soul_campaign | 002 Cards ✲ Private? to Zelos ✲ Feb. 15th

Current Mood: thoughtful

Entry tags:

002 Cards ✲ Private? to Zelos ✲ Feb. 15th

[Oh yes, Death City, prepare to receive a text message from one Sheena Fujibayashi, which is meant for Zelos only:]

Zelos:

I need to speak to you. Is there any way we can meet privately?

Sheena

[Hits "Send to All" instead of "Private" when finished.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh? Yeah, that sounds pretty different. I think the thing that mostly blows my mind is that this is literally a slate of mirror...

... [He chooses not to comment on that since he does not want to force her to think about it.]

I'm doing much better! I can stand without falling over, at least, hehe. I should be able to walk around tomorrow, no problem. Thanks for asking!

I know what you mean. I dropped it the first day I was here, and I thought it was going to break. I really didn't want seven years...

[More cutting off as she realizes what she's saying.]

That's good. But, don't try to push it, Hughes, okay? If you get tired, then sit down--no matter how many people are around who you might want to talk to.

[It was tough being in this sort of situation for most anyone. Hughes felt a bit bad and wished he could help, but he was not going to point it out directly.]

Right? Gosh! I did that myself, and I almost flipped out until I saw it was still in tact, hehe. I was worried that I might have to pay money to get another one... "You break it, you buy it," after all!

Hehe. Of course not. [...speaking of which...] And, you know, you shouldn't either. Don't push yourself just because people expect it of you. [He pauses.] I know you might not feel much reason to since we've only just met, but...if you ever need to talk, I'll gladly lend you an ear.

[Sheena feels the same way, but she can't think of anything she can do--other than work towards ending the war.]

You know, I felt the same way. They never mentioned how strong it was during the tour, so I didn't know.

[Chuckles. Somehow she doesn't believe him. He'd push himself and say he's fine--even if he isn't. Sounds awfully familiar. As does what she tells him.] I won't. I just have to keep busy. Besides, I think the people who really know me expect me to fall into holes. [Her turn to pause.]

The same goes for you, Hughes. If you ever need someone to listen, just get in touch with me.

Yeah. I'm grateful it didn't break though, hahaha.

Mm... That usually helps, but you should take a break if you can. Life isn't all about work, after all! Hehehe. You'll be fine, I'm sure.

Yeah? I'll keep that in mind then. Thanks, Sheena!

Could you imagine if it did? Trying to watch the video feeds? Or...I wonder what your messages would have looked like? Maybe like a Funhouse Mirror?

I cook to relax, so I should be all right. And you should be okay, too, Hughes, if you follow your own advice.

Oh, you're welcome.

Yeah, that'd definitely be something else! I don't know if I'd be able to read any text anymore, hahaha!

Mm... All right. Yeah, hahaha. Of course!

Yeah, I'm kinda getting cross-eyed just thinking about it. Although, it would make for an interesting puzzle...

If you had to solve the puzzle every time you looked at it, it wouldn't be a very helpful communicator though, would it? Hehe.

Actually, it would. It'd be perfect for secret messages. [Pauses]

Although, if the glass is shattered too much, it'd probably be better to go find the sender.

Oh, right! Like a type of cipher. I love that sort of thing!

...but, yeah, it'd probably take less time to just find them. Can't you encode private messages to people anyway? ...not that you...um...successfully did that for this one.

Did ya really have to bring that up?

...ehehehe. It's fine! You shouldn't worry about it! I'm sure Zelos understands.

Honestly, I'll probably make the same mistake at some point too, though I'll play it off as intentional. And, man, if it's to Roy, he'll probably hold it against me for at least a week! Kid's got a knack for holding grudges! You should have seen the way he got so irritated at me when we first met in the military academy! In the cafeteria, I unknowingly took the quiche he wanted, and then the damn kid was trying to beat me at everything to prove a point! And it was just a slice of quiche!

How long did he hold the ten-post you put up against you? I figure if the accidental theft of an item got a week, then what does something done intentionally get?

[Quiche...hmmm...maybe she'll make that one day.]

Well, he went and hid for most of the day. If I hadn't been so persistent, he probably wouldn't have answered though. So...if I had only done it once, he would have just ignored me.

That was a special case though. He was feeling a bit...overwhelmed about certain things beforehand. My postings were me trying to distract him from that. In a normal circumstance, he'd probably be pretty sore about it. Especially if there was something embarrassing in the message, hahaha.

I think I get it. You did it to break through his "I want to be alone" mood, so he'd eventually respond to tell you just that. But, it would just be an excuse to talk things over with you. Sounds like a code.

So, is he feeling better now?

Yep! More or less. He gets like that sometimes, but really, the last thing he needs to be is alone.

Yeah. We've worked things out. Honestly, it was some pretty tough stuff, so I wasn't too surprised that he ignored me like that, despite the circumstances...

That's good. [Pause] Was he the only person from your world before you got here?

[That thought had never occurred to her...to be that alone.]

Nah. Thankfully he wasn't, but he's a really stubborn guy! I mean...even with me here, he was going out of his way to ignore me...

He just thinks he has to be able to handle everything himself, but that's not how anyone should have to live if they can. Friends are there to help you after all, not just sit around and watch you suffer.

[Several seconds of silence as she takes this in.]

He sounds a lot like me.

Mm... It happens. Surprisingly often.

[He pauses.]

Sheena, you know you that things don't have to be that way, right?

[Softly.]

I know. But it's a hard habit to break, Hughes. I'd been "handling" things for myself for so long, that I still tend to do it--even with friends around.

[Yeah. She's 19, and has spent most of her life hiding her feelings from everyone.]

Yeah, it is. I know. It's just...

[He cuts off and pauses.]

...I'll do my best to make sure you don't ever forget. Life is much wore fun when you aren't forcing yourself to go through it alone.

I appreciate the offer, Hughes, but you really don't have to do that.

[She suddenly has a fear of message bombardment. Sure, she can face a giant rodent with a bow, but that?]

Hahaha. No need to be so modest! Don't worry. I won't do anything you're not comfortable with. Honestly, Roy is a fairly special case. He's a bit stubborn...so I have to pull being stubborn on him too, hehe.

002 Cards ✲ Private? to Zelos ✲ Feb. 15th

{ audio }

[Voice]

{ audio }

[Voice]

{ audio }

[Voice]

{ audio }

[Voice]

{ audio }

[Voice]

{ audio }

[Voice]

{ audio }

[Voice]

{ audio }

[Voice]

{ audio }

[Voice]

{ audio }

[Voice]

{ audio }

[Voice]

{ audio }

[Voice]

{ audio }

[Voice]

{ audio }

[Voice]

{ audio }

[Voice]