video | open to both courts

[extramural]

[ A bit of silvery mist is the first thing anyone sees on the broadcast, then the growl of a one of the dog spirits. The Outsider hasn't quite gotten the hang of the Patronus charm yet, but it's fairly effective in getting the creature back enough to then slam it with a blast of wind magic.

His locket is bobbing up and down next to him, recording the whole thing from the side so that viewers can see both the dog being hit by magic and the Outsider (and his rather impassive) face. ]

It would seem that we missed a few of the grave sites.

[ Fear is a strange thing for a being who has seen so much; there's a tingle of it, but he's far more fascinated by it than anything else, at least for now.

The dog has only been knocked back and he lunges forward again; there's an irritated sigh and he pulls out a small, black-bladed knife and slashes at the beast's throat. ]

I'm finding that the alteration of my powers in this world is more and more of a hardship.

((ooc: if anyone else is in or around Caer Scima, feel free to come join him!))

Comments

[extramural]

And in comparison to what there were? Cities are built on bones, and this war has been going on for a very long time.

[ You could build a palace out of all of the bones scattered around the Empire, hidden beneath the earth or rotting out on the streets. You could have done it even before the plague. ]

[andallbite]

[ Right, he's heard the news about where these beasts supposedly come from. It's no wonder there was a desperation out there for as many bones to be buried back in the castles as possible. Which means there are likely hundreds—thousands?—of these wandering souls to be put down still lingering out there.

Eren makes a sharp inhale through his nose. ] We've got our work cut out for us—yeah, I know. It could be worse, but I don't think saying that makes it any better.

[extramural]

I've found that there are always some who find a positive note to latch onto, though the overwhelming notion of humanity is to be rather gloomy about everything.

[ "Weh, everyone's dying of plague" and so on. Yes, but the city is less crowded! ]

[andallbite]

...

[ He's no shining beacon of optimism, but come on. What are you expecting from him, man. ]

It's being realistic, not gloomy. How positive could anyone make this?

[extramural]

I don't know. But I expect it will be interesting to find out.

[ sorry were you mortals having problems ]

[andallbite]

[ Ah, what a bro... ]

The only thing we're gonna be finding out is how many we end up killing. [ If this keeps up, it's what they're all going to be doing for a while. ] They're not impossible to wipe out. I can say that much.

[extramural]

No. They belong to Death, and they will return to him -- we just have to help them along, it seems.

[andallbite]

This is a weird way to be helpful.

[ So in other words, those prettied words go in one ear and out the other. ]

Nothing about it seems different than any other monster trying to hunt us all down.

[extramural]

Have you encountered them in person?

[ Do most other monsters grip you with fear? ]

[andallbite]

Yeah. Three of them, in the forest south of Caer Scima.

[ And what a day that was. ]

Didn't go down so easily, but they're dead now.

[extramural]

Magic seems to work best. Though I suppose that may be expected.

[andallbite]

[ It figures. With how much he's heard the word over and over during his short stay, magic seems to be everything. ]

I don't know anything about magic. All I've got to work with are my blades.

[extramural]

They work. It is simply more difficult.

[ Alice is certainly making due. ]

Is there magic in your world?

[andallbite]

[ It sure as hell is, but he won't ask to make it easier. It never is, never will be. Life doesn't often like lightening up. ]

No, there isn't. It's... [ Eren trails off, briefly, eyes narrowing in thought. ] There's a lot more here than what we've got.

[extramural]

What is it that your world has?

[ He's ever-curious, especially now that he's more limited in what he can do. ]

[andallbite]

[ A tough question to answer. It's a lot easier to say what it doesn't have. He made a remark about how humans tend to be gloomy about most things—unfortunately, Eren is about to prove his point. ]

People who are struggling to survive—there isn't all the land or food we're provided here. And monsters of our own that want to wipe us all out. They're the reason everything's been hell for everybody.

[extramural]

I come from a place that is- similar. There is a plague that ravages the main part of the largest Empire, one with no know cure. The rich still manage to profit off the dead, and the hungry are all the hungrier.

[ Sometimes life is just gloomy. ]

[andallbite]

[ It sure is. He seems vaguely surprised their circumstances are this similar, though. ]

Then I guess I don't have to explain any more than that, huh? [ It's an extremely wry remark. ] Not much about it is a happy story.

[extramural]

No. Yet some survive, even now.

[andallbite]

Because dying is giving up, that's why. The only way you can change anything is by living.

[extramural]

It is rather difficult to live when there's a plague, though.

[ Like. Medically. ]