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[There's a new face tonight. Richter steps onto the plane without stumbling, looking for all intents and purposes like he had been doing this forever. He reaches up, probably to brush hair out of his eyes, but stops and lets his hand drop to his side]
This place is... No, the Temples have a different atmosphere.
[Richter looks around some ( Read more... )
This place is... No, the Temples have a different atmosphere.
[Richter looks around some ( Read more... )
Stop! Aaah!
[The wolf catches Richter's scent and immediately stops in its tracks, giving a low growl and facing the redhead. They're still some distance away so it takes Emil a moment to find the source of Wolf's discomfort.
And nearly drops the kittens.]
R-Richter?! [And in a moment of utterly forgetting where he is:] What are you doing here?
[He's more surprised than offended, honest.]
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Only to stop when he hears a familiar voice. He lowers his arm and turns around to face Emil]
... Shouldn't I be the one asking you that question?
[and he still comes off as intimidating despite his clear confusion. How did Emil get here? Perhaps this wasn't a phenomenon exclusive to the Ginnungagap after all...]
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[Richter has a point, actually. The monster growls again. Emil frowns.] Wolf, it's fine! It's just Richter. He won't hurt anyone. [Or at least, that's what he hoped. Emil is still somewhat tense. First Lloyd, and then Richter... but thankfully, Lloyd seems to be younger and doesn't know what the Cores are.
But Richter...
No. No! Richter would never... Even if he says he's an enemy, Emil knows that Richter doesn't really want to fight them. There's only sadness when he looks at Emil, he thinks. Kindness and sadness, and those aren't things that make a killer.]
I-I've actually been coming here for a long time. But whenever I told someone, they either forgot or they didn't believe me. Even you.
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... Have you? [Richter frowns. Emil has mentioned this to him? Richter was sure that something like this wouldn't escape his memory that easily. Though he couldn't deny the fact that he would probably have brushed this off the same way he had brushed the dreams (memories) when they'd run into each other just outside Triet. Perhaps that was what happened...
He still can't recall ever hearing Emil talk about any world other than Niflheim]
Hm. Perhaps I should have paid closer attention to your claims then.
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It's... just the way this place works. That's why you don't remember. I told Marta, too, but she thought I was playing a joke on her or something. Only Tenebrae ever believed me, but he always forgot in a few hours.
But now...
[He looks up again.] We might not even be from the same world. Like-- Lloyd, he's here, too! But he doesn't remember anything... [Which brings him to the next awkward topic.] But if he did, I'd ask him the same thing I have to ask you, Richter.
[He steels himself somewhat, or tries. He's grown up quite a bit recently. From the kid who got pushed down into the mud.]
Are you still trying to hurt Marta?
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...
[Richter just stands there and stares at Emil for a moment. He noticed the gradual change, watched Emil break out of his shell - had a hand in it, even - but to see it like this, when everything was already said and done... It was a strange feeling]
Does it matter? You chose to form a pact to protect her. So long as you continue to use Ratatosk's power, we will remain enemies.
[a pause, then he pushes his glasses up] But it'd be pointless to attack either of you here. Where ever 'here' is. [an annoyed huff]
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[He doesn't like the sound of that, but he knows by now that they won't always be able to run off and go on magical treasure-finding adventures. Marta knows about it by now, too. She's tired of Emil running off. It's not fair to Richter, to have to support Emil like that. And it's not fair to Marta since Richter is technically their enemy, and he's losing his focus while chasing someone he hardly understands.
He's relieved that Richter won't attack them here, though. The tension in his shoulders gradually relaxes. He finds a free hand to scritch Wolf behind the ears.]
Yeah, that's... kind of complicated. This is the Astral Plane. You came here through a weird shop, right? Apparently that place exists on multiple worlds. I don't mean just Tethe'alla and Sylvarant, either. They could be from the same world on the outside but have completely different memories...
Most people I've met aren't from anywhere I've heard of, but there are some people from Sylvarant who don't even know the worlds were put back together.
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His neutral expression turns into a thoughtful one as Emil goes through his explanation of the Astral Plane. After all that had transpired back in Aselia... After what was happening at this moment, it certainly explained a lot]
So not only are there people from different worlds here, but there are those who are from different times as well. And that shop is what connects everyone to this Plane?
[he pauses again before making a small amused sound] Gives the concept of the 'World Tree' a whole new perspective...
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But regardless of what he wants, Richter is here right now, and Emil can't ever hide how happy he is to meet his first friend.]
Yeah...
[He perks up a bit at that phrase, though it carries darker connotations for Marta. He doesn't actually remember the World Tree going crazy and killing Palmacosta even though he knows it happened. His memory is so unreliable nowadays. He can only imagine it's because of the Plane or the powers awakening inside of him... or maybe...
... well, he doesn't have time to be worrying about that right now.]
Maybe all the World Trees are part of a bigger World Tree... though I guess it wouldn't be called a World Tree. Maybe a... Space Tree?
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He shakes his head, partly to stop that train of thought (It's over and done with. Stop dwelling on it) but mostly to disagree with the name... 'Space Tree', Emil? Really now?]
There's no need to be so literal. Regardless of it's size, it would still be connecting various worlds. [a pause] Then again, perhaps it'd be better if the connection had nothing to do with the Tree at all.
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I always thought trees were strong and supportive, but after getting involved with all this... I'm starting to think that they're just as delicate as anything else.
[Kind of like people. He doesn't mean anything by it as he continues to watch Richter, though. He's curious. He wants to know what Richter remembers. Hell, he's not even sure that Richter's real. The last time he thought Richter was here, he ended up making a whole picnic by himself...
If he's about to ask something else, though, he swallows it and smiles warmly instead.]
Anyway... there's lots of things to see here. I can show you around. It's not a problem at all.
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The Giant Kharlan Tree before it withered and died. Considering that this World Tree is practically a newborn compared to it...
[at the suggestion, Richter just stares blankly at Emil. To have someone lead him around this place would be faster than exploring on his own... but this was Emil. Emil who was still protecting Marta from Richter because she had Ratatosk's Core and he - supposedly - still planned on killing her to avenge Aster. How did it all become so complicated?]
Don't you have better things to do? This place isn't Aselia but it doesn't change the fact that I'm your enemy. [he says this the same as he always has done, harshly and with the faintest trace of sadness. To accept Emil's friendly gestures would just make things more painful for all parties involved in the end]
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[The wonderment in his expression disappears when Richter seems to dismiss him. He knows they're supposed to be enemies-- he knows that. But it's Richter. And Emil knows he can trust him... or at least, he hopes he can. Even after this long, his faith in his first friend is nigh unshakable.]
... Richter. Would we still be enemies if I wasn't even from the same Aselia?
[There's another question bubbling beneath that one, and it comes with a pair of questioning hazel eyes.]
Is Ratatosk's power really the only thing that divides us?
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Richter stops to consider Emil's questions. So then the boy had already accompanied Richter through Cape Fortress... Emil was Ratatosk, Ratatosk was Emil and if that held true then it didn't (shouldn't?) matter what world either of them came from.
Or so he had once told himself. If Emil didn't yet know the real reason why Richter was attempting to kill Ratatosk then-]
I would think that was obvious. [you wouldn't be acting this way if we weren't enemies] And I believe I've answered that question already. It was bound to be like this from the beginning...
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Richter's next remark cuts him like a dull knife. It hurts, but he also feels like he can't give up. Not yet.
He presses his lips into a line, tries to look braver than he really feels.]
It doesn't have to be that way. This place is different. Maybe we can't get to know each other on my world because of our situations, but we don't have any of those obligations here.
[His fist clenches at his side, unnoticed.]
I want to get to know you, Richter. You were the first friend I ever made. You taught me so much. So it doesn't matter if you think we're enemies or not, because-because I care about what happens to you!
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And then what? Do you honestly believe that things will be all right just because we're not in Aselia? That's awfully irresponsible of you.
[he cuts himself off. He hadn't meant to yell, to get this angry, but Richter couldn't imagine fighting Ratatosk - fighting Emil - after taking the time to know him as a friend. Regardless of whether they were from the same Aselia or not (oh, the issues that arise from that alone) if something were to happen here that would change how events played out back in Aselia... Richter wasn't sure he wanted to know what the outcome would be]
... You're better off focusing on more pressing matters.
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