2.3.1 - Bearer Of Bad News
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
Chapter 113 - Bearer Of Bad News
"Be careful. While your condition is stable for now, you don't want to make it any worse than you already have." Angela chides as you say your goodbyes. You nod absently.
"Yes, I'm aware. I do have an instinct for self-preservation, whatever you believe. Honestly, you'd think I were the younger sister between us." you say.
"In case you've forgotten, I am older than you." Angela responds, a bit confused. You laugh and shake your head.
"I just explained this to Tiph. I'm taller, that makes me the older sister. It makes more sense than trying to sort out our actual ages over all the memory sharing and time loops." you explain matter-of-factly.
"That…" Angela begins to speak, then notices your grin and stops. "Whatever. As far as survival instinct goes, you could do better. I seem to recall you very nearly being killed not too long ago, right after assuring me you had an excellent plan."
Now, it's your turn to be defeated in the arena of logic, it seems. Still, you're not going down without a little protest. "In my defense, it almost worked perfectly. Most things consider no longer having a head to be lethal damage."
"And Abnormalities aren't most things." Angela says calmly, as though she didn't have that smug grin on her face. A moment later, the smile falls.
"I know you can take care of yourself, but I still worry. You're putting yourself in danger constantly, and it would be sad if something were to happen to you."
"Don't worry," you assure your sister. "I know the feeling."
—————————
All in all, you can consider that a fruitful trip to the Library, even if it didn't go as planned. At least you had your little episode there, instead of out on the street or, worse, in front of Argalia. You don't know how your mother's biggest fan would've reacted, but it certainly wouldn't have been good.
Gebura was sleeping when you arrived and waking her just to say that you're bringing someone to training this afternoon felt unnecessary, so you technically didn't accomplish either of your initial objectives in coming, but getting to talk with Tiph again was nice. She's grown up a bit since you last saw her, both physically and mentally, which is nice. She's not quite as mature as she wants to be, but is definitely closer to being a young adult than a teenager. Having been the head of the Central Command Department, you know very well that Tiph can handle herself as well as any of your other coworkers. Not that competence and maturity are necessarily the same thing, or even necessarily related, but reminding yourself that the youngest of the Library's leadership knows what she's doing is fine reassurance.
Chesed did apparently manage to rope Tiphereth into helping out with the Magical Girls you left at the Library. They're still settling in; an understandable state considering they've only been here for a little under two full days. Some of the better-adjusted kids are helping out around the Library, but most are just milling about. No major incidents have cropped up since the first near-fight when you had arrived. In the short-term, things seem good. Tiphereth is closer to their age group and works as a good bridge to the rest of the staff, and Chesed has always been good at keeping people in stressful situations happy. Problems will probably arise if the situation remains as it is without progress for too long, but hopefully that won't be an issue. You have a lot of more immediate challenges to overcome presently, but testing out methods to return Nothing There's victims to their proper bodies has not slipped your mind.
To finish off the conversation, Tiphereth fell asleep, which you take as a sign that it's getting to be early in the morning instead of late at night.
—————————
Kyoko, Yuma, and Mami are drawn out of their respective beds in that order by the smell of breakfast. You tried something Chinese-styled this morning. Keeping to a loose routine is comfortable, but it's good to add a bit of variety into it. You don't actually know how to cook a Chinese breakfast, but that's what the internet is for. Judging by your children's reaction, the result is a success. They're quick to reassure you when you mention not being completely confident in your work, though Kyoko's "reassurance" is half-mumbled through mouthfuls of food. Then again, that's quite an endorsement on its own.
"On a more serious note," you say, dragging the conversation out of the realm of cooking and over to business. "Last night was rather eventful. I don't believe I've told Mami, Yuma, or the others about Argalia yet, have I?"
"I'm afraid I don't recognize that name." Mami says, shaking her head.
"Right! Kyoko, mind helping explain this? You were there." you propose, prompting the girl in question to look up from her food.
"Me? I guess, but I only know what you told me and what I saw. It's not gonna be much help." Kyoko says, picking at a bit of rice with her fork.
Still, despite the protesting, Kyoko does help with your explanation. She describes her first impressions of the Reverb Ensemble's Conductor, an unnaturally flamboyant man whose every exaggerated movement and musical word exuded confidence. You chip in with background information when necessary, but mostly just coax Kyoko to talk. You can practically see Mami's heart sink when hearing about Leonie, though you remind her that nothing can be done at the moment.
Yuma's understanding of the situation pretty much stops at "We need to work with a bad guy for now to stop a worse bad guy," which isn't entirely wrong.
"I see." Mami says when all is said and done, looking down into her now-empty bowl. "Forgive me for asking, but is it really a good idea to have Argalia so close? Surely it would be better to keep him away from civilians if possible."
"Maybe," you admit, leaning back in your chair and pointing with your fork. "But it's pretty much city in all directions. There's not anywhere I can reasonably get him to go that isn't surrounded by civilians. At least with him nearby, we can keep an eye on him."
Mami sighs. "You're right. I just… it feels wrong, working with somebody who's caused so much harm to others."
Kyoko starts to squirm, but Yuma reaches out at puts a hand on her arm. The older girl looks down, then relaxes with a deep sigh. You mentally note to get your youngest some sweets or something else nice for being absolutely fantastic.
"It's an unfortunate necessity. Even if there wasn't a second threat that's higher on the priority list, Argalia won't go down easy. I'm not sure I even can beat him if it came down to it. For now, we just have to stick with the lesser evil and hope a better option presents itself."
That seems to mostly kill the mood. While you're at it, there is one other depressing topic you might want to get out of the way.
Your impending mortality isn't something you'll be able to avoid forever. Sooner or later, your kids will find out about it. At the same time, them knowing won't do any good. There's nothing they can do to help stop your eventual crossroads of fate, and it won't be without psychological consequences to know that.
You should…
[] Tell Them
[] Keep It To Yourself For Now
———————————————
Midday Activities
[] Experimentation
-[] With what? How?
[] Search for Abnormalities
[] Scout Kamihama
[] Write-in.
———————————————
Der Freischütz's Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
Porccubus' Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
CENSORED's Sapling - Observation Level EXPUNGED/REDACTED
We now return to our regularly scheduled schedule. The third day will probably be shorter than the previous two, just to speed the story up. Please keep any Midday Plan votes separate from votes on whether or not you tell your kids about your time limit for simplicity's sake when counting.
"Be careful. While your condition is stable for now, you don't want to make it any worse than you already have." Angela chides as you say your goodbyes. You nod absently.
"Yes, I'm aware. I do have an instinct for self-preservation, whatever you believe. Honestly, you'd think I were the younger sister between us." you say.
"In case you've forgotten, I am older than you." Angela responds, a bit confused. You laugh and shake your head.
"I just explained this to Tiph. I'm taller, that makes me the older sister. It makes more sense than trying to sort out our actual ages over all the memory sharing and time loops." you explain matter-of-factly.
"That…" Angela begins to speak, then notices your grin and stops. "Whatever. As far as survival instinct goes, you could do better. I seem to recall you very nearly being killed not too long ago, right after assuring me you had an excellent plan."
Now, it's your turn to be defeated in the arena of logic, it seems. Still, you're not going down without a little protest. "In my defense, it almost worked perfectly. Most things consider no longer having a head to be lethal damage."
"And Abnormalities aren't most things." Angela says calmly, as though she didn't have that smug grin on her face. A moment later, the smile falls.
"I know you can take care of yourself, but I still worry. You're putting yourself in danger constantly, and it would be sad if something were to happen to you."
"Don't worry," you assure your sister. "I know the feeling."
—————————
All in all, you can consider that a fruitful trip to the Library, even if it didn't go as planned. At least you had your little episode there, instead of out on the street or, worse, in front of Argalia. You don't know how your mother's biggest fan would've reacted, but it certainly wouldn't have been good.
Gebura was sleeping when you arrived and waking her just to say that you're bringing someone to training this afternoon felt unnecessary, so you technically didn't accomplish either of your initial objectives in coming, but getting to talk with Tiph again was nice. She's grown up a bit since you last saw her, both physically and mentally, which is nice. She's not quite as mature as she wants to be, but is definitely closer to being a young adult than a teenager. Having been the head of the Central Command Department, you know very well that Tiph can handle herself as well as any of your other coworkers. Not that competence and maturity are necessarily the same thing, or even necessarily related, but reminding yourself that the youngest of the Library's leadership knows what she's doing is fine reassurance.
Chesed did apparently manage to rope Tiphereth into helping out with the Magical Girls you left at the Library. They're still settling in; an understandable state considering they've only been here for a little under two full days. Some of the better-adjusted kids are helping out around the Library, but most are just milling about. No major incidents have cropped up since the first near-fight when you had arrived. In the short-term, things seem good. Tiphereth is closer to their age group and works as a good bridge to the rest of the staff, and Chesed has always been good at keeping people in stressful situations happy. Problems will probably arise if the situation remains as it is without progress for too long, but hopefully that won't be an issue. You have a lot of more immediate challenges to overcome presently, but testing out methods to return Nothing There's victims to their proper bodies has not slipped your mind.
To finish off the conversation, Tiphereth fell asleep, which you take as a sign that it's getting to be early in the morning instead of late at night.
—————————
Kyoko, Yuma, and Mami are drawn out of their respective beds in that order by the smell of breakfast. You tried something Chinese-styled this morning. Keeping to a loose routine is comfortable, but it's good to add a bit of variety into it. You don't actually know how to cook a Chinese breakfast, but that's what the internet is for. Judging by your children's reaction, the result is a success. They're quick to reassure you when you mention not being completely confident in your work, though Kyoko's "reassurance" is half-mumbled through mouthfuls of food. Then again, that's quite an endorsement on its own.
"On a more serious note," you say, dragging the conversation out of the realm of cooking and over to business. "Last night was rather eventful. I don't believe I've told Mami, Yuma, or the others about Argalia yet, have I?"
"I'm afraid I don't recognize that name." Mami says, shaking her head.
"Right! Kyoko, mind helping explain this? You were there." you propose, prompting the girl in question to look up from her food.
"Me? I guess, but I only know what you told me and what I saw. It's not gonna be much help." Kyoko says, picking at a bit of rice with her fork.
Still, despite the protesting, Kyoko does help with your explanation. She describes her first impressions of the Reverb Ensemble's Conductor, an unnaturally flamboyant man whose every exaggerated movement and musical word exuded confidence. You chip in with background information when necessary, but mostly just coax Kyoko to talk. You can practically see Mami's heart sink when hearing about Leonie, though you remind her that nothing can be done at the moment.
Yuma's understanding of the situation pretty much stops at "We need to work with a bad guy for now to stop a worse bad guy," which isn't entirely wrong.
"I see." Mami says when all is said and done, looking down into her now-empty bowl. "Forgive me for asking, but is it really a good idea to have Argalia so close? Surely it would be better to keep him away from civilians if possible."
"Maybe," you admit, leaning back in your chair and pointing with your fork. "But it's pretty much city in all directions. There's not anywhere I can reasonably get him to go that isn't surrounded by civilians. At least with him nearby, we can keep an eye on him."
Mami sighs. "You're right. I just… it feels wrong, working with somebody who's caused so much harm to others."
Kyoko starts to squirm, but Yuma reaches out at puts a hand on her arm. The older girl looks down, then relaxes with a deep sigh. You mentally note to get your youngest some sweets or something else nice for being absolutely fantastic.
"It's an unfortunate necessity. Even if there wasn't a second threat that's higher on the priority list, Argalia won't go down easy. I'm not sure I even can beat him if it came down to it. For now, we just have to stick with the lesser evil and hope a better option presents itself."
That seems to mostly kill the mood. While you're at it, there is one other depressing topic you might want to get out of the way.
Your impending mortality isn't something you'll be able to avoid forever. Sooner or later, your kids will find out about it. At the same time, them knowing won't do any good. There's nothing they can do to help stop your eventual crossroads of fate, and it won't be without psychological consequences to know that.
You should…
[] Tell Them
[] Keep It To Yourself For Now
———————————————
Midday Activities
[] Experimentation
-[] With what? How?
[] Search for Abnormalities
[] Scout Kamihama
[] Write-in.
———————————————
Der Freischütz's Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
Porccubus' Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
CENSORED's Sapling - Observation Level EXPUNGED/REDACTED
We now return to our regularly scheduled schedule. The third day will probably be shorter than the previous two, just to speed the story up. Please keep any Midday Plan votes separate from votes on whether or not you tell your kids about your time limit for simplicity's sake when counting.
