[closed] there's no place for us

[cruxified]

Who: Kratos Aurion (cruxified) and Sissel (interconnect)
Where: District 2.
When: June 6th, afternoon.
Summary: Exploring the town, and teaching Sissel how not to lick himself in public.
Warnings: N/A

[Kratos is happy to finally be free of the thick, chaotic throng of people hanging around the Welcome Center. Teaching a cat how to be a boy is a good excuse, even if he's not really an animal person. Truth be told, Kratos actually enjoys the company of animals. He misses Noishe and his easy companionship. He's doing something great now-- watching over Lloyd, watching over Dirk-- but he was Kratos' first animal companion. One never forgets their first beloved pet.

Noishe is hardly a normal dog, but still. Kratos smiles a little to himself as he leads Sissel down the street, keeping an eye out for anything that resembles a clothing shop. He has a penchant for attracting strange animals, it seems.

Sissel isn't a normal cat, let alone a normal boy. After that weird conversation in stopped time, the swordsman is somewhat on-edge about just how much his true identity can be seen. Part of him doesn't care. What's done is done, and he was doing his part to atone for his crimes before being transported here. But then again, he doesn't want to scare anyone with his obviously... not-human qualities. The best reason to keep being an angel secret is to avoid probing questions.

He really hates those kinds of questions.

Kratos casts a glance back at his charge.]

Are you hungry?

Comments

[interconnect]

[ Sissel looks up at Kratos, away from his constant looking about as they pass through the city. It's not everyday he gets to go outside and have such a thorough look at what there is on offer. Looking into the shop windows is generally enough to tell him what sort of stores they are, although mysteries do keep popping up every now and then. It's almost like a game. ]

Sure. I could go for something to eat.

[ Not that it's really necessary anymore, but habit is hard to break and stopping for food might give him time to put more of his thoughts in order. ]

[cruxified]

[Kratos had similar thoughts. Eating isn't necessary for him either, but eating something that isn't being pecked upon by a horde of angry and confused kidnappees is a good idea.]

Do you... like fish?

[He's never had a cat before, so you know, important information.]

[interconnect]

Of course. [ Sissel offers a small grin, human teeth lining his mouth where he's used to different shapes and texture. Just another thing to get used to with this new body. ]

Do you? What else do you like?

[cruxified]

Something... hearty, I suppose. I do enjoy fish.

[Yep, just another thing.]

One must be careful while eating it, however; the tiny bones are easy to choke on.

[interconnect]

Hearty? That's not very specific.

I've never had a problem with that. [ Either in this life, or the one before. ]

[cruxified]

By hearty I mean something rich and filling, like cream stew.

[You are a master of fish.]

Then I hope your fortune continues.

[As they walk further into the neighborhood, a nice hot wind picks up, making the swallowtails on his coat flap around.]

This is a surprisingly pleasant city despite having an energy shortage... [He doesn't sound too convinced.]

[interconnect]

Can't say I've ever had anything like that before...

[ Sissel nods, ears flickering about as the wind tickles the sensitive little hairs inside. ]

Maybe we're in the rich district. They always have nice things, don't they?

[ He sounds like he's repeating something he's heard before, although not without complete lack of understanding. ]

[cruxified]

[Oh, good. He isn't trying to swat at Kratos' coat or anything.]

The rich district? [That's a pretty simplistic way of viewing it. Not necessarily inaccurate, but it makes him lighten a bit.] Yes, perhaps.

I wonder what they used for energy previously. It doesn't have the marks of a coal-fueled city.

[Now that they're deeper in, though, there's definitely a lot of food smells.]

[interconnect]

[ They'd have to be dragging along the floor or something for that. ]

Coal? Is that what usually powers things?

[ What's coal...? ]

[cruxified]

[Oh okay, good.]

It's an alternative to using mana, or mana derivatives... [Wait, he's talking to a cat here.] ... That is, magic.

Coal is a soft black rock that releases heat when it burns. Heat is energy.

[interconnect]

Magic? Huh... So people usually use heat to power things, which means... are they using our heat? Is that what they mean?

[cruxified]

In a roundabout way, yes. They specified that it's energy created between two people, which must be more substantial somehow.

[Energy made purely by heat is rather crude, but he can't deny that it's true. Harnessing electricity like Yuan did was an incredible amount of heat, sufficient enough to power sophisticated magitech, yet dangerous and unpredictable.]

I doubt they are telling us everything, in any case.

[interconnect]

I wonder what would happen with energy between three or more... Would that be bad? Or even better?

[ Sissel tilts his head up, finally looking away from the shop stalls to pay more attention to Kratos. ]

Why not? It seems fairly straightforward so far. Even if a lot of people aren't happy with it.

[cruxified]

I believe it would be better, so long as it was all positive.

[Sissel is direct, at least. Kratos looks at him, then glances away.]

... On my world, human lives were used to power technology. First, they were implanted with something that drained their life force... and then they were made to suffer, so that more energy would be created.

That is why I am so cautious.

[interconnect]

[ Sissel tilts his head somewhat, as if to acknowledge the point but not completely bow to it. ]

We aren't being made to suffer, though. That sounds like a pretty key difference to me.

[cruxified]

... No, but they could still be using our souls for some purpose.

[It's clear Kratos has some personal grudge here.]

[interconnect]

Such as powering the city.

[ It's not that he doesn't kinda-sorta understand trickery... it's just that he's pretty sure even the officials themselves have been over this with everyone. ]

Did I miss something when you read the letter, or are you just protective over your life energy?

[cruxified]

There is something inherently wrong about this. Even if we were taken here with permission, there is no excuse for leeching the lives of others like a parasite.

[He huffs in Sissel's general direction.]

I have my reasons.