pray for me, 'cause i have lost my faith in holy wars

[beholdmydemons]

Who: Walter (beholdmydemons) & Isabeau (ironface)
Where: Cherrygrove City
When: late morning of June 7th
Summary: [SMTIV SPOILERS] happened. Then Isabeau came here. And now Walter is meeting her in person and it's going to be incredibly awkward.
Rating: PG, possible mentions of death and sacrilege? idk
Log:

[The message he sends Isabeau after they've landed is short and simple:]

We're here. I'll be by the water on the north edge of town.

[He's not exactly thinking of secrecy, but he chooses somewhere off the main roads nonetheless, not sure what to expect. There's the question of whether Isabeau is even considering traveling with them - he hadn't thought about it one way or the other - and the question of whether they really will be all right around each other, since words are just words no matter how convincing they sound -

- and he's worrying too much again, in a way that's unlike him. Ugh.

He leaves Bertholt with a few of his Pokemon to help find an inn room and take their belongings there, and heads north on his own, wearing his uniform jacket thrown over his shoulders and what passes for more usual attire these days underneath. There's a small lake up there; he seats himself near the bank there, and waits.

...sending Orthrus with Bert might've been a bad idea. It's too quiet. He's starting to sulk again.]

Comments

[ironface]

[Isabeau likes this town. It's friendly, open, but still small; if nothing else mattered, she could get used to living here. She'd gotten a small loaf of melonpan from a local shop, but she hasn't eaten any yet, just holding it as something to occupy her hands. It's a nervous habit, and she needs to stop doing it.

But when she sees that blue jacket, that nervousness is forgotten as she feels that telltale prick behind her eyes. They'd talked, and she thought she was over the shock of his being alive here. At the same time, hearing his voice is completely different from actually seeing him.

Walter's a Samurai. His senses are good. Does he know she's standing there? She's not sure if she'd be able to tell, so she can't guess about him. But no, she's not going to cry in front of him. She isn't. She takes a few breaths, calming herself down, and makes her way over to him. On her way, she breaks a piece of her melonpan off. When she reaches him, she sits down next to him, holding it out to him. Is it a peace offering of sorts, or is she just being friendly?

She doesn't know.]

Good morning.

[beholdmydemons]

[His senses aren't as keen as they were back in Tokyo - but then, they had to be constantly on guard there, and there's just more activity here to take in to begin with. Still, he hears her when she's a few yards away, and suddenly that feeling of trepidation hits him again and he sits still until she's right there and seated too.

It's so surreal. Like...like nothing happened.

His face is frozen expressionless for a moment, eyes searching - then he looks cautious, then bewildered, then wry, all in the space of the few seconds it takes him to reach out and accept the bread.]

...And to you. [There's still a cautious note in his voice, keeping the volume down a few notches from where it usually sits. He takes a bite of the bread and speaks between chewing.] In all honesty - I hadn't expected to see you again at all, much less like this.

[ironface]

[He hadn't rejected it outright; that's a good sign. His words ring true, and oh how she wishes she could tell him everything. But she can't bring herself to, not even here in person.

Instead, her gaze falls out over the water. It's peaceful here. Is it so awful of her to wish it could stay like this?]

I'd not as well. I - it's good to see you.

[beholdmydemons]

[As far as Walter knows, there's nothing to talk about regarding back home, and nothing to resolve - just the hanging awkwardness of knowing that something has been done which cannot be undone.

So.]

I've been here some months. Summer's starting, and it was sometime last autumn. [He swallows the bread, wiping at his mouth.] Living is - remarkably easy here. I earn my keep battling Pokemon, and Bertholt and I just go wherever we wish. There's some that travel less, though, if you prefer that.

[ironface]

[She'd eaten the rest while he was talking, and mulled over his words for a few seconds before saying anything.]

You don't stay in one place for very long, then?

[beholdmydemons]

We've stayed a month in Goldenrod for all there was to see. [But neither of them would consider that "long", so the answer is no.]

[ironface]

I see. Is there a city you particularly like?

[beholdmydemons]

...Nn. They're all like good dreams made real.

[ironface]

That's a lot to look forward to.

[beholdmydemons]

What awaits you back in Mikado? [WHOOPS WERE YOU THINKING OF NOT BRINGING IT UP sorry not sorry.

he's just worried about you really]

[ironface]

[A LOT OF THINGS, WALTER, ONE OF THEM NOT BEING YOU.

She visibly starts; she'd known it was eventual, but selfish though it was, she also wished it could have lasted longer.]

Tokyo. Mikado... is no more.

[beholdmydemons]

[....What?]

What?

[He'd asked mainly because Isabeau's remarks struck him oddly - asking immediately about cities, talking about looking forward to things, like there was no news to give him about anything back home.

But clearly, there is news. And Walter can't do anything about the sharp pang of shock that seizes his heart when he hears that, thrilled as he may feel once it passes.

He's sitting up straight, hand on the ground like he's thinking of jumping to his feet. There are too many ways to interpret that.] What do you mean?

[ironface]

[Where to start, where to start...]

Masakado. Do you know the name?

[beholdmydemons]

I don't. What do you mean by "no more"?

[ironface]

...What I said. Masakado is Tokyo's guardian deity. His revival meant the destruction of Mikado.

[There it is. It was easier to say than she thought it would be.]

[beholdmydemons]

[But what the fuck does that mean.]

...Did it - did he come from the Expanse? [Demons to overrun the Ashura-Kai's Tokyo - and Mikado, too run through with weakness to survive the onslaught. That was the plan. Did it work?]

[ironface]

No - I don't know. I don't think so. He was protecting Tokyo, literally. The Ceiling was his back.

[Come on, Walter. He's smart enough to figure out the rest. Please don't make her say it.]

[beholdmydemons]

[That's the extra bit of information he needs to make all the pieces slot into place - maybe even visibly, as he connects no more with back and revival and oh my god you guys actually literally exploded Mikado why]

-So it's - [Then Walter does jump to his feet, hands flying up to head and running back through his hair in a moment of overwhelmed confusion - it's nothing he was against, certainly, but some raw part of him is still seized with fear at the image of a place so familiar to him crumbling like a lump of dry clay. He tamps it down with a silent self-admonishment, hands snapping down into fists at his side.] - no more, as in gone?! [Breathe. It's not Mikado's end that distresses him, now that the moment is past, but - it's not that simple, or it would've happened earlier. What of the angels? What of Lilith, what of the Expanse? What of Flynn?] That's - hardly half a how, Isabeau, how did this come to pass?!

[ironface]

[No, she can't get upset. She'd be livid if their situations were reversed. She gathers her thoughts while he paces around - what to say, how to say it, it's never really been her strong suit.

But when he asks her, it's hardly a complicated answer.]

Demons were pouring out of the Expanse. The angels wanted to destroy Tokyo. They were going to war, and Tokyo would be caught in the crossfire. Reviving Masakado was the only way to stop both of them.

[beholdmydemons]

[Alright. Alright, that explains a lot more. Walter puts his hands to his hips, breathing out through his nose as his gaze drops to the ground. He's quiet for a moment.]

...The Ashura-kai are laid low, still, right?...What became of Lilith?

[ironface]

Yes, they are - at least, I never saw them come back. As for Lilith, Flynn told me she was dead.

[She should probably be volunteering more information, but it's still raw. At least she's answering his questions, she tells herself.]

[beholdmydemons]

[Ouch. But that's just...how it goes, so there's no call to mourn her, right?]

And who rules?

[ironface]

I don't know. I found myself here before that was decided.

[beholdmydemons]

[His face goes stony - and he's quiet, absorbed in his own thoughts and giving Isabeau a chance to breathe as he starts to pace again.]

[ironface]

[The more she watches him, the more she starts to think that he doesn't seem particularly upset at Mikado being gone. There was the initial shock, to be sure, but once that had passed.... It doesn't surprise her, if she's being honest with herself, but it's jarring nonetheless.]

If I may, what's the last thing that you remember?

[beholdmydemons]

...Flynn and Jonathan and I awoke in another Tokyo. A ruined desert.

i'm so sorry for this being so late

[ironface]

[She didn't know what she was expecting, nor did she know what to do with that. From then on... not for the first time, she finds herself wishing she'd been able to join them.]

...I see.

[beholdmydemons]

So you do. [8|] And is that good or bad?