( video )

[heron]

[ when the feed turns on, there is a man with large white wings standing too close. he squints at it quizzically before moving back with a frown that barely mars his beauty. his wings flap erratically behind him. ]

My sister, Leanne, seems to be missing. I have searched everywhere but she cannot be found. I — [ reyson bites it off, frustrated before taking a deep breath. ] — I will assume she has returned home as I know there have been cases of people . . . leaving. And I have no reason to suspect foul play. The Gods have deemed it so.

[ but, oh, it is a bitter pill that for a moment his face cracks from the effort from it. but reyson has borne worse. ]

Perhaps . . . if you could, please share some words or prayer to your own Gods to watch over her. Or share me stories of your deities. Are they kind? Cruel? Are Gods strangers to you?

Comments

[heron]

Family is certainly a great comfort.

[astralera]

It is, though I am not certain I would call Mother family.

[heron]

[ but then . . . why mother . . . ]

Why not?

[astralera]

Family are those who are always with you, are they not? Mother, for all that she may love me, has rarely interacted with me. It is no fault of hers, of course, but she cannot be there for me.

[heron]

Not necessarily. Family holds many definitions and I cannot say I have heard that one before.

[astralera]

Even when apart, they have always been a call away.

If I am in desperate need of her protection she will intervene on my behalf, or if I need her guidance for the duty she has given me, she will pull me into the comfort of her realm and speak with me.

However, if I cried out for Mother she would not answer. She is too weak to spare what little strength she's recovered on such a trivial thing.

So, while she is my mother, and I know she loves and cares for me, she does not feel like family. If I call out for those I feel are family, they will always answer.

[heron]

[ reyson finds this a little harsh but reyson has little to no family left. he is a beggar. ]

I suppose that is your judgement to make.

[astralera]

I suppose it is, yes.

[ There are so few things that are truly her choice to make, and it hadn't occurred to her that deciding who she counts as friend or family is one of those things. ]

Will you tell me about your sister?

[heron]

Of course.

She is young, far younger than me. I thought she perished in the fires that took my home, but the forest sheltered her. Hid her until I returned there, years later. She has little grasp of the world and people, but she still keeps a kind heart.

[astralera]

Naive, but kind. I'm sure she must have caused exasperation and joy in equal measure.

[heron]

She certainly makes my life difficult.

But she is alive and that is a treasure.

[astralera]

I am certain you have made her life no less difficult and wonderful in return. From what I have so recently learned, it seems to be how things are with siblings. They can stir such a variety of emotions within your heart so quickly.

[heron]

All my other siblings have perished.

She is all I have left.

[astralera]

I am truly sorry, Reyson. I have lost but one of mine, and while my heart has recovered the pain still lingers.

I am fairly certain that your sister has returned home, where she will live her life without her memories of this place.

[heron]

Without memories? How?

[astralera]

When we are sent home it is to the exact moment we were taken from. It is like the time here never existed.

Perhaps the memories are the cost of returning home? I couldn't say. I do know that the so-called gods stole away many memories of mine upon my kidnapping, so they can manipulate memories to some degree.

[heron]

How do you know this? I have not heard of any such thing.

[astralera]

Personal experience.

[heron]

Personal experience has biases. Do you have any proof?

[astralera]

I was sent home — in soul and spirit, but not body. I had no memory of this place, nor the other world I spent time in. That is fact.

You ask for proof, but you should know full well that there is no possible way to prove such a thing. My partner could verify that I was indeed comatose and absent of spirit for a period of days, however he could not confirm anything beyond that. If you decide not to believe my experience, that is your prerogative.

The only bias in my statement was expressing that the 'gods' here stole my memories. I do not trust them in the slightest, and given that I was not missing a significant portion of my memories until I was brought to this world in particular, it is only logical to blame the ones that brought us here. Was it done purposefully? I could not say. But the 'gods' here are certainly at fault for it.

[heron]

[ geez, dramatic. reyson's definitely not going to poke this beehive of issues. ]

So you dislike this place?

[astralera]

To say the least, yes.