Got it. [His message might be a little distorted from the static but it should be clear that Minato doesn't intend to move from where he is.
There's mirrors everywhere around him, almost seeming to shimmer in the dim light that shines through the forced-open entrance. Minato lets out a drawn breath, glancing absently at one of the mirrors only to see Aigis looming over him when he was still a child- it's fleeting, gone seconds after before he can register the silent cry he made so many years ago.
He doesn't notice Mitsuru approaching at first, having a hand pressed to his face wearily while he shakes his head. That thought about not being worth saving before this is alien to him- what was it about?
It's only when she's but a few steps away that he'll look up, making direct eye contact with her.] Mitsuru. I'm glad to see that you're alright. [Relatively speaking naturally.]
[ When she's finally able to catch a glimpse of him standing there, she can't help but feel some relief wash over her. Good, she thinks. It's a selfish need to be reassured, but she will take it. The click of her boots on broken glass help announce her approach, though he doesn't appear to acknowledge her until she's nearly reached him. ]
...You as well. [ Mitsuru does give Minato a careful glance over, as if to ascertain that level of "alrightness" herself. ]
This place is...unsettling. [ She finally says, making a point to keep her gaze on him and not on any of the mirrors. ] This entire city. It appears to be an abandoned settlement.
[Minato looks a little worse for the wear by now, with dirt clinging to his hair and a few bruises from fighting the mechanical monsters. Still...he's doing okay for the lack of a better word, and he's equally glad to look back at Mitsuru.]
I agree. There's nothing here but those machines and the monsters in the lake...it's strange that this is one of the only buildings left standing. [He pauses to adjust his position, hands still firmly tucked into his pockets.] I wonder if those ghosts we saw used to live here.
[ It is, indeed, strange. It obviously has to serve some sort of purpose. To house the mirrors in particular? She imagined that they were once whole, but did they always reflect such awful scenes? ]
It's very strange. I wonder if it was intentional...or if the creatures here simply know to avoid it.
[ Perhaps they have seen too much as well. ]
The ghosts? [ Her expression opens a bit at that thought, before she brings a hand to her chin. ] ...I hadn't considered. But that's possible...yes, entirely possible. This land used to belong to someone. The question is who.
[That is a good question, and Minato was going to mention the natives when it occurs to him that the odd thing here isn't that there's ruins here so much as how everything they've seen so far resembles the city they knew.
But there was only one Cerealia, built after the contract...or was that the whole story? Minato's stood still while thinking about this, a worried frown developing as he realizes that they've hit upon yet another mystery with no easy answer.]
This land used to belong to the natives before Cerealia was built, but this place looks more like the colony than anything the natives would have lived in...if that's so, was there another colony before Cerealia?
[ There seems to be a long string of those--mysteries with no easy answers. While Mitsuru is confident that with vigilant persistence and a keen eye they will get to the bottom of all of this, more and more questions pop up to replace the few that might be answered. ]
It would seem so...
[ A trial one, perhaps? ]
If that's the case...our arrival could be more than the second attempt.
More than the second attempt... [That idea doesn't sit well with Minato and there's no way to prove it conclusively yet but he does nod lightly, agreeing at least that all the facts appeared to point towards a second attempt at something.]
It doesn't seem that way from what CERES has told us, but they've lied more than once too.
Understood. The path above ground might lead outside, so we should start by going underground first. [That, and such places tended to hold more secrets...he has no clue that he won't like what they'd find yet.]
[ She's learned that sometimes it's nice having someone else call the shots every now and then. Mitsuru finds it difficult to actually lend command over to others, but she trusts Minato's judgment more than most. So she will go where he leads and hope that their search is fruitful. ]
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There's mirrors everywhere around him, almost seeming to shimmer in the dim light that shines through the forced-open entrance. Minato lets out a drawn breath, glancing absently at one of the mirrors only to see Aigis looming over him when he was still a child- it's fleeting, gone seconds after before he can register the silent cry he made so many years ago.
He doesn't notice Mitsuru approaching at first, having a hand pressed to his face wearily while he shakes his head. That thought about not being worth saving before this is alien to him- what was it about?
It's only when she's but a few steps away that he'll look up, making direct eye contact with her.] Mitsuru. I'm glad to see that you're alright. [Relatively speaking naturally.]
no subject
...You as well. [ Mitsuru does give Minato a careful glance over, as if to ascertain that level of "alrightness" herself. ]
This place is...unsettling. [ She finally says, making a point to keep her gaze on him and not on any of the mirrors. ] This entire city. It appears to be an abandoned settlement.
no subject
I agree. There's nothing here but those machines and the monsters in the lake...it's strange that this is one of the only buildings left standing. [He pauses to adjust his position, hands still firmly tucked into his pockets.] I wonder if those ghosts we saw used to live here.
no subject
It's very strange. I wonder if it was intentional...or if the creatures here simply know to avoid it.
[ Perhaps they have seen too much as well. ]
The ghosts? [ Her expression opens a bit at that thought, before she brings a hand to her chin. ] ...I hadn't considered. But that's possible...yes, entirely possible. This land used to belong to someone. The question is who.
no subject
But there was only one Cerealia, built after the contract...or was that the whole story? Minato's stood still while thinking about this, a worried frown developing as he realizes that they've hit upon yet another mystery with no easy answer.]
This land used to belong to the natives before Cerealia was built, but this place looks more like the colony than anything the natives would have lived in...if that's so, was there another colony before Cerealia?
no subject
It would seem so...
[ A trial one, perhaps? ]
If that's the case...our arrival could be more than the second attempt.
no subject
It doesn't seem that way from what CERES has told us, but they've lied more than once too.
no subject
[ It is chilling, but mostly speculation at this point. They exist in a web of lies and half-truths that they're left to decipher on their own. ]
Others may have more insight. We should regroup.
Guess we can wrap up here?
Works for me!
[ She's learned that sometimes it's nice having someone else call the shots every now and then. Mitsuru finds it difficult to actually lend command over to others, but she trusts Minato's judgment more than most. So she will go where he leads and hope that their search is fruitful. ]