awashlogs | Event Twenty-One

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Event Twenty-One

Sometimes I feel happy,
Sometimes I feel sad.
Sometimes I feel curious,
Sometimes I feel mad.
Sometimes I feel silly,
Sometimes I feel surprised.
How many feelings,
Do I have inside?

t's another regular, normal day in the Town. There's absolutely nothing to show that anything could possibly be wrong; the birds are chirping, the sky is bright, and everything is absolutely, entirely wrong.

This time, though? The problem is internal. Slowly, bit by bit, people are going to stop feeling entirely like themselves -- or maybe even stop feeling at all.

And suddenly that nice, bright day doesn't seem quite so nice and not quite so bright any longer after all.

Welcome to Awash's Twenty-First event log, everyone! Further information on this event can be found here at the OOC post. You are welcome to make your own logs and posts for this event!

If there are any questions, please ask them here. Thank you!

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[Oddly -- or perhaps not odd at all -- is the fact Akira's body is able to withstand hellfire itself. So the heat doesn't bother him, beyond the potential annoyance that she's starting to ruin one of his shirts. His eyes narrow as he watches her.]

They do. [Ryo didn't think so, but Ryo is someone not even able to see his own love. Akira knows better.] I once fought a demon called Silene. She was on the edge of death when another demon, Kaim, gave up his life to give her a chance to defeat me.

He did it because he loved her.

[He touches Pyra's arm, expression imploring. Please stop.]

[ Pyra can't hide her disappointment at his lack of a reaction to the flame at her fingertip... and neither can she hide her confusion at Akira's explanation. ]

.....I....

[ She... she's certain she would have at one point. But she's not sure why. That uncanny feeling that something is wrong strikes again. Doesn't she love him, too? Isn't that why she would die for him as well? ]

I would die for you, Akira.

[ It's why she wants him to kill her so badly, if he can. She wants to die for him, for everyone here, for all of those back home, because she wants to protect them and somewhere, somewhere deep down she loves them. ]

I'd do the same for you.

[He'd die for anyone in Awash if it meant keeping them safe, and that included giving his life in the forest so they could have a chance at exploring further. But Pyra more than most, when she's become one of his most precious people. He'd seen as much when they'd both stepped into his heart-- not that he needed to see it to know.

His hand moves over hers, over the open flame, and he takes her hand in his. Just like his chest, it doesn't burn him at all.]

Which is why I won't kill you. I don't know why you want this, but we can find another way.

[ Slowly, the energy subsides, as does the heat and the light. It appears to disperse upward, curling into finer and finer strokes of amber light before they wink out of existence. And just as slowly, she removes herself from him completely. ]

You would kill me, if I would harm your friends.

[ ...But it's not an active threat anymore, now her tone sounds defeated. ]

If it's the only way to protect them.

[Akira sits up, tugging at his burnt shirt, before looking up at Pyra.]

Only if there was no other way. But you haven't hurt anyone, and I don't understand why you would in the future.

Why do you think you're dangerous? Is it something that's hard to control, like being a Devilman? [She seemed to hint at something like that before, but he didn't fully understand it.]

[ She sits upon the pew, facing towards the alter, yet her eyes are cast down upon her hands. ]

I... sometimes, I cannot control what I'm doing. [ The way she speaks, the slight tremor in her voice gives away that this is a very difficult topic for her.

Yet it's so strange. Somehow, she doesn't feel as sad about it. A part of her almost feels as if they all deserved it. ] The last time I lost control, I killed.... so many.

Even those I cared about.

[Akira sits next to her, and he thinks about the great sadness she carries around with her. What she must have been through in her own world to make her think and act as she does. He thinks about Dextera, and the void of a heart he'd seen -- the revelation that Dextera had destroyed the world. He thinks about Koda, who had gotten scared and killed so many.

Akira's own life has been devoted to protecting and caring for others, so it feels almost impossible to reconcile this contradiction, that he wants to help even those who seem impossibly dangerous to others. And yet, his feelings for her are...]

...Pyra. If it happens again, I'd stop you. I promise.

[ She glances at him, turning ever so slightly, and at last there is a hint of sorrow in her eyes once more.

She's never ask anyone to kill her here before, she would never put that on another person. Her plan had always been to go to Elysium herself and beg her father to let her die. That was all it was, something she could do by using perhaps a few people to get there if she couldn't on her own, weakened in this mode as she is.

The world had been destroyed and re-created once already. If she still exists, who is to say that the same won't happen again. If this world and all of its faults turns out to be another failure, then re-setting it all over again would be but a trigger from her Father, and that's all it would take...

But she doesn't want that to happen. ] ...Promise?

That you won't hesitate, if it comes to that.

[Akira takes her hand, and nods firmly. He had hesitated before, but that was because he didn't think Pyra truly intended to kill him, only provoke. But now, knowing she could be a threat in future...]

I'll do it. [A pause.] And... if the devil inside me ever takes over, I want you to do the same for me.

[They can understand each other well on that front, with the constant fear they'll lose themselves. Entrusting her with that means they can both be accountable to each other.]

[ Taking his hand, her fingers curl into his.

She wonders if she should feel sad right now... but she doesn't. Perhaps she would be, if she had all of her emotions. But to have someone promise her something like this sorrow removed from her, she feels-- well, not quite happy, but relief.

And so, knowing that he asks the same of her, she obliges in his request. ] I promise.

[ And then, quietly, she will lean into him, resting her head upon his shoulder as she holds his hand softly. ]

Thank you. [Akira goes still as she rests her head on his shoulder. Her hand feels warm in his, and he feels -- not happy, exactly, but content. He wishes he could do more to make her smile again.]

I'm... sorry for what I did before.

[ If she had all of her emotions, she would have had more of a reaction to his apology, perhaps even be embarrassed. But perhaps her lack of emotions is a small blessing in disguise. She's rather calm, and so she simply, slowly, shakes her head from side to side. ]

The kiss....?

[ Even a small smile forms, although there is something distant to it. ] It... reminded me of something, actually.

[ She brings a hand up to her chest. ] Something... like a feeling that's missing right now. An emotion of some kind...

It was... nice, actually.

[So even she realises there isn't something right about her? That makes it a little easier to deal with the faint blush creeping across his cheeks. While she still rests against him, he puts his arm around her shoulders.

He feels a twinge of guilt, too, when he thinks of what Dextera told him recently, but he tries to cast that from his mind for now.]

Well... Maybe we should try it again sometime. [He smiles, a little nervous. Part of him wants her to brush it off as a joke, part of him wants her to take him up on the offer.] If the town has been messing with your feelings, don't worry. I understand.

[ Even if she's not looking at him, she can hear it in his voice, the awkward, perhaps nervous-- hopeful?-- tone he uses. It's enough to get her to glance at him, and then seeing him sitting there, looking so shy all of a sudden, his cheeks turning a deeper color red...

Shouldn't it mean something?

It does.

And it does... bring a little bit more back to her old self.

Her smile seems more genuine now. ] Before then.... Before any of that....

[ SO. So it's not a "no" per se! ]

There's someone I'd like you to meet.

Yeah? [Is this a 'you need to meet my dad first' type deal? ... Then he realises that's stupid, this is Chroma, and she's not even human. Having parents looking over his shoulder like with Miki isn't even an issue here.

He blinks, trying to get himself to focus, despite how bewildered he feels. He doesn't want to look dumb in front of Pyra.]

Uh, who is it?

[ Her lips part as if she is about to speak, but then she stops as if she suddenly thinks of something.

Quietly, she brings a finger to her lips. ] ...It's a secret.

[ The finger then curls, covering her mouth as a giggle escapes her. ] She... she wants it to be a surprise.

"She"? [He repeats, though of course he doesn't expect an answer, if it really is a secret. So he smiles a little at the teasing.]

Okay. Whoever it is, she wins. I'll wait for the surprise.

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Event Twenty-One

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