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IC CONTACT
...this is the neatest thing I've ever seen. I want one for home so bad.
-Right! This is Sorey, please leave me a message so I can get back to you!
voice | text | action
-Right! This is Sorey, please leave me a message so I can get back to you!
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Sorey's lips trembles and this time, he leans forward to embrace her. He'd thought it before, when he first saw her in the chapel; how lonely it must be to sit in one place, waiting with her heart in her hands for someone who will see her, who will help her. Her dedication, her fortitude seems miles and miles above his. He was just a silly boy who dreamed about being a Shepherd after reading about them in books and stone.
She's made this journey a hundred times, and she'll make it a hundred more if she has to.
And that's what gives Sorey the first flicker of hope he's felt since everything started to go wrong. He'd felt the crushing weight of being one Shepherd in a line of many, in a neverending march of death, a cycle of putrefaction and purification that would continue until the end of times, or at least until the end of humans. His life is fleeting; a small handful of decades within thousands and hundreds of thousands of years. Maybe even millions of years, eventually. So maybe, in the grand scheme of things, his journey, his role as Shepherd means nothing.
But Lailah, Zaveid- all seraphim, they'll live on forever, barring other circumstances. And seraphim don't measure the world with time.
They do it by moments.]
I'm sorry for almost putting you through that again, [he whispers, pressing his hands flat against her back and tucking his head against hers.] I didn't want to scare you. I'm sorry.
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You came back. That's all that matters to me.
[How many have walked away from her because they'd given up on themselves, their dreams, her, or all of the above? How many times has she had to cut her pact with a fallen Shepherd and wait for another to quell them? One too many and Sorey came so close to joining those too many souls. At least this time, he can have the choice to continue being the Shepherd, and she'll be okay if he decides to walk away from that or her. Better that Sorey walk away than be part of the souls who died becoming the thing they said they'd quell.]
The last thing I want is for you to go through that again. That's why it's okay if you decide not to reinstate the pact.
[The fire seraph will attempt to pull away only so that she can look him in the eye. She wants this to be clear to him.]
The Shepherd's duty isn't something that should consume you. You as a person are just as important as purifying malevolence.
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He takes a breath, and doesn't notice how a hand curls around Lailah's dress again.]
You said that before too, but I still don't understand. If- As a human, my life is so short. I won't live over a hundred years, and that's if I'm lucky. If so, shouldn't I be using every second to its fullest potential to make the world better?
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The Shepherd walks a very fine line. If you recall, Asura thought the same way, and countless others before him did, too.
[The fire seraph puts a gentle hand on the one gripping her dress. She holds it like she's trying to share her strength with him.]
You're only one person, Sorey. You can't possibly take on the entire world's troubles. Even one country's is too much. The sheer amount will eventually break you.
[Not once do her eyes leave Sorey's face. He needs to understand so that they don't repeat the same mistake others have made.]
You've seen how people reacted to simply hearing that there's a Shepherd again in Glenwood. By just existing, you've made the continent better because you've given the people reason to hope again.
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Had been right there with him. It was a lesson for them both. And now, though the pact is broken, Sorey still carries the strength of that trial in him even though Mikleo is gone. It had been hard enough with Dezel; talking about whether or not to do the trial again, if it mattered, like they hadn't lost a friend and just needed to complete a set.
He can't do that. He can't do that with Mikleo.
How can he be the Shepherd again after this?]
...maybe Rose would be the better choice, [Sorey murmurs, staring down at their hands.] She's been through a lot. She's more used to...to loss. [To losing people. Sorey isn't used to it- they lost Mason, right at the start, a weight that sits sour in his gut whenever Lailah's fire flickers in a way that reminds him of Mason igniting bonfires for them to dance around, flinging in pinecones to hear the snap and pop.
But now Mikleo, Mikleo, Mikleo-]
I don't know. I don't know, [he tells her brokenly. He wants to tell her he has hope, that he'll think about it, but he can't. He can't bring himself to think about it without his mind circling back around to Mikleo, Mikleo, Mikleo. He can't think of what the world needs. He can barely think of what they need.]
-you...will you guys be all right without a vessel in the meantime? While- while I decide? [Sorey glances up at her, tearing his mind away from Mikleo (Mikleo, Mikleo) to try and consider the others he loves more than his whole being.] If we need to set up shrines for you then I have a few ideas. And- and if one worshiper is enough I can tend to them, but if you all need your own I can find people to help. I'm sure there'll be people who'll help.
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[Out of the entire group, Zaveid and Lailah may as well be experts on the subject. It's their methods of coping with it that differ.
When he speaks so brokenly, she places a hand on his cheek. The fire seraph gives him a warm smile, trying to be reassuring.]
We'll be alright. There's not much malevolence in the area to be a threat. If it becomes a problem before you're ready to decide, we'll let you know and we can work through a solution. Together.
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Sorey half wishes it was.]
I'm- Lailah, I'm concerned about Dezel though. Will he be all right without a vessel?
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[Lailah considers it. It's a good question, frankly, but after talking to Dezel....]
I believe so. He's let go of a lot of his anger, so he should be fine without a vessel. However, I'll talk to him about it and see what he'd like to do.
[After all, it's the wind seraph's choice in the end.
Lailah hesitates for a moment, but...there's one thing that needs to be addressed. The elephant in the room. The ache in Sorey's heart that she knows is there. It's something that she needs to talk with him about before she leaves him be to think, at the very least.]
Sorey...I know it's hard for you, but we should talk a little about Mikleo.
[Preferably before he drowns in his own grief. This isn't something Sorey should be left to sink or swim alone in.]
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Shh, Sorey, it's okay. I'm not going to force you right now. I only wanted you to know that I'm here if you want to talk to me about it or if you wish to have something to distract you from it. And...that I'm sorry.
[Sorry that her purification will never be strong enough to revert a dragon. Sorry that no oath she can take will ever be strong enough to do so. Sorry that there was no other option. Sorry that he'd lost another person so dear to him.]
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Lailah's hands are warm over his; Lailah is always warm. Maybe it's a fire seraph thing. Or maybe it's just a Lailah thing.]
I'm... [Sorey pauses, then reaches up to cover her hand with his, draws both her hands into his own and lowers them to his lap.] I think I'm thirsty, [he murmurs, because that's something he can do. He can get a drink of water.]
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Then let's get you something to drink and at least a small snack.
[The fire seraph squeezes his hands gently, encouragingly, like she'll go with him if he still wants her company. She won't leave Sorey. She had no choice with Michael or the other Shepherds, but she'll take advantage of the freedom to do so now.
One step at a time. As long as they can keep it one step at a time, Lailah's sure that Sorey will heal.]