awashlogs | [ closed ] catch-all for some post forest threads

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[ closed ] catch-all for some post forest threads

Who: Guren & various others
Where: Various places
When: Post forest exploration, various dates
What: VARIOUS no I guess they're all Guren checking up on people
Warnings: None that I can think of...

Starters will be below! But hit me up if you'd like something with him, too!

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[ Ryo steps aside so Guren can enter the house; no point in standing there in the doorway. The building looks like it could use some repairs, but Ryo's been doing his best to keep it as clean as possible. ]

We found a stone table and a stump chair; anyone sitting down would see someone not quite human sit across the table. It offered to tell my fortune and once I agreed I was unable get off the chair until the fortune was done and payment was made - I had to give up one of my memories.

[ Which sucks more than he'd like to admit because every memory of Akira is precious to him. Losing one is having a piece of himself ripped from his body. ]

[At the sound of that, Guren stops looking around to focus on Ryo again. Memory...? They can even take that?]

Damn it... [His hand runs through his hair in a brief show of irritation as he paces a few steps away, and then back.] A piece of the past for a price, just for a guess at the future? What kind of fortune was it?

A terrible one. [ He replies in a calm tone, looking at Guren with an impassive expression across his features. ]

It wasn't worth giving up a memory for.

No, I'm sure it wasn't.

[He slows his pacing to a stop, forcing himself to get under control as he thinks. Memories... can he help get memories back, too?]

Was it a demon? Could you tell?

I couldn't tell for sure, but I don't think it was a demon. [ He pauses, drifting off into silent thought. ] It might've been something similar to Baba Yaga, a supernatural being that appears in Slavic folklore.

[ They've already encountered harpies, so Ryo doesn't think it would be strange if other creatures from mythology and folklore lived in the woods. ]

...So more creatures. There seem to be an unending number of them, but none of them have wandered into town. I wonder why that is?

[Suspicious, honestly, or there's some sort of a barrier even he can't notice. That would be a bit much.]

What my group ran into was definitely demons. I thought you'd want to know. [...And also he wanted to make sure he was alive, but that's embarrassing so he'll stick to what sounds more serious.]

Good question. Maybe there's something that makes them avoid this place?

[ Like a barrier of some sort. He supposes some of the wildlife could have simply learned to avoid places inhabited by humans since they have weapons, move in herds, and have a history of hunting almost every species, but he doubts this type of behavior would apply to every creature living in the woods. There's a surplus of meat with flavor here, surely there's something out there that would wander into town looking for a tasty human. ]

Tell me more. [ Demons are always relevant to Ryo's interests. ]

Maybe.

[He'd thought the same thing, honestly, but he couldn't find any spell tags, any illusions, or any feel of magic at all that could be doing this. It was very powerful if it was anything like that at all.

He leans against a wall at the request for more information, though, crossing his arms. He can't help Ryo, realistically, but especially since he's someone who can move on strong, Guren thinks that talking about this may help in a way. It won't bring his memory back, but it may provide information that could lead to something like that.]

The forest kept getting darker, and the entire time it felt as though someone was watching us. We reached an archway of branches. Mahiru-no-yo told me she could sense demons beyond it, and another member of my group noted that it felt like death. We went inside anyway, and the shadows began to move.

They formed into people close to us, one for each of us, and attempted to tempt us to agree with them. I killed mine and guided Ryoji through doing the same, since my attacks wouldn't work on their demons without being reflected, but Akechi gave in and agreed to follow the demon. It stole his color and emotions and left.

[ Ryo nods as Guren elaborates on the encounter, eyebrows creasing just a fraction when he goes over the information in his head. Demons capable of stealing emotion and color... well, that's certainly new to him. A demon from his world likely would have toyed with Akechi for the pleasure of it and then eaten him alive and it would have been a gorefest. ]

At least he didn't merge with the demon or get eaten. That's good. [ That means he can recover. Ryo isn't particularly concerned about his wellbeing but Akechi is useful and he'd prefer it if he didn't break for good. ]

It means it can likely be reversed, since he's still alive, but I still worry about the demon staying with him.

[He places a hand over his own chest, the other resting on his sword.] When I touched an unrestricted demon, it latched onto me instantly. It isn't something safe to do.

[He drops his hand from his chest.] But it doesn't seem like he's showing any signs of that, thankfully.

You should probably keep an eye on him for a while, just in case. We don't know everything the demons in this world are capable of, or what the merging process is like.

[ Looking for signs they're accustomed to is natural, but they shouldn't assume things are going to work the same here. ]

I intend to check on him every day, along with a handful of others.

[People suffering in their own way. And that doesn't even touch on the people who are still missing... He's worried sick.]

And what about you? [The look he gives Ryo defines what he means more than his word choice. Should he be checking on him, he means? Is he really dealing with the loss of an important memory so well? It's not always easy to tell if that calm exterior is real or a mask, and Guren knows that well enough.

It could even be a bit of both.]

I'll deal with this by myself. [ The words come easily, his voice having that usual indifference to it. The memory loss is annoying and he doesn't like it at all, but he's going to bottle up those frustrations under a calm veneer. There's nothing that can be done about it, anyway; the only person who could possibly help him with his lost memory is Akira, and he isn't here. ]

You have people who would be willing to listen if you wanted to talk about it.

[Like himself, and... Dextera. He doesn't know who else, because Ryo is so clearly one of those quiet and serious types. Guren is wondering what sort of fucked up backstory he must have to be like that, since there has to be something like that to be the way that he is, but he's holding back from asking.]

I'm not saying you can't handle it. I'm just saying it's easier on someone to handle it with the help of others.

I doubt talking about it would help, Ichinose-san. [ It would just be a waste of time for everyone involved, he thinks. There's no point, so it's better to do something productive instead. ]

Besides, I've experienced memory loss before. I can handle this on my own.

Right now, maybe you can. But if you keep doing that, you're creating a weak heart. You'll be researching demons from inside of you.

[It's a scare tactic comment, as light and casual as it is. Not one he expects very seriously, but one he thinks is worth mentioning. He really does think Ryo is just going to make it harder on himself, but... he's just some kid, after all, no matter what he has going on. He's going to think that way.]

...Anyway, I just wanted to see what you were doing. [How he was doing, but he won't admit that.] That's all. I can get out of your hair now.

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[ closed ] catch-all for some post forest threads

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