meridio | (Awash & Hugtopia) IC contact

[ Falconry is a practical sport. There's the thrill of the hunt, then the prize of the game. As a spirit, though, he doesn't require sustenance, and so this is the first time that he's even given it a thought in Chroma. ]

There's no need for me to hunt here.

Yes but... it's a hobby. One that you must have enjoyed all those years ago.

[ He must have had fun at one point in his life, right. RIGHT?

She peers at him, leaning in a little more closely as they walk. ]

...When is the last time you smiled, Your Majesty?

[ His eyes briefly narrow as he looks ahead. What a pointless question. He isn't like Pyra, who wears a smile with tears in her eyes and sorrow in her words.

He could ask her the same. When was the last time she truly smiled? But he won't. ]

Your question is irrelevant.

There is... "no need" to hunt here.

My question is irrelevant....

[ She clasps her hands behind her, her tone still light. ]

New question:

When is the last time you did something because... you wanted to, and not because of the gods?

[ His choices are to answer or deflect. Perhaps what he has in mind conflates the two as he stops walking to reply: ]

Everything in the world is preordained. In the end, all is as the gods want.

[ He lingers for a moment, then begins to walk again. ]

But this is not the world of my gods.

[ She continues to walk ahead of him, even as he stops briefly.

Everything in the world is preordained to him, and yet... He blames himself, his own actions, his vices, his sins-- his envy-- for what happened between him and his brother.

Pyra turns around to face him just as he rejoins her. ]

What do you wish for, Somnus?

[ She asks once more, dropping his title. ]

[ She's used his name, and only his name. In recognition of that, his gaze meets hers momentarily. ]

To break the curse that binds this world and those in it.

[ Somnus has no delusions of grandeur about his place in this ordeal. He's but one of many with a limited number of possibilities. And yet, those are more possibilities than he's had in so many years, even as he continues to choose the same path the gods had first led him down. ]

[ And the best way, most likely, to break this curse and restore the color is to form bonds! Repeating that now seems useless, though; he might be a hero in his world, but he's ill-equipped, emotionally speaking, to have any such arsenal in forming meaningful bonds here.

But maybe that is the mark of a hero: overcoming odds stacked against him.

That's not to say that she isn't trying her damnedest to help him, either. With that, she continues to walk. Time to get that drink! ] Have you been forming bonds with others?

[ Yes, the drink. Far better than beating this dead chocobo. ]

I have spoken with a few.

[ Given current conditions, forming bonds is difficult and likely not as effective. They simply have no time left. Somnus watches Pyra. ]

I did not see you at the discussion conference.

[ ...Ah. She can't quite hide her expression right away. ]

[ She recovers quickly, however. ]

...I did not go.

[ .... ]

Was anything of importance discussed?

[ With his eyes on her, she's already too late in recovering. She speaks of bonds, yet she avoids at least one in the same breath. Unsurprising. ]

The skeletons from the burial mound relayed this message: remember what was forgotten. There was also a mention of the red map.

[ .... ]

Love. [ She states quietly, and it seems as if she has great difficulty saying the word. ]

Love is what was forgotten.

[ They know this through the old woman in the woods. ]

[ He nods. Anyone who reads the forum would know this by now. ]

It is not we who have forgotten, but the town that has. Now it falls on us to remind it.

[ Through the forging of bonds, he supposes. If that really is the case, he's a poor candidate. ]

To reminds it, mm. But how...?Through example? Through writing about it within the book? [ Musing, she lets her lips ease into a small smile again. Now that they're away from the topic of the "discussion conference", she feels a little more at ease. ]

I love... all here. Including you, Your Majesty. I love this world, because all of you are in it. [ Yet, she didn't go to that conference. ] But... it's not enough.

Our gods have no power here. The same holds true for their children.

[ In her own world, Pyra exists on a separate plane from mortals. Here, however, they are equals with no one person exerting greater influence upon Chroma. Of course her love alone isn't enough.

But he believes she's been on the correct path in pursuing bonds. After all, recalling the story on the forum: "No bond strengthens from an easy path or a fickle heart that cannot commit." Even the mere act of writing in the book seems to call for a certain degree of cooperation.

What's wrong with taking the easy path? He, so willful and foolish, had once thought this. Now he must be careful. ]

That is why the town entreats us to forge bonds. By ourselves, we can do nothing.

[ They're approaching her house in Bluo.

At the mention that the otherworlders can do nothing by themselves: ]

Your strongest bond here... is your brother. Have you spoken to him more than once, in your time here?

[ Hey if he's going to point out she wasn't at the party, she needs to know if his wish to help this world is strong enough to overcome his own misgivings with his sibling! ]

[ He suspects that she already knows the answer, which is no. The matter of his brother was inevitable when discussing the topic at hand. Theirs is not a positive bond, and it'll likely worsen if he attempts correspondence. Somnus has his doubts about whether or not this will benefit the town.

And he knows an excuse when he hears one. The old ache in his chest flares anew as he turns his head away with a mild frown. All of this is in order to return to their respective worlds, that his brother may be put to rest once and for all. ]

I will speak to him.

[ Perhaps beseech him to write in the book, provided that Ardyn lets Somnus get that far. It'll probably be the last time they ever speak to each other. ]

[ Her smile carries her approval with it. It's not too late, says her hope for them; it's never too late for reconciliation. Even if they two might never see eye-to-eye, they might be able to find some sort of peace with their remaining time here, if only re reflect on earlier, better, more peaceful days when they were young.

...Is Adryn dead like Somnus, she wonders. Deceased and trapped by the gods. The both of them share the same fate.

Coming to her home's door, she opens it for him. ] Through the network, if you feel safer that way. [ She gently suggests, stepping to the side for him to enter first. ] After all, I value our own bond... what little we have made together.

[ He glances her way before stepping through the doorway. Safe, she says. Does she believe they might attack each other, thereby jeopardizing what colors they've restored?

He won't be the one to instigate a brawl. If Ardyn wants to hurt him, so be it. Somnus has done enough in his lifetime, and been dead for some time besides. There's no point in reciprocating, nor does he desire it. ]

My brother has nothing to gain by killing me here. I would not speak to him if it would endanger this world.

[ if it would endanger this world... As if, what, any conversation they have escalates to a world-destroying brawl?? ]

...Do conversations between the two of you typically end up endangering the world?

[ He looks away, turning his attention to the interior. It's Ardyn who endangers the world and everyone in it by existing, but Somnus has no intention of running a smear campaign here. That's not why she invited him over to her residence. ]

[ She approaches him, placing a hand upon his shoulder. ] It'll be okay.

[ ...It seems that she's interpreted his silence as melancholy, and so he's in need of encouragement. There is no way she would be able to say the same for herself, that she might just converse with her own brother; because, according to him, she is the one who is defying the will of their father by protecting the world. ]

I trust your judgement.

[ She's too trusting. Does her faith come from a place of human sentimentality or godly enigma? The saccharine reassurance suggests the former, especially considering what she does know about his circumstance.

It's not the first time she's laid her hand upon his shoulder. Just like then, he gives it a sideways look. ]

What happens between me and my brother will not affect this bond.

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