003 ✿ voice;

[soulbetween]

[ Miyako sounds a little uneasy when her voice is picked up, but she isn't speaking to the Forge. ]

- didn't mean to imply that this was anything other than horrific and deeply tragic, sir, simply that it isn't the first happening of its kind here, even recently.

[ The 'sir' she's addressing sounds angry, almost bitter, and very close. ]

Yeah,

Comments

[ video ]

[heartbetween]

[Kaien sighs and rubs at his neck a bit.]

Yeah, it was bad enough when the Natives didn't have an excuse to hate us.

[He remembers getting called a freak for using his shinigami abilities to save someone falling off a roof before, way back in the beginning.]

There's not much we can do but keep trying to earn their trust individually.

[ video ]

[soulbetween]

[ The video clicks on, revealing that Miyako is now sitting on a roof somewhere, her knees pulled to her chest. She lays her head on her knees, looking mournful. ]

It's so frustrating. And to make matters worse, there are those among us who go out of their way to provoke the Natives.

[ video ]

[heartbetween]

[Kaien's first instinct is to search for her reiatsu and shunpo over there right now but he realizes if he did that he wouldn't be visible on the screen anymore. So he begins walking, instead.]

It really is unfortunate. But we've all done our best to protect both the Scorched and the Anatolians. Hopefully someday they'll understand that most of us don't mean them any harm.

[ video ]

[soulbetween]

Hopefully. [ She says it quietly, unsmiling. ] At times like this, though, it almost seems futile, doesn't it?

[ video ]

[heartbetween]

[The tap-tap-tap of his sandals can be heard as he moves through the streets, feeling around for her reiatsu. He shakes his head, quietly.]

Don't say that. Nothing is futile. If you believe in something strong enough, you can make it happen. Always.

[He does truly believe this. That the Anatolians can be worked with. That someday they will be able to build a trust between them and the Scorched. Hope springs eternal.]

[ video ]

[soulbetween]

[ The smallest of smiles finally finds its way onto her face. Kaien had always been this way, for as long as she could remember - unyieldingly optimistic, forever hopeful. She'd caught it from him some years ago, like a pleasant disease, but he was always better at it than she was.

Still, when her own hope faltered, he was always there to reinforce it, like now. ]

I said it seemed futile. [ Her smile grows a little. ] With you here, it obviously isn't.