tenth rune; frost; audio

[deadelfwalking]

[For once, Koltira isn't using the video function. Instead, there's just his voice, echoing and soft and toneless.]

Ashraf Salib has returned home.

[There's a stretch of silence. He isn't the only one in recent memory--the boy he met, Jack Frost, and Ashraf's friend, the monk--they're gone, too. Koltira hadn't known them nearly as long or as well as Ashraf, but he hadn't missed their disappearances, either.

Still, finding Ashraf gone was a punch to the gut. Despite their rocky first meeting, Ashraf eventually became one of the few people to fully and unconditionally accept Koltira for who--and what--he was. The priest's devotion to his beliefs, his essential goodness, his willingness to learn, his warmth ... these traits were uniquely his own, of course, but they also reminded Koltira of someone else he knew and cared for. Liadrin. A woman just as perfect in her faith as Ashraf, and just as determined to see the good rather than the bad.

She was gone from him, too, though, and had been for a long time.]

I suppose I should be happy for him.

[Another period of silence, and then the feed ends.]

Comments

video

[fintastic]

Oh. Are you going to be okay? Do you want some company?

[deadelfwalking]

I'm not a child. I was merely informing the network.

voice; filtered

[obliterating]

[There's not much he can say to offer comfort here, just three words that would have made him smirk to say. His voice is somber. They understood the meaning of them. To the living, they might seem hollow.]

We press on.

[deadelfwalking]

Aye, so we must.

[Whether or not he particularly wants to at the moment is another question entirely.]

[totallytrustworthy]

[Honestly it's a feeling Chloe can relate to, given the conversation she's had with him in the past. Sensitive subjects call for delicate tactics, and she's careful not to overstep any boundaries despite the closeness he's won during their stay here.]

Nothing wrong with not being happy about it, love.

[deadelfwalking]

It seems selfish.

video

[allsongs]

Ashraf Salib.

[she's mused on the name for a length before saying anything at all. and...honestly, mused on the voice saying it more than that. Ashraf is becoming a dimming flicker, this long absent to her. and this voice is new to her, speaking something familiar.

ah, there it is:] I remember.

[deadelfwalking]

[he doesn't recognize this woman, but he gathers from her tone that she knew Ashraf in some way. Interesting.]

You spoke with him?

voice

[theguideless]

[some speaker-scuffling, fidgeting, and a bit of breath later:]

Koltira?

[deadelfwalking]

[dully.]

Yes, Martin. I'm here.

voice; 1/2

[moralperil]

I --!

[Oops he shut it off.]

voice; 2/2

[moralperil]

[A scant few moments later, when he gathers his wits enough to speak again. His voice quavering:] I-is there anything you need, Koltira? Is there anything I should be taking care of or looking after with him gone?

voice;

[ex_bandai157]

...that's surprising.

( ashraf's leaving, not the happiness part. )

[deadelfwalking]

How so?

[text]

[stonefaith]

[ Oh. Another one. ]

are you not?

[deadelfwalking]

[SQUINTS AT THIS TEXT. He mutters, after a while.]

No. Not really.

voice

[wereraptor]

[ HEY THIS IS A VOICE HE RECOGNIZES but seriously it's impossible to mistake that. and so! ]

I'm sorry for your loss. Did you know him here long?

[ slightly strange phrasing maybe BUT THIS IS A TEST. ]

[deadelfwalking]

['here' ...]

... I did. Ever since my arrival, many months ago.

voice

[goinbust]

"Sorry ya lost someone close. Ain't ever a good feelin bein left behind but back home times like this we'd raise a glass and toast those who went on ahead of us."

[deadelfwalking]

I'm not very good at toasts.

[he's got the drinking part down, though. and happening!]

voice;

[sidecar]

[Damn.]

Depends on what kinda life he was going back to, doesn't it?

[deadelfwalking]

A good one, it seemed.

[breakin_ur_lore]

[Hearing people sad makes Med'an sad too. :( Hugs, Koltira. Except not really cause you're cold and don't want hugs.]

Is he from Azeroth, like us?

[deadelfwalking]

Ah, no. He's from another world entirely. He was a good friend to me, though.

[heartsink]

[ the name attached to this account reads Haruka Takahashi ]

You suppose.

That is to say, you're not? Or you can't?

[deadelfwalking]

Both.