recrowns | [ hey it's zuko here ]

[ zuko's spent a lot of time looking for any traces of sumire, and he's come up empty. it's been hours of fruitless searching, manpain, chickens following him, and all that. he finally returns to the room, then sees soo-won, and sighs. not at him, but the situation ]

... I invited Yona over. I figured you wouldn't have a problem with it.

[ she doesn't need to be alone right now ]

Ah - thank you for the foresight.

[he nods immediately at that - soo-won was so busy looking for sumire and also being dragged around random places by people? why do people need him today.

he looks a little tired, already resting on their nest of kigus, but manages a smile]

I feel better knowing you're looking after her, too.

[ his excuse for not being around at trial is that zuko is going to force him to rest on a blanket burrito of kigus ]

We need to stick together.

[ him, her, zuko. ]

... Any luck tonight?

[sipp is running for the ot3.

that soo-won is once again not aware he's in, so he just accepts it with an easygoing nod. they do need to stick together.]

You may need to define 'luck'.... Some people brought a few matters to my attention. I wasn't able to find any signs of Yoshizawa...

But Shiro was with Xie Lian just last night, so he may have additional insights that he'll share at trial.

Others came to talk to me because we received messages from the removed.

[ zuko doesn't know he's in one either it's okay ]

I'd take just about anything, at this point.

[ but one second-- ]

The.. removed? That message wasn't just a prank?

[ they can really communicate?? ]

[he shakes his head]

It wasn't.

[a beat]

... be careful - I'm a bit closer to guessing your team based on your surprise. [though he just manages more of a gently amused smile at that] But I won't go further into detail on that - at least... not this week. I hope you understand.

As for the removed, it seems like they're also messaging us. Sharon sent me something on Wednesday that I've been working on decoding - and it seems like some others got messages as well. They brought them to me and I'm trying to decipher if there's anything we can use from it.

Edited 2020-10-24 04:15 (UTC)

.... I don't really want to keep it a secret from you in the first place. [ he just doesn't want to screw things up more with how unstable the realm has been ] So let's just swap, next week or... whenever you can.

[ but honestly, with how people have been dying and coming back to life..... maybe it's not so farfetched. ]

....

Now I just want to see them.

[ it's like when taako gets even more curious when people are mysterious in trial ]

[ . . . . sorry he just look a little bit surprised and can't help but manage an almost wondrous - ]

.... you really trust me, don't you?

[like he's a little stunned by that fact. it weighs a little more heavily than he'd like.

but....]

... well, I can tell you what mine said. The other, I was sworn to secrecy based on a task. And the other past that... [he looks thoughtful] They were messages from Kano - so it's a bit hard to decipher as is.

You've never given me a reason to doubt you. And you trusted me with your past mistakes... and the truth about that night.

[ that's a far bigger risk than just swapping teams, in zuko's eyes. that soo-won willingly came to tell him about sharon's death. ]

[ but yeah, fair enough. ]

I had a hard enough time understanding Kano to begin with.... but... maybe I can think of something if I see it.

[ . . . . soo-won is a remarkably honest person - he's just also someone who simultaneously holds things back when he doesn't find them relevant to share. but everything that he told zuko just felt like he ought to get to know.

so he pauses for a moment in thought....]

... then I will endeavor to return that trust with my own - and I will try to take care of yours. Thank you, for placing that faith in me.

[because he knows that it's precious - and more than he deserves.]

Hmm... Well, my message from Sharon...

[he'll pull out a paper that he transcribed it on -

'Cons███usness does ███████ █f███ ████████ The ████way to █████ perilous and difficult for the Leaders t████a█████. There is a way to ██id████-- the ██ec████d█-- ███e. Speak with █o██████ou haven't already. Use me as you see fit████████. ♥']

I believe it says... 'Consciousness does persist removal. The pathway to us is perilous and difficult for the Leaders to traverse.' The next section... it's harder to make out. The final part should say 'Speak with Fox if you haven't already. Use me as you see fit, Master.'

So it seems as though she is taking our agreement seriously, and I intend on seeking out her help moving forward.

Thank you.

[ he will leave it at that, because he really does trust soo-won! and then read the message. ]

So she is still alive... in a way.

[ ... ]

Persist removal....? [ what does that mean? ] Speaking with Fox -- I can do that. If you haven't already. He's not very... forthcoming.

Oh - persist after removal, I missed a word.

[dana is a FOOL maybe it's a hint that suwu's tired before trial tomorrow]

It means that they're all still alive... or at least, their minds and souls are.

But... well, you can always try, if you're up for it. I have the same problems with him but... I do think that he's a good person.

[ wow foreshadowing ]

.. Yeah, looks like it. They can communicate with us, too.

[ ... ]

I'll give it a shot. I already fight with him, anyway.

[ just drops that with zero context ]

Edited 2020-10-26 04:26 (UTC)