tabularasa_rp | [open] I can be your manic pixie dream

[ Word spreads quickly in a place like the Void, and before long she's standing out the front of the newly-named BATHzone with wet hair and a fresh set of clothing. Her investigation of the new game machines went largely without a hitch. She's an heiress after all and the daughter of a musician to boot; rhythm comes naturally, and once she understood how the game worked, her shower operated perfectly.

Of course, the same clearly cannot be said of some of the people still inside. She can hear sounds of frustration echoing from inside the building, and while there are some who clearly take to the new system in the same way or even better than she did, the sound tells her that the same is not true for everyone.

Which gives her an idea.

So when a bedraggled-looking person or two drag themselves out of the bathhouse, the frustration written all over their faces, Rinoa steps forward to meet them with a smile. ]

Looks like it might be time for a dancing lesson~!

[ Oh, and good luck saying no. Once Rinoa's set her sights on you, you're officially her next project. ]

[ It's not that she's specifically hoping for another star to drop right out of the sky and into her lap - she's honestly quite happy with the one she has in a clear glass container in her room, illuminating its surroundings in a soft light. (She's even happy with the bite taken out of it by the resident hashihime; it makes it even more of a conversation piece than it already is.) And as far as she's concerned, it would be selfish of her to steal the wishes from even more stars as they streak across the sky, especially when everyone here has wishes of their own they'd like granted.

She does like to watch them, though. And if others happen to pass by when she sees them fall, she greets them, tells them that there's a wish waiting to be had so it doesn't go to waste.

Perhaps that's how she greets you today, with a bright smile and her index finger pointing at the sky. Or perhaps you spy her first, sitting amongst the grass in its everchanging cycle, looking up at the inky black color in contented wonder. ]

[ Others have told her that friends tend to come and go from the Void. Until now, though, she hasn't experienced the loss for herself; she's known people that are no longer here, but they've been acquaintances, people she's met in passing. Or in at least one case, people she would rather not remember.

But this...

She's looked everywhere, but Parsee is nowhere to be found.

Parsee is her friend. She's the first person Rinoa met in the Void, too. Despite everything, they've become important to one another. And beyond her own selfish reasons? Parsee has told her more than once before that the Void is in a lot of ways better than the world from which she originally came. It's not fair that she should be dragged back to it, right?

But it's her third trip back to the shrine today and it's still as empty of her friend as it has been the whole time. The anxiety and upset is clear on Rinoa's face as she sits on the bridge, looking over the area with a small sigh. ]

[It's odd, Kaiba didn't usually feel compelled to visit the shrine often. He saw no reason to bring little offerings, or to ask for good fortune or what-have-you but occasionally he got out this way. The place felt decidedly more empty than usual, something essential was missing but he hadn't quite placed his finger on it yet.

When he returned to the bridge to depart he was surprised to see Rinoa there. The last time her name came up it had been during the course of a conversation with Parsee. This recollection was like a glaring red flag. That was it. Parsee was what was missing from the shrine! Pausing in his steps, he glanced back briefly over his shoulder and toward the structure. Then he looked back to Rinoa anxiously sitting there. Was she waiting for someone?

Parsee- perhaps? He gave himself a mental reminder not to mention the more sensitive information that had been conveyed to him before coughing to get the other's attention]

Missing something?

[Cole was heading to the shrine so he could spend some time listening for voices in the not-mist, his nug chicken companion nestled in one arm. The sight of Rinoa sitting on the bridge looking forlorn easily results in a change of plans, and he wanders out onto the bridge to see if he can help instead.]

What's wrong?

[ She's so lost in her thoughts that she doesn't even notice Kaiba in the vicinity at first. In fact, it's not until he coughs and then speaks that her head jerks toward him, and she offers him a smile - though it's hollow, tired, the frustration clear in her eyes. She stands up, takes a few steps toward the other. ]

Yeah. It's Parsee. She's not here.

[ That, however, might not say everything she needs it to. There are at this point a lot of different places in the Void, especially for people like herself and Kaiba - and Parsee - people who have seen it from the eternity of the moment in which it was nothing. She sighs, spreads her arms wide. ]

I mean I can't find her anywhere, you know? Not here, or at the apartments, or at the Heavenly Blanc...

[ The worry is clear on her face, but she doesn't voice it beyond that. Words like "what if she's gone home?" seem too hard to say. ]

[ Rinoa glances up as Cole joins her on the bridge, and she offers him a smile, although it's one that's far too small, one missing a lot of the happiness she usually wears all over her person just by virtue of being her. In fact, at this point she's been searching for long enough that darkness is starting to creep into the air around her, even as she continues to sit here. ]

It's Parsee. She's not here, or anywhere else, either. I'm worried.

[ That's about as much as she can bring herself to say, even if it will likely be obvious what that worry is. ]

[It wasn't difficult to assess that Rinoa was lost deep in thought when he initially approached. Even now when she stood up and approached him the look in her eyes tells him something is horribly wrong.

So he was right. It was Parsee.]

How long has it been since you last saw her?

[Not questioning the legitimacy of the claim, just trying to pin down a time frame. Though the fact that the void was expansive and not limited to the shrine hadn't escaped his notice either.]

... [Her further clarification warranted an extended silence, as he considered the implications] I haven't seen her lately either. [Not bothering him at the beach when he either was looking for spare parts, or going through his daily routine. Although he too was starting to feel uneasy, his countenance didn't show it as he maintained his mask of indifference.]

Hey.

[Viridi isn't stupid. When somebody wanders into the shrine three times in the course of a day without so much as glancing at her, she's pretty sure she's not the one being sought out.]

I haven't seen her in a few days.

[...]

...Sorry.

[The conclusion is pretty obvious. They both practically live here at this point, and it would be exceedingly unusual for Parsee to not show up to tend her place of worship.]

"Ya think these things are hot enough to boil water?" Indigo's reverberating cowboy accent interrupts the peace, as she looks down at the small star in her hand, its yellow glow mixing artistically with her own pink-purple aura. "Maybe if I put a bunch of 'em together... or got a bigger one...." She looks over at Rinoa.

"There's a lotta power in boilin' water. We could get some generators goin' and actually have a steady source of electricity."

Edited 2021-02-08 06:32 (UTC)

[ She shakes her head. It's a valid question, but... it's also one to which Rinoa's not sure she has the answer. After all... ]

I'm not sure. A few days, maybe longer. I'm not really great about keeping track of the time here... [ Her fingers close around her necklace. ] But I've been everywhere since I woke up, more than once, and I just can't find her. I know the Void is big now, but... I've been everywhere.

[ The words are repeated in frustration, a tired worry writing itself over the girl's face. She's never had this much trouble finding anyone here before, especially when stopping by the part of the Void they called home... ]

I know people kind of... appear and disappear from this place, but...

[ She's seen Viridi around the Void a few times now, even if the two of them have never had a chance to properly talk. And honestly, if she were any less stirred up mentally, she would have said something to her during her previous trips to the shrine today. What she has done instead is something she would usually consider to be rude. After all, the shrine isn't just Parsee's home.

As it is, though, the voice takes her off-guard, and Rinoa looks up in surprise, the expression crumpling into something distressed a moment later. ]

Yeah. I guess I figured, I just... [ She smiles, but it's tired, weak. ] I dunno. I don't want it to be true, you know? Parsee's my friend.

Oh.

Uh. Don't take it too hard. This place is barely even a functional world. She's, uh, probably a lot happier somewhere they have proper shrines and... other spirits to frolic with.

[hahahahahaha]

Hopefully none of us will be here too long.

Boil water? Rinoa's first instinct is to shake her head. She's not exactly science-minded, but she's held one of them herself, just like Indigo is now, and she can't help but think that the stars would need to be too hot to touch in order to successfully do that.

The point that follows, though, makes her pause, and a frown creases her brows. The one in her room still glows, so maybe...

"You might be right. A lot of them together... I'm sure that would be enough."

Indigo holding one doesn't mean much, as she's something of a living star herself. As far as she knows, though, the temperature of these things fluctuate according to expectations -- if they all tell the void they should be hot, they'll be hot.

"Well, here's one." Indigo deposits it into a pocket. "How many of 'em are around that ya know of?"

[ Perhaps that's the worst thing about it; Rinoa knows that of all the people here, Parsee's probably the one who was happiest being pulled away from home. But it's not her place to say that, is it? ]

You miss home too, right? I think we all do.

[ Is that even the full story anymore, though? She's said from the start that she misses her own world, and yet at this point she's been here long enough that if she were to go back, she'd miss the people here too - the way she misses Parsee right now. ]

Ehh.

I mean, home is a burning trash fire, but it's my burning trash fire.
...Literally. In every sense of that phrase.

I more just miss stability.

[She gives a faint shrug.]

She smiles to see the other place the star into one of her pockets; in response to the question, she stretches out a hand to point up toward the apartment building as she talks. "I only know for a fact that there's one other; there's one in my apartment—

(with a youkai-sized bite out of it)

—that I've kinda turned into a lamp." But even with that said...

"I'm sure I've seen more than just those two fall though, you know?"

[ Admittedly, Rinoa misses stability too... although for her, stability is a person, someone she knows she can rely on no matter what. If he were here, the constant changes in the environment here wouldn't bother her as much as they do now, for sure. She misses the people much more than the place.

But she does miss the place, too.

She sighs. ]

I think I get it? My home's not perfect either, but...

"If they keep glowin' like that after they fall, they can't be too hard to find." Still, Indigo inclines her head toward the sky, looking up at the twinkling blackness.

"Do ya think it'll run out of 'em if they keep fallin'? It don't seem like there's any less of 'em up there, but...."

But if they are indeed a limited resource, it would be impossible to actually count the stars that remain until it's too late.

But it's yours.

And it's your responsibility to make it less of a burning trash fire.

[Viridi gives a shrug.]

I've got a lot of duties.

[He couldn't even really blame her for being lax in her tallying of the days since they were essentially relative here. There was no rise and fall of the sun, no day and night cycle proper just sometimes a person was asleep and sometimes they were awake- even with the functional clocks it wasn't really a substitute for the rest.]

Unless she's found something new that we're not aware of.. [She could be gone. It was clear that Rinoa was considering that possibility without him voicing it. Biting back a sigh, he was starting to feel annoyed. How dare Parsee have the audacity to just leave?]

[He thinks of several thing he could say, things he might normally say but looking at her and perceiving how upset she is even he thinks saying any of these would be too insensitive. There's nothing to be gained by wasting energy worrying over it. If she's left she likely won't be back.. were just a few samples. Ugh he was bad at this]

I know of at least two others that have departed only to return. [There. Not too negative and not too optimistic. He wasn't here to encourage false hope either..at least not an overabundance of it.] I can't imagine... her leaving on purpose.

Edited 2021-02-19 07:17 (UTC)

Parsee isn't here?

[He looks around as if by some stroke of luck he could just suddenly spot her, but no, she isn't here. She isn't always at the shrine though, but... if Rinoa couldn't find her, then maybe she really isn't here anymore?]

[He doesn't like how that thought makes him feel, more so than he expected.]

[He moves closer to kneel down beside her, holding the chicken nug snugly with both arms now.]

Maybe she doesn't want to be found?

[He's not sure why that would be the case, though...]

But if she was pulled away, she could be pulled back. That happened to me.

Rinoa shakes her head. "I don't think they should. The Void seems to take ideas from us, right? At least where I'm from, stars are limitless. There's too many of them to count. So unless someone else is from a place very, very different to that..."

Of course, that is possible, but somehow she can't help but think it unlikely. Especially when the stars look so much like they would back at home.

[ She smiles at that, even if the expression is a little weak, and nods in Viridi's direction. Yeah. She has responsibilities back at home, responsibilities that she can't fill while she's here. Meeting so many new friends is nice, but...

She'd rather not dwell too much on that. Rinoa brightens her smile, the thread of curiosity tugged by the mention of the other's duties. ]

What kinds of things do you have to do?

Oh, you know.

Maintain the balance of all 10 billion species on the planet, keep the humans from killing all of them, protect all of life and the earth itself.

Basic stuff.

[It's not like she lives at the shrine because she's a mortal.]

She nods slowly, taking a small amount of comfort from Rinoa's words.

"I guess I'm just thinkin' too long-term. My universe has got quadrillions o' stars, but... even quadrillions ain't infinite. Still, I guess we don't have ta worry about it fer a long time."

[ His words should make her feel better. It is after all true that there have been those who've disappeared and come back again after just a few days have passed. But... It's just that for every person he can name who has done that, Rinoa can think of countless others that have disappeared from the Void, never to return. Even his conclusion, his inability to think of Parsee leaving on purpose, doesn't offer her a lot of comfort.

She sighs, trying not to let her distress show too clearly on her face. ]

You're right. I know none of us exactly love it here, but... [ It's not her place to tell, but Parsee at least prefers to Void to her own home. She wouldn't willingly leave it. ] I know she wouldn't just leave. ...At least not without saying goodbye or something, you know?

She doesn't realize it, but she's important to everyone here.

[ She nods, and honestly if she were in a better mood she'd ask about the nug that he seems to have taken as a pet. She's not entirely surprised to see them together; she remembers that Felix took well to Cole, too. But right now she has bigger things to worry about, like where her missing friend has gone, and if she has any chance of making it back somehow... ]

I don't think she'd hide from me. She's always been really honest, you know? Even when she knows that doing so might make her look bad. [ Not that Rinoa has ever judged Parsee for anything she's said or felt... ]

You left and came back? What happened?

[ It's not that it gives her hope, not really; he's the first person she's spoken to directly who's had that experience, though. Maybe understanding more will help her come to terms with everything somehow. ]

[ Rinoa's brows lift in surprise. The truth is, the Void has been her first introduction to people who would be best described as gods. Where she's from, the only god was Hyne, and according to the legends he's been gone for a long, long time, leaving the Sorceresses as his only legacy.

Being a descendant of Hyne carries with it its own responsibilities, but... nothing like what Viridi is describing.

She smiles. ]

You might call it "basic", but it doesn't sound like that at all. It's gotta keep you really busy, right?

Qua...drillions. How many zeroes would that be?

For a moment, all Rinoa can do is stare at Indigo in confusion. She nearly asks, even... but embarrassment makes her pause. She's never thought of herself as particularly ignorant, no matter how often others - including Squall - have called her out for being so. But since coming to the Void, she's started to realize how little she truly knows, not just about the other worlds, but even about her own. She stated so confidently that stars are limitless, but... is that really true? She's been to space, even if it's a memory which she often tries to block out. And she loves to read. Surely she should know more than she does...?

She shakes the feeling off, not wanting to dwell too heavily on it. She can learn, right? She's learned so much already, she can learn more. And isn't now the best time to start? Straightening up, she offers Indigo a warm smile.

"Do you wanna take yours back to my place? We can put mine next to it and see if there's a change in the light?"

Edited 2021-02-23 08:45 (UTC)

The answer to that question, Rinoa, is 15. 15 zeroes. ~~(Or maybe not, Starbound is based in the UK and they use a different naming system for -illion numbers, but I'm going by the American one.)~~ And Indigo dropped that number so casually, not even thinking that there might be something odd about it -- not thinking that it might be odd that in her universe, a journey measured in lightyears takes about as much effort as going to the corner store.

Indigo looks back, not sure what it is that's bothering the other girl, but nods cheerfully at her question.

"Sure, I don't mind! Sounds like a plan." She steps closer to her, offering her a hand to help her the rest of the way up. (Should Rinoa take her hand, she'll find it's very warm, but not to the point of burning -- it's a pleasant warmth, like an electric blanket.)

Edited 2021-02-23 09:23 (UTC)

Eh.

[She looks unbothered.]

Yes, but also, it's the reason for my existence, so, you know. I'm the manifestation and defender of all Nature. What else would I do with my time?

I mean, the system works fine the way I set it up, anyway. It's just that there are a few spanners in the works called 'human greed,' 'human ambition,' and 'human selfishness.'

Rinoa accepts the hand with a small smile, her brows lifting in surprise when she feels the heat coming off Indigo's skin. "You're really warm," she says, although she doesn't withdraw her hand, allowing the other to help her to her feet. She wonders if it has something to do with the beautiful glow of her skin...

In hindsight, though, she does realize that such a comment could have been impolite, and so she offers her a brief, apologetic smile. Sometimes she has a little too much of a habit of saying what's on her mind without thinking about it until it's too late.

"Sorry if that was rude."

With that said, she'll start heading off in the direction of the apartments, keeping relative pace with the other. Admittedly, she's a little excited; this will be her first experiment in the Void!

Indigo laughs and shakes her head at the apology, explaining while they walk:

"Naw, it ain't rude. All Novakid are like that, since we're basically livin' stars and all." Even in her own world, how they put out heat and light like that when they don't have the sheer bulk necessary for nuclear fusion like real stars do is a mystery... but here, where the stars are small and light enough to hold in one's hand... perhaps it's better not to think about it too hard.

When they reach the apartments, she pauses, waiting for Rinoa to lead the way further.

Her eyes widen in response. Living stars? Suddenly, she has so many questions. But she shelves them for now, instead leading the way to her own apartment, opening the door for Indigo to step inside, and waving a brief greeting to Angelo and Felix as they stir from where they're lazily curled on the couch.

"Angelo, Felix, this is Indigo. She's gonna be here for a while, okay?"

And just like that, their curiosity is satisfied, and the two animals snuggle back into their spots, making sure to leave enough space for their guest if she wants it. Rinoa moves to the chest of drawers on which her star sits, slipped into a tall glass something that was probably meant to be a vase. Even at a first glance, the bite taken out of it is quite visible.

Indigo coos with delight at the sight of the fluffy pets, approaching the couch and holding out a hand to let them sniff. (Not that there'll be much to sniff, as she doesn't have a personal odor of her own -- any smell on her will have come from the environment.)

"Can I pet 'em when we're done here?" She gestures at the creatures, and when they're done sniffing, she goes to satisfy her curiosity, approaching the star as well.

"Someone try to eat it?" she asks, though she seems to be stating the obvious. "Did it still glow while it was inside 'em?" Perhaps the stomach would be too deep to see such a glow through all the skin and muscle in the way, but what about while they were swallowing it, when it was still in their throat? That's pretty close to the surface, right?

[open] I can be your manic pixie dream

dance with the Balamb fish (BATHzone)

where I belong (Mortis Lake)

my mind (Shrine Bridge)

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