vibrafinal | 26th moon [action/voice]

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26th moon [action/voice]

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Should anyone be visiting the item shop in the morning or early afternoon, they'll be graced with the presence of a paladin! ...Which would normally be an extremely banal and commonplace event, but today said paladin happens to be a) turning the whole place upside down while looking for something, b) muttering some nasty curses that are directed at the items available in the shop, not at its patrons, promise, and c) wearing a long-sleeved turtleneck shirt over his mouth that happens to muffle most of point b). In the middle of July, if one must be reminded.

Some weeks, waking up is just not worth it.]

[Voice

The journal message comes later during the day, weary-sounding and still slightly muffled by that turtleneck.]

Would anyone be kind enough to help me find a razor? My visit to the item shop was... very fruitless. I'd owe you a favor in return, of course.

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...You got a point. Funny, I think I'm almost gettin' used to the damn things.

[He keeps his tucked under his jacket and he doesn't notice them as much as he did in his earlier days.]

I once caught myself trying to match my clothes to their colors. Is that a sign I've been here too long?

[He laughs.]

In that case, I think it might be too late for you. They've already gotten to you too much!

Goodness. I suppose I have no choice but to accept this terrible state and fate, and remove all improperly colored items from my wardrobe.

[Said in a completely deadpan voice.]

[The straight face is so convincing that Firo stares at him blankly for a moment before smiling back.]

...You almost had me there. I think the fact you can even joke about that says somethin'.

My old history tutor always did say that humor makes every situation more pleasant. His lessons proved him wrong, but it's still worth a try.

[Not necessarily a good try, but still.]

Was he really that bad?

Even then, I wouldn't say it always works... Kind of annoying if you need things to be serious and people keep jokin' around.

[He sighs in a way that suggests he's thinking of someone specific.]

It turns out that even jests do not make learning all of Fabul's kings in alphabetical and chronological order pleasant. Do you often deal with that sort of situation?

From the way you say that, I'm guessin' there's a lot of 'em.

If you're talking about memorizing kings, no. If you mean people makin' stupid jokes--then the answer is almost every god damn day back home.

Perhaps a short stay in Luceti would teach them otherwise, but it would be cruel to wish this on anyone.

Exactly. I don't think they could handle it.

[It's true Isaac and Miria aren't the toughest people, but when Firo reflects further on his words he recalls their strange resilience. He shakes his head.]

Or they'd have the time of their lives, knowin' them...

The time of their...? Goodness, only some very strong personalities could have such a reaction to the madness that this village can cause.

[The poor man has no idea.]

"Strong personalities"?

[He chuckles, shaking his head.]

That's one way to describe 'em. Crazy could be another. Don't get me wrong, they can be pretty nice people, but I don't think they're playin' with a full deck. And they just encourage each other.

Not in a manner that endangers them or others, I hope. Particularly extreme eccentricity can be nice, but even with good intentions it has the potential to be perilous.

[He laughs.]

Sometimes I wonder how they haven't managed to piss off somebody enough to wind up dead. But they haven't hurt anybody, as far as I know. I gotta admit, they've been helpful one or two times.

And were they helpful because of or despite their personnalities? That can make all the difference, sometimes.

[He opens his mouth to respond and it hangs open for a little bit as he realizes he has no idea how to answer that. He closes it and leans back against the wall as he thinks. The answer he eventually settles on surprises him.]

...Because of, I think. They were pains in the ass and they got in the way... But I don't think anyone else could have done what they did.

Great help can come from the strangest places, sometimes.

[Young children who should not be allowed to climb dangerous mountains, animated dolls belonging to a princess...]

It's good that they were helpful to you when it mattered.

Well, not really to me. Though, I guess... Yeah, I guess it worked out for everybody.

[He smiles.]

So they're worth it, I guess. I probably shoulda' told 'em that before I wound up here.

You'll surely have the chance to do so sooner or later, be it here or in your own world.

[He frowns.]

You sound pretty sure about that. You really think we can go home from here?

...My wife and son both left and returned and left again, coming from times before mine. I know for a fact that they are still there.

[He bows his head, cowed by the thought of how angry he would be if he were in Cecil's shoes.]

Damn. I'm sorry about that.

Because they were also captured by the Malnosso, or because I was separated from them?

[Both could be considered unpleasant situations, after all.]

[He shakes his head.]

Both. It sucks to have your family hurt either way, doesn't it?

[He means that as a rhetorical question, not to try and make Cecil dwell on his and their suffering.]

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