Dawn Horizon

Haru exchanged chims with Elly when she was arriving into Shibuya. Although Shiruba gets the wolf's share of the work in expeditionary work, Haru ends up with the Alliance's logistics. Raids require potions. Repairs cost money. Landers require softening up and the Hunter's Guild requires a steady negotiation of funds and rewards into and out of the ecosystem. Fortunately he handled guild and Alliance business in the morning and it left him to handle Atelier business, which is right next to Pela's cafe. Smart placement. People get cozy and sugary, look at accessories, and come on over. The downside is cleaning up the smudges on the glass displays.

Haru grabs a table to wait for Elly. He is a regular here. Has his own little table that is set in a neat, particular way. A man with a monocle and a tea cup. Its so upper class that is going to get a nosebleed and it'll be blue. Fance fance.

    Elly arrived in the morning, and has spent the earlier hours touring Shibuya. She has been here before on several occasions, but there is always something new to see and she wanted to check in on friends and perhaps make some new ones. Meeting at Pela's is perfect. She makes a point to wear the cape that Pela made for her. With just a little magical encouragement, it billows in a wind that isn't there. It's fun! It makes her feel like Batman.

    She needs a moment to spot Haru in the cafe. There's so much pink and purple that she was rather lost in appreciating it. She also has to pause to look at the food. They have so many kinds of cake here. She laments that there's no magic to give her enough room to try it all.

    It is not long before she comes to join Haru. "Hello, Haru! I hope you are doing well!"

    She cannot help herself, really. "I spent the whole day looking around Shibuya. It is wonderful how things are looking now."

Haru is a wonderfully monochrome figure in a... actually he fits right in. He could be a butler here. ELEGANCE! "Those are kind words, Elly. For a place that was occupied less than a year ago, having the atmosphere return to ease and commerce is favorable outcome. When we do it right, no one knows we did anything at all. Things heal," Haru makes his observation as he raises his cup of tea. Rather. It is coffee in a tea cup. ELEGANCE!

"There is plenty to talk about there, what with securing a route beneath the city to the upcoming commerce, but above all else, there is one nurse we need to talk about, right?" Haru mentions, getting right to the point of the matter. He asks one of Pela's dutiful waitresses to get him a few more snacks to nom on for this one. "I'm going to venture a guess you spoke a bit about it with her, but the results were obstructed or difficult to penetrate." He taps the rim of his cup, "I pray that isn't taken personally, if so. It is all part of the 'what' and 'why' of my sister."

    Elly sits down, folding her hands in her lap and settling her attention on Haru. Of course, she does take note of the treats ordered. Tae spoils her, yes, but her wife wants her to keep an eye open for new ideas. Pela's cafe is basically dessert heaven and fertile ground for new culinary experiments.

    "The recovery is a wonder. I hope that the turmoil of the past is rewarded with many years of peace to come." At least on Yamato's shores. She is quite aware of the problems still brewing in the east.

    "As for Uta, your guesses are accurate. I navigated into a space where she was very uncomfortable. She was exhausted. She asked me to come speak to you. While it is unusual, I want her to be healthy and feel safe. If she wants me to come speak to you, I will do so, and be grateful for anything I might learn." Elly laughs softly and adds, "If she wants me to go to the ends of the realm and slay the world serpent, I suppose I would do that, as well. Retirement be damned."

Haru takes a deep breath of the coffee while it is still hot, letting it fill his senses. His voice and demeanor is somber. Somber Haru may be the most dignified version, but it is also the least fun. Chuuni Haru is fun, but 'a lot'. Best that it is Somber Haru right now as he collects his thoughts. "In Uta terms, her asking you to speak with me is the same as asking you to go tackle the World Serpent. Or perhaps its the same as serving soup in a bowl that has been shattered onto the ground."

A hand gestures out as he takes to the topic with a serious, almost clinical air, "Uta did reach out and confirmed that she approves of relaying what I know. That there is no such thing as oversharing in this case, if I think it will help, and I think you are uniquely positioned to help, Elly. I hope you take this information with you to do just that, and it is in good care to do so. Uta is a precious person. She is kind and strong. Thoughtful yet mindful of the present. At her core she deserves much more and all the worlds have done is taken from her."

A sip of his coffee. "Dramatic, I know. But let it be known if anyone ever sought to willfully harm her again, that I would strip their soul down to the binary level, bind it to every church in Yamato, and and force it to rend in a cycle of retribution until a the Goddesses find merciful deletion. She does not need me to fight her battles for her, but there are some things I cannot abide. I feel, at some level, you feel the same way, and you can guide her to a better life."

Sip. "It starts in the Old World. Historical. Pluto's Kiss and the Flash of Death," he says, not able to focus on any particlar thing with his blue eye. Looking straight ahead. A spot in the distance.

    Elly listens to this in silence. She does not have to confirm what Haru already knows about Uta. And until she knows clearly what the tale is, she has nothing to add. So she pays attention.

    Her focus is on Haru's face, but carefully punctuated with glances away. Something she learned in the other world, where the story is to begin. The mention of those two curses causes a reaction. She flinches. Elly, like so many, suffered along with most of the world. It sets the stage well enough. She was braced for a tragic story already. Now she can only imagine it is going to be horrific.

    Silent as she has been, there is something she needs to say. Granted that words, such as they are, can easily be said. Elly, with her skills and background, has the skills to appear however she wants. Not only here, but in the world before. Faith in her is all that can support her assertion. Gently, she offers, "I love her, Haru. I want to care for her, as a.. to care for her as well as I can."

"The first thing to know is patience is a requirement," Haru says from a sea of 'first things' to pick from. "Uta was affected by the Flash of Death in the Old World. Those ticks that people lovingly attribute to Uta's randomness come, in part, to the way the Flash of Death influenced her thought patterns." The tea cup in his hand shatters. Haru has noodle arms, so it wasn't that. It was heat and raw mana. "I'll pay for that," he lets the waitress know when they look over. "And another coffea, please," he says as stately as ordering a scone while picking shards of ceramic out of his hand. The red light production does much to dull the pain and its a bloodless affair.

"The Flash of Death left Uta in a new 'reality' to content with where building, recalling, and welding memories together were different than what is natural. It takes continual energy to focus. So it comes in bursts of lucidity while learning to be happy with 'what is' by riding the waves of chaotic thought and energy that surrounds her processes," he says, taking a napkin to the spill on his navy jacket. Haru thanks the maid who gives him another cup. "It is not without it's darker days. Self-doubt. Lacking a frame of reference to anchor onto. Everything is that much harder, yet 'Healer heal thyself', is yet her path onward to pursue to career in medicine. In healthcare." This time he puts the cup down, "Before all the records of her education were erased by Pluto's Kiss. Some people did keep paper copies, backups. She blames herself for not doing so."

    As Haru lays out Uta's story, Elly gathers her focus. It is difficult, though. She is not hearing some tragic diagnosis of a patient relayed in a research paper. This is about Uta. Her Uta.

    Hearing is easy, but listening, understanding is hard. It's more painful than she expected. And for this pain, there is no relief. Nor should there be. Her tears show that she does, indeed, understand.

    Elly finds herself staring at her hands. She's wringing them together. She's been in this situation once before. But.. she reminds herself, it's different this time. She's different this time. And Uta is alive. Uta still has smiles in the future. Uta still can smile and know wonder in her world now.

    There's hope.

    "It's not her fault. None of it was her fault. If anyone is to blame, I am, and others like me. We failed to protect everyone."

There is indeed hope. "When it is dark, the hope of morning carries us through the night. Uta deserves that Dawn," Haru mentions. As for accountability. For blame? He takes a sip of his coffee to cover his take of it. "There are those that built the rifle. Those that pulled the trigger. Those that failed to stop it from reaching its target." A pause. "And those who got shot." His blue eye looks out the window for a time to watch people walking down the streets. "We live with our sins. They live with their wounds. None of it is fair, but the wounded have no choice but to remember the event. The manufacturers of their wounds, they do. So we must not forget. Others do not get that choice, neither should we. Thats our penance." No, Haru did not go deep into why he counts himself into that military-industrial complex, but the Himekawa connection has enough in there from conversations with Elly in the past to make his hands far from clean.

"For Uta to ask you to arrange this conversation," Haru continues as the silver haired young man shifts his attention back to Elly, "it was not an easy thing to do. She trusts you and she trusts me. Me to tell her tale. You to use the powers unique to you and help her. Because the call here is just that. She needs our help. And in doing so, she is helping us." A hand gestures in an academic 'therefor' way, "For people like you and me can't sit idle. She is giving us a way to help. She is giving herself a way to not feel powerless against the situation. That is Uta. Possibly the bravest, and smartest among us, in ways we haven't even thought about yet. She used her different way of thinking to think outside the box since she has already paid the cost of it. It doesnt mean she isn't vulnerable. That it doesn't hurt. All the time. Her anxiety attacks. Overstimulated memory floods. Grabbing onto focus like grabbing onto a slime." There is a smile there. "I often wondered if thats why she took to them so well. A medical slime well represents her thoughts at times. It appears all over the place, but it is a unique combination with its own identity."

Haru reaches for a snack, nibbling on it politely. He doesnt continue speaking until he has finished. "She has done much since her time here in Elder Tales. I believe that part you know as well as I do. Her power is to Heal. Herself. Others. Possibly this whole world. If Uta can come this far, even with everything that has happened, then what excuse is left for others not to find their own way, seek their own allies, and climb their own mountains." He motions to Elly, "She wants you to help. She doesn't know how to ask it or direct how one can even help. But she knows you'll do great at it."

    "The failures of the past are part of us, a reminder of our mortality. But everyone fails. Ultimately whoever intentionally caused these things bears the lion's share of the guilt. I only hope that divine wrath exists in all worlds and finds them. And that divine mercy guides us now, in helping those who are suffering."

    Elly's thoughts drift to memories of Uta. Her wonder, her excitement, her moments of shocking, brilliant clarity. These are all parts of her now, whatever their source. Shaped by experience, will, and pain.

    Elly's voice stays soft. She has a way of seeming smaller, her posture intentionally shifting to communicate her feelings, shoulders rounding and her head bowing.

    "I don't know how to help her. Not in a clinical sense. But I know how to love her, to give her a safe, warm place where she will be accepted as she is. I love her like a daughter, Haru. I hope that maybe, in this place, I will be able to do more than I could have elsewhere. Regardless, I will devote myself to helping her have the life she deserves."

    She settles her hands. Her eyes raise to look at Haru. "Her trust means the world to me. She's such a wonderful person. I've learned so much from her, and she's brought the best out of me. Along the way, I noticed that things were not quite right. I'm ashamed to say it, but I didn't seek to ask more questions. I was afraid I might hurt her, that she might turn away from me if I asked too much. But things have changed. Love can be surpressed, it can be delayed, but it eventually breaks free. Along the way, it makes us better people. It inspires us to our best actions. It lends us courage and faith. Even in ourselves."

"Indeed," is all Haru can say about the people intentionally behind this bearing the lion's share of the guilt. "Some of which are tied to Elder Tales itself, according to Helba," he tells her as he hasn't been able to penetrate much beyond that and the fragments of causality that can be confused for a path to justice. "It may be that all Uta needs is a safe place to be loved," he considers that as being enough, "the doubt and the isolation can't be cured by medicine. It needs something maternal, sheltering." However, Haru's expertise is in the technical. Microprocessors, transisitors, and logic boards. The brain can be seen as similar but so very, very different at the same time. "It won't be a grand action, but finding every grain of sand scattered to the wind and returning it to the beach it came from before the storm."

Haru shares something personal along those lines, his clinical approach softening up to what may be more helpful, "When my mother was afflicted, I found it was not medicine, brain scans, or biological therapy methods that worked. She was at her best when she was at her childhood home and onsen. The birds are what she responded to, as if she remembered the songs when she was a child and they connected her in some way to the present." He offers a suggestion, "And Uta is quite the Songbird, isnt she? Perhaps she can express herself through Song."

    Elly nods to the first. She doesn't understand the lore of Helba very well. She remembers that there are two Helbas. One made crowns, the other, Haru met. That there is a tie between this world and the evil of the other is a concern. But not one that she can address. Others with more skill will hopefully do so.

    "I will give her that safety. And be careful to tend to her gently. She is strong, of course, and not a little child. But everyone needs love. She deserves love. I'm honored and blessed to have her in my heart. She's the closest I've ever come to pure goodness."

    She smiles at the mention of song. It reminds her of how it started. How she moved closer, until Uta was simply too weary too continue. Understanding it now, Elly finds comfort. It was not pain. She did no harm. "It was song that led us to this place. To this conversation. We were dancing. I was revealing more of myself to her. It was the first time I directly told her that I love her. I am happy I said it. Happier still that it is true."

    She laughs then, raising a hand to wipe at her eyes. "As bad as things might be, I'm relieved. There are so many things in life that go wrong and from which all hope has slipped away. Not this time."

There are powers at work that do not comes from traditional places. If nothing else, Elder Tales puts those in a new light. Haru offers a polite smile and gives his coffee a sip. The journey was rather taxing for him, even if it was just to tell a tale. "Hope is the one thing that is always there. When all the lights turn out in the universe. Hope," he chuckles, "I am no Gatsby, but that is a thing that I am accutely aware of. Uta's power is to Heal. Mine, to Hope." He considers Elly for a moment, "I would say yours is to Love, Elly, and it is a force this world needs plenty of. To have you say that to her and lend your power to her may be the best gesture. Small for you as a font of it, but big for others who do not wield it," A hand taps the table, "And that is where having close friends and allies is so important to climbing these mountains. I know little of healing nor of love, but I do know people who do. Now that you know what is going on with Uta, I expect her future will be brighter. In turn she will heal, and heal others."

    Elly looks down at the compliment. Sincere praise is harder to accept, especially coming from someone who matters. Her mind is focused on Uta. On how to figure out what she needs to feel safe. On how to gently guide her to heal in what ways that she can. To be there every step of the way.

    "I want to be a safe space. For everyone. All my life I was judging people. I believed I could and should make decisions for others. I thought I knew best. I've hopefully learned not to think that way now. That almost cost me a very good friend."

    She meets Haru's eyes then. Her smile is a delicate thing, and sadness is there to be seen. But it goes as she speaks, "I'm sorry about that, Haru. I have made mistakes. Said things I should not have said and felt things I should not have felt. But for all that foolish, arrogant behavior... I hope it's okay to say that I'd love it if you gave yourself an extra dose of hope, as well. You're a pretty amazing person, you know? Uta has found herself a great brother."

Haru shakes his head slowly from side to side, "I accept your apology, but I do not begrudge you any of your mistakes. Remorse is the sign of a person wanting to do better, be better, which means to me every mistake along the way is a part in their path to being a better person. I want my friends to be the best versionf ot themselves. With that in mind, I play to my strengths of putting things to perspective. Love is blind at times, isnt it? It came from a place of love and I accept that."

Its the words that Elly would love it if Haru reserved some of that hope for himself. It makes him think as he looks to his cup of coffee. The one blue eye is that of an old soul. "Yes. Though. The way it works for me is reflective. Like the light of the sun to the moon. The moon doesn't become the sun. It knows its light because of the sun. So some of my Hope may yet come back to me." The blue eye looks back to Elly to clarify something, "I do not find myself irredeemable. Egocentric? Yes. Two thirds of the conversation finds its way back to talking about myself. Aloof? Yes. I could speak from the heart, but I speak objectively as if I have an authority on the subject, all subjects. Am I ashamed to be myself?" And the confidence falters there. "Perhaps. But I chose to focus on my remorse, not my shame. It drives me to do amazing things, if by perspective or by habit, by being accountable where I can hold myself accountable. I built a gun, a part of the blood is on my hands, and I my children's children may die before that debt has been paid in full." He isn't big on talking about his feelings in a healthy capacity, but he is giving it effort with Elly. "I know it is difficult to talk to me, or anyone, that engages in negative self-talk. Gwen has hinted at it as much. At least one other Sylph generated a gap due to it." A small smile on his lips, not polite, but sincere. Natural. "Learning to love myself is not easy, but I know my friends would want that. I may be a good brother to Uta and Uta is the world to me as my sister. If I can be the best version of myself, it is because she shares half of the burdens of my family, as I share half of hers. Even if she can't forgive me for what we did to her, ruining her life like that, she still wants those wounds to /heal/."

"So, yeah, Elly, that does give me Hope for myself. But I get it from seeing you and Uta," Haru says, "and there may be a day that light fills this starless sky within me. I'll start again and hope I rise from the ashes stronger for it. As many times as it takes. Then we can all sit at a table like this and toast to our health. It'll be a good day." One day.