stones of farspeech; a few days after the intro

[jelliclerats]

[ Nezumi has rarely used the stone, and he never planned to. Even now, he fights the decision. The fewer people know of his existence, the better. But, he can't find him. Maybe he's gone again and will come back, as he did last time, but after the memorial he held for the lost, something sits heavily in Nezumi's stomach.

This is why getting close to people is a stupid idea. It hurts. ]

I'm looking for Shion. White hair, red marks on his body.

[ It feels like shining a beacon on his weakness, as if screaming to the world that hurting Shion is the only way to hurt Nezumi. ]

If you see him, tell him to come home already.

Comments

[postictal]

It's been known to happen. Sometimes they return with memories, and sometimes they don't.

There's no way to really be sure.

[Uncertainty has defined the fullest scope of Tim's existence since he was a kid, since his very earliest memories. He's spent too much of his time not knowing what the hell was going on for that to scare him anymore.]

[He's got no clue if Nezumi's likely to respond with fear, or worse.]

[He's guessing worse.]

[jelliclerats]

[ This hurts, but it isn't the worst thing that Nezumi has lived through. It hurts, but he'll survive. Unfortunately, it also means he's less likely to reach out again. Why bother? What was the point?

At the very least, Nezumi isn't one to hope. Sometimes it happens, but likely not most of the time. It would have started with that phrase instead, if they came back more often than not. ]

Hn. Then if he comes back, he'll owe me for acting as his storage unit.

[postictal]

I'll be sure to let him know, if I see him.

[Shion's disappeared before, though never for longer than a month. As far as Tim knows, only consulting the Storyteller confirms for certain what's happened to them. He's just never the one to ask.]

You know where he lived?

[jelliclerats]

[ If Nezumi was anyone else, he would have asked after reaching out, but he knows that Shion is gone, the same way he knows an enemy is coming even before there's a sign of their presence. He isn't psychic, but there are times his instincts make it seem as if he is. ]

I was there a few times.

[ He was there almost every day, in the end. ]

[postictal]

He had a tigerlily there. Cobweb, I think. Might still be there. I don't know if he had any other pets, but...that'd be where I'd look.

[If he doesn't, there's a good chance that they'll just go wild. Sink into the backdrop of Ensō's landscape, wandering without an owner, until they stop being the domesticated creatures they eventually came to be.]

[jelliclerats]

Did he?

[ Nezumi knows, but it's easier if he doesn't reveal how close they'd become, how often Nezumi was at Shion's. It's easier to pretend he just doesn't make those kinds of relationships because he doesn't. Shion was an exception.

But he can look after living things. He had pets at home.

Rats. ]

[postictal]

Yeah. Tigerlilies are pretty easy to take care of. Just like plants. Sunlight and water, and they're good to go.

[He says as someone who has taken care of one for...a while. It's not technically his, but he's the one who brought it home, so they all more or less pitch in to take care of...Soylent, or Buttercup, or whatever they're calling the poor creature these days.]