vatheon | But who do you ask, when no one really knows

Who: Luke and whoever would like to find him
Where: The Plaza
When: Midday
Style: Whichever you prefer!
Status: Wide open

[It wasn't the fact that Luke was soaking wet that set off alarm bells in his head. That was expected, seeing how he was set to show up in the middle of a spring.

What made him go rigid and stare ahead of himself with wide eyes were his surroundings. There wasn't water around him like he expected, and this certainly wasn't some little grove. There were buildings, an entire city of them, and the water was above him, held back by some kind of dome.

He scrambles up to his knees with an arm in front of his face, as if he were expecting the water to just cave in right then and there.]

Uh... Tear, are you sure this is the right...

[He trails off when he looks to the side and sees no one. Well, not the person he's looking for. He slowly lowers his arm as he looks further back, then twists to look to his other side, and - still, there was no sign of Tear. At that point, Luke stands and takes a few steps back, as if hoping that will help him in his search.]

Tear? Tear! Mieu, are you around here?!

[Nothing. Not even an annoying "mieu". He runs his hand over the back of his hair and swallows to combat that nervous wad rising in his chest, and he takes another step back -

And he steps on something that's clearly raised a little higher than the ground. He turns with a frown on his face and lifts his foot, giving the starfish-shaped device a quick glance.]

What's this thing... A piece of fontech? Weird...

[And he nudges it away as he moves to the side, trying to find some help. Tear has to be around here somewhere; the Yulia Path couldn't have just flung him somewhere else entirely... right?]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Thankfully, Luke is not quite as secretive as his best friend. The first comment earned a roll of the eyes that he didn't even try to hold back, but the second makes them narrow before he looks away from the screen.

The last thing that he remembered?

I just made the worst mistake of my life and destroyed so many lives, I realized that my entire life was a lie and that I wasn't even a real person, everyone abandoned me and went with Asch, I cut my hair and decided that I will change, and Tear and I were just heading out to fix everything that I'd done.

...]

... I was heading to Aramis Springs with Tear. We just went through the Yulia Path.

[Forgive him if he keeps his own words short. He'd rather not expand more on that.]

[Ah. So that was it. If Jade knew more than he let on, he certainly didn't show as much. He seemed pensive at the most. He recalled Tear reporting to him that she and Luke had left Yulia City via the Aramis Springs. So, that meant it was soon after Akzeriuth.

Oh, Yulia this was going to be a headache. Not only was Luke dealing with recently figuring out he was a Replica, it was still unknown how much he knew about Jade's dealings in it, and the last thing he needed was Luke and Guy snooping around about him- specifically given Peony's big mouth. However, it did give him a good idea of where he was growth-wise as well as what to watch out for in conversations.]

The greeters should have given you some information as well as a towel so you don't end up smelling like a wet dog.

Yeah, Guy and Zelda helped me out with that already.

[If this were in the past, or even the future, he might have sounded a little indignant. He does not smell like a wet dog, thank you very much; there's a reason he takes a shower twice a day. But instead his voice is a little soft, a little neutral, carrying just a hint of that irritation. He's being careful, trying not to let his temper slip through.]

So... when did you get here, Jade? [Might as well turn this subject around and focus on him instead.]

A few months ago.

[There's that take care of. Jade's almost impressed with the behavior, though he does remember that after Aramis Springs, Luke was trying the first of his "I want to change" fussing. He adjusted his glasses.]

Unfortunately, as you've probably heard, there's no returning to Auldrant as of now.

... Yeah.

[He looks very unhappy about that. It still feels so weird, just... sitting here knowing what he's supposed to do back on Auldrant, but be unable to do anything.]

Zelda said time doesn't pass back on Auldrant, but... I still feel like I need to be doing something. I keep worrying about St. Binah.

... There's nothing to worry about.

[Timeline messing or no, most of Jade doesn't want to hear Luke whining about this and pondering it constantly. However, a part of him- that part that actually grew attached- also wanted Luke to stop worrying. He had the world on his shoulders just as much as the rest of the group, if not far more.]

Have you already figured out a living arrangement?

[Luke frowns to himself and clenches a fist. How can Jade say there's nothing to worry about? St. Binah is falling. And ultimately, it's his fault that it's doing so. If he doesn't... do something...

...

But it's impossible to do anything here, is it? Maybe it hasn't fully sunk in yet, but it does make Luke run a hand through his hair and decide not to argue. Instead, he focuses on Jade's other question.]

Ah... Yeah. Guy said I could live with him here.

Well, that's at least good, and I assume he's explained everything to you?

Pretty much. But there's probably still a lot of stuff I don't know...

Unfortunately, there's few that can answer some of the questions, and many refuse to.

Well... Why would they refuse? Is it too hard to talk about, or something...? [He can relate, but...]

So far, it's simply that they don't want us to know or they simply don't care to tell us.

But...

[He frowns and holds the SFC tighter.] How is that fair? Aren't they the ones who dragged us all here?!

In a sense, they don't really have a reason to be forthcoming with that information. After all, we aren't really in any position to make demands.

For now, I've taken to gleaning information from others who have been here longer.

[Information gathering isn't incredibly difficult when you have good ears and ask the right questions.]

I can't say I'm surprised... So what all did you figure out?

[Of course, Luke has no right to ask. But he figures Jade pretty much knows everything about this place now, and maybe he can figure some things out easier too.]

Certainly nothing that will allow us to escape as of yet.

I'm pretty sure we'd be out of here if you figured out anything like that. But is there anything else I need to know about? I still feel like I don't know a lot about this place...

It's difficult to do that. We experience week-long curses every once in a while. Other than that, nothing I'm sure about enough to share.

But who do you ask, when no one really knows

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