aterat | Open September Logs

Entry tags:

Open September Logs

Who; Waver & Anyone
What; 2 Open Logs
Where; Market & Fountain (memory)
When; Late September I guess
Warnings; For the fountain memory: Severe Injury & allusions to possible death

A. Market – OTA

Several people had been on his case (justifiably even if he wouldn’t admit it) to get out more. Not that last month had made it that easy to acquiesce to that suggestion… Waver had exerted himself a little too much over everything. Between the damned beast and the other situations, he’d gotten involved with (even if he’d been warned not to). His overused circuits ached, and the rest of his body had done what it did every time a case got a little too out of hand and he’d pushed himself until it was over. It stopped him by way of getting sick and he’d had to hide away while he tried to recover from it.

So there was at least a reason for returning to the hermit life.

At least until that day, as he opened his fridge and realized with disappointment that he was once again out of bread and other assorted sandwich making ingredients… Not to mention he needed to pick up some things for the workshop before he went there later to check in on the state of his current subject of interest. The mystery seed that definitely did not appear to be normal by any stretch. He’d been cautious, studied it a bit, then set up a carefully controlled environment to contain it and see how it grew. Giving Waver items of a magical nature was like giving a kid a toy at Christmas. He was going to be curious, and he was going to study the hell out of it.

So, between the need for easy to make food stuff and materials for his workshop, he found him in the open air market. Strolling between stalls with a bag over his shoulder to carry what he needed. The mage mumbled to himself as he ticked off each item on his mental list, “Tomatoes… Lettuce… Eggs… Bread. Right, I need bread.” He sighed, turning to move away from his current path and on towards the bakery. “Maybe I’ll stop at the tavern for lunch-” Waver started to muse to himself as he noted the time of day, only to stop with a startled sound as he almost walked right into someone, the bag on his shoulder slipping off when he started to drop to the ground with an audible sound of something breaking (RIP eggs). "What the- You startled me!"

Obviously...

Smooth, Velvet.

B. Fountain Memory – OTA

Waver sat on the edge of the fountain later that day as he fussed with his lighter that was being difficult, despite him being certain he just filled the damn thing. It was just meant to be a short pause to light his cigar before starting the walk to his workshop. He planned to check on the mystery planting project he’d set up in a small, controlled environment placed next to a window, maybe nap on the sofa and hope that nothing exploded for a few days.

Idly the mage glanced at the fountain as he seriously considered giving up on the lighter and conjuring a little flame to be done with it, but that was a waste of mana in his opinion when a lighter should be doing the job just fine. The little gold object slipped free of his grip though and clinked audibly on the ground as something caught his eye in the reflection of the still waters…

And when the memory played to the end, a muttered curse left his mouth and his shoulders shook lightly in annoyance. “Shit.” He did not, in fact, need the bloody reminder of what happened just before he suddenly found himself in this stupid city over a year ago now… Especially when he’d had to practice the art of dodging the obvious around people who were starting to notice his avoidance of certain subjects and questions.

It was then that he noticed he wasn’t alone, feeling a presence standing near enough that the fountain had probably been in full view. His head swivelled and his gaze was sharp as he glanced at them uncomfortably. “Can I help you with something or are you just going to stand there gawking?”

Oof... Have fun with that.

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It takes Waver a moment or two to process what he’s seeing. If only because his emotions tended to go from a calm zero to an irritated extreme of sixty in what seemed like no time at all when something threw him off. It usually resulted in some lingering embarrassment after the fact, especially when someone who didn’t deserve to deal with that had been in the line of fire (people who pushed his buttons on purpose less so). Yin definitely didn’t need the professor scowling at her for her first view; it wasn’t like she’d even done anything.

It was just… Very poor timing.

But that was how things usually went.

Taking a breath, his eyes fell on the spirit in the water and definitely realizing its gaze was meeting his eyes and the wheels ever turning in his head didn’t take long to put the pieces together. Yin’s ability that she’d partially displayed that night a while back. This was how she saw. She confirmed as much as she spoke. “Ah… Right. That makes sense.” He deflated slightly, reached down to scoop up the lighter he’d dropped. Hair curtaining his face to piece together a less awkward expression as he straightened. “Startled me, is all.”

He finally eyed the spirit again properly. “So this is what you used that night.” Waver was, obviously, going to use it as a distraction from the rest of this.

At least the poor timing doesn't throw Yin off. She's used to this sort of reaction. It reminds her, heavily, of Hei. Of home. It feels familiar and solidifies her interest in Waver. She connects his mood to the scene that played out not that long ago. Something about it either agitates him, or is a thing he wishes to not touch. For now, she just notes that.

The spirit wobbles a little up and down still curiously peering at Waver as his hair falls to hide his face.

"Yes," she informs Waver honestly.

"I was exploring the city."

It is a safe bet to presume the answer is ‘both’ on the subject of him being agitated or not wanting to touch the subject. The opening to focus instead on Yin and her little spirit was an easy one for the mage to latch onto, both because it was interesting and because it took the focus off himself for now.

When he straightened, he had managed a slightly more neutral expression, even if there was some awkwardness lingering around the eyes and in his tone as he focused on the small spirit wobbling in the water. A brow raised slightly as he almost got the impression that it was curious, but perhaps that was some curiosity from Yin herself, given this was her first time seeing him. “Interesting. Something so small would blend in rather easily. Some might not even notice it at all if they weren’t paying attention to the water.” Which it kind of had before he realized Yin was even there. Leaning slightly, he got a better look at it. “Is it more of a construct that you connect your senses to, or does it have any sentience of its own?”

Glancing up again, he offered a small nod. “It’s good to familiarize yourself with it, though I’ve heard the layout changes at times. What do you make of it so far?” That was to say, he wondered in his own way if she was settling in okay.

Yin isn't the type to consider pursuing a closed door, but perhaps at some point they should return to that vision. Her curiosity bubbles. They are small bubbles, but they are there. For now, she is content to entertain Waver's questions.

Unbeknownst to her, the future of her specter is to gain its own sentience, but for now, at least, the answer is, "Construct," as it is the closest to what it is. She isn't entirely sure how they work, but they connect to the Dolls that create them, and hers is definitely connected to her.

Yin's eyes open, slightly, and she tilts her head. "How does it change?" Most cities don't do that, she hopes. Even when their changed back home, it was just the sky, other than the Hellgates.

As for her thoughts of the place, Yin isn't entirely sure. She is still understanding that side of her. One thing she does know, as she's not on missions, "It seems more still than home."

With her tone so vacant, it might be hard to tell if that's a good thing or a bad thing. To Yin, it's just a fact.

Waver nods, a construct then… Still was odd to watch it, getting the sense of some kind of emotion from a small water being… but for now he would chalk it up to his own mind imposing the sense of emotion to a small being and perhaps some of Yin’s own curiosity and personality bleeding through.

He was going to ask another question, but Yin’s gets priority given she was new and the whole matter could be… jarring. And given Yin was only just familiarizing herself with this place, it was important to note.

“Sometimes everyone will wake up and there will be some area that wasn’t there the day before, or a building suddenly existed where before there were other things.” He frowned a little, shaking his head. “People, the locals that is, act as though the location was always here.” The mage had thoughts about that, but not enough evidence to say for sure. “The academy I’ve been helping around, that’s one of them.” He fussed with the lighter a bit, finally getting a flame out of it enough to light his cigar. “And it’s an interesting case, compared to some of the other locations. We have confirmation that it existed in a space outside of this one after the cataclysmic event that apparently caused all this. It and some other things, I expect… But it apparently did belong here all along.” So it was at least another piece of the puzzle.

Yin’s opinion of what she thought so far gets a small hum. Sometimes the place was very still… people could almost get used to it. Waver just had the misfortune of walking from one weird situation to another since he got here, not unlike in his world. “Used to more excitement where you’re from, are you?”

The specter bobs up and down, seemingly looking in Waver's direction with those dead, black eyes, never leaving him, endlessly curious.

Hopefully, Waver remembers his question. Asking Yin questions opens her mind a little more, helps her think for herself.

Yin doesn't quite frown, her lips don't move, but there's a resignation to her posture in hearing about this. She will need to take precautions. Carry water with her, perhaps, just in case.

The last bit gets a soft, "Yes," from her, without a lot of explanation. But when one works with assassins and is always on the run, it is easy to get accustomed to the constant bustle and excitement.

The little spirit’s eyes on him are definitely distracting him now and again, eyes returning to it as he returned its curious looks with one of his own. It was fascinating, really, both in what it did and for the assistance its presence provided Yin with. “Are there any conditions beyond needing access to water to use it? Like does it have to be freshwater, or would it work on saltwater as well?”

He would approve of her idea of carrying water with her, though. One should be prepared for the unexpected in this place, because there didn’t seem to be a pattern or a method with which to anticipate something happening. At least not yet, not that he’d found. So taking precautions for the potential shift in the layout of things was a good idea when she needed to rely on the spirit to see the area and work out which way to go… Especially if she found herself alone.

Her soft, but brief yes gets a small hum. It’s an explanation that lacks details, and just serves to further his own curiosity. Over the years he’d noted that sometimes saying little conveys more than one thinks, and other times saying a lot leaves much to be desired when it comes to other people. “Not sure what kind of excitement you’re used to… But I don’t doubt you’ll find some here before long. Just be careful. Usually when things go wrong, they tend towards going absurdly wrong.”

"Any water," Yin assures Waver. That is one good thing about it, at least. The water can be muddy, not every clear itself, as long as it's water, it works. And it can be either her hands or her feet, too. Which is also useful.

It sounds like this place is good at providing the unexpected. Yin isn't accustomed to needing to worry about that, but without a team here to back her up? Best to be better prepared.

She is quiet for a moment, then has to ask, "Has a lot happened to you here?" because that's truly the first thing that comes to her mind hearing things happen in this place.

Any water… That was good. That would make things a little easier if something happened on a larger scale around here. “I see, so you won’t have to worry as long as there is a source, regardless of the kind.” And when Waver thought about it, he had to wonder… “I wonder what you’d see if you used it with the waters off the harbor or beaches…” A lot of things seemed to happen there, both in recent times and those past from what he understood, but it seemed that no one had ever really gone to look into it.

The question gets a small hum in confirmation. A lot seemed about right. “I’ve been here a little over a year now, and I’d say I’ve gotten tangled up in something stupid often enough in that time.” Once to twice a month at times, it seemed almost absurd.

It makes things easier all around, since there was no logic - that Yin had been able to put together - that she could stick her hand in a glass and connect to a puddle some thirty feet away, but here they were. It helped in so many ways.

"How far is the harbor from here?" she asks, even as the specter plops into the fountain, then vanishes from sight.

"Are you safe? When those things happen?" Yin exhibits a mild level of concern when she asks. Waver has made an impression, and while she doesn't go out of her way to make friends, doesn't really know what they connection feels like, there is a quiet comfort in his presence. For her, at least.

Waver watched as the specter seemed to disappear with a plot of water into the fountain and disappeared, before looking up again at the question. “Ah, it’s east of here. Just beyond where all the forges and some of the taverns are. It’s a bit… sparse for a harbor in activity. There’s a ship partially built in port and a lot of old warehouses and abandoned buildings out that way.” The mage explained, knowing the area pretty well, as he’d set up a workshop in that part of the city for a little peace and quiet.

Although, ironically, it also turned out to be more prone to danger than other areas and the guards didn’t spend much time there. One month alone, he’d had three near-death experiences involving wererats.

Which was why he was a bit glad the spirit had disappeared from the water for the moment. It kept his awkward expression from showing as he kept his tone neutral, even as he answered honestly. “Not always, no. Like I mentioned that night, there are things in this city that like to prey on people. Not to mention the risk of falling through a mirror…. But I’ve been lucky enough for others to happen by and step in to help, though I’ve known a few people who weren’t so fortunate themselves.” So it’s a fair warning to be cautious, he thinks…

Yin closes her eyes for a moment, trying to guide her specter, leading it with Waver's explanation. She might still not make it, but she was going to try.

And if it was unguarded properly, then maybe Yin should put her specter there sometimes.

"Mirror.... You can just fall through mirrors here?" That is something Yin thought only happened in stories. Clearly not.

It's a very good warning, considering she hasn't met that side of herself, but in her, without a mirror, is the potential for something very dark. She would be a shock to anyone who knew Yin.

Waver’s workshop did have a small bounded field around it, but it was to deter strangers from approaching, mostly. Given the nature of Yin’s specter, it would not be surprising if she could put it in there, and he had a tendency to leave cups of tea or glasses of water forgotten on counters considering his rather cluttered, messy nature in his personal spaces. It was a thought, certainly, if she ever got curious while exploring the harbor.

“You can.” The mage confirmed, actually glad that he brought it up now that he thought about it. It wasn’t something people spoke of overly much these days, since most people avoided them. “Shortly after I arrived, standing mirrors appeared in everyone’s living space or place of business. They lead to an alternate world on the other side, where another version of us is present. If you happen to go through, you switch with them.” Waver had largely avoided that mess so far… But not avoided the mirrors entirely. “There was also a month where they lead to a different place altogether without other versions of ourselves, full of monsters called shadows like those from another person’s world.”

That had only happened once, at least. The mage wasn’t sure which option was worse, though. “There’s probably one in your apartment. My best advice is to cover it with something to prevent an accident if you can.”

Glasses of tea and water left out were definitely possible places for her specter to pop in and out of. He might consider that if he doesn't want accidental spying. Yin will, especially, spy on people she has taken a liking to. Waver being one of those individuals.

Yin's expression tightens, barely, so slowly, and by a mere fraction, but the concern is there.

"What happens to the person on the other side? How do they get back?" It sounds treacherous. With someone replacing the original person, no one would know, unless, of course, they realize the person was acting different. With Yin, would they even know how she's supposed to act?

She nods to the advice. She'll find the mirror with her observer spirit and put a cloth over it right away.

If only Waver was able to fight his own nature of leaving things lying about to clean up after himself...

The question gets a small thoughtful pause as he pulls from his own experience and those he’d heard about since the mirrors appeared in the first place. “What happens depends on the person, it seems. My experience was with the alternated, temporary version of that place rather than the standard reality on the other side, so I can’t give you any firsthand knowledge...”

And he wasn’t keen to gain firsthand knowledge of the usual realm on the other side of the mirror, either.

“From what I understand about it, most people are forced to wander a mazelike city where the reception of residents varies. Apparently food, though sustaining, does lack flavor. There’s also supposed to be some kind of hotel for people to seek shelter at.” So there was at least some chance of survival until you could find a way out. “There are two ways back. Since the initial entry point disappears, you have to find another mirror portal to leave through which automatically switches the other version of yourself back… The second is being stuck there a week and get switched back forcefully, so there is some kind of time limit.”

If Waver won't fight his nature, Yin won't fight hers full of curiosity and wonder under all of that absence of emotion. She's not supposed to fight in the first place, so that's just her nature to be more passive about what she shouldn't feel anyway.

Yin listens intently, committing all of Waver's words to memory.

"That is useful information," she tells him, voice empty despite her gratitude. At least she knows of it ever happens to her, people will only have to deal with her inverse copy for a week. In her favor, is the fact she doesn't eat for flavor anyway, but just to survive. Nutrients to keep her functioning are the most important aspect, so she can handle that.

“I believe it is, do keep it in mind.” He responded in a serious tone, though internally the mage was glad he’d brought it up even if expressing that he was concerned about the potential in the first place was a bit awkward.

Hopefully, he mused to himself, she wouldn’t need to make use of it if she kept away from the mirrors. Not that he was entirely optimistic on it, even he had an accident with one. It just seemed like an unfortunate fact that they were all on a time limit to ending up in one mess or another involving them.

At some point, he’d have to get back to investigating them properly. It was just that the puzzles around the magic academy tended to occupy his mind with more frequency than the mirrors… Because, really, seeing his other self reflected in the one in his apartment just annoyed him.

She believes it is, herself. There is still so much about this place she doesn't know.

"Are there any other ways to end up there? Or just the mirrors?" It's worth asking, to be completely certain. There might be other such pocket dimensions.

The wrinkles in Waver’s brow deepen a bit as he goes over what he knows before responding. “At the moment, there doesn’t appear to be, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t change.” Considering the new development with people’s memories being reflected in the fountain waters, he’s a little concerned that most reflective surfaces might become hazardous in a variety of ways at this rate. Which… makes more sense than he’d like it to, considering the history of magic and the use of mirrors in general.

“To my knowledge, there is potentially one other space where one could potentially go, but as far as I can tell, there is only one person here who can. The realm where the Academy had been before it was returned to Aterat, the only person who can go and traverse it, is a woman who arrived with the Academy.” And while she suggested it was possible to take people with her, it was not easy and would require a degree of preparation on her part… And admittedly, she hadn’t really been heard from since then.

Though Waver was not about to assume they couldn’t end up there other ways one day, given how unpredictable this world could be at times.

Once again, Yin takes in all the information, letting her mind process it. Pocket dimensions, places only certain people could go. Could that be like what happened to her home-world? Some sort of dimension shift.

"Who is that one person?" It's safer to be aware of all the ways, and that means the person is a way, in their own way.

Wasn’t that a good question? Problem was that the woman didn’t seem to offer things like that. Waver often pondered over if she didn’t remember or if she simply chose not to say.

“I’m afraid I don’t have a name, at least none she’s provided. Her form was changed after what happened. From what I’ve heard said around the city, she’s become something that looks like a creature other people recognize. Something called a tonberry, I believe…” Shaking his head a little, he continued. “Short and green complexion, but we don’t see much of her… Like most of the key figures of this world, she doesn’t seem to be the most social.”

Though Waver couldn’t say he was surprised, her situation seemed complicated at best and there was the probability that she was in that other place looking for fragments of the voidcryst.

Yeah, that sounds like a problem. Yin registers the fact with her usual lack of expression gaining a mild, perhaps noticeable frown as she asks, "A tonberry does not speak?"

She might still look for it, though, using her specter.

If Yin couldn't get her to speak, then that was okay. After all, Yin felt no strong emotion to get information out of this unknown woman. Just a simmering curiosity that she shouldn't be able to feel in the first place.

“That I’m not entirely sure of. They’re of someone else’s world, not mine. So I’ve never seen one aside from her… But this one is capable of speech, it’s more that she doesn’t make appearances to talk all that often.” Which was unfortunately something that most people in charge or in positions to know more about this place shared, he couldn’t even recall the last time the aspects made an open appearance.

Waver would say that, despite his slightly growing pessimism over the state of this place aside, Yin’s simmering curiosity was a good trait that he would encourage. Frustrating as it was, they weren’t going to get anywhere by just sitting around accepting things as they were.

In theory, Yin was supposed to just accept things as they were. It's what Dolls do, what they did, what they were programmed for. Maybe it was being separated from her team, the strange feel of longing that wells in her when she thinks of them, or the right questions and interactions from the others that stirs something inside of her.

Whatever it is, she can't stop wondering, and keeps her wanting more information.

"If she does appear, I will see if I can speak with her, then," Yin decides.

"Have you spoken with her?"

“Very briefly, she rather disappeared mid conversation over the tellphone, I’m afraid.” He offered with a visible frown. He’d really hoped to have gotten more information from her, but Waver was nosy and often unsatisfied until he knew everything. “We did speak on the topic of the Void Cryst she was looking for.”

He folded his arms lightly, thinking back on the subject. “The Void Cryst played a part in the calamity that caused this world to need to be recreated and rebuilt. From what I heard of it before our conversation, it seems likely that it was part of some kind of cycle that this world goes through.” Creation and rebirth, if the fact that this world had been reborn before was anything to go by. “According to her it has an undefined degree of sentience, because just as she had found it in that other place it disappeared again and due to dangers, there she was forced to retreat.”

Waver doesn’t doubt she’s still looking for it, which could also attribute to her lack of appearances since then. “I had asked if more people could be brought to assist with combating the threats while she searched, but she said that it would take a lot of preparation on her part. So, I expect going there is not easy.”

There’s an apologetic note to his tone as he ended. “I’m afraid that’s as far as my knowledge on that goes until she reappears, or further information is uncovered. My search of the academy records where the study of the cryst took place only yielded the Academy Headmaster’s name, and that’s about it at the moment.” And the name of donors and supporters, which definitely helped with funding to get it back on its feet, but that was beside the point.

Open September Logs

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I am very sorry for the delays, got sick again

0 worries, but oh no! I hope you're better now

Thank you <3 it's an ongoing thing but I'm gonna keep up when I can!

sorry to hear that. long term or chronic situations are no fun

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