-Notes from the Endless River- [voidtreckerexpress to synodiporia]

[helborn]

Far away, on an alien world, notes in the form of imbued rocks sitting in small bags go floating out into the void. Will they reach their targets? ... One can only hope.


Laughs

He holds onto the stone and tries to think of how to phrase things. It's difficult, because there's so much that can't be conveyed in words, only feelings. So he focuses on that, with as few words as possible. I'm out in the dark, on a train between worlds. Traveling like we do in Jaunts. I miss you terribly. He pours longing into it, the feeling of curling up together on the bed, of lazily looking at whatever stars are there. Of racing on four legs through fields and across rock.

There's so much he can't say properly, can only feel, and he pours it into the rock as long as he can and sticks it into its mesh bag, letting it float on the river.


Phillip, Gil, Drizzt

The three 'brothers' get a somewhat lighter message. 'I'm on a train between worlds. I miss you. I'll try to be home soon.' Home is where his family is... his chosen family. He sends them impressions of battle, of alien worlds, of a barren world turning green. 'I'll be there. Love you guys.'


Pinya, Felih

The two other Warriors of Light get a slightly antsy-feeling message. 'I don't know if time is still going there, but Q'uila's here with me. It's a train between worlds, and we're fighting things... we're taking care of each other. Cherry's here, too.' He sends an image of her smiling and laughing with Q'uila, so they know they're both okay. 'Please stay safe. As much as you can, anyway. Don't worry, we'll find a way back.'


Ignis

He considers sending Ignis a message a while before he sends it. They're not the closest, but there's things he should probably know. 'Hey, um. This is a place like Liminal with people from other worlds. Prompto and Noctis are here. Two Noctises? I haven't spoken to them but I think they're okay, and I know Prompto is okay. Please help take care of the others in Liminal like I know you will. ... I miss cooking with you.'


Shiro

He sits with the rock he wants to send to Shiro for a long while. They're family in a way, but different than Laughs, or the other 'brothers'. Shiro knows his pain better than probably anyone else. He lets out a long breath and begins. 'I'm in another place like Liminal. W'ere going to different worlds.' There's the image of an alien sky over a desolated landscape, glowing rifts in the distance. There's the image of another world, the breeze ruffling his hair. 'I'm trying to be kind to myself as I adjust... it's taking a bit. But I know I can do it, thanks to you and the others. ... Please be kind to yourself, too. I miss you. I wish you were here.' There's the feeling like a head being rested on the other's shoulder, quiet and familiar warmth.


Thorne

There's a sense of wonder to the message he sends to Thorne. 'I'm in another place like Liminal, but no Arcana. The people here are almost all nice... if you hear anything about a 'Void Ministry' that's going to be a clue to where me and Q'uila are. Please take care of yourself. You're important to me.'


Alcuin

Alcuin's message is a little softer, slightly less excitable than the message to Thorne. 'Hey. I miss you. I don't think you'd like being on this train for so long, but we get to travel at least. I'll find you when I can. Until then, know that I care for you.' There's the sensory impression of snuggling up into Alcuin's chest, a warm ray of sunshine from a sun that they both know doesn't really exist outside of the room.


Delaunay

He's never been formal with Delauany, since he's just known him as the guy he is in Liminal Space, not the Spymaster. His message is fittingly just as informal as he usually is. 'There's another place like Liminal. I'll return when I can. Please take care of yourself and take care of the others. In the meantime, I want to thank you for the training. It's come in handy.' There's the image of him sneaking up behind a woman in a torn red hoodie.


Deedee

There's a warm feeling to the message he sends to Deedee. He can still feel the edges of a bond, though it's like the frayed ends of a cut rope. Hopefully this will work.

'Hey. Remember that you're stronger than you think, and that we can work together to make anything happen. Reach out. Miss you and I'll be back as soon as I can. We've got more authorities to topple together.'

Comments

[The Lost Response]

[vrepit_no]

Shiro is not expecting a rock to fall from the sky. Much less was he expecting a rock to fall out of the sky and brain his little dragon familiar in the middle of a lecture. He can't help but be a little grateful to the Mysterious Rock from Nowhere.

Leaning down, he scoops up Shinryu and arranges him across his shoulders, and picks up The Rock.

He stiffens and sucks in a sharp breath that he doesn't even hear, because there is a different voice in his head. Warm and lonely and oh so very familiar. Shiro swallows heavily and sits down even more heavily, head bowed as he holds the rough opal gently, protectively against his chest.

He doesn't move after that for a long while, just listening as the message repeats every few minutes. It's only when he realizes that not only is Shinryu awake, but he's pulling on Shiro's hair to get his attention that he blinks and becomes aware of his surroundings. "Ow! Shinryu, stop. I'm okay, just. Hang on a sec." The sun has moved. His joints ache, but that's nothing new. Cold butt, though. Man, getting up off the ground is going to suck. But otherwise the personal inventory turns up nothing wrong in particular.

"Shinryu? Do you know of a way someone could send a message across dimensions? Timelines, worlds, universes, whatever. To reach someone else that they know well."

The little lung dragon stops in the middle of his scolding and blinks. "A message across dimensions...? Hm." He circles Shiro's head, inscribing an orbit while he thinks. (Shiro tries not to watch. It always makes him seasick.) Finally he settles down gracefully on the ground with a tiny frown. "I don't know that there's a sure way," he says slowly, "but there are a few things we can try. Is that what it is? A message?" Shiro nods and, with far more reluctance than a rock merits, hands it over so Shinryu can inspect it. ...If he'd known that licking was part of the inspection he might have held back. Thanks, buddy.

"This was in a river," Shinryu states firmly. Shiro looks at him. "A magic river."

"Yeah, I'd figured out that there was magic involved," Shiro says dryly, and just a touch impatiently.

"Well it's like the River Styx, but in reverse. Lots of memories, lots of emotions and thoughts and colors. There's just one thing. I have no idea where it is. But that's where this came from. Now, if anyone knows how to get a message to this wonder river thing, it's going to be the Lady of the Lake. She knows everything there is to know about water, and what she doesn't know isn't worth knowing." Shiro's pretty sure this is a gross exaggeration, but he's really not going to argue right now. "So if you have a message you want to send back, we need to do a ritual to imbue an object with the message, and then I'll take it to her halls and explain."

That... was more than expected, and Shiro smiles in relief. "That would be great, Shinryu. Thank you. Casper means a lot to me, and I hate to think of him out there not knowing if his message made it. At least we can try."

So about 15 hours and one grueling ritual later, Shiro laid a faintly glowing rough metal star about the size of a quarter into Shinryu's claws and watched him fly away with the magnetic object. Hoping that his message would find Casper out there in one of an infinite number of universes.

The sensation of a familiar hand rests on Casper's shoulder. Hey, Superman. I'm so proud of you. You're doing a great job. I'm safe here. Not home yet, but safe. The sensation gently shifts into a warm hug, a palpable sense of pride and the love of a big brother found eddying about him. I miss you too, and I wish I could be there with you, but it looks like there's no rest for the Travelers, hm? We'll get through this. Don't forget - we've got to figure out how to do this universe hop ourselves so we can visit. Shiro's chuckle vibrates in the incorporeal chest. Take care of yourself, and I'll see you as soon as I can.