yourfononsarewhack | Appointments [Luceti]

[Today was a very important day and Anise had very important things to do.]

[Well, maybe not very important, but they seemed important enough to her! The house was out of food, and she needed a buddy to go food shopping with. She hadn't gotten to see Luke a lot lately, and he usually didn't have anything to do this time of the day, so he seemed like the best choice! Not only that, but if she went with Luke, she could usually bully him into going to some of the other stores later with her, too! And then finishing off the day at the cafe.]

[Only, Anise was having some trouble finding the redhead. He was usually in his room around now, but nobody answered when she knocked. She couldn't seem to find him anywhere else in the house, either. Luckily, it wasn't too long before she ran into the Colonel! If anybody knew where he was, it would be him, right? She'll happily approach him and try to get his attention.]

Hey, Colonel! Have you seen Luke today? I can't find him.

[And they had very important plans together. That he didn't know about yet, of course.]

[Jade made it his business to keep tabs on his housemates and their respective wellbeings. So it was early in the morning when he realized that Luke had disappeared. He was waiting for a moment to break the news to the entire house. As far as he knew, Luke hadn't made many outside friends this time around, so there was no need for a full announcement.

He looks down towards Anise with a vague frown, his hands in his pockets. Well, it looks like someone will be finding out before the others.]

Anise. I'm afraid that there's unfortunate news on that front.

[Anise had known the Colonel for a really long time, and so she knew that when he stopped making jokes about something, it was really bad.]

[Still, she couldn't figure out what that 'really bad' thing could be. It hadn't really hit her yet that people here could just leave. Sure, maybe Guy had done it, but he was Guy! He left to do stuff for Malkuth all the time back home, so him being gone here didn't really make a difference. Luke was more of a permanent fixture, so it was harder to imagine him being gone.]

[The worst she can imagine is that he's been abducted for some bad mission by the Malnosso. Yeah, that had to be it!]

Did he get taken by the scary robots? We have to go save him!

[Jade shakes his head.]

I'm afraid that's not the case. He's now... well, he's out of our reach. [He takes a small pause before speaking frankly.]

Anise, Luke's room is currently empty. He's not in this world anymore; he's returned home.

[Oh.]

[Oh.]

[That wasn't fair. This wasn't fair! This world was supposed to be the place where they were finally happy; it was where Ion was still alive, and all her friends were too. And that place wasn't complete without Luke!]

[But, there's a tiny part of Anise that's going to cling to a small hope.]

But, he'll be back, right?

[People showed up again after leaving all the time. At least, that's what she'd been told. Gloomietta showed up again after she left, why couldn't Luke, too?]

[Jade's expression does not change. He looks down towards her quietly.]

Anise. It may be a possibility, but it is far from a certainty. [It isn't fair. It really isn't. Then, so much of Luke's life was unfair. It was unfair that in the end, he had to sacrifice himself. And now, it was unfair that he had been returned to that fate.]

There are many who return home without ever returning, at least not yet.

But, I mean...

[Jade's not changing his expression and it's really starting to worry her. She'd kind of hoped that maybe the Colonel had come from a point in the future where they'd managed to find Luke. But if he wasn't even bother to joke around, it had to be really serious.]

What if they don't have somewhere to go back to? They'll return then, right?

[He imagined this would prove to be difficult. He tries to look her in the eyes.]

You should know as well as I do that the world is not so kind or fair. Especially not this one. [He takes one hand out of his pocket to push at his glasses softly.] Besides that, it would be more obvious if that were the case. The likes of Sync and Gelda Nebilim would still be here in this world, for instance.

[He goes on, wit a calming tone in his voice. He's not frustrated or exasperated.]

I know that I'm asking something difficult of you, Anise. But this will be healthier for you in the long run. You have to accept the truth of what's happened, or at least recognize it as a possibility. Luke is gone. Gone to whatever fate he experienced in the end of Eldrant.

Appointments [Luceti]

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