002 ☆ voice;

[precludes]

[They will argue about moral choices until the city burns away. The choices here are ugly, and knowing the outcome regardless of their actions makes them uglier.

She never does this. Oriko has always believed that action is better than telling. People don't listen to soothsayers; truths must be learned on their own time. Never once has she simply come forward with information like this - everything was a speech, a story, a revelation, pulling threads and nudging.

She sounds, frankly, cold. Detached, but hoarse.]

What I have to say is brief, if you will hear it.

Here is what is going to happen:

There is no conceivable escape for Exiles at the shoreline. The fate they will meet there is no different. Guns wait for them, and death.

Don't send them down there indiscriminately, rashly, unless you send them knowing that.

Comments

voice........

[fortissimos]

[ She recognizes that voice. Normally she'd question how Oriko knows, how she can possibly sound so sure — but it doesn't matter. True or not, her plans don't change at all because of this. ]

Leave those guys out of it, then. Something like that won't stop me. [ Except if a stray bullet hits her soul gem, but you know. Best not to think about that. ]

voice; to oriko now

[invocation]

How'd you figure this out?

[ringbeast]

[He's definitely shaken.]

Oriko... You know that, huh...

Well, if you can get it across to Haruto, I mean-

[He shakes his head.]

No, that's my job, I gotta. I gotta get him back to bein' okay, even a little bit. I mean, I hope you can help, but... Okay, I better go. See you later.

action;

[ringwizard]

[Haruto's room has been carefully, conspicuously closed since the initial announcements went up. It opens, now, silently, and he goes to find her. He looks like hell, his hair unbrushed and his eyes tired. He moves gingerly, the mostly-faded bruising along his side from helping distract UE soldiers during the rescue mission keeping him from moving too quickly. He'd shrugged off Nitoh's magic because it hadn't been that bad--and really, it wasn't.

His voice is creaky with disuse. He's done as little speaking as possible, in the past day.]

You saw it?

[There's no doubt in his voice. He crosses his arms low over his chest, as a shield.]

voice;

[eyecaptivating]

...You're really sure about that? Really, really sure?

voice, private

[postpones]

[the message was originally intended as a "where are you," but somewhere along the line while setting up the encryption, she figured she might as well skip that part and go straight to the track-by-magic bit]

I'm going over. Wait for me.

voice; private

[turns]

[ what is oriko mikuni planning?

that's the first thing that crosses homura's mind - the desperate thought that maybe, just maybe, she's lying. but the girl's words are as ironclad as her voice, and even as she tries to think of some way out homura is left with the unsettling knowledge that oriko has no reason to lie and every reason to not say something like this.

this time through, just like all the others, ends in a mass grave. ]

Thank you for the information.

[ her voice is dulled by years of experience, flat and emotionless, the same tone she'd use for dealing with sayaka miki or any of the countless girls who refused to believe her. anyone listening could easily mistake it for bitterness, or even sarcasm.

but for once, homura won't be the only one to know what awaits them. ]