[ She wanted to believe him but she had done absolutely nothing. Besides causing troubles, that is. So it sounded like he said that mostly to be kind. ]
I'm pretty bad at anything that's not just fighting. Having conversations, doing things like this, having a friend -- it all helps me. I'd go crazy if not for things like this.
[That's the simple truth, after all. Even after all this time here, he still doesn't understand how to live a life anyone else might consider 'normal'.]
[ She wouldn't always have. The person she had been a while ago, well. The 'power of friendship' had been unknown to her. ]
I never had any friends till an event a year ago. I don't think I would have really understood then... But now thinking to going back to the way things were before sounds like torture.
I had friends. Ahrah, and Fidget... but we fought together. We traveled together. We didn't spend time in towns, going to ice cream parlors or watching auctions. We were always on the move. It's different.
[Very, very different. Maybe irreconcilably so, since Dust hasn't even managed to live indoors for a year or so now.]
Anyway, I'm glad you're around, which is the point. It's a two-way path.
If you want a recommendation, their brownie sundae is really good. [Look, MAYBE they should talk a little more seriously for a little longer, but Dust has a sweet tooth.] Or the mint chocolate chip.
[ And lo, she goes to the counter... And get a quadruple ice cream. It's a bit ridiculous, the ice cream is bigger than her head. No way she'll eat it all, but she wants to taste every flavor. ]
[There's a physically-active warrior's metabolism... and then there's whatever Dust has got, considering the double banana split he's brought away from the counter and is now visibly eager to eat.]
Yeah, isn't it? [Dust is more excited than he normally gets by any means, gently nudging Eresh over towards an empty table so they can sit and eat properly.] I had an occasional treat in Falana but this blows it all away!
We don't have food in the Underworld. I tried growing things, but nothing can grow in the land of the dead. [Flowers, in particular. She closed her eyes in consideration.] But it's so cold, ice cream wouldn't melt...
How did that happen, anyway? You ending up in charge in the Underworld. You're... not what I'd picture, if I were asked to envision the lord of the land of the dead.
I was born into this role. Upon our coming into existence, Ishtar was given reign over the heavens and I over the Underworld. There were no discussions nor choices. [That was just how it was. Unfortunately.] Furthermore, the me you see now isn't the original me. When the King of Mage attempted to incinerate humanity, humans summoned my sister to their side using a young human woman as a vessel. It was made possible due to the King of Mage having thrown the fabric of reality into disarray. Seeing how Ishtar and I are two halves of a whole, I was summoned as well.
[ Ereshkigal marked a pause, ice cream time! She felt the explanation may help understand why she was so different from what one would picture when thinking about a death goddess. ]
The vessel did somewhat affect my mind. The old me wouldn't have been able to hold a conversation. I was a bit more brutal too. Sometimes I would destroy things I want but can't get, purely out of spite so nobody else could get them. [She shook her head.] Thanks to the influence of this vessel however, I now realize just how evil and embarrassing this kind of behavior is.
[ Surprisingly, the Ereshkigal sitting in front of him is her socially-aware self. Goodness knows what her old self was like if she was even worse. ]
[Dust listens to this with a curiosity that even distracts him slightly from how good his sundae is. Not that he stops eating it, of course. He parses her explanation, and by the end of it, he's pretty sure he understands the what and the whys of it.]
[It's not too difficult to understand for someone composed of two souls who had murdered each other.]
So you changed, but you don't mind it at all, huh?
I do not. [She shook her head.] I nearly reverted to my old self following the events I mentioned.
[ She stopped eating the ice cream as she remembered the events that had led to all of that. When she had been punished for having helped the living, and then Nergal's shadow who had taken advantage of her distress to convince her to remove the memories of her new self and kill herself as punishment for having helped the living.
[Dust nods, slightly. To be suddenly changed like that must be quite an experience, but if she could look at it as a good thing, then it can't have been too bad after all.]
Doesn't seem like you at all. [Actually, the thought of the Ereshkigal-that-is being petty and violent comes off more comedic than horrifying, but it's still wrong!] But you've got plenty to hold on to now, right?
[ She had friends. Something she'd used to dream about before using this vessel. Something she'd never thought she would ever have. ]
But you know, I can be fearsome and scary as is expected of me when necessary...! I can transform into a giant regal version of my Gallû Spirits when needed. [She beamed. She was very proud of how scary this transformation could be.] Well, not on Avalon of course...
Seems right up your alley. [What with the potential power to augment her... more emphatic moments, let's say?] And it could be really helpful for a lot of things.
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queenofkur) wrote2022-02-18 11:08 pm
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Adjusting to things here has been... rough. For a lot of us. You're helping me too.
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[ She wanted to believe him but she had done absolutely nothing. Besides causing troubles, that is. So it sounded like he said that mostly to be kind. ]
How?
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[That's the simple truth, after all. Even after all this time here, he still doesn't understand how to live a life anyone else might consider 'normal'.]
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[ She wouldn't always have. The person she had been a while ago, well. The 'power of friendship' had been unknown to her. ]
I never had any friends till an event a year ago. I don't think I would have really understood then... But now thinking to going back to the way things were before sounds like torture.
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[Very, very different. Maybe irreconcilably so, since Dust hasn't even managed to live indoors for a year or so now.]
Anyway, I'm glad you're around, which is the point. It's a two-way path.
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[ She nodded. ]
Right...! So let's eat that ice cream!
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[ She has no idea how any of those tastes so she wants to try both! ]
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Hrm... Maybe I over did it. This is wasteful...
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[There's a physically-active warrior's metabolism... and then there's whatever Dust has got, considering the double banana split he's brought away from the counter and is now visibly eager to eat.]
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T-That's really good!
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[To put it ridiculously mildly.]
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[ Ereshkigal marked a pause, ice cream time! She felt the explanation may help understand why she was so different from what one would picture when thinking about a death goddess. ]
The vessel did somewhat affect my mind. The old me wouldn't have been able to hold a conversation. I was a bit more brutal too. Sometimes I would destroy things I want but can't get, purely out of spite so nobody else could get them. [She shook her head.] Thanks to the influence of this vessel however, I now realize just how evil and embarrassing this kind of behavior is.
[ Surprisingly, the Ereshkigal sitting in front of him is her socially-aware self. Goodness knows what her old self was like if she was even worse. ]
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[It's not too difficult to understand for someone composed of two souls who had murdered each other.]
So you changed, but you don't mind it at all, huh?
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[ She stopped eating the ice cream as she remembered the events that had led to all of that. When she had been punished for having helped the living, and then Nergal's shadow who had taken advantage of her distress to convince her to remove the memories of her new self and kill herself as punishment for having helped the living.
After a moment, she finally spoke: ]
I hated it.
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Doesn't seem like you at all. [Actually, the thought of the Ereshkigal-that-is being petty and violent comes off more comedic than horrifying, but it's still wrong!] But you've got plenty to hold on to now, right?
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[ She had friends. Something she'd used to dream about before using this vessel. Something she'd never thought she would ever have. ]
But you know, I can be fearsome and scary as is expected of me when necessary...! I can transform into a giant regal version of my Gallû Spirits when needed. [She beamed. She was very proud of how scary this transformation could be.] Well, not on Avalon of course...
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[ Nothing was less certain. ]
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[Someone had told him that at some point.]
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[ She nodded. She could immediately guess what he meant. Yes, she should be able to create an illusion of her alternate form. ]
I haven't experimented much on the illusionary side of things... Maybe I should.
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