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The next time Kuai swings by the post office, the Postmaster General will eagerly hand him a letter! It reads:
I can't repair what is kept from me.
Attached is a sketch of his brother's lantern.
I can't repair what is kept from me.
Attached is a sketch of his brother's lantern.
Were you with Stone and Bodhi? I saw something about that.
I'll be there in a moment.
I'll be there in a moment.
[Rather than responding to that question via text, he'll just wait for Kuai at the bar. He's got himself a seat at a table near the back wall and while he's seen too much of this room in the last few weeks, there aren't many other great options for drinking. It's frigid outside and he's seen enough snow for a lifetime.
There's already a bottle of whiskey on the table, his usual preference, and a couple glasses. He looks up from his tablet when he notices Kuai has arrived, and gives him a nod in greeting.]
You saw Bodhi and Stone fall, then?
[Might as well just continue from there.]
There's already a bottle of whiskey on the table, his usual preference, and a couple glasses. He looks up from his tablet when he notices Kuai has arrived, and gives him a nod in greeting.]
You saw Bodhi and Stone fall, then?
[Might as well just continue from there.]
[Kuai is pretty used to seeing the same four walls for months at a time, but even he is a little tired of seeing these ones. It feels a bit like having a loss rubbed in his face. Not that they really lost, but seeing the aftermath of the barricades and the bloodstains doesn't feel much like a win.
But he's also aware he's the only one enjoying the weather.]
I saw Stone's network post, not the act itself. We're you out there together?
[He takes a seat, even though he's not exceptionally fond of whiskey he can't deny that he could damn well use a drink after all this.]
But he's also aware he's the only one enjoying the weather.]
I saw Stone's network post, not the act itself. We're you out there together?
[He takes a seat, even though he's not exceptionally fond of whiskey he can't deny that he could damn well use a drink after all this.]
No, I was on shore.
[He fills a glass for Kuai, then tops off his own. This is not intended to be a chat about plans or protocols. If he gets drunk, who cares. Now's as good a day for it as any and he's just getting started.]
I was just supposed to watch while they checked in on the tablet. Figured as long as they were headed toward the portal, we'd test how far the tablet network reaches. Didn't really get to test that out.
[He fills a glass for Kuai, then tops off his own. This is not intended to be a chat about plans or protocols. If he gets drunk, who cares. Now's as good a day for it as any and he's just getting started.]
I was just supposed to watch while they checked in on the tablet. Figured as long as they were headed toward the portal, we'd test how far the tablet network reaches. Didn't really get to test that out.
[He's mentally fought the past battle a thousand times a day so honestly the last thing he wants to talk about is preparations for the next one. Or worse an analysis of what went wrong last time. At this point he could recite a hundred item list with examples - none of which is honestly very helpful.]
I see. It's a valid query to see the distance of the network. Did they simply ... sink?
[You're probably supposed to swirl whiskey and sip it or something along those lines. Kuai skips right past that to actual drinking. He does stare into it's depths as if it might hold all the answers. It very much doesn't.]
I see. It's a valid query to see the distance of the network. Did they simply ... sink?
[You're probably supposed to swirl whiskey and sip it or something along those lines. Kuai skips right past that to actual drinking. He does stare into it's depths as if it might hold all the answers. It very much doesn't.]
[Swirling is for people who want to enjoy it and Rosinante is just here to get drunk, so he's very much doing the same as Kuai. He doesn't quite have his brother's drinking habit, his own usual vice being the nicotine instead, but when he decides it's time to get wasted, he doesn't waste time.]
They were swatted out of the sky by something neither I nor they even saw. Stone said it hit him in the back of the head and sent him plummeting straight down. They hit the water so fast and so hard they probably didn't even feel it.
[So at least there's that. Aside from that initial strike and the terrifying drop, it was quick and painless, and that's better than some things people have experienced here.]
They were swatted out of the sky by something neither I nor they even saw. Stone said it hit him in the back of the head and sent him plummeting straight down. They hit the water so fast and so hard they probably didn't even feel it.
[So at least there's that. Aside from that initial strike and the terrifying drop, it was quick and painless, and that's better than some things people have experienced here.]
Small comfort.
[Sure he doesn't want anyone to suffer, but dead is dead regardless of how they end up there.]
How far out were they when it happened?
[Does it actually matter? It probably doesn't matter but he can't help but ask, still striving to get to the bottom of everything even now.]
[Sure he doesn't want anyone to suffer, but dead is dead regardless of how they end up there.]
How far out were they when it happened?
[Does it actually matter? It probably doesn't matter but he can't help but ask, still striving to get to the bottom of everything even now.]
Barely past where we usually meet the ferry. It wasn't even that dark out where they'd gone yet, I still had clear sight of them. They weren't up all that high yet either, maybe a couple hundred feet.
[High enough to fall too hard, though. That's for sure.]
[High enough to fall too hard, though. That's for sure.]
[His thoughts exactly. High enough to hit the water in a way that would be fatal, even if they weren't dead before they did so.]
So something doesn't want us out on the lake. But the ferry can safely traverse it.
[Maybe those who stole the ferry were on the right track, apart from smashing it.]
The river is the same, there's something wrong about the water here. And the fire. It doesn't shed light. Doesn't catch properly. The bonfire is not even truly burning.
So something doesn't want us out on the lake. But the ferry can safely traverse it.
[Maybe those who stole the ferry were on the right track, apart from smashing it.]
The river is the same, there's something wrong about the water here. And the fire. It doesn't shed light. Doesn't catch properly. The bonfire is not even truly burning.
Well, we know light's a problem. Knew about the river. But because the harbor is safe, I'd thought the lake would be something a person could travel on for at least a little while. Thought the worst that could happen was getting lost.
[A deep drink to that toothy bullshit out there. He should probably explain, though, because Kuai keeps asking about Stone and Bodhi and they're important too but they have nothing to do with his own unfortunate discovery.]
Dunno if it's like this everywhere but past the peninsula lighthouse, the lake has fish. You know what fighting fish are?
[A deep drink to that toothy bullshit out there. He should probably explain, though, because Kuai keeps asking about Stone and Bodhi and they're important too but they have nothing to do with his own unfortunate discovery.]
Dunno if it's like this everywhere but past the peninsula lighthouse, the lake has fish. You know what fighting fish are?
The big toothy kind or the small colorful ones?
[He's familiar with both but he guesses that Rosinante isn't talking about the fancy ones people keep in bowls to look pretty.
In a shocking show of impropriety he reaches for the bottle to refill his glass. He's not feeling anything from this first one, and in all honesty he's not really sure if he can even get drunk with how his metabolism works. But he's going to find out today.]
I didn't think anyone would be out fishing considering what you caught last time.
[He's familiar with both but he guesses that Rosinante isn't talking about the fancy ones people keep in bowls to look pretty.
In a shocking show of impropriety he reaches for the bottle to refill his glass. He's not feeling anything from this first one, and in all honesty he's not really sure if he can even get drunk with how his metabolism works. But he's going to find out today.]
I didn't think anyone would be out fishing considering what you caught last time.
Wasn't fishing.
[An odd assumption, he thinks, but all right. He eyes the drink in his glass.]
I was with Jason. The blond kid. We were sailing just to explore, thinking maybe we'd find more of the town. Fish came up underneath us - big ones, lots of teeth. They chewed right through the boat in seconds.
[An odd assumption, he thinks, but all right. He eyes the drink in his glass.]
I was with Jason. The blond kid. We were sailing just to explore, thinking maybe we'd find more of the town. Fish came up underneath us - big ones, lots of teeth. They chewed right through the boat in seconds.
[He doesn't know who Jason is, but clearly someone with ability if they went on an excursion together. He trusts the other mans judgement.]
Along the coastline? That seems as if it should be safe, nothing has attacked the ferry. Yet. I suppose that's now a possibility.
[He fears he knows the answer but he asks anyway.]
Did either of you make it back to shore?
Along the coastline? That seems as if it should be safe, nothing has attacked the ferry. Yet. I suppose that's now a possibility.
[He fears he knows the answer but he asks anyway.]
Did either of you make it back to shore?
Jason made it back. I didn't have time.
[Not that he can swim, anyway, but that deserves a good stiff drink all the same.]
Harbor might still be all right, but at some point the lake turns more hazardous. Didn't think right by the museum would be so bad but now we know.
[Not that he can swim, anyway, but that deserves a good stiff drink all the same.]
Harbor might still be all right, but at some point the lake turns more hazardous. Didn't think right by the museum would be so bad but now we know.
Is this your second death?
[He's a little concerned about that. At what point will he simply stop coming back? Is there a limit? Why do some people only get one?]
Valuable information, at a great cost.
[He hesitates, information for information. Time to consult the inside of his glass.]
My brother died during the attack. I had his lantern with me for a time but one night it disappeared as I was sleeping.
Later I received a letter from the post office with a drawing of his lantern that said 'I can't repair what is kept from me.'
I have no idea who sent it.
[He's a little concerned about that. At what point will he simply stop coming back? Is there a limit? Why do some people only get one?]
Valuable information, at a great cost.
[He hesitates, information for information. Time to consult the inside of his glass.]
My brother died during the attack. I had his lantern with me for a time but one night it disappeared as I was sleeping.
Later I received a letter from the post office with a drawing of his lantern that said 'I can't repair what is kept from me.'
I have no idea who sent it.
[He nods yes to answer. While drinking, because sometimes he just pulls dumb shit like that. Ends up spilling booze down the front of his shirt, which he really should have predicted, then sputters in trying to recover himself and some small amount of dignity. Hmph. Well, he'll try his best to dry off and then wipe the table with a napkin before refilling the glass and continuing as if that hadn't happened.]
A letter, huh? Might be the church spirit, since that's the one who brings people back. Needed the lantern to put his soul back into it. I wonder how it gets around without people noticing?
A letter, huh? Might be the church spirit, since that's the one who brings people back. Needed the lantern to put his soul back into it. I wonder how it gets around without people noticing?
I'm not even sure if he came back, I haven't seen him since.
[Kuai doesn't sound terribly upset about that. Of the people from home he wants to associate with, his brother, as he is now, is definitely not one of them. He only arches an eyebrow at Rosinante, after what they've all been through, they're allowed some improprieties. Kuai himself is drinking more than he should, wondering if he should stop, but then also not having a good reason to do so. He's not a Grandmaster here. Who is he trying to impress?
He groans and rubs his eyes. Even thinking that is tugging at his delicate sense of honor.]
It somehow got into my room without my knowledge and then got back to the church. That was my fault though, it didn't occur to me that keeping the lantern would prevent his return. I'm glad it didn't get accidentally broken.
[Kuai doesn't sound terribly upset about that. Of the people from home he wants to associate with, his brother, as he is now, is definitely not one of them. He only arches an eyebrow at Rosinante, after what they've all been through, they're allowed some improprieties. Kuai himself is drinking more than he should, wondering if he should stop, but then also not having a good reason to do so. He's not a Grandmaster here. Who is he trying to impress?
He groans and rubs his eyes. Even thinking that is tugging at his delicate sense of honor.]
It somehow got into my room without my knowledge and then got back to the church. That was my fault though, it didn't occur to me that keeping the lantern would prevent his return. I'm glad it didn't get accidentally broken.
[Not sure? He fumbles through his coat pockets for his tablet, then sets it on the tabletop. Let's answer this the way he's so rapidly become accustomed to. Don't mind him fiddling with it, Kuai - he's listening, but he's also flipping through screens to find the network contacts list.]
Aziraphale talks to it sometimes, I think. Maybe ask him if he knows how it gets around.
[Or, Rosinante might ask the angel himself anyway. It's interesting. After a second or two more, he turns his tablet and pushes it toward Kuai.]
His tablet is registered as "subzero", right? Shows him still there so at the very least his access hasn't been canceled yet.
Aziraphale talks to it sometimes, I think. Maybe ask him if he knows how it gets around.
[Or, Rosinante might ask the angel himself anyway. It's interesting. After a second or two more, he turns his tablet and pushes it toward Kuai.]
His tablet is registered as "subzero", right? Shows him still there so at the very least his access hasn't been canceled yet.
[After the Night Market has descended back into the lake, Kuai receives an inbox message!]
THANK YOU FOR PURCHASING ONE (1) HINT FROM DR. SCHICKSAL'S HINT-O-MATIC. YOUR PAYMENT HAS BEEN PROCESSED.
[Kuai's skin is now a vibrant shade of blue. It will stay this way until the next full moon.]
THANK YOU FOR PURCHASING ONE (1) HINT FROM DR. SCHICKSAL'S HINT-O-MATIC. YOUR PAYMENT HAS BEEN PROCESSED.
[Kuai's skin is now a vibrant shade of blue. It will stay this way until the next full moon.]
I can be ready whenever necessary.
The snow does not bother me. Nor the cold.
The snow does not bother me. Nor the cold.
I didn't realize we could talk to it. Through the trapdoor or is it on the network?
[ Now that he's aware that some of the spirits have network access he's wondering just how much they're being spied on all the time.]
Yes, that is him. Well, it was. He was Sub-Zero before I was, but then he was killed. Using that name is just a jab at me. His name is Bi-Han.
[ Now that he's aware that some of the spirits have network access he's wondering just how much they're being spied on all the time.]
Yes, that is him. Well, it was. He was Sub-Zero before I was, but then he was killed. Using that name is just a jab at me. His name is Bi-Han.
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