Office Hours - We Could Be

[shieldof]

[Faith's door remains closed, the brass "PRIVATE" plaque silent and unyielding. Trying to force the door yields no results, but- she said you could contact her here, so just go ahead and knock. Worst case scenario, you're no worse off than before, right?]

((OOC: Please tag your top-levels with the appropriate week and day.))

Comments

[shieldof]

Hm- my entire life, it feels like. I admit I'm uncertain of the actual time.

[Her eyes scan over the shelves.]

There is- not much of the world left, beyond the walls of this house. Letting its knowledge molder in abandonment always seemed a shame, I suppose.

[checkwhat]

[Lacking a sense of the passage of time is something he can relate to but boy howdy, what a bad time to take a sip of coffee.

He sputters, quickly bringing a hand to his face as he coughs.]

I'm- [cough cough] -sorry, what was that about the world outside?

[shieldof]

Very little remains of it. Those of us here and my god are very likely the last remaining alive here.

[She takes a solemn sip of her own coffee, briefly waving a hand to prestidigitate away the splatters from Kinger's coughing fit.]

A great calamity struck this world. I don't know the exact nature of it, nor when exactly it happened.

[checkwhat]

[Ack- he nods in thanks, clearing his throat.]

A great calamity... [And if they're the only ones alive. How biblical. It's starting to make sense why Faith is so devoted.]

Miss Dinara, how long were you alone in this world with just your god before they brought us here?

[shieldof]

As long as I can remember.

[The actual length of time involved- isn't important, probably.]

That concerns you?

[checkwhat]

["How far back can you remember?" sits at the tip of his tongue but it's not the response that comes out.]

Why wouldn't it? [He looks at her across the desk, his eyes softening with concern.] You might already know this but I understand what it's like, being the only person in an empty world.

[Technically having a "god" for company doesn't fill the void of human companionship.]

[shieldof]

[She gives him a moment of careful consideration.]

...I see. I've never known anything else, so I imagine your context is- quite different than mine. I'm sorry.

[checkwhat]

Look at us, two very different but highly specific contexts. [As long as nothing bad happens, maybe meeting new people could be good for her like meeting Ragatha was for him.]

If you ever want to talk about it, all you have to do is turn off the lights. I'm all eyes- whoops, I mean ears.

[shieldof]

That's a very kind offer, thank you.

[It's- maybe a little noncommittal, in terms of whether or not she thinks she'll need to accept, but it does seem genuine enough.]

If- may I ask, once you're all able to leave. Would you return to your circus? Or elsewhere.

[checkwhat]

I'd expect back to the circus, unless we can find a way to help get everyone else out and back in their real bodies. [He picks up his coffee again and just holds the starry cup in his hands.]

I couldn't abandon them like that, not after everything they've gone through. [That he feels at fault for.] Besides, I've been in the circus so long I'm not sure if there is anything out there for me.

[And Queenie...how could he leave her?]

[shieldof]

It was possible to bring you here. Pulling them to another world may also be possible.

[Maybe. Eventually. With enough power and planning-]

I don't wish to give false hope on anything- and given your own circumstances I couldn't begin to say if they could be returned to their original forms, but-

[checkwhat]

[Kinger's learned the hard way to hold onto hope but keep it tempered. If he can exist outside the circus, even if it isn't in his original body, they could too.]

That's...you really think it's a possibility? If it is, Gangle and Zooble might be more complicated than Pomni, Ragatha and Jax, but- if you think you could help them, I wouldn't be able to thank you enough.