[F22-PP] Understanding Brings More Confusion...

[Freya 0]

Your dad is going to fucking kill me

Freya sits against the guild hall table, staring at the new addition on her finger...

You don't have to answer yet, but it's about time we made this shit official

Pushing herself off the table, as her chest beats faster, pacing the room...

Marry me damn it

"I'm so stupid... He asked and I said nothing..." she says to an empty room. Her pacing gets faster, then stops... Holding her hands up, they were shaking. "Gaahh" screaming out as she throws a chair across the room and breaks against the wall. Breathing heavily, staring at it, she feels a tear fall down her cheek... "Why... why did I not just say yes..." it was all she had wanted for so long from this man. She was madly in love with him... So why say nothing... "Damn it," she realized what she had done and gets to the ground and starts to pick up the chair pieces... A sniffle... as she picks up a broken leg, the ring comes back into view and the realization of something that she never thought to think about... "I am broken..." she falls to her butt from her knees and drops the leg of the chair, placing her hands to her face. She didn't finish the conversation that Simmone and she started before... She was running out of time, the window that she waited for was finally open but she couldn't jump through it... Not yet... She had not been home for days nor slept since the question... She needed to get clarity, she needed answers... Something, anything to let her know it would be okay... Leaving the shards of broken wood where it lay she gets up and heads to Simmone's shop... It was late, she hoped that the lady would still be awake. 

Knocking on the door of the Odyssey, "Simmone, I need to talk to you..." as she opens the door. Freya was a complete mess right now and it would show in her appearance but no shits were given...

Freya | HP: 680/680 | EN: 106/106 | DMG: 21 | MIT: 20 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 3 | LD: 1 | AA | BLD: 48 | KEEN: 1 | REC: 4

Spoiler

Freya,
Level: 31
Paragon Level: 18
HP: 680/680
EN: 106/106

Stats:
Damage: 21
Mitigation: 20
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 3
Loot Dice: 1
AA
BLD: 48
KEEN: 1
REC: 4

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Final Calamity - Remorse (T4/Perfect/2HBA): Absolute Accuracy, Keen 1, Bleed 1
Armor: Dark Embrace - Sacrifice (T4/Perfect/Light Armor): Evasion 2, Recovery 1
Misc: Ebon Band - Truth (Tierless/Perfect/Trinket): Accuracy 3

Skills:
War Ax R5
Cloth Armor R5
Charge
Energist
Extended Mod Limit

Active Mods:
Athletics
Nimble

Inactive Mods:
Stamina
Ferocity

Active Extra Skills:
Survival

 

[Freyd 0]

Standing silent in the corner, with some shiny bauble he'd been admiring still in his hands, a single red eye watched the scene unfold from beneath a telltale, partially turned, charcoal-coloured cowl.  The brow above it arched high, as if enticed to curiosity.  The Whisper's natural state favoured suspicion, but he knew this one and the uniqueness of her woes.  She had a good spirit, if unstable, and a good heart smothered a frazzled shell.  

Like you're in any position to judge.

Montjoy's jab hit true.  It always did.  But only Freyd could ever hear them, and he simply chose to ignore this one.  A whim surfaced, enticing him to take Simmone's form and grant Freya her request, or maybe Sam, but they were likely right around the corner and unlikely to appreciate his dark sense of humour.  Impulse shuttered.  Freyd remained himself even as he stepped out of the shadows.  The calm clatter of stone on polished hardwood announced his presence, as he returned the bauble to its private housing.  Simmone was too meticulous to have things out of place, and his own compulsions required that courtesies be obeyed.  

What will it be this time?  A subtle cough?  Maybe a rap or two on the counter?  Clearing the throat is rather cliché, but does the trick.

"More broken, or less?  I should figure out where you're at since we left off.  Kinda matters with you, as I recall."  The tone was warm.  Freyd thought it was, and intended it to be, at least.  Sincerity often fell flat with him, no matter how it rang in his mind before he spoke.  Head tilted like a pup's, sensing something strange, the direct approach seemed best with friends - or so he preferred to think.  It was proof-of-concept time.

"What's going on?"

***

Freyd | HP: 900/900 | EN: 124/124 | DMG: 24 | MIT: 78 | ACC: 6 | BH: 45 | LD: 5 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | PARA IMMUNE | REC: 8

Full Stats (Playtest Event):
(adjusted to include AoE Specialist Shift with Stamina, Ferocity, Precision and Focus weapon skill add-ons)

Spoiler

Freyd,
Level: 31
Paragon Level: 62
HP: 900/900 
EN: 124/124

Stats:
Damage: 24
Mitigation: 78 
Accuracy: 6 
Evasion: 0 
Battle Healing: 45 
Loot Dice: 5 
FLN: 16
HLY: 16
PARA IMMUNE
REC: 8

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Samael's Pride (T4-WH, HOLY 2, FLN 2)
Armor: Fallen Angel Garb (T4 LA, MIT 2, REC 2)
Misc: The Shadowed Rose (T3-Trinket, ACC 3, Para Imm)

Skills:
War Hammer R5 (+Ferocity +Stamina +Precision +Focus)
Light Armor R5
Searching R5
Battle Healing R5
Charge
Energist
Extended Weight Limit
Charge
Extended Mod Limit

Active Mods:
Large Pockets
Meticulous
Resolve

Inactive Mods:
None

Active Extra Skills:
Disguise 
Survival
Meditation
Brawler

Inactive Extra Skills:
Forgotten King’s Authority
Shatter

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleport Crystals: 15
Mass HP Rec [Instant] (+30*Tier HP): 5
Antidote 3: 5
Golden Key (+2 LD to open chests): 15
Perfect HP Rec (+15% of max hp): 15
The Thing Behind All Lies (T4 WH)
Crystal of Divine Light (Free, Instant [after roll], +1 slot of holy/fallen, double dmg next turn): 1
Rhino's Horn (Free, Instant [after roll], +3 DMG to one hit, -1 EVA for battle): 1

Housing Buffs:
Rested: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)
Hard Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Item Stash: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
Delicious: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Skylight (Searching): +1 Rank to the Searching skill.
Master Angler: +1 CD/LD for fishing.  +2 Fishing EXP per attempt
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
Decor [Potted Tanabata Bamboo Tree]: This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild:
Kamutetsu: +1 DMG for a thread

Wedding Ring: n/a
 
 

 

[Freya 0]

Freya stops dead, her emotion were on overload and she had no clue what to do. A voice, but it was not Simmone, her friend, the one person that she has always seemed to go back to, to spill her problems too. She takes an unsteady breath and closes her eyes tight. She couldn't stop a tear or two from falling, "Freyd..." she slowly turns as she was exhausted, it showed in her movement. Taking a seat on the ground now against a bare wall, placing her head back to rest upon it. Bringing her knees to her chest to try taking a breather... It wasn't working. Her inhales were harsh sounding as she tries to speak, "How can I marry when I have this thing inside of me..." She realized then that she had not told Freyd or anyone about her and Gaius. How could she though. It was the best thing and a much needed spectacular surprise, "I know that this figure inside me is not just a thing, someones brother... I need to be rid of him to truly be me with Gaius... But knowing what I know... How can I..." She was unsure if what she said made any lick of sense, but her brain was moving so fast and it was just fragments of thoughts that fell out...

[Freyd 0]

Curiosity turned to dread as words sputtered out in fragments.  

'Oh, crap.  It was one of those 'feelings' things,' he thought to himself, swearing he hear Montjoy laughing madly in the back of his mind.  Craning his neck, he hoped for Simmone, or someone, anyone, to offer some sense of well-timed salvation.  But no, they were likely snooping from around the corner, leaving him to figure out how to sort this mess out.  Like he knew anything about personal relationships.  He couldn't even talk to Elora, it seemed, since the Shadow fell.  

Maybe that was it.  Maybe there was inspiration somewhere in the flutter of whatever it was he'd been feeling since waking on some random shoreline with a fishing rod in his hands.  Realizing that he'd just been staring silently while she wept, Freyd hung his head and slowly wandered over.  A soft thud of his back against the same wall that braced her preceded his slow slump to the floor to sit at her side.  Hesitation paused his hand for an instant before the ring of a promise given pushed his decision through.  The cowl fell back with a tug to fully reveal his pale face and unnatural eyes, an unruly mop of mousy-brown hair doing its own thing.  Not that there was ever much effort to compel it to do otherwise.

Freyd had no siblings.  More accurately, Takeshi didn't.  He didn't know how to comfort a distraught sibling, friend, or even stranger.  Instinct was useless to him in these situations.  They were lacking in his make-up.  Montjoy's hollow eyes burned cold on the back of his head, insisting that he should do something; should know how to react.  But he didn't, so he winged it, doing what he thought someone else would probably do in his place.  TV was useful in such situations, if he was smart enough to skip the corny dialogue.  

Contact, Freyd.  People react to the proximity of others in times of need.  Not you, but, you know... normal people.

A grimace crossed the Whisper's face.  Montjoy had the most annoying way of speaking wisdom in his ears.  Casually removing his left glove with a tug, a handful of spindly fingers placed themselves atop Freya's elbow, where she had wrapped it around her knees.  He pursed his lips, hoping he was doing this right.  With a gentle tug, he pulled her head over to rest against his shoulder.  It had worked for Elora, once, soothing her when she was distraught.  Digits tapped her lightly on the arm with the best semblance of sympathy that he could muster without a better frame of reference.  That was soothing, right?  Images of Simmone walking around the corner and snapping photos instantly flashed across his mind.  It was high school level nonsense, and easily dismissed.  He had no patience for that sort of thing.

"Hey," he said, softly, his voice cracking awkwardly.  "Fill me in.  I may have missed a few pages."

[Freya 0]

As Freyd pulls her head against his shoulder, nothing... That was a good sign, at least her heart knew what it wanted. Freya's legs fell straight, against the floor, her arms instinctively wrap around his. Freyd was her best friend and at times like this it showed. Freya swore, though if he tried to kiss her, Freyd would get punched hard. She wouldn't care if she turned orange for a day... Regardless, it was a bit comforting... She rather it was Gaius, but he would do for now... Closing her eyes, trying to get her breathing calm enough to talk. A few minutes in silence before she opens her eyes and stares into the large open almost empty room, lost in her thoughts trying to make them clear enough for one to understand...

"I have been captured, forgotten and saved. After I was okay, sorta..." She pauses for a moment, "I did my Gemini like I was told and all of my demons came back to haunt me, but I have become stronger than I ever could have imagined I would be." Another pause, as she lifts her head now to look at the man, but doesn't let go on the arm being held. "I have literally been through hell and I finally get a change to be truly happy with a guy that I am madly in love with." Thinking carefully of every word to be said, Freyd knew more about her than anyone person here. Scary thought, but it was true... "Gaius popped the question, and I said nothing... I just vanished... I have not slept for days trying to figure out why I didn't just say yes..." Her head leans back on Freyd's shoulder as she looks to the ceiling...

"I have come up with only one reason... Kurayama..." A sharp exhale... "I have completely embraced what he has to offer and in the long run he has helped me fight through what I couldn't on my own... I have become the person that I thought I was meant to be because I though that I had no other choice. I just..." she closes her eyes now. "I need to know that there won't be a chance that I would ever hurt Gaius the way that I hurt Eruda..." Somewhere deep inside she knew that she had better control than she did with her anger outburst than before but she did not want to take the risk... Not with Gaius, not with the man she truly saw to be her soul mate...    

Edited July 14, 2021 by Freya

[Freyd 0]

Listening in silence, Freyd paid homage to the importance of their friendship by absorbing every word.  Not all of it made sense to him.  Some dots could be connected where others could not, but there was enough.  A sigh escapes his lips, no hint of smile or sadness upon them.

"Everyone around here always talks about how they want to become stronger.  Nobody actually seems to know what they mean by that."  His gaze turned upward towards the ceiling, as if the heavy timbers above could serve as conduits for divine wisdom.  His father would have argued that they could, if arranged properly.  Fung shui could invest architecture with power.  Here, that was probably literally true.  Maybe he could channel some of it, if only for a moment.  His eyes closed, shuttering against distractions from the memories within.

"There is risk in all things.  It's what maintains the balance of our world.  You and Gaius are not static.  Your relationship cannot sit still.  You are both sharks forced to dance around each other for eternity.  There is peace in that.  There is beauty in that.  There is pain and loss in equal measure to love and wonder.  This is the way the world works, as much in here as out there."

Lessons drilled into him by the lectures of a thousand tutors - priestly academics from a place that held no meaning to them now.  He'd always been too angry to listen to their platitudes, yet somehow they found purchase anyway.  Freyd understood without needing to understand.  It was how and why Montjoy could.  The shadow spoke to him as the voice in the darkness of his own soul - from parts withdrawn that actually got what it meant to be human.  Here was a friend in need; a friend who desperately sought guidance.  Some part of him felt too ashamed to speak the words.  Surely, he was undeserving of such pretense.  But just as pride held no claim over his awkward, detached self, neither could humility.  He was blunt.  He spoke truth.  Such was both the gift and the curse of being Freyd.  Such was the nature of the balance within him, so different yet the same.

"You were strong long before I ever knew you, Freya.  As impulsive and reckless as Gaius is, I suspect that he could always sense it.  It is very likely what has always drawn him to you.  Your spirit's gift is to endure."   Freyd lifted his own hand from her arm, turning the palm upward.  "Not all strength is in one's hands or muscles."  There were countless heroes in this game, and no shortage of musclebound hulks of power that dwarfed his frail, spindly frame.  Yet he had risen to heights most had never seen, or could fathom, and stood face to face with Shadow.  He'd done it in a fraction of the time most of them had been actively working on their 'strength'.  Opening his eyes, but a sliver, he gazed upon his hand, knowing that it could shatter mountains by his will alone.  "This place allows us to see ourselves - our true selves - more clearly than the old world ever could."  He closed his fingers into a fist without making a sound.  

"You're asking the wrong question."

The statement fell like a stone, crashing into silence.

"This isn't about whether you have strength to prevent yourself from hurting Gaius, ever.  It's about whether his love for you surmounts that risk."  Opening his hand, he turned it over and placed it gently back upon her elbow.  "Gaius wouldn't have asked you to marry him if he was afraid.  That kind of commitment is a rare and awesome thing.  I might have been awed enough myself, in your shoes, and not known how to respond." 

"Besides," he chuckled softly, "if you took the ring, you basically said 'yes' anyway."

[Freya 0]

Everyone around here always talks about how they want to become stronger.  Nobody actually seems to know what they mean by that

As she had seen in Eruda, this was more than just getting stronger by game standards like Freyd had said. Freya doesn't even recognize the person that Eruda use to be. Something shifted within her sister that made her a better person. She could see it in herself too, though. Freya was the same, but different just for the simple fact that she learned to trust more and realized that she couldn't do anything alone. This game has given her confidence and absolute, knowing now that it was okay to need help once in a while. Gaius taught her without going through the steps that is was okay to be reckless if you had cation along with it. Having a group that has your back and that you can rely on, makes this easier...

Freyd was right about everything, every single word... There was no spark or flash, it was an instant burst of thunder that came crashing down from seemingly nowhere. From the moment that Gaius entered her life, she knew that they were meant to be with one another. With Rin it was more of an attraction thing, but with Gaius, it was so much more than that. They are two ends of the same thread, and they work in sync with each other. Almost like they know exactly what the other is thinking and just goes for it... Gaius has proved time and time again that he can bring her down from the worst situation possible just with a single sentence.

Freya chuckles a bit, "Who knew you could be so damn wise, thank you. You are right about everything... He knows my demons and yet he is still here and that right there amounts to something..." Freya gives Freyd a side hug now, quickly gets to her feet as her heart starts to race... "Okay, this is happening..." She looks around for a moment before looking back at Freyd... "I am getting married... Simmone, if you are here, get out here, I need something to wear... Wait... I need... I need someone to... Marry us... Oh geez... SIMMONE..." Here eyes glances down at her hand, the ring, she smiles now, but her mind was now racing a million miles per second about everything wedding... "GAIUS... I need to tell Gaius..." Freya runs to the back of the shop and starts to look around for Simmone now. Turning the corner too quick, she bumps into something that hid under a blanket. It began to tip as Freya quickly grabs the thing before it does. Taking a deep breath of relief now, she stares at it wondering now what it was that she ran into...   

[Simmone 0]

"Break it, you buy it." Simmone offered a quizzical and aloof statement, eyeing the sudden outburst within the confines of her store. It seems that one of the guilds loudmouths had offered themselves to the interior. Maru slides past with a tray containing an empty kettle, it was far too early for the girl's insistent screaming. She'd caught only the murmurs of conversation from her chamber, assuming that perhaps it was the girls or Sam dealing with a customer, and yet this is what she found instead.

A soft bat of an eyelash, one filled with curiosity and a bit dreary. A soft marble like sphere still held fast in the blondes hands, one of glass that the little blue haired NPC quickly rips free from the girl's grasp for fear of being destroyed. "So..." The woman looks toward the pair as she leans in the double-sided doorway, remnants of smoke still oozing out of the room. Folding her arms into a rather large set of sleeves, her hands finding themselves within the yukata's draping loops. "What do I owe this visit? Need something from me, dear, or you just here to break objects in my store?"

Simmoné | HP: 680/680 | EN: 86/86 | DMG: 21 | MIT: 63 | EVA: 2 | LD: 5 | BLD: 48 | BLGT: 32 | KEEN: 1 | REC: 8

Spoiler

Simmoné, The Black Cat
Level: 31
Paragon Level: 18
HP: 680/680
EN: 86/86

Stats:
Damage: 21
Mitigation: 63
Evasion: 2
Loot Dice: 5
BLD: 48
BLGT: 32
KEEN: 1
REC: 8

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Quicksilver Foil - Adder [T4/Perfect/Rapier] Blight 1, Bleed 1, Keen 1
Armor: Black Leather Bodice - Feline [T4/Perfect/LA] Mitigation 2, Evasion 1
Misc: The Black Lotus - Expedition [T4/Perfect/Trinket] Recovery 2, Evasion 1

Skills:
Lock Picking R3
Searching R5
Rapier R5
Light Armor R3

Active Mods:
Dismantling
Energize
Hyperactive
Meticulous
Ferocity

Inactive Mods:


Active Extra Skills:
First Aid R5

Inactive Extra Skills:

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleport Crystal: 1

 

[Freya 0]

Putting her hands up in front of her, eyes not leaving the thing beneath the blanket. "I..." Freya's mind went completely blank for a moment. Could have been from lack of sleep... Glancing at Simmone now appearing around the corner. Her cheeks puff up a bit as she tries to think of what she was going to say... Hands move to her side as she says "You got good fashion, I need something to wear... Something unique, but no fluff... I hate fluff..." Eyes glance back at the concealed object. "Something easy on the eyes, but sexy..." Freya didn't care if Freyd was listening to this... It was then that she hadn't said why she needed this make over... "Gaius asked me to marry him..." Freya couldn't stop glancing at the thing out of pure curiosity, it was clear it was important because of they way they reacted when she bumped into it but the fact that everything else in the store what on display and open... What made this thing so different from the others...    

[Freyd 0]

"We were thinking of something in white leather, probably with a corset."  Lewd hand gestures reinforced the intention, but Freya had already opened that door.  If she was going to drag him along for this ride, he might as well have some fun with it. "Red laces would be appropriate, and the sleeves have to be readily detachable for when the fist fight starts."  Freyd smiled a little when both heads turned silently in his direction.  His cowl was back in place.  People time was officially over, and the shields had risen once more around his guise.  

"What?" He asked, mildly incredulous in counterpoint to their own incredulous glares.  "Gaius and Freya?  Together at last?  They'll probably punch each other, instead of exchanging kisses.  That reminds me: I need a cassock, black and long.  I'm thinking something along the lines of The Bells of Saint Mary's meets the Matrix.  Need to flow, and probably needs a bit of reinforcement.  Can you dip it in temper-retardant or something."

The cowl tilted sideways in a hound-like manner, even as Montjoy had slithered to Freya's far side seeking pointlessly to steady whatever bauble she was obsessing over.  Being incorporeal could really suck.  Freyd made a point to conceal his own digits randomly, in the future.  If his duplicate got lippy, he'd just deny him his thumbs.  Wouldn't that be a treat?

"What is that thing, anyway?  Put it down before you Gaius it into a thousand pieces."

[Simmone 0]

Sliding back into her room and plucking free the resting cigarette holder, lighting the end and taking a harsh pull from the device. A wave of smoke pours out her nose and mouth with an exhale. Her right hand finds her temple, rubbing it softly. "Clothes?" Simmone remarked the phrase as a question, still hung on the fact that the buffoon managed to court anyone. Although Freya seemed oddly fitting, they were both slightly akin to neanderthals. "Such orders may take some time to obtain, it is hardly something quick to slap together. Curious still, Gaius and you." Her eyes shift to Freya with the question loaded like a bullet.

Maru slinking away with a sphere, unannounced to her that Montjoy was eying the thing as she stretched on the tip of her toes. Trying her best to place it upon a platform in a stand designed to hold such a thing. It glows softly in a silverish fog as it finds a hold, back in an apparatus for use. Her eyes advance to Freyd "A likely outcome if I've ever seen one, both seem to have a temper. I am more concerned for the guests. God forbid, you drop a slice of cake, and a table explodes." A coy grin finding its way to her mouth with a slow draw. To Freyd's question, her gaze shifts to the object. "That? An augment to the tracking skill. Makes it just that much quicker, problem being it must be settled and left in one stagnant place. Seems to extend great distances however, all you need is a name and that is enough." A seer's crystal ball that she had yet to tap completely, but it was interesting nonetheless.

Edited August 22, 2021 by Simmone

[Freya 0]

Raising a hand to punch Freyd for the weird dressing comment, rethinking though she places a hand on her chin a looks to the ceiling in thought. "Strapless white leathered dress, just above the knees with a golden trim at the bottom..." Looking to Freyd now with a grin, "Full opportunity to punch someone if I have too..." insinuating that directly to him... Simmone mentions the cake, "Oh, I'm not so worried about it hitting the floor, but more of what Shiina will do to it when it comes into view." She remembers cooking with Shiina and it was not a pretty sight. Freya hops up on the stool that felt like it was made for Sam as her feet dangle. 

Simmone explaining the crystal ball she smiles. "You're shop is filled with the unexpected." Freya's eyes fall to the desk that she was sitting in front of now. Papers scattered with notes that was far from her understanding. "I need to clear my mind a bit more, and Freyd what you said was very helpful, but I need to know more. I think it will help me ease my mind further." Giving Freyd a small smile she looks to Simmone. "We never did finish that conversation about your brother. I think if I know more about him it will help me keep my emotion in wrap. I really don't want my wedding day ruined because I couldn't stay calm..." Freya knew that this was a touchy subject, but regardless if it was just pure curiosity, or anything to figure out why he was here in the first place... Anything at this point would help... "Don't worry, Freyd know everything I do. He is the one that has actually been helping me through this..." Giving a smile his way, but then glancing back at Simmone...  

Edited August 22, 2021 by Freya

[Freyd 0]

"So, I'm the canary, is that it?  Here to test whether you feel an overwhelming urge to punch something?"  Freyd chuckled at the irony.  "Fitting."  Leaning against the same counter as his friend, he pondered hooking his leg around the stood, in case reprisal were necessary, or at least comedic.  As always, his movements were slow and casual, belying any pending, underlying burst of action.  He was content to play along, but it didn't mean he couldn't exact a toll for playing the fool's role.

"Wait a sec.  Brother?  I vaguely recall there being a connection between you, this spirit and Simmone, but it must have slipped past me that there was a family connection.  Are you people all related, or something?!"  The Whisper's eyes narrowed in exaggeration, but the number of intimate and familial relationships seemed to be exploding among his small circle of friends and acquaintances.  Combined with the fact that he and Elora had hardly spoken since the Fall of Shadow, Freyd's emotion-tolerances were being pushed far beyond his comfort zones.  That is to say: anywhere beyond not  bothering to deal with emotions at all.  A practical thought provided a welcome interruption.

"Hey, Simmone.  Why don't you just use your crystal ball thingy and see if you can see your brother in it?"

[Simmone 0]

Her facial expression shifts, from a smile to something clearly more serious with a mix of despair. "That is because I didn't want to finish the conversation." Simmone snaps outside her normal aura. Her brother was an exposed nerve, one that she still wasn't at complete terms with. Still completely confused and lost in what exactly had transpired between her and the blonde, and yet so nonchalantly dropped like yesterday's dirty laundry. Kurayama wasn't just something she could erase, and moreover it bothered her that Freya just wished to dig him up. Arms crossed, as if giving herself a much-needed embrace. The black lotus avoids eye contact as she slides into her chamber, to the back a linen and plain gray tarp.

The twins follow suit, sensing their mistress' duress. Clambering onto her sides, a handful of the bottom of her regal dress. A solid tug rips free the cloth, revealing a solid silver standing mirror large enough to see all of a person.

<<The Platinum Mirror>> 

"Please Maru, I know it's early but if you would, the white bottle." Simmone asks down, ruffling the pink haired twin's hair with a hand, who jubilantly salutes and is whisked away on tiny feet. Ushering herself away slowly, looking at her reflection in it she pours herself across the sofa in the center of the room. A glance toward Freya with an uncharacteristic glare taking a drink of something from her sleeve, gold eyes flared and illuminated permanently under the effect of a potion as she chose to store friendship and was now the merchant. To shield herself from what she would see.

[Freya 0]

Freya knew that coming here and bringing this topic up was going to be hard Simmone, but if she didn't push then Freya would never know... Taking a deep breath, she follows Simmone to the back. The anger that Simmone felt toward her was very well deserved. Walking into the back room, she finds Simmone sitting, drinking something from her sleeve and she could feel her glaring in her direction. Glancing around the room now she sees a body standing mirror, material made of platinum. It was a real beauty... Freya looks to Simmone as she irritatingly gestures to the large standing unique piece. Freya nervously stands in front of the Mirror now afraid of what she would see. At first all she sees is herself. She was a bit confused now. Why would this masterpiece have anything to do with what was asked... Freya tries to connect the dots, but her brain was not coming up with anything seeing how she has been up for so long. "I don't get it..." Freya says in a faded voice. Eyes glance to Freyd then back to Simmone and back to the mirror...

[Freyd 0]

Freyd sauntered over, still cautious of the potential for fisticuffs flying towards his head.  Freya was a nice girl, but unpredictable, in the same vein as Gaius.  Simmone had been right to voice what might happen when the two united, but it wasn't likely to change anything.  They were already peas in a pod, so to speak.  It would be like formally sanctioning chaos.  Who could tell the difference?

Shuffling over, his eyes eagerly dissecting the chamber and its contents for everything save the obvious, he left the mirror itself for last.  It, and Freya's query, had to merit some significance to have shaken their regal host's practiced detachment to such an extreme - at least by her usual standards.

"Hmmm.  Fancy mirror."  A statement, given with flattened disinterest.  Freyd's own time spent as a merchant and appraiser has given him the same sort of casual ennui when it came to doodads.  There was no shortage of shiny bauble around that were endlessly boring and useless beyond their gross and obvious excess.  This one hadn't yet caught his attention.  Barely glancing upon its surface, his hands were stuffed into barely visible pockets while he wandered silently about the space.  Montjoy pretended to open various things in the background, playing off his own intangibility.  

"What are we hoping to do here?  Is this a wedding dress thing?"  His fingers pinched his chin, as if realizing that this had potential for an escape.  "Isn't there some weird rule about officiates not seeing the dress in advance?  I could just got get coffee while you two do whatever."

[Simmone 0]

Eyes ablaze with the witches draught, burning bright in a way that would make Hel blush. "Look Closer." The words came off both with aggression and as a command. The mirror seemed utterly mundane, plain and unremarkable. But as the girl would look into it deeper, a pale black vapor would become visible in her reflection. Draining and drawing from her skin like steam in that copy within the echo she had left. A sharp chuckle that bleeds through the room as if it had an origin. Standing within the mirror, was no longer Freya but the thing she was seeking. He had become her, he had control of who she was. A male in blonde hair, greenish eyes that made Freya's pale by comparison. A smile, that held with it a sickening twist.

"You don't get it, Freyja? You should remember me well, Girl." Memories of the mountain under heavy rain and thunder, a windstorm and static. Peering over the girl's shoulder into the rest of the chamber as if he was standing outside looking through a window. "Quite the audience, and I wore something so drab. I didn't know we were expecting company..." Another sinister chuckle as the image clasps a hand over its right eye, raking it down and peeling one of its eyelids slightly open and stretching its cheek. "You didn't even let me prepare beforehand, a pity.." A snap into an aggressive glare, "I MUST LOOK A SIGHT"

Simmone despite any effort, is visibly shaken as Maru finally finds herself inside with a platter. Taking the bottle she asked for, her hands trembling as she takes a heavy swig, pretending for her own sake that she was fine. There was no way this thing was real, but it didn't make it any easier regardless. Now she was trapped in this room with her own torment, and a pair of people she hardly knew.

Edited August 22, 2021 by Simmone

[Freya 0]

"Oh like I was expecting this any more than you..." and in that moment something was different. Something had changed, she was no longer afraid of him. She talked about him as though she was but when push came to shove, everything came to light... It might of been this way for some time, but it took this performance to realize just that... Staring at the man inside the mirror now, it was just that, a man... "You could just snap your fingers or something and change that ragged cloth off your being," she knew that anything that was said here may or may not piss Simmone off further and maybe even hold a grudge against her but she wanted to know more. "I want to know how you died..." She knew that it was really straight to the point and she was even waiting for Simmone to tell her to get the hell out, but for Freya, this was something that would help connect the dots to some things that has been rattling in her brain for a while now...

Edited August 23, 2021 by Freya

[Freyd 0]

The room's mood and tone of conversation has suddenly and dramatically changed.  Freyd's hand instantly reached to the shadows and drew forth a sliver of void.  Taking no action with it, his pride was literally swallowed, but ready to be regurgitated in case trouble arose.  This was Freya's moment, and Simmone's to a lesser extent.  Freyd's gaze drifted to the latter.  A glance was spared for the figure in the mirror.  He sounded like a jerk.  Freya had the gist of it and took charge.  Freyd, meanwhile, focused his attention on the 'dead' man's sister.  There was no way to be sure that the figment was even real, or to what degree, or that anything it said held even a kernel of truth.  But Simmone's reactions could reveal a great deal about the conversation that seemed about to unfold.  

The Whisper's gaze had found its focus.  All it needed now was data.

[Simmone 0]

A turn of that image's head, an intense stare through Freya. "You know, you're right!" it responds with a snap of its fingers, causing Freya's EN bar to empty out to 0. Likely to cause her to collapse, winded. His clothes take on something more regal and embroidered, a small fluff of cloth around the collar and sleeves akin to that of royalty. A wide grin as it looks down at the blonde now on a kneel before him at the base of the mirror. Pressing his hands against the opening showing, his palms pressed flat as if against a glass fish tank. "So eager to learn everything, well perhaps since she's been invited to this play, ask Gisellé." A sharp cackle fills the room with a dark tone.

Curled into almost a ball on her sofa, tendons and muscles so tight they could leap from her skin. "That's enough, Tuatha, stop toying with her." Kurayama's expression shifts into a smug grin as he leans back, ruffling the collar of the new adornment. "Relax, Mockingbird, I was just having some fun." Her eyes shift with reluctance and yet anger to the reflection, past a nearly passed out Freya struggling to stand. "Tuatha Dé Danann Escheté, You were raised better than to play with others." The irony was lost on her. Memory of the boy with kindness that made her paled by comparison, this couldn't be him. "He was taken from reality when he offered himself in an accident to some black haired child, I don't know all the details, but they say he died immediately without pain." the words were choked out and slow.

"That's what they always say, but was it TRUE?"