rainymood.com

[rainbowarch]

Who: Cielo and whoever else is out in this weather
Where: The island! On the beach!
When: Afternoon
Style: Whichever [suits you]
Status: Open

[Cielo didn't know it was raining when he went up to the island, but once the doors to the elevator open, all he does is look up for a moment and then step out into it. It's the first time he's seen rain in Vatheon - the bubble's weather is mostly the same and every other time he's been on the island, it's been bright and sunny.

He loves that bright and sunny weather of course, but rain brings back memories. Memories of the Junkyard. Cielo has no love for the world he comes from, but the rain is soothing all the same. If he were to be honest, sometimes he did miss the sound of falling droplets.

The beach looks really different like this. It's not bad. Just...different. He had originally come up to fly and swim, and that was what he was going to do. He gets right into the water and swims for a while, eventually returning to the beach where he sits down and takes a break, looking out at the ocean.

In the rain.]

Comments

[indoorscholar]

[There are plenty of reasons why Shinra doesn't leave his apartment too often, and the downpour that meets him as the elevator doors slide open is pretty high up on the list. He briefly considers turning right around and heading home, but hell, he's already made the trek all the way out here, he might as well try to endure the shitty weather.

He slips off his glasses and tries in vain to dry them off as he stomps towards the shore, pausing within earshot of Cielo.]

The one day I decide to check out the island, and I end up soaking wet...just my damn luck.

[rainbowarch]

[He's been alone for a while now, so Cielo is a bit surprised to see someone else up on the island as well, turning to see a less-than-happy Shinra. Rain doesn't bother him in the least, but he knows that other people aren't as used to it as he is. He supposed that if he came from places where the weather was mostly clear, he'd be that way too.]

It's not so bad is it? It's just water, ja?

[He's completely soaked and nope, he doesn't care at all.]

[indoorscholar]

[Shinra returns his glasses to the bridge of his nose and peers curiously at Cielo for a split second. After all this time dealing with the oddballs in Vatheon, he doesn't react to Cielo's appearance nearly as strongly as he would have before, though he's still a bit curious.]

...Yeah, I guess you're right. The perfect weather in that bubble must have spoiled me.

[He gives up on trying to avoid the elements of nature and tosses his soaked lab coat onto the sand, letting the rain plaster his bangs to his forehead. He can't deny that there's something oddly nostalgic about getting drenched.]

[rainbowarch]

[Cielo gets up from his spot in the sand. Water is just dripping all over, but especially from his hair. He doesn't think he's seen this person before.]

It was nice up here too until now. This is the first time I've seen rain here.

[But he doesn't think much of it. Rain is normal.]

I'm Cielo.

[indoorscholar]

Yeah, I think you're right about that. Maybe that giant coral's losing its touch.

[It isn't all bad, he supposes. Lack of dry shelter aside, there's something calming about the steady downpour that he'd almost forgotten since arriving in Vatheon.

He grins and nods his head slightly in greeting.]

Doctor Shinra Kishitani.

[rainbowarch]

A doctor?

[He hasn't seen Shinra around at all! Up until now, Cielo had assumed that all the doctors in Vatheon worked at the clinic. Maybe Shinra works on his own.]

I work at the clinic as a nurse.

[indoorscholar]

Oh, you don't say?

[In theory, Shinra's an employee of the clinic, but as of late he's been getting a little caught up in some...personal research projects. He suppresses a sheepish grin as he remembers the set of surgical tools he "borrowed" from Doctor Muraki.]

I've been meaning to get around to helping out at the clinic for a while now. How are things over there?

[rainbowarch]

Pretty good. It was tough during the week that lots of people got sick though.

[Including him. And by the end of that week, he was completely defeated by that damn fever. Working the entire time didn't help.]

[indoorscholar]

[Ugh, that curse. Shinra cringes slightly at the memory of a scorching fever and a throat so dry he could hardly breathe.]

That really was horrible. I did what I could from my apartment, but there were just too many sick people in this damn place.

[rainbowarch]

Nobody died, so that was a good thing, ja?

[They were, however, utterly miserable.]

But I bet everyone you did help appreciated it.

[indoorscholar]

The week of suffering definitely would have been worse if there were casualties, I'll give you that.

[He certainly did get his share of suffering in...the lesson to keep his immune system good and strong was well-learned. Though, apparently not well enough for him to want to get out of the pouring rain.]

I like to tell myself that.

[He grins sheepishly as he remembers his misadventures with a certain disgruntled saiyan.]

What kind of cases do you usually get at the clinic?

[rainbowarch]

Mostly just minor illnesses. Occasional injuries too.

[It's his job to assist the doctors and take care of small things. Take note of vitals, dispense medication, and see to the needs of any patients that have to stay. It's taxing work (especially when the place was still understaffed), but he finds it quite rewarding.

He's even finally learned to not suddenly transform in front of patients without warning them first!]

Usually things that some medicine or magic can fix.

[indoorscholar]

[Shinra nods attentively. Sounds a bit more tame than his work back home, but from what he's seen so far, the variety of the patients should more than make up for the simpler cases. The word 'magic' catches his attention as he perks his ears at Cielo.]

Are you a practitioner of healing by magic yourself? I've been a bit curious as to how that works.

Sickness cannot tear me from depressing conversations!!

[bufudine]

[Serph had seen the rain on the island earlier, but hadn't mentioned it to Cielo. By the time Serph has made his way onto the island, Cielo is already sitting on the beach.

...

Serph quietly joins him out under the rain.]

Delicious Depressing Saga

[rainbowarch]

[Cielo doesn't even have to look to know that it's Serph joining him on the beach. He just knows.]

Hey, Serph.

[He turns his attention from the ocean to the sky.]

Nice weather, ja?

[bufudine]

[It's been almost two months since their arrival in Vatheon. Longer since the rain stopped in the Junkyard.

Serph nods, before he, too, turns his attention to the overcast sky.

It's something he hasn't seen in a long time. And while it's no longer the blue sky they'd so coveted back in the Junkyard, Serph does admit he's missed the gentle fall of rain. Rain was rebirth, after all.]

It's been a long time.

[Having time out here in the rain... it makes him wonder about the Junkyard. When the rain stopped, had that meant the cycle had, too?]

[rainbowarch]

[Cielo closes his eyes, both to just enjoy the rain and get his thoughts in order. He half expects to be back in the Junkyard when he opens them again. He had intended to go for a fly in the rain, but now that Serph was here, he'd much rather talk.]

It was strange when the rain suddenly stopped in the Junkyard, ja?

[bufudine]

[Oh. Is this going to be one of Cielo's famed difficult questions days? But he doesn't mind them, and this is, perhaps, one of the topics he's given some thought to, himself.

Serph nods, waiting for the inevitable questions. He closes his eyes, too, enjoying the feel of the rain against his face.]

[rainbowarch]

[It's not very often that Serph has answers to Cielo's questions. But that's all right. Cielo doesn't expect him to give him definitive answers. Serph doesn't know much more than he does. Instead, he wants to know what Serph thinks.]

Did the Karma Temple ever intend to let us go to Nirvana?

[It's something he's thought about here in Vatheon, now that they have the luxury of slowing down. Not having to constantly be on the lookout for enemies or racing against time. Back then, Cielo didn't care about the reason they were denied entrance to the temple; there were much more pressing issues at hand and they used claws and fangs to get in. But now that he's had time to think about it, the main thing he could not get past was...why?]

[bufudine]

[It's a rather unsettling thought. Yet...

They had abided Junkyard law. They had conquered the other acknowledged Tribes, united them all under one banner: the Embryon. Yet the Karma Temple had barred them from entering.

Serph draws his legs towards his chest and rests his chin on his kneess, looking out to sea.]

What would they gain from denying us entry?

[rainbowarch]

[Of course, that was the next logical question. As Serph asked, what would they gain from that?]

I don't know! Maybe they wanted to keep us in the Junkyard for some reason. Maybe they couldn't give us Nirvana at all.

[But if that's so, then why decree a war and offer the most desired of prizes: the right to leave? Promising Nirvana just made everyone even more determined and more willing to kill each other.]

Did they just want everybody to fight?

[BUT WHY!? Cielo shakes his head in frustration. Every time he comes up with some kind of possibility, it just brings up more problems.]

[bufudine]

[Serph's voice is quiet in the rain.]

It seems so.

[Why else would the Temple emphasize fighting so much? But why fight in the first place?

Gale had once asked him why the Temple had cursed him with their Atma. Serph had believed it was a test. But the truth is, they still don't know why they were given their Atma. Why they were called to fight. Why they were given a goal. Before their Atma, they would have fought just because that is what they were commanded to do. They didn't need a reason to fight, back then.

There are so many questions and so few answers. Serph isn't sure they will ever be able to find the answers. Sorry, Cielo, he doesn't have any more answers than you do.]

[rainbowarch]

[Cielo wasn't surprised that Serph doesn't have anything to add. He just wanted somebody to talk about this with. Somebody who could listen Sure, he's talked to many different people. Some of them went through similar things he did. But here in Vatheon, Serph was the only one who could really understand what it was like to be in the Junkyard.

No matter how hard he tries, Cielo can't make sense of what happened. He kind of wants to slam his head against something, but there's nothing around to do that with unless he wants to slam his forehead into Serph.

So he just settles for a defeated sigh and looking kind of pathetic.]

We don't know enough, and we might never know. It's frustrating, ja?

[bufudine]

[Serph honestly would not mind if Cielo slammed his head into him. Argilla's done it before! He agrees with Cielo; it is frustrating. He understands wanting to know, but having no way to obtain answers. The thought of him having devoured Argilla twists his stomach, but he has no way to confirm Varin's words.

...But Heat's right. In the end, there's only one thing that really matters.

Serph straightens and rests a hand on Cielo's shoulder.]

We know this.

[rainbowarch]

[Serph's words and touch are even more comforting than the familiar rain and Cielo no longer feels the need to ram his head against something anymore. He's still confused and upset with his own thoughts and his inability to sort this impossible puzzle out, but at least he was calmer about it now.

He reaches up to touch Serph's hand with his own - a way to show his appreciation.]

And that's the most important thing to know, ja?

[It's the one thing above all others that kept them going. It helped them survive. It made them who they were now.]