[open] april manta quests

[vermilloci]

Who: Rem and You!
Status: Open
Where: around
What: Manta board prompts.
Warnings: Include any content warnings

Wishing Tree (General)

It's really beautiful, isn't it?

[ Seeing as this tree blooms only one night a year, many have made their way up to this tree during this very same night. You, too, might have trekked all this way with a friend or a lover in order to make a promise. But, if you're taking a moment away from them to mingle with the other pilgrims, Rem is here to converse!

She is, of course, alone, as she has no one to make a promise with-- but that's no matter, as the tree itself is beautiful enough to justify the entire hike. Doubly so, as it only blooms once a year. Although she appears winded, she smiles through her fatigue, coughing softly into her hand. ] It's worth seeing, it is. [ Rem lifts her gaze to admire the flowering pinks and reds of its boughs. ]  Even if the blooms fade too quickly.  

Down Where It's Wetter (General)

[ SOMEONE STOP HER, SHE'S BEING SWINDLED BY HANDSOME MERMAN VARIANT #2 BY THE COAST-- ]

Oh, what's that,  you need more to be able to buy dinner...? Fishing while being able to breathe underwater must be tougher than it looks. [ Rem reaches for her coin purse, selecting another doubloon. The merman motions her closer, and she blinks, initially confused, and leans in to allow him to murmur something into her ear.

Immediately she turns red, and she hands him the coins. ] Oh, um, that's... You're very kind, you are!  [ Wow wow wow, he called her beautiful. That's so nice. She's never had someone call her that before, much less in such a forward way! An embarrassed, bashful smile forms at the corners of her lips, her cheeks retaining that soft pink. This is the look of a young woman who is easily moved, practically made smitten by such kind words. ] Here, take more.

[ It's not like she needs to eat or anything! The merman has to! Plus, he's so friendly! ]

Crab Curry (Special)

[ She's kneeling by a tide pool, cupping a tiny, baby hermit crab in her palms. Rem looks over the little critter remorsefully. ] I'm sorry, little one. I was too late.

[ With her thumb, she pets over its colorful shell. Should you be close enough, you might be able to notice that it's no longer moving.

But she's still holding it. Although her head is bowed, it doesn't appear as if she's praying over it, but concentrating. ]

Wildcard

[ Have an idea? PM this account, drinksteapots, or Jade294#6977! ]

Comments

[vermilloci]

[ With the merman now even further out of sight (and out of mind) the enchantment she’d been under rapidly evaporates. Rem’s eyes widen into saucers before she lifts her hands to her face, burying it onto her palms. Try as she might to hide the new blush that spreads across her face, the very tips of her ears expose her. ]

I—-… I don’t know! I’m usually more careful than that, I promise! [ She squeaks, but is not distressed. Mortified, maybe, but in a way that suggests she’s equally embarrassed and relieved than actually upset. She confesses to Benedikta as if she were a parent catching her child sneaking out. ]

Benedikta, you know me! I don’t go chasing after the nearest handsome man!

[ It really was nice to feel as if she was wanted by a handsome man, though— ]

[garudas]

[Seeing her as flustered as this, Benedikta leans forward to bring her to a better height to examine Rem, not missing the way that her ears have flushed along with her cheeks.

...

...

And then she grins.]

Are you certain about that? You seemed fairly smitten with that one, and he was quite handsome, I admit.

[She's teasing.]

[vermilloci]

[ Moooommmmm—

Rem peeks out from between her fingers, then slowly drags her palms down her face. Dramatic, but this situation is dramatic! She is smiling despite it all, though. ]

N-no, it was completely the enchantment! [ She defends herself, laughing. ] I swear I have more of a thing for dark hair!

[garudas]

[Oh, very dramatic indeed, and Benedikta arches a brow at Rem with that little confession as she reaches out to pluck a piece of her hair that had gone astray back into place.]

Dark hair?

[She snorts, glad to see that Rem is at least laughing about it now. She hadn't meant to chastise the girl so harshly, but at least it woke her from that stupor and saved her a few more coins!? Benedikta will have to go fishing later on her own to get it back—]

And you found this out how?

[Sorry, she's not getting out of this one.

For now, she'll throw her arm around Rem's shoulders and... just gently nudge her away from the ocean before any other mermen show up.]

[vermilloci]

[ There comes that blush again!! ] It’s— [ Stalling…! ] Because I had a childhood friend with dark hair, that I, um, grew to admire.

[ She curls her fingers, coughing into her hand and clearing her throat. ] A-anyways! Thank you for shaking me out of that. I’d do the same for you. Although I doubt those mermen could handle you.

[ While it was admittedly nice to feel as if she was loved, it’s worse to know that it’s all a lie. Better overall, still, to know the truth. ]

[garudas]

[She snorts under her breath, giving Rem's shoulder a protective squeeze.]

I am absolutely certain that you and I could do better than them.

[Though, for about a half a second back there, she wondered if she might have felt some effects of their magic. Just the tiniest speck of it before she was able to shake it off.]

Remind me to ask you about this friend of yours sometime.

[vermilloci]

A little girl talk, hm? [ She smiles quietly at that, although she doesn’t commit to a definite response. Talking about said friend is easy when it’s anonymous, not when it’s in front of someone she looks up to. ] That doesn’t sound bad…

[ Rem lifts up her hand, tucking a strand behind her ear. ]

I should probably be heading back, though.

[garudas]

[With a slightly arched brow, Benedikta opens her mouth like she's about to say something else...

...

....

But instead, she lets her hand fall from Rem's shoulders.]

I will walk you.

[vermilloci]

[ Rem lifts her chin, looking up at Benedika as they walk back. ] ...You're really nice, you are.

[garudas]

[...?

It's not often that anyone calls her "really nice", let alone nice at all. She doesn't think herself so, simply looking out for those she chooses to look out for and take under her wing, but beyond that...

Which is why Benedikta fixes Rem with a look of surprise.]

I very much doubt that.

[She is at least aware of it, and honestly, she doesn't care so much about whether or not others think that way about her. Though, coming from Rem, it does make her chest flutter just a bit with pride.

As they walk, she finally does say what she'd meant to.]

So. How has that little project of yours been going? Cidolfus tells me that you are trying to make some more headway on it.

[vermilloci]

[ At the change in subject, Rem’s gait briefly stutters. ]

Oh… Essentially, he’s said not to pursue it. He convinced me to become stronger on my own. [ There’s a pause, and she adds, reflective: ] Not unlike what you told me after we first met.

So… I suppose we’ll see what happens. [ But as her tone very much gives away, she’s wrestling with the resignation. ]

[garudas]

[A tone that Benedikta very much recognizes... An echo of the past.]

And how have you been doing that, then?

[She knew that Cid had told her not to do it, and Benedikta certainly had some choice opinions on that, but she knows that she doesn't know the entire story. She knows that there are things that he kept from her, and she didn't pry because it was none of her business... And while yes, she has found herself caring about Rem a great deal, she isn't going to push it here, either.

If she is trying to get stronger on her own terms, then that is at least something that Benedikta can perhaps help with.]

[vermilloci]

The typical way.... Practice.

[ She lifts a hand, waving her fingers, and then making a fist as if to symbolize casting a spell.

Whatever she says here, she's no doubt it'll somehow be relayed back to Cid, and vice versa. The two are inseparable. Rem's head lifts, and she turns to look at Benedikta, the smile gone. Compared to the levity with the mermen moments ago, her countenance has completely shifted to something grave. Whatever practice she has in mind will involve quite an uphill experience-- but she is no less determined. Both to succeed and try this way instead. It's this, or she's dead.

She stalls again, debating before telling more. Simply saying that she’ll be doing something a “typical” way already implies there are unconventional means— and even if she hadn’t…

It’s risky enough to tell someone the means by which her class acquires power… but Cid already knows. Besides, it’s already suspicious enough that simply becoming stronger, or rather Rem’s definition of it, involves more than mere, ordinary practice. Ironic that her reluctance to talk, rather than outright lying, gives away too much already. Perhaps this is why her class had orders or execute those who know, or came too close to the truth— to prevent the messiness of guarding and managing such information.

(They’re not in Orience, she reminds herself. She can make exceptions… can’t she?)

And so at length, Rem volunteers: ]

No eidolons. [ A tremble accompanies her breath as she draws it. She clears her throat. ] No souls.

[ There. Now another person knows. Rem waits, watching cautiously for her reaction. ]

[garudas]

[There's a lot that goes through Benedikta's mind in that stretch of silence that Rem responds with. She hadn't thought it a difficult question, but she can see Rem warring with herself, conflicted over how to answer. Benedikta, however, waits patiently for her to finish stalling, and for her to come up with some sort of response.

Whatever Rem has to say, there is no judgment in Benedikta's expression, simply a patience and tolerance that she so very rarely exhibits for others. There may have also been the smallest squeeze of her shoulder.

Because yes, the "typical" way implies that there are other means to do so. Again, not that she is in any place to judge given her own... coloured past... but it is certainly not a path she wishes for Rem to walk if she were to strengthen herself.

So... when she finally admits, there is a slight stall in Benedikta's step.]

Souls...?

[Only confusion draws her brows together as she stops and looks down at Rem, her arm tightening just a touch around the girl's shoulders.]

What souls?

[vermilloci]

The souls, or "phantoma", as we call it... that my class and I harvest. [ Harvest, also the term they use, as if corpses were crops at the end of autumn, waiting to be reaped.

To Benedikta, it might appear as Rem is only lifting her hand, palm upward with nothing in it. But to Rem, there is something there: a misty, ivory sphere, resonating with neither warmth nor sound, or even presence. Her fingers curl as she recaptures the soul.

It reminds her once more that, even if she is to honor her agreement with Cid and not going to use them, she still has to find a place to store them. Her being almost swayed by the merman to come with them is proof enough of that. Should any monster enchant her and capture her, they'll have hundreds of other souls in their possession all at once.... and access to a lot of power, if they're capable of using them. ]

It's part of our duty as Class Zero. [ Rem glances at the hand on her shoulder, then at Benedikta. It's difficult to read the other's expression, but as for Rem's, she can't exactly mask the defensiveness in her tone. ] And using them is how we become stronger, too.

[garudas]

[She's still not quite sure what to feel about this, or if she understands fully what it is that Rem means, and the way her eyes flit between Rem's face and her hand, it's clear that she is processing this information—or trying to, anyway.

And she'll just start at the most obvious place.]

When you speak of souls, or phantoma... do you mean those of... people?

[vermilloci]

People... monsters... [ Rem answers, looking away. ] All sorts of beings have souls. [ Her answer is vague, but it's not as if further details are necessary. ]

We don't discriminate when we harvest.

[ They hold out their hand, and they-- ....rip them from their bodies. Her brows pinch together with guilt. It seems so wrong, now, but it feels equally wrong to tell one more person about this. ]

[garudas]

[Something in Benedikta's demeanour shifts. She doesn't let go of Rem's shoulder, and she won't unless she steps out from under it herself, but there is a new hardness to her expression. Not angry or disappointed, or even sad... but rather, steeling herself against that spike of emotions that gather in her chest. It's... certainly not what she was expecting Rem to tell her, and it is so far from what she could have imagined this process to be.

It only hits a bit of a deeper place because... well, she's dead. Would they have harvested her soul in that case? Would she have been among those who had their souls... ripped from her? She isn't even sure how that works, or what being "harvested" even means.

Could she say that she blames Rem for it? No... not really, because if she were in Rem's shoes, Benedikta might have done the same. Back then, she would have done anything that anyone asked her to if it meant being stronger, and being able to stand on her own two feet in a world that would try to knock her down at every possible turn. She had, in a way, only through different means... So, she can at least sympathize with her on that front.

But there is still conflict in the furrow of her brows, and Benedikta is silent as she starts to lead them into a walk again, thankful that the path that they take to return to the city proper is quiet.]

And what exactly does the... [A pause.] ...harvesting of souls do for you here that training with a sword and magic cannot?

[vermilloci]

[ Rem's eyes flick back to Benedikta's, lower, and then lift once again. Her chin tucks lower, betraying conflict-- the look of someone unwilling and unused to explaining further. But she does. ]

Ordinary training can hone one's reflexes, strength, capacity, and prowess for magic. In our world, converting a soul into our power-- permanently-- would heighten the power of magic, beyond what we were capable of. Elemental magic, defensive magic... and healing magic. It allowed us to learn new magic, too.

It helped others... and us survive.

[ After this, though, her lips quickly press together. Improving and strengthening those spells, that of elemental or the healing arts, would undoubtedly help with survival. As they always had helped during the war. Indeed, she would not have lived as long as she had if not for using souls-- both to improve her magic, as well as resupply it when she'd been all but exhausted her limits. But that magic is not what she cares about most.

No, she needs the altocrystarium for something more, a power that would guarantee her survival-- survival past her remaining time in the world.

Raise.

Raise, as well as its sibling, reraise. Power that exists in her world because she's seen it used, seen it work, seen it executed in all of its miraculous glory, and she knows how much it costs to obtain it, to learn it, and have it burned into the mind, never to be forgotten and to prevent being forgotten. She needs it like the air her rotting lungs crave with each breath. Bringing someone back, no matter how cold their corpse is, no matter if they're beyond the Void or past the Gate--

It doesn't matter how it works. She needs to learn it, she must. It's there, she can feel it, just past her reach.

The only hope she has that it can be learned by 'ordinary' means is that she's already managed to teach a version of it to herself, somehow. ...Somehow, as it should be impossible, but somehow the power is hers. Or rather, a pitiful shadow of what Class Zero's 'Mother' can do, and certainly not enough. ]

I am human, Benedikta. [ Rem tells her, at length, and her shoulders slope with a weariness finally revealed. Ironic how the hundreds of souls she carries with her are weightless, but dying feels as if she carries all their iron caskets instead.

Her stance shifts, and she lifts a hand, cold and pale, to reach for the one Benedikta has placed on her shoulder. Rem takes it between both her palms, cupping it gently, silent.

This is the hand of a woman and warrior, trained in combat, a survivor and victor of many battles-- and of this, Rem has no doubt. Has had no doubt from the first time they met and Benedikta walked so confidently alongside Rem for a book, sword securely displayed at her hip. Did she notice how the crowd seemed to part for her, even when she was standing still? Did she think Rem wouldn't notice the grace with which the wind followed each of her steps? ]

I'm human... and I'm not strong, not like you. Not like Cid. [ Rem looks up at Benedikta. ] I'm told Dominants have a curse, but you're also blessed with the supreme power to protect those you love, in a way only you can. [ Her voice drops to a hush at that, knowing full well the presumptive nature of her words-- yet trying to connect with her, all the same. If there's anyone who would understand weighing the cost of blight against boons among the Dominants, and how easy a choice it is when it comes to making that choice for those most precious to the heart--... would it, could it be Benedikta? ]

I don't have the power of an Eikon on which to channel or rely. But I, too, want to protect those I love.... and I want to live.

[garudas]

["In our world," she says, as if this world were the same, and Benedikta has half a mind to remind her of that. Only half, because the other just listens to what she has to say, allowing her the time to explain everything. And she's still not quite sure she understands what souls have to do with any of this—this place has given many the ability to learn new tricks, including herself, that they would otherwise not know, and no one has had to harvest the dead to get it. Though, again, the things she says along with her own thoughts hearken her back to a different time when she lacked the confidence, and when that crowd would not part for her because she couldn't even take the first step into it.

What she would have done back then, in the days before Garuda and before meeting Cid, to have that sort of power. To have something so great that she could have found her way out of the depths sooner and on her own would have been a fantastical thing. She would have shown those who had wronged her what she could do...

But she didn't. She had to claw her way out and build herself up from there, with the winds of Garuda pushing her along.

If only Rem knew how weak Benedikta had been... how weak she still is, in many ways, though she doesn't think that would change the girl's mind in the least... and perhaps that is a good thing.

Because in spite of her inner conflict, despite that bitter taste that it leaves in her mouth, how her aether tingles under her skin as if it feels like it needs to fight for her life, she still can't bring herself to beg Rem to change her mind.]

I was like you once, little bird.

[Her other hand comes up to rest over Rem's, and a rueful smile tugs at the corner of Benedikta's lip.]

Though, perhaps not quite so selfless in my own endeavours.

[Her pursuit was for power, and to protect not others, but herself. Even now, she can't say that she is so selfless, either. She still wants that power, still clings to it like a lifeline even when she has so much more, which is perhaps why she can understand Rem's predicament so easily.

But there is one question that has been lingering on her mind—]

Will this hurt you?

[Because their curse hurts them, as Rem now knows, apparently.]

[vermilloci]

[ "Once like you--"

Rem remains quiet for a few seconds more. If she knows what it's like to be weak and unable to protect herself or others-- ]

It's never hurt me before.

[ Or any of them who have exchanged phantoma, whether for power or for summoning. If it hurts others in some metaphysical way to deal with soulmancy, she wouldn't know. As far as she knows, each of their class had this ability even before they'd been granted the authority by the Archsorceress to practice it. Ordered to, even, to reap them after the battle's over. ]

It's helped me stay alive. [ As horrific as it is to think about, pulling a part of others' magic or life essence has sustained her in battle, so say nothing of actually converting their phantoma itself. ] I don't like fighting, but without power like yours, I do what I can.

[garudas]

[She takes a slow breath at hearing that, both to center herself, and out of relief, and her hand squeezes over Rem's.]

I know that Cidolfus already has, so I will not stand here and try to convince you to do otherwise.

[Benedikta does not stand on some high moral ground and presume that she can tell others what to do with their powers. She doesn't like it when people do it with hers, and she is not at all surprised by what Cid had asked for from Rem. He always was an advocate for finding other means...]

When there are no other means to protect those who we care about, or to survive, we do what we must.

[Gods only know that she has tapped deep into her aether one too many times. Garuda stirring constantly compared to before is a sign of that.]

However...

[The 'but' that hangs there for a few beats.

Actually, there are a few of them, but she keeps them all to herself for now so that she can focus on the main point.]

Promise me that you will continue to hone your other skills. Focus on those. Learn from others.

[Even the Dominants have a price to pay for their strength, and while she remains unaffected by it, she knows that it would not have lasted forever, and that surely, if she had survived priming into Garuda, she would have shown signs of it...

Her lips part again like she is about to say something more, but she closes them just as quickly. Perhaps another time.]

[vermilloci]

[ What good is training her elemental magic if she's dead-- in the initial thought that rears its ugly head. Rem quashes it, and she simply nods.

Becoming stronger by ordinary means is something she's already agreed she'd do, after all. And to search for others means.

The slaver had that one jewelry piece that frequently brought him back-- that's a start, but she doesn't know where it is. Or maybe there's a creature in this world that carries a lantern like a tonberry. If she is seeking another means than the Altocrystarium, she must seek other possibilities that may guide her in honing her greater magics. ]

What is it? [ Rem asks, having noticed Benedikta stopped short of saying something else. ]

[garudas]

[And she would have simply argued right back.

But Rem manages to turn it back around on her just like that, and still she wonders if she should say anything at all. It's not particularly an easy topic for her to open up about, and even less so out in the open like this... Or maybe having the distractions of the world around them will serve to her advantage? She doesn't know...

And it's not as if she's always been the best at pep talks or comforting others, but she truly does mean what she says.]

I lost my powers once. Or, I thought I had...

[The words come slowly, a memory that she has not voiced aloud since arriving here, and every bit of her is laced with guilt.]

These "gifts" of ours... they are not everything that they seem to be. And I do not just mean the curse.

[vermilloci]

[ Her brow knits in confusion. Being rid of their Eikons and magic seems to be the most logical solution to their curse, yet the way she speaks of having almost lost her power seems almost... pained. Why, if not for wanting to keep that power despite its cost? ]

What do you mean?