The Weight of War

Given all the time that Kita has spent in Tolbana, taking the city under her Impish wings, it is no surprise that she would make the place her permanent home. With finding a place to call her own, also meant taking a leap that she and Jurou had never really taken in the real world. Moving in together.

They had only moved the last of their things in to the loft room a short time before everything seemed to break, leaving the world in a new form of chaos. A new stress that now weighs on Kita's shoulders as new threats and hints at the nature of their reality loom.

The room is on the upper floor of a slant-roofed house with a shop below belonging to some Lander or another. There is just enough room for the two of them and a single large bed, some furniture, and little else. Kita is just returning to the appartment, her hair damp from a trip to the bathhouse, having tried to ease her own worries. She's in her more casual clothing, with simple slacks and a button-front white shirt and her usual arm sleeves.

"Let it just stay quiet for tonight." She murmurs to herself in as if it were a quiet prayer.

It had been a little bit of an adjustment, but at the same time, it had seemed natural to Jurou that they would move in together now they were together - in the real world circumstances had conspired against it happening. So it was a happy surprise when it had been suggested.

Jurou had been helping out in Alne, and so hadn't always been home, but with things being so chaotic, she'd made a point of being around to back up Kita even if she hadn't always been as able to participate in the boss battles. Today, she was providing backup in the form of dinner.
    
The faint hint of smoke and steamed dough hangs in the moist air as Kita arrives, and on the small table sits a wooden basket of steamed meat buns and a bottle of teriyaki sauce, and Jurou turns to the sound of the door opening with a cup in hand, her face lighting up at the first peek of those bright blue bangs. "Welcome home" she says.

It's the smell of food that catches her nose first, leaving Kita sniffing the air before she asks, "You cooked?" Of course, being a Salamander, Jurou had a better shot at actually not burning things to the ground. Kita... well let's just say she isn't the best at anything that requires time in the kitchen.

Pushing her glasses up on her nose, Kita manages to put on a smile, setting a book down on the table and then coming up to kiss Jurou lightly on the cheek. "Sorry I'm a bit late. I needed to wash up after helping with the refugees. Things are... a little rough right now, but we got most of the people from Eas settled."

Jurou would, at least, be aware that the non-combatants from the Olympus territory of Eas had been evacuated here to Tolbana. Kita had been instrumental in making sure they were checked for enemy infiltration, and then settled throughout the city. "Have you... been listening to the chimlinks much?" She asks, as if trying to weigh how much she needs to bring Jurou up to date on.

"Well, sometimes you do need someone to remind you that food is a thing", Jurou says with a teasing quirk of her lip, "I bought some ingredients and made something simple that I can throw together with a little time, a table, and a little dragon power" She emphasises the last part by blowing a little tongue of flame between pursed lips.
Jurou wraps an arm around Kita, holding her close after that kiss for a moment to enjoy the closeness, the warmth, and the sweet smell of the shampoo Kita must've used at the bath. "Well done. Was it bad?" Jurou asks, letting Kita slip free after the brief hug. "I have heard ... some things? I check in from time to time. But maybe you could fill me in on the important things." she takes a few steps over to their little table and gets comfortable so they can talk and eat.

"Well, that was a while ago, admittedly." Kita murmurs with some hint of embarassment. "Though, I can't guarantee it won't happen again. Though I don't know if I'll try to research much more about Alv art until we're not at risk of being attacked on any given day." The idea of losing her sense of time and a good idea of what is important with threats looming on their doorstep seems like something best to avoid.

"Yes yes, you're an impressive dragon." Kita laughs softly, her whipcord Imp tail lightly tracing down along Jurou's draconic one before rolling her eyes indulgantly.

After that moment of closeness, she eases back, heading to the table and then settling down with a heavy sort of sigh. Around others, she might force a demeanor, but around Jurou... it's easier to be herself. "Apparently some of our people talked to a few Palace Landers the other day. Good ones, apparently. They call themselves the 'Uncrowned'." Rather than eating right away, she sort of pushes some food around on her plate.

"They said that when we die here in the game, we lose memories, parts of ourselves. If we lose enough, we'll stop being us completely and just be like the Landers. After that, if someone dies again, they're just... gone." Kita, being the one that often goes into boss battles and risks her life, seems tense admitting this much. How often had she nearly died?

The air is quiet for a long moment, "I'm not how I feel about that... I can't imagine what I'd do if either of us..." she looks down at the table, "Even just losing memories, losing ourselves, it would be really bad." a statement which seems completely inadequate to describe the worry in her tone.

"Is there anything we can do to stop it?" she asks, looking up at Kita, "I know we still have to keep taking risks to find our way out, but..." and she's not sure exactly what to say after that.

The Imp's tail twitches slightly, an obvious sign of her own anxiety around the whole istuation. "I don't know that any of us are sure what a safe number of 'deaths' is. Even saying it sounds weird." Kita admits. She stabs a bit of food and munches it down, seeming to use the quiet to consider what she's going to say next.

"Honestly, I don't know anything about trying to stop that kind of thing. Maybe that's something Doc might be able to look into?" She's likely referring to Prophylaxis, who acts as one of the major leaders within Scale Emblem, and is both a healer in-game, and a medic in the real world. "It's... probably bit beyond what an artist can fix. I'm not sure portraits and sculptures is the answer there." She murmurs.

Then, those stormy blue eyes look over at Jurou, trying to offer some measure of reassurance, "Well, some of my happiest, and saddest memories are all wrapped up in you. So I don't think I'd end up forgetting you, regardless. Besides... we're here together, so I'm not sure that's even possible." Since, they would be making new memories of each other all the time, right?

"I've been getting more used to the boss fights, though they still scare the ever living crap out of me. But I don't think it's something we can just give up on, you know? Even if... even if a lot of the things we left behind might not be so easy to get back." It had been a year. If the real world runs anywhere close to the time here in Elder Tale, the chances of Jurou reclaiming her scholarship and reclaiming her athletic dreams seems lost. That is something that still weighs on Kita, despite how many times they've talked about it.

"It kind of sounds like the safe number is zero, it's just a question of how bad it is each time." Jurou sighs, sitting the steaming bun down with a bite missing on the table. "Yeah, I don't think there's a whole lot I can do either, I mean, I hit things and set stuff on fire. Occasionally make buns." Of course, Jurou has several character skills she's not had as much opportunity to make use of.

Jurou reaches out a hand to Kita, palm up to offer her a hand to hold. "I- I think I have to come with you on the next raid. I don't want you risking yourself without being able to help keep you safe. I've been avoiding it for long enough."

"I wish I had the answers, but... right now we're just scratching the surface." Kita replies, offering a shake of her head. However, when Jurou reaches out her hand, she takes it, squeezing her glove covered fingers around her own. "Either way, we both need to be careful." She notes.

The prospect of Jurou coming along on the read is only met with a brief moment of uncertainty before she nods. "At least that way, we can protect each other, right?" She offers. "Just make sure that if things get bad, you withdraw, okay? Even if I'm still fighting." Kita is a little higher level than Jurou, which is an odd contrast as Jurou had always been the more athletic in the real world.

"Right now, though, our focus is here. This war, this enemy. Promise me if you run into anyone from the Palace Lands, you run, okay? Don't try to fight them unless you're with a group. I don't want you getting caught and ending up... like them." Her brows furrow.

Jurou squeezes Kita's hand firmly, making eye contact as she disagrees after a brief pause to consider her reply "I'm not leaving you behind if there's anything I can do to help. We've got each other's backs. And that works both ways. I'll get out if we both can, or if there's nothing I can do to help."
As for the Palace Landers, Jurou looks a little confused "I don't follow - 'like them'?" She'd heard of the trouble, of course, but mostly in terms of the war being waged upon them.

In another world, another place and time, Kita would have leaned heavily on Jurou as her guardian and protector. The one that she had depended on so much to get through those rough highshchool years. Now, well... this new world has given her a chance to step into different shoes. "Just don't wait until I pull back. I've been... training a lot more than you have for these big fights. I'm... not as week as I used to be."

She offers a ghost of a smile, "In this world, I can protect you." Which does feel a little bit backwards of the way it used to be. Still, change is good. Then, when Jurou questins her comment, Kita pushes her glasses up on her nose. "Like the Crowned. Our enemies in the Palace Lands. From what we understand, they have headgear which forces them to be loyal and obey. I... wouldn't want to imagine being forced to fight you." Even the thought seems to pain her.

At that, Jurou lets out a little laugh, "Kita-ai, you've ~never~ been weak. I've always seen your strength, and I just want to share mine with you." Jurou sighs a little, "Since I've gotten here, I've been less than useful most of the time. But one thing I definitely need to do, is help keep you safe. Help keep us both safe."
"I'll be careful with the Palace Landers, yeah. That sounds awful. You too, ne?" She gives Kita a smile

There is a somewhat skeptical look that the blue and white haired girl offers as she looks towards her girlfriend of many years. She looks over the brim of her glasses. "I only found my strength because of you." At least, that is what Kita believes. "Besides, I'm still struggling with things." She waves her hands a little, rubbing at her wrist in a familiar way. Ever since her wrist had been broken at the dance those many years ago, she still rubs at it whenever she thinks about certain things.

"I don't want you to feel useless." Kita replies, looking up, her storm-gray eyes uncertain. "We could use more volunteers for the Tolbana patrols, or shifts at the checkpoint at the entrance to Aincrad." Those are all options that she can offer out. "Honestly, anything you can think of that might help protect us... all of us."

Jurou take Kita's hand by the fingers and draws it up so she can kiss the place Kita's worrying at. "You don't need to stress, right now you're safe and everything outside can wait."
"Yeah, I'll see if I can help out there. Gotta be some need for a big strong tank like me." she says. "The dojo is basically complete, I should show you sometime." she adds. Hopefully that helps our landers take care of themselves a little better.

There is a softening of Kita's expression as Jurou lifts that hand to her lips. A soft sigh follows. "I wish I could let go of the stress, love, I really do." Kita shakes her head softly, "I've been seeing the refugees from Eas. It reminds me of when all of us were trying to find a way out of Ezzo. I can't let these people down."

Her brows raise slightly at the mention of the dojo, "I'd love to see it. Right now, your dojo is just the sort of thing we might actually need. Something that can show we're here to support the Landers. Get more of them on our side."

"Okay, I'll take you to visit tomorrow. But for now, let's just just help you let go of some of that stress, and the best way to destress is cuddles" And with that and no more warning, Jurou pounces on Kita, with an enthusiastic hug, knocking her over on the bed and sending pillows tumbling to the floor with a floomph and a laugh.

For someone who so normally is trapped in the role of the serious guardian, the young woman lets out an actual girlish sound of surprise. Tumbling backwards, her glasses are knocked askew, some measure of the stress breaking off of her as she flops backwards. "Alright, alright. Come here..."

And with that, the two retire...