[Meanwhile, Ryunosuke has been beside himself with worry ever since Estinien took off the day before. News about Abel and Himeka had hit him hard, but whatever he was feeling at that time was absolutely nothing stacked next to Estinien's.
It had earned him another rebuke from the Entity. A less severe one than the last, at least, but it seemed the being had as much an issue with Estinien's emotional well-being being threatened as it did with the physical threat of the Kenoma. When the entity's presence had cleared, Ryunosuke had found himself in possession of yet another wing to match the first. And Estinien...
Full of anger and grief, he could not be calmed, nor reasoned with.
He'd taken off, despite Ryunosuke's protests, and what could an ex-lawyer do but helplessly watch him go? He has his own wings now, yes, but apparently they're nothing to match the Dragoon's. A clumsy attempt at a take-off-- something he wouldn't have dared try if he weren't so desperate-- earns him only a face full of wet sand, and a re-opened wound on his left arm.
He is no stranger to loneliness. Even so, he's fairly sure he's never felt quite so alone as he did in that moment: crumpled in the sand in front of the Lodestone, staring helplessly up through the waves, with only the sound of rushing water and a few sparkling crabs for company.
All the way back to Greentruth and hours past his return, that loneliness had persisted. He's at an utter loss for what to do next. He'd tried to reach out to Estinien by Communion, but of course the man hadn't answered... Where he had taken off to, Ryunosuke couldn't begin guess. Perhaps back to Venera? Or... No, surely the man wouldn't be foolish enough to head to Achamoth on his own. Would he...?
Ryu can acknowledge that he's wallowing rather dangerously in his own sadness, but times like these are when he feels the absence of his friends the most keenly. Times past, whenever he'd find himself in a rut with a case, he would turn to Susato for advice. Or Iris, wise beyond her years, might have some sort of practical advice to help him get his head back on straight. Often he even finds himself hoping he'll shift his gaze to some random part of a room, only to find Sholmes lurking there the way he always used to, nonchalant as if he'd been there the whole time.
None of them are here though. And much as he enjoys the company of several of his fellow Pleroma, he has yet to find anyone here in Horos who he feels totally comfortable reaching out to in that same way. Whatever he does next, it's up to him to figure it out himself. So... Where should he even start?
The Entity... It was clearly becoming a problem. For Estinien, for all of them...
Just as the Regent had implied, Ryunosuke notes to himself with some bitterness, so he'll give them half a point for saying one thing that's proving to be at least partially true. He knows he can't track Estinien down, but. Maybe he can get a bit more aggressive in trying to figure out what this thing is. Whether it can be reasoned with at all, or be gotten rid of...
That's how he winds up coming to the Shrine of the Innocent, at once taking out his shard and preparing the now familiar teleportation ritual which will bring him right there. He hasn't been to the Valley before, but he's heard of it from Dextera, and luckily enough he does have a very convenient visual reference for the proper sigil, uh... 'on hand'. It's a wild shot in the dark, and he has no idea if he'll even find anything there... But it's the only lead he's got. Hopefully, it's safe enough... Tehri had warned against Estinien going anywhere near the shrine, but she'd said nothing of the Promised.
Emerging from a flash of light outside the cavern, he hadn't expected to feel so soothed upon arriving. His worries and pains are still with him, but immediately, he finds it hard to feel quite so restless in this place. He's sort of lost in thought wondering at that, as he steps into the cavern.
He's really not trying to disguise his approach; he's too weary to even keep his new tail from dragging behind him across the ground as he proceeds. But he picks it up in a hot second, in tandem with puffing his new wings out. An automatic reaction of shock.
Someone is already here?
It's... That horse lady, from Venera. The one who wouldn't give him her name. And...
no subject
It had earned him another rebuke from the Entity. A less severe one than the last, at least, but it seemed the being had as much an issue with Estinien's emotional well-being being threatened as it did with the physical threat of the Kenoma. When the entity's presence had cleared, Ryunosuke had found himself in possession of yet another wing to match the first. And Estinien...
Full of anger and grief, he could not be calmed, nor reasoned with.
He'd taken off, despite Ryunosuke's protests, and what could an ex-lawyer do but helplessly watch him go? He has his own wings now, yes, but apparently they're nothing to match the Dragoon's. A clumsy attempt at a take-off-- something he wouldn't have dared try if he weren't so desperate-- earns him only a face full of wet sand, and a re-opened wound on his left arm.
He is no stranger to loneliness. Even so, he's fairly sure he's never felt quite so alone as he did in that moment: crumpled in the sand in front of the Lodestone, staring helplessly up through the waves, with only the sound of rushing water and a few sparkling crabs for company.
All the way back to Greentruth and hours past his return, that loneliness had persisted. He's at an utter loss for what to do next. He'd tried to reach out to Estinien by Communion, but of course the man hadn't answered... Where he had taken off to, Ryunosuke couldn't begin guess. Perhaps back to Venera? Or... No, surely the man wouldn't be foolish enough to head to Achamoth on his own. Would he...?
Ryu can acknowledge that he's wallowing rather dangerously in his own sadness, but times like these are when he feels the absence of his friends the most keenly. Times past, whenever he'd find himself in a rut with a case, he would turn to Susato for advice. Or Iris, wise beyond her years, might have some sort of practical advice to help him get his head back on straight. Often he even finds himself hoping he'll shift his gaze to some random part of a room, only to find Sholmes lurking there the way he always used to, nonchalant as if he'd been there the whole time.
None of them are here though. And much as he enjoys the company of several of his fellow Pleroma, he has yet to find anyone here in Horos who he feels totally comfortable reaching out to in that same way. Whatever he does next, it's up to him to figure it out himself. So... Where should he even start?
The Entity... It was clearly becoming a problem. For Estinien, for all of them...
Just as the Regent had implied, Ryunosuke notes to himself with some bitterness, so he'll give them half a point for saying one thing that's proving to be at least partially true. He knows he can't track Estinien down, but. Maybe he can get a bit more aggressive in trying to figure out what this thing is. Whether it can be reasoned with at all, or be gotten rid of...
That's how he winds up coming to the Shrine of the Innocent, at once taking out his shard and preparing the now familiar teleportation ritual which will bring him right there. He hasn't been to the Valley before, but he's heard of it from Dextera, and luckily enough he does have a very convenient visual reference for the proper sigil, uh... 'on hand'. It's a wild shot in the dark, and he has no idea if he'll even find anything there... But it's the only lead he's got. Hopefully, it's safe enough... Tehri had warned against Estinien going anywhere near the shrine, but she'd said nothing of the Promised.
Emerging from a flash of light outside the cavern, he hadn't expected to feel so soothed upon arriving. His worries and pains are still with him, but immediately, he finds it hard to feel quite so restless in this place. He's sort of lost in thought wondering at that, as he steps into the cavern.
He's really not trying to disguise his approach; he's too weary to even keep his new tail from dragging behind him across the ground as he proceeds. But he picks it up in a hot second, in tandem with puffing his new wings out. An automatic reaction of shock.
Someone is already here?
It's... That horse lady, from Venera. The one who wouldn't give him her name. And...
Ryunosuke sucks in a sharp breath.]
"Estinien!?"