No Tears This Time (Open)

[leapoffayth.livejournal.com]

Of all the duties of a summoner, the Sending was easily the hardest for Yuna to face. Every time she took up her staff and danced, it meant only one thing: more people had violently died, needlessly died, shouldn't have died, wouldn't have died had an outside source not torn them apart. Left alone to wander the universe with their anger at sudden death intact, their lost souls could coalesce into an even greater threat.

This time, she thought with a painful clench of her heart, she wasn't guiding the souls of a small army's soldiers or the scattered casualties of a ruined town. If their information was to be believed, with the possible exception of her guardians, all Spirans had perished in the Ohm's violent strike. Knowing that meant she was likely the last summoner still living---thus the responsibility for their souls fell to her.

Even as she picked up her staff and walked to the center of the observation deck, standing under the red sky as seen through the window, she had her doubts. Without a Farplane, where would they go? Could her prayers reach them this far away? Could one summoner handle so many souls? A total annihilation of her planet and countless others. It was a daunting task to be sure, but just a small pebble on the long journey awaiting this crew.

No matter what happened, she thought forcefully, she owed it to everyone to give it a try. With a strong enough prayer, they would have a chance at final peace.

Her mind made up, Yuna began her solemn dance. There were no hymns, water columns, or sparkling lights this time: just a girl left alone to mourn the deaths in her own way, the entire overwhelming situation putting her rhythm just slightly off.

When the last of her fervent prayers trailed from her mind past the tip of her staff, invisibly entering the universe, she let the rod clatter to the ground and dropped to her knees. Whispering into the humid air, she willed one last thing to be true.

"I'm sorry, everyone. If there's a way to stop this, even a way to right this wrong...I will. I promise you."

Comments

[leapoffayth.livejournal.com]

Yuna searched him wonderingly, a faint smile on her face. "A professor...a teacher, then?"

As her translator had approximated. The exact concept didn't translate into Spiran, given their culture's educational options, but the meaning was there.

"It's been like this all my life, but...never quite so all-encompassing."

[myboggartismoon.livejournal.com]

"That is correct," he said with a smile. "Though I retired before I even came aboard the ship. Still, it was one of the most pleasant years of my life, and since the title remains mine, why not use it?"

Was her odd outfit simply cultural, or religious in nature to go with her actions here, he wondered.

"Forgive me, but it seems a very somber task you do."

[leapoffayth.livejournal.com]

Yuna smiled lightly. "It's a wonderful job. I always admired my teachers. Do you ever miss it?"

She brushed off her clothing and smiled up at him, that lingering sadness still there. "I am a summoner. The world I come from...well, you could say that death is a large part of our lives. A great beast called Sin attacks our civilization, killing hundreds every year, and it's a summoner's task to become strong enough to stop it."

That had turned out horribly, she thought with a bitter note. "This...the Sending is for the spirits who die violently before Sin can be defeated. I never thought everyone would die."

[myboggartismoon.livejournal.com]

"Don't give up hope. In the time I have been on this ship, I have seen many marvels of both magic and Muggle devices. More than I ever thought was possible. Many people believe that we may somehow be able to put things right again, and I for one am one of them."

He looked up to the window. "I miss teaching very much. But it was best that I gave it up... but that's of no consequence."

[leapoffayth.livejournal.com]

"If there is a way to make things right, we'll find it," Yuna was sure. "I won't stop until we do. They deserve a chance to live a full life."

She smiled up at the window, wondering. "Did you find something you enjoyed more, or...did something force you to stop?"

[myboggartismoon.livejournal.com]

"All people who died early, do," he said. "I hope we have the chance to give it to some of them."

He considered a moment how best to answer her question. He really ought to be truthful, and yet... he was not a danger here. There was no moon, no change. And he felt... comfortable. No one knew to hate or fear him, here.

"I was a desperate choice, to be honest," he said, choosing to tell only half the truth. "The position had trouble keeping a professor. In the long term it was best that I step down."

[leapoffayth.livejournal.com]

Yuna nodded firmly, that old fire back in her eyes. She would live and die for them, that much she was sure of.

"I'm sorry," was her sad answer at that response, her hand touching his for a second. "Are you able to find work here?"

[myboggartismoon.livejournal.com]

That's better. A look much more preferable than the one she'd had. He chuckled at her question, though. "I'm afraid what I taught has very little use here."

[leapoffayth.livejournal.com]

Yuna could understand that, at least somewhat. She could summon, sure, but her grand purpose had been upended.

"I know it's hard in this war. So much has changed so quickly. I'm...also wondering what I might do for everyone."

[myboggartismoon.livejournal.com]

"You are a conjurer, correct?" he said, mistaking the more general branch of magic as he understood it for what she was. "There are many departments on this ship, organized by skill and aptitude. The Magic Department seems like a good fit for skills like that."