soul_logs | [OPEN] Earthquake Event

"It's no choice," Ling said, kicking his feet to thump his heels against the side of the building. "People are brought involuntarily, and told they're here because of a war. If we have to fight until this war is over to be returned home, it's only natural that a logical person who wants to get home would join in the battle to get home faster."

"Such tactics show chicken-heartedness. If it were truly a good cause, they would be able to find warriors from many worlds simply by making them aware of the situation. A thing like BREW is not the creation of a faithful leader," he concluded, with a sulk. He took a big bite of his sandwich, chewing angrily. "And people using it on others-- be they death gods or no-- sickens me."

He was quiet, considering the other end of the spectrum: People BREW had no business bringing here to play hero, one big example being a sociopath he knew still lurking out there somewhere. It seemed BREW was perhaps unstable, grabbing any old person who looked like they could defend what they loved or fight for what they believed in, then sending them home without any sort of rhyme or reason.

"The way I see it, it feels desperate. I dunno why else anybody would turn to somethin' as unreliable as BREW. It also seems to 'think' on its own," he finally said. Then, after a drink, he furrowed his brow.

"You shoulda seen Europe, Ling. They got Shibusen buildings in every major city, but that Madness shit, the kishin eggs... the Witches aren't screwin' around."

Ling bit his lower lip and considered Kanji's words. "Mm. Perhaps I am speaking too soon," he mused, voice at the bottom of its register. "I have not seen any of this for myself."

He looked down to the alley far below them. "I guess it's just as it was at home. In safe places, people talk easily of how the lives of military forces or the common people should be deployed, like pawns on a chess board. People who have never smelled a battlefield think they can decide, without having been there."

Ling swallowed, judging himself. Lost in his own memories of battlefields past, he was silent for many long moments before speaking again.

"What is all of it like, in... did you say, 'You-rup?' How desperate is it exactly?"

Kanji took a minute to think, to put together his memories of Florence. It was barely a week ago, but so much had happened, so much running about making sure everyone else was all right that he hadn't put much thought to his own well-being, his own personal happenings. It didn't take much to have everything come flooding back.

He continued to look ahead, eyes unfocused. "...When I stepped outta the mirror and walked outside, it was like somethin' pressin' on me. The Madness, it was so damn thick, it was almost like breathin' water. It all ready hit a bunch'a people... one minute you're in a fight side by side, and then your buddy just turns on you."

"Emitters... the Witches put down these weird machines that amplified that crazy feeling in everybody, just because they could. It all ready did so much damage when we all got there. Florence looked like hell... n' felt like it, too. Kishin eggs were everywhere, rollin' in Madness, so they fought harder, moved quicker than usual, if what I was told was right." Kanji shook his head.

"Shit... it was a hell of a first Mission. I didn't even see it was a three-star, just that they needed every single able body. I dunno how Shibusen figured out the emitters were there, but with how quick they put it all up on the board n' how quick everything went to shit, I think we found out at about the last damn minute. Any later, and it would'a gone way worse." He turned then, looking back at Ling, his countenance showing nothing.

Ling stared at Kanji, trying to process all of the things he was hearing. His brow was knitted in helpless frustration. "It's like you're speaking a whole new language," he grumbled, folding his arms again pensively. "Witches, emitters, Florence eggs and Madness..." He rubbed his forehead, for once allowing his negative feelings to show in his tone of voice and sharp syllables. "I hate this damned shithole so much."

Ling truly did detest this place, and this situation. This city was ugly to his eyes, the culture wasn't one he liked or could read much about, the government was shady and it was near impossible to find out more about them. He was used to being able to control things by pulling strings and espionage behind the scenes, but this-- huge shit just kept happening that he felt powerless to do anything about. It felt like trying to swim in the ocean, and wave after wave was breaking over his head so that he couldn't get above it all.

He shook his head to wipe his feelings away for now, to pay attention to Kanji. "So the operation went bad. Is that how your companion was hurt?"

New world, new terms... that's what Kanji told himself. He was sure that if he started talking about a world inside a television, Shadows, and Persona it would have perplexed Ling the same. He said nothing, however, and nodded.

There were plenty of things to hate about Death City, about the war... but Kanji knew complaining about it wouldn't change things. Actions, however, did. He knew Ling was no fool, and felt no need to remind him of this thought.

"Didn't say it went bad. For comin' in a little late, everybody did a damn good job. ...My friend won't tell me what happened n' I don't think I should ask." He paused to drink and idly shook the container.

"I just want 'em to get better. Doin' everything I can in the meantime."

Ling nodded and gave a grunt of approval. "Mmm," he hummed, looking down at his hands. "I know that feeling well." He wasn't going to think right now about it-- it was going to hurt again too much, and this was Kanji-time as far as Ling was concerned. He turned himself to face the other boy, trying to put on a more positive expression.

"Well. When you're trying to heal, what helps the most is knowing you have support, someone out there who's thinking of you. Wishing the best for you." That was what had kept him going during the suffering he'd experienced after he had absorbed Greed. "I'm sure that your friends are thankful to have you behind them. Out of curiosity... what're you doing, specifically, in said meantime?"

He turned his head, and listened. To know that he's doing something, anything at all to aid a friend's recovery was a comfort, but to have it confirmed meant far more. Sure he may have pissed off the nurses a little on more than one occasion but, damn it, he was helping!

With his question, however, he shrugged. Gray eyes turned away as he felt his face burn a little. "I uh, brought back a few books to read, occupy the time while stuck in the hospital bed, y'know? Then I'll bring by lunch or just swing by to draw some stuff, just talk a bit..."

He reached up to scratch his head.

"...Then the nurse either kicks me out or she feels kinda tired, so I get outta her hair and head home. Dunno if there's anything else I can do... is there?"

"Books, that's a great idea," Ling agreed, brightening just a touch. "Nobody likes to be stuck in those smelly places. Being able to take your mind somewhere else or read something useful, that's a truly important gift."

"Draw some stuff?" Ling asked, tilting his head to the side. "Humm... never really met people who liked to draw. Other than court painters, of course. Or the men who sell paintings on the streets in large cities."

"'s just somethin' I like to do," he replied with a shrug. Kanji was very skilled, but he wasn't usually the type to brag about it.

"Got one or two things hung up on the walls back in Creeping Crypt. The blank white walls were pissin' me off."

He looked away then, tapping the bottle against a leg. For a minute he was quiet, contemplative. Then, he sighed. His sitting up here was starting to make him feel a little awkward.

"They're probably not gonna let me back in... not when it's gettin' late as it is. I should probably head home."

"Yes. it is late, and I'm guessing that stupid doctor is going to tell me to get out anyway." With a sigh, Ling pushed himself up with his hands, collecting up his bag of food and drink. Gathering his strength, he managed to back on a thin veneer of his usual protective cheer. Sure, it was subdued and thin, but at least it was covering the breaks underneath for now. That was all Ling needed to get through right now, he assured himself. It was good enough.

"I wanna see your drawings on your walls? That sounds so interesting." He stretched his arms as he did so, to make the indirect request even less vulnerable, in case the answer was a "no." He couldn't tell which way it could break. It wasn't like Ling had any sort of experience with these kinds of precarious things. The making of friends, the navigation of how to ask for things instead of demand them-- he'd never had to do any of those. Company was twenty-four hours a day, round the clock, always had been. Ling didn't even go to the bathroom in Xing without someone guarding the door. Being stripped of that constant presence felt unnatural, felt frightening. He knew he was grabbing for straws out of loneliness, but who knew. If he kept searching about, perhaps he'd eventually find a person who didn't mind doing the same.

Ling tilted his head to the side, trying his very best to keep the chatter going, and praying for it to work. "I hate my walls in Creeping Crypt, they're ugly and plain white like a coffin. And it smells like paint in there. Gives me the creeps."

Edited 2012-03-03 21:10 (UTC)

Kanji pushed himself to his feet as well, dusting off the back of his pants and moving for the ladder back down. With the moon snickering and bleeding away in the sky, it was enough to damper any urge to stargaze for long. The celestial bodies were cool and interesting at first, but now they were just sort of creepy. Maybe with some time he'll just get used to them.

At the request, Kanji hesitated before reaching the ladder, a small knot twisting in his stomach. A sigh escaped him as a hand went to his hair, ruffling the short, pale strands as little in consideration.

"I got nothin' else to do... I guess I could show 'em to you," he replied, trying to ignore the stinging heat rising in his face. He turned his head away quickly, and used the ladder to get down to ground level.

This was just like back home, no big deal. Just show the people what you've got, don't hide your hobbies! ...But he couldn't help but feel a little on edge.

It took every ounce of Ling's newfound maturity to not pounce on Kanji and hug the crap out of him right them and there. "Really," he asked, his voice sounding a little dry in his own ears. He swallowed. "I.... okay, yeah! I'm grateful."

Ling climbed down a few rungs and jumped the rest of the way to the street below, tucking his legs in proper form. He landed next to Kanji with a huff. "That'll save me from going back to my dingy box. Hehehe."

He stepped back to give Ling room, and started on his way to the Creeping Crypt building with a stiff shrug. In the back of his mind, he tried to remember if he tidied up the place after the quake.

...Did he? He did. Of course he did. There was a little broken glass and he didn't want Iza to get hurt.

The teen looked over his shoulder. "Dingy box? The hell's your place look like that's got you callin' it that?"

Ling frowned, brow furrowed. "It's tiny. It's plain white. All the furniture is used and old and musty. The sofa isn't long enough to recline on. The bed is too short for my legs. The bath isn't deep enough to soak in! There's not enough room between the toilet and the wall in front of it. It's very cramped. The mattress is hard and lumpy!" Of course, he was describing the standard condition of a Creeping Crypts apartment, not that Ling knew that. "Need I continue?"

"I got the idea," he answered. Kanji assumes Ling just got a crappy room or something.

"So why don't you just ask for a new room?" Seemed reasonable enough, right? Maybe the guy just got hit with some bad luck. Kanji kept his gaze ahead, taking just a few of the stairs to reach the next tier. He had a long stride... but he knew Ling could keep up after what he saw during the fire.

"Too much hassle," Ling groaned. "I'm just going to save up and get a better one. Besides, Ran Fan's room is exactly like mine. What would be the point?"

"Nope. I'm going to get a 'job,'" the prince announced with excitement, rubbing his palms together. "I'll work hard like a commoner, and then I'll get everything I want with money I earned with the sweat of my own labor. It'll be great, and when I look around me, I'll be able to have pride."

Wait... he was criticizing the normal set-up!? What sort of home life did he come from?

Kanji sent Ling a look.

"Yeah, well, this commoner busted his ass to get where he's at now! I better not hear any shit from you about my place when we get there. Got it?"

He was... he was proud of his little bachelor pad.

Ling looked at Kanji with much emotion swimming in his eyes, and he clapped his hands together in keen interest. "Yes, yes! That's what I want to have. That feeling of, as you put it, 'busting one's ass' to get what you want. I never had that and look at what I've become. It's sad, really. There's no way a king can care for his people if he doesn't take the time to understand what life is really like for them."

"Suffering in order to have a better and more secure future... saving your money, not thinking of material possessions as things that will always be there no matter what. Those are qualities that are sorely lacking in the aristocracy, and it's brought my nation to ruins." The sadness Ling had for his people was clear in the boy's voice as he spoke, demonstrated by the way his eyes traveled over the ground.

Ling tilted his head to the side and added, "I have a lot to learn. Maybe... maybe you could help me a little."

What's with this 'king' and 'my nation' stuff? He wasn't seriously walking home with royalty, was he? Whether Ling was kidding or not, Kanji couldn't be sure, but the kid seemed privileged in a sense... or was, anyway.

He couldn't catch the bullshit in Ling's voice, however, and the teen rubbed the back of his head in thought. Help, huh?

"A'right, lemme ask you somethin: What kinda job are you lookin' for? There's always working with your strengths, doin' somethin' you're used to for a living, or working toward somethin' new."

He shrugged. "I bake at Death By Pastry... I guess I'm an okay cook, but I wanted to get better at it. You get what I'm saying?"

Edited (wrong icon.) 2012-03-05 04:01 (UTC)

Ling scratched his cheek, shy. "Weeeeeell," he said, chuckling sheepishly. "As far as what I'm good at? I don't have a lot of skills, sorry. At home, I was.... kind of traveling the world to find a secret artifact to give to my corrupt father to force him from the throne. So, I was adventuring. Crossing the desert and mountains and all that. I'm good with a horse or a pony. Camels.... not so much. So I hope the job doesn't include camels."

This was the strangest thing, outright being told things like this. Then again, Kanji wasn't the most open person to most. He listened and nodded, his hands going into his pockets.

"I dunno if there's a job with camels, horses or ponies... but after everything so far you seem like the kinda guy that wants to help people here. Thought about that group that Mustang guy put together?"

He thought on it a little further as they entered the residential district. They weren't too far now. "But if you wanna get your hands a little dirty, almost everybody's lookin' for people to cook n' clean or whatever."

Hmmm... Death By Pastry was looking for waiters, now that he thought about it.

"You mean The Watch?" Ling asked, curious. He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. No one had ever explained it to him that way!

"I've been doing that since I got here. Is that a 'job'? All I do is walk around and patrol. But we never find anything." He sighed, feeling disappointment rise up from the very bottom of his toes. "It's super boring and I don't feel useful at all."

As they neared the building, Ling looked up at the windows, counting them row by row. His arms, he tucked back behind his head, casual. "I'd always thought a 'job' entailed labor. Yeah, like cooking and cleaning! Picking rice. Hauling rocks to build bridges. Messy stuff that hurts your back and makes your feet ache. I want to see what it's like to be a commoner," he mused, thinking of a few people who were dear to his heart that were in that category-- the dearest of whom was living in that very building. His voice grew soft and wistful. "Feel what they feel. If I don't, I'll never be able to understand."

Edited 2012-03-05 19:50 (UTC)

"You mean you wanna find somethin'?" Kanji understood how that could get boring. Whenever he took a walk late at night, he almost expected some punks to pop out from around a corner looking for a fight. Most of the time, the walks went without a hitch. Perhaps the Watch was to thank for that...

Kanji fished his keys out of his pocket as they entered Creeping Crypt, and he took a moment to unlock the door of the foyer into the dorm building proper.

"How 'bout maintenance work? We're at war, yeah? Witch attacks n' earthquakes like this leave the city all beat up. Cleanin' up the debris, fixin' holes, rebuilding stuff around here... sounds like the back-breaking, feet-aching stuff you're lookin' for."

Edited 2012-03-05 20:10 (UTC)

"Not anything that means that innocent people get hurt," Ling admitted. "But I wouldn't mind being able to stop some villains or... well, at least feel like I was doing something."

"Ah, great idea," Ling agreed, brightening immensely. "That'd be great! I've never built anything. Unless if you count as a kid, with sticks..." Playing in the palace gardens day after day, Ling had often created little houses and walls with sticks and leaves. "Hey-- what's your job like? What do you do when you're working? Is it nice?"

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