IC INBOX

[crystallinememories]

Hello! This is Raha's phone. Sorry that I couldn't answer, but leave me a message or text me.

Comments

[thavnairian]

sadly no. i'm more of a... dabbler. my friends at home are the brilliant ones, i just learned how to mend wounds a little so i wouldn't be stuck watching on the sidelines all the time

hmmm... that's not a bad offer. i'm pretty handy with these phone things by now, but i don't own a computer. we have them back home but they're... inelegant, room-sized things trying to read data from thousands of years ago... or they're evil and want to destroy all life. i decided not to bother with one here just in case.

[A pause.]

do you need a place to live? there are still a couple of empty bedrooms in the house i bought. no pressure, though! we're strangers stuck in the same annoying situation.

[Amal to Amal: STOP LYING STOP LYING STOP LYING STOP LYING]

[crystallinememories]

[You just keep giving him more and more questions about your world, Amal...]

You say that like it's nothing. Hopefully I'll never had need to see you use such skills, but from what I've heard of things so far I doubt we'd be so lucky.

There are still some rather large computers around for particularly complicated tasks, but the sort most people use are significantly smaller. And I'm 95% sure that none of them are evil.

[He's... mostly joking? Sometimes he hears about new projects in AI and gets a bit concerned though.]

I'm in a flat right now, but my roommate is set to defend and graduate soon, so I actually do need to start looking for roommates or a new place to stay. Are you sure it wouldn't be a bother?

[He assumes Amal is likely just casually looking for roommates to help pay rent, and it would make certain elements a lot easier to stay with people who are paranormally aware, much less whatever else this network and all will get them wrapped up in...]

[thavnairian]

only a 5% chance of being evil? i'll take those odds.

[He thinks G'raha is joking. Probably. Either way, it's funny and he'll totally play along.]

not at all. it's a huge house. just me and ghaleon here, and our various feathered and scaled friends. the only thing to note is that i work nights, so you might hear me come back at about two in the morning. shouldn't be a problem if you're not a light sleeper

ghaleon is another far traveler like me. he's more of the... magical type, so i bet he can teach you some things about where he's from if you ask.

[crystallinememories]

You have pets? What kind?

Honestly, I'm usually still awake doing work at that time, so it's unlikely to bother me regardless.

I certainly would ask, so I hope he wouldn't mind the millions of questions I'm bound to have.

[thavnairian]

'pet' is not the proper word to encapsulate everything that a chocobo is, especially one of Lady Dansara's caliber. she is not only a traveling companion, but she can carry me and a friend to any destination and fight (small) dragons by herself. she has beauty as well as brawn!

anshu is definitely a pet, though. he just followed me home through a spirit portal because i had food. he's a bird of some kind, totally harmless

i think ghaleon is nice! i don't know him very well because he keeps to himself, but he's funny. he has some kind of lizard-y dragon snake thing, it's cute

[crystallinememories]

[Raha has no idea what a chocobo is, but Amal's description is utterly charming.]

Well now I certainly have to meet her. Assuming she'll deign to grace me with her presence, that is.

[ah yes, this is cementing his impression that Amal's not being picky about roommates. Clearly this is nothing out of the ordinary.]

An unconventional set of animals, but likely good company all the same.

[thavnairian]

Lady Dansara is always prepared for a royal audience! she sleeps out behind the house next to the chicken coop but she also likes to be with me wherever i am, so i'll go outside and sit on the porch, and she'll lay her head in my lap. i'm sure she'll like you if that's what you're worried about

[She had carried a weakened G'raha from Syrcus Tower to Mor Dhona not so long ago (after Amal had carried him down all those stairs).]

they're the best company. especially dansara...

i spent a lot of impossibly cold nights curled up with her in the dark. when the storms were the worst, she'd hide me beneath her wings like a chick, and we'd shake off ilms of snow in the morning... a few times, she brought me directly to the healers when i was too cut up to move.

that's the thing about adventuring—if you do it alone, you won't last long.

[crystallinememories]

That's very sweet.

[He has to mull over that for a bit, because that description probably shouldn't make him a bit wistful, but... it does. He is a voracious learner, and while he's spent most of his life feeding his appetite for knowledge with books, he can't deny that he periodically dreams of just... going off on some grand adventure, learning things through experience and personal discovery. Coming to America to study was a bit of a small scale version of that, but the idea of having someone to share it with just hooks into him a little bit.]

Honestly, that sounds wonderful. I wish I had someone to go on adventures with like that.

[thavnairian]

[Amal is thankful this is over text because if this was video or voice he would break. As it is, he doesn't respond right away. It... hurts. To be so close. To help him without being able to tell him...

It's agonizing.]

all you have to do is ask

[He's said it before, and he'll say it again.]

who wouldn't want to go on an adventure with you?

[crystallinememories]

[Likewise, it takes Raha a bit longer to respond that it strictly should. He's sure Amal's just saying that- they hardly know each other, after all, there's no reason for him to... but still...

Something about that just makes him feel so happy.]

Then maybe we should, sometime.

[He doesn't expect it to ever happen. But... it would be nice.]

[thavnairian]

ever seen the countryside from horseback?

[They ride horses here instead of chocobos, last he checked.]

[crystallinememories]

No, I haven't.

[thavnairian]

if i saddle up my chocobo, it's basically the same thing!

i just have to find someone who can make one

[crystallinememories]

[Ok that does sound like a lot of fun.]

I'll be honest, I don't know where you'd get any saddle around here, much less one for a chocobo.

[thavnairian]

i'm not worried. there's people who make and sell weapons in the secret magical bazaar

surprise!

[crystallinememories]

You should have mentioned that to start!

why did no one tell him about secret magic bazaar??]

[thavnairian]

[This is an appropriately lighthearted subject to get away from how much he misses G'raha.]

oh, i assumed you knew about the secret underground black market since you knew about magic. silly me! i thought it would bore you if i asked

[He's totally teasing.]

[crystallinememories]

Those are not remotely the same thing!

[he's being a little huffy about it, but it's a playful huffy.]

[thavnairian]

well, my dear scholar, if you think you can step away from your studies for a few hours i'm happy to take you anytime

[crystallinememories]

To be honest I could probably use the break... at any point I don't actively need to be present for a class.

[He's pretty much always reading or writing otherwise.]

[thavnairian]

naturally.

if we go during the weekend i think more shops will be open. what do you say?

[crystallinememories]

Sounds wonderful! I'm already looking forward to it.

[thavnairian]

it's a date!

bring an empty bag and an open mind. but also don't eat or drink anything i don't hand you myself because it might be tampered with hehe

[crystallinememories]

I'm now also a tad concerned, but still mostly excited!















[wait hang on is this actually a date.]

[thavnairian]

[Depends on the vibe, honestly.]

i'll keep you safe, don't worry!

i'm not from the birthplace of alchemy for nothing