A Gift for Anyone Who Asks - 5/11

[true_noir]

Chloe Bouchard shared a photo. 5/11 near Enchanted Blossoms, Tisse

Now that everything is back to normal, Retrospec has seen fit to send me a little gift, a pocketwatch that doesn't work. How very nice of them. Well, I have a gift for any of you who see this and want to stop by Enchanted Blossoms in the next week, anytime from about 9 to 5 during the week. Don't bother asking what it is before you come by, it's a surprise, no?

(OOC: Action tags are invited, and if you'd prefer to handwave stopping by, feel free to do so. Chloe's gift is a plastic version of a decoder ring that she ordered in bulk. She'll have enough to give anyone that stops by one of them and tell them how to use it, suggesting that people use them to code messages on paper notes to each other that they don't want Retrospec to see.)

Comments

[divine_braid]

I've had some weird stuff happen, but nothing major, yet. Guess I've been lucky.

[He shrugged a little, and then nodded.]

I wouldn't consider a giant high tech, but I get the analogy. [He chuckled.]

What kind of story is that?

[true_noir]

You've been fortunate, but you're not the only one. It can be difficult to predict what's going to happen, from what I've seen. [She smiled.] Oh, and it's a biblical story, though Jack and the Bean Stalk was a little bit similar in its own way.

[divine_braid]

A biblical story, huh?

[Thus seemed to intrigue Duo a lot.]

I know Jack and the Beanstalk. What's the biblical one?

[true_noir]

David and Goliath? David was a young shepherd before he became a king, and by the power of his faith, he defeated a giant named Goliath with a slingshot when all of his fellows had lost their courage. [She smiled a little. She didn't actually get to tell religious stories very often, but David and Goliath was kind of a fun one to share.]

I believe that they have done it as a Veggie Tale if you wish to laugh at the oddity of it.

[divine_braid]

[Duo quirked an eyebrow.]

Those Veggies really get around, huh?

[He laughed a little.]

Are you a religious scholar or something?

[true_noir]

[She laughed right back. David and Goliath was just regular Catholic kid's stuff, so she was a bit surprised.]

No, no, it was just a favorite story when I was growing up. I think many Christians know it, though I'm sure not all.

[divine_braid]

Do you know a lot of other biblical stories? Or just that one?

[true_noir]

I know a few of the most well known ones, but I've never actually read the whole bible. People say you should, but I always get bogged down in Leviticus. It's really boring.

[Not to mention uncomfortable for women in her opinion. Oh, right, and the whole 'I'm gay' thing.]

[divine_braid]

I'll keep that in mind if I decide to give it a try.

[He shrugged.]

Though, I'm curious. Do you actually believe any of it?

[true_noir]

Some of it. I'm not quite so simple as to just take it all at face value. I am catholic, but I think of myself as still searching for something, a little. Still, it's what my mother raised me with.

[divine_braid]

[Duo smirked a little, almost chuckling.]

Have you ever considered the God of Death?

[He had no idea where that came from. He frowned a bit suddenly. Talking about the Bible, and Catholicism, and belief, and... images passed through his mind for a second. That had definitely been him as a kid, but... he didn't remember any of that ever having happened.

He put a hand up to his forehead.]

Woah... What the hell?

[true_noir]

Surely you jest. I don't need to worship Hades or the like.

[She giggled a little, some of her classical education coming out there before she noticed that he was briefly discomforted. That caused her to lean in closer and reach a hand for his forehead as her head cocked.]

Is everything quite alright, Donald?

[divine_braid]

Uh... yeah. I think?

[He frowned a bit.]

You know how people are talking about seeing memories they don't actually remember?

I think I just had one of those moments...

[true_noir]

Ohhhhh, yes. No, I know exactly what you are speaking of. I have had this happen several times, so I know it can be very jarring. [She shook her head.] Was this the first time for you?

[divine_braid]

[He nodded a bit hesitantly.]

Yeah... guess I've lost my memory virginity.

[He blinked a few times to clear his thoughts.]

I'm definitely sure that never happened. What I saw... the age I was...

People around here don't actually live in churches, right? Like, functioning churches?

[true_noir]

[She coughed and managed to laugh at that comment before sighing some. His question at least made sense. She tapped her lips before nodding.]

There are some boarding academies attached to churches, I suppose, or nunderies, convents and monasteries. Those buildings would look like just part of a large church, and I believe that a few take in orphans and the like. So, there are a few reasons someone might live in a church.

Assuming you weren't wearing a collar at the time.

[divine_braid]

[Duo frowned a bit. The memory wasn't really clear enough on whether they'd been in the church itself or some other part of it. But, when she mentioned the collar...]

Well, actually? I was. Though, it was big on me. I was like... seven? I think?

Which doesn't make much sense, because, when I was seven, I was living with a foster family here in the city. And definitely not wearing priest clothes.

[true_noir]

Huh... then maybe this hallucination was from a monastery of some sort. It'd be strange for a young man to wear it, but if they were being groomed for it, I guess it makes more sense.

Personally, though, I don't believe they're us, not real memories. It's someone else we're seeing. [She hoped]

[divine_braid]

Think so?

[Duo considered that. He'd been watching others posting about it, but he was honestly curious about that. Which way did it go?]

What if it's the other way around? What if these visions and memories are real, and where we are now is just all fake?

[true_noir]

There's a couple people who wonder the same thing. Maybe it is true, but that isn't a reality I am willing to accept yet, so I won't. Not until I don't have a choice in the matter.

[divine_braid]

[Duo nodded.]

Yeah. I can see that.

[He was just... going to think about it later. He didn't really want to just yet. It was a bit too new.]

Well... I mean. Wow. In the meantime... thanks for the decoder ring?

[true_noir]

[She laughed, albeit a little weakly, before shrugging.]

That hallucination, and the way that they seem to treat us as we go through this? It is why I offer the rings. They aren't actually a solution, and they might fail, but it's a chance for us to be a little secretive, which is not bad.

You are welcome, and I am sorry it got weird.

[divine_braid]

Not your fault.

[Duo offered her a small smile.]

Don't worry about it. If anything, now I'm like everyone else in this weird thing.

[He leaned in a bit, smirking slightly.]

I was starting to feel a little left out.

[He chuckled.]

I gotta get back to my deliveries. I'll catch you around?

[true_noir]

Of course. Work waits for no man, or hallucination. [She waved.] Have a pleasant day... is it ok if I call you Don? [She waved, letting the question be the last as he was headed towards the door.]

[divine_braid]

[He gave her a mock salute in return for the wave, but paused at the door as she asked her question.]

Oh, yeah. Definitely. In fact, I like it better.

[He grinned.]

See ya.