulflame]

Video

[A video feed flickers to life, showing a teenage girl dressed in long, thick looking priestess's robes sitting outside the little shrine on the riverbank. And for once in her Luceti life, Rei Hino looks genuinely happy with how things are going. Everything has gone...strangely well...for her lately. Despite the invasion, the discovery in the tunnel, and all of that, everything was actually alright in Rei's little world. So much so that it seemed like an ideal time to have a little celebration for an event that had been pretty significant for her a year before. It's not much, she never expects a large crowd for anything she does, but then she's never been one for that sort of thing, either. And who knows, it may even help to lift people's spirits after their own troubles.

There's no sigh, no subtle frown, no vaguely irritated look in her eye. She's even smiling at the camera as she addresses it.]

Good afternoon Luceti. My name is Rei Hino, and as some of you might know...and some might not...I maintain a small shrine here across the path from Community House 2. I haven't broadcast about it in a while, but I thought today might be a good day to extend an invitation to anyone who might want a peaceful place to spend some time before the weather changes. It was one year ago today that Brave Vesperia completed building it, and it felt appropriate to mark the date with a little something.

[She gestures to some tables of food she's prepared or gathered from the shops and bakery, a variety of snacks, along with curry, pasta, and various other easy meals really. Rei can cook alright, but this was kind of last minute, after all.]

So please, come eat and relax. If you like, I'll read your fortune and give you a good luck charm too. I know things have been stressful lately, so please consider it. It may do you some good.

[A pair of crows flap into view, landing on her shoulders as she turns to look at the building. With a laugh Rei playfully runs a finger under one's beak and looks to the journal.]

And you know...it's strange, having been here as long as I have. I've had a lot of friends come and go, and seen a lot of strange and unsettling things. But looking at this building...it makes me happy. Maybe it's because it's like my home. My...real home. [Rei's smile grows almost wistful, weary even.] Does anyone else have a place like that here? A place that makes you feel at peace, maybe even a little nostalgic? I'd like to know...even if you don't come eat.


[And then she waves a hand, whispers a word, and the book closes with a sudden gust of wind. Harry would've been proud...]

Action

[Rei will be available at the shrine all afternoon after around 2:00, or if you like you can catch her earlier in the day in the shops with armfuls of food. Nothing too fancy is going on, just a little impromptu anniversary party.]

Comments

[<33]

[faithfulflame]

I know, but...it's still not normal.

[<33]

[geniustheveil]

It's normal for here. [Which clearly means she is well adjusted to it.]

[<33]

[faithfulflame]

I don't think so. That was bad, even for a Shift.

[<33]

[geniustheveil]

[Actually...]

It's happened several times before.

[Not the invasion, of course, but everything else that had come with it, and the personal always hits her hardest. Oh, she remembers that now. It's actually, ironically and horribly, quite a normal shift for here.]

[<33]

[faithfulflame]

Has it?

[Rei looks a bit nervous as she takes a bite to cover her trembling lip.]

[<33]

[geniustheveil]

[She feels a twinge of regret as soon as she sees Rei's expression.]

I'm sorry. It's just... [It's just that it's true.] It's been that way here from the start.

[<33]

[faithfulflame]

I don't think every experiment...or even half of them...are like that.

[<33]

[geniustheveil]

[It's easier to pretend that it's all theoretical, just gathering data, and Ami almost seems to relax a little except for the serious expression that lingers on her face.]

Not all of them, or half. But it's happened more often than anything else, other than Valentine's Day.

[<33]

[faithfulflame]

[Rei shakes her head and sets her plate down.]

I guess I've just been lucky.

[<33]

[geniustheveil]

[Keep it to the facts. Keep it rational. Practical.]

Since I've been here, certain things seem to have a tendency to repeat, while I haven't experienced others again yet.

[<33]

[faithfulflame]

How many times, Ami-chan?

[<33]

[geniustheveil]

Families like that, it's happened a few times. But making us remember always living here, or making us forget our real pasts, they've done that a lot.

[It's one of the many, many reasons she cannot at all accept the Malnosso.]

[<33]

[faithfulflame]

[Rei's laugh is faint. Bitter even.]

I know we've been over this...a hundred times or more already. Sorry. Not meaning to drag up mad memories.

[<33]

[geniustheveil]

It's alright. If something becomes a pattern like that, we can develop better ways to plan for it. [See? Practical. Logical.]

[<33]

[faithfulflame]

Well, do you have any ideas?

[She really hopes Ami does...because she's wracked her brain and is stumped.]

[<33]

[geniustheveil]

Last time, someone began keeping a diary. It helped them to understand what was happening this time, once they started to realize it wasn't real.

[<33]

[faithfulflame]

That sounds like a good idea. But...the Malnosso did shift us around. Something less personal might be good too...

it got late. will grab other thread in morning.

[geniustheveil]

Your journal could just be factual. [Ami's would be likely to stick to that anyway. While she'd like a place to finally pour out all her thoughts and feelings before they bubble up and over, she wouldn't want to risk someone else reading it - or worse, it falling into enemy hands if it could be somehow used in upcoming experiments.]

[faithfulflame]

I meant more that it'd be better to find some way to make people remember in mass, not just one at a time.

[geniustheveil]

It would, but that might not be possible yet. [The Malnosso would have to be completely taken out of the equation first. That won't be easy to accomplish, especially when there's also strong sentiment among some parts of the prisoner population that would reject the idea.]

[faithfulflame]

Right. So I guess little journals, maybe copy them and hide them around the village. That's probably the best thing to do.

[geniustheveil]

That might help. But what if people thought the Malnosso hid the journals, too, with so many of them all over the place suddenly?

[Not that this detracts from the fact that Rei is right about a larger-scale effort being better.]

[faithfulflame]

I meant just us, and not that many. I went back to thinking small terms.

But it's something we could encourage other people to do, yes.

[geniustheveil]

I think we should definitely do it. Even if others decide to try it, too, or not. Because it's important to have something to help us know what to believe.

[faithfulflame]

Right. I guess I should get started on one of those tonight, then. I should have a spare diary or two.