first ❅ video;

[slightlyoblivious]

[It's been a while since Yukiko has been in the Tower at all - three months, give or take a bit. It shows in her face when she appears on the video feed; this isn't the face of a surprised newcomer. It's the face of someone who has explored enough to know that while she was gone, a lot of her friends have left. Her voice is just a bit shaky when she speaks.]

...hello, Tower. This is Yukiko Amagi. I was here, before, and now I'm back. I think it's been about three months. It's kind of hard to tell time when it passes on a dead world. One day blends into another after a while.

[She pauses, briefly, taking a deep breath.]

I know that there were people from the Japanese town of Inaba here before. They were my friends. I also tried sending them a message. I - I know that they're all gone. The message said 'user not found' for all of them, and so I went down to the graveyard to doublecheck. They're definitely gone.

I'll be okay, though. I know they're gone now, but I can be strong enough for all of them. I know I'm back here for a reason, and that reason must be to make sure they're saved, in the end. Really saved, not just 'saved' as in pulled here again.

...so. What did I miss while I was gone?

Comments

[no_longer_a_king]

A number of things, really.

Are you enjoying the lack of quiet? [That had been the main thing that had gotten to Arturia on her world: the quiet. The complete and utter quiet with only the wind or the flowing of water for noise. Nothing else. Not even the sound of insects or the rustling of plantlife as creatures scurried through the brush. Sometimes it even felt as if the winds themselves were slowly getting quieter.]

[slightlyoblivious]

I've heard about a few of them. Sounds like it's been a wild couple of months.

[She nods.]

I am really, really enjoying the lack of quiet. That was driving me crazy. At first, it seemed okay, but the longer I spent, the worse it got.

[no_longer_a_king]

No more wild than usual for the Tower, if you think about our history as a whole.

If you need quiet at all here, I recommend going to one of the forest floors. They're quiet, but not worryingly so. I also recommend taking your meals in the cafeteria. Sometimes just the sight of people helps even if you do not wish to be social.

[slightlyoblivious]

That's certainly true. When you think about it all, it would be stranger for it to have been quiet here, and more worrying.

I think I've spent enough time in the quiet for a while, though the forests are pretty here. I miss being around people. It's nice just hearing other people's voices, really.

[no_longer_a_king]

Then get to the cafeteria and be around people instead of sitting around typing on the Network.

[slightlyoblivious]

[She laughs.]

I'm heading over. I just thought I'd say hi over the network first.