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((ooc: CW for a brief mention of recreational drugs.))

[For two months, more or less, she's been in mourning. She hasn't shown her face much. And there's been a lot of crying.

But sentimental though Ariadne can be, she's also practical. Which means she recognizes when it's time to try moving forward.

So behold. Not Padmé, not Jane. Just a sad Ariadne, her hair in a loose braid, with a few tendrils curling around her face.]

I've decided it's time to clean through the rubble that was the Winchester cottage. The ground needs to be cleared so someone else can build there. And I'm sure a few things survived the fire which need to be sorted and placed.

I guess...I mean, I'll do it myself. But if anyone would like to help I would...appreciate it. I can pay you in fruit or herbs from the orchard.

[Her face is like porcelain. She's not letting a single crack show, even though it still hurts.]

I'll be there for the next week or so. Please let me know if you'd be willing to join me. At the very least, I think some of his--some of Dean's--marijuana plants survived. I'd like to try to replant them in my garden.

I can pay you with that, if you like.

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[ She thinks, huh. So Ariadne isn't sure yet - and Chizuru can't blame her for that, in the face of what the other is going through. It makes her quiet for a moment, trying to think about how she can help here, but then she seems to think of something. ]

Were you about to go over there..? [ To the rubble Ariadne wanted to clear. ] If you do, I'll come see you there right now, so you won't have to be alone! And I'll bring some nice warm tea.. It's really soothing, I promise.

I am going soon.

[She pauses.]

It might be a little dangerous. I don't want to put you in any kind of danger. The Winchesters...they kept a lot of weapons. I have no idea what might set any of them off.

[Because her relationship with guns is...nonexistent.]

Oh.. Do you think all of those are still left behind there..?

[ It could be. Especially if they're covered by rubble. On the other hand, Chizuru also knows that certain people in the city definitely would look through rubble for useful things, so they might have fished out some of the weapons already.. ]

.. I'm not scared though. [ Okay. Maybe a little bit.

But she wants to seem confident here, even if it's only half working. Especially if the alternative is leaving Ariadne to do it by herself. ]

I mean, else you'd have to do it all by yourself, right, miss Airy..? That would be dangerous for you too.

I'm used to danger.

[She doesn't say it as any sort of brag, though. Quite the opposite.

It's kind of a sad truth to her life. The only time she ever really, truly felt safe was...well. With Dean.

Who's gone now.]

But if you would like to join me, I...wouldn't mind the company.

Of course I'll join you. [ Chizuru doesn't even seem to have to think about it, despite the danger. It wouldn't be the first time she's faced danger in order to be able to be at someone's side, to make sure that they aren't alone in it.

It's not even the worst danger she's faced for that. ]

Even if you're used to danger.. that doesn't mean you should have to face it all alone. That's just too sad.. [ Chizuru can't even bear the idea. ] I at least want you to not be alone, especially during a difficult time like this.

[That gets a smile out of Ariadne. A real one, not so strained.]

You know, you're a very good person, Chizuru.

[A pause.]

Don't let Trench change you. Okay?

[ There's a pause, like Chizuru is thinking about what Ariadne said - or perhaps she's just caught off guard by hearing that.

Then she asks, slowly and carefully: ]

Do you think.. it might change me..?

[ Apparently the girl hadn't considered that yet at all herself, judging by the faint surprise in her tone as she speaks. ]

I think it'll try.

[She shrugs.]

I know it's tried to change me. Tested me. And I'm not the only one.

I'm not sure if I.. could change though, miss Airy.

[ It's nothing arrogant. At least, the intention behind what she's saying has nothing to do with that sort of thing - Chizuru just genuinely seems to think so.

After all-- ]

I don't think I've ever really changed before.. I've always just been me. [ For better or worse. ]

Well, you're always going to be you, hopefully.

But there's the you-you-used-to-be and the you-you-want-to-be. The best you. The worst you.

There are a thousand different ways to be you!

.. a thousand different ways..?

[ Woah. That's a little overwhelming to Chizuru.

And news, honestly. Because it's not like she's ever really fully had the time to explore herself, between being stuck at home for most of her life, and then being thrust straight into some way-over-her-head conflict the moment she finally left the house. ]

But-- if some of those ways are too different from the way I am right now.. would I still be me then? Wouldn't I just turn into someone else?

Depends on how fast you change.

[A pause.]

And if the magic of Trench is involved.

[ There's a faint pause, but then a soft noise of realisation. ]

You mean.. corruption, right? [ Or, well, occasionally it's other effects Trench is throwing at them, or the Pthumerians themselves doing it. But this is the more general one, and also-- ] I've heard about it before. Though.. I think it has never happened to me. I've never noticed that I started acting off, anyway..

Me neither. But knowing that it's possible...

I guess it explains a lot. And gives you something to look out for.

As long as we can look out for it..

[ That sounds a little pessimistic though, and Chizuru seems to realise as much after she voices it. It's why she shakes her head to herself and tries again. ]

I mean--! If we've already changed, then it might be hard to tell we've changed, maybe..? Since your mind changes along with you.. [ .. that's using the 'change' word many times, but it feels hard to make her point in any other way, Chizuru thinks. ] It might take someone else telling you that you seem to be acting off, I mean.

Maybe...

[It's not really Ariadne's area of expertise. But if she thinks about it, she does know that she's changed since Deerington.

Part of may just be growing up, though.]

Well, if I never notice you change, I'll say something. How does that sound?

[ She nods. ]

Okay. That sounds good to me. [ Better for someone to notice it early than to be too late to do anything about it, right?

.. though Chizuru realises something. Only a moment too late, right after she agrees. A part of her is worried that it'll be too awkward to bring it up now, especially since it's supposed to be a secret, but the realisation brings worry along with it. ]

Oh, there.. might be a problem with that though.

What kind of problem?

[She pauses. Perhaps that's too personal a question?

After all, they've only spoken a few times.]

I mean, if you want to say.

Ah, well..

[ Chizuru starts, but then hesitates again. It's so hard to say. Some people have taken to it alright in this place, but considering how bad her experiences back home were.. they're pretty hard to forget.

Still, the girl does her best to speak on, even though her tone is sounding more and more discouraged by the moment as she speaks. ]

Actually, miss Airy.. I'm worried that you might think less of me if I told you. That's why it's kind of hard to say..

[She's quiet a moment.

Is this what she was like as a girl? The kind of fear of rejection that she demonstrated in school?

Maybe...

All the more reason to shake her head slightly.]

What if I promise I won't?

[ She shifts a little, seeming to consider it to herself. ]

.. are you sure that's something you can promise?

[ Chizuru doesn't sound like she doesn't believe that at all, at the very least. It's just that she's still a little.. concerned. ]

What if it's more surprising than you're imagining? Or worse than you're imagining? Then you'd just feel bad if you promised me something like that first.

Chizuru, you're going to have to trust me.

[She shrugs.]

But if you're not comfortable with that, just say so. I won't mind.

No, I..

[ Granted, she is a little uncomfortable talking about this.

But she also doesn't want to give the other the impression that Chizuru doesn't trust her. So after another moment of thinking about it to herself, Chizuru has to enlist the help of her Omen to make this conversation set to private, just to make sure at least no one else hears it.

And even then she has to suck in a deep breath before she can say it in the first place. ]

W-Well, actually, miss Airy.. I'm.. not really human. So there are times where I might look different than I usually do without it being corruption, you know..?

[She smiles.]

I think I know something about that.

[And she lets herself change.

It looks a little like heat rising off of a hot pavement, rippling and bending the air around her. Watercolor bleeds take over. And when the shimmer dies down, Airy's on screen as before, only different. Her skin is green as the underside of a maple leaf, hair blue like candy floss, and her lips lavender.]

I know a lot about that.

[ Chizuru lets out an audible gasp when she sees the change. It's not like it's the first time she's seen it, between the demons and the furies back home, but the other's transformation is certainly different from those, seeming to go even further on the colour scale.

It's not like she's shocked though. Not in a way where she's scared, or disgusted.

No, she's just.. surprised. Chizuru didn't think that there were people like her here, let alone someone she had already been talking to. ]

M-Miss Airy..! You're not human either..?

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