[ It's not like she gets a thrill from startling him, or anything like that. That's not it. But... If it even remotely comes close to how he made her feel, crossing paths at the party, then she'll take it. Blue eyes dart briefly to the necklace on the table, but Cyrene doesn't move to take it just yet. What if it's a trick? He could... maybe... reach out and snatch her by the wrist or something if she tries to pick it up off the table. Not like she'd let something like that happen. She can protect herself.
...Instead, though, what she ends up doing is taking a seat across the table from him, still poised to get up and throw hands at the first sign of trouble. She folds her arms over one another on the tabletop, hands buried in the sleeves of her baggy blue hoodie, and fixes this man with a stare that had most certainly made her friends back home think twice about picking fights in the past. ]
...Where do I even start. I'm sure Mydeimos gave you what-for, already. [ There's an inhale. ] Who do you think you are? Why do you-- how do you know me? And... [ The next part comes softer, like she's unsure of whether or not she even wants to ask. ] Why do I... know you?
[There's a wince as she begins, Phainon letting her speak and fully aware she's upset. This is Cyrene, after all, and he won't interrupt her or what she's asking him. He's here to answer those questions, since she told him they would be coming.
She's not wrong about Mydei giving him hell, either.]
No one's told you about Kaisou, have they? [A pause, and Phainon crosses his arms, leaning back for just a minute.] From what people have told me— Kaisou is different from most cities. People who come here, or people who were even born here... usually, they're reincarnations. They had a past life that ended, somehow, and were reborn in this world. Kaisou just seems to connect people to that, more than a lot of other places around the world.
What you saw yesterday... that was a memory. Something you witnessed as Cyrene in your past life. That's why you recognize me, because we were friends back then. It's why I also know you.
[ Reincarnations. Past lives. Those are things she gets, at least. There's been plenty of that in the books she always liked to read, so it's not that strange a concept. Only strange to know that it's real, maybe. ]
We were friends... in another life. [ She takes a breath. ] Friends. I-- help me understand. What I saw-- what you made me see... was... you killing me. What happ... why... what kind of friendship ends that way? I don't... I don't think I was angry at you. At-- at him. So why...?
[ She searches Phainon's face desperately, as if hoping to find her answer there. She wants to believe that he didn't just... kill... another Cyrene... for no reason. Surely. ]
[He sees that look on her face and bites his lip a bit, but exhales and nods, ready to explain.]
Okay, let me just... [His hands come up and gesture openly, indicating he's trying to ease her into this whole thing.] I didn't know that you seeing me there would trigger a memory, so... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, or make you upset.
But that's the thing about these memories, Cyrene— they'll happen if something in this life reminds you of them, or they could just come to you randomly. There's... really no rhyme or reason as to when or how they happen, they just do.
[A beat, and here is where Phainon knows that what he says here needs to not only make sense, but he has to tell her what happened. If nothing else, she deserves to know what happened.] As for why things happened like that— it wasn't something I chose to do. But you and I... we found out that if we completed the journey we were on, the Flame Chase? The thing all of us worked so hard to ensure a better future for Amphoreus, sacrificed so much for? It would all be used to fuel the Destruction. We would be causing a calamity to enter into the cosmos outside our home. Untold amounts of people would die, Cyrene.
You... couldn't let that happen, and neither could I. So you decided that we were going to stall this journey for as long as we could. And the only way to do that [Phainon pauses here, shakes his head a little, and then continues.] is to remove Time. To... remove you. It was the only way to keep things from ending, and you... you asked me to.
[It is incredibly noticeable how unhappy he was about the whole thing.]
[ Phainon really doesn't seem like someone who would hurt a person out of malice. The way that he explains things feels very genuine, as well, which allows Cyrene to begin to relax a little. It seemed from last night that he and Mydei were familiar with each other, so if Mydei respects him enough to not have immediately thrown a punch when she came to him so afraid... she can put up with this. ]
To remove Time... to protect the world-- no, the universe...
[ ...Something begins to come to her, in small bits and pieces. The memory settles over her like an old friend, gentle and familiar in a way entirely unlike what she had seen the night before. It feels... right, in a weird way, even though she's certainly only just begun to truly recall the history of which it tells.
She and Phainon... no, she and Khaslana stand in a starlit chamber, surrounded by the sound of rippling water. Cyrene recognizes it, this time, as the Vortex of Genesis--the place where the Flame-Chase Journey would end, where they would usher in Era Nova. Except... they both know that that cannot be allowed to happen. They know, from the ramblings of that mad Antikytherean, that unfathomable evils will come to pass, should they invoke the birth of the new world. They know... what must be done, even without speaking it aloud at first. ]
'We're going to weave a long dream for Amphoreus...' [ The words come as a whisper, softer even than this recollection of her had spoken them. ] I... I asked you to do it, didn't I? To end my life. It was... the only way to draw the eye of... that god.
[ Cyrene closes her eyes, and lets out a soft exhale. When she opens them again, she lifts her gaze to meet Phainon's, forcing a small smile. ]
Can we... start over? ... Hi. My name is Cyrene. I moved here from Sparta to follow after a friend who's basically a little brother to me. What about you?
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2025-10-05 05:59 am (UTC)...Instead, though, what she ends up doing is taking a seat across the table from him, still poised to get up and throw hands at the first sign of trouble. She folds her arms over one another on the tabletop, hands buried in the sleeves of her baggy blue hoodie, and fixes this man with a stare that had most certainly made her friends back home think twice about picking fights in the past. ]
...Where do I even start. I'm sure Mydeimos gave you what-for, already. [ There's an inhale. ] Who do you think you are? Why do you-- how do you know me? And... [ The next part comes softer, like she's unsure of whether or not she even wants to ask. ] Why do I... know you?
no subject
Date: 2025-10-09 03:38 pm (UTC)She's not wrong about Mydei giving him hell, either.]
No one's told you about Kaisou, have they? [A pause, and Phainon crosses his arms, leaning back for just a minute.] From what people have told me— Kaisou is different from most cities. People who come here, or people who were even born here... usually, they're reincarnations. They had a past life that ended, somehow, and were reborn in this world. Kaisou just seems to connect people to that, more than a lot of other places around the world.
What you saw yesterday... that was a memory. Something you witnessed as Cyrene in your past life. That's why you recognize me, because we were friends back then. It's why I also know you.
[Not like that isn't creepy or anything...]
no subject
Date: 2025-10-13 03:01 am (UTC)We were friends... in another life. [ She takes a breath. ] Friends. I-- help me understand. What I saw-- what you made me see... was... you killing me. What happ... why... what kind of friendship ends that way? I don't... I don't think I was angry at you. At-- at him. So why...?
[ She searches Phainon's face desperately, as if hoping to find her answer there. She wants to believe that he didn't just... kill... another Cyrene... for no reason. Surely. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-10-18 06:50 am (UTC)Okay, let me just... [His hands come up and gesture openly, indicating he's trying to ease her into this whole thing.] I didn't know that you seeing me there would trigger a memory, so... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, or make you upset.
But that's the thing about these memories, Cyrene— they'll happen if something in this life reminds you of them, or they could just come to you randomly. There's... really no rhyme or reason as to when or how they happen, they just do.
[A beat, and here is where Phainon knows that what he says here needs to not only make sense, but he has to tell her what happened. If nothing else, she deserves to know what happened.] As for why things happened like that— it wasn't something I chose to do. But you and I... we found out that if we completed the journey we were on, the Flame Chase? The thing all of us worked so hard to ensure a better future for Amphoreus, sacrificed so much for? It would all be used to fuel the Destruction. We would be causing a calamity to enter into the cosmos outside our home. Untold amounts of people would die, Cyrene.
You... couldn't let that happen, and neither could I. So you decided that we were going to stall this journey for as long as we could. And the only way to do that [Phainon pauses here, shakes his head a little, and then continues.] is to remove Time. To... remove you. It was the only way to keep things from ending, and you... you asked me to.
[It is incredibly noticeable how unhappy he was about the whole thing.]
no subject
Date: 2025-11-01 06:18 am (UTC)To remove Time... to protect the world-- no, the universe...
[ ...Something begins to come to her, in small bits and pieces. The memory settles over her like an old friend, gentle and familiar in a way entirely unlike what she had seen the night before. It feels... right, in a weird way, even though she's certainly only just begun to truly recall the history of which it tells.
She and Phainon... no, she and Khaslana stand in a starlit chamber, surrounded by the sound of rippling water. Cyrene recognizes it, this time, as the Vortex of Genesis--the place where the Flame-Chase Journey would end, where they would usher in Era Nova. Except... they both know that that cannot be allowed to happen. They know, from the ramblings of that mad Antikytherean, that unfathomable evils will come to pass, should they invoke the birth of the new world. They know... what must be done, even without speaking it aloud at first. ]
'We're going to weave a long dream for Amphoreus...' [ The words come as a whisper, softer even than this recollection of her had spoken them. ] I... I asked you to do it, didn't I? To end my life. It was... the only way to draw the eye of... that god.
[ Cyrene closes her eyes, and lets out a soft exhale. When she opens them again, she lifts her gaze to meet Phainon's, forcing a small smile. ]
Can we... start over? ... Hi. My name is Cyrene. I moved here from Sparta to follow after a friend who's basically a little brother to me. What about you?