AUDIENCE: HIKARU

[retellers]

Comments

[retellers]

Oh. That wasn't really our decision... I think the Realm's concern was that not everyone would be motivated by protecting their world.

[heartablaze]

The Realm...

Why wouldn't they be motivated, Goat-san...? If we don't do this, everyone and everything is going to fall apart, isn't it?

Even if people don't like their worlds or how they run... everyone still has people they want to keep safe or things they want to see through to the end. Shouldn't we be able to find something we agree on...?

[retellers]

... I would like to think the same way. But there is the rare being who may simply be content with complete destruction.

[heartablaze]

[Briefly, her mind flickers to Kano, to how sad and mocking his smile was from the ground.]

...If there's really people like that here, then why did the Realm bring them? Isn't that dangerous?

Does it not care how it gets Nova?

[retellers]

I do not know if it necessarily took such things into consideration. In any case, different beings have a different sense of what is "right" or "wrong". It is difficult to judge all by the morality of only one species--humanity's, in this case.

[heartablaze]

I... I know that much, at least. Even with people, you can't assume someone's "right" is the same as your own... You have to get to know them, and ask what's important. Otherwise, you're just going to go into a battle with each other without knowing the whole story.

[She glances at her hands for a moment, her bottom lip between her teeth.]

Um... if that's the case, then, Goat-san... is this competition something we have to do? One of the others mentioned that whoever wins gets a wish, but I don't really need that... I just want to help. I don't need a prize.

Is... that okay?

[retellers]

[ their head inclines to the side, just slightly. ]

Of course. If the simple desire to help others is what motivates you, then all the better. That is very admirable of you.

[heartablaze]

It's more than that. I have my own reasons to want to make sure my world stays safe - both of them. But I have to do what I feel is right to get there.

To just get a reward at the end, when there's so much at stake... it might be fun, but I would just be thinking of all the people counting on us the whole time, not on the prize.

Does that make me a bad team member?

[retellers]

Not at all. I do not expect anything of you.

[ which sounds, like, mean, but. ]

Fight for your own reasons. I wouldn't ask you to be motivated by anything but your own heart.

[heartablaze]

[She gives a firm nod, a determined set of her jaw.]

Right.

I... know the bad mistakes that you can make if you fight for a reason that's clouded. So if I ask a lot of questions, if it gets annoying, you can say whatever you need to. I'll do whatever I can, but I need to know for myself what it is that's truly happening.

We'll figure it out together. Even if we have to do it from different teams... I want to believe we can work together.

[retellers]

You will not annoy me. I am here for whatever you need, after all.

[ they nod. ]

In the end, this is for the good of everyone, not a single group.

[heartablaze]

[That gets her to relax quite a bit. Good... it was so nice to have someone she could agree with for this, especially after talking to someone like Kano.]

Could I ask what you remember about yourself, Goat-san? I know Wolf-san said you've all given up a lot of your memories, but... there has to be something left, right?

[retellers]

[ they think for a moment. ]

We can recall our ages and whether or not we are human... but that's mostly it.

[heartablaze]

That's something! I know there's a centaur here, and Pikachu is a... um... pokey something. Porcupine? I don't remember. Anyway, there's people here that aren't human, and I think that's okay.

I'm fourteen! How about you, how old are you?

[retellers]

I don't remember.

[ ... despite what they just said. ]

[heartablaze]

[...

excuse me]

Huh?

Didn't you just say you knew your age?

[retellers]

I know that even if my memories were intact, I wouldn't recall precisely how old I am.

[heartablaze]

Ohh... So... you never knew your age to begin with?

That's so sad, though...

Are you a human like me? I know my friend Clef looks younger than me but is really, really old... so is Chijin-san.

[retellers]

Rather... I think it's that I lived so many years that I no longer bothered to keep track of them.

[ which is to say ]

I don't know what I am, but I am not human.

[ the fangs kind of give it away, at least. ]

[heartablaze]

[Look, commenting on someone's dental work is rude!]

That's okay. We're talking and learning about each other just fine, no matter what we are, right?

I hope we can help you get some of your memories back. I think it would be really lonely, to know you've lived for a long time but not to remember anything about yourself.

[retellers]

Perhaps. Though a luxury may be that even if I don't remember who I am, I still feel as though I know what I exist to do--that age has carved it into my skin.

[ also hm. they've been talking and not eating, so their ice cream has melted. ]

[heartablaze]

And what's that? What you're made to do, I mean...

[Oh. Oh no, sprinkle soup...]

--Oh! Oh, hang on, Goat-san, your ice cream!

H-hey, does the castle have a freezer?

[retellers]

To--oh. Oh no...

[ they pause, before they place their hand above the melted ice cream and

it refreezes? maybe a bit too much because it's kind of a block of ice now. ]

[heartablaze]

Aaaa!

[That's really cool but also AAAAA???]

W-wait, do you have magic, Goat-san???

[retellers]

[ they seem a bit taken aback by hikaru's reaction. ]

I don't know if I would call it magic, but... something like that?