bonetiddies | mahito

[She is only the second person in this entire cursed base to not just let Mahito drag her wherever, she needs to share her braincell immediately.]

Yep! I was too excited about the hot springs earlier and I didn't even think of it, hah.

[Her paranoia will come in handy here. But once she knows where they're supposed to be going, she'll follow him.]

Very well. I should like to see this.

[AWAAAY TO THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS. Mahito will walk up to the podium first, hand hovering for a second over it.]

Ready?

[And as soon as she gives the okay, he'll press his palm flat! Almost right away, a forest begins sprawling out from the center of the room to the wall edges. The trees are tall and towering, looking like they could be hundreds if not thousands of years old. It's also dimmer than the hot springs had been. The sun barely filters through a thick cloud cover and cool mist drifts through the air instead of warm steam. The entire atmosphere feels like a rain might have just recently happened. Underfoot, the moss that carpets the forest floor is still a little damp.

There's a lot of little wildlife, too! Tiny little birds, fluttering moths, even a few chipmunks running around in the underbrush.]

[She'll take it in, shielding her eyes just a little with one hand against even this dim light, with obvious wonder, stepping cautiously out onto the damp floor.]

It's lovely. I've never been to a living planet before.

[There's a little sound of surprise as he walks a small circle in a particularly dense patch of moss.]

Eh? Seriously? I just figured you'd like a forest more than the hot springs. [Harrow has Mysterious Old Forest vibes to him, at least beyond the obvious Graveyard Aesthetic ones.] Who messed yours up so bad...?

[The idea of a dead planet still inhabited by humans is not exactly a reassuring one to him, and there's a little wrinkle at his brow for a second.]

No one. There was never any life on my planet. [She's from Pluto, though it's not called that anymore so she doesn't know.] The closest I've been is the First House. It was once a living planet, thousands of years ago, but it has flipped since. There are still living creatures on it, but it can't sustain life like this.

[The idea of someone coming from a planet that was just dead from the start hadn't even occurred to him, but he makes a little, interested-sounding noise.]

Oh... Wow. So there's no plants or animals or anything like that? Only people?

[SHE COMES FROM THE PLANET OF HIS NIGHTMARES.]

There are plants and animals we've brought in order to grow and feed the population, but nothing native.

That's better than nothing, I guess. [HE GUESSES... And toes a little at the soft ground, looking briefly thoughtful.]

So you guys have a sky then, right? [Since SOME PEOPLE here apparently DON'T.]

There's some atmosphere on the surface, but the livable areas are below ground.

[THAT'S SO DEPRESSING...]

Ah! So that's why the light from the sun bothers you a little, yeah? You must not see a lot of it.

No, very little of it.

[But she can take his cues - ]

It's my home, all I've ever known. It is very dear to me, even if it is rather desolate.

[He is definitely a curious lad, and seems genuinely interested in her funky, funky world with its underground society and lack of native plants and animals.]

I guess it's that way for a lot of people, right? You're most comfortable where you spend the most time. [He spreads his hands out, indicating the forest.] Nice places still aren't as good as they could be if nothing about them feels like home, right?

Yes, though I enjoy seeing other places.

[. . .]

I mentioned to you I was no longer entirely human. I prefer not to. . . advertise this, as much. I shed my humanity and became something else, but as a result I can never return home.

Edited 2021-02-10 14:28 (UTC)

[Turning back around to face her, he places his hands at his hips. There's a little perplexed knit at his brow.]

Eh? Really? Like, you're banished or something...? Or you just can't live out there anymore, with what you are now?

The latter. Dangerous things will be drawn to me now; if I returned to my House, I would bring destruction to it.

[UNFORTUNATELY, DANGEROUS THINGS ARE STILL DRAWN TO HER EVEN WHEN SHE'S NERFED.

He folds his hands behind his back, turning in a little circle on the moss.]

Are you cursed, then? Or is it some type of curse?

[Haha! It's fine.]

I suppose you could look at it that way. As a form of existence, there's power, and then there's the price.

You can't create something from nothing, huh? [A little, understanding hum.] For everything a person gains, they'll lose something else. I'm guessing it was worth it, though?

[Her expression darkens a little.]

. . . No. But it was necessary.

[Hm. He's quiet for a second, expression just a little soft as he contemplates the fake forest floor underfoot.]

Mm... Not many people would still choose to make a trade like that, I think. You're pretty determined, huh?

I have always been determined, yes.

[But she sounds a little wistful, or maybe confused? That is right, isn't it? It feels like there's something wrong about what he just said, but she can't quite put her finger on it. She made the trade out of determination, as he said, so then why. . .]

[Seeming to pick up on something being a little amiss, he turns his gaze up from the moss, casting her an inquisitive glance.]

...Is there a "but" there, or something else?

No, it's. . . I'm poor at accepting compliments.

[The look he gives her next is quietly considering, but eventually he just nods.]

Hey, you'll tell me if I say something that bothers you, right?

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bonetiddies - 2021-02-12 14:15 (UTC) - Expand

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touchups - 2021-02-12 20:59 (UTC) - Expand