Scene #1068: The Knight and the Sprite

Owner	Pose
Vruasa Telash	THE LAND OF OCEANS AND MIRAGES THE PAST Hovering to the rear, the MYRMIDON vanishes back into the future with all occupants aboard. The adventure for the week (?) is over, and it's time for them to return to the present. But one among them has chosen to remain behind in the past, for the time being at least. He has the ability to venture forth into the present under his own power, and so has no difficulty remaining here to wrap up some loose ends. VRUASA TELASH flies through one of the bottom most entrances to the dwelling spire, heading towards where HOMURA AKEMI had been interacting with Fiorasprite. Though she is not a fully realized Witch of Void, there is still a certain sense of... lack, and inability to track her down by simply feeling matters out. After all, fate does not account for her. Maybe Sburb itself does, at this point, but fate is a woefully inadequate tool for seeking her out. No, today... Today, Vruasa has to use his REGULAR SENSES and INTUITION. This is amazingly inefficient by his standards, and he drifts along through the structure of Gwenon Morgas's dwelling spire with all the energy of a particularly lazy snail. He's moving faster, but for him it's the most reluctant pace he can possibly adopt.
Fiora O'Brien	Finding Fiorasprite isn't terribly hard. In fact, finding the level that Homura was on, and simply floating around it once, would happen across the fishsprite. Or, rather... The thing that has Fiora's form, as she giggles incoherently to herself, floating in the world. "I scared off all the good bodies, so I won't be able to leave any messages... Oh well. I have time. I have all the time, now..." She mutters, before starting to scratch sloooowly along the wall with a finger, a light cloud of smoke as she begins to trace the beginning of a pattern into the base of the tower. "I'll perfect this place, and then they'll spend more time here! With me! One more step towards the cycle that must be completed... And then we will be /immortal/. /I/ will be immortal!" She laughs, returning to her place to hum quietly and trace the pattern upon the stonework. She does not notice the God of Time approach. She is, as she said, 'beyond' time. She is also very busy.
Vruasa Telash	"Hey. Fiora." It's something that Fiorasprite has probably heard or read countless times, but Vruasa Telash doesn't say it with his usual affection or concern. He's confused and uncertain what to make of this situation, so it isn't a greeting that precedes shenanigans like it ordinarily does. It's deadly serious, in other words. She'll find him floating along near her, staring at her over the rim of his shades. A part of him figures he should tap her on the shoulder or something, but he also half-expects her to... bite? Infect him with some of her escalating grimdark levels? Even he's not certain. A frown. This time around he /didn't/ leave her, but the rest of them had. Is it important for the entire crew to be here for her to be semi-stable? What's the magic bullet? What can he do? Again, he repeats, "Hey, Fiora! What's wrong? I'm right here." This time, of course, he presses the issue. Tries to get her to face him and address the escalating craziness she's displaying. Truthfully, he's a little bit scared. Scared that he thought to try and speak with her too late to do anything about this. Scared, in fact, that perhaps this is all a part of a doomed timeline, and Fiorasprite herself is a dire lynchpin that will undo them all. It's an absurd notion, but just because fate can't account for a Void player, doesn't mean it can't be undone by one. It's more than that, though. What if this happens to HIS Fiora, down the road? It nags at him subtly, although he gives it a wide berth in his own mind. Truth be told, Vruasa couldn't take it if his Fiora went crazy. For that matter, he wonders, how is Vruasasprite handling this situation...?
Fiora O'Brien	Fiorasprite doesn't notice the first time she is addressed. She continues on, drawing oddly geometric patterns that repeat, twist in on each other, and become new patterns aimlessly. She draws for a few more seconds, and then turns, as Vruasa points out that he's still here, turns. Her eyes are wide, and deeply bagged, as if she has never slept or rested in months. "What do you want, Time God?" She wonders, not unkindly, but also slightly impatiently. "I have lots of work to do! Even being beyond time leaves me with so many hours in the day. I must improve this place, before you all return. I have so much work to do! Because, you see, I have to survive. And to survive, I have to do twice as much work. You... You simply have to arrive, putz around, and finish the quests. I have to ensure my own survival past this farce, and your own success. The others... They didn't feel your abscence as I did. But I, little special me, have all sorts of time to think. Does that answer your question? I'm /very/ busy. I shall make unto this tower a temple of plot! A beacon of what is, and what can be, and what is just past the pale! Won't you like that? You can all spend all your time here... And I'll fix everything! I'll solve all the problems. And you can all..." She trails off, looking blankly at Vruasa. And then she turns back to the tower. "So busy."
Vruasa Telash	"Nobody wants to spend more time here. Everybody hates this place because of what an unimaginable psychological shitfuck it is to anyone and everyone." Vruasa points out, hovering along next to Fiorasprite with his arms crossed over his chest. He gives a toss of his head, "I'm not leaving you alone for a little while. That leads to bad fucking things, and I refuse to do it. I need to know what you actually need out of me. Leaving until the next time I decide to bring everybody back is VERY CLEARLY a problem for you. I don't really understand how or why very well, but..." "Isn't other-me doing anything to help you?" He asks, his tone helpless and perhaps a bit hopeless. There's no way that any iteration of himself would deliberately neglect Fiora to the point that this happened to her. Either this was outside of his control or... or... he doesn't even know. He's not sure that he even wants to know, the more that he thinks about it. Amazingly, all of this focus on Fiorasprite and the social dynamics of her relationship with alternate universe Vruasa is enough to make him miss what this place actually is. It slips in one ear and out the other without once processing the way it should. It would be immensely useful to many to know how LOOAM works. Or perhaps, at the very least, it would be comforting to them. "Also," He adds, "no, it doesn't answer the question at all. It just raises MORE questions. How the hell does PLOT help you at all? What the fuck are you talking about?
Fiora O'Brien	"He can't. He has his own tasks to do, and he's not yet Beyond Time yet. I don't think he ever will be. It's... Sad, really." Fiora murmurs quietly, not turning around. "I want him to come with me. To finish this task and live forever. To not fade away. This plan was a trap from the start. We've become part of a game that can be /finished/. And we can't break the game, either! So we are stuck here." She turns, then, taking Vruasa by the lapel with one hand and lifting him up. Since they are both flying, this is moderately meaningless, physically. "You /left/. And you let the time stand still when you did. You of all people should know. But much like when I dreamed, I was there, alone, but now the knowledge didn't come. Nothing there to entertain me. And so I just had myself... To think. For MONTHS! When all you have is power and time, anything is possible. When all stood still but I, I realized I needed to play along. The Plot was useful. I just needed to steward it... To twist Fate into persisting for us. For Arthur, and Vruasa, and I." She flashes a grin. "It's fine, you know. I'll just fix everything. I'll make this tower better. Don't you like seeing what exists alongside? What could have been? I shall make it a locus of fate. Twist all of the frayed lines into this place. Being a sprite has its benefits, you know."
Vruasa Telash	"It's more time than you otherwise would have had. Why not go out into the Multiverse and figure this shit out? There's got to be plenty of easier ways to preserve your existence than tying it up in this piece of shit Land. Whatever that means." Vruasa tilts his head to one side when Fiorasprite grabs him. This is, as previously mentioned, moderately meaningless because they are both effectively weightless. He is a God, and she is a sprite. Come to think of it, why are their attributes so similar in that regard? He wonders if Sprites are effectively God Tiers themselves, in some fashion. Or, he would, if not for the fact that there's something much more pressing right here in his face. "Ugh. So Fiora's theory on the subject was right. God fucking damnit, I can't be your babysitter all the time. Can you come into the future with me, or will you drop dead because the game session is already complete?" He asks, trying -- and succeeding -- in keeping himself calm. There's not much Vruasa can do about this situation. Maybe a Prince of Void could, or some other being who has the power to free Fiorasprite from the deleterious effects of her own Aspect. But it's outside of his power. Idly, Vruasa wonders... if Fiora Prime would be able to tamper with her alternate past self? "No, I don't." Vruasa's answer is firm, and perhaps a little bit harsh. "I don't like seeing you like this, and I definitely don't like what this place does to my version of Arthur. God only fucking knows what it'll do to you guys. Speaking of which, isn't this the worst place imaginable for you to be? I don't get what you mean. How could you possibly put anything useful together out of this mess of a place? It's just... mirages. Even if some of them are real in a way, they're just mirages." Nope. He doesn't understand any of this.
Fiora O'Brien	"You could take me out, but you shouldn't. You, of all people know why. I am stuck here. It'd break the flow. The order of things. Until the game is over, I can't leave. You have that power, but I don't. Vruasa..." She reaches out, moving her hand from his lapel to his cheek. "Don't worry. I'll be fine. I'm trying to help you!" She lets her hand drop, before going back to the tower. "This is the key, Vruasa. This tower was my inspiration. It, too, is beyond time and fate. Can't you feel it? This isn't what it appears to be. The mirages it shows aren't just the fevered dreams of clouds... They are what exists beyond the pale, the veil of time and space!" She traces a meaningful - or meaningless - sworl into the wall. "They aren't mirages. They are a window of the smoke. Through the Veil. Into a parallel place. You would do well to mind them!"
Vruasa Telash	"Shouldn't?" Vruasa asks, wondering exactly what that means. What would happen if he did take her into the present? There's got to be some Voidy powers behind her explanation. Or maybe... maybe it's the sprite in her talking, and that's why she explains it in such strange and vague terms. It's not that she doesn't know, or that she has to be mysterious for Void reasons. She has to do that for sprite reasons. His expression becomes rather uncomfortable when she touches his cheek. It's a gesture that he would appreciate from his Fiora, but from this twisted, game construct-addled being... What is he supposed to feel, exactly? It's just like Dream Fiora all over again, only she's even more broken. And her Vruasa can't help her. Maybe he can't help her, either. These considerations cause him to once more gloss over the advice he's being given. It is typically spritely advice about advancing the game and heeding the clouds or listening to the skies during an appearance of the Horrorterrors on Derse... The God of Time reaches up and takes Fiorasprite's hand. It's not the same grip or sentiment he would use with his own Fiora. Indeed, she can tell that it isn't the same used by Vruasasprite on her. Still, it is meant to be... encouraging? "I don't understand. So I'll just ask you this. If I leave you here, in this Land, on this Dwelling Spire, will you actually be alright? Or will you..." Vruasa trails off, not completing the thought. Deliberately. He's not certain Fiorasprite realizes she sounds as insane as she does.
Fiora O'Brien	"You should understand." Fiorasprite chides, waggling a finger. "To bring me forward, when I am beyond time, would cement my role in that time as that shape, form, and ability. I seek to be more than that! So I will decline you offer to bring me to that time. I will be fine, now. And I have such work to do! I will improve this place, to extend my gifts to it. A temple to what could be. What is, elsewhere." Fiorasprite shrugs. "I am certainly not alright, Vruasa. But I will remain, and be productive. Is that not the role of a sprite? And when you return, come back here, at least once more. I will have a surprise for you. For I am a /part/ of the game, and I am without. A paradox within the weave. And I shall bridge the gaps that you did not even know existed. The mirages will shed their masks and become the selfsame form of the images they displayed!" She announces, before grinning madly. "Don't worry. There is little more that can be done to me... Well, beyond nonexistance."
Vruasa Telash	"So... you would rather be 'paused' and have the opportunity to work on your idea to go beyond being a sprite, than remain in progress but be locked into a different role." Vruasa paraphrases back at Fiora, just barely wrapping his head around this nonsense. Are all Void players like this, he wonders? Svarst hadn't been around long enough for him to get a feel for that guy's powers... and even then, it's kind of a weird corner case. The Mage class isn't exactly predisposed towards active use of its aspect early on, though as Arthur has shown them since, their post-God Tier capabilities expand wildly. But what Fiorasprite is describing and what -should- happen don't match up in the Knight's mind. Introducing the aspect of Void here should make things more shrouded and less real, right? Or is that the sprite powers overriding the Void powers? Vruasa releases Fiorasprite's hand reluctantly, folding his arms over his chest and looking at her with a mixed expression on his face. If there was ever a time to "fix" her, it was before now. A long time ago, before their travel to the past was put on hiatus. "Absolutely fucking none of that makes any sort of sense. But... you're you, and I doubt you're lying to me. So I assume you have some fucked up spritey thing to do that I just don't understand. Not sure I want the mirages of this place to become real, though..." Vruasa lowers the volume of his voice sharply as he goes on, nearly muttering what he has to say. "So..." Vruasa pushes his shades up again, and scratches at the back of his head awkwardly. "I guess... I'll go?" That's about as uncertain as Vruasa gets.