queenofheartsrp | ⌛ 002 ⌛ [action: tik tik boom]

[It's calmer here, so much calmer than it is back home. She wanders here. It's hard for her to sleep, and she's restless. When she'd seen the notice on the Vine, she'd decided to investigate, making her slow, halting way to the Isle of Antikythera. Why not? The robots there make her smile, if only a little, and she thinks of how Sakura and Rin would like to see them. Her smile fades.

Kariya can't catch a break. Food isn't the easiest thing for her to deal with, but a cup of mint tea strikes her as an innocuous enough choice. She likes tea, and mint is one of her favorites.

It's an excellent cup of tea, too, perfectly sharp and sweet and refreshing, and she sincerely enjoys it. It's only after she's finished that she starts to feel a chill. At first, she ignores it, but within minutes, she's begun shivering, and it's impossible to miss the fact that there's something unnatural about this cold. She pulls up the hood of her hoodie and wraps herself in her own arms. Leaning forward over the table, she closes her eyes.

It's magic, isn't it? Magic. She hates magic. She hates it, and it's everywhere.

She wants it to go away.]

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[the cafe is officially Gal's new favorite place, and she'd probably live on Antikythera if it actually had sunlight anyway. This means anyone who is clearly not enjoying these adorable little robots' efforts warrants further inspection.]

Hey, are you okay?

[Kariya isn't at all sure about this café yet. At this point, she's thinking she won't be visiting again. She hugs herself tighter, trying to stop the shivering. It won't stop.

At least the worms seem to have calmed down in the cold, as if falling into a shallow torpor. She may be trembling, but at least the strained lines of damage across her face are still. She shakes her head.]

No, I-- You're not cold, are you? I think there was something in the tea.

I'm fine, but this place can be a little--well, it's underground and all.

Isn't tea usually warm? [she hasn't noticed any side-effects of the pastries yet. Probably because she had one of those lavender-frosted cupcakes...]

It was fine before. I didn't mind it.

[She nods.] The tea was hot, but after I finished drinking it... [She shivers, more pronouncedly.]

It's so cold now.

Hey...here. [she takes off her jacket, which is sleeveless, but it's something. She drapes it around Kariya's shoulders.]

Maybe there's a draft.

Thank you. [She smiles, putting a hand on the jacket, glancing down at it.] Everyone's so kind here. [It almost seems too good to be true.]

Maybe. But it could be magic. [She says this with no joy in her voice.] It feels--different.

Well...if we weren't it would be pretty miserable being stuck in one place together. [she smiles faintly.]

There does seem to be a lot of magic here. And not the stuff I'm familiar with. Do you mind if I sit?

[She nods.]

It would be. Miserable.

[Being stuck in one place with terrible people is nothing new to Kariya.]

I'm glad it's not like that, here.

The magic is--sometimes it's like what I know, and sometimes it isn't. It's hard to say. [Fourth--or fifth--rate magus that she is, there's a lot she doesn't know about magic.

She nods again. It's nice dealing with people who are kind again. She's missed that. She smiles crookedly.]

Please, sit. My name's Kariya.

I guess it comes from the whole "people being from different worlds" thing. Thank you.

[she takes a chair.]

A friend of mine thinks this might be a dream. A shared one. I don't know how likely it is, but it does explain all the strangeness.

Yes, it must. You're welcome.

A dream? [Touching the jacket again, almost wondering at it, she shakes her head, slowly, though she's not quite disagreeing. She's still cold, and it clouds her thoughts, though not much more so than usual.] I don't know. I hadn't thought of that. It feels real.

Isn't it strange? If there are really so many worlds, how did we end up in ours? Trapped there. Most people have to stay where they are. Yet now we're here.

[Her world, though it's behind her now, does feel stifling, like a death sentence.]

[Gal exhales what's almost a laugh, but not quite.]

When you're dreaming, it feels pretty real. But then again, when you're dreaming you don't usually wonder if it's a dream or not. You just accept it.

Worlds are pretty big on their own. I didn't really need another one myself. But you sound like being confined to one is a prison.

[her tone is fairly neutral, not accusing, but with a hint of curiosity.]

That's true, it's only that I've never had a dream like this. [She puzzles over it for a moment or two.] If it's magecraft, it could be mind manipulation, but I don't know how that works, especially in another world.

My world wasn't always so small. I used to travel. Now... [She looks away into a distance that isn't there.]

Maybe this isn't real, and maybe there's too much magic, but I think I'm glad to be here. As long as time isn't passing back home. [There's a small, distant smile on her face, to match her distant gaze.] I never thought I would rest again.

I just--don't think anyone should be kept here who doesn't want to be. And children shouldn't be taken from their families.

[her face softens a bit.] Everyone could use a break...now and then. But that's just it, it isn't willing...

[she hesitates for a moment before putting a hand on Kariya's shoulder. They may have just met, but Gal knows when someone is troubled.]

Mind manipulation? That was possible where you're from?

I think so, too.

[It's hard, knowing that she's going to die soon. At least she has this, whether it's a dream, or--whatever it is.

She looks up at the touch, eyes widening slightly, but for some reason, she suddenly feels warmer. She ventures a small smile before answering Gal's question.]

Yes, some magi are capable of that kind of magic. I'm not. They can make people believe things that aren't true.

That's just...

[things were bad enough at home with the Score, twisting people's perceptions and making them afraid to live with their own free will.]

No one should have that kind of power.

That's what I think, too.

No one should. Magecraft is--it's too much power in the hands of people who shouldn't have it. It's so often misused, and it's dangerous.

[There's an edge to her voice now, and the thick "veins" on her face pulse.]

Do you know, they'll kill people who find out about it? They keep it all secret. They say it's for everyone's good.

That's just... [she's seen plenty of violence, but whatever ails this woman is something completely different, and it turns her stomach just looking at it. She swallows hard, ashamed that she has to look away a little.]

I mean--I can hardly imagine that. That kind of thing is normal where I'm from, if anyone tried to restrict it like that--I mean, it's a part of everyday life. Manipulating fonons--elements.

[she takes a deep breath.]

But I know enough about...forbidden things to imagine what it must be like...

[her expression is a little pained.]

Is it at least safer here for you?

⌛ 002 ⌛ [action: tik tik boom]

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