[homophonic] catchall for libby

[dendroculi]

LIBBY

code

Comments

[dendroculi]

Yes. It's still an unsettling situation, but having people within reach that we can ask our questions as we think of them does help put my mind at ease a little.

[medeian]

I just wish two of them weren't kids.

[toying with a strand of her hair idly as she says that]

[dendroculi]

Yes... it seems like an almost unfair sort of duty to give to someone so young.

[


no one wants to hear that from you, nahida.]

[medeian]

...That too, yeah.

[her meaning was not as nice, but it's fine.]

More unfair for the kids that are participating, though, I'd say.

[dendroculi]

It is. I'm worried about them... they should be at home, living out the beginnings of their lives... not fighting to keep their lives from being over.

[medeian]

Yeah. That goes for the rest of us, too, but - I can't imagine dealing with this as a teenager.

[dendroculi]

...it must be really tough for them especially.

[medeian]

Right.

[...]

Can I ask something? I'm not sure if it'll be insensitive.

[dendroculi]

Go ahead... I never mind questions, even if I'm not always sure how to answer them.

[medeian]

Right. It's just, you seem pretty young yourself, but the age on your profile says... Well, it's not what I expected.

[dendroculi]

It's not what I expected either. I actually thought I was older...

[hmm.]

Well, how should I put this...? I think you can already tell that I'm not human. Umm... let's think of it like a balloon. When it's full of air, it can look pretty large, right? But if you untie the base of it and release all of the air, it will move around rapidly with a large amount of force, and once it runs out, it will be much smaller.

I didn't always look like this. A long time ago, I had to unleash much of my power at once, and... this is how I ended up when it was over.

[medeian]

[a pause, while she decides the best place to start unpacking all that.]

Was that... painful?

[dendroculi]

The truth is, I don't actually remember. I... lost most of my memories from before I began looking like this.

[medeian]

So, then - someone told you afterwards that's what happened...?

[...]

Either way, that must feel terrible.

[dendroculi]

Um, in a way... I could also access records of Teyvat's history through Irminsul.

[...]

...it's alright. I might not remember my past, but I'm experiencing all sorts of things now, and I'm sure I'll make wonderful memories in the future.

[medeian]

[pausing for a moment or two.]

Maybe this is a little presumptuous, but... You can have good things now and still be angry or upset about things that have happened to you before.

[dendroculi]

...hehe. You really get right to the point, don't you?

[it sounds like a neutral observation, because it is. she's not upset.]

I know. But I'd rather think about the nice things to come in the future than dwell on the past.

[medeian]

[there's another small pause, before she nods.]

Well - that's not a bad mindset to have.

[even if it's fairly different from hers.]

[dendroculi]

It's been working out well enough for me.

[she smiles]

...in any case, we've got our work cut out for us here.

[medeian]

...That's true, too.

[fiddling with her hair again]

[dendroculi]

[watches her fiddle with her hair]

...is there something more you wanted to say to that?

[medeian]

Well, it's just - things like having our work cut out for us, and what we're supposed to be doing here...

[frowning slightly]

I guess it's just weird to be having that kind of conversation with people when only a handful of us are going to win.

[dendroculi]

We don't know that for sure.

There have been countless times throughout history where people have thought they had a clear understanding of a situation, but once they learned more or once unexpected things happened, the entire situation was turned on its head. Even when they've been given rules about how something should work or been told to expect it to turn out a certain way.

So... to me, it's too soon to just accept that as the only outcome. Maybe it's what the rules say we should expect, but the rules can't account for everything that's going to happen the entire time we're here. If we follow along with it and don't look for any alternatives, then yes, it's almost guaranteed it will turn out that way, but... objectively speaking, we have a little more information than before, but we still don't have a lot of information.

[medeian]

[silent for a moment]

Obviously if it works out that way, I'd be glad.

[dendroculi]

I think we all would.

...I know it's hard to hold onto hope that it will turn out that way when what we have so far is a rulebook saying it won't. We'll just have to face each day as it comes.