[X] Take a bath, then go downstairs.
Nothing for it, though – it'll be easier if you cooperate for now, instead of trying to force your own way. You don't really want to
fight them, after all. You get up and poke your head out the door, then make your way to bathroom and start the water. Warm … no, hot. You turn the dial as hot as it goes and wait for the tub to fill. You put a hand under the faucet, feeling the water rush over your skin. It's odd, really – this is flowing water, but it doesn't bother you. Piped water doesn't bother most vampires, but some are nearly crippled by crossing over plumbing, and some – like you and your sister – only suffer any ill effects if you're actually
in the water. Does Agito think that this counts as running water, and she's using it to try and weaken you before talking, in case a fight does break out? Or is she innocent, and she'll be surprised by the degree of vulnerability you actually have? You shut off the water and slip into the bath.
The tub is surrounded by walls on three sides, which presents a slight problem for you, because it's not particularly
wide, and it's certainly not designed for use by winged individuals. You shake your head as you curl your wings around you and lean back. Probably unintentional – when you're up and about, your wings hardly ever bump into things, so it's easy for people to forget just how much of an issue they can be. At least you don't have Remilia's problem, because your wings aren't huge like hers are. Still, it's not terribly comfortable, especially in a tube like this. You sink and contemplate your immediate future, but … nothing particularly comes to you. Nothing you want to hide, nothing you can think of that you need to divulge. So, during the 'talk,' you'll … you suppose you'll just respond to whatever questions you're asked, as truthfully as you can. Don't leave things out, but if it isn't relevant, do you really need to go into it? You sigh and just soak.
You aren't too sure how long you lay there, but your wings are idly scratching the walls, and the water has long gone cold, when someone knocks on the door. Startled, one of your wings pokes into the wall, and you languidly pull yourself into a sitting position.
"Flandre?" Lutecia's voice calls out to you and you grin. "Dinner's almost ready." You can tell she's still standing there, just outside the door, and you frown at her announcement. Dinner? And they waited for you … must be why you were supposed to take a bath, give them time to get it ready.
"Okay! I'll be down in a minute," you say as you let the water drain. You hop out of the tub and float for a moment, radiating just enough power to dry you off without damaging your surroundings. Too much, anyway – you end up scorching and warping some tiles, but it's still a
lot faster and easier than using a towel. You put your hair up before taking out one of the dresses and putting it on, then check your appearance in the mirror. Satisfied, you drop to the floor and open the door, only to meet Lutecia as she waits for you. "You didn't need to wait, you know," you say as you latch onto her arm.
"I know, but I didn't want you to feel like you were in trouble." You giggle as the two of you walk down the hall toward the stairs.
"Ooh, you mean I'm
not in trouble, and Agito isn't going to scold me for something-or-other?" She doesn't respond, and you detect a slight blush when you lean closer to her. "Hehe. Thank you for worrying, though." You keep heading for the dining room, and Agito gives you a brief look as she carries a small tray of her delicious bread into the dining room. It seems that's the last thing to bring in, though, because she sits down before you do.
"Sit, sit, eat. No talking right now, though. We're just going to sit and have a nice meal together, and relax. Okay?" You nod and take some food – fish, vegetables, rice. It's all delicious. You even take some of the bread, wishing you could eat more. Unfortunately, despite Agito's attempt to draw out dinner, it's over very soon. She sighs, starts to clean up, then shakes her head. "It'll keep for now, I guess. Come on, let's do this in the library." She leads the way up, and you wait for Lutecia to pass you, then peel out your clones and have them clean up the remains. The three of you ensconce yourselves in the more comfortable chairs, and Agito sighs. "Alright, is there anything you want to say before I start?" You start shaking your head before she finishes.
"No," you say, and she grimaces. Maybe she doesn't want to be seen as the bad guy?
"Okay, I guess. Well, first thing, then, would be for you to explain why you started to catch fire yesterday when you came home." Lutecia looks at you nervously, and you shrug.
"I was too weak right then. Shouldn't have been active," you begin, and Agito stares at you.
"When you start running out of magic, you
burn?" You let out an exasperated sigh.
"No. Yes, I was running out of magic, but that's not why I was burning. It was being outside, in the
sunlight that made me start to burn. It's why I usually have my parasol out when I go outside, because being in direct sunlight is one of the major weaknesses of vampires. When you're as powerful as I am, it's not usually a problem, but … I was out of magic."
"You could have died?" Lutecia's eyes widen in fear as you nod.
"If I'd stayed out too long, yes. But again, it's not usually a problem – the parasol works as much as a double-blind as an actual defense, because people who catch on to that weakness usually think being in sunlight is enough to cripple me and so try to get rid of the parasol first." Agito nods.
"Smart … okay, so you're weak to sunlight and garlic. Anything else?" You giggle.
"Garlic's not really a
weakness – not unless someone makes me eat a whole lot of it and I get sick. It's … kind of like an allergy, I guess? But …." You sigh. "Flowing water is the other crippling weakness, and that one
is a major issue. It kills a lot faster than sunlight, and it's a lot harder to counter the effects. And it's the one that's easier to keep secret, but is easier for people to take advantage of."
"Water … so, what counts? You seemed fine at the pool …." You nod at Agito.
"Mm.
Running water. Rivers – streams if they're large enough – oceans, some lakes. Pools, ponds, most swamps, they don't count; it's hard to give an explicit definition of what
does count, but there is one form that's a big issue." You look at the floor for a moment, then point up. "I told you that Patchouli kept me from leaving the mansion once, and you asked me how she did it. Do you remember, Agito?" She nods. "Rain. She created a thunderstorm around the mansion, so that if I managed to get past
her, I still wouldn't be able to get out, because I'd be too weakened to escape from everyone else. The lighter the rain, the longer it takes to start affecting me, but I can't really do anything to
stop it – unless someone can block the rain with a protecting bubble of some kind, it'll keep affecting me."
"That's …." Agito frowns, unable to adequately explain her feelings, and you snort.
"Weak? How could such a powerful being have two weaknesses to such common elements? Maybe it's a balancing act – we're able to be so powerful
because we have such exploitable weaknesses. Maybe it's a designed flaw. The degree of weakness is different, but all vampires share them in some form. Some people think it's a conceptual vulnerability, that it's not 'sunlight' or 'running water,' exactly, that are causing the harm, but something that uses those mediums to relate something that's inherently harmful to vampires. Some think it's just a psychological effect, that we sabotage ourselves unconsciously under certain circumstances." You shrug. "It doesn't matter. Keeping those weaknesses hidden from our enemies, or being able to circumvent them, that's what matters. And it's why I didn't tell you about them earlier." You finish unapologetically, and Agito nods again.
"Yeah, I get it. Any other weaknesses we should be careful about?" You shake your head, and she turns to Lutecia, who takes a deep breath.
"When I tried to call you telepathically, when you ran away, I … talked to someone. She sounded like you, but she wasn't you." She frowns. "She was … polite and apologetic."
"… I don't know who that was, then. Or rather, I know the individual you talked to, but she doesn't have a name yet. I'm not good at them," you finish quietly, and Agito gestures for you to continue as Lutecia watches you worriedly. "I have … a friend, living in my head. Her name is Headless. She recently … gained a sister, I suppose, but they want me to name her." You pause, wondering where to go from there.
"Can we meet them?" You glance at Agito before touching Headless.
"
Sorry, no. We're good." You shake your head.
"Headless is fine, but you've actually already met her sister. Remember, at the pool, I acted a little … differently, once we started playing the game?" They nod.
"So … um, this might be a little –" You snarl and hunch forward.
"I'm
not insane, Agito." She holds up her hands defensively and nods.
"I'm sorry, Flandre. But, um, that's not what I was going to say." You relax and tilt your head to the side, curious. "It's just that they sound a lot like Unison Devices, and –" She breaks off again as you laugh. She glares at you when you calm down.
"I thought the same thing, actually, but Headless assures me that she's not a Unison Device, no matter how similar you might seem." Your smile fades as you give Headless the equivalent of a stern look. "… She did suggest that you and I try to merge, once, so we could see if there is some sort of relation between you. I'm not sure that would be a good idea, though."
"Yeah, probably not …." She frowns, thinking. "Well, then I guess there's just one more thing I want to ask you. What's up with your wanting to kill Kirika? Do you
really want her dead that badly?" You sigh and look at the floor for a moment, then get up and walk around your chair for a bit before sitting down.
"… A while back, before I met with Kyouko, I snuck into the church, just to see what was in there. I ended up going down into the basement, saw Yuma there. Yuma was killed by one of Kyouko's guards when they spotted me, and when I left I took her body with me. I was going to ask Homura if she knew anything about her." You frown.
"I think I'd remember you bringing her body back – especially since we met her after that, and she was fine." Lutecia seems content to watch and listen … well, not content, but she isn't interrupting. You shrug at Agito.
"She's a magical girl; I guess her Soul Gem survived. Anyway, it was raining that day … and Kirika ambushed me, destroyed my umbrella, left me in the rain. She has some kind of … slowing ability, makes you move more slowly, you take longer to notice things. She attacked
me, ruined my parasol, left me
in the rain …." You tense, and your radiating power starts to scorch the chair before you regain control of yourself. "She
assaulted me, humiliated me, insulted me and my family, and …." You start to work yourself up again, then slump. "And she escaped. I could have killed her any time when she was in the city, and I
let her get away. She was … she was mine to kill, I
should have killed her, and I let her escape. I didn't even try, and now I can't reach her." Your voice, once so confident, is half-mumbling and devoid of strength, and Lutecia gets up from her chair to comfort you. You try to smile, but it fades. "I want to kill her, but I can't even reach her. I've already made so many mistakes, what's one more?" Agito sighs as Lutecia looks hopefully at her.
"Well, if you want an outside opinion, I think you should let her go. Not because I think you shouldn't kill her, although that's true, but because I don't think she's really that important. I mean, you're a centuries-old vampire, right? So what if a teenager caught you by surprise and made you look foolish? It happens to everyone, and here, at least, it's not going to be a problem." She glances at Lutecia. "Not to mention, taking too much time off to go after her would disrupt any other plans we had. But … if you really want to go after her …." She throws her hands in the air and pops back into her diminutive form. "It's not like I don't understand the feeling."
What do you do?
[ ] Give up on killing Kirika.
- [ ] Write-in
- Time-skip to the 22nd.
[ ] Go through with killing Kirika.
[ ] Other?
DM Note: Arglblagh.
