5. While I am sure you posed this question to see me guessing endlessly, are you not also going to tell me the story behind it? You see, you've already peaked my curiosity.
[ the gift is obviously an appealing prospect coming from her, but he can't deny that he also just wanted to know a little more. ]
at his other response, rover just sighs. she's resting at the moment, laying down awkwardly at their makeshift cot in their temporary base. she can't really sleep.
so in a few minutes, callisto will receive a call. ]
[ it takes him a moment to navigate from the menu of her message to receiving the call. he's just sitting in the woods in the dark, so maybe it's great that it isn't on camera. ]
[ he's about to comment on how complicated it could possibly be, but then she throws him off entirely by her words. it's a truly odd sensation. it isn't the first he's been wished a happy birthday, but it's different for those to say it out of obligation, or in an attempt to weasel their way into his good graces...
so he makes a sound that easily quiets down to silence, before he opens his mouth again. ] You're late, but I will accept your birthday greetings. [ the mood over the line does seem a bit more soft or lighthearted somehow, before: ]
[ "a lady is never late," is what rover was about to say before she ended up yawning instead. nevermind that. ]
... sorry.
Anyway ... I suppose it's not quite accurate to say I don't have a birthday. Everyone does.
But I can't remember mine, because I've lost all of my memories.
[ she's rather calm in admitting this to him. or maybe it's just that she's tired right now, and can't really muster her anxieties about the topic on hand. ]
[ is it right to call it that. while he can't exactly speak to another person's issues, he seems to mull her words over for a moment before: ] Is there anything you can recall? [ ... and he supposed it would be important to note from where do they begin? ]
[ rover sighs. ] What I remember of my life before - Jinzhou, and everything else ... they come to me in fragments, like pieces of a dream. I can't tell what's real and what isn't.
My most concrete memory is that I woke up in a valley, presumed dead by a Ranger who found me. That's my earliest memory. [ rover pauses, curling up in her cot as she listens to the never-ending rain pour, and she wonders if callisto was warm or keeping himself warm in the mountains. ] 'Rover' is just what they called me.
[ perhaps now it makes sense why rover had that odd comment when he complimented her sense of self: whatever it is that callisto felt was admirable about her, rover's just relieved that it was something she'd pieced together well enough to be called a sense of self. kind, because he didn't know then. ]
[ pieces of a dream. fragments. somehow, that seemed infinitely more complicated than being devoid of any and all memories. but, he does sit in silence, just respectfully listening. ] Why did they call you that...? Was that some sort of title where you're from?
[ if that is the case, then somehow he can't help but feeling like it was bit regretful. less personal somehow, but he seems to shake that off. ] You were found, but there is no one who knows who you are... [ he also seems to be repeating these facts, as if trying to comprehend how this was possible. ]
Well ... it just stuck with people. It's no different from someone being called "traveler". Or ... well, "lady." It means nothing, really.
[ and there is a difference between not knowing and being known. ] ... perhaps the most worrying part is that people have known me. Or at least, knew of me and my peculiarities. It becomes a strange riddle, then, and I have to be careful of who is talking to me and what is being asked of me. Even what I uncover of my memories is unforgiving: the more I discover the less I know.
[ and of course, everyone has their own agenda, even if she has her own principles she sticks to. what she knows of herself and how people perceived her is always a riddle for her to parse through. ]
The ladies of the empire would cry to hear you say that.
[ since their ladyhood was likely just as important to them as any other title. granted, being dubbed "lady" also did have an implicit sense of respect behind it, whether from a title of nobility or an honorary one. regardless, he doesn't get into it. instead, just finding it a little amusing for what meant so much to others to mean so little to rover. ]
They know of you? Then you must have fulfilled quite the role before you had forgotten your memories. [ ... ] What do people normally request of you? [ he can readily fill in the gaps, at least, with what he suspects could be a possibility. rover clearly was strong enough to be recruited here (and ... well, he's felt it first hand), and so he can only presume what most would want out of her. ]
[ rover just laughs softly. ] How unfortunate for them.
[ she shifts in her cot at the question, rover's hands settling over her stomach while sighing gently. ] The request is usually to join one faction over the other to either assist or destroy Huanglong, the country.
... It is worrying to me. But the uncertainty is something I have to actively fight. I have to trust that I will continue to do what's best for everyone and myself, and that my intentions are always good.
To destroy an entire country? It isn't too late to commit to that. [ it's a joke, if just by his tone. yet, there's also something else embedded in there. as if he were suggesting some sort of half-truth. it rings a bit close to home, if just because in all his vengeance and spite, he may have considered a similar path even just in passing.
regardless, he doesn't focus on it for now. rather, he didn't believe rover capable of making such a decision. not without just cause at least. ] That is more than most do. At the very least, I would much rather trust in your judgement than the words of most the nobles I knew of in court.
[ while they haven't known each other long, he does somehow believe in her good intentions. outside of vr and sandcastles, at least. ]
For something so beautiful, I would lay down my life.
[ she says it casually, seriously, knowing the fact that in the very long time that she has been alive, a portion of her life was dedicated to jinzhou. a sacrifice she took seriously; her lonely duty.
there are very few things she can truly risk her life for.
as for his trust - rover smiles, and he can probably hear it in her voice as she says, ]
I'm grateful. Thank you.
... Callisto, I'm going to sleep now. Please be careful out there.
[ it's not an odd concept in the sense that soldiers often echoed a similar sentiment. those who believed the empire who holds all they cared for within it... as being beautiful and/or precious. he isn't sure if he relates to the concept, but he comprehends just how important it was to her.
it really was a lonely duty.
somehow, it makes him a little annoyed to think she chose to live such a life, and at the same time, he can't help but respect it for what it is. when she thanks him, he almost feels like he were caught in his own contrary thoughts, and he responds in tune. ] You really do express your gratitude in the strangest moments. [ when he praised her sense of self, for example. ]
I would hate to be the reason you lose sleep, so I will let you go this once. Close your eyes and rest comfortably. You will need your energy.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
And I don't believe you're busy. Busy with what?
5. ... correct.
I suppose you'll be getting a gift, after all.
[ what an awful combination, rover thinks with a smile as she sends her message. at once frustrating and insightful, when he really wanted to be. ]
1/2
no subject
[ the gift is obviously an appealing prospect coming from her, but he can't deny that he also just wanted to know a little more. ]
- audio.
at his other response, rover just sighs. she's resting at the moment, laying down awkwardly at their makeshift cot in their temporary base. she can't really sleep.
so in a few minutes, callisto will receive a call. ]
no subject
Did you miss hearing my voice that much?
no subject
[ rover's voice is soft, trying to make sure to keep it down to be respectful to everyone resting around her. ]
Also, [ and this is probably the most important thing for him to hear, as far as rover's concerned - ]
Happy birthday.
no subject
so he makes a sound that easily quiets down to silence, before he opens his mouth again. ] You're late, but I will accept your birthday greetings. [ the mood over the line does seem a bit more soft or lighthearted somehow, before: ]
So, what is this "complicated" story?
no subject
... sorry.
Anyway ... I suppose it's not quite accurate to say I don't have a birthday. Everyone does.
But I can't remember mine, because I've lost all of my memories.
[ she's rather calm in admitting this to him. or maybe it's just that she's tired right now, and can't really muster her anxieties about the topic on hand. ]
no subject
[ is it right to call it that. while he can't exactly speak to another person's issues, he seems to mull her words over for a moment before: ] Is there anything you can recall? [ ... and he supposed it would be important to note from where do they begin? ]
no subject
[ rover sighs. ] What I remember of my life before - Jinzhou, and everything else ... they come to me in fragments, like pieces of a dream. I can't tell what's real and what isn't.
My most concrete memory is that I woke up in a valley, presumed dead by a Ranger who found me. That's my earliest memory. [ rover pauses, curling up in her cot as she listens to the never-ending rain pour, and she wonders if callisto was warm or keeping himself warm in the mountains. ] 'Rover' is just what they called me.
[ perhaps now it makes sense why rover had that odd comment when he complimented her sense of self: whatever it is that callisto felt was admirable about her, rover's just relieved that it was something she'd pieced together well enough to be called a sense of self. kind, because he didn't know then. ]
no subject
[ if that is the case, then somehow he can't help but feeling like it was bit regretful. less personal somehow, but he seems to shake that off. ] You were found, but there is no one who knows who you are... [ he also seems to be repeating these facts, as if trying to comprehend how this was possible. ]
no subject
[ and there is a difference between not knowing and being known. ] ... perhaps the most worrying part is that people have known me. Or at least, knew of me and my peculiarities. It becomes a strange riddle, then, and I have to be careful of who is talking to me and what is being asked of me. Even what I uncover of my memories is unforgiving: the more I discover the less I know.
[ and of course, everyone has their own agenda, even if she has her own principles she sticks to. what she knows of herself and how people perceived her is always a riddle for her to parse through. ]
no subject
[ since their ladyhood was likely just as important to them as any other title. granted, being dubbed "lady" also did have an implicit sense of respect behind it, whether from a title of nobility or an honorary one. regardless, he doesn't get into it. instead, just finding it a little amusing for what meant so much to others to mean so little to rover. ]
They know of you? Then you must have fulfilled quite the role before you had forgotten your memories. [ ... ] What do people normally request of you? [ he can readily fill in the gaps, at least, with what he suspects could be a possibility. rover clearly was strong enough to be recruited here (and ... well, he's felt it first hand), and so he can only presume what most would want out of her. ]
no subject
[ she shifts in her cot at the question, rover's hands settling over her stomach while sighing gently. ] The request is usually to join one faction over the other to either assist or destroy Huanglong, the country.
... It is worrying to me. But the uncertainty is something I have to actively fight. I have to trust that I will continue to do what's best for everyone and myself, and that my intentions are always good.
no subject
regardless, he doesn't focus on it for now. rather, he didn't believe rover capable of making such a decision. not without just cause at least. ] That is more than most do. At the very least, I would much rather trust in your judgement than the words of most the nobles I knew of in court.
[ while they haven't known each other long, he does somehow believe in her good intentions. outside of vr and sandcastles, at least. ]
no subject
[ she says it casually, seriously, knowing the fact that in the very long time that she has been alive, a portion of her life was dedicated to jinzhou. a sacrifice she took seriously; her lonely duty.
there are very few things she can truly risk her life for.
as for his trust - rover smiles, and he can probably hear it in her voice as she says, ]
I'm grateful. Thank you.
... Callisto, I'm going to sleep now. Please be careful out there.
no subject
it really was a lonely duty.
somehow, it makes him a little annoyed to think she chose to live such a life, and at the same time, he can't help but respect it for what it is. when she thanks him, he almost feels like he were caught in his own contrary thoughts, and he responds in tune. ] You really do express your gratitude in the strangest moments. [ when he praised her sense of self, for example. ]
I would hate to be the reason you lose sleep, so I will let you go this once. Close your eyes and rest comfortably. You will need your energy.