Conversation Space II.

[powersthatbe]

As Thorne shared with the network, Travelers who vanish find themselves alone in a small room. But it doesn’t look quite as described last time. Paper lanterns hang in the corners, and a lemniscate of live, spicily scented blue roses traces a figure eight on the floor. A little marble plinth sits beside the looping roses, with a champagne flute balanced on it, pink, fizzy liquid quietly effervescing within. In place of the throne that was there before, each half of the loop holds a brown leather sphere - a yoga meditation-ball chair. They’re a little tricky to balance on.


The walls, floors, and ceiling are tiled, a prismatic fade from one color to another, each tile unique, just slightly different in hue than those around it, each colored line giving a sense that it belongs to a bigger pattern, but never revealing enough to allow anyone certainty about what that pattern might be. It is only a glimpse of a larger world… in this small, quiet space.

Comments

[senpaidol]

Rise blinks in surprise for a moment, looking around.

"Oh, so they redecorated...," she says, rapidly trying to cover up her nervousness. She's not the smartest girl she knows, but she can see what's coming as well as anyone else. The decor really does catch her eye, though, especially the flowers and the tile pattern.

"Well, whoever set this up, I like your taste a little better than the one Thorne-san saw..." she says, looking around (and thinking around, in case Psychic Detection works) for a sign of who's coming to meet her.

[callmemeibe]

"I shall take that as a compliment." On one of the meditation chairs is a woman, balanced perfectly still, her hair held back only by a golden chain. She wears a traditional kurti with shalwar, also embroidered in gold. She holds her hands in her lap - all eight of them - and they, too, are covered in gold bangles. But she seems to make little sound as she carefully stands, using the spear in her lowest right hand to steady herself.

"I mean you no harm. You have questions?"

[senpaidol]

Rise doesn't recognize the beautiful woman, but she does recognize the many arms from legends about her ultimate Persona, and from quite a few other cultures, and she has the sense to bow.

"Oh, you're...welcome," Rise says, still a little shocked at her sudden appearance. "I don't think you're who I was expecting, but...I guess my first question is who you are."

"I'm Rise," she adds, for politeness's sake, not because she thinks the woman doesn't know that.

[callmemeibe]

She bows in return, respectfully.

"Who did you expect? PSYCHE?" She asks, curiously, leaning against her spear like a staff.

"Strength, The Eighth Arcana, Durga... any of these."

[senpaidol]

"I think I'll go with Durga, if that's okay," she says, cautiously picking up the champagne flute. "It sounds the most like a name instead of a title. And yeah, I was expecting her. She's the Arcana of my Persona, and I've uh...kinda been doing stuff relevant to her since January."

She looks at the flowers on the floor. "...the figure eight's from your card though, right? The roses are beautiful."

[callmemeibe]

"That's fine," she answers with a nod. "I'm glad you like them." She motions to the roses with the butt of her spear. "Beautiful, hardy, delicate... yet painful when messed with." She seems to take pride in that description.

Durga thinks about how to answer Rise's question, frowning. "I'm not one for many words, I'm afraid. I'll try to explain, as best I can. Your Personas need not match us. Only you do, your values and traits."

[senpaidol]

Rise frowns.

"I've never thought of being strong or tough as one of my traits...," she admits. "Most of the time there's danger, I'm hiding behind someone else."

She's not ashamed of this, it's just a fact that she's a lover and not a fighter. Battle Mode Himiko was an emergency exception.

[callmemeibe]

"My strength is not solely from power," the woman corrects, shaking her head. "That is the domain of one who died."

She pauses, for just a moment, trying to come up with the right words to describe their connection. "I don't ask you to be cowardly. My older brother would withdraw himself. But I don't ask you join the frontlines. My younger sibling would charge headlong into battle. I only ask that you try. Comprehension and perseverance win a war; physical strength doesn't. Compassion and inner strength weaken most any danger."

[senpaidol]

She nods along with the description. "Oh...so it's like inner strength, right? I can sorta see that."

Rise carefully, with a lot of trained balance, takes a seat on the meditation ball. "What exactly are you asking me to do, though? I get the impression you guys are having a contest, but we all kinda had our own stuff going on before you brought us here, and it's not...usually clear what's going on."

She doesn't use the word 'kidnapped', but she hopes Durga is aware that is the word most of the Travelers would use.

[callmemeibe]

"I ask that you uphold my ideals. You're more likely to understand what I mean. At least, more than most Travelers." She doesn't seem interested in dwelling on what that means, but she does add, after a moment, "It will be made clearer in this phase. Prevarication is no longer necessary. A single elimination tournament will decide the winner."

[senpaidol]

"A tournament, huh?" she asks, a little gloomily. That sounds familiar even if people from earlier weeks had pretty much eliminated 'death match' as an interpretation of that. "D'you mind if I ask why you guys need to compete at all, though? I always figured every Arcana had its place in peoples' lives. Like, you're all part of a set without one or the other being more important."

[callmemeibe]

The woman frowns, visibly, and she folds two of her hands together. With a twist of both wrists, cards fan out in her hands, and she holds them out for Rise to see. "Not anymore."

They appear to be the Major Arcana from a particular tarot set. Four cards are suspiciously missing.

[senpaidol]

"Oh. Right. The...departed guys."

Rise bows her head a bit. She never met them or anything, but it's sad that the Arcana lost...siblings? Members of the same metaphysical species, anyway.

"I was sorry to hear about that. So does this mean this is all happening because some of you are missing?" she asks, wondering if that's where Durga is going with this.

[callmemeibe]

"This happens despite their deaths. The game continues, though we've lost so many." She frowns, reversing her previous motion to make the cards disappear. "But I intend to fix that. I will return us to our full number. But I need to be the victor."

[senpaidol]

"What else are you going to do if you win?" she asks, genuinely curious. "All of you guys want something different out of this game, right? Making the universe more like you?"

[callmemeibe]

"Indeed. Patience, compassion, stability, perseverance, comprehension, serenity, gentleness, softness. Would the World suffer with more of these? I think not." She seems to be fairly proud of that fact, holding her head high. "If I revive our fallen, we'll be stable. Such a thing is... inherent to my nature."

[senpaidol]

"That all sounds...well, wonderful, actually," Rise says, sipping her drink. "I think if I have to be on any of your guys' side, this sounds like one of the best ones."

"I just...I think it's only fair I tell you. I've met gods who had all the best intentions for the world before, but that doesn't necessarily mean I agreed with them," she cautions.

"I'm happy to be on your team, but uh...you don't mind if I hold you responsible for doing right by humans, right? Or Travelers, I guess I should really say. I'm probably being too suspicious, but my best friend is a detective."

Not that she could imagine Naoto ever saying the same thing to Sun, but it's a convenient excuse.

[callmemeibe]

"I am glad you think so. It will make the coming matches much smoother." She smiles almost fondly, adding, "I'm glad I was able to choose you."

She considers the question, carefully, twirling her spear from hand to hand almost as a reflex. "You must understand one thing first. I will protect my kind. If the Travelers choose something foolish, then..." Durga pauses once more, her spear suddenly stopping in her hands. "But where I see no threat. To our lives, or to my idiom. I will help all Travelers, and you especially."

[senpaidol]

"I think that's a deal I can work with," Rise says, nodding. Easier than contract negotiation, really, since this is more a mutual understanding that they're keeping an eye on each other.

"So what exactly do you need me to do?" she asks. "Keep everyone, uh, balanced? Is there gonna be like a briefing or something when it's your turn to play?"

[callmemeibe]

"Do not allow the weak to be undefended. Show mercy to your enemies if they surrender. Keep yourself calm in turbulent times. So in other words... exemplify my values."

Durga thinks on it for a second, then nods. "I will guide you when I play."

[senpaidol]

"Well, I tried to do that already," she says, nodding affirmitively. "I guess watching everyone almost make huge mistakes in Inaba prepared me for this journey, huh?"

"You've got yourself a deal, Durga-san."

[callmemeibe]

"Thank you. I will keep my promise, too. I wish you luck on your Journey."

She bows her head toward Rise, extending her eight arms elegantly, and in the next moment, she finds herself back in Liminal Space, as if nothing had ever happened.

Well. Save for a rose at her feet.

[senpaidol]

"Aw," Rise says, kneeling down to pick the flower up. "I like this new thoughtful kind of weird interdimensional conspiracy."