fourth - [video]

[sageofthewest]

[the mirror shows the odd, mismatched house by the lake. There's now a small garden out back, though it wasn't created with magic dirt, but by plain old physical labor. Of course, that's kind of hard to tell by looking at it

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[ofnobility]

[Utena's quiet, watching. Her eyes are a little blank and distant, and she seems oddly unaffected by the gruesome corpse of the cat, but Dejana's voice seems to snap her out of it.

She very softly says:] Thank you. The cats didn't deserve to die that way.

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[sageofthewest]

[oh dear. One of those aforementioned children. And judging by the plural, this wasn't the only one. She supposes it was too much to hope for.]

There's no need to thank me, dear. But I'll accept it. Just be careful. It isn't clear what did this.

[she adds after a moment with a thoughtful hum:]

Or who.

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[ofnobility]

I'll be careful. [She's worried though. What if someone gets hurt?]

Do you really think someone did that? [She wants to believe it isn't true, but she knows better now. She knows the answer already. This world is just like Ohtori, she thinks. Like turning a rock over to see all the ugliness underneath.]

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[sageofthewest]

There is good and bad everywhere. Especially here, I'd think.

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[k0kka]

[Quiet over here, just the soft murmur of her own little prayers--(an end of sunlight, to a birth of infinity, on branch and wing, rain and soil, by all spirits now and then)--but then there's Dejana to talk to.]

Little late warning the vine, already set the little bird to tears.

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[sageofthewest]

[she gives Paderau a sad little knowing smile.]

...how many?

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[k0kka]

[She inhales in deeply. It was a thing all wardens went through, feeling death. Used to make her cry in pain every time someone shot a deer in the forest, but over time the sensation has gotten less intense. The wardens didn't like to consider themselves numb to death, but they also couldn't remain crippled by the death of every bug either.]

A few dead, two on the vine so far.

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[sageofthewest]

Lovely.

[her expression softens slightly.]

Will you be all right, dear?

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[mellifluently]

[She looks at the mirror quietly and sadly, taking a breath before she responds.]

I buried as many of them as I could find.

[Not able to do anything like Dejana had just done, all she could offer was a respectful burial and a few prayers.]

There was a girl mutilating one of the corpses, but she didn't seem to be the one who killed them.

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[sageofthewest]

[oh, Mahalia. She looks on, not with pity, but a certain gentleness and concern she doesn't often show.]

I suppose it was only a matter of time, before uglier natures started to rear their heads.

Are you all right, dear?

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[mellifluently]

I'm just tired.

[Inside and out, emotionally exhausted and unable to sleep properly.]

This seems worse than anything else that's happened here, somehow.

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[sageofthewest]

So there have been bad things other than those flowers, hmm?

[she'll prod her to get some rest in a moment.]

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[ofthepromise]

[...] ... Does anyone know what did that to them?

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[sageofthewest]

[she shakes her head, laying the cat's body down gently. She'll find a place for it, perhaps plant some flowers...]

I'd advise everyone to be very careful from here on.

[lovelikelight]

[She's sorry her sensors don't function normally here. She's tried to monitor life signs, but the signals are fractured, wavering, and confusing. If not for this place, she might have sensed the animals suffering and dying. She might have been able to help.

The cats are kind, intelligent creatures.] It's a terrible thing. Do you have any idea who could be responsible?

[She adds, with less worry, and more warmth:] You have a wonderful gift.

[sageofthewest]

None, I'm afraid. If they don't already, people should be staying alert.

[at that, though, she smiles faintly.]

Some would consider it a waste, since I cannot return life to anything.

[technically, she could repair the body completely, restart the heart, but something would be wrong. Decay was too far advanced for her to repair without completely draining herself, not to mention the loss of oxygen to the brain. It was better to just let it go.]

[lovelikelight]

I'll be watchful. Things like that shouldn't be allowed to happen, not here or anywhere.

How could such a kind gesture be a waste? I assume you can heal the living as well? I don't know what gift could be greater.

[sageofthewest]

I can, though I must use it sparingly or I will exhaust myself too quickly to help anyone else.