The Tower - Epilogue, part 1 of 2 PowderedLight 2014/09/02(Tue)19:10 No. 592280 ID: 00b2db
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWmBQN0vHsQ

Jasper finds herself wandering, the sun high in the sky. Theres a strange quiet rushing in her chest, or maybe a silence in the shape of rushing.

Shes standing on a high cliff, jagged black rocks far below her, a feeling like having agreed to something important nags her.

A blast of wind sprays her with cold fog, even as the sun shines above, somehow not seeming to warm her chest near enough.

She shivers for a second, and then turns away, walking back to Town.

>

Huh. Timeskip? Maybe you're not immune to those after all. Or you lost the memory? Did you agree to forget, maybe? Is it over? Or this this a test, a trial, a vision. Part of the resolution, something you're supposed to do.

You're small again? You either had time to pull yourself together, or someone put you back together.

Yes..I think something like that happened.

My chest feels cold, and not just from the mist, but on the inside.

It hurts but I can tell its better then it could be/should be. No..I need it to be better.

But better then what? I agreed to something..

Suggestion 2014/09/02(Tue)22:27 No. 592304 ID: 3dd384
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Well. That certainly went a bit pear-shaped at the end, didn't it?

>Theres a strange quiet rushing in her chest, or maybe a silence in the shape of rushing.
>A blast of wind sprays her with cold fog, even as the sun shines above, somehow not seeming to warm her chest near enough.
>My chest feels cold, and not just from the mist, but on the inside.
>It hurts but I can tell its better then it could be/should be. No..I need it to be better.

It sounds to me like you just need to take some time to heal. You were witness to something world-breaking just now; it's no wonder that you'd come out a bit worse for wear.

Go home. Take comfort in the people around you. Maybe try some more meditation, or spend some time at the temple. Do the things that help you recharge and feel at peace.

These things take time.

>I agreed to something..
If you don't know what it was, then it's okay to let it be for now.

Look for hints, yes. Be open to having your memory jogged. But there's no intrinsic shame to delay on keeping a promise that you have no means of remembering.

I wonder actually, do you notice anything different? On you, or with you? One of ideas was to get Entropy II talking about his hopes. Not an earring, but... something else, this time? Something that cements what you said, or heard.

>the magician
I'm not sure if that's good or bad in context, really. It could be a symbol of trickery and deception as much as it could be a sign that have potential or room to act. Especially that magician, the art invokes jasper rather more than the traditional card.

Might suggest we're free to move on, forge ahead. Or that we have something to do, here and now.

>take time
I'm not opposed to that idea, if things are really over. The problem is healthy dealing with the aftermath follows the same path as shrinking from the challenge if this is some kind of test. I'd want to be confident we aren't missing something important before letting things go. If we can safely let go, there's no harm in delaying long enough to think things through.

>My chest feels cold
You spent something? A part of yourself? Or you took something into yourself? Or did you change- did you go cold, and not know?

Can you tell if it's the same day? If it's over, part of me wonders if we should check back with the Titovs, or if it's too soon. You might owe them an apology, if nothing else.

>>592306
> If it's over, part of me wonders if we should check back with the Titovs, or if it's too soon. You might owe them an apology, if nothing else.
That's a good point, really.

...dang, I hope Isabella is okay. Last we saw of her we were still in Entropy's living room and she was not in good shape.

PowderedLight 2014/09/03(Wed)10:55 No. 592372 ID: 908033
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The front of my dress is burnt, lots of little holes, the edges melted, with a big cut over the center, underneath it, my skin is metal, copper red with green veins of verdigris.

Imprinted into the metal are three names: my own, in the True Tongue, “Kotos also called Compromise”, in English, and a maker’s mark with “Dulciana De Montreal, Phd. SorcGen. Excommunicated” in a mix of German and Hell speak.

>The front of my dress is burnt
I was half expecting the dress not to survive, actually. We never clearly established what going big actually did to things on your person. It could have been incinerated outright.

>my skin is metal, copper red with green veins of verdigris
...well, that's different. How much of it?

Certainly seems we sealed a compromise of some kind.

>Dulciana
An... organ stop? Huh. Pipes fit with copper, and stopping sound sort of fits with silence, but yeah, weird. Very weird.

Well me and mom are named after rocks, so I'm not sure if her name tells us much. A PhD who is also a General of Sorcerers is pretty up there for a human, though.

Point. I was thinking of it as a title rather than a name.

I guess you can joke about being metal, now.

The central oval with the names is about the size of my palm, but I think parts of my Ribs are made of the same corrugated metal now. Maybe? It's a little hard to tell once it gets under my normal skin.

Time Passes. PowderedLight 2014/09/04(Thu)09:25 No. 592509 ID: dce23c
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Town seems mostly unchanged when I get back. Isabella is ok, though now she is the Representative of the Parent Teacher Association. Which is a little odd. I think she might be following me around a little too.

Entropy II is running School now. Everyone is assuming he murdered his father and that is why his once clean hands drip blood. I mean even I can tell the official story doesn't make sense.

It doesn't smell like his father's blood though. It almost smells like mother's wings, but his blood is purer, emptier, like mom was whisky and he is vodka.

Meditating has been a little weird. Like the weather and Sun stuff is getting easier, I don't even have to focus really, if I want someone to be hot the sunshine heats them, if I want someone to be cold it doesn't.

But I am also having, I would call them visions if I actually saw anything. It's more just a sense of fate twisting around me. Of it solidifying into a weapon. I wonder if that's how mom fought.

Lady Bentenmaru is back, but she's going to be leaving again soon. I..I really wish she didn't leave all the time. I don't want her gone at all. I don't want any of my friends to go away.

Should I change my schedule any? The Titovs other then Isabella don't want me around. .

>Isabella is a representative of the PTA
But she's not a parent! Is she?

If she's following you around, that would make it easier to talk with her, at some point. We enjoyed talking with her, or verbally sparring, or whatever you want to call that. And you offered what you did in good faith. We didn't intend to hurt her, or her family, and it feels like we owe her an apology, for that. Might want to squeeze that in, somewhere.

>I mean even I can tell the official story doesn't make sense.
What is the official story?

>his blood is purer, emptier, like mom was whiskey and he is vodka
Silly question, but did the blood on the letter change?

>Should I change my schedule any?
Okay, schedule last listed here:
>>/questarch/583644

We can check off the Titovs, and I assume at least one day of mediation.

Might want to spend the unassigned time with Lady Bentenmaru. Make the most of time you have with friends. And yes, it's sad when people you care about aren't around, but in all fairness, you can't spend all your time with everyone, can you? You even have a schedule.

For the next thing you do, something grounding might be good. The temple? Or spend time with Catherine. She might even offer commentary or insight on what happened.

The tone of spending time with Entropy II would be different now, but we should probably still do it. Not immediately though, do some other stuff first. Put a little time between you and what happened, and give yourself space to ground in other things and people, first.

>Meditating has been a little weird.
>It's more just a sense of fate twisting around me. Of it solidifying into a weapon. I wonder if that's how mom fought.
Part of me thinks it might not be how she fought. Is fate an Imperator thing? Or a god thing? Or... something else? The metal and the change and the promise might have had an effect on what you are. Or what you're growing into.

Reply PowderedLight 2014/09/04(Thu)21:26 No. 592621 ID: db72c2
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>>Isabella is a representative of the PTA
>But she's not a parent! Is she?
No, nor a teacher. That's why it's so weird. Though compared to all the monsters that live in Horizon it's not that weird.

> If she's following you around, that would make it easier to talk with her, at some point. Might want to squeeze that in, somewhere.

Yeah, that sounds good. I'm not sure I /like/ her, but I think she can help me grow. Is that what they call a rival?

> What is the official story?
That E1 invited E2 down to the basement with the board of directors. Then he took off his crown and robes of office, getting blood all over them in the process, said "Son it's time for you to be in charge." And all of them flew out the incinerator chimney to somewhere far-away and peaceful.

> Silly question, but did the blood on the letter change?

It's slightly less strong smelling, but no it's not how E2's blood smells.

>Should I change my schedule any?
Okay, schedule last listed here:
>>/questarch/583644

We can check off the Titovs, and I assume at least one day of mediation.

> You even have a schedule.
True. I just worry about them.

> For the next thing you do, something grounding might be good. The temple? Or spend time with Catherine. She might even offer commentary or insight on what happened.

Those all sound like good ideas. I really could use a hug. No. . Lots of hugs. I am going to go get hugged by someone right now!

> The tone of spending time with Entropy II would be different now, but we should probably still do it. Not immediately though, do some other stuff first. Put a little time between you and what happened, and give yourself space to ground in other things and people, first.

Yeah.. he is like a grown up now. I agree though that he is important. Not just for the world, but to me personally.

> Part of me thinks it might not be how she fought. Is fate an Imperator thing? Or a god thing?

Yes. Both god's and Imperators act on fates a lot.

> Or... something else? The metal and the change and the promise might have had an effect on what you are. Or what you're growing into.

Yeah, they have. But I need it. It promised to give me the strength to fight Father. Oh, that's why there was a promise I was forgetting, but I didn't feel like I needed to do something.

>I'm not sure I /like/ her, but I think she can help me grow. Is that what they call a rival?
Could be. She certainly seemed to be trying to make your last interaction a competition.

>the official story
Wow. It's like they were trying to make it sound unbelievable.

>I really could use a hug. No. . Lots of hugs. I am going to go get hugged by someone right now!
Good plan, fully endorsed, seconded and carried.

>It promised to give me the strength to fight Father.
Woah, woah, woah. You promised to fight your father? That's... new. When last we talked about that, you weren't sure on what you would ultimately do, or how far you wanted to take it. You weren't even sure you could.

You wanted justice, but we had to admit that we didn't know enough about what happened and why to know what was just. So we decided we had to understand.

So the big question is- did you make a decision without understanding? (Because it's hard to see how that could be just). Or did you come to understand and forget?

No... I think it promised give me the strength to /let/ me fight my father. It owes me, not the other way around.

Ow.. It's hard to talk about because I promised to forget.

>It owes me, not the other way around.
...okay. That's fair. You had me worried for a moment.

We don't need to talk about this any more, for now. Keep your promise.

PowderedLight 2014/09/10(Wed)12:10 No. 593604 ID: c1757d
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I head downstairs and find Lady Bentenmaru doing some sort of writing work with a plastic ring bound stack of papers.

I jump up into her lap and she absent-mindedly makes room for me. Her sweater is very warm and snuggly.

I watch her to try and figure out what she is doing. It's a little weird. Mom showed me some physics textbooks once, and I recognize symbols and now that I am reading them /here/ I know how to read them, but I don't know what they mean really. Like that symbol means seagulls, and that one means 'partial derivative', and those are magnetic headings, and those are local time vs.apparent sky time.
I give up and just close my eyes and snuggle. Time passes.

"You are feeling very touchy feely the last few days. Are you okay?" Lady Bentenmaru asks.

I think for a minute, and then slowly shake my head no.

She looks at me and waits, not scribbling on her paper. A few minutes pass. She asks, "do you want to talk about it?"

Again I think about it, and again I shake my head. She nods slowly and says "okay" then goes back to the weird writing.

>

A lot of the symbols used in math and science are letters from older languages. So they have more than one meaning, given the context. That, and math is a kind of language in and of itself. Either of those could be throwing you off.

>notices and asks if something is wrong
>asks if you want to talk
>respects a no
Okay, she's good at being an adult.

>what do
Maybe ask her about what she's doing? Or about how her trip went. Or what the next one will be for.

PowderedLight 2014/09/12(Fri)09:43 No. 593780 ID: 911b8c
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"So, what.." Jasper pauses, "..what is this? The 'partial derivative' of seagull 'probability density' by 'pseudo-angle'?"

"It's a book on navigating big lake. I..I really did not expect it too be more complicated than plane-space conversions. Which maybe I should have as its going from 2D+1 to something like 4d+2 and involves much more adhoc sensor set ups.

"But if I am going to ever get my own ship again I am going to have understand this stuff."

>The 'partial derivative' of seagull 'probability density' by 'pseudo-angle'?
So... I'm going to assume the seagull is an integral sign. An integral-sign followed by a pseudo-something mean to add up all the little pieces over the whole of that something, or specified part of it.

So the integral of a probability density over an angle will add up all the little bits of probability over all the angles. It tells you the probability of something happening over an angle.

As for a derivative, well, it gives you the rate in change in something. The derivative of position gives you velocity (how fast your position is changing). The derivative of velocity is acceleration (how fast you're speeding up or slowing down). Partial derivatives are a little more complicated in that more than one thing can be changing at once.

So all together, this sounds like a formula for how much the probability of *something* happening (we don't know what) changes (with respect to something) over a given angle.

Sorry if that's kind of a general and abstract explanation, but it's hard to dig into details without knowing the exact formulas.

>plane-space conversions. Which maybe I should have as its going from 2D+1 to something like 4d+2
Sounds like the problem is the lake isn't simple to navigate. 2D is like paper- the only ways to go are up/down left/right. 3D is like the real world- up/down, left/right, forward/back. The Lake has more dimensions she has to account for to navigate.

I don't suppose that's the kind of thing you have an intuitive understanding of, that you could help with? If you search through sunlight over the lake, do you see anything odd, or different than when you search say, the town?

Hmm. I haven't really tried yet.
"Hmm." I start looking..and the first problem is that there are storms and clouds that hide parts of the lake from my sight. The second is that it really isn't flat, going in what should be a circle sometimes endo up doing something else entirely. Though I don't really think it's physical paths that are really the problem. . It's more like my mote, my point of view, is getting dragged along with narrative paths.

It sort of feels like Big Lake is being used for a lot more then it used to. Like if someone was having to stretch out a scarf into a whole outfit.

I feel silly for not foreseeing clouds.

Still, if ships are influenced by would-be narrative paths the same way your mote is, you can understand why it might be complicated to learn how to navigate the big lake.

>scarf as a whole outfit
So someone's kind of naked, then!

...not what you meant, I know.

Sort of what I meant. Town/Creation would be the naked person.

Study Suggestion 2014/09/18(Thu)22:37 No. 594704 ID: 00b2db
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I try and talk to her a little. Asking what the symbols mean together, and why the book says to do this instead of that. After. . After a while of her clearly just humoring me, my left eye starts to itch, and the book starts to make sense.

It's actually kind of fun to double check her handwriting and argue out how to do a problem. It seems to be helping her too, as she seems a lot happier than when she was working alone.

----

As I go to sleep that night I feel tendrils of dream drift out over first the house and then the neighborhood, anchoring me to the pools of the Kichi, the wards of the Sosunov, and even the desperation of the Titovs, Gandmother Ashley, and Lady Bentenmaru.

I've grown up a little bit, become who I need to be a little bit more.

---

Which next?

> Coffee with cooties.
> Followed by fame.
> 'Fear and Loathing' by Jane Austen.
> High Adventure part 1
> P.I.S.T.I.L.

I'll vote "Coffee with cooties" since I'm guessing cooties mean Catherine, and I've wanted to see her again.

High Adventure sounds fun.

I'll change my vote to coffee just to avoid this becoming a stalemate.

Cathrine shows up the next morning, nervously smiling. She stands there at the threshold, not coming in, in very different clothes than Jasper has ever seen her in. The pastel yellow dress is spotted with images of wildflowers and wheat, embroidery lining the hem and seems.

"So..um..I have this morning off my shrine duties, and there's this coffee shop that has tables on the roof." Her hands twist the fabric of her dress around her closed umbrella. "And ... and ..." She bows. "Will Your Divine Magisterial Imperator, Regina of the Mansions of the Sun, Irinka no Jasper-okami, Super Magic Princess, go on a date with this lowly miko-in-training?" She tries to cortsey, and salute at the same time. It doesn't really work.

Jasper has to bite her tongue to keep from laughing, and then feels embarrassed, "Um, I ... I can do that. Umm... one second." Jasper shuts the door and then races upstairs, trying to decide which outfit is her best one.

"Should I go with a dress or shorts and a blouse?" She mutters.
>

Aaaah, my god(ess), she's adorable.

Um. My first reaction would usually be to go for a dress if we're dressing up. But maybe if she's already in a dress the blouse would be better? So we're not trying to compete. Different silhouettes. Hmm. Then again, what do we have for wardrobe options? She's all dressed up, do we have something suitably nice in either category? We don't have a parasol or anything like she does to carry but I guess you don't really need one if you're the sun and okay, that makes it kind of cute she's carrying one, and I guess you could just hold hands or something and... I think I derailed my line of thought there.

Oh! And when you come back downstairs you can totally open the door all dressed up and go, "I <blah blah blah titles> do accept your invitation, <blah blah give her a better title than lowly so and so>". Put them court manners to use!

PowderedLight 2014/09/27(Sat)01:40 No. 596069 ID: 00b2db
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> Aaaah, my god(ess), she's adorable.
Yes, she is. I am kind of strangely proud of how adorable. I think she is a very cute miko.
I just want to eat her all up!
...
Err. I better be a little careful. Humans are so fragile.

Clothingwise. . The only thing I have that's really fancy is the dress I fell in. It's nice but kind of obvious that it's been repaired.
I have a number of blouses in bright pastels, I saw a lot of the women on Little Island wearing them. I like the blue and yellow ones best. For bottoms all I have are denim shorts, but they are died every color of the rainbow. So options there.

I think I need to go shopping, but not right now.

Titlewise, how does Consort-Oracle-in-training sound?

Hmm. Obvious repairs not good for a date. Go for the blouse and shorts. She's wearing yellow, so go for the blue. They compliment each other anyways. And whatever color shorts look good with it.

>I just want to eat her all up! ...Err.
Ideally, in the long term we should be looking for a way for you to have your cake and eat it too. But in the meantime, yes, being a little careful is good.

>how does Consort-Oracle-in-training sound?
Sounds good. Maybe throw her full her full name in there. (I'd be tempted to throw something like 'of the pools' in there, but I'm not sure how well assigning titles based off her family would go, since we're sort of taking her from that heritage. Might be a sour note).

Suggestion 2014/11/12(Wed)13:51 No. 601794 ID: 551346
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The walk is short and Catherine seems happy but also troubled.

We hold hands, losely but still feeling her move over my skin feels nice.

I end up getting a 'pumpkin spice' because its orange like my hair, and sipping it as I watch the sun rise over the horizon.

Umm..I..I haven't really done this before, what are we supposed to do now?

(OOC sorry for desipearing then the short post, real life kind of happened then I was just out of practice writing.)

I'd recommend talking about things you haven't talked about before with her.

>Umm..I..I haven't really done this before, what are we supposed to do now?
Well, regarding the fact that she's troubled by something, you have the choice to either wait and let her talk to you when she's ready, or ask her what's bothering her (or less directly, if she wanted to talk).

Regarding actual date etiquette, well, you already did the dressing up and going out to share meal, bit (and avoided or already dealt with the perpetual and silly dance of who's paying). Talking with her would probably be appropriate- it's all about sharing an experience, right? (I'd avoid the heavy stuff though, this isn't a planning session, or pump your seer for future information time, unless she decides to swing the conversation that way). There can be flirting and kissing on dates too, although at this point that's likely to end with someone burning up from embarrassment. Or fire.

If you're looking at a simple way to start natural conversation or break the ice, you can actually joke about your own ignorance here. This is nice, but no one ever covered anything like this when you learned etiquette.

PowderedLight 2015/02/20(Fri)14:41 No. 625861 ID: 551346
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Sorry, I think our connection skipped there for a moment.

“This pumpkin spice latte is nice, if a little cool.” I leaned back into the wicker-like metal chair. I could feel the cool touch of the steal even through my blouse.

“Hah. Yeah. Maybe a cinnamon and chile tea would suit you better.” She paused. “Huh, that actually sounds kind of good. What food have you liked here? I mean my family cooks really bland food. I like it, because it’s what I am used to, but everyone else says our food is just… boring.”

“Well..I like motor oil even though it’s expensive, and taiyaki when they are fresh off the grill and the oil is still hot is really good.” I sipped at my ‘latte’, thinking a moment, and enjoying looking at Cathrine “I have to admit I feel a little awkward. Like mom taught me to how to do formal dinners in 3 different styles, and how to bow to Lord Entropy..but not how to go on a date.”

She blushed slightly when I said the word. “Well you can do it however you like. I am your priestess after all. I promise I won’t judge. And so far you seem to get it okay. Hmm. I wonder which of us counts as the boy for white day? ..is that how it works?” She looked thoughtful. “Mou...I would ask Lily but she would just lie.” she shruged. “Well, maybe we can decide later.”

She looked up at the sky, letting the sunlight warm her face. It made me feel jealous of my other body. “...Um. If..um. I..no..that makes it sound like way too big a deal. I..your highness..um. Never mind.” She looked nervous. “Look..the people here..all of them, want to be good. Its why they are here in this place, Fortitude I mean. The docs. Like Horizon has monsters, and in Arcadia sometimes they will swindle you out of your love and money with a kind smile and a helping hand, and there are Riders that hunt humans in the woods in the Walking Fields. But here in Fortitude, even the Titovs are trying to be good. Or wish they were good at least. And..ugh. I just, this really isn’t a big deal, and, look, Rinley made a joke at our expense, and please don’t hurt her. It hurt but she didn’t ..she doesn’t mean anything bad. She just goes too far sometimes?”

Chair PowderedLight 2015/02/20(Fri)21:54 No. 625952 ID: 551346
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A chair.

>Well you can do it however you like. I am your priestess after all.
The self justifying ethos again. You're a god, what you do is right. Convenient, but I sometimes worry about leaning on it too much.

I wonder if it's improper to date one's own priestess? Although I suppose she's right- it's really not anyone else's place to define that relationship. (And it's not like other faiths haven't done similar things).

>Lily, Rinley
Friends or acquaintances of hers? I don't remember you meeting them, or their being at the family dinner.

>please don’t hurt her
Frown. I don't think I'm the smiting people for petty insults kind of god. That wouldn't be right.

Not that people being mean to you is right, either.

I'll protect you, but you don't have to worry about the sun coming down from the sky on someone when they stub your toe. Justice is proportionate.

Thinking PowderedLight 2015/02/21(Sat)20:35 No. 626082 ID: 551346
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> The self justifying ethos again. You're a god, what you do is right. Convenient, but I sometimes worry about leaning on it too much.

> I wonder if it's improper to date one's own priestess? Although I suppose she's right- it's really not anyone else's place to define that relationship. (And it's not like other faiths haven't done similar things).

I think the emphasis was on "your" not on "priestess", that is more the second line then the first. And I know Mom didn't believe that Imperators are moral from them selves, otherwise what would it mean to say that the Devils were damned? Though they loved hell, they were not cast there by their own hand.

> Friends or acquaintances of hers? I don't remember you meeting them, or their being at the family dinner.
I think Riley was the younger actor in the play on Fire-day? Who said not to waste hot water?

> Justice is proportionate.

I like that phrase. Sounds like Mother.

I sort of smirk/frown, and move my hand closer to hers. "I'm not the smiting people for petty insults kind of god. That wouldn't be right. I know Mother smote evil, and sometimes raged against the injustice of the world. And I imagine that as I grow I too shall rage and burn at times. But I shall not become petty, like the stories, of kingdoms felled for a child's rudeness.

"Not that people being mean to you is ok, either." I say the smirk fading into a full on frown, then a flat line of determination.

"I'll protect you, I think I love you, but you don't have to worry about the sun coming down from the sky on someone when they stub your toe. Justice is proportionate." and with that last I smile at her, with both my bodies. A warm glow falling over her.

>Rinley / Riley the fire-girl
Oh, right. The typo slip of the tongue threw me.

PowderedLight 2015/02/24(Tue)18:14 No. 626477 ID: 551346
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Cathrine smiles, moving her hand over mind for second before coughing savagely.

"Owwww..Sorry, about that. So..what have you been doing with your self here in Town?"

>coughing savagely
Is that from our burning her throat? And she apologized to us? Guilt.

>what have you been doing with your self here in Town?
I'm still meeting people and learning things, mostly! There's a lot here. Since the dinner I visited the Vasili and got mistaken for an automaton and read some mythology, I helped lady Bentenmaru study and visited the Titovs and... kind of woke their thing up and set off something with the Entropies. *frown* That wasn't what I meant at all, but it could have gone a lot worse. At least Isabella and Entropy II were okay.

Before that there was the rats, and the vampire, and the glass blowers, and the Susonov, and Mom's temple...

I'm trying to set up some kind of schedule, but it's hard when I'm still exploring my options.

PowderedLight 2015/02/26(Thu)15:05 No. 626725 ID: e57d7c
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> Is that from our burning her throat? And she apologized to us? Guilt.

Yeah.

I don't think I am going to be able to rely on Catherine to tell me when I do something wrong.

"I'm still meeting people and learning things, mostly!"

She nods, and lets me continue, "There's a lot here. Since the dinner I visited the Vasili and got mistaken for an automaton and read some mythology, I helped lady Bentenmaru study and visited the Titovs and... kind of woke their thing up and set off something with the Entropies. *frown* That wasn't what I meant at all, but it could have gone a lot worse. At least Isabella and Entropy II were okay."

"Yeah, dealing with the Titov's is hard. Their Monster has almost dragged them into Horizon, and is probobly as powerful as you, or your parents."

> "Before that there was the rats, and the vampire, and the glass blowers, and the Susonov, and Mom's temple..."

"It's been a while since I've been there. I should make a trip before..you know." She says.

> "I'm trying to set up some kind of schedule, but it's hard when I'm still exploring my options."

"Don't try and do too much. Simple things work best here. Hard work, and open hearts."

Should I tell her about my chest?

>I don't think I am going to be able to rely on Catherine to tell me when I do something wrong.
Not with respect to herself, at least. Big blind spot there. Perhaps with respect to others though, if preemptively looking out for Riley is any indication.

>Should I tell her about my chest?
Shirts typically stay on, on the first date! And in public.

Joking aside, that would seem to be consistent with an open hearts policy. ...and if this relationship continues, she'd find it eventually, anyways.

Only reasons not to discuss it would be if you considered it too serious to talk about on a date, or if you were concerned about betraying your obligation to Entropy II. Trying to do something about the seal, or trying to rediscover what you agreed to forget would probably cross that line. Letting someone you trust know it exists wouldn't, I don't think. I mean, she's your priestess. She's allowed to know stuff about you. Heck, in normal circumstances, that's a big part of the role.

> Only reasons not to discuss it would be if you considered it too serious to talk about on a date.
Hmm. It might be. And there isn't actually anyone near by, but it is still public. I think your joke might be not entirely a joke? I mean it was funny.

Now I am getting embarrassed taking to my own head voices. Silly Me.

>I think your joke might be not entirely a joke?
The best jokes are always more than just jokes.

>Now I am getting embarrassed taking to my own head voices. Silly Me.
Well, you'd hardly be the first person to be embarrassed by their own thoughts. Don't worry about it.

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I nod, and enjoy just being with her for a bit.
"I should tell you how that went down. As much as I am allowed anyway, but that's a bit heavy for a nice day like today, and I don't think there's a hurry."

She nods. "So. I've been trying to read myths about the sun, and Jade and studying my visions, but its not really getting anywhere. Next time you want to study with the Vasili, can I come too?" She stares at me. "Hmm. Math and Art? Or..maybe romance? I'm not very good with numbers, I get things confused, lose track of the symbols and the meanings. But if it's important to you, then maybe Mom was right."

She looks out at the sunlight over the water, the shadow of the mountains slinking back into their caves.

"Well I need to get going. May I walk you home, my Princess?" she asks.

I laugh a little. "Yes, you can, my Betrothed." I take her hand, and kiss it like mother tought me. Her blush is worth a dozen dozen coffees.

The walk home is slow, but simple. Or maybe fast but full.

Like a good bread. Filling, and full of slight flavors, but nothing overwhelming.

She's asked to be included in a visit to your mother's temple, and to your next visit to the vasili. I don't see any reason why not to (unless we start taking up too much of her time, or things start to feel like they're moving too fast), so I guess we'll plan on that.

Hmm. You description turns food themed there, at the end. I don't know if that's harmless metaphor, or a sign you need to reign yourself in. Remember: no eating her! (You can't have your cake and eat it too, and we'd like to have her around).

My stomach growls and I close my eyes focusing on control. No eating her. Not yet.

Life seems to boil around us. Cherry blossims, and pine tree pollen, and croaking frogs.

the low retaining walls are gradully replaced with hedges. Cement masks peak out, their eyes gemmed.

Catherine's stops and looks around. "I din't think anyone was going to challenge me." She pauses, puzzled. "Oh..duh. I guess we really are on a date. I hope this doesn't make me late for Ichiroe's."

Err, voices am I supposed to know what's going on?

>Err, voices am I supposed to know what's going on?
Um. No, I don't think so. I don't see anything noteworthy on our mental map headed back towards the kichi pools. And I don't remember being told about anyone or anything that challenges dates.

Catherine doesn't seem overly concerned, though. Worried about being late, not something bad happening.

>challenge
I hope that doesn't mean combat. You don't have a sword with you, and turning into a giant ball of fire seems like overkill. And a Bad Idea, near Catherine.

>what do
Fall back on court etiquette here. Someone's issued a formal challenge, against someone under your protection, but not specified the terms. You respond to the challenge, state that she is under your protection, and ask the terms. (Which gives Catherine a chance to explain or answer, even if they don't). Maybe something like:

"<Catherine names and titles> falls under my protection, as my priestess and my date, and to challenge her is to challenge <Jasper names and titles>. I would know who challenges us, and on what terms."