[voice/telepathy, private to chosen 12 + the four mentioned in the post]

[rebells]

[The voice that comes over the signets is a young boy's voice, carefully calm, speaking in a slow, deliberate manner. He's trying to be comforting, but he's not great at it.]

Hello. This is Jay, one of the people working on the plan to get you all out of that building. We're working as quickly as we can, and we're going to get you all out safely. Please know that.

If you're feeling up to it, I have a few questions that might help us establish whether there's a pattern between any of you. This information will be shared with Percival, Dirk Strider, Roy Mustang, and 9S. I don't intend on sharing it with anyone else, and neither do they. Regardless, if you're not comfortable answering a question, you don't have to. I am going to ask, however, that you not lie.

What is your name? Age? Gender? Species?
Are you trained as a fighter, and if so, have you practiced your abilities in Shehui?
What power did Qri give you, and have you practiced that in Shehui?
What did you say to the monitors or government, to the best of your recollection?
Is there anything else you think might have made you of interest to the monitors?
How have the monitors behaved towards you so far?

[He repeats the questions again, slowly, two or three times.]

If you could also keep me updated on your physical condition, that would be helpful.

Again, we're coming for you. Take care of yourselves and each other, stay strong, and try not to provoke the monitors, Jade.

((OOC NOTE: Assume this is backdated some, to the first few days of testing.))

Comments

[witchhooded]

[ these dramatic pauses are both entertaining and killing her. jay knows how to tell a story. ]

So they kind of found him!

[rebells]

They had.

Sven's message was in Relares, the language of the ancient Radiant. But Norma could read it. It thanked her for always believing in him, and said that her belief in him was what enabled him to go on, to find the Everlight. He said that she'd worked hard, and that he knew that one day, she would find this place.

"Look forward to tomorrow, Norma! A limitless future awaits you there!"

The message had one last thing--a request for Norma.

[witchhooded]

Oh...

[ a lot of people struggled to get to that point - and the message sven left for her was one meant to inspire positivity. to keep it. the war; was it going on then? if do, what had norma lived through in order to get to that point? ]

Come ooooon, don't tease me! What was the request?

[rebells]

It wasn't just a request, really. It was a wish.

The wish was that she bring Zamaran to the Everlight and restore his sight. So that's what she did.

[witchhooded]

The Everlight can do that?

[rebells]

[Dryly:]

Well, it was a crystal that granted wishes.

[witchhooded]

I know! I know that, but...

[ hm. considering what madoka's done for her, jade shouldn't be questioning this. ]

Was the Everlight planned to be used as a weapon?

[rebells]

I don't know. I don't know what the Radiant who looked after it asked from it, if anything.

But given the history--I think not.

[witchhooded]

[ hm. she'll consider this, and then ultimately accept it for what it is. ]

Okay. Sorry to interrupt again. Please continue!!!

[rebells]

It's fine. We're almost done, anyway.

Once she had made her wish, however, the crystal that had been the Everlight cracked and went dark. It seems that it had only been good for one more wish.

But Norma didn't mind. She said it was the Everlight's way of telling her it was time to find a new dream. And--I think she was happy, at least for some time.

[It's catching up to him now: the reality that he betrayed Norma and the others, put the peaceful existence of the Legacy in jeopardy. He falls silent.]

That was a couple months ago--a couple months before I came to the coven, that is.

[witchhooded]

[ oh. that's the second time someone's told her a story that, at the end of it, jade's felt like she knows the person a little bit better. it's curious - maybe percival and jay have more in common than any one of them realize. jade wonders. ]

Maybe the crystal was not needed to make wishes come true anymore.

What kind of person was Norma?

[rebells]

Honestly? She was an idiot. She was obsessed with treasure, and getting more of it. She was supposed to be a treasure-hunter, but she didn't know how to disarm traps. She was always saying ridiculous things and making a fool of herself.

[But--there's a but there, in the way he pauses after saying that, and Jade might be able to hear it.]

[witchhooded]

[ she does. she definitely does. ]

Go on!

[rebells]

There's nothing else. That's it.

[But it lacks its usual heat.]

. . . I suspect she did much of it on purpose. To "lighten the mood" or some other ridiculous reason.

[witchhooded]

My ectobrother was like that! I guess it is a thing that people who are heroic have in common.

[ a pause. ]

You did not really dislike her, did you?

[rebells]

[He'd deny it, usually. But he's tired, and so:]

We traveled together for some time.

[witchhooded]

[ good enough for jade. ]

I am glad you were with someone who wanted to make you feel better.

[rebells]

I'm not.

[But he doesn't mean it.]

What exactly is an ectobrother?

[witchhooded]

It is basically cloning!

[ there's really no other way to explain it, is there? it's ghost slime cloning. ]

[rebells]

[Bemused:]

I don't know what that is, either.

[witchhooded]

Oh.

[ uh ]

Do you know what DNA is...? It stands for Deoxyribonucleic acid and is a self-replicating material present in nearly all living organisms as the main constituent of chromosomes. Cloning is taking that and making another one of the same one. John and I made from that process! It is like if a mother had twins, in a way... I guess.

[ this is. incredibly dumbed down. ]

[rebells]

Hmm.

[He got that. Kind of--?]

Your world's technology is far beyond mine. But I knew that already, I suppose.

[witchhooded]

It was a bit advanced even for our world! It was a mechanic of the game.

Where did you come from?

[ since jay knows jade's a test tube baby now, and all. ]

[rebells]

[There is a noticeable pause before he answers.]

Before I came to the coven, I lived on the Legacy. I was an information-dealer and a strategist. I lived in a village with a group of anthropomorphic otters known as the Oresoren.

[It's not an in-kind answer, really, but the in-kind answer is not something he wants to go into.]

[witchhooded]

[ that's pretty heavy stuff. ]

Otters?? That's sooooo cute! And it means we have something in common.