[ We find Some Of Our Heroes sitting in the common room of the Flying Couches home! Which has been less Chaotic since Vall left, rather like exorcising a Slaad. ] [ It's soon after the end of the Summer vacation! But right now you're just loafing. MiniSession Start! ] * Tia is reclining on her side, leaning against some cushions and staring out the window. Her tail twitches slightly, and she seems to be preoccupied with wrapping and unwrapping a tendril of blonde hair around an index finger. * HKenji is kneeling on the floor, deep in what appears to be either meditation or sleep. * Tia looks a anxious, and maybe even a little dejected. She's been like that ever since the incident with the blue priestess. * Tia throws a furtive glance at Kenji every once in awhile, but then she sighs a little and rests her head on a bent arm. * Seylin is... not there. Which is odd, because she used to spend pretty much all of her time in the common room. Now she only seems to leave her room for classes. * Patrick is lounging back in one of the couches and being very relaxed. Which is pretty odd for him as well, as he spends very little time doing... um, nothing. * Tia finally gets slowly to her feet and pads over to Patrick. She tugs on his sleeve. * Patrick smiles at Tia. "Hey, what's up Tia?" ^_^ * Tia looks fretful. "Kenji hates me." * Patrick looks a little thoughtful, then grins. "Aw, I don't think he hates you. Why do ya say that?" * Seylin walks into the common room. She looks almost startled to see people there, then tries to slip out of the room. He doesn't like talking to me anymore. And he doesn't look at me. * Tia 's eyes gleam wetly. "I wish I knew what I did to make him mad." * Patrick spots Seylin and waves at her, smiling. "Come on over here Sey. I need some help figuring out what's up between Kenji and Tia." ^_^ * HKenji opens his eyes. "Where are you going, Seylin?" Oh! Um. Nowhere? * HKenji reaches up and removes the ashtray somebody set on his head. * Seylin walks over to Patrick and Tia. "What's wrong?" * Tia sniffles. "Kenji's still mad at me, Sey. I don't know what I did." I wonder why some of your housemates still see fit to use me as a piece of furniture. * Seylin sighs. "I don't think it's anything you did, Tia." What should I do? I don't know? Give him some time, maybe? I'm not sure... * Tia perks up when she hears Kenji's voice, but she lowers her eyes immediately. * HKenji frowns. "It's something I am... having trouble dealing with. Unfortunately, I have been... "asked" not to speak of the matter." ...But you're mad at me? I'm not angry with you. You're not? * Patrick eyes Kenji, smiling. "He's not mad at you." * Tia wipes her eyes on the back of her hand. Well, then...what's wrong? Why don't you like talking to me anymore? * Seylin looks down and plays with a few random strands of her hair. You can tell me, honest. I won't tell anyone you told me. * HKenji smiles sadly, then looks at Seylin and Patrick. "You tell her." * Patrick glances over at Seylin, with a 'Do I have to?' grin. * Tia turns and looks expectantly at Seylin and Patrick. For a moment, her tail wags. * Seylin looks like she's going to cry. "I can't do it!" And she heads out the door. * Tia blinks, surprised. "Sey?" * Patrick looks at Tia and smirks. "I'll be right back." He runs out the door after Seylin. * Tia watches Patrick go, an utterly confused expression on her face. I-I don't understand. * Tia glances over at Kenji. What happened? Did I say something wrong? No. It's... I cannot explain. This is a difficult situation. * Tia nods unhappily, still looking confused. "I wish I knew what was going on." I'm glad you're not mad at me, though. You don't hate me, do you? ...no. * Tia looks somewhat relieved. "We're still friends?" ...you could say that. As I said, I am... unsure how to deal with this situation. * Tia nods, but she cracks a wan smile. Maybe I can help? Not unless Seylin and Patrick agree. * Tia nods. "I can wait." She sinks back into a pile of cushions. "I hope Sey's okay." She'll be fine... eventually. * Tia nods again and sighs. "Why did everything get all strange after we got back? It wasn't like this before." Because of... some things that happened. Vall dying being the least of them. What else happened? * Will waves. We were defeated by a single spell. All of us. That... does bad things to a group's confidence. A spell..? (The spells that makes the peoples fall down!) Yes. A single spell of nearly overwhelming power. Not one of us could stand against it, I'm shamed to say. * Tia looks deep in thought for a moment. "I seem to remember the blue dragon head lady saying something. It was something horrible, but I can't remember the words." You don't want to remember them. * Tia nods. "It made me feel really bad. On the inside. And then I think I fell...and I don't remember anything else except when I woke up and saw you guys." * Tia scratches her head, trying to puzzle it out. "I think I fell asleep." * HKenji frowns. I can say no more. ...That's why you were mad, right? In a way, yes. 'Cause I was sleeping instead helping you hit the bad blue dragon head lady? We couldn't hit the bad lady. We were powerless before her. We are alive because she left us that way. * Tia falls silent. "Oh. I don't understand, then." Was it better that I fell asleep? I wish I could have helped, though. I felt like I let everyone down... * Tia absently plays with a ring on a chain that she pulled from her pocket. She'd worn it on the night of the last winter formal. No. You let noone down. I let everybody down, though. * Tia looks up, surprised. "You? Why do you say that?" Because I should have seen it coming. The moment is past, though. The mistake cannot be undone. All I can do is make sure I never make it again. * Tia shakes her head. "You've never let us down, Kenji. Like the time with the bad dragon. You were great." She smiles and flushes slightly. * Will finally speaks after getting the gist of the conversation. "We all did our best. It was all that one can ask for." * HKenji shrugs. "It was desperation." * Tia straightens abruptly, realizing for the first time that Will is in the room. "Oh, hi, Will!" * Tia waves. Still, I thought you were really cool, Kenji. * Will smiles, "Hi Tia. Don't get too down about what happened. It was meant to be in the greater scheme of things I'm sure." * Tia smiles warmly at Will. "Thanks, Will. I'm feeling a little better now." How 'bout you, Will? How are you doing? * Will grins wryly, "Still a bit sore. Can't believe that priestess cut me that many times without me dying." * Tia grins back. "Well, that two-inch armor is pretty thick." Of course, it was probably a good thing I passed out as fast as I did. Look at Kenji and Isty. *shudders* I'm just glad we...almost all made it. * HKenji looks down at some of his scars. "Scars are how we remember our mistakes." * Tia looks up suddenly. "Actually, how come I didn't get all cut up?" (Yup. Which is why Patrick doesn't have any!) * HKenji looks away. * Tia flinches at Kenji's reaction, and her head droops. "I'm sorry." You healed faster than us Tia. * Tia smiles fleetingly at Will. Kenji...? Oh, I made you mad again. * Tia sniffs. * Istvan wanders into the common room, dressed in a t-shirt and shorts. Yup, he's big. "Hey guys." * Will pats Tia on the back. "Kenji's not mad at you Tia." Hi Istvan, how are you feeling? Istvan... you tell her, or I will. * Tia waves to Istvan and smiles weakly. Her eyes are wet. * Istvan blinks, then frowns. "I thought we discussed this already. It don't need to be said." It does. * Tia looks from Kenji to Istvan. "I don't understand. Why doesn't anyone want to tell me?" Did I do something bad? I will not have this between us any longer. You tell her, or I will, and damn the consequences. I heard that some people sleep walk... ... dammit, man. You got your rules. Fine. Don't claim to understand 'em, but if they work for you, fine. Don't inflict them on her. * Tia looks completely bewildered. "Rules?" It's got nothing to do with my "rules" and everything to do with her needing to know what really happened. Why? What good's it do? * Tia nods. "I want to know why people are acting weird around me." You gonna stop treating her like a damn leper if I do? Because until she knows, I cannot explain why I am having trouble dealing with the situation. And until I can explain, the matter cannot be properly solved. Meditation has failed to produce an acceptable alternative. * Tia tugs on Will's sleeve. "Do you know what's going on?" * Istvan scowls, walks up to Kenji, and whispers angrily. "Meditate on this... she's a kid. Looks aside, she's a freaking kid. You're the mature one. It should be on you to deal, not her." * Will sighs and glances up at Tia, "They're just working out how to deal with the situation." What situation? I know I fell asleep...and Vall-- Everybody has to grow up sometime. I find it unacceptable to keep this secret from her any longer. * Tia gets tensely to her feet, scattering cushions left and right. She looks very anxious. Why are people keeping secrets from me? [ And you're both talking about her like she's not there. ] What did I do? I have to know. Because we're having trouble how to deal with it ourselves Tia. ( Yes, we are. ) *continues whispering* Why? You need to hurt her like this so you can assuage your damn honor? * Will forces a smiles for Tia, "You did nothing wrong." I can hurt her one way, or hurt her another. You've left me little choice in the matter. * Tia looks at Will worriedly. "I didn't roll on anyone while I was sleeping did I? I didn't hurt anyone?" You got all the choice in the world, Kenji. For once, swollow your honor. Let her be. No. You didn't hurt anyone Tia. Oh, okay...but then why is everyone acting weird about it? I know something happened. I find your lack of faith in her resilience... disturbing. ... nice. Try and turn this back on me. Make it my fault. They teach you that when they taught you all that fancy speaking stuff? * Tia glances back over at Kenji and Istvan worriedly. "Are they fighting, Will?" Just because you want to keep her a child forever doesn't mean it has to be that way. (and tonight, the part of Kenji will be played by James Earl Jones) See, I spent most've my life with dwarves. Dwarves don't do bullshit. I don't either. And what you're feeding me right now is a big heapin' helping. (Actually, Istvan's doing a heaping helping of bullshit right now. Because he's the one holding back the truth.) ( Shh. =P ) Dwarves also don't lie to their friends to "protect" them. Or so I'm told. (he's prolly waiting until Tia can handle the truth) ( YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH! ) (You want the truth? YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!) ( Augh. ) ( HA! TOO SLOW! ) (In unison. Nice.) (<.<) (Cuuuuuursez.) ("Can so!" "Can not!" "Can so!" "Can not!") (Haha, we need a secondary OOC chan.) * Will says to Tia, "They're not fighting. At least not yet..." * Istvan rubs his temples. "Dammit... we can go around and around like this for hours. And pounding your face in, while satisfying, won't help matters." *stares Kenji right in the eyes* "No other way you're gonna let this go down?" (canyonoocooc?) (*snerk.) There is no other way but the truth. There never was. If you like, we can go out and pound on each other later. I don't want my friends to fight... [ That's awfully sporting of you, Kenji. ] * Will raises an eyebrow at Kenji's comment, "Time for me to prepare some healing spells I guess." ... I'd like that very much, actually. *turns away* Tia... mind sitting down? * Tia looks to Istvan. "Oh, sure." She rearranges the cushions and sits back down. You and Kenji aren't fighting, are you? ... not at the moment, no. Okay, good. I was worried. * Istvan coughs. "... okay. The thing with the woman in the dragon armor. Nasty stuff. She cast that spell... hell if I know what it was, but it made it so none of us could move, and she carved us up pretty good." * Tia nods. "Yeah, that's what Kenji said." We told you it knocked you out... that wasn't quite true. Oh...didn't I fall asleep? * Istvan glares back at Kenji, then rubs his face. "No... it... well, you died." * HKenji kneels near the couch. ...huh? * Tia looks even more confused than before, if it's possible. It killed you, Tia. The spell. The Desmodu had a scroll that brought you back, but... for a little while, you were dead. Like Vall. * Will sighs. "You took the spell harder than all of us Tia." What? But...I don't remember... Wait. I...died? But then I woke up. I didn't really die, right? You died. No, you di- shut up, Kenji. * HKenji shudders. * Tia looks completely stunned. * Will nods. I... You died. A spell brought you back. Like the magic Will uses to heal, but more powerful. If the Desmodu weren't there, I'm not even sure if I could've brought you back Tia. * Tia abruptly jumps to her feet, kicking the cushions from under her. "Does that mean I'm a zombie? No! I didn't die!" * Istvan GLARES back at Kenji. "No, no Tia. Zombies are dead people who walk around because of magic." You're alive. The magic made it like you never died. But for a little bit, you were dead. We... most of us didn't want to tell you, because we knew it would upset you. * Tia settles down a little, but she paws the ground fretfully. But I'm really alive, right? I'm still Tia... Yeah. You're alive. Good as new. Will could prolly explain how it all works better than I can... *looks over at Will* * Tia glances over at Will, too. Her cheeks are smeared wet with confused tears. * Will notices the look Istvan is giving him, "You are most definately alive Tia, and we are all truly grateful that you are." * HKenji flinches just a little. * Istvan shoots Kenji a look. "Yeah, Tia. We're *all* glad you're okay. Right Kenji?" * HKenji looks down at the floor and whispers hoarsely, "yes" * Will hands Tia a handkerchief, "Now wipe away those tears. We need the Tia that throws couches back, before Kenji starts crying." See? Even ol' gloomy Kenji is glad you're okay. * HKenji reaches into his sleeve and withdraws that same old dragon puzzlebox. He stands, steps forward, and then kneels before Tia. "Please accept this gift as a... a... a welcome return present." * Tia sniffs and accepts Will's handkerchief, then looks at Kenji in surprise. * Istvan raises an eyebrow. ...What? Really? But it's your puzzle box. You said it was important to you. * HKenji presses his forehead to the floor. "In Rokugan, the value of a gift is measured by its relation to the giver, not by its price. The more precious a thing is to the giver, the better a gift it makes. Please accept it, and with it, my apologies for how I have treated you." * Tia dries her eyes with the handkerchief and blinks at Kenji in astonishment. "Kenji...I--" (CAVITIES!) ( Hey, you get your turn, I get mine. ) * Tia blinks a couple more times. "But--" (Mmm...cavities.) * Istvan scowls. * Tia shakes her head vehemently. "But it's yours, Kenji. I couldn't take it away from you." * Seylin walks back into the room with Patrick. They're holding hands, and they look pretty happy. No, make that very happy. Practically glowing. ( Dammit, Fred! I told you to stop messing with that Wand of Faerie Fire! ) As long as you possess it, I have not truly lost it. Please accept this small token. O-okay. * Tia holds out both her hands. "Thanks, Kenji. I promise I'll take really, really, really good care of it!" * Tia sniffles again, then crushes Kenji in a tight hug and bawls into his kimono. * HKenji is grabbed in a hug by someone nearly twice as tall as he is, and FAR stronger. @_@ * Patrick glances around and smirks. * Istvan is still scowling. * Seylin blinks. "Did we miss something?" I'd... guess so. I'll explain later. Meep. Help? Hey, Tia! Let go of him before he needs to breathe! ( SQUUEZE, Tia! SQUEEZE! ) Don't you mean before he can't breathe? * Patrick grins. "That too." * Tia hears Patrick's voice and lets go. "Oh, sorry, Kenji." * Tia sniffs again, blows her nose on Will's hankie, and smiles. * Istvan slaps a meaty palm into Kenji's (now sore) ribs. "Aww, he's okay. Don't worry, Tia." * HKenji drops back to the floor. * HKenji OOFS. Whoops. Sorry. *Patrickgrins* * Tia offers Kenji a hand. (... Great, is grinning now measured in Patricks?) * HKenji takes Tia's hand and bows deeply over it. * Patrick chuckles. "So, what happened here while Seylin and I were off having a revelation of our own?" (why not? Lameness is measured in Chomeis, stupidity is measured in Valls, and smiles are measured in Patricks, with one Patrick being disturbingly scary, and going up from there) (I dunno. Only one thing, that I know of, could get Patrick to notsmile...) ( Kick to the nuts? ) (Short of actually killing him, of course. And... No, he wears a cup.) ( Having Seylin mad at him? ) (Bingo Kenji.) ( ^_^_v ) We... explained to Tia what really happened back in that canyon. * Seylin abruptly stops smiling. "Oh." Then she looks at Tia. "Tia?" * Tia smiles and nods. "They told me." * Patrick smirks. "Well she needed to know. We should have told her earlier, actually." Thanks for telling me guys. I'm never, ever dying again! * Tia nods resolutely. * Seylin lets go of Patrick's hand and runs over to hug Tia. "I'm sorry, Tia! I couldn't say anything because it made me really sad and I didn't want to make you sad, too!" * Patrick lets Seylin run over, smiling. He walks over to Kenji and helps the smaller man to his feet. "Hey man, you okay?" * HKenji backs away to let Seylin through. (And I mean smaller only in stature.) Yes. I am... quite all right. (Not in anything else. ^^;) * Tia hugs Seylin tightly. "It's okay. I was sad when I first found out, too. I wouldn't want to tell myself I died." And, look, Sey. Kenji gave me his treasured puzzle box. He did? Good. We couldn't have you out while I've been... planning. * Tia holds out the box reverently in both hands. * HKenji looks between Patrick and Seylin. "I take it you..." He quirks an eyebrow at Patrick. * Istvan walks up to Kenji, and whispers. "The only reason I don't tell her the real reason you were avoiding her was that it'd just make her more upset. Do anything to hurt her, and I will." * Tia nods. "I didn't want to take it away from him, but he said he wanted to give it to me." * Patrick grins. "Oh, about that? Yeah." He laughs. "Turns out she was feeling the same thing." Wow! That's really pretty! Che. You mean you couldn't see it? * Patrick smirks. "Remember, love is blind. Of course, however you take that is up to you." * Tia nods and looks down fondly at the box. "Yeah... I'm going to take very good care of it!" I know you will. It's very special to you, isn't it? Love is never blind. Just arrogant and prone to making trouble. * Istvan leans over Kenji's shoulder, and whispers again. "So don't fuck up." Well, if you want to get that way, love isn't even arrogant. How could a concept be arrogant, as such a thing would require sentience. * Tia nods emphatically. "It is! Kenji let me play with it before we left the school..." ...and I solved it! Love may not be sentient, but Benten certainly is. * Istvan moves away from Kenji, and picks Sey and Patrick up, one in each arm. "About damn time with you two!" * Seylin is picked up and laughs. "Whoa! What's this?" * Tia blinks suddenly. "Huh?" If you two took any longer, I was gonna forge some chains and tie you together until you figured it out. Tuc-hey! * Seylin giggles. "You wouldn't!" * Istvan stage-whispers. "If you still want those chains, for... other reasons... just lemme know." *smirks* * Patrick grins. "He would certainly try. And no goin' there!" * Tia looks from Seylin to Patrick, then back to Seylin again. "What's going on?" * Istvan lets Sey and Pat down, and smirks wider. * Will grins. "Congratulations!" So when do I get to perform the ceremony? Seylin and Patrick finally got it through their thick skulls that they like each other, Tia. * Seylin looks confused. "Cere-" She then blushes furiously. "Oh no... wait... it's not that!" She looks down and whispers. "Yet." Oh! * Patrick smiles. "And- What ceremony?" He smirks. [ Run, Pat. ] * Tia 's face splits into a wide grin. "Wow! I'm happy for you guys!" * Tia hugs them both. ( Run! Run, fool! ) * Seylin is hugged, and hugs back. * Will nods and whispers to Seylin, "Just tell me when." * Seylin blushes. * Patrick tries to hug back, even though Tia's really strong. He shoots Will a glance, though, along with a grin. * Tia puts Seylin and Patrick back down and does a little happy dance. * Will mimics Pat's grin. * Patrick lets go and glances at Seylin, whispering something to her. (Because they have to whisper at LEAST once a session) * Seylin whispers back. Hey, hey! Get a room, you two! * HKenji makes a discreet exit. * Patrick grins. "Okay, who's got the dirty mind now?" I lived most of my life with dwarves. Comparitively, I'm a freakin' saint. *laughs* * Tia yawns. "I'm worn out. I think I'll go take a nap." She waves and pads upstairs to her room. See ya Tia. And who's up for some pizza? ^_^ Good Night Tia. * Seylin seems to not be paying much attention to Istvan. "Sleep well, Tia!" She waves. * Patrick chuckles at Istvan's comment. * Tia grins and waves again. She looks down lovingly at the box again as she goes up the stairs. [ Shall I end here? ] (I'm all good.) (I'm happy!) (Done and done!) (Whoo, got the angst flushed out. Awesome.) (Yup Yup) [ Session End! And they all lived happily ever after. For a while, anyway. ]