serrata | theairlock postgame cmo

[Hey, Rii-san, you've got a call from your favourite ronin.]

Yuuri. Are you settling in?

Oh, Mai-chan! Yes, we're doing fine. Or, fine as can be expected, I think. It was definitely easier than I thought it'd be, but getting used to everything... it's been a bit of a rough start, but we'll be fine.

[ It's been very jarring to see Tokyo actually full of real, living people again but she's taking her time with it. ]

How are you doing? You sound well.

I think... Okay. I missed home. Things have changed, but... People are still there. That girl in the hospital woke up. Sayuri got into a good school.

Your new home... Is it alright?

A year's a long time. I'm not surprised things changed, but... I'm glad there's still a place for you. I was worried it might feel out of sorts for the people going home.

[ She breathes out a laugh. What would Yuuri know about going home, after all? ]

Yes, it's wonderful. We managed to sort ourselves into the same block of apartments and I still have no idea how we did it. But I've decided I'm not going to ask too many questions, so long as everyone's happy.

Ruu-chan's settling in better than I expected. I was so scared she wouldn't be able to, or that it'd be hard to go back to normal after everything she'd seen but somehow she's getting along fine. There's some nightmares, but I think those might pass eventually.

Good.

[Mai nods and smiles a little.]

You deserve for things to be better. You all do. You're preparing for school, right?

I'm doing my best to.

[ Even down the phone, the Academic Despair is clearly audible. ]

I'm trying to catch up and get my head back into studying before I worry myself too much about entrance exams. Maybe I'll see about hunting down some study guides closer the time, but...

[ She goes quiet for a moment and then laughs a little nervously. ]

Well, did I ever tell you what sort of college I decided to aim for?

...Police academy?

[For your viewing pleasure, this hypothesis is accompanied by an imaginary visual of Yuuri as a police officer giving her trademark unsettling smile to terrified robbers.]

Or... Veterinary college?

[The next imagination segue is Yuuri surrounded by dogs, cats, birds, lizards, and rabbits like some kind of fairy tale princess.]

Maybe.

Pff–

[ Okay, maybe it's a little mean to laugh. But she can't help it. ]

They sound like good options maybe, but... I've actually settled on an agricultural college.

[ She sounds a little sheepish about admitting it, like she's expecting Mai to laugh. ]

It was something I'd been thinking about in school but I didn't think I'd be able to do it. But now I'll have the money to do it, and there'll be people to help if I need anyone to keep an eye on Ruu-chan... I think I might actually have a shot.

...That makes sense.

[now she feels stupid.]

Because you've always liked plants. And you're good at organization and dealing with things that come up.

That's right. When I was back in the gardening club, a few of my senpai used to talk about it. I think they were really serious about shooting for college when everyone else was mostly just there to have fun. But I never really let myself consider it.

Now, though... there's nothing stopping me. So I don't have an excuse to not at least try.

Mm. ...I'm glad. That you found something. You'll do well.

[ Yuuri laughs again. ]

Don't go and jinx it for me. I'm not even done catching up with studying yet. For all I know, I'll completely freeze up as soon as someone sets an exam sheet in front of me and that'll be the end of my academic career.

[ But she doesn't sound like she thinks that's the case. ]

What about you, Mai-chan? Have you decided on what you want to do?

...[She shakes her head.] I thought veterinary school once. So I could be with Sayuri. Now... Not sure.

It's hard. When you never thought you'd make it this far. So you didn't think you needed to think about the future.

Well you do love animals, don't you? So maybe veterinary school wouldn't be such a bad idea. You've got plenty of time to decide so it's worth exploring all your options.

[ She hums in thought for a moment. ]

Maybe when I've next got some time free, I could come and visit you. And then we could take a look together and see what you want to try out.

Maybe. [Mai smiles a little. Probably. It's hard to tell.] Animals... I do like them. And a lot of people try to just ignore them. Like dog-san on the streets.

Maybe you could start off volunteering with a rescue service, then? Just to get a feel for it. And I'm sure they could always use more help with that sort of thing.

[nod] Probably. Shelters here... Overcrowded. And hard to make them happy and safe. Maybe things could improve.

[It was probably a red flag that Ardyn even existed so early in the morning, much less lucid, functional, and making breakfast with his hair in a haphazard braid. Indeed he did look tired, though he was focused enough not to burn something as simple as bacon, eggs, and toast.]

...Morning, dear. Have a seat, I'm almost finished.

... Well, this is a surprise.

[ Ardyn being awake, of course, rather than him being here and making breakfast – she's so used to them all sort of nebulously occupying each other's spaces anyway that she half-wonders if it wouldn't be more convenient to install a revolving door between all their apartments and just be done with it.

She smoothes her hair down a little into something slightly more presentable and takes a seat, trying not to look too worried, but she can't help but furrow her brow a bit. ]

Is there a reason you're awake before the crack of noon, or should I not look a gift horse in the mouth?

I...needed to talk to you.

[Ardyn faltered in his movements, but only for a second.]

It's not really the fun sort of conversation, so I thought it was best done over some decent food.

Edited 2019-03-10 15:52 (UTC)

[ Well that's an ominous thing to hear so early in the morning. In the fraction of a second it takes for her smile to slip, she's already run through a hundred and one different disaster scenarios in her head before common sense catches up with her. Obviously Junpei and Ruu are fine, she knows that better than anyone, and he's entirely too calm for there to be something wrong with Church, so... ]

Has something... happened?

[ she's trying to sound calm but she's obviously a little rattled. ]

Everything's okay, no one's hurt or maimed or on fire.

[He quickly reassured her, setting down a plate for her before turning to focus on making coffee.]

I just...Yuuri, I need your help dealing with something unpleasant. Something I can only burden Leonard with so much before we both crack under the strain, and something I shouldn't even ask your aid with for the same reasons.

I... see.

[ The way she hesitates as she says that makes it clear as day she's not exactly reassured. In fact, she doesn't even so much as look down at her food, keeping her gaze instead fixed on Ardyn. ]

You know, you're just worrying me when you talk like this. ... but that doesn't mean "don't tell me", before I give you the wrong idea. If you need me, I'm here to listen.

...sorry. I'm just...going to come out and say it, alright? Rip the bandage off or whatever.

[He hadn't turned to look at Yuuri, still pointedly focused on what he was doing.]

How--how does one deal with realizing that perhaps their memories weren't quite what they thought they were?

[ Yuuri opens her mouth to say something and finds that, despite her best efforts, there's nothing for her to say at all. It's not as if she has to fill the silence for it to be obvious what she's thinking. They've all had their memories twisted this way and that, but the way Ardyn says it, just makes her think–

"See? She's still alive. I made it in time."

"She said it was the bear. That you were only pretending the bear was Ruu-chan, and that you were happy."

"I'm right here. I always will be."

"Yuuri Wakasa's sister is already dead."

Her stomach turns unpleasantly and suddenly even the smell of breakfast is making her feel ill and wobbly. She swallows hard and pushes her hair back from her face. ]

If... if you ever figure it out, you'll have to tell us. [ She makes a noise that doesn't quite make it all the way to being laughter and then swallows again. ] But it... it depends on what kind. Of memories, I mean.

Edited 2019-03-13 23:26 (UTC)

...I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have--

[Ardyn bit his lower lip, briefly gripping the edge of the counter as if to steady himself. He took a slow breath in the silence that followed, shaking his head.]

I remembered two things. The somehow less horrible one...was that there was someone else. Back before everything went horrendously wrong, there was someone I was going to marry.

Aera--her name was Aera, and she was the only person that tried to protect me when I was cast out.

[ Yuuri shakes her head and makes herself firm up her voice – her words are a little steadier for it, even if that's not her intention. ]

Don't apologize. It's... it's alright. I don't want any of us to feel like we have to keep things from each other.

[ This, though, doesn't sound like something to keep from them – if anything, it sounds like something to celebrate that contrary to everything they'd thought, that there'd been someone on his side.

Which is why Yuuri senses a but coming. ]

What was she like? If you don't mind talking about her.

She was...amazing, really. Stubborn but compassionate, so I’m beginning to wonder if I have a type.

[A quiet, shaky laugh.]

We used to meet in secret at old ruins where no one would find us; she loved archaeology, and I just...wanted her to be happy. My life didn’t exactly lend itself to domesticity with all the traveling and hiding out, so we did what we could when she was able to sneak away from my brother’s guards and out of the capital.

[ Under any other circumstances, she might've laughed – as it is, she just barely manages the slightest smile. ]

I can't say that surprises me in the least. I just hope you gave him a terrible headache every time she sneaked out to come see you.

[ Somnus Lucis Caelum has been dead for like two thousand years but Yuuri hopes he can hear her in the beyond every time she talks shit about him. ]

Mm...probably. I wouldn't know, I hadn't been home in...three years? I think it was three, I'm not sure.

... I see.

[ That's a little sad, she thinks about saying, but refrains. She's certain Ardyn doesn't need her to tell him that.

She hasn't touched her food. She has a strong suspicion breakfast is going to go cold before she can make herself stomach it. ]

It sounds like you were happy. I'm glad.

[ For now, that's all she can really trust herself to say. ]

...Yeah. For a given value of the word, I think we were.

[ She falls into silence for a moment and she almost wants to leave things there, play dumb and pretend she thinks that's all he wanted to say. But if that really was it, Yuuri's fairly sure she wouldn't have found him in the kitchen this morning. Ardyn cooking is one thing, Ardyn stress cooking at a reasonable time in the morning is quite another. ]

... That's not all, though, is it?

Is it ever?

[A quiet, tired laugh.]

You know, if I think hard enough...I can almost remember a time before things went downhill. Somnus and I used to argue often, and we'd end up settling things over a chessboard. I'm not...sure when things started to go downhill, if I were asked to pick a moment. Just that eventually...he wasn't my brother anymore. At least not the brother I'd known.

You really don't know what could've happened?

[ Not that she thinks Ardyn's lying, but it's so hard for her to imagine the two of them going from just a normal pair of brothers to... well. What had happened.

Of course, maybe she's not the most unbiased of sources. There's a big difference between a pair of siblings like her and Ruu to a pair of boys around the same age, stuck putting up with the responsibilities of royalty and everything else that came with being a Lucis Caelum. ]

...sorry. But I really don't remember anymore. The only clear memories I have of him now are when he wasn't my brother anymore.

No, no, you don't have to apologize. I just want to make sure that... if you're going to tell me this, that I understand it properly.

[ It's the least she can do – or rather, it might be the only thing she can do. ]

theairlock postgame cmo

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did someone say memory problems, feat. all them retcons

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