Day 56: Mountain Antiques (Early Afternoon)

[scintillatingly]

Sora was glad that he had gotten the chance to talk to Wally, since even if he drank coffee with a ton of sugar with it, that didn't stop him from being a nice guy! Not that the two were related, but it had been kind of weird. Sora had been pleasantly surprised that the man was so friendly and optimistic even though he'd also been stuck here for a

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[bodhiandspirit]

Tricky? Perhaps. The one that Rita tried was probably one of the simpler ones, too. It was possible that advanced spells would prove more challenging. It was difficult to say whether her diminished power would even allow her to cast them in the first place, though.

Claude's comments caused Rita to sigh, an irritated look crossing her face. "Things like this are usually dirt cheap where I'm from," she grumbled, looking them over once more. She spotted a curious object next to the magnifying glasses, which she soon identified as a magnifying lens without a frame. It was wide and rectangular, and a bit unwieldy, but it appeared to work. "I might have to settle for this." Careful not to get any fingerprints on it, she slipped it back into the small, clear plastic bag it came in, one with an affordable price sticker slapped onto it.

"I doubt they'd sell us any useful equipment, even if we could afford it. Research tools are about the only things I can find that are worth buying." Taking the lens in hand, she finally stepped away from the table to look at something else. "I heard that someone in the institute managed to get their hands on a stone with magical properties. I'm going to investigate it tonight." Which was precisely why a magnifying glass would be useful.

[full_score]

Claude wondered how magnifying glasses could exactly be dirt cheap, although he guessed the magical lenses on Expel and Nede were pretty inexpensive, come to think of it. There was no use in comparing wares on Earth to places like that, though. They were like apples and oranges, since Earth's needs were pretty different from planets like that.

He was pretty interested to know someone got their hands on something with magical properties, though. "A stone, huh," Claude said. "I wonder if they managed to find it back when people got flung to their home worlds for awhile." That was ultimately how he'd found a phase gun, after all. Of course, it was impossible to think of that without remembering the horrible circumstances involving his "sleep study" and Dad, though, and he promptly shoved that aside.

"Good luck in investigating it," he offered instead.

Pausing for a moment, he realized Leon hadn't really come up in their conversation yet. He was sure that if Rita had been borrowing the boy's notes, then they were staying in contact with one another. "By the way," he added, "have you spoken with Leon recently? He didn't answer my note to him yesterday."

[bodhiandspirit]

People flung back to their home worlds...? Rita's gaze sharpened at those words, and she turned her attention back to Claude. She'd heard similar rumors on the bulletin board, but this was the first time someone had mentioned it to her directly. Could it really be true, or was it all just an illusion...?

The topic quickly shifted to Leon, however, and Rita left her questions for later as she answered Claude's inquiry about the boy. There wasn't much to be said, though. "Not since the last time I talked to you. I left him a note too, but he didn't answer." Rita hadn't had much time to think about the implications of that, but she supposed it could mean that he had been released... or worse.

The possible loss of a friend was something Rita could sympathize with, as she was facing the possibility that all of hers would be dead before she could even return to Terca Lumireis, but unfortunately she wasn't any good at offering words of comfort. Instead, after an uncomfortable pause, she crossed her arms and added, "I still have his heraldry notes. If you want them, they're yours." Leon had said as much to her when she borrowed them, so it was only right to offer them to Claude.

[full_score]

That answer wasn't what he was hoping to hear. He could get Leon accidentally overlooking his note, but it wasn't like him to ignore something related to heraldry, especially considering how much pride he took in his expertise. Claude's heart sank, but he tried not to let it show too much. He barely knew Rita, so it wasn't right to dump his problems onto her.

But still...Leon. Was he all right? The thought of not knowing made Claude ache in the worst possible way.

Rita's question brought him back to the conversation at hand, though, and he swallowed hard. "O-oh, right, his notes..." Claude scratched the side of his head as he considered what to do. "Well, if you're not using them anymore, I wouldn't mind holding onto them."

Not that he distrusted Rita or anything, but he liked keeping things safe for his friends.

[bodhiandspirit]

Rita was thankful that Claude didn't break down or get dramatic over the bad news, though he had good reason to be a little upset. It made sense that he'd want the notebook for himself. Rita was essentially a stranger, and if something had happened to Leon, those notes would serve as a memento of the boy. Besides, if something happened to Rita (not that she found it terribly likely, but it wasn't impossible), they would be lost, perhaps even forever.

And so, she simply responded with a nod. "Fine by me. My room's F36. I'll be there early tonight to examine that stone I mentioned. You can come by then, or you can let me know when you're ready and I'll leave them out for you another night." She didn't know what kind of nighttime plans Claude might have, but that was a flexible enough offer that he should have an easy time getting his hands on the notebook.

[full_score]

He had to admit he was privately relieved that she was willing to hand the notes over. Not that he would have begrudged her if she wanted to keep them a little longer, but it was nice to know she'd gotten full use from them.

"Thanks," he quietly said after a brief pause. "I'll have to talk to my companions before stopping by your room, but I'll try to make it tonight if I can."

It felt strange to go collecting Leon's things when he was uncertain of the boy's whereabouts, but not wasn't the place to let himself get upset over it. Rita didn't know him or Leon that well at all, so it wouldn't have been right to let her see something like that.

[bodhiandspirit]

When Claude thanked her, Rita sharply turned her head towards the shopkeeper's counter, looking away from him. "I'm just doing what I told Leon I would," she hastily explained. "He said to leave it with a friend if I couldn't reach him right away. That's all."

She walked to the counter, and set the lens down with her allowance card. There wasn't much else in the store that caught her eye (not much that she could afford, anyway), so she figured she might as well pay now.

"I'll be leaving once I finish examining the stone. If you're late, I won't wait for you," she added bluntly. "If that happens, I'll leave the notebook on my desk. Don't touch anything else in the room." It wasn't that Rita had anything to hide, but she really, really hated other people touching and messing up her belongings. Claude didn't exactly seem like the sort to snoop, but she decided to make it clear anyway.