EVENT: ORIGIN'S ORIGINS (Aftermingle)

[fairwind]

Who: everyone
When: Day 32, morning
Where: the clearing

[As the final session of exploring the town ends, it's getting close to dawn.

There's a break of about an hour, while the explorers return, licking their wounds. Then, a flash of dark, violet sparkles, and a petite young man with many many wings appears, standing atop the train.

Some of you have heard his voice before, speaking of justice in Trials. You might've heard about him, and how there's "something wrong with him", too. This is The Angel, and his wings are dyed a deep black, with feathers falling out in a sickly way. He doesn't look too pleased, but he also doesn't look like he's about to attack.]

So, you searched. What did you find out? I want to know if you really think this universe is worth saving.

If it's not... Then there's no point to your existence, is there?

[Well. He's not attacking yet, anyway. He is taking a moment to gesture at your deertaur companion though -- a wisp of black wind is pulled out of his mouth.]

I'll give you one chance.

[At least your dead companions are safe? They're waking up now in their rooms, none the worse for wear. But they remember dying, and they have a deep sense that they've seen a kind of void no person should ever look into.]

Comments

[desirestruth]

[She's.

Well. She's not happy about any of this. But the black goo still lingers in her senses, and she's more lucid now.

Furious! but lucid...]

...So that's what Malice tastes like, is it?

[fairwind]

That's correct. It's simply the darkness of mankin's own nature.

[desirestruth]

...So what?

[Shrugging. She actually thinks what he's asking is a dumb question!] If that's all it is, if that's all it ever was, then I made this choice a century ago.

Of course they're still worth saving. That's what you wanted us to answer, wasn't it?

[fairwind]

...

[Is that the answer he wanted? He doesn't know. But he does seem surprised to get it.]

Did you understand what happened here?

[desirestruth]

...Well, I may have been a little indisposed. But there was a war, was there not? A town that made a bid for it's own independence, driven by greed and fear...

...Even if I've missed some of the exact details, I've seen this sort of thing happen before. Over and over. Nothing will change by just trying to destroy the problem...I've seen that, too.

So...I'll choose to save them. I'll even choose to save you.

[fairwind]

I don't need any saving from you. If the darkness wins, it stops. We're all saved from having to endlessly fight it. We won't lose anything else, once it's all gone.

[desirestruth]

...And we'd lose the ability to love each other. To care that we haven't lost anyone. To ever be anything but our worst selves.

That's not sparing anyone anything.

[fairwind]

"Love"...

[He's. He's thinking about it.]

...Hmph. It's less painful not to care.

[desirestruth]

Oh? So you don't care what happens to Hazel? To Cardamom?

[Shaking her head.] It's not actually possible to not care. You're cutting yourself off...from the very things that can make that pain bearable.

[fairwind]

I offered to take Hazel with me, but he declined. As for Cardamom, he's a sad excuse for a Prince who'll never become King.

[He's not actually addressing the second bit because it would involve self-awareness.]

[desirestruth]

[...She's thinking about what she heard about his last game, and snorts.]

In the first place, you don't understand what the duties of a monarch actually are, that much I already knew. But arguing about it would be pointless, right?

[She sighs a little. She'd like very much to punch him in the throat but this won't help. Alas.]

You're hurting Hazel. He will always be hurting. The Malice...feeds on pain. Thrives on despair and suffering. It won't make the pain go away. It will make it endless.

Is that what you really want him to go through?

[fairwind]

Is struggling any better, if the outcome is the same? I don't believe you're going to save anything. Most of you can't even trust eachother for more than five minutes.

1/2

[desirestruth]

Sounds to me like you're too scared of the effort to try, so you're just hurting people and trying to justify giving up to yourself.

[Flatly. Her tone and expression are razor sharp, and glacially cold. ]

The Malice will kill him, tortuously, slowly, painfully. It will not spare him. It will not spare anyone. You can't give in to it and spare him the suffering. You're simply betraying his trust and faith in you to spare yourself the pain. Selfish, cowardly, and cruel. If you ever loved him, do better.

[desirestruth]

[But, she softens.] I don't care if you don't believe in us. I believe in what I know, and what I know is this--

I have beaten hatred before and I will do it again if I have to do it myself.

[awakenerd]

What happened?

[desirestruth]

I got corrupted.

[FLAT. TONE. SHE WOULD LIKE NOT TO TALK ABOUT THIS, REAN.]

[awakenerd]

How?

[That question just comes out]

[desirestruth]

[SHRUG.

look she could probably walk you through it but it's going to require a special trip through her psyche and she doesn't really want to have someone protagonisting about it today, because Naeva's a massive hypocrite.]

[awakenerd]

Naeva...

[desirestruth]

Really don't have the time to break this all down right now, Rean.

[Gesturing to Feathers McJackass over yonder.]

[awakenerd]

Then give me the summary. Not the one line version.

[desirestruth]

There isn't a summary. You'd be better off asking the others who were there, I didn't really get a chance to analyze what happened.

[Rean she is not in the mood to have to explain to you that she literally eats blood she is in fact a monster and the malice capitalized on those instincts.]

[awakenerd]

I value your perspective a lot, though.

[desirestruth]

Value my boundaries right now, please.

[awakenerd]

All right.