damned_institute | Day 32: Sun Room (4th Shift)

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Day 32: Sun Room (4th Shift)

It was rare that Homura's nurse try to persuade him to a scheduled activity, but then, it was rare that Homura didn't go. But the demi-god had plans, and the poor woman had little other choice but to leave in a huff as he once again settled himself near the bulletin board in the Sun Room.

His conversation with Kenren the previous shift had left the demi-god with a lingering sense of anxiety. Perhaps it was something only those from his own world could do, but none the less, he was all the more ready for night to begin now. Goals and memories, the truth of his past and the possibility of the future: all thoughts lingering on the forefront of his mind, more than enough motivation to move forward.

Impatience was something of a rush for an immortal, he'd discovered. Homura liked the feeling, the excitement even before he had arrived in this prison. And now while he waited, he savored it again, a yearning that shone so much brighter than the boredom of Heaven.

[Waiting for History Club Q&A time.]

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"Proving a point." She'd spent half her life surviving any way she could; it had never gotten as bad as she was afraid of (at least until she came here), but now the girl knew she wasn't defenseless. She wasn't as strong as a half-elf should be, and at the moment she was unarmed, but she knew what she was doing.

"Now, would you like to sit down again?" Raine asked calmly. She could explain more about magic either way, but ironically enough she thought the girl should be careful not to aggravate her injury. The little flick Raine had given her hadn't caused any damage; she had been careful not to do that.

A scowl was the immediate response to the explanation and question posed to Falis. What the hell point had she been trying to prove anyways - the easiest way to guarantee a gut punch later on sometime? It wasn't as if Falis thought she was invincible. She knew she wasn't, just pretty darn close to it. The bounty hunter had more than enough reasons to be careful of injury, mostly because she really didn't want to end up slaughtering a bunch of innocent people if she got so injured she lost control.

She might have argued further with the woman if she hadn't felt all those eyes on her again. The blonde cast her gaze up, almost nervously, at the staff walking the balcony above them before looking back at the woman next to her.

"No," Falis said, crossing her arms, "but I will." And with that, the princess sat back down, making sure her injured ribs were well out of reach of the devil-healer.

Raine sat down as well, but not within reach; it wasn't to avoid injury herself, but to show she wasn't going to touch the girl again.

"You wanted to know about non-technological resurrection?" Back into lecture mode; she'd been approached for a reason, and she was always glad to explain a concept. Yes, it was also an escape, but never mind that.

Falis scowled at the woman for a moment. "Yeah," she answered. "This place has a means to do it. I wanna know how."

"This place does things that should be impossible." Raine looked at her Exsphere; she'd never heard of one going dark like this.

"As I said, you need both the body and the soul for it to work; I suppose it's possible they create bodies here. I'm not familiar with how that would be done--I know it isn't possible in my world." If it were, Yggdrasil would have. "Once the soul has been brought back, it might also be difficult to place it in a replica body. But, if solutions are found to all those problems... I imagine that's all there is to it." Deceptively simple, when put that way.

"How does someone bring a soul from someone that's dead-dead back?" Falis was alright with the acceptance that the original body needed to be used, but Hokuto said she didn't have a scar and if that was> her original body, she'd have some kind of indication she'd been punched through the chest.

The princess eyed the weird-looking fancy bracelet thingy the healer was looking at with a slightly forlorn expression. She shifted her attention back. "So how does someone repair up the original body of someone dead-dead if the body had taken some major damage in the process of death, say like... a giant hole through its chest?"

Raine wondered who she was talking about; that was far too specific to be hypothetical. "I've never heard of someone accomplishing either; Life Bottles and Resurrection only work within a certain time frame, and making an exact copy of a body doesn't seem to be possible; I have no idea what would be required to do it.

"Theoretically, though, magitechnology would be capable of both; it's the most advanced technology I know of, which might be required to make replicas, and it would take a lot more mana than anyone is capable of wielding normally to bring back a soul that had been gone for a significant length of time."

Yes, through it all, she did find this at least a little interesting. Everything she knew about it said the only way it to accomplish it for Yggdrasil would be to destroy the twin worlds altogether, but... that could be incorrect.

Falis hmphed, not particularly pleased by the information. She wasn't sure if this healer had the knowledge she needed. Maybe there was someone who knew more around.

"So, what the hell is mana? If it isn't possible and you don;t know, do you know someone smarter than you with this stuff here? It's kinda... important to me to figure the whole resurrection thing."

"Mana is the source of magic and life," Raine replied patiently. "Most people could survive without magic, but food becomes scarce when the mana level drops too low and overall quality of life suffers as well." For many reasons, none of which she was going to go into.

"As I said, in theory reviving someone who died long ago is possible, but it might well take more mana than the world itself has. However, it depends on the mana levels. If there was a source of mana that couldn't be depleted, then it becomes less theoretical and more a question of method."

She studied Falis thoughtfully, trying to determine more specifically what she was trying to find out. "I saw a discussion on the board a while ago that was related; some said it's known to be possible in their worlds. Are you asking because of someone here who was brought back?"

Belatedly, she remembered that Zelos had supposedly died. She wasn't quite certain she wanted to send a beautiful teenage girl to talk with him, but she supposed she could keep it in mind.

"Maybe," Falis replied, looking away from the woman. She didn't want to identify Hokuto to this woman and she couldn't help but wonder if this place could bring her back, what if they could bring Cecelia back? What if she had to go kill that bitch all over again? It wasn't like she had the hope that maybe the people here would bring Pete and Dominikov back, cause they hadn't died just ceased to exist. Sure, same thing, but not really.

"I can't ask on the board," she muttered. "Bunch of people make fun of me on there..."

"Is this person someone you knew at home?" Raine pressed. "The rules of magic aren't the same in every world. You may very well be able to get more answers out of them."

She understood that the girl might not want to ask the person directly, for whatever reason, but sometimes there wasn't much choice. And she obviously didn't have any problems being direct.

"Not from home," Falis replied, again not looking at the woman. "Just... someone."

She then looked at Raine. "I'd be more willing to ask on that board if there weren't so many assholes that like to make fun of people on there. I can't even put something half-serious up there without someone deciding to act all high and mighty to me," she said, scowl deep in her eyes.

"If you can't find a way around that, then there's little choice but to ask the person in question," Raine replied, but she was still trying to puzzle this out--predictably, it was interesting.

"Is there a specific reason you're concerned about this friend having been brought back? I've heard a little on replica bodies being more fragile than might be expected."

Falis was lost for a moment. Her face screwed up in a look of puzzlement. "Who's the person in question you're referring to?"

She then shrugged. "I'm not so much worried as much as just wondering how it was done. I mean there's a whole bunch of people I'd rather not have to ki-- umm... deal with again." Though that bit about replica bodies bothered the princess and it made her a bit worried about Hokuto. Just a little.

Raine managed not to sigh; she supposed she should have realized this girl was somewhat lacking in education. "I mean the person you're talking about; it might be easier if I knew their name--and yours, for that matter. I'm Professor Raine Sage."

They'd resumed being civil, so it was about time they finally introduced themselves. Raine was a little young to complain about "kids these days", but she could still be disapproving of some people's lack of manners.

"Oh." Falis felt kinda stupid for not realizing that this woman - Raine- had been talking about Hokuto.

"I already asked her about it when she told me she'd been dead-dead and she doesn't know how it happened. She was actually killed before coming here, so this place brought her back to life." She paused, waiting for Raine to say something before it dawned on her that she needed to do that introducing thing.

"Princess Alita Forland." There. Introductions taking care of.

...Princess? She would have expected royalty to act a little different. Though, honestly, Colette didn't act like the Chosen very often in daily life.

"It is possible I've spoken to her or someone from her world about related topics," Raine said. She wasn't much for normal socializing, but academic debates were another matter. "Unless she has a reason for keeping her death a secret, I really think knowing who we're discussing would be useful."

Falis shifted a little uncomfortably. "I...umm... don;t think you've talked to her before." Her gaze averted to the side. "It's kinda a touchy topic for her and I don't think I was really supposed to find out about it anyways..."

Sure Hokuto had suggested Falis ask one of the healers, but she bet the girl didn't want her death declared to this place's populace at the top of the princess' lungs. Okay, maybe that was a bit harsh to think that Raine couldn't keep her mouth shut about it, but it's just not something someone talked about. It's not like Falis goes around saying 'guess what - this isn't my body'.

"If you're asking because her new body is more fragile than it should be, that might be something I need to know," Raine pointed out.

This bordered on emotional blackmail, but she meant it; as a healer, sometimes she needed to know things. And if Alita wanted to get any answers, she probably needed to give more information.

...and Raine was curious.

Falis looked over sharply at Raine, a brief flash of extreme concern flickering in her eyes before she managed to get them hooded. The muscle along her jaw twitched a little before she spoke.

"No, I'm not asking because of that. She's not fragile and she says it feels just like her original body." She paused. "Besides, she's not worried about it. And why would you need to know anyways? Looking for a reason to study her?" The princess scowled. "I'm not letting her become some wi--" She cut herself off quickly. "someone's research subject."

"I don't study human subjects," Raine said, a little harshly. The Desians did, but just because she was a half-elf didn't mean she was anything like them. She knew there was virtually no way Alita could be thinking of them, but it was another automatic reaction born from years of hating what she was.

Trying to sound calm again, she went on, "It is entirely possible her body is different. Unlikely, if she's telling the truth about it feeling the same, but something like being forced into a new body might well have changed her physiology."

"Good," Falis replied just as harsh as Raine replied. "I'd beat you into a bloody pulp if you did. That shit is wrong and I won't have anyone doing that to my gir--"

The hell? Since when did she remotely start thinking of Hokuto as her girlfriend? Someone she was really interested in to pass the time but girlfriend? Falis pushed the thought away when Raine mentioned souls being forced into new bodies.

"Physiology doesn't change when a soul is forced into a different body than the one it belongs in," Falis replied, a little too matter-of-factly. She tried to cover it up though by acting dumb. "That's if physiology is some fancy term for how the body processes things and other stuff..."

Raine wasn't fooled; playing dumb did not work in front of her. Zelos had tricked her, yes, but--never again. There was no way Alita could have guessed what the word meant if she didn't know.

The slip-up gave her an inkling of why the girl was so concerned, though; it didn't make her soften, but now she knew.

"I take it you're at least passingly familiar with this topic?" Also very interesting.

Falis folded her arms and sat back into the couch. "I heard talk once about... stuff like that," she replied. It was the truth, since Dominikov had sorta explained it to her after she switched bodies with the real princess, but of course it wasn't the whole truth. Falis had an intimate knowledge of such a topic.

"It's got a fancy name, but that's beside the point." She gave Raine a stern look. "Am I going to have to beat you into a bloody pulp, cause if so, I'd like to do it first thing come night. I don't want those vultures descending upon me," she said with a brief look up at the staff circling overhead.

"I wouldn't threaten a healer so casually," Raine replied evenly. "If you can heal, you can also harm. And healing magic isn't all I have."

She wasn't bluffing; even if immobilized, with some effort she could cast Photon. Not if she was being held in a way that snapping something important would take less than a second, but under other circumstances she could defend herself more than the girl knew.

However, she'd had enough of this. "Regardless, I don't know what else I can tell you. I suggest you find an old teammate of mine; he died before he was brought here as well. His name is Zelos Wilder; he has long, bright red hair, and I'm sure he'll be happy to talk to you." Thrilled, actually...

Day 32: Sun Room (4th Shift)

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