Romani Montclaire - Attempting to fix a memory (5/8)

[00:58] Kofe took a seat upon one of the cushions, legs crossed and with a quick rundown of what came.

"The person I was almost certain was a witch claims she isn't. I.. still don't believe that after she's admitted that her mother was a witch, and that Duana had offered to train her later on but it was merely refused. That and... she seemed to be overjoyed by the idea of Osronans suffering from a possible situation."

A pause, and more information.

".. That being said, she shared what she knew. It's not very conclusive. Witches bind themselves to Hel to serve some entity in exchange for power. I know as much. They... likely don't have a way to detect one another. And the test that was spoken of the other night still sticks as a method to find them."

A dead-end.

"That middleman between her and Nebula is likely no witch. Just crazy. My end of the investigation is dead, even if I've recovered a bit ofinformation. Maybe Nebula is merely stronger than what we thought back then." Kofe said, looking up towards the ceiling.

".. when I did return, I came across the man who killed Yani. A second time, that is. The first time he took from me something precious. I still haven't gotten it back. His magics reach deep and scratch at the surface of the soul— I think that's what I felt. People should be careful around the woods west of Alabastre."
(Kofe)
[01:04] There is silence from the Stellus. Romani would appear to listen intently but pause around the first sentence of what Kofe had said.

"So you are saying that the person we think is a Witch may not be a Witch. She says her mother is a Witch, and Duana offered to train her, but did not happen at the time. She enjoys the idea of Orsonans suffering, but was also willing to give up information."

His head looked like it was spinning, at least slightly.

"For the time being, I will assume she is not a Witch. I can not test either if I do not know who they are. Then again they could just be lying about not being a Witch and," He shakes his head. the situation felt like it was only growing more and more complicated the more he lingered on it. Some assumptions had to be made.

"For now, I will treat her as if she is no Witch. But she knows things about Witches. They do not have a way to detect one another. And the Middleman is crazy, but not a Witch."

A small exhale from him.

"That may have been the occultist whom the High Keeper saw. What did they take from you? and I will let people know to be careful over there."
(Romani cos Montclaire)
[01:06] The conclusions Romani reached were safe. Safe ones that wouldn't harm anyone and ultimately may just be better for the sake of Osrona's shaky leadership. Though when the Stellus asked that question Kofe's yellow gaze fell to the ground.

"Tea." He answered.

"I.. can't picture her face anymore. Myllenoris helped me and Ella pulled her voice back to me, but I just can't-"

He shook his head, frowning deeply.

"I can't remember what my own sister looks like Romani."
(Kofe)
[01:10] When torn between things that might put people at risk and upheave the trust of society, at least in this case, the Stellus took the less painful option. All the same, he frowns when he hears the answer. A hand reaches out, gently touching Kofe's shoulder and elicting a sigh.

"I see."

His eyes close, as if picturing anything to help.

"Do you think that there is perhaps a picture of her somewhere? Maybe one was taken during her stay in Orsona. Something that may help you remember, or show you her face as a child again?"

"I can not imagine the pain of not being able to see one's sibling, so if we can check records, it might help."
(Romani cos Montclaire)
[01:14] "I still remember vividly our hunts. The words she said. And the way she... stood. I can feel the sun on my skin, clearly, and the air she had about her, but.."

He shook his head, looking up towards Romani with a saddened expression.

"I can't picture her actual look. I don't think there was any picture taken with her, either. Ilburg's not really rich. I.."

He breathed in, then out.

".. I thought about studying the stars. If that occultist really reached that deep, then it's like Alice said: Either Njorun, the Faith, or love will be the solution to this. If the first two fail, then..."

A small smile pierced through the darkness.

".. she said she'd walk that path with me. That I could always rely on love."
(Kofe)
[01:17] To remember the small things, but when trying to put together, seeing only the void of it. The idea would make Romani frown. The Stellus understood it, not the same as a sibling, but if someone took what his cousins looked like from, especially Yani who he could no longer see..

"I am uncertain if there is any taken as well. If there is, I do imagine it would be as convincts or during Del's birthday party. One of the two. I can see about searching for those."

"That said, I think that Alice is correct. Perhaps it is love that may be able to help you see her again." A pause then, thinking more deeply.

"You said it was a stain upon the soul, you think?"
(Romani cos Montclaire)
[01:22] "If you can manage to find a picture then... I'd like to have it." He said, nodding gently towards Romani. It was important, after all. He may not be able to imagine her but a picture? A physical one? It'd stay with him.

"It was deeper than skin. Deeper than the heart. Finley had to bring spirits out. Ella went into my psyche and... nearly died from trying to help. That man dug deep. Deeper than even the wraiths I've fought under Ilburg."
(Kofe)
[01:22] Kofe says, "In Myllenoris, they thought it was something darker than simple occult magic."
[01:24] "I will search for it. But as for what I can do now, there is only one thing I might be able to do." As he was nodded to, Romani's hand would move down to his pack. From within, a scroll would be pulled out, a tome which many on Agartha were unaware of.

"This is a scroll on the focus of white magic. I have been studying it, the structure of the soul, and how to better interact with it. How to protect it, mend it better."

"If you would allow me, I would like to try to use what little it has taught me of white magic on you in an effort to help you."
(Romani cos Montclaire)
[01:28] Perhaps his thoughts of going to the church in the first place were there for a good reason. Iberl had smiled down upon him for once, and guided his path across the star to the right destination. A shame he'd arrive late.

A firm nod was given to Romani.

"I trust you. You can learn using me, and perhaps it'll... help me recover what I've lost. It's a win-win."

It really would be the best of both worlds. White Magic as a whole seemed to be some sort of... legend, more than anything.

Yet a tale had to be spun before Kofe's eyes. A bard being helped by Esshar's first white mage? This. This invigorated his spirit. The idea of such a story almost outweighted the possibilities of his recovery.
(Kofe)
[01:29] {Item} You drop The Composition Of The Soul.
[01:29] {Item} You picked up The Composition Of The Soul. Dropped by Romani cos Montclaire. .
[01:36] It took faith to have faith.

And the trust that Kofe put in the Stellus did bring a smile to his face. The wound itself may have been tended to. Others may have used magic to help Kofe, but Romani himself would also try. His mismatched eyes would close, focusing upon the words of the book and also clutching the book itself, letting magic flow through it.

The fist of bravery ignites, as does that holy magic around him. The Guardian of Ios takes it's perch on Romani's shoulder as ever gently, Romani's hand would settle upon Kofe's shoulder.

He was not one who was entirely a master of white magic yet. But he did do his best. The holy magic melded into something else, became something more caring for others around him. The symbol of compassion, the symbol of hope that he wished to create upon the would bloom for a few moments, before moving forwards into Kofe.

The holy magic usually dulled the pain of wounds, but in this case, Romani would attempt to do something further. By using his knowledge obtained by the book, Romani would attempt to soothe the soul. Similar to the time that the spirits had put their power in him, those small thoughts and memories of many to push him onwards in the struggles against Yalmatva, Romani would in turn try to bring those sensations to Kofe.

To help him remember. To help him recall that information that was lost.

And also recalling his own memories, and trying to share them with Kofe. The shade of Tea's hair, or the look on her face during the church cooking challenge. The time that he had taught Tea to read, or the time that she had taught him how to properly use an unarmed stance.

His own memories would rise forwards, trying to share them with Kofe, trying to help him remember his sister.
(Romani cos Montclaire)
[01:48] The hand on his shoulder was a familiar feeling in its own way. Where their group of friends had all been subjected at some point or another to Kofe opening up his heart to the lot of them through song, allowing it all to flow freely, they slowly had opened up their hearts to him. One by one. Marie first, then Ophelia, Finley when the war was declared, Elesius more recently, and Ella when she risked her life to help him. Friend after friend he'd managed to peer into their deepest thoughts and most heartfelt feelings. As the list expanded so did the love in Kofe's heart for all of those who he'd come to know and hold dear.

A deep breath was taken as he allowed Romani's usually awkward demeanor to be given in a more straightforward manner. The social oddity that he was mattered little when it came to feelings being shared, memories transmitted and soothing magic— brighter than anything he'd ever felt reaching into the depths of his being to try and... ease it up. To fix what had been broken. To mend the piece of his soul that had been damaged.

Memories were shared, shown. A less... vague image of the girl he'd grown up with was showing itself. The shade of her hair, her height, the way she bounced on her feet when trying to wait. Little details. They came back. And memories that he'd never heard of also invaded him.

Things he was looking from a third-person perspective, yet could enjoy all the same.

He breathed out.

He felt a bit better, but... it still wasn't there, was it? So long as there would be a need for Finley's spiritual energies to ward off this part of his body, it'd remain plagued by that... mark.

".. A mix between a live lobster and a tomato that's three days too old."

That was the shade.
(Kofe)
[01:55] "It was not that bad a shirt color."

Romani responded to the shade, resisting a small chuckle. But the White magic remained, ever swimming through the air around them. The Guardian of Ios continued to shine it's protective light down as the memories were shared. Some details were spread more easily then others, and some details that he had noticed, such as the exact way that Tea had added peppers to her jerky, or her dislike for making her learn to read too much might have also been shared.

But Romani shares as much as he can. As much of the small memories that he can fix. Little details, the bouncing upon her feet, the washing of her hair.

And ultimately, as Romani continued to show the memories, the little flickers he could, it does reach that last one. His own farewell to Tea, seeing her taken away by August and freed.

And from that, the Stellus felt a little pain. The loss of one that they had considered a friend.

Perhaps what he did did not fully restore the memory of Tea to Kofe. But he did try with all his heart to share with Kofe what she had looked like anew.
(Romani cos Montclaire)
[01:59] Romani was no miracle worker. Not yet at least. Kofe could feel those emotions flowing through him, those memories of times he hadn't seen. The way that his friend felt towards his sister; a tinge of curiosity with a blossom of friendship never quite realized fully. Perhaps due to her own abrasive nature, and the insanity that followed. It wasn't... easy.

But it was present. The pain of losing someone that could've turned out to be the greatest of all friends was pulsing within the Montclaire's heart, and Kofe felt it all too well.

Had white magic always been about emotions and trying to mend others through it? The Rhoynish did not believe so, no. This was... something Romani had learned from being around others. From hearing Kofe play his heart out during celebrations and parties alike. Perhaps it all came from the bard himself.

Whatever it was, it was a nice touch. A way to better experience and use that form of magic that had yet to be fully understood or developped. This may have been something beyond most people's comprehension, but with a bit of help and a proper subject to try and fix over and over?

Kofe believed Romani could learn.
(Kofe)
[02:05] The Stellus was not a miracle worker, not yet by far. He had been unable to save people in the past, he had been unable to stop Hrist's murder, and there was guilt that he had been unable to stop Tea from leaving Orsona, guilt that maybe it was his fault she was not still with them deep down. And yet, through all these emotions, all this guilt, he would still step forwards.

Because every event was something that he could learn from and do better from. Because while he had failed to fully befriend Tea, maybe his failure would let him befriend another. Because while he failed to save one, he might be able to help or save another due to the strength gained from past experience.

Some people might have had White magic be less emotional, but to Romani? That is what it was. It was the sharing of what his soul could do with another. Reaching forwards, ever trying to do more, and trying not to let failure define him. That was what he had picked up on. A small smile upon his face.

The white magic gently begins to fade, but what is shared would remain. The images, the flickers of memories as Romani, a bit exhausted, would once more take a seat onto a pillow. For now? This is what he could do.

And for now, he was fine with that.

"Did it help? Did it help you see her again, even just for a moment?"

He may not have been a miracle worker, but he hoped that one day he could be.
(Romani cos Montclaire)
[02:10] Perhaps it was a natural reaction to having one's heart opened up to him, but Kofe's yellow gaze shifted towards Romani and... when he felt that guilt, when he felt this sensation of wanting to better himself from his past mistakes a similar feeling was shared through music within the Stellus' mind. A soft, gentle melody that saw the beauty in defeat itself. A mindset that helped the Rhoynish survive and separated them from any barbarian or savage even in battle.

It was but an echo to Romani's own feelings that came from Kofe. An exchange of emotions in this display of white magic that came from the heart, to reach the soul. It wasn't something that just anyone could perform. It took some spot to anchor itself— as all great art did.

And one's heart was the perfect playground for something like that.

Kofe's lips parted, honesty came through when the question was asked. Hope was present in Romani's voice, but reality needed more time. More dedication from him. From the both of them.

".. Not yet. Not as well as I want to remember her. It's... better."

Just a bit.
(Kofe)
[02:15] It was similar, in that way. The Melody that saw the beauty in defeat, and the mindset that knew every failure that he survived might allow him to do better for the future. The shared music, the shared thoughts. Perhaps, he was more similar to the Rhoynish then he had once thought.

An echo back to Romani, to Romani's feeling, but one shared by both of them. White magic from the heart, and sound magic also from the heart, resounding with one another.

In that moment, white magic was both the attempted ability to mend, but also the form of a bond.

Romani's eyes once again nod, hope ever present in his voice, but ultimately hearing the words. Words which he would nod to.

"I am not a master of white magic yet. I hope to be some day. But if I can help you recall her a little better here? Then I am happy to have tried. And when I improve?"

"I will try again."
(Romani cos Montclaire)
[02:18] "I look forward to it."

He really did. Both to see Romani's progress with the arts and to retrieve what was once lost. It would be.. invaluable, really. Something that no other could quite replace. Something that only Romani seemed to have the answer to, perhaps one day.

Alice was right.

The Faith would help. And love could be relied upon.

Kofe never had expected it to be this kind of love, however.

A smile is given as Kofe slowly rises up, offering a hand to the Stellus.

"Let's go back before your wife thinks you're dead."
(Kofe)
[02:21] "As do I."

A smile would be given from the Stellus, letting out a small sigh as he relaxed from the amount of magic he had been using. The hand that was offered to him would be taken, before Romani slowly would rise, offering a nod anew.

"I will let you know when I have made more progress."

It was a strange love, this one. A love for a friend. The love from a Faith towards those they believed need it. And a love that Romani hoped to be able to continue to extend.

"Of course. Let us head back."
(Romani cos Montclaire)