[66] [voice/action]

[offallingsnow]

While I can't speak for other worlds, in Auldrant we celebrate the "new year" in the middle of winter, shortly after the longest night. It's a bit different from the way things work here...but regardless, I am curious as to how many other worlds share a similar tradition.

[filtered to the Auldrant folks with whom she has made conversation]

Would you

Comments

[action]

[wise_maiden]

[Sometime during the afternoon, Raine will be preparing to head back home from school herself. It's a chilly day, but didn't take her warmer coat with her. Still, the walk shouldn't be too far, and she's never one to complain over that.]

[action]

[offallingsnow]

[They have a habit of running into each other with one of them improperly dressed for the weather, don't they? When Nephry passes Raine at enough distance that she'd have to raise her voice a bit to be understood, she opts to just wave a little, instead. It's the same situation as with Professor Nebilim - she wouldn't want to interrupt anything.]

[action]

[wise_maiden]

[But it's not as if Nephry is interrupting anything. It's been some time since they properly talked, but at least by a glance the Auldrant governor seems to be doing better on the surface than the last time their paths crossed like this. So she's given a smile and a wave as well, as she gets close enough.]

Good afternoon.

[action]

[offallingsnow]

[She's much better on the surface than the last time they spoke in person. Nephry's smile spreads into a much more genuinely pleased one.]

Hello. Class is over for the day?

[action]

[wise_maiden]

That's correct. How are you doing today?

[action]

[offallingsnow]

I'm fine. How are you?

[Action]

[wise_maiden]

I'm all right. Just trying to appreciate the non-hectic portions of these past few weeks.

[Action]

[offallingsnow]

There seems to be another sort of cycle here, separate from the New Feathers - one of chaos and calm. We have long stretches of...everyday life sometimes, don't we?

[Action]

[wise_maiden]

These stretches hadn't used to seem long before. But perhaps there comes a point of... understanding that there will be chaos, and the opportunity to make use of when there is not. Or in some cases... maybe just living for the sake of living.

[Action]

[offallingsnow]

Some experiments, or even...experiences, are more exhausting than others. ...I think it makes us hold tighter to the calm moments.

[Action]

[wise_maiden]

It's the calmer moments that can provide more of a sense of... normalcy. However normal being in these circumstances can be, anyway.

[Action]

[offallingsnow]

It's my understanding that people from some worlds are much more accustomed to what I would call abnormal circumstances. [Including some of her friends.]

Of course, having that normalcy jolted away from you can be that much more startling.

[Action]

[wise_maiden]

Indeed. Everyone does have their own perception of what the word represents. [A pause, as she considers; it's much of what she brings up in classes.] There are a lot of words like that here... and yet with so many meanings around us somehow the community is still holding up. That makes it interesting, don't you think?

[Action]

[offallingsnow]

Interesting, and fragile. ...Or perhaps not fragile, at least not in the way that a world full of people with the same history would be.

[Action]

[wise_maiden]

There's... something about it. Something... unifying about the situation, at least in some ways. While our way of thinking is bolstered by that of what we've experienced at home, being here forces a sort of ... acceptance, in some ways. Not for everyone, of course, but... the option is there, anyway.

[Action]

[offallingsnow]

We can't fall apart, because we may be the only ones capable of holding us together. ...Does that sound right?