[OPEN] The sleeper has awakened

[bufudine]

Who: Serph and YOU!
Where: Near the Forest Quadrant (or on the island, by the beach)
When: The entire curse week
Style: [Brackets] preferred!
Status: WIDE OPEN

[Serph had been put to sleep for nearly a month.

In that time, Sera and Gale had left Vatheon, the coral had been broken and fixed, and the resultant water damage had wrecked the garden that he and many friends had cultivated together. Most of the flowers died from being submerged in salt water for so long, and even the saplings and rose bushes are looking worse for wear. And many of the gifts from his friends have either been washed away or heavily damaged by the water.

Serph's first instinct had been to tear a local apart (he had been hungry), but he'd held himself back, remembering what he'd told Ky. But the killing of locals stops now. He doesn't need to eat people. Not any more.

All week, Serph will either near the Forest Quadrant, picking through the garden surrounding his Tribe's base to see what can be salvaged, or up on the island in his demon form as he returns to the shore after hunting in the sea. He's always happy to talk with people, new and old, though people who know him may find him slightly more forthcoming than usual. But only slightly.]

Comments

[bufudine]

[Serph nods.]

It's not as good.

[As people. Although speaking of eating people... Serph dips his head in a small bow of apology.]

Sorry.

[For making Yukari eat someone.]

We found out there are alternatives to keeping our demons satisfied.

[tsundyne]

[. . . Wait, what?

Yukari doesn't make an immediate connection when she hears his apology. It takes her a moment to realize what he was comparing the fish to -- it's not something she likes to think about, especially not the week she succumbed to the hunger herself.

But then she remembers -- and -- well, it's a good thing, isn't it? At least that's what she has to tell herself. Why else would Serph bring it up?]

Y- You're kidding. Really?

[bufudine]

[Serph nods, but clarifies so Yukari doesn't think the nod doesn't mean that Yes, he is kidding.]

We were misinformed.

[The answer had been right there, all this time.]

Any meat will do, as long as it isn't cooked.

[tsundyne]

[That's . . . . . .

Ew. That's kind of gross. But then again, she's Japanese and regularly eats sushi, so in the end, she can't really complain too much. She simply lets that sink in, tilting her head at him.]

I don't get it. Cooking meat is usually a good thing.

[Unless you happen to be Fuuka, but that's a story for another day. Why does cooking render meat useless for them . . . ?

She tries to focus on this, rather than the fact she essentially ate a human being for nothing.]

[bufudine]

[Sorry Yukari. But human meat is still meat, right...?]

Cooking destroys the Magnetite, which is what feeds our demons.

[Serph doesn't feel quite the same sense of WOW THAT WAS SO OBVIOUS that Zelda had but still...]

That's why the meals we've eaten never filled us.

[tsundyne]

I see . . .

[So, they need magnetite. By this point, that almost seems too simple. Yukari avoids eye contact with him for a bit as she thinks about it, remembering awful it felt to be that hungry.

And then she just looks back up, after a wince.]

Why magnetite?

[bufudine]

[Serph gives a small roll of his shoulders in semblance of a shrug.]

Perhaps it's similar to what it is that humans--

[Well, humans with a more 'normal' diet.]

--gain from food eaten.

[tsundyne]

[That's fair enough. Different nutrients needed for all different types, she supposes -- and their demons certainly are different. She's just quietly nodding; but it's as if she's just going through the motions.

Like she's obligated to be okay with it. And maybe she is, in a way.

I'm glad you figured it out --]

I'm happy for you.

[bufudine]

[Serph tilts his head. He knows there's something wrong, but he can't quite figure it out.]

Are you alright?

[tsundyne]

[Huh?

Yukari's just going to nod her head, giving a default reaction. Because he already apologized, anyway.]

I'm fine. [There's a pause -- but she feels unsatisfied leaving it at just that.] Would've been nicer for you guys if you'd figured it out sooner though, wouldn't it?

[Yeah, nicer for me, too.]

type tag, forget to hit post. story of my life

[bufudine]

[Serph nods, agreeing. There's a small pause, before he finds himself speaking again.]

We lose that knowledge if we return.

[tsundyne]

. . . Oh, yeah.

[Sometimes she forgets that little fact, admittedly. She kind of lets that sinks in for a moment.]

Well, hopefully you won't have to worry about that for a while.

[bufudine]

[Ha... If Serph was the laughing sort, he'd be laughing right now. As it is, his expression is a little wry.]

Two of my comrades left while I slept.

1/2

[tsundyne]

[. . . Oh.

She can sense that almost-laughter, though she's quick to dismiss it as something else -- since in all the months they've known each other, she's never seen or heard Serph laugh. When he says those words, though, she realizes maybe she hadn't imagined it after all.

There's something different about his expression today. Different, but sincere.]

[tsundyne]

[Yukari promptly eats her words. Though she can't help but wonder if it was better that way.

That he was asleep.]

I had no idea. [Obviously.]

[bufudine]

[Serph shakes his head at what he feels like is an implied apology.]

It's fine.

[He takes a seat on the beach, the gentle roll of the waves flowing over his feet and back out.]

I had time with them. We had little of it, back in our worlds.

[The time they had been here had been... precious.]

[tsundyne]

[Time is a precious thing. She can agree with that, so she's nodding automatically as if the response had been programmed into her.

She'd been studying his reaction, too, maybe looking for that hint of forgiveness for her implied apology -- but after she gets it, she notices his gaze fall to his feet, and hers do the same. Her feet actually sink a little every time the tide comes in.

It's . . . a familiar, nostalgic feeling.]

So I hear.

[This isn't the first time the issue of time had come up, after all. He once said it himself: it would never be enough.]

Is there even any reason for you to go back?

[bufudine]

[There's a long moment of silence as Serph watches the waves roll in and wash back out.]

New friends and comrades we gained.

[Fred. Roland. Johnny (who isn't a vampire). Kathy. Aadil. The rest of the Lokapala. But also...]

The full truth of our origins.

[tsundyne]

[. . . That last one does spark her attention. Suddenly she turns to him, looking thoughtful as she tilts her head, wanting him to continue.

But instead of encouraging him . . .]

You have new friends and comrades here, too.

[bufudine]

[Serph nods, and offers Yukari the smallest of smiles -- they come far more easily now, after being in the Host Club for so long. He hasn't forgotten.]

It would be difficult to choose between all the comrades we've made, if Vatheon gave us the choice.

[The comrades from the Junkyard, the comrades from "Nirvana", the comrades from Vatheon...]

[tsundyne]

[She does notice Serph smiling more nowadays. It's a good thing, probably, though he strikes her as one of those who's all too good at faking it.]

. . . S'okay. Evidently, it's not our choice to make.