mind the congee on the way out

[parttimesoldier]

Who: Kai-un and you!
When: after kitchengate
Where: Kai-un dorm
What: big chilling (maybe) (possibly)
Warnings: tba

Comments

[parttimesoldier]

Where I'm from? Oh yeah.

[As serious as her expression had grown at the topic, there's at least a little amusement in the way she sighs.]

Can't say that I miss it, but at least I knew how to fight back against those ones.

[pissandvinegar]

Everywhere, in every world.

[ starts setting aside his calligraphy materials, wrapping the brush so he can take it somewhere to wash later]

Are you frightened? There are so many unknowns to this place.

[parttimesoldier]

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little bit.

[But high stress environments are nothing new, and being stuck here for well over a month means she's getting used to this brand of dangerous too.]

Think what scares me most is the thought of not being able to find a way out of here, though.

[pissandvinegar]

[ right. that would be how most people would feel about it. ]

Homesick?

[parttimesoldier]

Not exactly.

[Kinda wishes she had that luxury. Those last few weeks in Akihabara weren't so bad, but that wasn't home, not really.]

Had stuff I needed to do, and being stuck here isn't all that conducive to getting it done, y'know?

[pissandvinegar]

[ his eyebrows raise somewhat ]

I see. Indeed...

If there is a way to cross over, then the method must also exist to cross back. May we do our utmost to investigate and find it in short time.

[parttimesoldier]

My thoughts exactly. We just have to keep at it.

[And here's hoping they don't wear themselves down before that.]

You know anything about this sort of thing? The ghosts or whatever else might've brought us here?

[New face, new perspectives.]

[pissandvinegar]

About ghosts, I do. But how much of my knowledge applies to these spirits remains to be seen.

[parttimesoldier]

Guess we'll have to find some way to put that knowledge of yours to the test, then.

[pissandvinegar]

Mm. From asking around, it sounds like trials and spirit activity come to us at the whims of the spirits- there hasn't been much rushing to instigate it.

[parttimesoldier]

Mostly because we haven't found a good way to fight back against them yet. You can poke the ghostly hornet's nest all you want, but it tends to end badly with the meaner ones.

[pissandvinegar]

Yes. An excess of recklessness does not pay any more than sitting idle.

[parttimesoldier]

Finding the balance between the two is the real challenge right now.

[pissandvinegar]

Yes. For now, there is at least still much for me to learn. I'll do my utmost to compile more information. When Kenkou has recovered, perhaps they will be well enough to recount more details on the incident that unlocked the kitchen.

[parttimesoldier]

Yeah, the more we learn about what happened, the better.

[She leans back a little, frowning in thought.]

That was the second time something like that had happened, actually. Dunno if you've heard about what went down with Anzen a couple weeks ago yet.

[pissandvinegar]

I have not.

[parttimesoldier]

Had their own encounter that ended up with them unlocking the nurse's office with their glowing omamori. The way they tell it, their whole class got abruptly yanked into another place where they were being chased by a train.

[pissandvinegar]

A 'train'?

[parttimesoldier]

[Just kind of gives him a look for a second before remembering, oh yeah, everyone here comes from all kinds of places...]

Uh, it's a big long vehicle, I guess. Runs along a track usually, and definitely not the sort of thing you want running into you.

[Thus: the wild chase Anzen had endured.]

[pissandvinegar]

[ did they consider not running on the track

mulls this over a moment ]

They went to a different place. And came back how?

[parttimesoldier]

[She digs the omamori out of her pocket, holding it up.]

They followed a light that matched the way these had started glowing for 'em. Led them out and right to the nurse's office here in the school.

[pissandvinegar]

[ eyes it, nodding an acknowledgment ]

I wonder what manner of place it was. Another 'different world'? A different spiritual realm? Or a pocket space or illusion of some kind?

[parttimesoldier]

[A slight shrug.]

Your guess is as good as mine. Illusion might be the simplest answer, but if it's something that's actually pulling people into different spaces, it's gotta be crazy strong, right?

[pissandvinegar]

In a sense, yes. But that power might not be harnessed. It could be an illusion of a manifested memory, for example, in which case the entity that the space is attached to may not have consciously created it, and may not have control over it or what is pulled into it. Resentful ghosts can sometimes create roughly similar incidents with the force of their unresolved emotions, but they are barely sentient.