[F28-PP-PT] Stranger the Fiction

[Raidou 1]

A small spiral notebook flashes into existence, Mari would offer it to him. Out of respect the man takes it gently, flipping through its pages. Her hand writing left quite a bit to be desired, leaving him reading through much slower then he could usually parse. It was a thicker record, but seemed almost manic and incomplete. Like a proof of her state as it deteriorated, and how abruptly it would inevitably end. "Thanks, I will compare this to my own records." Raidou remarks adding it to the others he had just written, before sliding them away to join the organized clutter at the guild hall. Making a mental note to return it to her simply as an ode to respect after it was transferred properly, and more legibly. The man simply did not have enough paper.

Raidou would nod taking another sip of his thermos, lightly tapping it back onto the table as it would quickly refill itself. "Am I? You may be right, but there are some secrets that would put him in even a greater danger then his current situation." The fact was if there was even a possibility that either of them could be linked to the identity of the faceless lord, then they would become much more valuable targets based on that information. It was why he had to be very careful where it was allowed to be revealed, and there could be no survivors that he could not trust with that information. If anyone was to make the connection they would become a hot commodity.

Slinking up and removing the lenses, he'd fold them closed and slide them away. The fact was his control had become more cast iron in this recent year, so much so he hardly needed them. Raidou remained in balance with that side of him, as if it melded and agreed with him more readily. It allowed him to relax far more then he normally could prior. Instead of being a rigged powder keg to which he just kept lengthening the fuse, it was on a switch and always primed and being used on the regular. As if two halves had finally unified into one. "Fair enough, my optometrist I am sure appreciates how often they get broke." The man chuckles. "Also its the necklace." The man would use his thumb to lightly broadcast the leather cord around his neck. "Simply put distill down the chemical material for a teleport crystal in high volume. Around what you would expect for 25 batches, down to a single droplet and place it in glass bead. Every morning it will recharge. Put it on necklace or a ring, and you'll have it whenever you need it." 

Raidou listens to her intently, finding this conversation and how much she'd tempered down her irritations and outrage. This was never possible before now. "Understandable that the judgement of actions you're forced to take are regurgitated as a crime." Finding Mari's interest in what had really happened out there an odd topic to discuss he'd oblige. "I suppose given that you know the secret I can enlighten you further." The man would unfurl his arms, taking his right one and pressing his index to the table. "Juiblex." He comments out seemingly without a target. The black ichor runs down his finger, pooling up on the table causing the guy to lift his hand as it built. "Its a living organism." Raidou would explain as a little mischievous face starts to form up on the ball of sludge. "It consumes all manner of organic matter, it has been with me for nearly my entire time in Aincrad. What you heard was my connection with it, we've been partners for a very long time. It works like an accelerant to its host, and in that moment that host was also you. It gives you overwhelming strength but overwhelming weakness. Think of it like a dial, everything is elevated together. Its shapeless, formless, endless. Its size is only limited by the matter it can intake. However once detached from the main body too long, it will decay and evaporate. If worn completely, fully even the system gets confused. The entity that opens an HUD is what controls what opens. If I were to take your hand and wave it right, your HUD would open not mine. Same principle, the system reads Juiblex as a separate entity. A cardinal one, which is the reason for the red marker. A full body suit that augments your abilities, hardens your skin, can stretch and retract on a whim, and confuses all aspects of the system. A double edged sword, with potent possibility if its controlled."

[Mari 1]

Mari waited for the thermos to refill itself before grabbing it to drink, her throat felt dry - and her limbs still felt heavy after the constantly loaded conversation the two seemed to be delving into. Mari swished the slightly bitter tea in her mouth before swallowing. "I know." She said when Raidou said he'd be put in greater danger. "It's partially why I don't plan on talking about him. I'm not ashamed of him. I don't care who knows me, who judges me." She felt like she was repeating herself but it was statement that remained true, that she was adamant about. "But I do care about him. Simply being with me puts a target on his back, no doubt to a further extent one on mine. On those I care about. I'm very aware of all of this." And yet she couldn't stay away, both knew the repercussions and both had made whatever bed they'd lie in.

 "Also its the necklace."

"wait, what? Then why make me wear the glasses?" Mari shook her head and allowed him to explain. It seemed simple enough to do. Rather...it seemed..."Oh..." She said quietly. "I could make something like this myself." She murmured. She could use the workshop Atan had made her. Hell even if she had to make multiple ones instead of it recharging. She was an alchemist she could just craft the crystals herself then grind them up. "Rai... did you think of this?" Mari asked as she reached out to carefully hold the necklace, a thumb running over its surface.

"This is so smart."

Then...he showed her Juiblex...an odd creature to be sure. When it first appeared Mari flinched - half expecting it to try and attach itself to her again but when it didn't she relaxed.

 It works like an acceleration to its host, and in that moment that host was also you. It gives you overwhelming strength but overwhelming weakness.

Mari could take a guess at what that weakness was. A one track mind, so to speak. "It heightens your desires." Mari said as she reached out to gently poke Juiblex. It wobbled, like pudding and would make a face as though it were silently laughing. The creature almost looked cute, if it weren't hiding such an insidious secret. Damn NPCs...  "It'd be easy to lose yourself to that."

"A full body suit that augments your abilities, hardens your skin, can stretch and retract on a whim, and confuses all aspects of the system. A double edged sword, with potent possibility if its controlled."

"if Controlled." Mari repeated. The words she spoke during her time wearing this 'Juiblex' as he called it was fuzzy to Mari. But she remembered what she felt. "I felt an overwhelming curiosity." She admitted as she looked at her hands - as though she were expecting them to sprout blackened claws. "Nothing else mattered, I just wanted to know everything - and nothing felt like it was enough. It was really hard to focus. When I saw you I..." She swallowed hard. "A part of me wanted to rip you apart to see how you worked, that's scary Rai. I didn't...because I was able to control that urge, I was able to recognize you as my friend...but what if someone wasn't strong enough?" She lowered her hand to her lap. What would happen if he died? Would someone try to claim this Juiblex for themselves?

No wonder the man had been so guarded with everything. Something like that was terrifyingly effective. A hand twitched. The adreneline and power she felt - Mari would be lying if she said she didn't want to feel it again, to figure out how much control one needed. But, that was her running headfirst into trouble again, that was her curious nature becoming an issue.

A quiet moment passed between them as Mari tried to collate her thoughts. Raidou said it had been with him this whole time. "You weren't always in full control of it, were you?" She asked quietly. 

[Raidou 1]

There was little else in demand, little else that required direct involvement. Raidou had no where else to be, and within that absence he held comfortably to the act of existing. A conversation despite the gravity with an old friend, the gentle trickle of a single pitter patter of water slipping through some crack above. The smell of burnt soil that muddied them both, even the faint rhythmic thrumming of Mari's heart beat. As if the entire world had been placed on pause, and it did not demand attention. "Simple, you don't need them here. They are a proxy created solely to remind you that you still breathe. Something tangible like a tether to reality." The man taps the side of his head, on his temple. "It helps maintain focus, and suppress what I have coined the 'ripple'. Those moments when your mind gets ahead of you, your emotions seize control and you find yourself swept up and having issues seeing reason. A small thing, that helps you find your footing. They simply emulate Concentration, forcing your mind into solidarity helping prevent it from fragmenting."

The man releases the necklace, allowing it to drop down to his skin beneath his shirt. Out of sight, and out of reach. "I designed the initial recipe, it seems rather simple and yet most cannot do it. I've taken to calling them Gateway Crystals. Like a door they can be used on a whim, within reason of course. I know you're more then competent enough to make these yourself. Just keep the recipe need to know. Cannot imagine what some would do with such a powerful tool readily at their disposal." To Raidou it was almost strange how forthright he was capable of being these days, something that he was readily aware of. He just didn't find an issue with it in his present company. Something changed after all this time, growth perhaps.

Seeking out the back of his neck, he rubs that patch of skin beneath his hair with his hand. "You're fully correct, If it were to fall into the wrong hands someone with no ability to control it would easily become just another monster. One that the cardinal would gladly allow to carve players to pieces. A rather horrid thought, a way for the game to turn you on your own peers. It makes me wonder if there are any more like it out there, and who they could possibly be controlling. It was one of the first topics I researched when I found it, by my time was wasted. If there were, any others had long since destroyed themselves." He'd snag a pair of her fingers, index and middle as he'd notice her fixation on her own hand. "It will pass, I know some part of you didn't want it to end. Its ok."

Raidou reaches for Juiblex, pressing his fingers into it like glove from above. The thing would spread out and begin to peel itself up his skin and slide easily under his right sleeve. It disappeared so easily, back underneath his clothing like a second skin just outside of sight. "I wasn't, no." Raidou muttered as he'd steal a sideward glance toward Mari, as the creature helped itself completely out of the cracks in the table. "On that ice near your home, was one of many where I was at my lowest. Thank you, for providing me the tools to maintain control of it. A simple concert of a violin, who knows how the world changed that day." There it was, the oldest secret of Mari's success. How something so seemingly and utterly mundane, so trivial had proven that her compassion had lasting effects long past where they would seem to touch. A butterfly effect so easily overlooked. An evil suppressed, and hope renewed.

[Mari 1]

"Simple, you don't need them here. They are a proxy created solely to remind you that you still breathe. Something tangible like a tether to reality." Th

“Ah.” That made sense. Raidou continued to explain it as Mari let the necklace go, it fell back against his chest and out of sight. Mari shifted, finding a place to lie her back down on the table. It was similar to Freyd using the void to step around. He had some sort of tether too didn’t he? As convenient as these tools were, there was an unspoken insidious side to them. Getting trapped in between everything would be…dire. With no need to eat or drink, and no way to do anything in those places…it’d be torture. “Wish I had something like that several years ago.” If she did…maybe she’d be better off?

But… then again…she wouldn’t have the relationships she did now. “Hmmm…” Mari closed her eyes, shifting her arms to use them as a makeshift pillow, being careful not to get too in the way of Raidou’s notes. Her legs dangled off the side of the table. “Or maybe not. I’m happy where I am now.” It was a weird thing to admit. All the trails and tribulations that had almost killed her numerous times. Tidal waves that constantly crashed down on her, ebbing away at her very sense of self.

"I designed the initial recipe, it seems rather simple and yet most cannot do it. I've taken to calling them Gateway Crystals. Like a door they can be used on a whim, within reason of course. I know you're more then competent enough to make these yourself.”

 Mari lifted her hand and crossed it over her chest. “Cross my heart. I ain’t going to betray a friend. Had it happen far too often to me.” Her eyes drifted to the ceiling. She had done a lot of the talking, and now Raidou was explaining things. A soft voice that would hitch every so often, and pause on various words. Just like it did when he was telling her stories back in jail. When did Mari get so used to it? 

Her eyes watched a particular patch of grassy moss that had grown from between the cobbled bricks of their little getaway. Others with the power to shift into monsters…no. Few should have the ability, Juiblex was more a curse than a blessing. It was comforting to know she wasn’t mad, or slipping for wanting to wear it again. That it was simply a residual effect.

Then…

There was a shift in his voice. It grew softer. An emotion that was difficult for Mari to pick, she tilted her head upward so she could catch a better sight from him. 

 "On that ice near your home, was one of many where I was at my lowest. Thank you, for providing me the tools to maintain control of it. A simple concert of a violin, who knows how the world changed that day." 

Mari remembered that day...she wasn’t in a good place herself.  “I never knew it had that kind of effect on you.” A soft laugh, a gentle smile and a comforting hand somewhere on his arm in a position all too awkward to maintain, yet she maintained it. She repeated the words.

“A simple concert of a violin, who knows how the world changed that day." 

How very true they were for both her and Lancaster too.

“Hey I-”


“Coo.”

In waddled a bird. From where? Mari didn’t know. She groaned. “I thought I threw you off the edge of Aincrad.” She hissed as her hands shifted to cover her face.

Tip
  Tip
    Tip
      Tip

Little feet confidently walked up to the intimate and private conversation the two were having, and with a flutter of feathers it came to sit right in the middle of the papers Raidou had been working on. “Coo.” Then, it fell to its side. Feet kicking helplessly in the air.

“I picked it up when I was watching this smiley masked magician perform and now it won’t leave me alone!” Mari said in pure frustration. “Lancaster tried setting it on fire and it’s still fine.”

[Raidou 1]

The man would clear off a space for Mari to set herself for some shut eye. Undoubtedly given that she wasn't as experienced with wearing Raidou's little curse she was far more exhausted then he was. Moreover the man knew that all that they had discussed had likely left her with a lot to process, so even more to pile on was allowed to fall away. Mentally taxed she'd well earned her breather. The little nook they had found themselves sitting in to wade out the potential searching while their strengths returned, while the players they had slain could potentially have allies running to and from the location looking for them to prey upon that moment of weakness. "I'm glad, you've earned it." Raidou remarked looking down at that bright orange fluff of hair as it stared limply at the ceiling, silently wondering what was bouncing around in her head. The soft scratch of a pen is paused as she'd lock eyes with him, and he'd repay it with a gentle smile tired from a very long journey. "I know, thank you Mari. Its easy to underestimate ourselves and just how much of an impact we have. get some rest, I'll be here when you wake...." The bird falls into view as it tumbles down the stairs like a slinky, rolling like a ball.

It flounders over beneath the table, doing all manner of gymnastics to find itself up on top. The man lifts his hands and allows the bird to claim its own nestled space upon the table, cutting his workspace down to basically nothing. Which was an odd addition, he'd silently make a note to finish his work later. Reaching up he'd grab the odd little ball of feathers. "Most of the creatures in Aincrad are far more tenacious and relentless than they'd appear at first glance." He'd pick a wayward feather out of its side, reach into his robe pocket and offer it a simple white disk that reeked of oranges. The thing would pick at it, and he'd set it back down and allow it to peck at it feverishly. A small dose of pheromone that all manner of familiar always found irresistible, essentially Aincrad's universal cat nip. 

Tybalt

The name raced through his head, and in that thought he began to wonder why they were undermining explicit orders so readily. But perhaps not, because the man was more then a few screws loose and yet Mari didn't seem to hold it in a light as though she was attacked. Perhaps that cast iron law remained, even though the leash had been passed hands. The fingers in general were so varied, and peculiar the man always expected to have a conflict with one of them. Each for their own reasons. The curious thing that they were climbing up out of their concealment much more readily these recent days, as if drawing attention to some climax that he did not wish to be pulled into.

[Mari 1]

Mari nodded, feeling weary. "Yeh but....I still have things I want to talk about." She persisted, as though she didn't want this moment between them to end, a world all of their own tucked away in the depths of some unknown dungeon, a chance to truly speak to each other and just let everything be known. She protested against her own bodies weariness. "Like..." Mari rubbed her eyes, getting distracted as the bird ruffled its feathers, causing a flurry of down and damper to shower her. Mari sneezed. "I feel like you've earned yours too yanno." His happiness. That is. Now Mari had a moment she didn't realize just how often the two would cross paths...just how often he'd offer her help, aid, and never once expected anything in return. Never pressured her to be someone she wasn't. Sure, he had gotten frustrated - black lined face yelling at her telling her she was supposed to be strong. But Mari saw now that he wasn't yelling at her, but himself. Not that that was a realization she'd ever fully understand back then. 

Its easy to underestimate ourselves and just how much of an impact we have. get some rest, I'll be here when you wake...." 

"I can't....I got...so much..." She lifted her arms wearily, as though she were trying to clasp the various markings on the ceiling above. "Like - oh. That dark shinsengumi guy. Oh boy he hates me."  Her finger would turn and with a snap of her fingers a flame appeared. She let it dance around on her fingertip before extinguishing it. "I'm like. 99% Sure he's a Coffin member too, considering he said he had orders not to hurt me...isn't that worrisome?" Mari asked. Groggy. "It feels like I'm meeting so many of them lately. Whatever it is they're doing, they're making a move." 

Her hands fell down to land on her torso with a light 'thump' 

"I don't know who the new leader is...but they're...yeh..." She interrupted herself with a yawn. Ever since Raidou told her to rest its like her entire body yearned to agree - being given the permission for that sweet reprieve, it all too readily wanted to accept. Mari closed her eyes.

"I hope they never cross paths with Atan."

As Mari began to drift off the bad sat up and waddled over to her. It pecked her forehead a few times then went and nestled into the crook of her neck. Flop on its side. 

"Coo."

Edited 4 hours ago by Mari

[Raidou 1]

The soft breathing from Mari let the room fall into silence, and Raidou would stand up and move to the cabinet and take one of the rough linen blankets out. A function over fashion slice of bedding, a cold bluish grey color opening his arms and allowing it to spin itself out into full size. He'd move to the table top, folding the bag into a makeshift pillow and giving Mari just a bit more comfort so she wouldn't wake up sore. The man would pluck her up gingerly, finding the count that he's carried the woman to be more frequent than most. Names roared to life as they'd sink through his calm demeanor and boil in the pot underneath it. There was clearly movement, that much was certain. It called into question as to why, given that up until now they were all but entirely suppressed. Small tasks here or there, that kept them out of the limelight and mostly out of trouble.

One of those names however didn't quite ring any bells like the others. Curiously, Raidou would trigger tracking while focusing on Atan. It scans feverishly against the whole of Aincrad, his map screaming as it would transition from floor to floor. Within a small time frame it would halt returning a blinking red error. 'Player not found or does not exist' Which would mean that either in her exhausted state she was referring to a nonexistent player, the name was mispronounced, or there was a player that Raidou had yet to meet or encounter. Given the connotation and connection, given her prior statements the inference meant it was a player killer. But not a member of laughing coffin, and not one he even was aware of. There were some of course, that usually were not organized enough or brave enough to work alone. Just like Mari or Hidden. But unless this player was on the weaker end of the spectrum it was cause for concern. The unknown element was the one most concerning.

It proved that despite all of his time in Aincrad and how vast his scope was, there was still some things that even he had missed despite every effort to catalog and control it all. He was just a man, hoping for the best but expecting the worst. But none of this was Mari's problem, given she was finally given the opportunity to put her past behind her. To look toward the future for once instead of dwelling on it. The woman finally had the chance to be happy, something that was constantly stolen from her after she dared to make a single error. "Sleep tight Mari." The man remarks, reaching into his pocket and removing a leather bound book labeled 'The Happiest Day, The Happiest Hour a retelling of Edgar Allan Poe' and begins to read out loud in a soft recount, like he had for the past two years.

---

Thread Closure:
Mari | [Word Count: 15734/5 = 3146.8] * [True Tier: 11] * [Group Factor: 1]* [Final Exp Modifier: 1.15] = 39807 EXP, Laurel Wreath: 5971 col
Raidou | [Word Count: 15734/5 = 3146.8] * [True Tier: 17] * [Group Factor: 1]* [Final Exp Modifier: 1.1] = 58845 EXP, Laurel Wreath: 8826 col