002.

[strangel]

FORM: Crystals
SENDER: Helena
RECIPIENT: everyone
WHAT: ??? family ???
WHEN: Early May
WHERE: Kirkwall
NOTES: (some talk of death and trauma in a few threads) when can she acquire her custom spec in sestrahood?

Hello crystals. I have question.

( There is a long pause before Helena continues. Long enough that it could seem plausible that the question is never coming. And then, with a rush, )

How do you be good twin?

I'm— not sure how to be good sister. We were being apart long time. I thought maybe peanut butters would be good present, but I think it made Sarah unhappy.

( Stiltedly, ) I stole her crystal, do not play this for her. Thank you.

Comments

[strangel]

( That causes her to stop. )

Little child died?

( That strikes her more than all the rest, probably. Children should be protected. Children should be kept safe. Her mouth tugs unhappily, expression flinching, though it is unseen over the crystals. )

What happened?

[exascendee]

[ God that's a complicated question. The other ones are slightly simpler to explain. Shifu, Skaara and Kasuf all ascended, but it's still accurate to say Skaara and Kasuf were killed. Shifu however... ]

Well, he's... If it helps, he's not exactly dead. He ascended to a higher plane of existence, which is kinda like an afterlife. He, uh... He had something inside of him that was dangerous, that could get a lot of people killed, and instead of risking anyone being hurt, he decided to move on.

[ See, this is another reason why he doesn't talk about this very often. He needs like an information packet just to explain the basics. ]

[strangel]

( A little child sacrificing themselves and going to Heaven. That is how she translates the words laid before her. She can't reply immediately, because she doesn't know how. There's a couple of attempts she makes trying to figure out how to speak, before she stops.

She remembers Kira reaching out to her, helping her. She remembers being the reason Kira was hurt, even only by accident, and she has to shake her head. )

That is... bad decision for anyone to be making. Especially child.

You must hurt much. I'm sorry.

[exascendee]

[ It's not an inaccurate translation, if you believe in Heaven. The main difference - for Daniel, who is not really religious - is that they have solid proof ascension exists. As in, they have communicated with them, and Daniel himself was ascended for a period of time. He wonders sometimes if he met Shifu during that time. It's one thing that he doesn't remember talking to his friends who he rejoined when he returned to life, but there's no one to tell him whether or not he talked to Shifu or how he's doing now. ]

[ He's a bit surprised with the compassion Helena shows, though. It's not entirely unexpected - she's obviously a much more caring person than she initially gives the impression of. Still. ]

Thanks. He had a lot of his mother in him.

[strangel]

What were they like?

My sister has a little girl. I think Sarah does not realise how much of her is making up Kira.

[exascendee]

Kind. And wise. Probably more so than I can aspire to be. [ His friends would probably disagree with that, but Daniel's always been pretty self-critical. He's glad when Helena brings up her own family. ]

Yeah? What's your niece like?

[strangel]

Kind and wise,

( she echoes. That is a good way to describe Kira. But, to go one better, )

She is little angel. Very precious.

[exascendee]

[ Daniel smiles warmly, imagining Helena with a little girl like that. It's surprisingly adorable. ] That's wonderful.

[ And then another thought occurs to him, and his smile is replaced by sadness. ] Don't suppose they're here, are they? [ Either option is sad. Either Helena is cut off from them, or they too have been stranded here. ]

[strangel]

Sestra, yes. Not Kira.

[exascendee]

Ah... Sorry.

[ That's... Probably pretty rough for her sister, separated from her daughter. But at the same time, this probably isn't the ideal place for a small girl from modern day Earth. ]