001 (jan. 27) / video.

[dissenter]

[good afternoon Death City. hope you aren't tired of new arrivals yet because here's another one.

it's hard to tell where exactly this particular old bespectacled man is recording from because most of the screen is taken up by the biggest hat in the cosmos. don't be intimidated, though! he seems friendly enough, though his attention constantly flickers from his unseen audience to a point just beyond them -- as if he's almost more interested in the communicator itself than who's behind it. the quiet muttering doesn't help.] A mirror, eh? Curious choice...

[right, he's supposed to be talking to people. whoops! he blinks, starts, and smiles apologetically, refocusing.] Ah-- greetings. My name is Qilby, and I am an Eliatrope.

[an awkward, expectant pause as if he's hoping that by some stretch the term should be familiar to someone out there. or maybe he's just hesitant to address his next point.] ...I don't suppose I'm the only one that finds it rather tragic that by bringing us here and giving us these new abilities, they've stripped us of our powers that arguably could have been more useful to help end this conflict. And now we must figure out how to harness an entirely new set of skills... Well. They say you can't teach an old boowolf new tricks, and I doubt I'm an exception. [and his smile at his own "joke" implies that he is a very old boowolf indeed.]

That aside, I'm more than willing to try and learn. Tell me, how have people's experiences been? I'm afraid I haven't had to fight a war in a long time.

[and at that, he looks very tired.] A very, very long time.

Comments

[pawned]

It seems to be like marriage: your first wife need not be your last, or even your only one, but it's required that you have at least an attachment to each other enough to get married. [shrug] The children native to this place start their partnership early, and choose among their peers for partners. They're even more casual about it.

[dissenter]

[that simile flew way over his head and, by proxy, his hat. hopefully it wasn't important.]

What a strange world. [it's said almost affectionately, though? he smiles.] But if the children can do it, then I suppose I can too.

How did you meet your partner?

[pawned]

[What a strange thing to be affectionate about.]

On the network. [frown] He's also my neighbor.

What kind of things do you look for in a partner?

[dissenter]

[neighbours! he probably has a neighbour too! oh he's probably been rude, hasn't he?!

using the network, though-- that sounds easy enough. probably.]

Hah, I'm not sure... Proactivity, I suppose. I don't think I could partner with someone who didn't want to work hard. I'd need to get along with them too. [as if he's given any indication that he's capable of not getting along with someone...] Someone supportive, and who won't mind it when I talk too much. And, of course, someone with a weapon form I'd be capable of wielding.

There could be a business here in matching partners up, honestly.

[pawned]

[Depends on your idea of a neighbor...]

Those all seem like reasonable requirements of a partner. The question begs to ask itself, however: what kind of weapons are you capable of wielding? [hats?]

And there could, I would have to agree.

[dissenter]

Oh, well... [the hat's a secret weapon, hush.] Before my-- ah, injury, I'd had not inconsiderable proficiency with a scythe. Most any polearm would have worked, but now...

[a one-shoulder shrug.] I've got some learning to do.

Martial combat was never the main focus of my people's or my own studies. We were a peaceful race. [a frown.] Such was our downfall.

[pawned]

How... [exotic] unique. But perhaps apt. They seem to value scythes here, with the theme of death and all.

How long has it been since you lost your arm? [Itou might be able to... sort of help.] I can tell you now that it's been rather difficult to regain my skills in the sword, but it gets easier as my arm heals. [It still hurts a lot, but it's also been two months, so not as much.]

[Nods and makes an agreeable noise. Can't say he knows much about peace, though.]

[dissenter]

Some ten thousand years. [and, preemptively:] Following the injury, one of my subjects pushed me into a dimension outside ours to spare me from further attack. Time, fatigue, death held no meaning in that place.

Although I healed, I'm afraid there was nothing for me to do in order to keep in shape. It was... True stagnation. [not even a book to read for all the millennia spent stranded.] And even the few months I've spent since my release have been barely enough for me to regain my energy -- to say nothing of re-familiarising myself with combat.

[a pause, quiet, and then carefully:] Thank you, though. It's a comfort to hear that.

[pawned]

Ten--[what. He stares.] Subjects? I'm surprised you're still... sane.

[A longer pause.]

It helps. [awkwardly, stiltedly, because Itou isn't used to comforting people. Not his forte.] Once you begin again, it gets easier between milestones of improvement, and then you overcome one challenge and the next, and so on. I don't know how far I can go with this, however; I'm still getting there.

[dissenter]

[a laugh, though it's somewhat harsh.] I imagine he couldn't bear to see his king fall in battle before him though, in truth, death would have been the preferable method of salvation. I suppose he didn't consider that there may not be anything left of our people -- no one left to free me -- after our last enemy fell.

But that's all very much in the past, and I prefer to look to the future. [he smiles graciously. itou's better at comfort than he thinks!] It's been... So very long, that I actually look forward to being able to experience those sorts of triumphs again. To put things in perspective. It's one of the few life journeys I've yet to embark on.

[pawned]

[Itou has talked to kings before, and governors, and mayors, and ambassadors. It's not the king bit that awes him, it's really-- the age. Itou is an intelligent man, but his traditional Japanese mind is having some trouble imagining the breadth of living for ten thousand years.]

What I learned from dying is that I prefer living. [swallows, mouth dry.] And yes. That sounds almost optimistic.

[dissenter]

[oh dear he might have made things awkward...]

Forgive me. For my fellows and I, death is not a finality -- it's easy to forget that that's not the case with others. [a nod.] Life is full of potential, of possibility. Each moment that passes is a seed waiting to be cultivated... No use has ever come out of watching the ones you've already planted and watered.

[and he seeks to grow a garden.] I think we can help each other.

[pawned]

[Don't worry, Qilby, Itou makes bad life decisions that make things awkward on their own.]

What is death, then, for someone like you? [Needs to be asked, or it will bother him. And they seem to be straying into darker and darker topics of conversation, aren't they? And then he mumbles, in answer to the statement:] It might grow under you and tangle you with its roots.

[But he does look open to the suggestion.] What do you suggest?

[dissenter]

It's merely a part in a circle that has neither beginning nor end. My siblings and I are eventually reborn after we die -- in this way, we've watched over our people as their immortal rulers through the millennia.

[you're going to have to speak up if you want him to hear something, itou. qilby's a dinosaur, you know...] And, well... As I doubt I'll be able to wield my choice of weapon again as long as I remain without an arm, I'd been thinking I'd better learn how to use something else. You're a swordsman, I take it? You certainly seem further along in your re-training and-- I think I'd benefit from learning from someone with your perspective...

... But, if you would teach me, I'm afraid I have little to offer in return apart from stories and wisdom, now that I think on it. [a good-natured laugh!] So, really, it'd be more like you helping me rather than us helping each other.

[pawned]

That sounds rather interesting, if I may say. [But now that they're all dead... what do you watch over for all eternity?]

[tilts his head to the side, thoughtful expression on his face. He's considering it seriously, at least.] I enjoy stories and wisdom. [chews on his lower lip.] I'm still experimenting on balance, and of course, your own adoption of the weapon will be unique based on how you've adopted to the lack of an arm, but... I don't mind. It would benefit me to train with someone, too.

[dissenter]

[qilby beams. everyone here has been so friendly and helpful!]

I'd be indebted to you.

[oh man, he finally realises:] But, Goddess! Where are my manners -- I don't believe I've asked you your name yet.

[pawned]

[amused] Itou Kamotaro. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. --?

[dissenter]

Qilby, and the pleasure's mine.

Can I look forward to meeting you to train someday, then?

[pawned]

Very soon, I hope. At the moment, I'm in something of a crisis in employment, which I hope to resolve in a few days' time. Say, on the 30th?

[dissenter]

Sounds like a plan.

[oh boy oh boy it's so nice to be doing things again...]

[pawned]

It does, it does. [agreeably] If not on that day, then the day after. In the mean time, I would recommend long walks around the city -- properly insulated, of course, it's still quite cold -- and whatever you like to do to build stamina.

[dissenter]

[his smile's slightly abashed -- yes, there was the matter of properly outfitting himself... it's been a rather chilly past few days for qilby -- but he nods.]

I'll be sure to do so.

And, ah-- thank you, Itou.

[pawned]

You're welcome, Qilby-dono. [a short bow] I'm looking forward to it.