[Open] I find myself tryna stay by the phone...

[faithfulflame]

Who: faithfulflame & You
When: 6/19-6/23 (Including Robot Event)
Where: Rei's Apartment, TEXT, and various places around Cerealia
What: Minako Aino vanishes and Rei Hino copes.
Rating/Warning: PG 13, for language/mentions of violence and blood

---

6/19: Introspection/Action Closed to Usagi Tsukino

[It'd been some time since Rei had woken up alone, not since before her birthday. Minako had been a steady, warm presence by her side as they'd slept these past months, right up until the previous night. Opening up had come more naturally, as she'd expected it might, with as comfortable as she'd become with the affairs of the heart. It still confused her a tad, but that seemed the sort of thing that was also natural. She loved her partner, loved everything about her, despite how the blonde vexed her so at times. That was just them, and she was so, so grateful for that soft, radiant presence beside her.

A presence that was, as of this morning, gone. At first when Rei woke up, untangling herself from the sheets she figured Minako had just gotten up early but that didn't track. Today was her day off, she'd said she was going to sleep in and if there was one thing Rei could be assured of it was that when it came to sleep Minako was not going to miss a wink. Rising quickly, she cast out her senses, feeling for the bond they shared.

And came up empty.

With a choked cry, she hopped up and looked around desperately for her CEREVice, or any sign that Minako Aino was still there. And again, she came up with nothing. Grabbing her own device, she ripped it open and searched contacts and a certain app, the bottom dropping out of her stomach. She had departed. The CEREVice tumbled to the floor with a clatter as Rei dropped to her knees, heart hammering in her chest as she clutched the fabric of her clothing.

She was gone. Just...just like that, the person she'd finally begun to really and truly let herself be totally open with was gone. Thoughts grew in her head like a wildfire, her entire body shaking as emotions welled up. She closed her eyes, slamming a fist down onto the carpet, a white-hot flash of anger shredding every single ounce of calm she had. Tears fell as she staggered to her feet, shambling over towards a nightstand and coming perilously close to pitching forward into the mirror in her distress. Her whole body creaked and wobbled while she mopped at her face with a handkerchief, the shock of seeing her face enough to trigger a reflexive attempt at maintaining her appearance.

Trembling, unsure of how to even process anything else, she heads out of the room and into the living area. Moments later, unsure of how she even got there, she wilted onto the couch with a mug of tea and sat there, quietly waiting for whoever might wander in. She had to break the news, she absolutely had to, but how to even begin. First Ami...and now...now Minako. Gone, when it'd been just hours before that she'd just fallen asleep next to Rei. Not even a full day ago they were planning to go out, Rei relenting and agreeing to go to a karaoke bar. And now?

Now, she was sitting on the couch in stunned silence. Completely and utterly unable to even sip at her tea.]

6/19: Text Network Post/Open Action

[The CEREVice broadcast is brief, and anyone who knows her will forgive that, she hopes.]

Minako Aino has returned to the Nexus Code. I will be unavailable to meet my social obligations for the next twenty four hours. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. If you need me for something desperately, I will be at home.

[After that, the message ends. Rei will NOT be answering her CEREVice at all, but visitors are welcome.]

6/21-6/23, Action around Cerealia

[After that 24 hours was over, Rei was again visible within the colony. She avoided any of Minako's haunts, places that might remind her of her partner, and instead stuck to places that were more her space. The trouble was that she had an abomination of a robot following her around, and while Rei bore this indignantly silently, she was clearly put out by the machine. A frown, an uncomfortably straight back, and occasional furious glances at the CERES Headquarters were telling pointers to her discomfort.

Each and every day Rei began with a trip to the gym for a strenuous workout, specifically the sections dedicated to kendo and martial arts. Her wooden shinai slapped against a practice dummy, or her robot's clumsily attempted blocks as she forced a spar. There was little pity in her voice the machine, devoid of a soul as it was, and if it was going to be “familiarizing” itself with her then it should get used to this side of her. The martial arts section of the gym would similarly be filled by the sounds of fists slapping against a punching bag, or the indignant squawks of a robotic Rei hitting the mat hard.

Once noon arrived, and Rei'd worn her knuckles almost to the point of bloodying them, she departed and made straight for the park to meditate. Disturb her at your own risk as she sits out beneath one of the safer trees under Phobos and Deimos's watchful gaze.

And after somewhere between three and six hours of meditation, Rei simply disappeared from the city. But friends that know where to look...or just people who frequently look up or hang out on rooftops. She and her servantbot both are darting from rooftop to rooftop in a head to head parkour style race. Long legs carry her easily, a path she'd run a thousand times. Calling out to her is the best bet, though stepping in her way will get her to stop as well and earn an annoyed glare. Yes, she's pushing herself, and yes she's doing something dangerous, but focus. Getting her mind off of it. That's what's got to happen, and she knows it.]

Wildcard

[As always, wildcard me bro!]

Comments

[faithfulflame]

It does. It's a lingering enchantment, something you power once and keep going until the spell is released.

[She's been studying a little bit of magical theory. Well, more than a little bit. Kael'thas Sunstrider, Prince of the Elves, had shown her a few tricks and Archer another. She had talent, why let it atrophy?]

It's different from what Mars does, but then...what I do without her is another story. I don't think the weather would heed my call though.

[sortileges]

Like that. [ He glances up to where the snow is still falling from. ] Normally I could do it from the actual sky, but it doesn't seem to reach that far.

[ He rests his elbows on his knees, leaning his chin onto his hands to sit like that. ]

It's just part of the world. I mean, Tellus isn't that different from home. Magic is threaded into the very fabrics of the world, even if it feels dead, something will linger even if it's darker than you're used to.

[faithfulflame]

There's a dome, machine made, that keeps out the toxic air. It's probably blocking it.

[She shifts as she sits on the earth, watching the flakes fall.]

Magic is life. The very essence of it. For me though...it comes from my heart. The life force of my planet is carried in me.

[sortileges]

Probably. [ Which is weird, and makes him a little uncomfortable if he's honest with himself. Really his magic is closest to the druids who literally all have at least a little magic because they're more in tune with the world.

He's just a special snowflake, honestly. ]

You mean you or... [ He cants his head, nods it to the side a little. ] you know?

[faithfulflame]

I mean both of us. I have the crystal inside me too. [she taps her breast, a pulse of red glaring out from under her shirt.] But the ways I draw on it like this are different than her.

[sortileges]

How? [ Maybe it's too big of a question, but he's genuinely curious. ] I mean I can do it from myself too, but it just makes it less tiring to use everything around me. Or at least it's how I think it works. It isn't as though I've really had guidance on anything like this.

I had to learn by myself.

[ While trying to keep it on the low down even though he was probably accidentally freezing objects in the air and making them float. Fun times. ]

[faithfulflame]

How are they different?

[Rei holds a hand over the glowing light.]

Mars draws on the crystal as raw force, and she can use so much more of it. Me? All I can do is draw out a trickle. And I can't make it heat up. It's just energy, but I can't change it, only...move it.

[sortileges]

Do... you think it's more that you haven't unlocked the ability to do it yet or...?

[ His eyes flicker down to where her hand is, frowning slightly. You'd think if it were the same body it could have the same potential, after all. Surely? ]

[faithfulflame]

I think that we're different people. Over time we'll merge and become one again, from what I understand. So you could think of it that way. However, it's not really a bad thing. I like being who I am, without her too.

[And she has a little trick. She pulls a slip of paper out of her bag.]

If I relied entirely on her, I'd never have learned what I have about magic and myself. I've gained new skills, because I don't let her instincts and memories guide me.

[She starts pouring energy into the paper, concentrating hard, focusing her will.]

Like this.

[The power running through it isn't much, but it's a visible show of enchantment, and she passes over the paper.]

Try and tear it.

[It's harder than granite...]

[sortileges]

...Are you scared of that happening? [ Because it sounds like... losing yourself. Though really he's not sure if it is better to talk about this or just let her cry out her loss of Minako leaving with how this is going. ] But you should. You're an amazing person. You're special. Even without her.

[ Though he watches with curiousity as she explains about her own magic and skills. He waits as she takes the paper, concentrates, then passes it over to him. He can feel something in the paper from when she started pouring her energy into it, but it's when he tries to tear it that he realises just what she's done. ]

...You can't tear it?

[faithfulflame]

No. She was me in the past, and she'll be molded by my experiences as well. When it does happen, in the future, it'll be for a good cause. For...when a new age of the world dawns, and peace reigns eternally. I'll still have my memories, but I want to grow and become strong on my own too, so that she's not the only one contributing to the whole.

[Of course, she laughs a little bit when he sees the enchantment at work.]

You can, it's just hard. You'd have to find a way to break something the consistency of stone. It's something Archer taught me to do.

[sortileges]

That seems ...complicated, but at least it works out for you both in the end.

[ Or at least, he hopes it will.

Though he looks at her in thought when she tells him how it has to be done. He can't tell if the properties have been altered at all, he doesn't have that kind of power (yet) but he does try and push it against his knee to bend it--only to wince in pain when it only causes a bruise instead. ]

Ow [ Well who was the idiot... he caused that??? Him. Holding it up though he flattens it against his palms, lowers it to the floor over where the grass is. There's a weed or two there, which will be important for the next part. Then he concentrates hard.

Slowly, his eyes shut as his hands reach out to hover over the surface, finally pressing his palms down against it. When his eyes open they flash, the weeds grow at an accelerated rate, cracking through the paper by twisting up with a slow force that makes buildings crumble. ]

[faithfulflame]

[Rei smiles in delight as the paper shreds beneath the natural growth, glad he'd given her another way to mess with this.

She kneels and touches the paper, releasing more power and...completely reforming it in it's original state and consistency.]

All the same spell, really.

[sortileges]

[ He glances up at her when she changes the paper back, unable to stop the smile from spreading across his face. ]

Still impressive. [ He picks the paper up by the corner, and flops it a bit. ]

[faithfulflame]

thought so. I haven’t used it outside of training yet, but I imagine in battle it will be a godsend.

[Imagine having granite armor made out of cloth? Or turning water into quicksand…]

[sortileges]

Probably. [ He isn't thinking exactly on the same lines, but it's close enough. ] Do you have a limit of how big it can be?

[faithfulflame]

I haven't tried anything bigger than a door. But I know I can draw more energy in to make it work. I should test the limits though.

dw if you need to drop this btw i'm just clearing out everything :*

[sortileges]

Especially if it might help in the future like you said. What do you think would be a good thing to test it on?

=P

[faithfulflame]

Oh, really anything. It works on whatever I'd need it to. Practicing makes perfect after all.

*^*!!!

[sortileges]

So... [ He pauses then, looking down at the weed that is still sticking out of the ground. ] Do you think it has to be something "dead", or would it work on something like that, too?

[faithfulflame]

It works on anything. I've used it on myself.

[Which had been Archer's intent all along. Making her stronger and faster in bursts.]

Want me to alter a weed?

[sortileges]

Even on your own body? [ His face twists a little then. ] Doesn't that feel weird?

But go ahead, if you want to. I want to see how it feels more than anything.

[faithfulflame]

Not really.

[She tries again, this time on the weed, doing something else. It's brief, but there's a flash of light as she changes the properties. The grass stiffens, and then takes on a silvery sheen.]

Now it's sharp as a knife. Or should be. But...it's a bit brittle, I think. I'm still learning.

[sortileges]

[ He watches in fascination, of course, because while he isn't sure if different types of magic overlap here, it's always great to watch these things unfold. He gives her a smile then. ]

You've been working hard.

[faithfulflame]

I've had time, and two very, very skilled instructors.

[Reaching down, she plucks the strand free and rolls the "blade" along a nail. It chips, but it takes a sliver of grown away with it as intended.]

I enjoy learning these sorts of things. It's...a little amazing how it all works.