[Sieglinde can count on one hand the members of Guild Ophelia that had been with her since the beginning. Since Anwick, that first confusing, tragic world, since Chantes, in the darkness, or even Nalawi, when it seemed as if ALASTAIR would be torn apart. It felt both so long ago and just yesterday at the same time. Three birthdays she has held amongst these people.
So much had happened. And changed.
The idea that it might end... but she supposed it wasn't really an end. It was another change. Something that she'd always known she was duty-bound to do... and yet-
She pokes her head into rooms, peeks behind doors, and peeks down halls, even though she knows she could use the magitech to message, or even check his location. She's not sure why.
But there are things she must do first. And one of those things is find Loki.]
[ everything as changed, and everything will keep changing, that's what he's about. it's his nature. there's a want that turns to need, and a need that turns to desperation. the story of Loki has resonated through different worlds, like an announcement of a critical birth. some part of him feels like he still doesn't deserve it, but he wonders if he'll ever reconcile with that.
he's in his room, munching on some snack that he stole while carelessly flipping through Dany's copy of her world's history. since he can't nerd it out when she's around, he's gotta nerd out when she's not.
[He speaks, and she stares at the back of his head struggling for the simple words of greeting.
How did it feel like just yesterday that he had charmed his way into her orbit with a single glass of beer traded for a share of blueberry pie? Just yesterday that she had gathered little cervine creatures about her on a beach and told them the story of the trickster god who walked among them, only to then swear them to secrecy to ensure they would whisper it amongst themselves all the more excitedly? Just yesterday that she had lain in bed with freshly rebroken feet looking forward each morning to waking to more "homework" at her bedside? Just yesterday that she had sprawled across his lap in the Oska courtyard with her illusion broken and her greatest secret in offering in his hand? Just yesterday that she had clutched stolen documents from Zymandis' labs to her chest and posed for a photo before the crystal that would shatter to pieces? Just yesterday that he'd shared a strange yellow snack cake-
Ah. That was just yesterday.
It was easier now, looking back, to remember the good moments. But even the darker ones seemed so bright now, that she might lose then possibility of more.
Despite herself, despite her intent to see him off as the mature and beautiful Green Witch... there's the threat of tears already in her voice when she tries to smile, reaching out to clutch the doorframe so she does not falter.]
[ Loki never deemed himself the best person for anyone. even when he helped, his motives were unclear, and his own selfish whims always threatened to take hold. when those younger than him were concerned, he didn't trust himself: it came with his own existential trauma, and the baggage would threaten to destroy him.
perhaps his time with ALASTAIR, and then Hathaway had made him softer. if anyone said so much, he would deny it. that's not exactly the image he was going for—even if he wasn't sure what image he was going for anymore. ]
Ah—[ she's in distress, and it automatically causes a pang of indecision. ]—what's with the face?
It just seems completely the wrong thing to do, no decorum at all, no respectability, but an attempt at one half splutters out despite, for having not anticipated such a question. Though she probably should have, really. She tries to twist her lips into a smile, manages, bittersweet though it was, a bit shaky at the edges, but.
It's the face of someone saying goodbye. Not just to anyone.]
I came to tell you that Hathaway had offered to return me to my world. ... and that I accepted.
[ Loki is not used to people leaving him, it's quite the opposite. he's used to leaving the people around him in favor of new starts and rectifying old behaviors. for a moment he's quiet, as if he's trying to ingest it, or if he's trying to make up for not knowing what to say. ]
...
Why?
[ he's curious, and feels as if he's entitled to the answer. if she's leaving him, then he would like to know of it. ]
[She's asked herself the same question a hundred times.
It's so tempting to stay. She wants to stay. Part of her even thinks she's mad to go. Despite all the trouble she's gotten into, the pain she's weathered, the people she's lost... she loved it here. With this group. With Loki, and Urahara, and Ahad...
But in the end...]
I have duties back in my world that cannot be fulfilled here.
[Of the very few people she's spoken to about those duties, only Urahara perhaps knew more. The truth of the Green Witch. What she had done. What she had to fix.]
... I cannot abandon them.
[She can't die out on one of these missions before she makes it right. She isn't like some of the others. She isn't immortal, or indestructible, or even really all that powerful.
She has her brains.
And though her heart tells her to stay... her head says she has to go.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
goodbye action;
So much had happened. And changed.
The idea that it might end... but she supposed it wasn't really an end. It was another change. Something that she'd always known she was duty-bound to do... and yet-
She pokes her head into rooms, peeks behind doors, and peeks down halls, even though she knows she could use the magitech to message, or even check his location. She's not sure why.
But there are things she must do first. And one of those things is find Loki.]
every time i come to this im so not ready for it
he's in his room, munching on some snack that he stole while carelessly flipping through Dany's copy of her world's history. since he can't nerd it out when she's around, he's gotta nerd out when she's not.
when she peeks in, he doesn't look up. ]
...
Well, hello.
Me neither...
How did it feel like just yesterday that he had charmed his way into her orbit with a single glass of beer traded for a share of blueberry pie? Just yesterday that she had gathered little cervine creatures about her on a beach and told them the story of the trickster god who walked among them, only to then swear them to secrecy to ensure they would whisper it amongst themselves all the more excitedly? Just yesterday that she had lain in bed with freshly rebroken feet looking forward each morning to waking to more "homework" at her bedside? Just yesterday that she had sprawled across his lap in the Oska courtyard with her illusion broken and her greatest secret in offering in his hand? Just yesterday that she had clutched stolen documents from Zymandis' labs to her chest and posed for a photo before the crystal that would shatter to pieces? Just yesterday that he'd shared a strange yellow snack cake-
Ah. That was just yesterday.
It was easier now, looking back, to remember the good moments. But even the darker ones seemed so bright now, that she might lose then possibility of more.
Despite herself, despite her intent to see him off as the mature and beautiful Green Witch... there's the threat of tears already in her voice when she tries to smile, reaching out to clutch the doorframe so she does not falter.]
Hello, Loki.
[Goodbye, Loki.]
no subject
perhaps his time with ALASTAIR, and then Hathaway had made him softer. if anyone said so much, he would deny it. that's not exactly the image he was going for—even if he wasn't sure what image he was going for anymore. ]
Ah—[ she's in distress, and it automatically causes a pang of indecision. ]—what's with the face?
[ smooth. ]
no subject
It just seems completely the wrong thing to do, no decorum at all, no respectability, but an attempt at one half splutters out despite, for having not anticipated such a question. Though she probably should have, really. She tries to twist her lips into a smile, manages, bittersweet though it was, a bit shaky at the edges, but.
It's the face of someone saying goodbye. Not just to anyone.]
I came to tell you that Hathaway had offered to return me to my world. ... and that I accepted.
[The important point.]
no subject
...
Why?
[ he's curious, and feels as if he's entitled to the answer. if she's leaving him, then he would like to know of it. ]
no subject
It's so tempting to stay. She wants to stay. Part of her even thinks she's mad to go. Despite all the trouble she's gotten into, the pain she's weathered, the people she's lost... she loved it here. With this group. With Loki, and Urahara, and Ahad...
But in the end...]
I have duties back in my world that cannot be fulfilled here.
[Of the very few people she's spoken to about those duties, only Urahara perhaps knew more. The truth of the Green Witch. What she had done. What she had to fix.]
... I cannot abandon them.
[She can't die out on one of these missions before she makes it right. She isn't like some of the others. She isn't immortal, or indestructible, or even really all that powerful.
She has her brains.
And though her heart tells her to stay... her head says she has to go.]