[voice]

[blastiafreak]

So Estelle's really...gone for good.

::private to Tyr::

Hey, tell me what happened. You did it, right?

Comments

[stargathering]

[ 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?

[blastiafreak]

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.

[stargathering]

[ 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?

[blastiafreak]

[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.]

[stargathering]

[ 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?

[blastiafreak]

[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.

[stargathering]

[ 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?

[blastiafreak]

[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.]

[stargathering]

[ 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?

[blastiafreak]

[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?

[stargathering]

[ 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. ]

[blastiafreak]

[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.

[stargathering]

[ 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...

[blastiafreak]

[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.

[stargathering]

[ 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?

[blastiafreak]

[Which Rita apparently takes as a cue to go into more detail than he wants.] Well, the body's mostly composed of nonreactive metal alloy and the core is a high-density inert solid mana crystal-

I mean, he won't break if you just drop him on the floor...But that doesn't mean you should do it!

[stargathering]

[ Yes. Rita's explanation, Tyr's head, whoosh. That sounds pretty durable to him, but... Whatever. ]

Okay, okay. I'll keep it on and try to keep it from being hit by anything...

[blastiafreak]

[Alas, several unfortunate NPCs have been terrified victims of her tl;dr tendency on blastia...]

Good. He's working hard for you, so you have to respect him.

[And she is completely serious as she says that.]

and last one for the night! o/ have a great night!!

[stargathering]

[ Tyr could have been the first PC to be a victim... ]

Right. [ He had no idea Rita had a dry sense of humour. ] I'll call him "sir", too.

thanks! you too~♥

[blastiafreak]

[Isn't it an honour, Tyr?]

[...She isn't entirely certain if he's being serious.] You don't really have to go that far...

[stargathering]

[ Very much so... >_> ]

So I can just leave it to "thank you"s? [ Tyr is the most serious always. ]

[blastiafreak]

[Good! He should be proud.]

Well...Y-yeah, that works. [Yes. There's no way he'd tease Rita for personifying objects, right?]

[stargathering]

[ He'll consider it... ]

...Okay. I'll simply thank him when necessary. [ Not at all! Except he's not sure now... ]

[blastiafreak]

[He should embrace it!]

I'm sure he'll be fine with that... [Yes, this conversation. What is it even. Now that she's handed it over to him, Rita's kind of at a loss of what to do, so she returns to sit on the edge of her chair.]

[stargathering]

[ W-why!? ]

[ Tyr is fine with silence. It makes it easier to look over the blastia which still doesn't look special, especially after what he saw Rita do with it.

Taking his eyes away from it, though, he looks over to her. ] Do you want to leave? [ He has noticed she hasn't been sitting properly in her chair. ]