Complete Private Quest High March (Reaping Season I) Aurora Terminus

[Yugam]

"Animal Homes?" Yu repeated, as the girl set the book in his lap gently. "I haven't heard of that one before. What's it about?" he asked, as he he opened the book, only to find the pages within to be completely blank. The man's brows furrowed as he stared at the empty pages before he began to flip through a few pages. Was he going crazy?

Last he recalled, his death affliction made him hallucinate, not make writing invisible. Although, he supposed this was a type of hallucination itself, this would've definitely been unlike any vision he'd experienced before. And it wasn't like there was any blood around to have triggered those illusions anyways.

Yu looked over at Luthien in confusion. "Ok, am I losing my mind, or is this book blank?" the man asked before catching that light-hearted gleam in her eyes. "You're pulling my leg, aren't you?"

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"Mhmm, Animal Homes." She repeated the title once more, a lilt to her voice as she spoke. "It's about the different places where animals live, and how in the end we all live in the same home."

She watched with amusement as Yugam opened the book, the brows furrowing in confusion as he was met with yellowed pieces of parchment that were devoid of any writing. It took a lot of effort for the elf to not chuckle outwardly, her lips pressed together to avoid making any sound, though she was unable to keep the corners from curling as a smile forced its way through.

"You're pulling my leg, aren't you?" As his eyes turned to look at her own the elf couldn't pretend any longer, a soft giggle escaping her before she stuck her tongue out at the hemomancer. "Only a little bit~ Although I really did read him that story, it's one I remembered from a book I read growing up."

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

The elf giggled when he asked her if she was messing him. A lilting sound, like a wind chime. Melodic. Light. Yu couldn't help but give her a small, amused smile, shaking his head and closing the leather bound volume, setting it to the side.

"Read a lot then as a kid?" he asked the girl as he scooched a little bit closer, if that was even possible.

The man's stomach began to growl at him, the low rumble audible, even to the elf. Yugam looked at Luthien with a sheepish smile before he chuckled. "Uh, hungry?" he asked before conjuring up bamboo box. Setting it down, the man pulled the top off, six neatly formed balls of rice, wrapped in seaweed. The man picked one out for himself before picking the box back up and offering one to Luthien. "Spicy tuna," he clarified for her. "I brought sake too, if you wanna drink some."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"Yeah, kinda." The amused smile on his lips had the elf grinning in return, her side now pressing against his as they tried minimizing any space between them. "School had a big library, and I loved spending my free time in the aisles just reading whatever books were near to me at the time."

She had loved the pictures on that particular story, excited to learn more about the different animals in it, and so a good portion of it had stuck in her mind even after growing up. "I think I read that one almost daily for about a year or so, and it sounded like something Finwid would like too." After all the boy had expressed how much he liked chickens, so perhaps he liked plenty of other animals too.

It was then a low growl echoed from Yugam's stomach, the man shooting a sheepish smile in her direction along with an "Uh, hungry?" that caused Lúthien to chuckle in response. "Starving, actually." She took a moment to search into her own UI inventory, looking through the options before a particular one had the elf quickly swiping at the air where the scrolling button would be——I forgot that was still in there!!!——before finally coming across a particular treat.

The small paper bag materialized into her lap, a grin given to Yugam as he materialized a bamboo box with spicy tuna onigiri inside. "I have dessert covered then if you're handling the food and drinks~" She'd open the bag enough for him to peer inside, various matcha chocolate chip cookies safely stored inside.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Damn, a whole year?" Yugam chuckled quietly, careful so as to not wake up the sleeping pup on the other side of the room. "I used to love reading too, but man, I can't imagine reading the same book over and over again for a whole year," he said as he pulled out a ceramic bottle of sake and two small porcelain cups. The man poured the clear spirit into both cups, before setting it aside and taking a bit of his onigiri.

"I think my favorite books though were the 'Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel' series." A mouthful of a title to be certain. "It's like this urban fantasy series about a couple of twins who meet Nicholas Flamel and his wife. Grand adventure to save the world and all that, I won't spoil anything. But yeah, I just always loved those kinds of books, they hinted at something more in our own world. I really loved that."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"Let the records show that, in my defense, I was like seven or so when I was fixated on that story—" It was clear from the smile in her lips and the playfulness of her voice that the elf was having a good time, careful to keep her voice low so as to avoid accidentally waking up the sleeping Caenis. "Also the librarian at the time didn't want me picking up other books, said they'd be too much for me or something, and the other options at the time were boooring."

Thankfully that librarian had been changed by the next year, and with no one breathing behind the girl's back she'd been able to snoop and check out more books that she could honestly remember—mainly from the fantasy/fiction corners. It was, in a large part, thanks to this habit that Valeria's vocabulary in English had expanded rapidly compared to her peers in the island—and probably why the girl had little issues adjusting to living in Michigan when she moved out at the age of fourteen.

"Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel...?" She frowned a bit, trying to remember if the books had ever crossed her hands at some point, before shaking her head softly after some thought. "I don't think I've ever seen them, but they sound interesting... I might have to go digging for them on my free time~"

A hand reached over to pick one of the seaweed wrapped onigiri, taking a bite of her own while she watched Yugam pour the sake into the tiny cups.

"That said it kinda reminds me of a series I really loved reading, called Bartimaeus Sequence." The thought of the series brought a smile to her elven lips, it had been a while since she'd read it but Lúthien was still quite fond of it. "It's a trilogy about a teenage magician and a summoned Djinni. Not gonna spoil it for you, but I really enjoyed the writing—especially when it came to the footnotes in the story pages, they're written out as if Bartimaeus was making them and his humor is a treat."

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Yu laughed as Luthien tried to defend herself, the idea of a baby Valeria pouring over a picture book day after day as it were the world's most interesting thing oddly adorable to the man. "Your librarian sounds fucking awful though," he added as took another bite of his food.

"I highly recommend it," the dark-haired man said before Luthien began to tell him about her favorite story. "Mm, my turn to say I haven't of that one before," he said, picking up the tiny cup of sake and taking a small sip, the alcohol smoothly going down his throat. "It sounds interesting though."

Yu took another sip of the sake before a thought occurred to the man. "Hey, I still have those old books actually. I could always mail 'em to you if you want," he offered. "Could be fun, doin' some kinda book exchange kinda thing."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"Honestly she reminded me of the hags in stories when I was a kid," A soft chuckle escaped the girl at the thought, she still remembered the old woman's face vividly even if her name had long since faded from Lútien's memory. "Thankfully miss Echevarría was the oposite, once she noticed I really liked reading she was more than happy too let me have my pick of the books."

A few bites of her food were taken while Yugam spoke, a smile playing on her lips as he too admitted to not having heard of the series she had mentioned, before taking a light sip from the tiny cup of sake. The taste was one she very much enjoyed, but the elf was also aware it was easy to slip up and consume too much of it if one wasn't careful.

"You do?" Her face brightened upon hearing the man mention he still had his old collection, her own also safely stored away back at home. When Yugam suggested he could mail them over Lúthien couldn't help but nod in response. "I'd love that~ I can send you mine too if you'd like to read them, it'd be like our own little book club."

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Mm, that's good to hear," Yu said with a nod, popping the rest of the onigiri into his mouth and then reaching for another one. The man made sure to chew and swallow before looking over at Luthien and asking another question. "What was it like growing up in Puerto Rico by the way? I imagine its a far cry from what Michigan's like, or Pennsylvania for that matter."

"That'd be great, I'd love that," the man replied with a soft smile. "Remind me to text you my address and stuff when we log out."

Picking up the cup of sake, the man glanced over at the sleeping caenis, snoozing away comfortably in his bed. "Think his father's still out there?" the man asked, the question beneath the surface wondering if he was alive. The pup might just be lines of code in a system, but even then. It didn't quite seem fair. Real or not, Yu still felt some sort of sympathy for the kid.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"Oh for sure... to start with it's super hot, and not in a good way." There was a grimace that accompanied her words, Lúthien's dislike for the extremely warm temperatures not an unknown factor by now for the man. "Though I guess it's not terrible if you're at the beach or the pool... and the food is always delicious."

There were other things that weren't similar, especially on the few moments where a heavy tropical storm or hurricane decided to ravage the island, but she supposed overall it couldn't be too different from living in other places... though she could be wrong in her way of thinking. "I guess the nice part about the island is the warmth of the people, most are really kind and willing to lend a hand to a stranger in need." The attitude of people in New York had been a stark difference in comparison to what Lúthien had grown up, though she couldn't say she'd felt such a difference when moving to Michigan... although then again her grandparents had lived in their neighborhood for a very long time.

The last bite of her onigiri was popped into her mouth then as Yugam asked the elf to pester him for his physical address later, before reaching over for a second spicy tuna onigiri. "Think his father's still out there?" Crimson eyes trailed over to look at the little bundle currently fast asleep.

"I hope so... he's the only one Fin has left."

It was easier to keep herself detached from most Landers, after all they were adults capable of making their own choices—and thus reaping whatever consequences that brought—but this was the first time she'd interacted with one of the young ones so closely. Finwid felt so real that it was quite easy to forget she was just playing a game, and the thought of the small pup being left to fend for himself alone in this village was something that caused her stomach to churn.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Well its still gotta be better than super cold and having to shovel snow off your driveway in the mornings," Yu responded with a light chuckle. "The people though, heh, well I mean you saw how New York was." It seemed the opposite of how Luthien had described Puerto Rico. People were self-absorbed, prone to keeping their heads down, more likely to shout and scream at you for inconveniencing them. Although New York was worse in those regards, Philadelphia wasn't that much different either.

Yu didn't respond to Luthien's hopes about Finwid's father though. They couldn't know. The best that they could do was hope that the man showed back up some day, and that he'd be able to care properly for the pup when he did.

Yu picked up his cup of sake and knocked the whole glass back, before pouring himself another cup. "Well, in the meantime, since the rest of the townsfolk don't seem to take kindly to outsiders, I guess he has us. Gotta repay his hospitality somehow," the man said, giving half a shrug as he did. They were stuck here for the time being anyways. Who knew when that storm would let up.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"I'll take shoveling snow in the mornings over being unable to sleep because it's so hot that even the a/c struggles against it."

Besides, with how cold it got at times, most of the times the blonde almost never broke a terrible sweat while shoveling snow... not to mention that it was certainly one way to keep herself in shape, a nice switch to the exercise routine that she had become accustomed to after so many years.

"Yeah, New Yorkers be wildin'..." It hadn't come as a surprise, after all their reputation preceded the citizens of the Big Apple, but the woman had still been a bit baffled by it all. "I'd hate living in a place were people acted like that twenty-four-seven."

Another bit was taken from her second onigiri before Lúthien watched as Yugam decided to knock back the small cup of sake, one eyebrow raised slightly before a light chuckle escaped. The last of her onigiri was finished then before the elf also knocked back her cup of sake, feeling more confident now that she wasn't drinking on an empty stomach.

"Yeah, the least we can do is take care of little Fin until the weather look better... or his dad returns." Hopefully the man didn't kick them out on sight. "Y'know... Fin said he can actually see phantoms."

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Hmph, is that some kind of motherly instinct kicking in there?" Yu teased, gently nudging Luthien after she had suggested that they take care of Finwid. It seemed that she'd done a fine job it while he'd been gone though. At the very least, she'd fared better than had, knocking on doors.

Yu picked up his cup of sake again began to take another sip as Luthien began to speak. "Y'know... Fin said he can actually see phantoms."

Yu gagged, nearly choking on the spirit. "Wait, didn't he say something about phantoms following us around earlier, too?" The man had some vague memory of the pup mentioning such spirits earlier. "Think he's just...imagining things? Or, ya know, saying creepy kid things or somethin'?" It wasn't exactly uncommon for children to say odd things after all, or create fictions in their head. But, this was TerraSphere after all. And magic was not outside the realm of possibility. Far from it, in fact.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"S-Shuddup..." She hadn't expected that commentary, his words causing her elven cheeks to burn up slightly in response as Lúthien stuttered out a response. "He's just so cute... I can't help but want to baby him a little bit."

A faint snicker escaped the elf when she noticed Yugam almost choking on his second cup of sake, the elf reaching over to refill her own cup as well as his once the man had placed it back down. "I dunno, but he seemed pretty serious when he said it... so, at the very least, I think he believes it." He'd also continue to look above her head, something that had definitely creeped out the elf although she'd kept that thought to herself.

"Fin also said the village doesn't like outsiders because we bring bad energies... which he thinks are the phantoms. Seems only he and another child, Marianne, don't have them."

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Don't worry," Yu chuckled in response before taking another small sip of sake before setting the cup down and alternating to the onigiri. "So do I. He seems like a good kid. Too bad I suck with kids," he half-joked, a small smile on his face.

When he'd heard Luthien snicker the man lightly slapped the girl's leg with the back of his hand as he coughed a couple times. "Don't laugh at me," he complained.

The man's brows furrowed as he tried to piece together the different possibilities. The different realities of Finwid could be seeing. "I mean...all legends have a kernel of truth in them, but most aren't really literal, ya know? Maybe Finwid's just heard the local folktales a bunch before and kinda worked them into his world?" That seemed like a pretty reasonable explanation. "But then again. Magic exists here. And I mean, we both have spoken with...weird, ghost things before. So, I dunno, maybe he's not just imagining it." The man paused as he thought a little longer, taking a bit of his rice ball. "But then again, why would spirit's be following us. Or anyone really?"

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"Mmm, I don't think you suck with kids though... you did tuck him pretty well after all~"

A tongue stuck out playfully towards Yugam as he slapped her leg with the back of his hand softly, giving him a soft shrug of her shoulders before she leaded against him so their arms pressed together. "Yeah... plus Spirit magic is a thing in the game, so I guess actual phantoms wouldn't be too far out there for the game?" However there was a big unanswered question, how did they acquired those phantoms in the first place—and why were young children like Finwid and Marianne apparently spared from such unexpected company.

"I dunno... what I don't understand is why the adults in the village are so against outsiders, since it sounds like they too have phantoms?"

Had the villagers all been devoid of them Lúthien would've been able to understand, but from the conversation she had shared with Fin that didn't seem to be the case. A sigh escaped the elf before she brought the sake cup to her lips, knocking it back similarly to how Yugam had done so before setting the cup back on the ground.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Chalk that up to experience more than skill, I think," the man explained with a chuckle. "I don't think I've mentioned her yet, but I got a little sister. Like, way littler, about eight years or so. I...can't remember for sure, but I've got to have helped take care of her at some point or another, ya know? Like when she was sick or something." The man went quiet for a moment, abandoning his onigiri for another sip of sake as he ruminated on all the things he couldn't remember. About his own sister of all things. Some big brother he was. "Anyways, I guess there are some things you don't forget," he said, looking over at Finwid in his bed, snoozing away.

"Could be denial?" the man answered in response to Luthien's question. "I mean, most people don't like knowing something is their own fault. Or it could just be their way of rationalizing tragedy. I mean, cultures all around the world blamed their misfortunes on god's when it was really just random acts of nature." The man picked up his onigiri again and took another bite before shrugging. "Helps people rationalize. Same reason people believe in a life after death and all that."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"Sometimes the mind forgets, but the body remembers right?"

Lúthien couldn't remember where she'd heard that phrase before, or at the very least a variation close enough to it, but she felt it was applicable here. He could see the distant look in his eyes for a few moments, probably lost in his own thoughts, before a hand reached over to squeeze his knee softly in comfort.

"Maybe... actually, I guess that would make perfect sense. It's easier to blame problems on a scapegoat, in this case outsiders, rather than going through the trouble of understanding them."

A third onigiri was picked up, before a shiver ran down the elf's spine but a moment before a thunderous sound echoed from outside. It caused her skin to tingle for a moment before the feeling dissipated, the elf giving a concerned look in the direction of the hallway that lead to the exterior.

"... is that storm getting stronger?"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

The man felt a hand gently squeeze his knee, drawing his gaze. Luthien stared back at him with a comforting smile. The man returned a smile in thanks to the girl. Briefly, the thought occurred to the man that he could lean in and steal a kiss from the elf. But the man quickly fought that thought back. It felt...too vulnerable. Too exposing for someone as guarded as he. Instead, the man's gaze returned to the flicker fire, the quiet crackling filling the silence.

Yu nibbled on his rice ball as Luthien spoke, somehow managing to finish the whole thing and move onto his third in the time it'd taken her to finish saying only a couple of sentences. Holding the onigiri in his mouth for a moment, the man dismissed the bamboo box to his inventory before taking the food in his hand again. Just as he was about to reply to her, a crack of thunder pierced the stone shell of the room, echoing ominously, drawing both the Traveler's attention to the stair case.

"...is that storm getting stronger?"

"Yeah...sounds like it at least," the man responded quietly. "Hopefully it'll clear up a bit by the morning," he said before taking a big bite of his rice ball. "Speaking of, we should probably hit the sack soon."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

He smiled in return and the elf felt her breath catch for a second as she gazed into his eyes. She wanted to lean in closer, press her lips against his cheek in a sweet kiss——her cheeks flushed lightly as she was caught off-guard by the intimate thought, her head quickly turned to look at the same flickering fire Yugam stared into as well.

That would be too much... probably.

She was halfway done through the third onigiri, though her bites had slowed down to very small nibbles—already feeling quite full from the previous ones... plus she did want to save some room for at least one of the cookies. A light frown showed on her features, her eyes gazing at the onigiri intently before looking towards Yugam, a faint pout on her lips before she pressed her side against his softly. The request was silent, a hand holding out the half eaten onigiri towards him as the elf gave the man the best puppy eyes she could provide.

"We should, but only after dessert... I really want one of the cookies."

@Yugam