A wish.

[livingimpaired]

[ The Holy Grail. He does not recall exactly what it is, but from what he gathers from the brief memory with the "King of Heroes," it is something to wish upon. And Kei's other self would allow that man to "wish for death." What does that mean? No, he understands it simply, but there is more said and unsaid than he can unravel. ]

With all this business going on, some frivolousness ponderings might be an enjoyable distraction.

Well, then. If you could wish for anything, what would it be? [ A pause. Kei thinks of sending it like that yet he feels that may be too telling. Too telling of what? He's uncertain, but adds more to cover up his uncertainty. ] Though, with Valentine's Day is coming, most are thinking of just wishing for someone to spend that day with, hm? :)

Comments

[glaciers]

I'm not so sure it's magic.
There's no chanting for it. It just happens.

It looks like I can't hurt myself unless I overdo it with those powers.
But it's just annoying.

[livingimpaired]

It just happens, hm?

It certainly sounds like it is.
Hot and cold.
Most people say that about their personalities, I can only imagine the difficulty in having powers like it, too.

[ Kei's funny. ]

[glaciers]

I have to think about it now.
But it used to just happen.

[Has he been punned on?]

I'd like to think I'm cool-headed.
The powers don't match me that well.

[livingimpaired]

So you've gained control.
How did you gain control over them?

[ Punned on hard, son. ]

At least the ice does.
But how peculiar.
I can only imagine how frightening that was for you.
I am making light of it, but you are handling it all very well.
It gives me reason to believe I can make light due to that strength you show just in text.

[glaciers]

By trying to use it of my own will.
I made a bonfire back in summer.

It helps that it doesn't really hurt.
My body gets cold or hot depending on what I'm using.
But I don't tend to suffer burns or frostbite.
Maybe I haven't pushed it hard enough.

I could've panicked or I could try to gain control.
Control seemed like the more reasonable option.

[livingimpaired]

That takes a tremendous amount of willpower.
I say that as someone who barely understands magic or powers.
If I suddenly gained something like that, I'm uncertain what I would be able to do.
Burn down my restaurant comes to mind.

[ HA-HA. ]

That does help.
And I hope that isn't a foreboding message.
Don't go pushing yourself too hard, young man.

And not many would think that they could even do that much.

[glaciers]

...
Do you really hate your restaurant?
Can you change careers?

I don't want to end up half covered in burns.
Or suffering from severe frostbite.
I read sometimes people had to be amputated.
I'll be careful about it.

It's better to try, right?

[livingimpaired]

No. I don't hate my restaurant.
My father gave it to me and asked me to always keep it running as long as I lived.
It was more a joke about how I doubt I'd be capable of controlling it.

[ Also minimizing damage by only destroying what he owns. ]

That would be unfortunate.
That said, do you have a doctor to check you over?

And it is. It always is better to try.

[glaciers]

Ah. Are you close to your father?
You could probably hang out in the ocean until you figured out how to deal with it.
I was at the beach a lot.

I have a doctor in mind if it ever gets that bad.
But it shouldn't.

Powers are interesting but trying to deal with them can be difficult.
Trying is better than giving up before I even start.

[livingimpaired]

Oh. No.
I'm afraid I'm not very close to my father, but I did decide to carry out the one thing that he asked of me.

Did you come to enjoy the sight of the ocean, then?
Something soothing to look at while you isolated yourself?

Indeed.
You've done very well.
I don't know much about it, and so this probably comes off flippant, but as a stranger and someone new to all of this, I wish to say: congratulations. It sounds like it has been very difficult for you, and so, congratulations for coming so far.
You've done well.

[glaciers]

Why?

It was during the summer so there were plenty of people there.
I was in it a lot though.

...
You are a stranger and I think this is the first time we've spoken.
Even if it is over the network.
But I still appreciate it.
Thank you.

[1/2]

[livingimpaired]

Why am I not close to him? Or why did I decide to take up the shop? I'll answer both.
The way that we perceived the world was very different. I view it far colder than most, if I am honest. Worse than a cynic's view. My father was always a pious, kind-hearted man. His soft heart could never understand mine, and so there was always a little friction between us, but I never doubted that he loved me.

So, for someone that worried over me that I could never properly console, I decided that I could not ignore his request to take over the shop. It was his way of looking after me one last time before he died.

[livingimpaired]

But all the same, I hope that you had fun in the ocean.
There's no point in ruining the sight of something like that with memories of only needing to be there to control yourself, right?

And you're welcome.
I am glad that my words are appreciated rather than rebuffed as odd, haha.

[glaciers]

Hm. I don't know what that would be like, but I can understand why you agreed to take over the shop.

Yeah.
I made a bonfire once and roasted marshmallows. That was pretty fun. I made some friends there too.

They're weird but they can still mean something.
Everybody starts out as strangers.

[livingimpaired]

Are you close to your father, then?

That is always good.
Humans are going to always die alone.
But it is the connections and the meanings that we gather from others that allow us to believe we go with others.

And that's true.

[glaciers]

[How dare you, Kirei. He would sell his father to Satan in a heartbeat.]

Absolutely not.

You weren't kidding about that bleak outlook.
I don't know what the afterlife holds but I don't spend a lot of time thinking about it either.
There's plenty to do here and now.

[livingimpaired]

[ It's a fair question~ Sell his father to Satan for one potato chip. ]

Oh. Could it be the same poor situation that I was in?

Right?
And I can promise you that my outlook now is much better than it was when I was younger.
So you can imagine how worried I made others. :)
But that is also fair.
The world is just starting and there is much more to unravel.
So long as one is brave and willing.

[glaciers]

No. My father is the worst tempered person I've ever met.
I would sooner sell him to Satan than say I'm at all close to him.

Yes, that would be difficult for people to deal with in a child.
Or teenager, I guess.

I met a shapeshifting magic wolf.
And then we ran away from a dragon.
It's been an interesting month.

[1/2]

[livingimpaired]

You are not wrong.
As a teenager, my views caused a lot of controversy in my household.
I'm even uncertain where I got them.
Just that they were there.

It sounds like it has been quite interesting for you.
But so long as it ended in friendship, that is the most anyone can hope for, isn't it?

[livingimpaired]

Is that so -- about your father?
This may be forward as a stranger, but as an adult, I feel I must ask: are you all right?

[glaciers]

We made friends with the wolf but the dragon definitely wanted to eat us.
Wolves are cooler anyway.

I'm fine, but my mother is less so.
Before you worry, I'm talking to the chief of police about this.
It should be squared away next month.

[livingimpaired]

Setting the matter of wolves aside --

-- I'm glad that it will be squared away.
Still, it is unfortunate you had to do this on your own.
Even if your mother is "less so," it still can hurt.
I don't believe you will like my food.
But it would be free to you.
That is only fair.
To someone working so hard to make peace for himself and for his mother, I believe that is the only support a stranger like me can gift.

[glaciers]

You're not wrong.
It hurt for a long time and when I was younger, anybody I tried to talk to about it dismissed it.
As if a child can't recognize cruelty.
But at least she's going to be safe soon.

I might like your food?
It depends on what you sell.

[livingimpaired]

It must have been difficult.
You had to wait until you were older.
Waiting until finally you could be heard.
I am sorry it took so long.
Perhaps, it is not that you are not so cool-headed, but merely used to concealing your anger.

I cook mapo tofu and various forms of the food.
It's a dish I greatly enjoy, so I don't know if it is something you will like.
The spice can be quite painful to others.

[glaciers]

It was.
It's probably more of the later than the former.
People seem more willing to listen when I appear calm, anyway.

Ah, I know what that is.
I'm not a huge fan of spicy food, but I know my friend's been looking for some.