Come Sail Away Inbox

[neverleave]

ShipTalk | Room 109

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[myagic]

[It's okay, she's not a Weird Dad like Jade, so clearly things won't get gross and emotional. Probably??

Under normal circumstances, Rita might have been tempted to joke about having Natsuno open the box first in case there's an explosive, but...even that's too much, too soon after the island--and she's already looked inside. So, she points at the box and gives him a perfect, succinct explanation of why he's here:]

Carry that.

[neverleave]

[On the bright side, the only emotion Natsuno is feeling right now is annoyance.

This is also the not-so-bright side.]

Where I'm from, movers are usually getting paid.

[myagic]

[Rita glowers. Two stubborn, annoyed teenagers? What could go wrong!]

What do you expect to be paid, a free spa trip?

[neverleave]

The spa here is already free.

[He wouldn't mind helping her carry the box, but he's pissed that she's just bossing him around.]

At least tell me what I'm supposed to carry and where.

[myagic]

Everything here is free.

[She huffs, a little annoyed that he isn't just going along with it--even if she would've explained sooner or later what was inside.]

Fine--it's a reverse barrier blastia, and we're taking him to my cabin for now.

[As in she may get him to move it somewhere else should they ever find a use for it.]

[neverleave]

[Each word separately is familiar - even blastia - but put them together and it sounds weird. Especially since Rita just called it a "he."]

What would you with a "reverse" barrier? Keep stuff inside instead of outside?

[He hoists the box up easily. Since Jinx declared she's going to keep creeping on him, Natsuno started drinking blood more often. He hates it, but if he has to look over his shoulder all the time, he needs to be prepared.]

[myagic]

That's right. They're used for trapping monsters insi--hey, be gentle with him!

[She snaps at him partially out of concern for the blastia and partially out of surprise that he actually lifts it way more easily than she expected.]

[neverleave]

[Very easily. Even Natsuno's a little surprised.]

I'm not going to break - "him." Do you want help or not?

[myagic]

Just--be careful with him, all right?

[That's...her way of saying yes as she starts heading in the direction of the stairs, turning back to make sure he's following.]

...Anyway, were you always this strong?

[neverleave]

[He's following, sheesh! Good thing the cabins are just one deck above...]

Yeah. I just didn't use it.

[That's not even a total lie. No need to tell he needs blood to be this strong.]

[myagic]

[Honestly, Rita finds nothing suspicious about it. It's not like there's been many opportunities to watch him in action (and she was trying not to watch reruns of his final match against that Ebalon guy...)]

Hmm...then I know who to let handle all the heavy lifting in the future.

[You know. As if she wasn't already getting him to do that... Since the weight doesn't seem to be slowing him down at all, she'll keep going, getting back on topic.]

So, like I was saying, this guy generates a reverse barrier. Normal barriers keep monsters out of cities, but this one seals them inside. Assuming he's still in working condition...

[neverleave]

[The way she keeps calling it "him" is weird, but Natsuno writes it off as another one of Rita's quirks. Maybe she talks to her magic supplies the way other people talk to pets or plants.]

How can you tell if it's a monster or a person?

[Natsuno's curious, but also a little worried to see it in action. Jade's holy bottles had an unpleasant effect on him - what this "reverse barrier" is the same?]

[myagic]

[Natsuno has her figured out so quickly...]

Normally it's pretty obvious just by looking...

[she isn't aware yet that the Entelexeia can take human form, after all]

...but I'd say the captain's pretty clearly some kind of weird monster, no matter how much he tries to play human dress-up.

[neverleave]

[...alright, sounds like the mage activates it when they see a monster. Which hopefully means no accidental bubbling and awkward explanations...]

You want to trap the captain inside this thing?

[myagic]

[They are mostly used by monster-hunting guilds and monster-exterminating knights and such, after all...and canon never explains how it works so ???]

As long as he's here, it's worth a try, isn't it? I'd like to test him before that, though...but there's not exactly many monsters around.

[neverleave]

Right, [Says the vampire without missing a beat] at least not the kind of monsters your world has.

[Giant lizards, giant birds and killer plants are kind of hard to come by here.]

But there are people with all kinds of powers. Shouldn't be hard to find volunteers.

[myagic]

[And she isn't about to go admitting that there might be ghost monsters of all things on Terca Lumireis, so-!]

Having some weird powers doesn't automatically make someone non-human. I mean, you're obviously human.

[Obviously! (Also, you know...there's Estelle, back home--her special powers don't make her any less human, even if an awful, smug jerk tried to use her as a tool...)]

[neverleave]

[Well this is awkward.

You know, he's just gonna say it. After the island, Natsuno figures that while he doesn't need to tell the whole truth, some things aren't worth the effort it takes to hide them.]

I'm really not.

[myagic]

[Rita glances back at him with a look that's both a little skeptical and a little curious.]

Hmm...really? What, are you a jellyfish-person like that Mizuki weirdo, too?

[She's only half-joking about that, too...]

[neverleave]

[He's silent for a moment, giving her a look that manages to be both flat and incredulous.]

It's called aegir, and no. [Just - how did she reach this conclusion??] I'm a shiki.

[By now they made it to the cabins. Natsuno places the box near Rita's cabin door without further explanation.]

[myagic]

[She doesn't have much information to work from, okay?! She unlocks the door automatically while giving him a flat look in turn.]

And...? What's a shiki supposed to be?

[For all she knows that's just another word for jellyfish!!]

[neverleave]

[Natsuno makes no move to step inside. Ugh, he hates that stupid invitation rule...!]

What I am. [So helpful.] A creature that's hard to kill.

[myagic]

A slippery jellyfish, then.

[She scowls, because he's being kind of unhelpful right now!]

What are you waiting for?

[neverleave]

An invitation.

[He's taking a risk being so direct, but perhaps he can pass it as being a sarcastic brat if he says it dryly enough.]

I promise I'm not a jellyfish.

[myagic]

[She is giving him such a flat look right now, because--she's not quite as keen as Jade, so it really does look to her like he's being as difficult as possible (while still helping).]

Just come in already, jellyfish or not.

[And there's his invitation. She doesn't actually believe he's a jellyfish, but she might be tempted to keep calling him one as long as they're being snarky.]

Anyway, a "slightly-harder-to-kill" human is still a human. You sure don't look like the barrier would hold you.