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[paperpusher]

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un: monts | post event

[nerine]

Rain check here.

Sad emote if you're dead.

Sparkle emote if you're alive.

[paperpusher]

Please don't mention rain again for the next year

⭐

it's just a star because I'm not up to a full sparkle yet

[nerine]

"Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain, telling you just what fools we've been ✨"

Can't say it's put me off songs about the rain though, but I'll save you from having to read Umbrella lyrics or any other songs about it.

Glad you're ok.

[paperpusher]

I don't know these songs and I don't want to

Have any about deserts? Sunshine? Being warm and at home on the ground?

You too. Was everything alright when you got back home?

[nerine]

Not sure if I want to inflict more American pop songs onto you (I totally would anyway), but I'll let you know later.

Yeah, everything was alright. And dry. They cleaned and returned my clothes too. Even my French press was sitting on the counter like nothing happened...

[paperpusher]

Same in mine. My wards were still in place too, even though they're made of the same paper as the rest of my supplies. Which absolutely didn't hold up to the water, by the way; I'd feel bad about polluting if there wasn't so much else going on.

[nerine]

I'll be straight here with you; I have no idea what's going on and after the water was all gone, now we know there are definitely people around, but then they all disappeared.

Like c'mon...

[paperpusher]

I think the one leading them was Doll, who's a member of the Admin's team. Whether the rest of them could properly be called 'people,' though... There was something pretty off about them, even when some of them felt familiar. I wonder if they're impressions of other people rather than independent beings.

[nerine]

Now that you mention it, I get what you mean.

They were all so helpful that I initially didn't have any further impressions about them. I guess that means the Doll is the most individualistic?

[paperpusher]

Yes, though she's still some sort of constructed consciousness. She's communicated with the residents before this, though, and she definitely has a personality. Her will may be bound in certain ways-- I think she's restricted in what she's able to do without authorization. Not in the sense that she'd get in trouble for it, but that she's literally not able to go against it. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same for the others that we saw, just with less awareness.

[nerine]

So she's akin to an artificial human? Golem?

I mostly have experience with the latter. Meaning I just know one golem and he was always an odd duck.

[paperpusher]

I'm not sure, I'm not familiar with the term. Artificial human is probably close, though she has abilities much stronger than that of any human I've come across.

[nerine]

For your reference, a golem where I'm from originates from Jewish folklore where an anthropomorphic being is constructed with mud and/or clay. The witches I know of, make their golems out of stone or crystal, fill them up with magic and they can look more or less human depending on the craftsmanship.

Free will is another story, but I think based on what you said, it seems artificial human we both agree with.

I talked with someone on the network that said wherever she walked, flowers sprouted under her feet. I wasn't watching closely, so I didn't catch that.

[paperpusher]

Ah, I see. I don't know the specifics of how she was made, but she very well could be. But you mentioned the one being an odd duck? Is that a trend or just the one personality?

I didn't see that either, but if that's the case, she'd have to be very powerful. [Which, he already thinks she is based on some other evidence that he's come across, so he can believe it.] ...Wait, like they bloomed even in all the mud left behind? That's impressive.

[nerine]

Well... Oren (the golem- he works at the cafe too) isn't like any other golems according to my boss because he's not made out of any materials you find on Earth. I don't know that much beyond that, but he's also a clean freak if that's anything to you.

Powerful enough to help us, but not entirely to break from whatever bonds she has.

[Oh yeah, and there was another thing she wanted to talk about with him...]

No injuries on my person btw.

All things considered, I definitely sailed by on dumb luck this time.

[paperpusher]

I'm not sure how much of that can be generalized to this situation, you know.

I'm glad to hear it. I was also fine, just cold. If it hadn't been for people like you helping me out, I'm sure it would have been a lot worse. Thank you for that.

[nerine]

I know, just being silly 😉

[There's a noticeable gap of a few minutes that occur between Natori's last text to her before she replies back.]

I'm glad you're fine too.

If there's another dangerous situation, I'll try to think of something better than throwing a grown man around.

[paperpusher]

You are not the first person to have thrown me around, though I do hope you're the last. It was a good decision and it bought us time. Don't regret it.

That said, yeah I guess we have a better idea of the scope of things we'll have to plan for.

[nerine]

I'll be a bit more honest here

[or so she says. It's easier to obfuscate over text.]

You remember I told you I can't feel pain and you know I'm strong enough to at least pick a grown man up.

Anyway, that doesn't mean I'm particularly good at using it.

[paperpusher]

[Ah. That's right; that mark of hers is concerned with keeping her alive. That comment about finding out if she could drown came at a time when they had more important things to focus on, but...]

That should be a good thing, right? That you haven't had to do something like this before.

[nerine]

Maybe.

It's kind of clear to me now that I can't be as leisurely.

And that's what makes me concerned.

[paperpusher]

[There's a bit of a pause-- it's understandable, given what they all just went through-- before he asks]

For yourself or for others?

[nerine]

[As long as no one gets on her bad side, she can only hope it's fine, but doesn't type that out. But even after that, she remembers lashing out at just about anyone, spitting out twisted words that made the truth darker than it should be.]

Both. I guess.

Naotri, that ayakashi you have. Were you born with it?

I know for sure, I wasn't always like this.

[paperpusher]

As far as I know. I didn't meet any other humans who could see it until I was a teenager, but I don't remember a time when it wasn't there.

[He's not sure what would be worse, now. Maybe if his personality had had a chance to develop before-- but just as likely, maybe it would have only made him more resentful that much sooner. Because of that, it strikes him that it's likely a sore subject, but after a few seconds he adds on]

Did something in particular happen? When you got it.

[And whether she reads that as 'did something happen for you to get it' or 'did something happen after you got it,' he'll leave that up to her.]

[nerine]

From what I can recall, I was on the beach. I was in a cave exploring by myself as a kid.

[There's a delay as she combs through her memory, really, truly trying to remember the exact details. It's not strange to feel disconnected to recollections of one's younger self, but for her it's difficult in a different way, as if she wasn't quite present for what happened and started to become someone after that day.]

My older brother found me at the time because I had passed out and was laying there inside. I just remember there being some plants in there, some flowers, maybe? But he was the first to notice that I was marked. He and my dad thought it was just some bruise.