chroma | catchall for vin

[countermeasures]

i haven't had coffee yet so this won't be pretty yet

Comments

[allomantic]

[she nods, but...]

Jiuqing, may I ask - what happened to you while we were apart?

[countermeasures]

...

I really don't know where to start.

[allomantic]

The beginning, perhaps...?

[but even if she's curious, she doesn't want to push her to relive something horrible so soon after it happened. she knows it's difficult for her to think about all of it, especially what happened at the end.]

If it is not too difficult.

[countermeasures]

The beginning wasn't... too bad. I woke up alone on a tundra, and - heard footsteps. There were soldiers, and they called me a heretic, and attacked me... but I was rescued by someone named Ysayle.

When I asked how to get back, she said she didn't know, but that the dragons might be able to help me. So, she took me to... I think it was called Dravania?

[allomantic]

They attacked you? Were you badly hurt?

[she nods, though.]

Dravania... The version of Aymeric we met there mentioned something about it.

[countermeasures]

...I wasn't terribly hurt there, no.

[she nods slowly]

Did... you see him in Ishgard? I saw him there, too, before...

[before she went full monster and attacked them.]

[allomantic]

I am glad, though - I wish you weren't hurt at all.

[she nods.]

Yes. At the time, it seemed like it was really him... He talked about the Prism, and it seemed that he recognized Kashuu and I after some prompting.

[countermeasures]

He didn't recognize me at all, I don't think.

[well. there had been that moment... but then he'd just handed her potions. so, y'know, maybe that hesitation hadn't been out of recognition. aymeric is very kind, after all.]

But I didn't have much time to converse with him...

[allomantic]

We had to prod him into it, so... If you only spoke to him briefly, it would make sense.

[countermeasures]

[she nods slowly]

...what happened with the two of you? When you met him?

[allomantic]

...A man I knew from back home stabbed him and then we were arrested for being heretics.

[looks into the void]

[countermeasures]

...

Ah. I see.

[allomantic]

[she sighs.]

It was a convincing fake. He would have done something like that.

[countermeasures]

I was thinking more about... the Ishgardians. They do seem to jump straight to accusations of heresy, don't they...

[allomantic]

Did the same thing happen to you?

[countermeasures]

I didn't get arrested or anything. But... some Ishgardian soldiers did assume I was a heretic on sight at the beginning.

[allomantic]

Right - before you were rescued. I remember now.

[my reading comprehension help]

[countermeasures]

...you and Kashuu were together the whole time, right?

[allomantic]

[she nods]

Yes. Well - we were separated at the very end, but...

[countermeasures]

I'm really glad that, for the most part, you had each other.

[allomantic]

...I wish it had been the same for you.

[countermeasures]

It would have been nice. It just... didn't work out that way.

[allomantic]

If we had realized the others weren't real, maybe we would have tried harder to find you...

[countermeasures]

...you couldn't have known, Vin. Especially if the people you did encounter seemed to know of the Prism.

[allomantic]

[she shakes her head.]

I should have been able to tell with Vax, at least.