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 Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 8:56 pm
Lopezite had a decent amount of room in his office, and it seemed like it was designed for practicality with moderate attention to comfort. In many ways, it was just an office. There was the hum of Chaos, heavy in the air, but it always was in the castle.
It felt comfortable. He had a folding table leaning against the back wall, and a few chairs stacked next to it. For planning purposes, probably. With his team.
That Periclase was now a part of.
There was a television in the room, and a computer, but neither were on right now. Two soft chairs were available for guests at his desk, and he had a good chair. There were a few ornate weapons adorning the walls–unique in design, but clearly decorative. He had a silver tree on his desk, with each leaf carefully fixed to a wire trunk
There was nothing ominous about the room; he kept it well lit, and there was a large rug spread across the cold, hard floor. A couch, with a pillow and blanket thrown over the back, was out of the way. A few filing cabinets, a few shelves with practical things–exploration gear, a first aid kit. Practical things.
He arrived with Periclase and almost immediately removed his sword and sheath from his back; he walked across his office and rested them against the wall behind his desk.
"Welcome," he said, and smiled as he took a seat at his desk. "Can I get you a snack, something to drink? I can't say I'm as well stocked as General King Axinite, but I like to have something around in case I'm working late. You can make yourself comfortable. Do you mind if I record what information you have on these Senshi and your plans for getting through to them? It's not for anything nefarious, it's just so I can type it up later. I like to be thorough and keep a paper trail."
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2022 11:44 am
Priclase looked around the office with some interest. It was nice. Rather homey…not industrial or cold really. She took a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk, shaking her head. “I’m all right, but thank you for the offer. Please, if you want to record the information you’re more than welcome to, I don’t have much more than what I’ve told you, but the one who was a little crazy, she kind of wore a fuku that looked like a witch outfit. In purple. Like a grape witch from a Spirit Halloween or something.”
Sure, that wasn’t kind to say…or kind to think, but Periclase had already firmly established that she hadn’t liked the senshi so. A few insults could be forgiven, she hoped.
“The other one looked like a bride, covered in veils and blue roses, and said that she was the senshi of the unattainable…”
She thought for a moment and then brightened. “Ilse. She said that her name was Ilse! I had forgotten.”
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2022 1:29 pm
Lopezite listened intently even after he’d pressed the record button and set the tablet down on the table. “I can’t say that the first sounds familiar to me. But I’ll check our files later and see if there’s anyone that matches that description. Ilse, though. That one I recognize.”
He didn’t have to reach for the tablet to pull up her file; he’d looked into his fair share of defectors.
“Did she tell you she used to be in the Negaverse? You might have a hard time convincing her to come back. She’s in league with some dangerous people, you’d do your best to be careful with that one. I don’t know how willingly she’d be accepted back here, but I know she’s in deep with at least one other defector. I can send you the relevant files from the database.”
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2022 1:32 pm
Periclase paused and then frowned slightly. “...Wait, wait so Ilse’s a traitor? But…”
But she had been so nice...and so sad. “Maybe she was so upset because she realizes that she made a poor decision…it’s…not a strong possibility, but it still could be one, don’t you think?” She chewed her lip, looking to Lopezite, but drew out her own tablet. “...I would appreciate the information you have on her, yes please.”
Damn. The one senshi she had felt kindness for, felt the desire to help and take care of…turned out to be a traitor.
“...Please don’t think that I’m going to be of that persuasion. I didn’t realize, and I’m not sure…how I would have reacted if I had…”
But honestly? She wouldn’t have acted much differently. Unhappy people needed to be taken care of, not…punished. At least, that was what made sense to Periclase. Punishment only led to lingering resentment.
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2022 2:53 pm
Lopezite nodded; he didn’t reach for the tablet nor did he need a reminder to send her the information later–he already had it recorded for him to review and update, later. “I’ll send you a message when we’re finished here so you can review it at your leisure. I’d like to think that if she was upset it was because she realized she made a mistake. I don’t think it’s impossible to save them–and I’d rather see that happen than have the alternative.”
He flashed a small smile. He wanted to make the world a better place. He didn’t like to think that sometimes people had to die for that to happen. He just wanted everyone and everything to fall into place.
He knew it wasn’t that easy. But, he could dream.
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2022 12:38 pm
Periclase let out a long gust of air that was too forceful to be a sigh, but rubbed her eyes after a moment. “...I hope that I can save her. She didn’t seem bad. Just…really sad. I’ll be careful though, General. I promise. I won’t go doing anything stupid or saying anything stupid…and honestly, if it’s a matter of having her come willingly…I’d rather do what my girlfriend said and just smash and grab, bringing her against her will and start over with her rather than kill her…killing…”
She shuddered, her mind wandering to her sister. “...is so utterly permanent. And she could be useful, I’m sure…”
Still…if she had known…Periclase wasn’t quite sure she would have acted any differently with Ilse…which…
…She wondered what that meant for her.
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2022 2:25 pm
Lopezite nodded. “I hope you can, too.” But, optimism had a price, and sometimes it was the pain that came with failure. He didn’t want to see Periclase fail. Didn’t want her to get entangled with someone who couldn’t be saved. Didn’t want her to pour her whole heart into something, to someone that might never give her a chance.
“In a worst case environment, yeah. I suppose bringing by force is sometimes necessary. But if they’ve already left once, I don’t know that Metallia will be so forgiving. Especially if they try to leave again.”
He sighed, obviously disappointed in Ilse for leaving once before, but…
If there was still a chance, the hopeful part of his heart wanted to give her the opportunity to redeem herself. If Periclase thought it was possible...
He wasn’t going to get in her way.
He’d just do everything he could to try and help her succeed.
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2022 2:45 pm
“That’s…” She sighed. “I suppose that’s true…but I don’t know…I think she’d be worth trying for, and I don’t want to give up on her just yet…”
Periclase swallowed and glanced around. “...If you have time before I go, can I do some practice with you? I haven’t really had much of a chance to use my super magic and my aim isn’t really what it should be. If you don’t mind feeling a little sick, I’d love to have you be my guinea pig!”
It was best to move on from this subject. Best to focus on something else.
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