Video | BACKDATED to early the 11th

[soul_sister]

[It's early Wednesday morning when a new video message turns up on the network. The nun seems to have none of her usual energy and the bags under her eyes are fairly pronounced. Flynn and Fluffy have likely put up with her pacing almost incessantly since dinner time last night, and even now she fidgets in her seat, fingers playing with an ornamental looking watch hanging at her neck.]

Has anyone seen Chrono? Short, grumpy, purple hair. He's usually with me.

... He might have been in some kind of fight, so I'll take anything. Or anyone to help me look.

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[senseandcecilbility]

[He actually laughs at that. Not in a mean way. Kevin has the nicest angelic laughter.]

Even the old ones were not born that way.

[soul_sister]

Well....!! Yes. I KNEW that...

[It's a bit like telling a modern school child that teachers don't actually live at school. There's some notion that butlers just pop out of nowhere, fully formed and austere.]

[senseandcecilbility]

[The fallen nun is adorable.

And somehow, they are hiking to Yorkshire, taking advantage of whatever transportation Exsilium may offer. THAT DEMON SHOULD BE GRATEFUL.]

[soul_sister]

[She lets go of his hand, as the footing becomes less stable. Leaving the city was... every level of a culture shock for her, and for quite a ways, she walks in silence, amidst the ruins of what was once the flourishing outskirts of a city, covered in an unhealthy haze. Reminders of lives missing, lost, or simply taken, wildlife has overrun and dismantles the signs of technology... or history in the half structures and skeletal foundations.]

... It's worse than I imagined.

[senseandcecilbility]

[Kevin has gone silent as well. This land was never perfect, but it was his. Or at least it is too close to the one he knows. He had worked on it for centuries, awaking its saints and watching over its fate. This...amount of death...perhaps it is his fault somehow. Was it because he was too distracted with young master? Was it because he was flawed to start with? Has his carelessness caused ripples across the universe, enraged God in any way, so this other Britain would end like this?

He cannot apologize to the dead. Nor receive the punishment they may see fit.]

[soul_sister]

[She has no scope of reference for it, no ability to process it or even relate to it. Her mind keeps seizing on the sheer size and enormity of it all. She's left with the only thing she knows how to do... latch onto the practical. While Kevin stares out over the wreckage, she fishes a couple kerchiefs from her belt and folds them...

She reaches up to tug on his sleeve, and only hesitates a single moment at his somber expression.]

Here... cover your nose. I don't think the air's healthy.

[senseandcecilbility]

[He stares blankly at her for a few seconds, as if trying to remember who she is. Stupid mortals, always making the worst choices, over and over and over. The meaning of all this carnage keeps escaping his grasp. And a part of him just wishes to turn away and fly back to where he came from, to bang his fists against the gates of Heaven until...

He misunderstands her gesture, and unconsciously uses the handkerchief to wipe the tears he has not even noticed yet.]

T-the air?

[soul_sister]

[She doesn't answer in words... because there is more than enough reason around them to need the kerchief for it's more traditional uses, that she's no one to judge. But she ties her own under her hair, veil and coif to cover her mouth and nose.

She steels herself, taking a moment with eyes closed to find resolution out of the twisting of her gut, and starts walking again, back straight.]

You know... I didn't understand it, until now. ... Maybe I still don't.

But if fighting can [She hesitates, can a mistake like this actually be undone? Just wiped away? Even with time travel...] help this. Maybe, it's okay to be here.

[senseandcecilbility]

[He mimics her gesture, covering his mouth and nose with the handkerchief. This reminds him of the plague, and he might not even need the protection. But the nun is all by herself and doing her best to be strong, so he'd better keep her company and help as he promised.]

I-I fear all this might be a little too sudden for me. I mean...the fighting. But we should keep moving ahead and focus on finding your...[What was his name again?]...Chrono, isn't it?

[And true to his words, he holds her hand firmly and steadies his steps.]

[soul_sister]

[She squeezes his lightly, and continues on. Any other time, she would, perhaps, feel strange offering comfort on any level to an angel. But at the moment, he seems the most human right now.

His question meeting a firm nod.]

That's it...

Do you feel anything?

[senseandcecilbility]

[As a reply, he tilts his head, eyes narrowing at the devastation. Now that he is outside the city with its plethora of exotic and supernatural Transports, he can sense things more clearly. Unfortunately, that also permits him to sense the absence of life in the road beyond.

He takes a deep, soothing breath, spreading his awareness further and further.]

Sister, we are going in the wrong direction. He is not in the North.

[He turns around, eyes widening a little.]

In fact, he is not in the island at all.

[soul_sister]

... what do you mean?

[senseandcecilbility]

He is abroad or...

[In hell. Hopefully.]

[soul_sister]

... he's alive. I know he is.

[The grip on his hand is a bit punishing.]

... Lets go back, for now.

[senseandcecilbility]

[He holds her hand back, regardless of how punishing her grip is. He...tries to say something comforting.]

All things considered, he seems a bit too young to pass away.

[soul_sister]

He can't... we have a promise.

[senseandcecilbility]

A promise?

[Oh my. Is that one of those promises?]

[soul_sister]

A few of them, and none of them he's allowed to break that easily.

[She takes a deep breath, to steady herself. It's harder out here, in this bleak, merciless devastation. Anyone who did such a thing to people, people just living, was unforgivable on levels she couldn't even compute.

It made everything seem less possible than it was yesterday morning. But, as she loosens her grip on the angel's hand-not enough to let go- it's not exactly like she's alone either. The people who've stepped up to help... have surprised her.]

We're looking for my brother. [It was the simplest, easiest of the promises to explain to someone else, and the most understandable.] So, if I have to look for Chrono first, that's what I'm going to do.

You say he's not here, but, maybe he's hidden in different ways.

I'm not a sort of person who can just stop.

[senseandcecilbility]

[ He walks by her side, allowing himself to be the protective presence he is supposed to be. A brother, is it? He wonders if that is the reason behind her pact with the unholy creature. Why is it always the good people who suffer the most?

Not stopping...can lead to a terrible amount of trouble, sister.

[Look at what happened to him. Look at what happened to Solomon.]

[soul_sister]

I know.

But I'll deal with that too, when it comes.

[senseandcecilbility]

...

[This is the worst plan, sister.]

[soul_sister]

[She can't help a little bit of guilty relief when the landscape turns to the far more lived in shanties and shacks.]

It'll be fine...

And if not, there's no point in worrying about it yet. You can't live life that way.

[senseandcecilbility]

[What does she mean, you can't live life that way. He does nothing but worry.]

I-I will be nearby if you change your mind.

[Even if he is quite sure she won't.]

[soul_sister]

[She blinks and looks up at him.]

On which? [Because if you mean this search, it'll be a cold day in hell.]

[senseandcecilbility]

[Well, this is an awkward conversation to have in the wastelands.]

About...your feelings for Mister Chrono.