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[Written/Action]
This morning, a message is broadcast over the journal system, a cheerfully written message:
"Attention, all residents: there will be a meeting held at the town hall today at 4PM. All newcomers of the enclosure are invited and encouraged to attend the meeting ONE HOUR prior for a special guide to life in our town! We hope to see you all there and will be very happy to answer any questions you might have. Please note that this meeting will start on time, so arrive early in order to not miss anything!"
And in a precise and sternly elegant hand below:
"As the saying goes: if you're early you're on time, if you're on time you're late, and if you're late you're in trouble. Don’t get in trouble."
Those who attend the early introductory meeting will find it to be... not exactly as advertised. The doors will be open early. Inside, the hall has a similar layout to that of the modern day school - same building, after all - but with offices and supply rooms rather than classrooms. Romaeus is there, looking more or less the same as his modern-era counterpart, and he is hanging out near the stairs with a blonde-haired woman with large wings that some long-term Lucetians might find familiar.
When the hour chimes, Romaeus locks the entrance doors, leaving the woman to keep watch, and guides the arrivals down into the basement. They are led to a side of the wall near the back that opens up at Romaeus's touch to reveal the underground tunnels. These, too, are different: bright, clean, and freshly maintained, rather than the dusty and rusted out hallways people would know them to be. It's an active lab now, with a number of closed-off rooms, heavy doors to each side for laboratories and the pursuit of science. He ignores them all, leading them further down into the deeper parts of the tunnels, to a large room that seems, for the most part, unused. Once everyone is inside and quiet, he begins.
"I know you have questions, and I ask that you wait until after I've finished to ask them. There is... a great deal of information to cover." He takes a deep breath. Public speaking is really not his forte. "My name is Romaeus, but in the time you're from, I've come to understand that my name is John. You were sent to us by him in order to change the future. Rin brought with him my old journal, and... through it, I was given all the memories of my future self."
He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out the journal, pages ragged from multiple re-reads. He holds it up for them to see.
"This is our future. What you have lived through is what we made the world into, through our mistakes and lack of knowledge. The knowledge is here now. I want to try to fix those mistakes now, before it's too late."
The door behind them all opens, and through it walks the blonde woman. Romaeus sees her and gestures for her to come forward; her presence seems to grant him some relief. Her tight-lipped expression is hard to read as she takes her place next to him, but she's discernibly more at ease in front of the crowd that her eyes survey. The compact distance between her and Romaeus is comfortable.
"We came to this world much as you all did, some time ago. We had no guides, no convenient journals to tell us what was going on. What we had instead were her people - the large winged folk whom we believed to be natives. Instead, they are those who have been here much, much longer than any of us combined. Their leader was a good, strong man, frustrated by the centuries he and his people have spent living and dying here, over and over. He's lost memories, senses... parts of himself that could not be regained. More recently, he's begun to change. His methods of dealing with conflict has escalated. The peace between us is going sour. The inception of the group you know to be the Third Party is upon us."
He glances sidelong at the woman, grimacing, and rests a hand on her shoulder. She allows herself to glance back at him only briefly. The only change in her expression is the twitch of her eyebrows as they knot together, whether from worry or from wishing to appear brave.
"In a matter of months from now, the change within him will be complete, and Julia, his sister, will be the first sacrifice. Our mission here is to prevent that and everything terrible that follows."
When he’s done, Julia asserts her turn to address the gathered crowd. Her words click out with suppressed urgency.
"It is our hope that we can settle this peacefully. Theo is still my brother, regardless of how he's changed because of what has been stolen from him, and death will only tear him apart more. We must firmly believe that there is still room for negotiation. That is what we are asking you to help us accomplish. If we can convince him to see reason and join us in our efforts to return everyone to their homes - or if we can force him back on our side, if necessary - the Third Party you know in the future will not get the chance to form. Tyr will be able to explain further once the rest of the village is here.”
"One last thing." Romaeus steps forward again, his eyes narrowed. "At this point in time, prior to your arrival, we had no way to reverse the losses caused by repeated deaths in this place. The information gained from my future journal changed that. Unfortunately, while the knowledge is there, my personal experience doing so is extremely limited. My ability to cure this affliction is crucial in mending the mind of the cultists' leader, so if any of you wish to have such penalties fixed prior to this mission, I would… appreciate the chance to practice. In addition--" His eyes wander through the crowd, seeking out no one in particular, but studying. "It is crucial that Tyr is not told that I am the one who can cure these ills. I can't explain why, but my reasons for hiding this from him are more important than you could ever know. I plead with you not to tell him the truth."
He glances back at Julia again, then steps away. "That's all. Julia, the floor is yours."
Without another word, he heads for the door and back out into the hall, leaving his companion to field any questions before the main meeting begins.
"Attention, all residents: there will be a meeting held at the town hall today at 4PM. All newcomers of the enclosure are invited and encouraged to attend the meeting ONE HOUR prior for a special guide to life in our town! We hope to see you all there and will be very happy to answer any questions you might have. Please note that this meeting will start on time, so arrive early in order to not miss anything!"
And in a precise and sternly elegant hand below:
"As the saying goes: if you're early you're on time, if you're on time you're late, and if you're late you're in trouble. Don’t get in trouble."
Those who attend the early introductory meeting will find it to be... not exactly as advertised. The doors will be open early. Inside, the hall has a similar layout to that of the modern day school - same building, after all - but with offices and supply rooms rather than classrooms. Romaeus is there, looking more or less the same as his modern-era counterpart, and he is hanging out near the stairs with a blonde-haired woman with large wings that some long-term Lucetians might find familiar.
When the hour chimes, Romaeus locks the entrance doors, leaving the woman to keep watch, and guides the arrivals down into the basement. They are led to a side of the wall near the back that opens up at Romaeus's touch to reveal the underground tunnels. These, too, are different: bright, clean, and freshly maintained, rather than the dusty and rusted out hallways people would know them to be. It's an active lab now, with a number of closed-off rooms, heavy doors to each side for laboratories and the pursuit of science. He ignores them all, leading them further down into the deeper parts of the tunnels, to a large room that seems, for the most part, unused. Once everyone is inside and quiet, he begins.
"I know you have questions, and I ask that you wait until after I've finished to ask them. There is... a great deal of information to cover." He takes a deep breath. Public speaking is really not his forte. "My name is Romaeus, but in the time you're from, I've come to understand that my name is John. You were sent to us by him in order to change the future. Rin brought with him my old journal, and... through it, I was given all the memories of my future self."
He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out the journal, pages ragged from multiple re-reads. He holds it up for them to see.
"This is our future. What you have lived through is what we made the world into, through our mistakes and lack of knowledge. The knowledge is here now. I want to try to fix those mistakes now, before it's too late."
The door behind them all opens, and through it walks the blonde woman. Romaeus sees her and gestures for her to come forward; her presence seems to grant him some relief. Her tight-lipped expression is hard to read as she takes her place next to him, but she's discernibly more at ease in front of the crowd that her eyes survey. The compact distance between her and Romaeus is comfortable.
"We came to this world much as you all did, some time ago. We had no guides, no convenient journals to tell us what was going on. What we had instead were her people - the large winged folk whom we believed to be natives. Instead, they are those who have been here much, much longer than any of us combined. Their leader was a good, strong man, frustrated by the centuries he and his people have spent living and dying here, over and over. He's lost memories, senses... parts of himself that could not be regained. More recently, he's begun to change. His methods of dealing with conflict has escalated. The peace between us is going sour. The inception of the group you know to be the Third Party is upon us."
He glances sidelong at the woman, grimacing, and rests a hand on her shoulder. She allows herself to glance back at him only briefly. The only change in her expression is the twitch of her eyebrows as they knot together, whether from worry or from wishing to appear brave.
"In a matter of months from now, the change within him will be complete, and Julia, his sister, will be the first sacrifice. Our mission here is to prevent that and everything terrible that follows."
When he’s done, Julia asserts her turn to address the gathered crowd. Her words click out with suppressed urgency.
"It is our hope that we can settle this peacefully. Theo is still my brother, regardless of how he's changed because of what has been stolen from him, and death will only tear him apart more. We must firmly believe that there is still room for negotiation. That is what we are asking you to help us accomplish. If we can convince him to see reason and join us in our efforts to return everyone to their homes - or if we can force him back on our side, if necessary - the Third Party you know in the future will not get the chance to form. Tyr will be able to explain further once the rest of the village is here.”
"One last thing." Romaeus steps forward again, his eyes narrowed. "At this point in time, prior to your arrival, we had no way to reverse the losses caused by repeated deaths in this place. The information gained from my future journal changed that. Unfortunately, while the knowledge is there, my personal experience doing so is extremely limited. My ability to cure this affliction is crucial in mending the mind of the cultists' leader, so if any of you wish to have such penalties fixed prior to this mission, I would… appreciate the chance to practice. In addition--" His eyes wander through the crowd, seeking out no one in particular, but studying. "It is crucial that Tyr is not told that I am the one who can cure these ills. I can't explain why, but my reasons for hiding this from him are more important than you could ever know. I plead with you not to tell him the truth."
He glances back at Julia again, then steps away. "That's all. Julia, the floor is yours."
Without another word, he heads for the door and back out into the hall, leaving his companion to field any questions before the main meeting begins.
no subject
[Romaeus pauses at that, considering the offer. He needs to go upstairs and speak with Tyr before the meeting begins, but... hmm. He does have the memory of removing the affliction, but seeing his own work might be beneficial.]
It may help, actually. Would you come with me to my office for a few minutes?
no subject
Ahhh-hahaha. Yeah. Sure. I could do that. [At least he was asking. Vash will follow Romaeus to any office he leads too. Trying his best to hide that he's a little nervous about this whole thing.]
no subject
[Despite his words, Romaeus doesn't look or sound particularly guilty about it. He turns, heading for upstairs and expecting Vash to follow if he's still willing.]
no subject
no subject
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But he is.]
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[He steps into his office, holding the door open for Vash. Inside it's sparsely furnished - a desk, a chair on either side, some filing cabinets - and full of paperwork.]
Have a seat, and try to relax, if you can.
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[He enters the office and slanderers towards a chair.] Sure, thing! No problem! [He flops down casually into the chair and leans against the back. Long legs kicked out slightly in front of him. Doing his very best to at least not look too nervous on the outside.
The way his fingers seem to be fidgeting with one of his coat buttons may be a give away though.]
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[Just a few here or there. But that's hardly important now.
With Vash seated, Romaeus steps up behind the chair and reaches out to touch his hands against the sides of Vash's head, not quite holding him in place, but firm nonetheless. In Vash's peripheral, he might see a faint red glow.]
This won't hurt, but you may feel a tingling sensation. Try not to move, it is delicate work.
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Vash tries to sit as still as possible although he does twitch slightly when Romaeus first touches his head.] Tingling... hahaha... yeah. I'll do my best to not move.
[Although he really doesn't like that red that he can see out of the corner of his eye. Wondering just what the scientists was doing to him right now.]
no subject
Fascinating. I can see my fingerprints all over the work, despite having never done it yet. Memories, and your ability to eat, yes? Those were what you lost?
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Yes. Although, it was only the ability to eat baked goods that I lost. Other foods were fine. And I also once lost the vision in one of my eyes. [Not something he was very proud of. Three times. Three times he had been sloppy and Luceti had brought him back.
Well, dying of old age when he was turned human, he'd actually blame the Malnosso for that one.]
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[People die too easily in this world. It's unsettling, but then, the world itself is designed this way for a reason...]
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Yet he tries to ease his voice for what he says next.] Anything else I can do that will help?
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[Romaeus crosses his arms and glances aside; he is grateful, yes, but he has a lot to do, and he has to think on what he's learned. He's also not good at polite dismissals, apparently.]
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[He pushes himself off the chair. Easily taking the hint that Romaeus is done with him. If not he assumes the scientist will stop him as he heads towards the door.] I'll just see myself out then. [He gives a halfhearted wave over his shoulder as he goes.] See ya.