(Open) Come on, choose one. You mustn't be afraid.

[faithfulflame]

Who: Rei Hino faithfulflame & You! This is open!
When: 2/1-2/6 (7/10-7/18)
Where: All over Cerealia. Entertainment District, Shopping District, Residential District, Research District
What: Rei goes out to check on some people, take care of some business/be social, and spend time with various people.
Rating/Warning: None save maybe language? Will update as needed.

---

I. Residential District:

[Today there's a young woman walking rather briskly through the winding streets of the residential areas. She's got something on her mind, a focus and more than a few worries weighing on her of late. There are questions she has, and people she needs to talk to. If it happens that she brushes past you on the street, there may even be a palpable sense of heat following her despite the chill. Her control is slipping, and she needs to get answers and information.

She's heading for specific apartments, preceded by a simple text message request to speak. Athena Cykes, Nonon Jakuzure, Simon Blackquill and England can all expect to hear from Rei at some point, but there are other people she's checking up on. CR can assume they're on this list, I cannot list all of you!


II. CERES Gym:

[Rei's kendo training is coming along well, and she's showing up at the gym even when she doesn't have classes with Sousei to practice both that and her archery, sometimes late into the evening. Her hands are steady as she holds the shinai, and her eyes are focused on each target she looses an arrow at. To an experienced observer she's much more comfortable with the bow, but she's seemingly taking to the bamboo sword rather quickly. Sweat and hard work may not be particularly dignified, but given how insane everything's been lately? She's willing to just give up on that for now.

Hard at work, she may not notice observers until she pauses, or practically sinks down next to a water cooler. Grab her however!]


III. Research District:

[Realizing that her control is in fact slipping and has for a day or so, Rei makes her way to the hospital to get a quick checkup. It's not that she's worried she's overdoing it...but she is, and she's hardly foolish enough to let the signs of stress go unanswered.

After her checkup, she heads out of the medical facility wearing a very severe frown, looking around and hoping she's not going to run into anyone she knows. That's probably not the case, knowing her luck, but she can hope, right?]


IV. Shopping District/Auto Shop:

[This is a bit of a whim of hers, but one she's decided to indulge. It's not like she can't afford something nice, and after the scare with the buses and trains recently it has a bit more practical application. So, here she is, browsing the selection of motor-bikes available. She's actually considering it seriously, simply to have an alternate way to work.

Look out roads...]


V. Closed to Minako Aino:

[The Shopping District was something alright. The selection of things to eye-shop and possibly by rivaled and probably exceeded downtown Tokyo, but Rei'd never quite admit it. She'd also never admit to Minako that she was letting all this stress and worry get to her, but it seemed the blonde had picked up on that without prompting. At least, that was what the raven-haired priestess had assumed when she'd been told that they were going out that evening for shopping and dinner, so that Rei could 'Loosen up a bit!'

And with no choice in it and the matter settled, here they were, outside a large department store. Just before Valentine's Day...]

Comments

[faithfulflame]

Oh absolutely. We have to focus on that sort of thing...otherwise we might be swallowed up.

[Which is an odd thing to say, but maybe she's just being dramatic.]

Your most important person, hmm? [Boyfriend? That's what it seems to imply.]

Are you from the same homeworld?

[unluckless]

That's probably true, isn't it?

[Yeah no dramatic or not, Komaeda agrees. But he's got some issues with trusting places like Cerealia and the people in charge not to set things up to fail spectacularly.]

Mm. We are. Hinata-kun and I were classmates. And before here, we were kidnapped to another place together. [It's been a long, strange road. But it's been good having company on it at least.]

[faithfulflame]

Another place? [She's familiar with the concept now, thanks to Lucetiverse Han and Leia.] So you've been taken from home twice now?

[unluckless]

That's right. A place called Haven... though it was a lot less pleasant than this place. Usually anyway.

[This place has its darker side. Komaeda knows that. They've caught glimpses.] But still that doesn't mean we shouldn't be on guard here, and prepared for when things go wrong.

[faithfulflame]

Haven. Right. This place is...difficult, but there are worse things to have to deal with.

[Luceti sounded bad.]

Were you there long?

[unluckless]

There are. But it's still not home.

[Komaeda considers the question before nodding.] About a year. And then we wound up here.

But! At lease here there's working technology and enough food for people to eat here.

[faithfulflame]

That was a problem at Haven?

[In an oddly meta way, Rei's glad her mun didn't send her...Luceti was bad enough.]

[unluckless]

One of the problems, yes.

[In a really meta way, Rei's got the right idea. At least this place is mostly livable, right?]

But this place has new problems I suppose!

[faithfulflame]

The Glitches, yes.

[A sigh.]

I'm a little tired of ghosts attacking me, to be honest.

[unluckless]

The glitches. They're really annoying, to say the least.

[And occasionally ridiculously dangerous. Komaeda is really done with them. Though hang on now.]

I don't think anyone could blame you for being tired of that. Or any of it. Aaah it's frustrating that so much goes wrong in such an advanced-looking place. It makes it seem definitely deliberate.

[faithfulflame]

Oh, it’s absolutely deliberate. [A note of irritation enters Rei’s tone.] They’re deliberately not stopping them from happening and playing dumb. It’s been that way since I arrived before Christmas. Hell, when I arrived several people were nearly killed by the amusement park they made us all visit.

[And forget that place.]

[unluckless]

I think so too. They must have some reason for doing it. It's probably not what most of us would consider good though.

[Just a hunch! But Komaeda nods in agreement.] It's been like that since I arrived too, a while before that. Things always seem to turn dangerous out of nowhere.

[faithfulflame]

How long have you been here?

[A valid enough question!]

[unluckless]

That is a good question. I think it's been nearly five months now, since Hinata-kun and I arrived here.

[Time sort of blurs together for him, after the island simulation then Haven then this place, his missing memories. Time and timelines are messy.]

And you arrived just before Christmas? Is there anyone else here from the world you're from?

[faithfulflame]

That's right. A few weeks before. [And then a nod.] One other. My best friend, Minako Aino.

[unluckless]

That makes it a little easier, I think, being in this strange place if there's someone you care about with you.

[Though it's still hard to know other loved ones aren't here. Not that Komaeda really has many loved ones, but his classmates -- some of them -- are still in that place, and that's worrisome.]

[faithfulflame]

It does help. The first, oh...month and a half? Those were awful. But when she got here, everything didn't seem quite so bad.

[She smiles now, a wistful expression. She misses the other girls deeply, but if it had to be just one? she's glad it was Minako.]

[unluckless]

I imagine it would have been much harder. I'm glad that you have your friend.

[He's been lucky to have Hinata with him the whole time, and then more of his classmates since then. Though he does see that expression. Aaah has he brought up difficult things?

That's no good. What bad manners on his part. Oh! And speaking of manners.] Ah... I don't think I've introduced myself. I'm Komaeda Nagito. [He ducks a polite little bow.]

[faithfulflame]

And I'm glad you have yours.

[She bows courteously, stiff kneed and proper like any good Japanese girl. A reed in the wind...]

Hino Rei. A pleasure, Komaeda-san.

[unluckless]

[Look at all the good manners in this conversation right here.

Komaeda smiles pleasantly enough -- and he is good at pleasant smiles. In pleasant circumstances they even seem appropriate.]

It's good to meet you as well! Though I am sorry if I've interrupted your shopping too badly.

[faithfulflame]

Oh, it's no trouble at all. It's nice to talk to new people, and that certainly was an interesting story, about Haven.

[Pleasant it is!]

[unluckless]

Interesting is probably the kindest thing anyone could say about that place.

[He smiles though, bright and blithe.]

But I agree. It is nice to talk to new people! I've enjoyed the conversation, Hino-san.