hotel: shinobu

[shaft]

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week 0, saturday, lobby

[shaft]

[ Hello, Claude is on his way to the restaurant to chow down. He waves at Shinobu. ]

In the mood for a meal?

[wisterin]

[ she is a little less graceful when she raises her hand to return the greeting. ]

I do not mind joining you, if you do not mind being a little patient.

[shaft]

[ His brows furrow, the difficulty not escaping him. ]

... The floor didn't make a very comfortable bed, did it?

week 0, saturday, courtyard

[shaft]

[ He's just having tea, unwinding. He'll smile at Shinobu. ]

Getting fresh air?

[ As much as... this is fresh air... ]

[wisterin]

[ getting tea to unwind is a mood. ]

If getting fresh air is asking you how you're doing.

[ unlike the icon, she is giving him respectable personal space as she also gets tea. ]

[shaft]

You are committed.

[ He smiles, it's tired. ]

I'm... regretful. Thinking about how I should've used my wish to make sure these trials never happen again.

week 1, saturday

[shaft]

Hello, Shinobu.

I have something to confess.

[wisterin]

Hello, Claude.

What is it?

[shaft]

I told you before that I schedule time into my day to process my emotions.

That was a dishonest.

week 2, wednesday

[wisterin]

[ claude can find shinobu seated underneath one of the wisteria trees, asleep.

how's that for rest and relaxation? ]

[shaft]

[ ... Huh!

Well, he's not going to disturb her.

He just takes a seat nearby against the tree. It's so peaceful. ]

[wisterin]

[ it won't take too long, but she rouses from her sleep soon enough. her eyes widen in surprise when she notices him. ]

Hello, Claude-san. It seems I don't register you as an immediate threat.

[ this is a joke. ]

week 3, monday, void

[shaft]

[ Shinobu and Claude are probably not having good days. But alas, they get thrown into a memory anyway.

You're sixteen, and while the choices you've made in your life often mystify others, this time you wonder to yourself what on earth you were thinking. It would be one thing if you'd decided to make this journey on wyvernback (even if it would leave you more vulnerable to attack, the Fódlan troops at the border are well-versed in the ways of combating Almyran wyvern riders), but you chose to be discreet.

Which brings you here: ambling across Fódlan's throat on foot, stuck in the middle of an ambush.

The mountains of Fódlan's throat are treacherous and uninhabited for the most part, which means that the forests are dense enough that you can conceal yourself behind thick brush to wait out the battle.

It's not an ambush aimed at you, of course, no one knows you're here (probably), but it erupts chaos all around you nonetheless. Almyran warriors swinging great axes toward patrolling soldiers. Sounds of struggle, anger and pain surround you, but you're smart enough not to get involved, carrying no delusions of being a politician so savvy that you could calm the situation with a "let's all get along" speech.

Instead, you try to scramble out of the way of the ever expanding fray, eager to escape when a hand yanks at the back of your shirt. It's not an unfamiliar position for you, so your mind jumps to escape plans rather than panic, but before your attacker can even utter a threat against you, the grip is gone, a meaty thud greeting you in its place.

You turn just in time to see your assailant—an Almyran—clutching at his bleeding leg with one hand, and raising his weapon with his other while spitting curses, but he never gets the chance to bring his axe down. The next strike against slices cleanly through his arm, eliciting an unholy howl, while the next cuts across his throat. Just shallow enough that he has the option to either suffocate on his own blood or let his heart go still from blood loss.

Your hero, a Goneril soldier, celebrates his victory by spitting in the man's face. And you might not have been panicking before, but now, you're frozen. Something sinks all the way from your chest to your belly when the soldier looks toward you, expression softening from disgust to confusion.

"What the hell are you doing out here, kid? Do you want your head chopped off by one of these barbarians? Those Almyrans aren't the type to have mercy, even on brats like you."

The ice spreads quicker across your veins, and for a moment you don't think you'll be able to answer. You feel helpless. Hopeless. Like an idiot for thinking that one side of the border would be any different from the other. Why did you travel all this way? What was the point? Should you just go back?

... Except, you think, as you consider the soldiers stamping out what remains of the ambush, you can't. Giving yourself away now would probably cost you your life.

So instead: "Honestly, it's a really long story."

Anyway, Claude is not going to say anything at first, just letting out a sigh. ]

Another one.

[wisterin]

[ it is rough for shinobu in seeing all the unhappiness that finds all the people she cares for makes her heart ache. otherwise, most of her backstory is free and open for taking even without memshare. she doesn't mind being perceived. she's just surprised when she is.

there is a casual cruelty in both of those soldiers, she thinks. what has claude been through that he's so used to being grabbed and attacked? still, something stands out, even as claude tries to brush things aside, in the memory and out. ]

What were you hoping for?

[shaft]

[ He'd been rearing up to brush aside the memory, but the question catches him off guard.

He finds that he doesn't mind answering. ]

Something better, I suppose. A place where people weren't judged by their blood. [ A shake of his head. ] Unfortunately, things were even more closed off on the other side of the border.

week 3, friday

[shaft]

[ If Shinobu goes to the the courtyard, she can see Claude casually walk by one of the statues before...

Kicking out a leg to knock it over. ]

[wisterin]

[ hello? he just came back from a cyoa? anger and grief is understandable, but please. ]

Claude-san!

[ she's running, concerned. ]

[shaft]

[ He looks a little startled, jerking his head toward her. ]

Shinobu. What's the emergency?

week 4, monday

[wisterin]

[ they are on the indulgence station, in the research lab.

shinobu is looking at the microscopes and other lab equipment with an emotion that's close to yearning. ]

I wish we could steal.

[shaft]

[ o: ]

Are you researching something?

[wisterin]

If I had the tools, I could research anything.

But mostly, it'd be nice if I could make medicine and poisons again.

week 5, monday, realm / castle

[shaft]

[ They're in the castle! Claude is poking around the spa area. ]

This seems quite luxurious...

[wisterin]

That makes sense for a castle, doesn't it?

[ a castle should be luxurious. ]

But spas seem popular.

week 7, tuesday

[shaft]

[ finds shinobu... you have company. ]

Ah, Shinobu. Are you feeling alright?

[wisterin]

[ it is very easy to find shinobu at the courtyard by the wisteria trees with tea. ]

Welcome back again, Claude-san. Things are better this week than last week so far.