pop rocks

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[ By the time Sebastian reaches out in Communion, he’s already felt the fullness of his rage and taken it out. Viciously. It’s an occasion where he’s grateful for what Ryad provides, lest he had to express it in a more troublesome way.

Sebastian’s usual affect is warm and friendly, if with a polite distance, but today, it’s ice cold. His Communion is always expressed as something dark, but there’s a secondary sensation that comes today as well. It’s the unsettling sensation of being watched that makes someone’s hair raise. After all, there’s uncountable eyes in that abyssal dark. ]

I shall be brief. Someone broke into my home a few days ago and left a “gift” most unwelcome. A Shard belonging to someone from my home. Yet, though I kept it isolated to inspect it further, that did not seem to matter. It infected the Shard that Lady Yima gave me. A Shard that is now no more, for it burst. The soul that was in that little rock is no more.

[ His voice becomes more tense at that last sentence. It’s clear he’s very intentionally holding back his temper significantly. ]

I make this announcement for my fellow Zenites’ sake that they might destroy any they come upon immediately. Also to inform them that there is a way for these Shards to be tampered with that has been exploited. But let me also be clear.

I will find whoever was unwise enough to step into my home and play with my pet. I went through great lengths to obtain that soul, and I do not take kindly to being robbed of it. But there is no need for threats beyond that, is there?

[ So he says, but it’s crystal clear—Whoever it was, they’re in grave danger if they’re discovered. ]

Comments

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[ Sebastian’s frown is clear from the tone of the hm he utters first, but he doesn’t respond immediately. Her implication is clear, but what that further implies is more troubling. This was a more coordinated effort? But still, he’ll confirm. ]

So, you also found an unwelcome gift, I take it?

[erbe]

I'd be unsurprised if a small handful of people received such "gifts".

[Her anger begins boiling again, but it's kept leashed. The sensation like a pot on the stove in another room — its simmering heat recognizable even from a distance.]

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[ Her answer isn’t clear, but the anger is. It at least makes it a little more confusing, since he’d at first assumed that this was a personal revenge, but Rin doesn’t have a reason to be included (nor Kiritsubo later). That makes him thoughtful, but it’s intense. Vicious, even. ]

…I see. [ After a pause, he decide to just speak to his thoughts: ] I thought it may be something targeted, but perhaps not. Or not so specifically, at least.

Did you also have a break-in recently?

[erbe]

No. I own a shop and someone posing as a customer must have left it around for me to pick up. I wonder if the person who did this is keeping quiet because they know it would ruffle the feathers of their companions.

[Dimitri, though acting closed off, she recognizes has already expressed concern about it. Let the coward confess their sins. If not for the way Zenites would tear them apart, then for the way their own people would condemn them.

Rin would like to say that these shards mean little when it comes to their war. They are but gifts that serve no actual purpose as a tool. However... that's wrong. They may not be useful as a weapon for a Zenite, but for Meridians they are a lovely weak spot to prod at. Rin can already feel the Discord from the stress settling inside her. Like an illness already caught, and there's nothing you can do from preventing the progression. All you can do is take medicine to mitigate the intensity.]

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[ It’s not a useful answer for figuring out who may have done it, but it at least doesn’t spark any additional irritation from him. It’s perfectly rational, and he can even admit that in her case, it’s probably a bit more annoying. At least he had the clue, however small, that someone had broken in. ]

I assume so. The Meri are… [ Sebastian pauses as if choosing his words carefully, but it also comes with a Communion-shrug. ] They are more diverse in their opinions of what is and is not proper in this conflict, I would say.