Video: UN - Runeseeker

[onerthes]

[Vira-Lorr was not doing well. On the surface, it wasn't going to be obvious. The omni showed her on the shoreline of Trench, bundled up and watching out to the iceflows of the winter. There were, in the background, greeters tending to the last steps of the arrivals. The beasts from the ocean weren't breaking out of the ice right now, and it was past the usual time for sleepers to wash up, so the winter festivities were being closed up. Everything was safe. She just looked like she was finishing up a vigil. Anyone who knew her knew that she did this every month. She was usually waiting for a few people in particular. She just ... didn't publicize it like this.

Her eyes were rimmed red. It was clear that she'd been crying, but she wasn't doing it currently. Instead, she was smiling, though it was a distant and pained thing. One hand reached up to rest on her shoulder, to feel where the mark had been placed.]

I... don't need to tell some of you this. You will know. You always do. This is for other people in town who might care.

[Usagi would know. She didn't name Serenity, but she knew that she would know that a Senshi had departed, and if she knew then Makoto and Hotaru would know very quickly afterwards. Either by connection, or being told. This message wasn't specifically to tell them that Venus had gone home, though she would appreciate hearing from her friends. It was for the ones who weren't connected like they had been, like she had been.]

My wife, Minako Aino, is fine. She has safely returned to the sea. I felt the distance as it progressed, and ... I know that nothing caught her amongst the monsters below. She's safe. She will be safe in her home. I ... I want all of you who care about her to be certain of that.

[Her lips quivered a little and she sighed. She'd dealt with this before. How many people had she lost since the nightmares? How many had she tried to love? To get close to? Only to lose them too. She'd lost Minako twice now this way. She could handle it. Yet, this time was different. In so many ways it was different because deep down, she knew there was a chance Minako did not remember her where she was going. Usagi, Makoto, Hotaru, they would be reunited one day, but they might all forget her. It hurt.]

I'm fin... no, I'm not. I'm not going to lie. I'm not fine. My wife is gone, and I will come back every month to see if she returns to me, to us. I'm a patient woman. People have come back to me before. I have centuries to wait. My race gives me that luxury. but today hurts. A lot.

[There was a momentary pause and she sighed.]

I could probably use some company over the next few days. I'll be running the shop to help get my mind off of it, so if you need a reading, I just won't be a hundred percent is all. I've been very moody lately. Not sure why, but this is not helping.

Comments

[onerthes]

[She knew... some of it, but sshe'd made so many assumptions during their conversations that she wasn't really sure she fully comprehended his situation.]

He does have a somewhat less mature attitude at times, does he not? It's hard to say exactly. With a spirit so long-existing it can be very difficult to tell what exactly is the case. I sometimes wonder how that maturity varies, because as you hinted? It doesn't seem to be based upon the actual age of the person. It's more their personality.

[Congrats, Michael, she is very distracted. both intentionally and unintentionally.]

[eudaimonikos]

Yeah, that's true. I was a childish asshole about a thousand years back - way before I met any of you guys. Our society doesn't always encourage being mature in the first place. I don't know exactly what it is...maybe, we're just never gonna run out of time, so why get our shit together?

[onerthes]

I... can see that. Maturity in mortals relates to the idea of being able to use our time in the most sensible of ways. To not waste precious resources or to think only of oneself. But when you have infinite time?

There's very little to waste, except relative to mortals you know. It's why elves who live among humans have different perspectives.

[eudaimonikos]

Infinite time and resources, really. I mean, we don't need anything. That sounds like it would set us up for a utopia, but -

[He waves a hand idly.]

Just became about status instead, I guess. Getting one over on each other. [.....] Yeah. Being with mortals is different. Everything feels like it matters more - it's more immediate.

[onerthes]

A complete lack of need can also make for a lack of motivation to do anything. It is not necessarily a utopia. Most of those concepts are built upon a motivation towards improvement.

[She coughed.]

But yes, I think I understand. As you said, everything a mortal does has a much more immediate importance. It's driven, the shorter their lives, the less their time.

[eudaimonikos]

Driven! Yes! [He snaps his fingers, like finding the right word.] Man, you would not believe how lazy so many of the other guys back there were! No work ethic!

[Which Michael has always had in spades! Even when he didn't see things from closer to a mortal perspective...well, you still have to do something with your time, don't you?]

[onerthes]

[Blink blink. Oh! She snorted a little and smirked.]

I could see it. I could see how they could end up that way. They have all the time in the world to accomplish a thing. It might even make it hard for them to worry about getting it done in the first place, yes?

[eudaimonikos]

Yeah, I guess. But there's a satisfaction, to getting stuff done!

[Preaching to the choir, he knows - or, at least, to someone who isn't one of those guys from back home.]

[onerthes]

Well, bear in mind that just because I understand them? I definitely don't think they're right to be that lazy. As lazy as I am... it is good to keep on your toes and actually do something. I'm sure you'd agree.