abraxaslogs | INTRO LOG #2

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INTRO LOG #2

Intro Log #2

It has been two months now since the initial group of summonings first took place. Castle Thorne, or at least the part above ground, is buzzing with a vibrant air of hope following the 'success' at the Singularity. Eager smiles and excited chattering are to be found in nearly every corner of the castle and surrounding town. The honored guests may find grateful looks turned their way more often than not. A new and brighter day seems to be dawning on the kingdom.

In the dungeons it's a different story entirely. The mood is somber and uneasy. The prisoner taken for trial has yet to return, and no word has come regarding her or her fate. There has been no mention of any further trials as of yet and guards seem to have little patience for unruly behavior or even conversation. Some seem to not even look at or acknowledge the prisoners at all.

[ Feel free to continue threads from the TDM here or start your own! As cell and room assignments will be short-lived due to this month's event, you're free to assume whichever cellmates and roommates you like instead of officially signing up as long as there are ICly no more than four people in a cell or room at once. ]

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[Majima blinked out of his reverie after the knocking of the bars repeats a few times. It wasn't insistent but the repetition got his attention nonetheless. He glanced up to see what it was all about, thinking he'd see a guard or visitor or even one of the cellmates trying to annoy or catch attention.

He stared up at Kiryu almost blankly for a moment but that was a lie. He definitely recognized the man he simply didn't know which expression to put on his face currently. Eventually he shuffled to his feet and made his way over to the bars, not reluctantly but slowly.]

'Ey, Kiryu-chan.

[His voice was low, but not too deep, slightly on the quiet side to keep with the atmosphere of the dungeon.]

[ The low voice is still very welcome and familiar enough; if nothing has changed much between the older version and this one, it's his voice, for all that he hardly hears this version go manic.

Then again, he has very little reason to.

But he'll come to the bars and he'll pull out his cigarettes, pull out some matches and offer both to Majima; he can keep the pack and the matches. ]

Majima-san. You're looking... different. From the last time I saw you, I mean.

Oh?

[He made the small noise out of curiosity as he reached for the offered goods. He made Kiryu keep one of the cigarettes and, this time, was the one to offer a flame for it. His gratitude.

After settling that, Majima took a drag from his own cigarette he couldn't help but light up. He needed it.]

How so?

[What? He wasn't allowed to brood?]

[ He raises an eyebrow, because he'd think that it's pretty obvious what he means. After all, the last time they they spoke was in the Horizon. ]

Did something happen?

[ Something new, he means. Since they've come back. Or is it just the obvious? ]

[Majima's brow crinkled as he made a face at the expression and question aimed at him. He glared at Kiryu but it was only half felt.]

You mean besides being forced into an extra-dimensional space full of bullshit and cause for an existential crisis? No, Kiryu-san. I'm stuck in here. What the hell else could have possibly happened to me? The guards don't even bother me anymore thanks to you. Pity, would be a nice break in the day.

[He doesn't mean that last part, he's just bitter and upset. Kiryu...Kiryu probably never saw what Majima went through after they parted. The only time Majima had enjoyed the Horizon was when he was with Kiryu--the rest was all cages and self doubt.

Least to say, he wasn't going to head back there on his own anytime soon.]

[ Kiryu is more used to this kind of tirade than he might have let on, so when Majima goes after him, there's no wincing and there's no apologies. Instead, there's clearly a feeling of 'are you done?' because that last bit was pure dramatics and none of that tells him why or from what. Once he's done, he can ask- ]

"Existential crisis"?

Look, I-

[Regret ever saying anything at all. He glanced back over his shoulder at the other people in the cell, clearly uncomfortable. It was one thing to talk to Kiryu as if nothing mattered, another to reveal his secrets in front of anyone else.

He stepped a little closer to the bars and lowered his voice even more than it already was.]

...The Horizon wasn't the greatest place for me. Yeah, you got your shiny beach and lovely little cabin with all its accommodations. I got... I got Sotenbori.

I don't remember Sotenbori being very different from Kamurocho.

[ And his tone conveys... something complicated. Both because he knows that some awful things happened back then, that Majima was not in a good spot (not that Majima's ever told him straight up, but these things do get around). Even beyond that, while he'd put a few pieces of the red light district in his Horizon home, it certainly wasn't dominated by it. And he has plenty of complicated feelings about the place even without having been... caged there.

But on that topic-]

Because it felt familiar?

[ He thinks about it for a moment longer before he adds- ]

It felt deserved?

[Kiryu managed to hit the nail on the head. Majima stiffened at the last question. It might not have been visible to anyone other than Kiryu but there was a certain amount of tightness that entered his body at the words.

He didn't meat Kiryu's eyes, staring at a space near the floor as if he could see past it.]

I didn't get a choice. The damn place was just there and I wandered into it like a fool. [ ... ] Not having memories, but just enough subconscious to know where my place was. The hell kind of place is that?

[Right back into the cage that he'd been living in back home. And his subconscious knew it, too. He hadn't been able to leave the Sotenbori backdrop once he'd created it out of his own missing memories. Why the hell would he ever want that? Because it was just as Kiryu had said: it felt deserved. He knew where he belonged. In a cage.]

[ Kiryu, on the other hand, sees it differently. Both for Majima? And for himself. ]

It seemed like the kind of place that could change. And that could change us. A place that requires a strong will.

[ If he looks over to Majima, it's with something firm but gentle in his eyes. ]

If you want to change it, you should. If it's your place, you should make it yours. Not a place that was made for you.

[Majima frowned as he thought over Kiryu's words. The concept certainly had merit, and a type of determination entered the aura of Majima. However, verbally he didn't play ball, instead rebutting with:]

I'd rather just never go to the damn place again.

[The way he saw it, he didn't need the damn place anyway. What good was it? It wasn't his world. He didn't need nor want it. It would take more than the challenge of proving he had a strong enough will to change it to his liking to get him to go back there.]

I get the feeling our fates are tied to the Horizon in this world.

[ He still doesn't know how he feels about what they've been told, but it's clear enough that all of them are accepted there, allowed to be there where the people of this world are not. ]

I hope you don't have to go back, if that's how you feel. But I doubt we'll have the choice.

Tch.

[He made the noise at Kiryu's statement of their fates being tied to the Horizon. He certainly didn't like that idea. Arguing over it wouldn't make it any less true if it were the case though. And he knew there was something special about them being able to go to it.

Didn't mean he had to like it.]

Well, I ain't going back on purpose. I'll deal with it when it happens if it's forced again.

If you don't want to change yours, you'd always be welcome in mine. You seemed to like it while you were there.

[ A bit of a curl at the corner of his lips. ]

You gave me a good fight. It seemed like you had a good time too.

[Was that a faint blush on his cheeks? If so, he hid it not-so-well as he looked away and rubbed the back of his head with one hand. He made a small noise of annoyance that was half hearted at best.]

Yeah, if ya like that kinda sandy beach shit, it was nice an' all.

[His expression changed slightly as he addressed the latter half, looking back at Kiryu, an almost uncertain look on his face. Like he wasn't sure if what he felt was right or not.]

I guess so... fightin's the only thing I've ever felt good at. Yer damn strong. Maybe too strong. But I'd like to test that strength again. Beat ya one day.

[ If anything, Kiryu looks pleased at the idea. ]

Any time, Majima-san. I'll look forward to it. Here or there.

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INTRO LOG #2

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