062 [Voice]

[mountain_sage]

[Well, now that Saleh has had a day to recover from the draft, he opens his journal to reflect on everything that's happened.]

Great Dragon...

I've returned from the draft, but with a heavy heart. I cannot even tell if we were successful out there. To see your own friends and neighbors turn on you like vicious beasts...it's unthinkable. As for myself...even I may have underestimated the human being's survival instinct. Our dormant capabilities are unleashed when we are pushed to our limits. Because of that, we can do unspeakable things, which we may regret later.

[In this case, he's referring to his killing Leonhardt, and with a sword of all things.]

Comments

[Voice]

[winds_voice]

[Ouch... this doesn't sound good. Not good at all.]

...I cannot be certain exactly what happened to you or what you may come to regret, but I am truly sorry for your suffering. If there is anything I can do to ease your pain, please let me know.

[Voice]

[mountain_sage]

[Saleh's voice cracks a little as he responds.]

It's all right...Eleytheria. Nothing can be done, really. It will just take time. My friends who have fallen will return in a week's time, and then...and then we will move on.

[Voice]

[winds_voice]

They will return?

[He didn't expect that but regardless of whether or not they're coming back the present seemed more important right now.]

Even with that knowledge, I can hear your pain. [He pauses, thinking.] I would not usually offer back in my world, but would my company be of any help to you?

[Voice]

[mountain_sage]

Yes...that knowledge does not allay the pain...nor would I wish it to.

[He ponders the offer for a moment. Talking with someone, to remind himself of his own beliefs, would help.]

Perhaps it would. What would you suggest?

[Voice]

[winds_voice]

Are you in a location I can reach? I can come to you, if you would like someone to talk to... or just my presence.

[He almost wishes he possessed some magic to ease emotions.]

[Voice]

[mountain_sage]

I'm in Community Building 5, Room 5, if you would like to come to me.

[Voice --> Action]

[winds_voice]

[Eley hadn't really been to any of the housing yet, preferring to stick to the outskirts of the village and the forest, or the mountains when he wanted to be left alone. However, he would find Saleh if he needed him.]

I will go there now. Wait for me.

[Sometime later (perhaps a little longer than he anticipated) and the Spirit will be knocking at his door).]

video

[toujourschatte]

[You will see a cat holding this note of scratchy but clear handwriting in her mouth]

It is human nature to do unspeakable things. Sometimes there is nothing a man won't do to survive. Sometimes there is nothing a man won't do to save his friends. There is always a balance.Always a meaning]

[Video]

[mountain_sage]

[How interesting, a cat with a note in its mouth.]

What's this...?

Indeed, we all desire survival because we fear death. That is how it should be, though the things we do aren't always pleasant.

[Video]

[toujourschatte]

[She sets the paper down, dips a claw in ink and begins to write though the paper is off screen. When she is finished, she holds it up again .]

Perhaps. But there are also those who will overcome their fear of death for the sake of others. Who will die in their place. And perhaps some of us desire survival without fearing death, but merely to see what lies beyond the next horizon

[Video]

[mountain_sage]

I'm aware of this...but that is not what happened out there.

[Video]

[toujourschatte]

[Ears twitch. More writing]

What did happen? I have been gone.

[Video]

[mountain_sage]

There was...some sort of infection going around. Anyone infected would fall ill, and then lose their minds. They would attack those who were uninfected, biting them. It seemed that the only way to stop them was to kill them. My friends were infected and then...beheaded.

[Voice]

[fierybluebird]

You should never regret doing what you have no choice in matey.

[Voice]

[mountain_sage]

That is easy enough to say.

[Voice]

[fierybluebird]

And difficult to follow, but no less valid.

If you had to do it all over again, do you truly think you could find a better alternative choice of actions to have taken?

[Voice]

[mountain_sage]

Perhaps I could have, had I been given a chance to think. However, the odds of doing this again are slim, if not nil. Even if it could not be helped, it does not change how I feel.

[Voice]

[fierybluebird]

[Small sigh.]

And would the person you lost want you left with these feelings of regret?

[Voice]

[mountain_sage]

No, but he would understand my feelings. And we all know that the feeling will pass.

[Voice]

[mistlegacy]

[Rydia responds later...much later. Her voice is weak and tired.]

I'm sorry you had to see that, Saleh.

Did you....

[She can't quite bring herself to ask if he killed Kain, almost not wanting to know.]

[Voice]

[mountain_sage]

Rydia? You're...all right?

[He sounds relieved, but also pained to hear from her. It's gonna be hard to tell her about Kain, but he can't not tell her either.]

I...beg your pardon?

[Voice]

[mistlegacy]

[Long pause.]

Did you have to kill Kain...?

[Given that he hasn't returned when the draft was ended, she can guess what happened even though she doesn't know the details.]

[Voice]

[mountain_sage]

I didn't...but I saw who did.

[Voice]

[mistlegacy]

...I see.

I don't need to know their name, or bear a grudge against what they had to do. Kain wouldn't have wanted to remain in that state, harming and infecting more people.

[Voice]

[mountain_sage]

Indeed. I know it was necessary, but yet it was unbelievable.