Something was so nostalgic about walking along the coast. With her shoes in her hands, Eleanor's path of footprints traced a line just at the rim of the water. Reaching and receding, she always imagined that the ocean was breathing. With every breath in, the waters would crawl out across the sand, expanding. With each breath out, the waters would pull back, shrinking farther towards it's core. She imagined that somewhere, deep down within it all, there was a heart beneath the waves, where nothing moved and all was still. Where all of the sea's movements originated, but none occurred. The heart of the ocean. Opening her palm menu, it seemed she had received a voice message from none other than @Kyupin Felnya. Hearing the emotion within the girl's voice, Eleanor's facial expression was left in an odd mixture. It seemed unsure where to land, between a frown or a smile. While pleased that her death had not gone unnoticed, she was also made somewhat discomforted by the fact that her fall had caused such sadness. This was a factor she had not assumed upon taking and completing her task of becoming the catalyst. Once the message ended, she quickly made her way through the menus to formulate a response. Tapping on the messaging system, she typed words into the screen: "There is no need for hurting, I am quite alright. It is good to be back among the living. If you would like to meet up, I will link my current coordinates below. I much appreciate your concern. You are a very caring person." She was not the best at those sorts of messages, especially when she had to convey some sort of emotional importance. Text always appeared so empty and void of emotion. It was not uncommon for Eleanor to revert back to this casual, informational, emotional emptiness. Because of this, many of her produced messages within the real world began to appear more similar to a non-fiction novel, rather than an actual conversation. Nevertheless, she tried very hard to fill the text box with some kind of sincerity, before sending off the message. Staring out towards the water, after the previous distraction had been remedied, Eleanor stared in stillness for a few moments. It was peaceful, even when the sunset was not yet present. In a few hours, those golden hours on the shore would be upon her. She hoped to stay for long enough to witness them. Even so, that lovely, endless coast constantly remained. It was as though she could get lost, with her eyes venturing infinitely outwards, just above the ocean's surface. For some reason, the memories of infinite planes and lines crept into her mind. It made her chuckle. Walking out towards the coast, she stopped, taking a seat. Setting her shoes beside herself, socks neatly tucked inside, Eleanor crossed her legs. The water reached for her, then crept away, again and again. It was as though it was alive, hypnotizing her with the calming waves. Her mind began to go blank, as the subtlety of thoughts began to drift to and fro within her conscious. Hopefully, it would not be long until her company arrived. "Ohayo, Eleanor!" The sound of a quiet voice spoke from her left, her eyes glued towards the coast. She did not peer over to see who spoke the words, but she felt as though... That answer was obvious. Her ears rang with the sound of the innocent voice, and her eyes squinted out towards the coast, the bright sunlight reflecting off of its waters. "Tantei, tantei!" A word of great importance. A title to be proud of. She felt a smile reach across her face. To be known, renowned. To be loved. Her stomach swelled with warmth, churning and twisting in a red delight. She felt as though her stomach and ribs vibrated with calmness, and she could be without worry. Suddenly, the sky became different. Curiosity. Something was missing. There was a darkness at the shore, as the waters seemed to grow taller than mountains, blocking out the sun. Coming to gobble her up, the endless ocean was hungry, it's stomach rumbling up a storm. The world seemed shrouded beneath some sort of blanket. She heard a voice, bloodcurdling and hoarse, yet familiar and memorized. "Eleanor!" Raising a brow, she turned around to face behind her, twisting herself around upon hearing the call. The cold water, calmly reaching forward and backwards, grazed Eleanor's defenseless toes, snapping her back into reality. In an instant, the sun was upon her once more. She still looked back, the memories of what had just occurred flowing into forgetfulness, as reality ruthlessly smothered those thoughts. Even within the virtual world, she sometimes found herself daydreaming such odd things. Staring back, Eleanor still peered for the girl who had called her name...
Receiving a text message after her heartfelt message was a little disappointing. After obsessively replaying that one voicemail from @Eleanor Loan to the point she knew each word and pause by heart, she'd hoped to get something new. Something that would help cement Eleanor's existence. But seeing her friend in person would be better, wouldn't it? Of course it would. Which was why she immediately headed for Dunnstads when she finished reading the message, Eleanor's hat tightly pressed to her chest. If she tried to wear it, it would barely hang onto her ears and probably just be carried away with the wind in her haste. She reached the coast fairly quickly, gaze dropping down to check the coordinates frequently. She didn't want to get lost, or worse, keep Eleanor waiting for too long. While the late sun still shone down on her, it would not be long before the sunset, leaving behind darkness and the cool breeze of the ocean-side. Slipping off her boots and pinching them in one hand, Kyupin briefly relished the way her toes dug into the sand before continuing her hurried pace. Eleanor was supposed to be nearby. She could enjoy the scenery together with her friend. There! Right by the water! "Eleanor!" she called out, waving her hands enthusiastically. She waited for the other to respond; to turn around and wave back, maybe call out a greeting. But there was a moment of silence. A moment where the other continued to stare out into the ocean, seeing the unseeable. Like Eleanor, Kyupin stayed frozen in place, only breaking into movement when the human seemed to snap back to reality with a flinch. Kyupin cocked her head to the side, ears twitching in nervous concern. Should she approach? Call out again? Had Eleanor heard her? Their eyes met as Eleanor turned around. Now, tinged with a hint of nervousness, Kyupin waved again. "Eleanor..." The words were softer this time, almost a whisper, and filled with relief. The sort of sad relief that comes with watching a friend die what must've been a painful death; with beating yourself up for days thinking about all the ways you could've done better to save them. A heavy, painful one, but a relief nonetheless. She crept closer to Eleanor, fidgeting with the cap. Squeezing it gave her a sense of comfort that gently eased her shoulders, relaxing her body until she was stood by Eleanor's side, shoes between them. "I'm glad you're," Kyupin bit her lip and peeked down at her friend, "I mean, I hope you're okay?" Pinching her skirt, she sunk into the sand, settling in and letting the skirt sit around her in a perfect circle. The hat fell from her slackening grip and into her lap, where she proceeded to mindlessly fiddle with it. For some reason, she was afraid to talk too loud, or even look Eleanor's way. Maybe that unease would go away when the other spoke.
Ah, so her company had arrived! Eleanor looked back towards the cat eared girl, who seemed to stand at a similar height to herself. With her head twisted to the left, the detective leaned on her right hand to stabilize herself. Her left hand came up to wave, as she heard her name spoken again, though is a much quieter tone than the previous instance. "I'm quite alright. Really." She gave a reassuring smile, as the Felis sat beside her, facing out towards the open waters. While it was uncommon for her to provide any prolonged eye contact, Eleanor made an exception this time, hoping to find that it might calm the swelling emotions that the other seemed to be feeling. It had been quite a while since their previous, rather brief interaction. Eleanor was surprised that the adorable girl retained any sort of emotional preference towards her, especially one so impactful and caring. An awkwardness seemed to mark itself in the corners of their interaction. Perhaps there had been a misunderstanding or confusion of some kind. Although it did not ease this tension in the slightest, Eleanor tried to integrate some segments of common lingo into their interaction. Her eyes turned away, staring out towards the waters, the breathing ocean never ceasing. How the universe had an interesting way of twisting and churning things into place. Ultimately, it had not been her first time sitting on the beach with a cat... Though it had been many years. Eleanor nervously cupped her hands in her lap, her heart pattering. Why did interaction inflict such a terrible fear upon her? Why did her stomach twist and turn into knots whenever she tried to speak? Her back ached, as she kept up a straight, rigid posture. Her arms ached, as she kept them uniform and in line. Her cheeks were sore, maintaining the image driven poker-face of a politician. And... Really thinking about it... What was it all for? If she kept up the cold, inhumanly strict guise, there would be no way of cheering up or calming down the apparently emotional girl beside her. "Hey." Eleanor looked over, with a confused tone, and for the first time since she had begun the game, her shoulders relaxed. "Check this out." Raising her hands above her head behind herself, she pulled them down forward, as if pulling an imaginary hoodie over her head. This action, reminiscent of a similar movement taken by Markl from Howl's Moving Castle, equipped a disguise from Eleanor's inventory. With an unsure smirk, Eleanor chuckled hesitantly, not sure how her gesture would be responded to, as a pair of raccoon ears flopped off either side of her head, replacing her ears. Somewhere behind her, a bushy tail became visible. She hoped that it could amuse her company, as this was the first time actually showing anyone one of the little things she had obtained over her journeys through the virtual world. "T-This too!" She pulled out her Azog's Core pet, allowing it to float next to her, as well as her Terrified Bunny, allowing the quivering little animal to sit next to the core. The pair of obtained collectibles rested between Eleanor and @Kyupin Felnya, unmoving. Internally, a part of Eleanor scoffed, judging herself for sharing such things so carelessly. At least the other part of her was reaching out from isolation. After all, she had come to the game in order to become more competent in interaction. If all she did was hide and distance herself... No progress would come out of that! So she shared! And she smiled. It was going out on a limb, but she desperately hoped the response would be an accepting one.
Kyupin stared, too confused and too stunned to really react to the sudden shift in Eleanor's demeanor. The sight of raccoon ears, flopping over short blue-black hair, and a bushy tail hanging behind was too much to really comprehend in a single moment. But when it did click, around the time that the poor quivering bunny and floating crystal came out, a startled laugh spilled out of her. It started slow, a short little bark of glee, before dissolving into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. Her hands slapped over her mouth, trying to contain each little snorting laugh, but the sounds still managed to escape, filling the air. "C-Cute!" she managed to cry out between guffaws, "Really, really cute!" She gasped for air, eyes tearing up at the pain in her sides. Her cheeks ached, a smile stretched wide across her face. She mimicked @Eleanor Loan, equipping one of her own costumes: the Koi Kimono. Her blue dress was replaced with an elegantly wrapped kimono, koi drawings throughout the fabric. "Me too! See?" Slowly, and with a lot of great effort, she managed to get her laughter under control. Whatever awkward air had hung heavy between them seemed to ease as Kyupin flicked through her inventory, pulling out her own two pets. A Heavy Golem, which immediately set off to find some good pebbles for them, and her own Azog's Core, which floated eerily beside her head. "Looks like we're matching," she pointed out, watching the crystals float until they were side by side. She followed their example, scooting closer until she could scratch at the fur between the rabbit's ears. Eleanor's hat still sat on her lap, standing out against the pink-orange fabric. She wiped away one of her lingering tears, looking up to the setting sun with a warm fondness in her chest. She sighed, satisfaction loosening her muscles. The water crept closer, licking at her bare toes. She wiggled them in response. "You know what?" she asked, still looking into the distance, "you're not allowed to go jumping to your death anymore, alright, Elly?" The Heavy Golem came waddling back, pebbles in hand, practically shoving them onto the duo. She inspected one closely, patting her golem friend before he continued in the other direction, apparently spotting another shiny pebble. "Can you skip stones?" she asked, gesturing to the pile of stones at their feet.
It was one of the greatest reliefs to see her friendly gesture had not been rejected. Like a hermit crab, if her initial reach from her shell had elicited a cold, careless response, she might've receded to never reach out again. Luckily, and quite jovially, that had not been the case, as her cautious smirk twisted into a real smile. She chuckled as the outfit of the girl changed, shifting into a vibrant, colorful kimono! It had been years since Niko had worn one of those, but she still remembered them, nevertheless. The interesting, floating golem caught Eleanor's eyes, and she watched intently as it soon meandered off. It's hands, or what she supposed were it's hands, would occasionally dip down into the sand, retrieving a pebble or stone, before moving along elsewhere to repeat this process. Eleanor watched with wide eyes. The pet intrigued her, and while most pets were without function... Eleanor's mind was briefly lost in thought. "So we are!" She chuckled, as the cores floated next to each other. Reaching down to her tiny bunny, not much larger than the size of her palm, Eleanor took the small creature into her hands. While it elicited terrified behaviors previously, the incessant quiver subsided, to result in a low, cat-like purr, calming down in it's owner's grasp. Bunnies could purr? "Alright, I won't." Eleanor nodded in agreement to the statement regarding no longer sacrificing her life. She glanced over, viewing the other girl staring off into the distance. Eleanor had no idea whether she looked cute or dumb or anything with those ears, but she left them on. "You needn't worry. It was not painful. I believe that Idna protected me from that much." The detective laughed. "I could when I was little." Reaching over to a stone from the procured pebbles, Eleanor took it into her hand, thumbing over it's textures and surface. "Haven't tried in years, but..." Eleanor flung the stone, and what appeared to be a triumphant arc, landed in a splash. Pursing her lips, Eleanor stared a moment longer, before reaching for another pebble. "You know, Idna is about the same height as us." She described, flinging another stone that less than victoriously plopped, sinking into the waters below without a single hop. It was just a random thought she let slip. She wasn't in the mood for filtering herself in the conversation, as she idly tossed stones into the ocean. "At least, she was when I saw her. Perhaps goddesses change form and shape." She shrugged.
"Ooh," she said, taking on a deep (ish) commentators voice. "Elly goes for the shot and completely misses!" She stuck her tongue out at her friend, and then picked up her own stone and tossed it to the ocean. It sunk immediately. As Eleanor continued talking, Kyupin picked up another stone and flicked it from her wrist, watching in delight as it skipped once, then twice. She turned to brag about it to her new friend, nodding along to their casual words. Idna was the same height as them. Cool. Kyupin blinked as Eleanor's words finally sunk in. "You... You met Idna?" she asked, voice stuttering. A goddess! That was one of the gods in Terra, wasn't it?! She couldn't even laugh as Eleanor sent yet another pebble sinking to its doom in the deep, dark ocean. Her jaw fell, eyes wide and mouth gaping as she stared in disbelief at the casual way @Eleanor Loan described Idna. Idna, the god damn goddess! It was hard to settle with the idea that a goddess was about her height. Her mouth opened and closed, words trying to form but failing as only a slight squeak escaped. Finally, something resembling words came out. "You met Idna?!" she repeated. Whoops. Looks like Eleanor broke the kitty cat.
Eleanor had not expected the immediate surprise, as she had not considered the events overly substantial. After all, she did not think that she held that much sway within the scheme of reality that this game had to offer. Regardless, she turned towards @Kyupin Felnya upon realizing her awe. "Y-yea." The detective nodded, trying her best to be nonchalant about the matter, although it appeared she knew very little regarding it. "Well, after becoming the catalyst with the orb, I guess..." She shrugged, "I got a ticket to some fancy other world where I had the chance to speak with Idna." The statement was void of her usual efforts. She spoke casually, assuming that at this point, their friendship had been cemented, and she was allowed to make certain drawbacks. "It was pretty cool!" Totally dropping the nonchalant guise, she began to detail the account. Before she knew it, she was ranting like an excited youth. "After falling into Azog, everything sort of faded out of focus, but when it came back, I was in this beautiful hall. There was art across the walls, and it moved as if it was alive. Galaxies and infinite space just at the end of the hall, seemingly sprouting from nothingness. And then the woman with the blindfold arrived, and we spoke about..." Rubbing the back of her neck, Eleanor nervously shifted at the topic, "A few things." She was still nervous about the question that she had asked Idna, considering it had been a selfish one. Swiftly taking a stone into her hand, Eleanor sent the rock flying with a fling of her arm. A moment later, after soaring through the air, it skipped! Only one skip, but at least it was progress! Eleanor chuckled, pointing towards the water and glancing toward her company, "Heh!"
Kyupin didn't even realize she'd been leaning forward, eyes wide and lips parted in awe as she listened. The nervous jump over the actual topic of discussion went over her head, distracted as she was by her shock. A player, meeting one of the game's gods! She thought it had just been extra fanciful flavor, but they actually existed. Amazing. "You should've taken a picture!" she said, closing her eyes as she let the vivid explanation paint an image in her mind. "Maybe next tim... actually, no. There should never be a next time. Never ever." It was a shame, but Kyupin would live without a screenshot of the experience. Anyways, what did it matter if @Eleanor Loan met a god, now that she could skip a rock! Kyupin clapped, almost to the point of exaggeration, for Eleanor's success. "Bravo, bravo~" she cheered, "encore!" A silence fell over them. Not a bad silence by any means, rather, a comfortable one. A satisfied one that came when you were in presence of good companionship and could relax, enjoying the moment. Kyupin flicked another pebble towards the water, watching it skip once before sinking. One would think they would've gone through the entire pile of stones by now, but her faithful little Golem had made haste work of the beach, adding more and more stones when they weren't looking. It felt as if the pile were infinite, like the ocean licking at her toes. The Felis sighed, a stray thought flicking to the forefront of her mind. "A Countess probably shouldn't behave like this," she mused aloud. Out here, throwing rocks at the ocean before the setting sun, Kyupin felt more at ease than she had at the ceremony. She hoped her new position wouldn't stop her from enjoying these things anymore. But what did she know? She'd never been that important in her own life. She looked at Eleanor. "You should be a Countess instead of me. You'd probably be better at it. You look like you enjoy counting." She frowned a bit, mulling over her words. "No offense intended."
Eleanor nervously rubbed her neck. For one who prided herself on knowledge of situations and proceeding cautions, she did not necessarily know much on the screenshot function of the game. While in the Firelands, she had witnessed Slypha repeatedly using the function to take note of each and every detail around them, but Eleanor was not entirely certain how exactly to do that. Truly, it would be a wonderful new skill in her arsenal. "I'll try not to, but if a catalyst is required." The detective shrugged her shoulders, "Someone's gotta take one for the team." She smiled, staring out at the waters as her successful rock-skip had been noted. It was nice... Having a conversation where she didn't have to think so much. The detective wondered when she would get another opportunity to have a calm conversation like this one. The silence was a calm one as well, not painstakingly awkward, as most of Eleanor's ended up being. "A countess?" She peered over at her friend, lowering her chin to look up at her with an impressed expression. "I was unaware that I was in such high class company!" She listened idly to the following statements by her company. "Is there truly a great deal of counting? Sounds more like you might be a countant." The first pun that had ever left her lips, and she had not even seen it coming. What an odd turn of events! Eleanor did not realize her own joke until a moment later, when a chuckle escaped her. Accountant... A countant... It was genius, pure genius. If Eleanor was a hypothetical forum character, her author would most certainly be the best word twister, joke master ever imagined.
It took a moment for Kyupin to understand why Eleanor was chuckling, but she giggled regardless of her confusion. And then it did click, and another startled giggle slipped out of her. "Did you just," she looked at Eleanor closely, sniffing, "did you just pun at me?" She snorted and haphazardly tossed a stone, watching it hit the water with a loud splash. It sunk. Still - not one to be outdone by silly puns, Kyupin spread her arms wide. "Well, I guess I should welcome you to the accounting department," she nodded, unable to keep her expression serious with the silly grin threatening to split her face in half, "where everybody counts." She stared at her friend, eyebrows waggling and grin barely holding back her giggles. Eventually, regardless of Eleanor's reaction, Kyupin couldn't help laughing at her own joke, collapsing into a pile on the sand. She usually didn't like sand - it got everywhere. But it wasn't too bad now. She had to enjoy it while she could. Now that she was a... a countess. "I didn't expect to become one," she admitted. "I just wanted to help out and then next thing I know," she gestured wildly at the sky, "I'm a countess! I don't even know what... like.. do I actually have to count? Is that what they do?" Kyupin pouted at the clouds. "Why else would they call them countess...?" She genuinely didn't know. @Eleanor Loan
Eleanor chuckled, as she reached for another stone, holding it in her hand for a few moments to get a good grip on its shape, and allowing her fingers to scour its surface. "Everyone counts, huh." Flinging the stone, she spoke again as it soared. "Literally, I'm guessing." The stone skipped! "Once, twice, aaaand sunk." She jokingly counted along with each hop of the stone. Two hops! New record! She listened as the friend described not really knowing how she had ended up in her position as a countess. She supposed that's how life was, just a jumble from one thing to the next. Plans came, plans passed, and at the end of the day, usually something unexpected would happen. Whichever way the daily dice seemed to fall determined which domino would be tripped, and so the process recycled and repeated itself with each sleep and wake. "A countess is a position of royalty, is it not?" Eleanor shrugged her shoulders in response to why else they would name a role 'count-ess' if there was no counting involved. "There must be benefits, right? A nice house, free food, money?" She listed off a few. Particularly, the few that would make life most easiest, at least for her. "Hey, if you get all that, I'll totally be a countess too." There was still a bit of rigidity in her posture and speech patterns, as she was rather uncomfortable speaking in such an informal manner. At the very least, she was making an attempt to be an interactive human for once, rather than the robo-cop she hoped to be. "Countess Eleanor and Countess Kyupin." @Kyupin Felnya
"Royalty?!" she yelped. She was hardly the royal sort! Did this mean wearing fancy outfits and attending more boring gatherings? Kyupin's heart sunk, though she was quickly distracted by Eleanor's continued line of questions. She blinked at Eleanor, shrugging helplessly once more. "I got... land? There's no house yet, but I'm building one! I'm actually making a shop right now, kinda. A bed and breakfast!" She smiled and leaned closer. "I'm gonna put my cooking to use. If you want tasty food, you'll stop by?" It was an open offer. She hadn't decided prices just yet, but for Eleanor, and probably many of her other friends, she'd likely offer discounts. Why wouldn't she? She just wanted to spread the joy of good food. She took Eleanor's hands and held it between her own, warm smile stretched across her face. "The Countesses! I hope we don't end up like that woman though..." The one that had asked them to steal back her heirloom. The nobles of Falderen had been a special sort. The sun had dropped down below the horizon, darkness creeping along to envelop everything. It was starting to get a bit chilly out here. She shivered against Vulcan's thick coat and gestured her pets closer, letting them disappear into her inventory. While they did a great job of following her, she wouldn't want her Golem to get distracted by a pretty pebble again and only end up coming home several hours later. Yawning, Kyupin scrunched her nose up at Eleanor. "Elly, it's getting late," she pointed out. She nodded to the hat on her lap and, after a bit of contemplation, rose to position it over Eleanor's hair. "Aha!" With a bit more fiddling, the hat was properly tugged over Eleanor's head, the bill shadowing their eyes. "I think I'm going to drop myself off at the shop and then sleep... 'm pretty tired." She stretched and looked to the other. "What about you?" @Eleanor Loan
Eleanor listened as her friend described the fruits of her position. Land was quite lovely to own within the real world, so she assumed that such facts would carry over to the virtual one. And the construction of a public establishment, exciting! How things were progressing quite nicely since their previous, clumsy, criminal encounter! Things seemed a bit... Slower for Eleanor, but where she lacked in social and financial growth, she felt as though she were growing more so emotionally. "That is nice to hear." The detective smiled politely, turning to face the genuine expression towards her company. It was getting quite late, just as the other had stated. Unfortunately, due to a mid-day nap, it seemed that Eleanor's sleep meter was not nearly as depleted as it perhaps should have been, but regardless, she would probably soon get some sleep. "Not sure what I'm going to do. Might do some exploring, but I'll probably sleep soon." The familiar hat had been placed upon her head, and she felt somewhat different about it, after all that had happened. It was comforting, but... There was a new feeling surrounding it. It felt heavier on her head than before, and something was different. I did not fit right upon her head. "Hey," Carefully, as if conducting surgery, Eleanor extracted the garment from her head, holding it in front of herself. Blue. The same familiar shade as she had always known. That color was what weighed on her so much. She was hanging on when... She needed to be letting go. "Actually, could you hang on to this for me?" She gave a weak smirk, presenting the hat to @Kyupin Felnya. "I don't think it's right for me right now..." What followed was a brief, yet influential pause that left an comfortableness in Eleanor so potent, that she quickly filled the void with her own speech. "W-we could cut little ear holes so that it would fit right." She lined her finger along the top, "How's that sound, huh?" She tried to make the situation less awkward, but it was just the same. At least she was letting go. It was like handing a blue cape to a cat on a beach all over again. This time, she would not let it end the same.
She stared in shock at the offered hat, gaze flicking between the garment and Eleanor's slight smirk. "I--," she blinked. Blinked again. Then she reached out and with the same gentleness that Eleanor offered the hat with, took it back. A small smile sat on her face, as if she could see beyond the reasons Eleanor gave her. "That would be lovely." The warm, slightly awkward moment, came to an end. "You might not get this back next time you ask," Kyupin teased. She doubted Eleanor would want it back regardless. Especially if they actually cut holes along the top for her ears. They quickly got to work refining the hat, and this time, as Kyupin turned to leave, she did so with a new dark blue hat on her head. Only at the edge of the beach did she turn around to wave, a sparkle in her eyes. "See you later," she called out, "friend!" [ FIN? ]
