blastiafreak | [voice]

[ She's always in his party./// And she doesn't need help being stubborn!

When she mentions the gels, he wonders if he slipped up and immediately pulls one out of his pocket. ] Right. [ And he pops one in his mouth before going to poor the tea for her. It really doesn't seem like much in comparison for what she does for him. He doesn't want to think of how temporary this is. ]

...You like sweet tea, right?

[Every time? /// Nope, she's already pretty good at it!

She hadn't noticed anything amiss...besides the fact that he hadn't taken any yet. Now that he has (lemon flavour! Much stronger than the last ones she brought), she's a little more relieved.]

Huh? Uh, yeah...that's right. [Tyr's gestures mean quite a lot to Rita, though.]

[ She's right behind him in the back row. He shields her./// Practically an S-class.

The fact they're stronger registers on Tyr's face as he swallows it, putting the side of his hand to his mouth. Yep, those are good medicine. He brings out the sugar a moment later, though, to give their cups equal amounts. He only made that assumption based on the fact they might have similar tastes. ]

All right... Two sweet teas, then... [ Aww, Rita. /o/ Tyr will never know. ]

[Kyaaa~ And she casts the best spells for him./// He'll know how much she appreciates it if she ever tells him during a truth curse~

Rita's much more at ease than she realizes now that he's taken one of the gels, and she finally leans her elbows on the table instead of sitting stiffly on the edge of the seat.]

...Hey, I--I was thinking about your rune. [It's an odd jump in topics that probably just makes sense to her tired mind.]

[ He's so impressed and proud! He won't let anything stop her./// Oooh, that could be fun >:3 And cute.;;

That question is unexpected and makes Tyr stiffen in his place. He doesn't know what brought that question on, but it takes him a moment to turn around and face her, a cup in each hand. ]

What about it?

[All those enemies will be blasted away for him! /// Aah, wouldn't it? Now I'm tempted to have it happen someday. :3]

[She doesn't notice his discomfort, her eyes only vaguely focused on the table while she tries to organize her thoughts.]

...I can't figure out exactly how it works from the data. [Almost embarrassing to admit, but she doesn't care so much right now.] But I came up with an idea to try.

[ Eeee, she's so amazing! >///< Hehe! Maybe next month there will be something like that~♥ ]

[ He sets down the tea and sits adjacent to her as she explains. It's not entirely disappointing that she can't figure it out from the data alone - that sort of thing is probably better left a mystery - her idea is what breaks him out of his awkward discomfort. ]

What do you want to do?

[ Also, the apartment is thankfully nice and private now. Not that he cares if the others here overhear them anyway. ]

[Sh-she likes to be praised.../// Aww, I hope so~]

[She's too focused on her idea to pay attention to the tea now, and looks over at Tyr.]

When you said that it absorbs souls...you probably mean life energy, right? I could probably build a blastia that would block the absorption.

[Private apartment is still good. She wouldn't bring it up if his apartmentmates were all around, but since it's just them...]

[ Tyr gives out praise when it's deserved~♥/// ]

[ Tyr isn't sure how to answer that. Beneath the surface of the table, his hands clench around the fabric of his trousers. ] ...In a way. There wouldn't be much "life energy" to take, though, if that was the case...

[ And he wouldn't want to bring that up around Gremio or Ted if he could help it. ]

[Aww, so proud! ///]

[If his discomfort's obvious at all, Rita still doesn't notice it. This seemed like the best idea she could come up with so far.]

Why's that? That type of energy is pretty abundant in people...Or it is in my world.

[ He doesn't want to shoot it down, but he wonders what taking the souls would mean when the curse could still cause their deaths. ...Not that preventing them from losing their souls forever is something to sneeze at. ]

I...don't know about that... What I mean to say is... If someone is on the brink of death anyway, then...there's not much left, is there?

That's...something that depends on the cause of death.

[She looks at Tyr for a moment, then back down at her untouched tea. It's probably an uncomfortable topic, but...]

When someone dies really suddenly, from an attack or an accident, there's a lot of that life energy in their bodies at the time of death. But if it's a slow death...like sickness, or old age, then...you're right. There's not much.

[ It really wasn't something Tyr wanted to think about, but... The rune definitely wasn't nice enough to allow for a slow and peaceful death. ]

I see.

[ He goes silent after that, and doesn't look at Rita. The surface of his tea is still and light brown and unmoving save for the twists of steam that are holding his attention right now.

Finally: ] ...How difficult would it be to make a blastia like that?

[Rita knows it won't be easy. What with mana-powered blastia still an experimental field and the power and dangers of the rune. Her own cup seems just as fascinating but after a moment to think, she looks right at him.]

Like I said...I could build one. It'll probably be pretty complex, but when it comes to blastia, I won't give up until it's done.

[Talking about blastia, with a goal in mind, seems to have woken her out of her daze, at least.]

[ Tyr still looks at his. He doesn't assume the troubles that actually exist, "blastia" and "aer" and "mana" still being just vague terms meaning "things Rita and Klarth work with".

He does know that she won't give up on him when it comes to the blastia, though. He looks back at her and nods. ] I know... Is there anything else I can do to help you build it?

[To say nothing of the problem with testing it to ensure it works...Which Rita decides they'll cover some other time. For now, she shakes her head.]

No, nothing. [Wait, she realizes that was a little harsh, and amends it:] Not at the moment. If something comes up...

[Suddenly, she remembers something she intended to do--it must have been days ago--and digs through her pockets until she comes up with a small blastia: a golden bracelet inlaid with a red gem. Rita brings up its control panel, types away to activate the formula, and--the gem flickers to life with a steady, faint glow.] Actually, you can do something with this little guy.

[ Tyr isn't sure he wants to... Though if the blastia worked, the rune shouldn't work at all save for keeping Tyr from aging and getting sick.

He was going to settle for just continuing to sit and wait, but with the bracelet, he can't help but stare at it. It's so...new and interesting and foreign. At her words, though, he looks back to her face. ] What would I do with it?

[She taps away, looking over the adjustments she made one more time, then abruptly stands up and walks over to Tyr.] You're just going to wear him. I've modified his formula based on our data so that he can monitor any fluctuations in the rune's activity.

[Even though she'd taken an initial measurement for the baseline when they originally collected the data, Rita had remembered something he said--about the rune causing people to die. So she had come up with something to observe the changes that happened without Tyr's knowledge.]

[ He nods, understanding what she meant without complaint. Looking up at her he just... holds out his hand. It's a bit fancy for his tastes, but he's not going to complain about that.

...But. ] ...It's sentient?

[She takes the offered hand, holding it unusually gently while she attaches the blastia around his wrist.

But she pauses and...isn't actually sure how to answer his question all of a sudden. There's the part of her that knows better, that blastia aren't sentient or thinking, and the part of her that's still so accustomed to treating them like they are.] It's...he's...

--Just treat him properly, okay?

[ He was only expecting her to put it in his hand so he could put it on
himself, but having her hold his hand is...probably something like when he held hers before.

With her response, though, he isn't sure how to take it. He just nods. ] ...All right. I'll be careful with him... [ She calls it a him, so it's a him. Somehow. ]

[Since she's busy attaching it, she doesn't really register the fact that she's holding Tyr's hand. She's more focused on setting it in place and making sure it's recording the measurements properly.]

[Still a little awkward after that question, though, she tries to brush off how uncertain she feels.] Y-you'd better. I spent a lot of time reconfiguring him for mana use, so... [Once she's finished, she nods with satisfaction.]

There. He's working.

[ He nods, too, and looks down at the blastia. ...It's pretty. It shines in the light that comes in through the window. It doesn't look alive, though, and he doesn't know how it works, but leaves that part to faith and Rita. ]

Okay. ...How should I take care of it, though? This sort of thing...

[She keeps a hold of his hand for several seconds before she finally lets go...and gives him a look of slight disbelief like the answer should be obvious.]

What do you mean, "how"? Just don't be rough with him or anything.

[ He pulls his hand back and looks the blastia over more, though not touching it. ] How rough is "rough"? Is he like glass or actual metal?

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