Day 47: Sun Room [4th Shift]

[forgot_it_all]

[For Yuna!Fish and chips weren't his favorite thing ever, but he did make sure to eat it all. He just liked to think of the fish as the Filet'o Fish without the bun and it made it easier to eat. The french fries had been pretty well cleaned off and he'd even managed a bit of fruit, although he avoided the oranges and other sour things his nurse

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[tostepforward]

Fresh air would be welcome, but exercising in front of all the other female patients would not. Ayumu had no desire to show just how fit she was under the simpering-helpless-female pretense, and so lagged a bit behind a little, protesting that she was too tired to go outside, couldn't she just get some rest? The nurse fussed over her for a moment, clearly displeased at the idea, but finally gave in, shooing her charge over toward one of the sofas.

As soon as the woman's back was turned Ayumu instead wandered over toward the bulletin, and not only for the check she usually did of its contents every time she had the chance. There was a particularly distinctive-looking young man standing there, with markings on his face that matched one of those who had responded to her post that morning. The one who claimed to know the strange being she'd run into the night before. She was reluctant to reveal anything of her identity, but if he knew something that could help her...well, hopefully it would be worth the risk.

"Those are interesting marks," she observed once close enough, in a tone that suggested she wanted to be polite and not ask but her curiosity was getting the better of her. Ayumu lifted a hand to gesture vaguely toward her own face as she added, "Do they mean something in particular?"

[feartehreaper]

"Huh?" Haseo had sort of seen this random woman walking up, but he hadn't expected her to come right up to him. He blinked, thinking for a moment that he might recognize her, but any familiarity was fleeting and gone by the time she got through her question. Even if he'd seen her before, he didn't think they'd talked or anything, so-- oh.

"Uh...," he answered, crossing his arms and thinking furiously, "No, not really." He wasn't sure what more to say- they're just rule of cool? For decoration? In 'The World' almost everyone had wavemarks- if not on their faces, then usually somewhere on their body. He'd heard something once about them having to do with the 'waves' or magical elements underlying the game's setting, but as far as he knew they didn't actually affect anything.

And here he was wandering around with them, where there were people who claimed to have never even heard of an online game. They didn't realize that Haseo wouldn't have put such permanent markings on his actual body.

"They're wavemarks," he finished simply, and decided to leave it at that unless questioned further. However, he did manage to dredge up a half-smile, in the interest of not looking completely rude. "Why?"

[tostepforward]

Wavemarks? Maybe a "wave" was something significant where he came from, but it certainly wasn't enlightening to her at all. Not that it surprised her that he wasn't inclined to explain everything to a total stranger, of course, but at least he seemed open to conversation.

Ayumu tilted her head to one side a little and shrugged. "They remind me of marks that I saw on someone else," she replied, pursing her lips for a moment with a thoughtful air. "Except his were more angular, not curved. And pointing the other direction." And as she spoke she traced something v-shaped on her cheek, mimicking the red marks on the face of the being she'd encountered the night before.

[feartehreaper]

There was a brief moment of confusion, but then Haseo's eyes widened as the realization of what the woman was describing hit him... and why she must have focused on his wavemarks at first. Earlier in the day someone had posted a picture of Aura on the board, and though he'd left his name and an approximation of his wavemarks, he hadn't known if the mysterious person would go through with hunting him down any time soon. Why she'd chosen this route to approach him was completely over his head, but it wasn't like he wasn't used to worse.

"You mean you're the one that-- talked to that guy?" What was left of the smile had long faded by the time he thought to turn towards the girl more. When it came to Kitecopy and Aura and the idea that they might be connected somehow, he didn't know what to think. "About the girl?"

[tostepforward]

"I don't know if you could really describe it like that," Ayumu replied, frowning slightly and tapping a fingertip against her lip. "After all, it's not as though he spoke back. Though it did seem that it was more because he couldn't than because he didn't want to."

She glanced back over toward the board, making a pretense of searching for her post for a moment before gesturing in its direction. "He did manage to show me a picture of her, though. That's how I know what she looks like -- but not her name, or who she is." She paused a moment, then added, "But you know her, as well?"

spoilers for several .hack// series, ahaha

[feartehreaper]

"Yeah, but... I didn't even know that he knew her," Haseo said, eyes following the woman's lead toward the board. He wasn't surprised that she observed Kite-guy couldn't really talk (Haseo should know he'd frustrated himself enough trying to get him to), but he was a bit wary giving information about either of the characters mentioned. Kite was one thing, considering he was present at the institute and giving a little information to others about him could possibly lower the risk of someone getting the sharp end of one of the being's three-pronged dual swords. Aura, however, was totally different.

Shino had once told Haseo about an absent goddess, and at the time he hadn't known how much things would change... or that he'd once had a hand in an attempt to destroy her, the ultimate AI. The thought made him feel a bit ill, though he tried not to show it, shifting his weight in order to put a hand on his hip.

However, in that brief pause of thought he realized that if there was a reason the one he'd followed so long thinking was 'Tri-Edge' looked like the one who had saved 'The World' the last time something crazy had happened - in the process helping Aura reach her full power - then it might not have been too far-fetched that there was a connection.

"Er, in a way," he answered after a beat, a slight touch of irritation in his voice. "Her name is Aura. She's... been missing for a while." And was the AI goddess of a videogame. Haseo didn't think he could get away with mentioning that- aside from "Aurora" in R:2's backstory, it was questionable how many current players knew of her at all.

[tostepforward]

She was missing. The odd person was looking for her. Was Haseo looking for her? It seemed likely, given his reaction to her post on the bulletin. He was at least familiar with the girl, and therefore should know something about the guardian she'd encountered the night before. Aura, though. Was that what he'd been trying to say? The words had been garbled and meaningless, but perhaps.

"I told him that I'd help him look for her, but from what you said, it isn't possible for her to be here. Why is that, if both you and he are here?" Something about this didn't fit, like she was missing a vital piece of information. The one last night hadn't been a patient -- that much had been apparent even without Haseo's comment on the bulletin. Haseo, however, was, even though they were apparently from the same place.

[feartehreaper]

Haseo froze, all of the hesitancy he'd shown during his hastily scratched-out messages on the board now quite obvious in person as well. He knew it wasn't the best thing to be thinking, but he wondered why she couldn't just leave it be- couldn't she see it was complicated?

"It's not possible," he said stubbornly, though for a moment he glanced away, the slightest bit unsure. He was grasping for something to say that would skirt the truth without contradicting it, but as the seconds ticked by in this conversation, the more it seemed he was saying things he couldn't even claim to know himself. It wasn't that he wanted to lie or anything... just that he didn't know where he'd even start. Hell, forget the playerbase in general, even some of his regular party members knew nothing about that stuff. The search for the Key of the Twilight, Epitaphs and AIDA....

"It'd be like... bringing a country here. As a person," he said, then shook his head. "But... hold on. I don't even know who you are." His frown deepened as he fixed an evaluating gaze on the woman. "You aren't from 'The World'."

[tostepforward]

A...country? There were people who'd claimed to be other than human before being brought here (for one notable example, the man the other day who'd claimed to be a dog) but they had at least been something alive. A country didn't have intelligence, personality, anything that could make them a person even if they inhabited another body. The analogy didn't make any sense, unless perhaps that had been the point.

"How can that girl be -- well, something other than a person? She certainly looked like a person, in the image he showed me." Ayumu only quirked one brow slightly in response to his frown, looking entirely innocent. "Of course I'm from a world. Maybe not your world, but I certainly don't belong here."

[feartehreaper]

"No, it's not that," Haseo retorted, "'The World' is the name of a game." The Adept Rogue took a deep breath then, resisting the urge to run a hand through his hair in exasperation. The woman skipping the name part pissed him off a little, but he could probably deal if it meant getting any sort of info in return. Maybe now that that was out, he could focus on trying to make sense- at least he'd already explained the stuck in a game part before.

"My friends and I were all playing that game before we showed up here and... so was that guy. He's not-- really a normal player, though." An AI, most likely... something to do with Aura? Contemplating it while in the midst of a conversation was a little beyond Haseo, but not for lack of trying. He paused, mind on the events of almost seven years in the past in comparison to what little he knew in the present.

"And well, that girl is the game." At least how Haseo understood it, though the admission clearly disturbed him. He crossed his arms over his chest, running a hand subconsciously up the opposite arm. He'd thought he'd come to terms about Skeith before, but now he didn't think he could be sure being linked to the being was 'good.'