Confronting Ema

[07:41] Finding a spot away from most was the first task in this, and Seifer did it just successfully. As he'd stop with his cousin in tow right by a small pond the young man finally addressed the subject - right away.

"I'm worried for you."
(Seifer Gardios)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[07:44] With a pep in her step, the younger Okabe strides right behind her cousin; keeping pace up until their arrival before the higher pools within the small hills that flanked the base of the Tarians.

A pang of confusion leaves the young Xuantongian's countenance as a singe index pokes the grove between her lip and chin.

"What do you mean?" She asks, the feverish nature she often bore now toned down; likely to fit the mood of the topic, whatever it may be.
(Ema Okabe)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[07:47] Eyes glanced in her direction for a moment before they returned to his own reflection in the waters ahead. He wasn't going to pretend like he knew everything, nor was it safe to assume anything. Even so, he addressed it.

"Edingel. The Vampire. She... asked you if you were hungry back then. Ever since it happened I've.."

He couldn't fully get it out. He couldn't bring himself to ask her whether it meant she drank something which turned her. He'd known from Ethric that drinking something a vampire offers you is completely senseless, but to accuse Ema of doing such? He couldn't.

"... What is it about?"
(Seifer Gardios)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[07:52] Ah. Yes.

"Okay, I know it maaaaay look fishy..." There was a subtle pause, yet it seemed moreso for emphasis just to accentuate her answer. "But she only gave me sushi after that."

Without context, it might have been problematic considering the revelations that soon followed past that. Yet the solemn answer from the younger immigrant would bear a straight beat of words.

Funny how the simplest revelations can send one to see someone they once looked up to in an extremely different light.

"We went back, she gave me sushi, the end!" Despite her attempts to sound serious, her nature of exclamations remain present, even just by the taddest bit. "If it's what you're thinking, nothing's happened to me. You can check all you want."
(Ema Okabe)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[07:56] The tension remained very much alive and present until Ema's words revealed the truth. Or at the very least what she would indicate as such. It mattered little to Seifer; he trusted her completely and fully. A breath escaped his lips in relief before he turned to face her, offering a bright smile.

"Really? That's good. I-...

.. I was afraid you would choose a life like that." He confessed, knowing that he would have to be right up against her, that he would have to save her from the fate she'd inflicted upon herself.

His gaze shifted back towards the horizon ahead before he uttered a few more words, opening up to his cousin.

"I intend on saving them all, you know? Of freeing them from their curse. I'm not sure how yet, or when, but I'll find a way to help their lives be one that's natural. One that the world can agree with."
(Seifer Gardios)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[08:03] It was an odd work relationship for sure. Though it was notable that her presence seems to slowly become less prevalent in the Point and much more frequent in Waystone itself. Of course, what was she to turn away from a paycheck, yet it was abundantly clear that even she was doing her best to keep distance.

There was a little extra bit of information one can have just by working there. And perhaps her swift thinking and silver tongue has at least kept her from finding an unwanted fate, much like a few of her coworkers.

"I-I wanted to quit," she reveals. The pinching attention of her head brought down as her eyes glanced upon the surface of the waters before them. "But I think it'll look suspicious if I did. So now I just skip shifts when I can."

Not many can claim to have seen the young Okabe reclused like this. Most can only claim to have seen her ever cheery disposition. Hence her taking up this mood was a clear sign of a heavy gravitas.

"I'm not sure if they can be saved..." A personal opinion, one forged from seeing most of their kind function. "I don't think... they can go back to what they used to be."
(Ema Okabe)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[08:08] The dread felt behind Ema's words was echoing within Seifer's heart. A deep breath was drawn in as his eyes fell shut. For a moment he seemed to cut off his senses and shut himself away from the world, though the young Okabe would find that it was quite the opposite. The complete opposite, in fact. A gentle warmth surrounded him for a moment before a hand rose up to the girl's back, offering that warmth with a gentle touch.

Green hues peered once again into the world, this time directed towards Ema.

"I know that there's a way. Someone has done it before; I just need to... figure out how I can do it, too. I don't think it'll be easy and, well, I wouldn't force them to change.

But I'll always give them a chance to be saved."

A smile soon spread upon his lips as with full confidence he looked into her eyes.
(Seifer Gardios)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[08:14] That was... new. The sensation wasn't anything she's felt before. However she barely understood its meaning, only shrugging it off as a moment of high.

Her eyes shut for but a few moments as her form leads her to shrug. She can be quite opinionated, but what was she to stop him from trying? After all, she had full faith in his senses.

"Well, just don't do anything stup- oh who am I kidding, you'll be fine!" She chuckles. Her clamor of a smile returning with a lighthearted intensity.

If there was one person she could wholeheartedly trust to know a specific piece of information or to find something out, it was her cousin. That's what they taught in Starfall, right?

"All I'm saying though, you can give them a chance. But I kinda feel like they won't take that chance. They call it a gift for a reason you know..." She leaves it with a gentle head cant as her form slowly sways, as if to follow a gentle breeze that zooms forth between them.
(Ema Okabe)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[08:15] "I know."

He answered. He'd seen it firsthand, after all. Confronting Vanessa even with the nicest, brightest expectations in the world had still left him unable to truly aid her. It hurt, in a way. Though the young man wasn't going to dwell upon such pain for too long. Instead that same smile as before remained and a few more words that carried Esshar upon its shoulders were uttered.

"But just because they've given up on themselves it doesn't mean I should give up on them."
(Seifer Gardios)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[08:20] Until now, she couldn't understand his claim to help. Mayhaps it was just a lack of education on the subject itself, yet it slowly becomes abundantly clear when her initial answers to his words would be a simple nod.

She never did get how all this worked. Yet she figured her cousin might know enough to push forward.

"Well, if that's the case, then you don't gotta worry about me." She briskly nods. "I'm gonna see if I can get out from working there overtime. I think I can do better moonlighting somewhere... less prolific of rumors."
(Ema Okabe)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[08:23] A small pat on the girl's back followed her words. He was happy to see she'd considered and saw the risk of working in such an establishment. And despite all of his worries it was abundantly clear at this point that Ema's cousin wasn't there to hunt and hurt her should she have chosen a darker fate— no.

He came bearing help, care, and a boundless love for the people of the world.

"That's a good idea. Zhrani's been really eager to see your work, maybe you could work with the church for a bit. I'm... sure they'd appreciate some murals."
(Seifer Gardios)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[08:33] "Maybe. As long as it pays well..." She never was the religious type. Nor was she against it. It was a subtle middle ground which likely was propagated in her youth.

Of course, churches often worked with charity in-mind. Something she herself wasn't the type to give away.

But of course, what was she to at least not check? "Maybe if the church is interested enough, they can ask me for some?"

Of course, the painting for their wedding would have to be the first to be accomplished before even daring to provide her totally nonexistent resume of paintings.

"Either way..." A short segway, likely to pass considering that the integral and important subjects are passed on. "Is there anything else? I still gotta prepare a few more things before we head out!"
(Ema Okabe)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[08:35] Seifer offers a small nod to the conclusion of it all. From allowing his cousin to moonlight as a bartender in a place filled with nocturnal fanged monsters to guiding her towards an establishment that likely would treat her better, even if the pay was poor. Perhaps it was the way to go about this.

"Yeah.. I'll make sure to get our wedding underway. We've been busy organizing that, too." He admits. "I'll catch you later..!" He finally says, offering a smile her way.
(Seifer Gardios)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[08:36] Ema Okabe exclaims, "Make sure you're ready!!!"
[08:36] Seifer Gardios says, "I will."