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[stripedown]

Kisa Sohma | #FFDD99 | TEXT/ACTION

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[stripedown]

... Is this a quest?

[ Um. Because quests with Damian are always a bad idea. ]

[bittybat]

In a way, but not officially.

[LOOK, QUESTS ARE FINE WITH DAMIAN. They're fine. It's fine.]

The church is being rebuilt again. The wood, however, needs a protective lacquer so it doesn't rot. A polish. I can make linseed oil if I can find flax. [So maybe quests with Damian aren't always a good idea...] I'm going into the forest to search for some.

Success rate will be increased if... I'm joined... by someone with a stronger bond. Such as when we went to find the hen...

[stripedown]

... I'll go, but... I hope it'll be a little easier than that last time.

[ Without terrifying adult figures or kidnapping tigers. ]

[bittybat]

[His brows furrow.]

I cannot reasonably make any promises it will be any easier. Taking into account the forest is encroaching on the town, or had been, it may even be more difficult.

You are the last person I would normally be willing to take. [It seems as if it would be cold, the words, but he speaks them a lot more softly than normal.] The risk of danger is high. However, you are currently one of the only few remaining whose "bond" with me is strongest.

Your obligation isn't necessary. If you wish to refuse, I wouldn't be angry.

[stripedown]

It's okay. [ She knows what he means by now-- that he doesn't want to involve her in anything dangerous. And it's touching, but Kisa's already decided to support him. ]

I'll go with you.

[bittybat]

[Damian isn't sure if he should be surprised or not by the no-hesitation acceptance. Drawing in a thick breath, he exhales in a deep, exasperated sigh.]

Fine. We'll begin an expedition in a day or two, exactly as we did the last time. Stay close to me and don't wander off. I'll show you a drawing of flaxseed before we go, in case you spot it inside the forest.

Don't touch the trees. I don't trust them even if we're not chopping them down.

[stripedown]

All right. [ And she'll nod as gamely as always, even as she silently works to commit all of this to memory. Damian will remind her if she forgets anything, she knows, but she'd rather not risk irritating him. ]

... I don't really like what the town's been doing, anyway. I'll be careful.

[bittybat]

[Slowly, softly, Damian's lips thin.]

You mean in regards to the quests?

[stripedown]

Mm... that, and what happened when you were a statue. People... weren't acting like themselves.

[ This happens sometimes. ]

[bittybat]

[He frowns.] I'm unsure as to the reasoning behind the statue. I know others have done the same. Perhaps it's a punishment. [Or some kind of momentary salvation--but Damian isn't enough of an optimist for that.]

What do you mean people weren't acting like themselves?

[stripedown]

I... wasn't afraid of anything, but Maribelle wasn't... acting very formal, and Sierra was really strange too. Like she was more nervous.

[bittybat]

["I wasn't afraid of anything," yeah, that's a drastic change. Sierra being nervous, too. Wow. He missed all of the good shit.]

Another trick from the town, I assume. Or the forest, whichever you prefer to believe is behind what happens every month. [A pause.] How did it feel?

Having a backbone.