opportunitycosts | [ empatheias ] message box

Trust? [ He knows that one by heart--probably more than he does the others, just because of an incident with the pods. Though trust is hardly what comes to mind with that.

It's more of a curious remark than an actual question though, that coming a second later. ] ...Why?

[Heh. There's a light grin as he crosses his arms.]

Few reasons. One is due to that pod of his. After "experiencing" it, it reminded me of some personal issues I had in the past and how I managed to overcome them. Still a work in progress, mind you, but it's getting somewhere.

So part of it is me wanting to prove Piphron wrong. Another part is it might be good for me, too.

[ Good for Alvin, too. The words linger with him, both the thought of using the alignment as a personal goal and the idea of proving the arehtei wrong--Red had never thought about doing either of those things, really.

Though, he wasn't completely foreign to the idea of wanting to help. And that pod... ]

...I remember that pod. [ It was something he soon remembered before everything else, that experience, and the solid sensation it formed in his stomach to recall. ] You think he's out there somewhere, still feeling that way?

[ And then he pauses. A pause that wasn't going to come, except Red's then too well aware of how he's slipping this into an actual discussion, which isn't exactly what he meant to do at all. And how Alvin was just minding his own business just a second ago.

He rolls his shoulders, hands going up to roll one around the wrist where his amulet sits, the petals safely tucked at the side of his leg, pinned. ]

I guess he is. Elios said he was the same for centuries before he came here. [ There, an answer to his own question, just so Alvin doesn't feel obligated to it. ]

[Alvin is wondering about the sudden topic, but for now he's not going to question it. At least...not directly. If the kid wants to tell him, he'll tell him.]

About eight if I remember right. [He now shifts his weight a little in thought.] Come to think of it, you might not have been around when Elios first showed up, huh? Was a while ago—feels longer than it really has, too. The bird was in a pretty big mess, so I wouldn't be surprised if Piphron is the same if not worse.

[ He gives a light nod, just to acknowledge the answer, not wanting to continue further down the conversation he'd accidentally directed it to. Not from a lack of interest, but.

The point in stopping Alvin. He had one, and he waits a second before bringing it up. ]

I wanted to ask... have you felt anything coming from your crystal lately?

[Oh, here we go.]

Feel anything? In what way?

[ Red tilts his head, rubbing again at the wrist. But he then lightly shrugs. ]

Anything. [ A look down to his hands. ] Mine's just [ ... ] warm sometimes.

[ Well-- no, warm wasn't right. Soothing was maybe better, but he doesn't bother to correct himself. ]

[...Uh huh.]

Now that I've experienced a few times before. Who are you aligned to?

...Thras. [ Which-- is uncomfortable to admit, for some reason, his lips pinching a little afterwards. ]

It doesn't hurt or anything. I just wondered if anyone else felt it.

You might have better luck asking other people who are aligned with him. But in my experience, crystals reacting like that usually mean something. [But then there's a small raise of his hand, a light grin, and a shake of his head.] The problem is, it's not always consistent.

First time I felt something like that was when Daimonia first appeared. There were a couple of times in-between, and usually it involved me feeling stronger emotions than usual. Had the same reaction again when she showed up.

[ A nod. ]

It happened before. After the tournament outside the city, I felt it stronger back then. It was... nice.

[ More than nice. Red looks down at his arm, turning his hand to look at the crystal sitting just near the rim of his jacket's arm, barely showing in the dark with his murky colouring. It was nice now--definitely in a soothing way--though appreciated in a different manner.

He puts his arms back by his sides, on the concrete. ]

Thanks. [ with an apologetic tone- ] You probably didn't want to be standing out here in the cold.

What this? [A mild shrug.] I grew up near the mountains, so I'm used to cold weather.

I will admit I was surprised that you called me out to begin with. Especially for a question like that. [Subtle implication that it's such an odd topic to just randomly call him out for without any other intentions behind them. Granted, that really could be all Red was thinking about and Alvin just happened to be walking by, but... Still seems a little odd, particularly given their, uh, rocky history.]

[ Was it odd? Maybe a little, but Red shrugs his shoulders. ]

Why? It wasn't anything special. I didn't reveal a big secret. [ It wasn't exactly the type of subject that could make him feel like crap or anything, for another example. ] And you apologised, remember?

[ He kicks a foot against the ground, a hard thump against the end of his shoe. ]

If I didn't think you meant it, I wouldn't have said anything to you. [ He kicks his foot again, sour tone slipping into his voice. ] Maybe it was for the best you did what you did, too.

[Less odd, more random. But hey, he's not planning to interrogate the kid. Instead there's a small, amused chuckle.]

Well I appreciate that you actually accepted it. [But let's not dwell on that, shall we? Breaking the ice a little more by reaching out and giving him a bit of a hair (or hat) ruffle.] Anyway, just trying to look out for you. So if you ever need to talk about something, even if it's something random like what the heck the Arehtei are up to now, feel free to call me up.

[ Red doesn't say anything, but the ruffle isn't that appreciated, eyes squinting at his and then a quiet huff coming from him, shoulders tensing. Okay, okay, old man. ]

Is it really that random? People care about what the arehtei are up to all the time. [ A look back. ] Or you just want to prove one wrong.

[ Which maybe isn't a bad thing but we're still going to sound a little like a huffy kid right now saying it. ]

[Typical reaction. ...Never stops him. Ever. (Perhaps it's the very reason why he does it.)]

Just a little. [Makes the pinching gesture with his index and thumb.] But you sure you don't have your mind on something else?

[Because if that's really all... Well like Red said, no need to push his luck and take up anymore of the kid's time.]

Edited 2015-12-10 20:32 (UTC)

[ His mind on something else? He wonders that himself, though he already knows that isn't right. No, there were a few things, but- ]

No. [ No reason to share those, but he does lose the slight sour note that had been in his voice previous. ] A lot's been going on lately. It's been one thing after the other.

[ A pause. ] It's not just the arhetei, but--what do you think about it? Did you go to that city?

You mean Shaarnath and those protesters? [A heavy sigh as he leans against that stone structure.] I didn't go down there. Planned on it, but things came up. [Things he will not discuss.] But sad to say, I'm not too surprised by everyone's reaction. Actually experienced a bit of it myself in my world, both discovering a whole new place full of people and the cultural divide.

Can't really blame either side, honestly.

What about how they reacted? I know it was a shock, but everyone got so--violent about it so quickly. I heard people went after the arehtei in Lake Niras too.

[ It wasn't as bad as it could've been, probably, but it still shook him, the reminder knitting his brows. ]

What happened in your world?

It's really about power. [...Hm... How to explain.

There are a lot of other factors involving his world's situation, but he can focus on one main source of conflict.]

To make the explanations quick, my world has two countries. Elympios, which is kind of like Verens, and Rieze Maxia, which in some respects is kind of like Shaarnath. [Although in other ways, they're also kind of flipped, but he won't go into that.] I'm really oversimplifying things, but the people in Elympios couldn't use spirit artes—or magic—like Rieze Maxians could. So when they first saw people able to casts spells and do all kinds of things on their own, they got pretty frightened and threatened real quick.

Although in my situation, the hostility would be more on a threat assessment and resource necessity than feeling like they've been lied to. [And this is where the two roles flip. In another respect, Shaarnath is like Elympios since it existed outside the bubble and kind of knew about Verens, making Verens more like Rieze Maxia in that regard.

Weird how that worked.]

So... did Elympios attack Riez... [ uh ] the other country?

Yep. Surprise attack, too. [The memory of the Elympion army suddenly entering through the schism after the Lance broke the barrier... He'll never forget it.] Granted I'm leaving out a lot of important details here, but there had always been plans to invade it somehow.

[Just...not quite like that, or at least that's what he had though. Well that whole Lance thing just went completely off the rails from what he had understood so.]

...Do the important details justify what they did to them?

[ No. No, they don't, but even if the story is long, he wants to know what had justified it, beyond what Alvin's already said. ]

Probably in some perspectives. [Small sigh.] All right, here's an abridged version of the story.

Elympios was dying. In our world, spirits produce mana and mana is needed to keep nature running. But Elympios had produced a technology that used mana so well, it killed off the spirits. Two centuries earlier, Rieze Maxia sealed itself off and is basically the last refuge for spirits. It was forgotten and thought of only as a legend until recent research and accidental findings rediscovered it.

So you can imagine, for a place that was on the brink of self-destruction and extinction, a place like Rieze Maxia is a treasure trove of resources and a hope for survival. Whether or not they would have invaded militarily or diplomatically—that was actually still on the table. A lot of things about it were. But certain power politics came into play and they took advantage of some opportunities. [He really should have considered Gilland's actions, but he had been so focused on his own goals... Well, not like he could have done anything. Just kind of wished he knew what was going on the whole time.]

Of course the Rieze Maxians fought back and it wasn't like it was a complete all out war. Only lasted a couple of days, honestly, and peace agreements and negotiations were worked out. But nevertheless, that whole tension and friction of there being "other" people completely different from what each side is used to can really turn into a hot powder keg if not handled right. Even now we still have some of those prejudices and distrust.

[ So

someone on the Elympios got greedy, acted desperate. Sympathy isn't what comes to Red first, but he's quiet, through the explanation and some after, because it's a lot to take in. Diplomacy could have come up in the at the beginning, discussions of the situation for the country of Elympios; there was no knowing whether Rieze Maxia would have helped out or not, and that an agreement had come at the end--

people were a messy business, weren't. Red stops thinking too deeply about it (it doesn't matter entirely, not here, what could have been, what ifs), when there's something that occurs to him with that. ]

Thras told someone a war between Shaarnath and Verens was possible. [ His mind goes back over Elympios and Rieze Maxia, to the red posters that had covered every surface in Verens, a thought already on his mouth--but he holds it, and instead- ] What do you think?

[ Alvin's the one who's been through this already, seems to know what he's saying. Any issues between them can be put aside for this. ]

both

personal: pink; alvin: ... ...uh. yellow or orange...?? that kind of range

very nice choices

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