strategicnaps | IC INBOX FOR CONSIGNMENT

[Are you sure? Like, really sure?]

We only have one girl in my Rover, too. But it doesn't smell anything like this... [Not in the least! Well, Steve knows how to pick up after himself, Ivan's too nice to be an inconvenience, Sharon is pretty cool in her own right, and Bucky's alright.] I've never met him. And, right now, I might not want to.

[Sure, you can be a stinky dude and still be decent, but grossing up the whole Rover for your Rovermates is pretty shit.] Actually, maybe we should make the trip to my rover, instead.

Are those your pets?

[...Okay, maybe not. Although she looks like Sarapatra and Suzunomia had a love-child.]

I think I like that plan better. [So much better. The last thing she wants is to encounter Trevor with Hanbei, especially in the rover. The teasing would probably be endless, and Edward should be in the only one in Rover to experience such a thing. She has her pride too.]

Yes, they are. But do not worry about them. They have plenty of free time outside. [Pointing to each one:] Was, Yea, Ra, Chs, Hymmnos, and Mea. Be good for me now, yes? [They squeak in unison, and the image would be perfect if they had little arms to salute. And before they go, Suzu reaches for the crate sitting at the entrance-way that she packed with food.]

[oh god what

But yes, back to his Rover! He leaves the things he brought in her Rover-- what's the point of lugging it all back? The fluffy little critters are absolutely adorable, in a strange, alien way. Their lack of limbs and actual visible traits of intelligence is a bit disturbing, but the sounds they make are cute.]

That's good! I don't think I could last very long in a place like that, honestly. [Hanbei could. But no one likes to be stuck somewhere they hate the smell of. Whether it be substance abuse and decadence, or blood and metal.]

What's with their names? [It doesn't sound too Japanese.]

If you say their names like a sentence, it means "I will be glad to turn myself into a song". It is the first basic sentence humans learned to produce Song Magic.

[At the time, thousands of years ago, she was very proud of them.]

[Ah... what an ominous yet pretty sentence.

When they reach Hanbei's rover, it is noticeably less pungent, at least. While he might leave his stuff around ~~and stuff stored Madu meat in weirdass places, because no one's given him a talk on bacteria and food preservation~~ it's quite neat.]

So humans can produce 'Song Magic' too? Is that what your singing is?

[....~~Hanbei, you are seriously going to kill yourself before your lung disease does.~~

Suzunomia is a bit cautious at first, never having entered another rover aside from her own, and looking about to study the place once she sets the crate of food down. She's a bit envious. If only she could scare/blackmailing Trevor into cleaning up after himself like she did with Ed.]

Not in the current age, no. Only Reyvateils and I suppose some of the Teru can perform magic. But it is what my singing is, yes. [Her mouth twitches oddly at the mention of Teru, as if she may punch something. It passes, thankfully.] In the past, there were a group of people called the Moon Chanters. Their language used for Song Magic, Carmena Foreluna, was based on the language of us Wills. But in no way was it comparable to the magic of Reyvateils now. Humans do not have that sort of capacity, simply based on concentration.

[A pause, then:] If you were ever interested in learning a language of power, I would not mind teaching you. Whether it is Hymmnos, Carmena Foreluna, or Ar Ciela...I just cannot guarantee you would be able to perform Song Magic. [Even though she cannot properly teach him Ar Ciela beyond his human capabilities.]

[~~Shush, that's spoilers for Motonari's story.~~ Is he really that non-negotiable about being trashy? Maybe Hanbei can attempt putting his silver tongue to use. ...On second thought, Trevor might just fill said tongue with bullet holes.]

Ahhh, there's so many alien names. [But he is trying his best to remember. In fact, he's rather good at remembering things when he wants to. In a way.] But do you mean humans can't perform Song Magic because they can't concentrate enough?

[As in, literally can't concentrate on what they're doing?]

Hmmmm...the best way to describe it is that their thoughts and feelings are not pure or refined enough to produce Song Magic. Humans feel and think so many things at once, so they cannot properly concentrate for Song Magic due to those fluctuations. [That may not be the best explanation, so she tries again:]

Think of it like this-- the word 'chs' means 'to change'. A human may be thinking they want to perform the word, change, but other feelings...say, bodily sensations such as hunger, would also be added to the thought 'to change'. Thus, the song cannot be fulfilled because there are other thoughts getting in the way.

[Ah, okay. That makes sense.] So, Reyvateils can hit that level of concentration. To be so fixated on one thing-- that actually sounds a bit dangerous.

[And leaves yourself open to attack. Open to dangers that could occur, and so on so forth. Hanbei will never be able to perform Song Magic, because he thinks of a million different things at the same time.

But he is a strategist, so that fits his role.]

[It seems they're on the same page--] It is, sadly. That is why Reyvateils require partners to protect them while in battle. The strength of Song Magic may overpower any foe, but only if it is properly executed.

[Now, she reaches out to his sleeve, idly tugging at the fabric of probably one of many layers.] Do not underestimate me, though. If I wish to protect you or others, I hardly need a guard.

[Oh, come on, Suzunomia! Even if you said you don't need protection, he'll give it anyway... he's more likely to give protection that way...] Even the strongest warlords have a few bodyguards around them, though.

There's nothing wrong with having a guard!

[so yeah he'll be sure to kick ass for you if you need to cast song magic, cute lady]

[oh, swoon~]

Even when that genius mind needs to be put to use? [With a playful smirk, she leans in close only to swipe the hat off his head.]

And we haven't even Dived together yet. How do I know you won't laugh if I tried to perform really strong magic? [BECAUSE MAGICAL STRIPPING IS AN ISSUE.]

[Swoon indeed- hey that's his hat!!!] Eh? [And in a moment...]

Well, I guess I'm not that much of a genius if I could be distracted by your smile, right? [Smooth as sandpaper, Hanbei! ...Now give him back his hat, please.]

And laugh? Is there something funny about performing strong magic, then?

[It's hard to tell whether her face is heating up because of that smooth as hell pickup line or that she has to explain Purging. But nope, not getting the hat back while she's hiding her face behind it.]

...Hanbei. [--in that sort of tone that would be going along with 'this is serious business, don't fool around', but it fails at the end as she peeks past the brim of the hat at him with a smile that reaches her eyes.]

It's embarrassing, even to explain it. It would be on the same level as suddenly asking you to take a bath with me. [Trying to make this into some sort of joke was a bad idea.] I doubt I could perform song magic to that level.

[It's okay, for every single time his silver tongue makes a smooth move, it also says something horrendously stupid.]

Oh, what's wrong with taking a bath together, though? [NO NO NO HANBEI STOP] But if that's what performing that level of song magic requires... that's curious.

[he would've thought using strong magic comes from 'lots of practice' and not 'magical stripping']

Which part of bathing together is it like? [why is he asking this why why why]

[If she didn't have her pride intact, Suzunomia would probably be slamming her head against a wall.

What. Is. Happening here?]

A-ah...it's...not? [To make everything worse, that sort of question definitely has her heart going for a moment. The embarrassment is making her super tongue-tied, though.]

It's- it's everything...Especially...undressing...and--

[Embarrassment overload.

Commence throwing the hat at Hanbei's face.]

NO! This is too much! [Swiveling away from him, her hands are covering her face because wow this is way too much.]

Obviously I am getting something wrong! Is that sort of thing normal for your world? Think about your wife, Hanbei-!

[whoops um

Her embarrassment and stuttering absolutely adorable, until she tosses the hat at his face. Now, here's the crossroad, Hanbei-- you can wax poetic about how it was a political marriage and the both of you are better off elsewhere, or be utterly embarrassing and say the absolute truth.]

Ahah, uh... does it really matter? [THAT'S THE WORST THING YOU CAN SAY RIGHT NOW HANBEI] I do have holdings in Bodaisan, too, so it's not like I'm already struggling to take care of her.

[sorry about your culture shock]

[If this were her Cosmosphere, he would have been kicked out so quickly.

There's a moment of silence on Suzu's part. She's...really unsure how to process that. It's been a loooong time since humans in her world had arranged marriages. Maybe there was a translation mistake somewhere.]

...Do men and women bathe together normally? In my world, it is only when they are very close or are married. [Although there are swimming pools and bathing suits, but she's pretty sure that-- wait, no. Just to be safe:] Together. Privately. Not in a community setting.......Like you would with your wife.

[She can't even look at him while she's saying this.]

[He should honestly be removed from her sight anyway.]

Oh, no, they don't do that normally. I just don't find anything wrong with it myself, that's all. [Hanbei gives literally 0 fucks. Not to mention he's kind of a pervert, but that's not the main point...!]

I could bathe with my wife, too, but I don't really do that. [not to mention he hasn't seen her in like 2 years] We're just free at different times, if we're even in the same place.

[Critical-down in a Cosmosphere would do the trick, but trying to destroy someone's mind is normally frowned upon. She has experience to back that up too.

Now that she's pieced a few things together, she can stop hiding her face.]

Perhaps you do not know a woman's feelings behind such a situation. [Or being a pervert is another big part of the puzzle. Anyways, this ~~dating sim event~~ conversation has tanked so hard.]

Let us just say that, I would not be able to perform stronger magic for just a friend. If the situation was dire, maybe, but it would be extremely hard to concentrate.

[True.]

Awww, but it's just bathing. [Hanbei can tell how badly this conversation tanked, though. It's kind of an daily occurrence for a conversation to go so horribly awry, so he's not too bothered. Sometimes, he's just too smart for his own damn good...] Anyway, that makes sense.

[Viewing it from a technical and less childish perspective, it wouldn't be hard to distract someone if they were undressing (she said undressing right or was he imagining things) in front of people they barely knew.]

[But...magical stripping takes like...three seconds. ~~Not including the cinematic stripping cutscenes.~~]

Your world is so strange, Hanbei. [Yup, she's chalking this up to cultural differences. Totally valid, and it helps her to calm down a bit.] ...Or you have a lot of confidence in your body. [Which she does not. Hah.

Speaking of bodies--] Ah, right. Are you sure you are okay? With your illness...

[It's not that strange. And-- gck, why do so many people know about his illness now...

It's like. 2 more people know his illness here in the span of a month than 11 years back home. Well, they're always suspicious, but Hanbei always excuses it on overwork and the like.]

Oh, I'm fine. As long as I can get my medicine, I won't die from it. [How blunt.] And while the food isn't arriving, the medicine is. So you don't have to worry about me.

[please shut up about it]

[Never. The power of...whatever this relationship is compels her.]

I simply do not want you to suffer needlessly, even if you try to hide it. Because...if I could take away the pain, I would sing for you every day. For as long as our circumstances allow us. [Which, who knows how long that will be considering CDC, but at least what she's saying is all genuine.]

You may not be one of mine, but I do care for you, Hanbei.

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