[WEEK 3, WEDNESDAY: Lucina]

[spinatalltale]

[at some point, once the commotion from earlier calms down and Lucina's injuries are propertly treated, Lucina and Magilou will make it back to their shared hut. and, with her roommate (hopefully) resting in her cot, Magilou will take a seat on the floor next to her bed, legs folded underneath her]

You should proooobably get some sleep now.

[with the worst over, she imagines it's probably safe for Lucina to pass out for a few hours]

Comments

[spinatalltale]

Hovering? This isn't hovering! It's more like. . . squatting.

[unlike some, Magilou wasn't at all angry at the jungle and cavern adventure crews. perhaps she was just used to being comrades with reckless people? or maybe she was just desensitized to danger]

Are you planning on going back out there again?

[rightfully]

[ In this, there's no point in lying. That said, there is a somewhat shamed note to her voice. She's aware how ill-advised all this is; she also doesn't feel like she has an option. ]

Yes. Eventually.

[ She sighs. It's something Magilou has heard before, no doubt. It's also wispy than usual, and ragged. ]

I lost something more important than my life out there. I need to get it back.

[spinatalltale]

[the first part of the answer isn't surprising, considering how willing Lucina had been to throw herself back into the jungle earlier. Magilou isn't the type to scold people for potentially stupid decisions-- not even when they could get her killed-- so. . . she doesn't focus on that part]

[the second half is far more interesting, anyway]

Uho? You don't seem like the type to use those words lightly, either.

What is it?

[rightfully]

[ Lucina doesn't answer verbally. Rather, she simply turns her head, looking balefully at the empty corner near her cot. For the past two and a half weeks, Magilou would have seen the Falchion loyally propped up there, a razor sharp gleam and endless patience, as it waits to be taken up again.

Or, well. Waited.

Because there's nothing there now. ]

[spinatalltale]

[ah]

[that's all the answer Magilou needs]

. . . hm. Being weaponless on an island as dangerous as this one certainly isn't preferable.

[she speaks from experience, since. she has no weapon]

But there's more to it than that, isn't there?

[rightfully]

[ Of course there is. Lucina looks away from the corner, back toward Magilou. Her hand - her one hand left - tenses, looking for something to clasp. She would lace her fingers together, if she could. ]

It was my father's blade, [ she admits, ] and his father's before him. It has passed through untold generations of my family, from my first ancestors, who were venerated heroes.

[ And none of them fucking lost it by being stupid.

She looks down, ashamed and sad. ]

I was trusted with it, and this is how I repay that trust.

[spinatalltale]

A family heirloom.

[she repeats, voice eerily quiet. so she does know how to turn down the volume, after all]

[she thinks she understands a little, where Lucina is coming from. Melchior wasn't her father anymore-- could never have truly been considered same-- but the Mayvin name still sticks to Magilou like a brand. she cherishes that name, even if she no longer reveres the man who gave it to her, like Lucina cherishes that sword]

[having that name ripped from her is why she broke in the first place. reclaiming it. . . and turning it into something she owns, and not Melchior, is how she goes on]

How did you lose it?

[she's asking for totally innocuous reasons, honestly]

[rightfully]

To be honest, I can't quite recall.

[ She wishes she could! Truly. Those minutes are a bit of blur: pain, and red. Lucina can't even remember which order they come in. There's a shooting jolt down her shoulder, not quite painful, and toward the arm she no longer has. ]

Lady Yona was in danger. A creature - I can only think to describe it as a massive snake - emerged from the jungle and grabbed her in its maw. I was able to free her by cutting it below the jaw, but then --

[ Well. Lucina looks at her stumped half-arm again. ]

I lost track of Falchion in that moment.

[spinatalltale]

[it's understandably why she doesn't remember. but Magilou, who has seen plenty of violence and death in her life, can fill in the blanks]

If I were to place a wager, I'd bet that it's in the belly of that snake now.

[y i k e s]

Which means. . . going back for it won't be a simple walk through the jungle.

[she'd likely have to fight that thing again. and there would be no way she could win against it, weaponless and down one arm]

[rightfully]

Yes, you're probably right.

[ Sighing, she leans back, tipping her head against the wall to let her eyes skim the ceiling. ]

... Magilou? I hope you know that it was never my intention to put you in any danger. I understand that I musn't be quite so reckless.

[spinatalltale]

Haa?

. . . oh, I'm not mad about that. [shrugs! she's so. . . blase. . .] My comrades back home had a thing about putting me in mortal peril all of the time. Some people, you know? You just can't take the recklessness out of them.

[she flashes Lucina a grin]

[rightfully]

[ Oddly, Lucina is comforted by that. She will likely never acclimate to the stagnant peace of civilian life. Those words - "can't take the recklessness out of," - makes it sounds so normal.

She smiles. ]

Your comrades sound like an exciting group. Do you wish to talk about them?

[ Lucina'd like to hear about them! ]

[spinatalltale]

[for Magilou? it is totally normal]

Oho, I can tell you anything! Their shoe sizes, their favorite foods, what they wear to bed, how they take their coffee! Just tell me which bit of random trivia you'd like to know first.

[rightfully]

[ It may seem strange but Lucina is hardly unfamiliar with herding eccentric cats. Some of Magilou's behaviours are difficult to abide, but this? This is actually quite sweet.

Lucina is tired of talking. It would be nice to merely listen, to let go of the world around them for a moment. ]

Alright. Why don't we begin with ... favourite foods?

[ She closes her eyes, leaning back again. ]