pop rocks

[cutlery]

[ 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

[epiprocta]

[ That earns an unsubtle snort. As if. ]

'Cause I don't want the same thing happening to me, dumbass.

[ Is it a little risky admitting that he also has a shard from Yima that he's protecting? Maybe. But given his own loyalty to Zenith, he'd assume Sebastian can already hazard a guess that he has one, anyway. ]

There's someone I wanna ask to take a look at'em. See if they can figure something out. Might help find how to prevent it -- or who was responsible for it.

[cutlery]

[ Gen is right, because so far as Sebastian is aware, every Zenite has one. Conveniently, he and Amos have never talked about it, so he’s just making an assumption here… ]

Really. [ His response is flat, not a question. ] And who might that be? Experts on Shards or the like seem to be rare in Kenos.

[epiprocta]

[ Sebastian is met with silence for a moment -- not hesitation, but deliberation. The connection between them stews with sharp consideration and unsubtle caution. Gen's never been shy about how little he trusts (or likes) Sebastian, after all. But after that moment passes, there's a little psychic puff of resignation -- the equivalent of a sigh -- before he grits, flatly: ]

Aetos.

[ There's no sigh of falsehood or duplicity across this Communion. Gen is either telling the truth, or is a phenomenal liar. ]

I have an in with him.

[cutlery]

[ Of all the people that Sebastian would have guessed to have an “in” with the masked wizard, Gen is surely among the last of them. The surprise is clear in Communion, and he’s briefly stunned into silence, but it’s quickly followed by the proverbial hum of consideration. If there was anyone that could… Well. It would be Aetos, wouldn’t it? ]

An interesting admission. And how did you get involved with them?

[ It’s a serious question, but as if to encourage Gen to answer, he quickly follows it: ]

In that case, I accept.

[epiprocta]

[ Unfortunately, the follow-up is actually counterproductive. Given the acquiescence, Gen promptly loses all incentive to be even an iota more honest than he needs to be. ]

Doesn't matter how I got involved with him, does it. Ask him yourself if you want proof, but I ain't lying.

[ Said bluntly, because he really is laying out the truth at the moment. He just doesn't want to admit that his link to Aetos is basically entirely by happenstance, and caught him entirely by surprise. ]

You been doing anything in particular when handling those pieces?

[ He won't be bringing Reiji's shard anywhere near those pieces, but best to take every extra precaution he can. ]