february catch-all;

[amadaman]

WHO: Ken, Koromaru & YOU.
WHERE: wherever specified
WHEN: throughout February
WHAT: catch-all for the month!
WARNINGS: there we be talks about cannibalism at the very least.

Comments

[vorbarra]

[ Gregor is not jealous at all. It sounds like a heavy burden, having monsters and a whole time period no one else can see. He can also well imagine that something so psychologically linked would have to be precipitated to awakening by some horrible event... Or maybe that's his own bias. Some wonderful event could be hypothetically possible, too, but in the real world, that's just not ever how it falls out, is it?

He agrees that Ken is far too young to be fighting this early but remembers what Cass had said and declines to comment on that directly. In any case, no matter his age, Gregor would have similar concerns to Miles. ]

That seems far too large a task for one person to handle safely.

[amadaman]

It is. [That, he can say without a doubt, and the certainty with which he answers indicates that it's not just reasoning that led him there. Indeed, Ken knows the consequences of a single person taking on the task of ending the Dark Hour.] But there was a team of us. I didn't have the means of knowing what was going on until they found me, and we fought together after that.

[He gestures to the small dog that has thus far sat by his feet without a single fuss and hardly even any noise.]

Koromaru here was one of us, too, although he doesn't have his Persona here.

[dendarii]

[ Miles blinks a bit down at Koromaru. Back up at Ken. He'd pictured an eclectic cast at the mention of a team; he had not quite pictured that. ]

The dog? How is that possible?

[vorbarra]

[ He's glad he isn't alone, but Gregor is similarly stymied at this knowledge of the dog.

He's always liked animals, though, and folds his tall form down into a crouch, with his hand offered out directly. ] Do you miss it, then? [ he asks curiously, wondering how intelligent that must make the dog, if he was granted an ability like this. ]

[amadaman]

[Koromaru had been checking out the two of them since Ken started speaking. At the offered hand, he doesn't waste any time sniffing; he leans his head in, pressing the top of it against Gregor's fingers and palm.

It's hard to say he misses Cerberus. It's still there, resting in the back of his mind and always watching, always guarding, but it's impossible to pull it out. Koromaru's response is a small, mourning and almost frustrated-sounding growl as he rests his chin on Gregor's hand.

Ken waits until that interaction is over before answering.]

The only explanation we found is that he's a smart dog. We were surprised, too, but he fights just as well as the rest of us.

[dendarii]

Smart enough for that, eh ...

[ Miles leans over him too, curious. Letting Gregor pet him for now, though, not getting in the way. ]

What do you fight? What sort of monsters?

[vorbarra]

[ Gregor spends a lot more time around horses than dogs, but the principals aren't that much different, and he sets to petting him with a gentle hand and satisfactorily firm scratches around his ruff. ]

I'm sorry, [ he says directly to Koromaru, sotto voce beneath the other conversation. ] It's not right to have limited you.

[amadaman]

[This is the first time someone has talked to Koromaru like that. He doesn't blame them; he understands, because dogs this smart usually talk, or dogs are not able to communicate with humans like this. Gregor's kindness is appreciated and his tail thumps against the ground as he wags it. He's fine, though; Personas are not the most important part of his life.]

We call them Shadows. They can take on many shapes; sometimes they look like humans, and sometimes they look like animals. Sometimes tables. But they're all essentially the same thing... they're manifestations of the human psyche. [Er...] Uncontrolled, malevolent human emotions that have taken on physical form.

[dendarii]

[ Miles focuses on the tactical situation while Gregor pets the dog and listens. That's about par for the course. ]

Some extremely malevolent tables then. Are they invading? Do they threaten the general populace?

[vorbarra]

[ Gregor is definitely not expecting him to talk-- he is just translating any Vor's near-reverence for smart horses over to this smart dog, and he isn't prone to baby talk of any kind, so it comes out like he's anticipating a response.

He keeps petting him but glances up, interested in this response, too. ] If they're manifestations of negative emotion, I can't imagine how they could ever be fully suppressed. [ Gregor has a momentary image of what sort of Shadow he could generate, darkly amused. ]

[amadaman]

Even if we destroy one, there's always more being born. They exist in a world parallel to ours as long as living things live -- that's the problem. The Dark Hour that they show up in isn't something that appears. It's just that some of us fall into their world, and they prey on living minds to pull out the Shadows inside of us.

Persona and Shadows are the same thing. Some of us were just able to reign in our Shadows and control them to defend ourselves with them.

[dendarii]

Is there a way to close the passage then?

[vorbarra]

[ But catches onto another implication of this explanation. Because of course this is what he hones in on. ]

Rein in your Shadows... [ Softly, ] That's remarkable.

[amadaman]

[Ken shakes his head.]

Not particularly. Shadows were all, ultimately, seeking this thing called Nyx, who brings the 'end.' Becoming aware enough to control them... it only means that we did what the Shadows were doing more consciously than anybody else.

[That is to say, yearn for death.]

There's no way of defeating something that's a piece of the world. But we did manage to seal that rift.

[dendarii]

[ Miles relaxes a bit. Good to know this story has a happy ending. ]

What about your team then? Are any of them here?

[vorbarra]

[ Gregor doesn't quite catch onto the yearn for death connotation but he does understand it's not as positive an idea as he'd first supposed. He straightens up with one last scratch for Koromaru.

For now he's content to let Miles direct the questions-- again, par for the course. ]

[amadaman]

Us two, and three more. Our leader is here with us.

[Koromaru returns to Ken's side now and barks his agreement. They're a group!]

There were ten of us in total. We have different sorts of powers, but they're all Persona.

[dendarii]

[ Miles nods thoughtfully a that. Good not to be alone first and foremost, he thinks. ]

Not all of them can heal like you then?

[vorbarra]

[ Yes, definitely. Gregor is glad on his behalf that he's not alone here-- and he's hierarchical enough that if Ken has a good relationship with his leader, he's glad he's here, in particular. (Also selfishly empathetic enough to be glad the leader isn't here alone...) ]

What else can they do?

[amadaman]

I'm not certain on all of our leader's abilities, but there's one more person who can use the healing spell I just used. Persona have a system of powers, so it's fairly simple -- Kala-Nemi can heal, but she also has offensive magic that uses electricity and light. There are also spells that use fire, ice, or wind, and Koromaru used to be able to use darkness.

[dendarii]

[ Miles turn to kneel next to the dog thoughtfully. ]

Darkness? How does one attack with that?

[vorbarra]

Or light, for that matter.

[amadaman]

[Hi Miles. How you doin'. Koromaru looks back at him and tilts his head curiously.]

When we use it, we can basically get the Shadows to burst into light or fade into nothing, but if we get hit with them, it knocks us out until someone brings us back.

[dendarii]

I suppose it makes a sort of sense with Shadows being in between.

[ Miles reaches out to scritch gently behind Koromaru's ears. ]

[vorbarra]

They're not... well, here, are they?