welcome home

[outofoffice]

Who: Venti, Yuri, Saya, Lumine, and Kantera
What: A moment of respite
When: March 4th
Where: A house at the far edge of Blossomcrown
Warnings: Probably mentions of previous game trauma/violence


[ Venti has always been the type who wanders to the beat of his own drum, dipping in and out of people's lives as easily as the blowing wind. But Tokyo-F . . . changed things, somewhat.

Though his initial instinct had been to sleep under a tree and call it "home," an invitation to live with old friends put a halt to those plans. For starters, it would be protection from the unpredictable weather in the segments. For another, maybe he did get used to having a bed and a room to call "home," in no small part because of the teammates and friends who inhabited it with him. Now that solitary tree feels . . . lonely, in a way it didn't before.

And so here he is, standing at the threshold of a house full of people he loves and trusts, who asked him to stay . . . it makes him feel his age, but not in a bad way, for once. Nor does he feel that nagging urge to disappear into the wind.

Should he catch anyone watching him, the pensive expression dissolves into a smile. ]

Hehe, is this the part where we fight over bedrooms?

Comments

[sangreine]

[ Look she tried her best and also she said a lot of things other than warm tinglies, but like hey it's not wrong in her eyes. Saya's mating instincts are hella strong. ]

My species has very strong emotions. I'm married now, and the last person I loved we were together 200 years before he died.

[essenceborn]

[ Saya is the trueet queen. Her mating queenliness knows no bounds... ]

Two hundred years... That's even longer than the time I've lived through. Wow.

[ Nenonen is genuinely impressed?? Time already seemed to go on forever in their world, so the thought of anyone living past that is mind-boggling. ]

[sangreine]

[ Not what she expected to hear. ]

...How long have you lived?

[essenceborn]

I have experienced 188 years of time.

[ "Experienced" being the key word here, because Nen had only been alive for seventeen biological years before time started repeating itself. They're not sure if they can count all that reset time as a real age if nothing about them changed, the time never moved forward. ]

[sangreine]

[ ..."Experienced" ]

[ Saya draws a breath, this is not the moment to ask about it, and she doesn't really need to know ever if it would mean pushing Nenonen. ]

It depends on how you count with me. My hibernations mess with things.

[essenceborn]

Because you were asleep? I think if time was still moving...that it counts. Right?

[ That's the default for gauging how old one is, isn't it? How much time you've experienced in your life.

Even if someone were to slip into a coma or hibernation, it's not like the world stopped with them. ]

[sangreine]

I never really thought about it. I don't know when I first hatched, so I assumed the age range I was given had to do with removing time that I was sleeping.

[essenceborn]

Oh... That is a good point. Hmm.

[ Nen didn't consider that. ]

Could your age then be delineated into two values? One for total cumulative time lived, and another solely for the time you experience while awake?

[sangreine]

That's what I'm guessing the range was about. 5,000 years of existence, 200 years awake. But I can't really be sure.

[essenceborn]

That's so long... I don't know what I would do if I lived that long.

[ Nen lays their head back down and lets out a slow exhale, staring at nothing in particular for a few moments. ]

It must be very different if you don't remember it every time...

[sangreine]

I don't really have anything to compare it to, but the other immortals I've told about this have been horrified. Rightly so, I think. It's cruel.

But I don't have much choice, yet. Maybe someday.

[essenceborn]

...You've met other people who are immortal? How old were they??

[ Hello information that is relevant to Nen's interests. So far, Nen only knows Chipp and Saya--and Chipp's already dead, so technically speaking he doesn't age anymore...they think. He says he's 21, so Nen's just accepted that. ]

[sangreine]

It depends. Anywhere from a few decades to many thousands or years. [ Generic info is oaky to give, but names will not be given here. Saya doesn't out people's business unless it's necessary. ]

[essenceborn]

Thousands of years...

[ Nenonen can't help but shudder at the thought. It sounds like a a fate worse than anything they can imagine. Death would be a mercy at that point as far as they're concerned. ]

That is horrible. Are they alright?

[sangreine]

[ ...That's a matter of opinion. ]

They're no less all right than a human or a younger immortal.

[essenceborn]

[ That does not sound promising???? ]

Are the human and younger immortal in this case the same or comparable ages?

[sangreine]

[ She sighs, because it's not really promising, no. ]

Being an immortal among mortals means you lose a lot of people. Some mortals have experienced that level of loss too, either due to older age or circumstances in their life, so it's not something that is unique to immortals, but being immortal makes constant loss a certainty. It's always present in our minds, the losses we've suffered, the losses we will suffer.

It's something we learn to handle, and how well we handle it... like anyone, we have bad days, days where the sadness is overwhelming. But we also have many good days, happy days.

[essenceborn]

[ Oh... That's how she meant it. That's very much the opposite of promising, yup. It's quite depressing, but something that they relate to more than they'd like. Nenonen doesn't think they're immortal to any degree, but due to their unique circumstances, they've lived some of that reality.

Saya's immortal. Nen has a shorter-than-normal lifespan compared to a human. One day, they'll wind up making Saya sad too.

The thought is sobering. Nen tucks in closer and takes a long breath. ]

...I want to give you lots of good and happy days.

[sangreine]

[ ...Unless Saya makes them sad first, by falling asleep. So really, with her, it cuts both ways. ]

I know you will. Being with you makes me very happy.

[essenceborn]

[ Nen would be sad....very sad :c ]

Being with you makes me happy, too. Thank you for showing me a sleep-over. And a karaoke.

[ They tuck in close, rubbing their cheek against Saya's collarbone. ]

You're the best person I've ever slept with.

[sangreine]

Of course. I'll show you as many things as you want to see.

[ The phrasing is hilarious, but Saya doesn't laugh. She knows what Nenonen means. ] What a perfect compliment. Thank you.