Jurassic Guide

[drinkandforget]

She's been dreaming of Earth lately. Why she should be dreaming of that distant planet is not a question Sailor Lethe cares to consider too deeply; she knows it's said to be one of the last territories holding out against Galaxia.

There's no sign of that in the Earth she visits. The lush vegetation is almost tropical, vibrant ferns alongside tall trees. They grace the banks of a winding river, tranquil and quiet. Visible at intervals, small groups of dinosaurs go about their own business, largely ambivalent to her presence.

Lethe poles her small boat silently through the water. When she acquires an extra passenger, she shows no surprise, but be careful; passage is not free. Those in the boat will lose something before they disembark, whether as small and simple as a pen or as disastrous as an irreplaceable keepsake.

Comments

[repudiate]

What, you mean something like rebirth?

[ Ange's not particularly religious, or more that she doesn't care about the idea of an afterlife or reincarnation - death is just that, death. Being with the rest of the dead, in a way. ]

[drinkandforget]

Yes. They drink from my river to forget their lives before, so that they're ready to move into their next lives. [To her, it's strange to meet someone who doesn't seem to understand, or at least acknowledge, that.]

[repudiate]

Making them forget..

[ There's a pause, but then she just sighs, as if she's going back to casual again. ]

I wonder if that's such a cruel thing or not.

[ after all, people want to remember the happy things, but want to forget about the sad things at the same time. ]

[drinkandforget]

There's nothing cruel in it. [She says this calmly; she's never seen it as such.] This is just the order of life. Everything is lost in the end, but our powers.

[repudiate]

... Everything but our powers? Why are the powers the only thing that remain? That sounds a little specific.

[ after all, in Ange's world powers are passed on, so in a way they remain, but.. it's different. ]

[drinkandforget]

They're the only thing that will be carried over after death into our new lives. They're the only permanent thing.

[A sad fate for humans, who don't even have that much.]

[repudiate]

How tragic. [ She still sounds relatively unfazed compared to how most people would sound, but there's more feelings about it inside, really. ]

Even though people would prefer to carry over other things, their power is all they get.

[drinkandforget]

No one decided that. It's how the world is.

Wealth, memories, comrades or friends, all of those are lost and forgotten.

[repudiate]

In that case.. won't you say it's just a waste of time getting all of those? If we're just going to lose them over and over again either way..

[drinkandforget]

It is a waste. [This is not the most encouraging statement she could have made.]

[repudiate]

... Knew it.

[ That's okay, Ange's pretty stuck in that way of thinking too, so to hear it confirmed.. Well, the only thing it could strike it that tiny optimistic part of her somewhere deep down, but she's almost killed that part off already. ]

[drinkandforget]

Then you're wise. Most humans struggle uselessly against it.

Do you know the human saying, "you can't take it with you"? That's all I say, too. Only, they don't go far enough.

[repudiate]

It's since humans want to cling on to what they do have, even beyond death. But they don't even realise, that.. there's no point in living if it's just a cycle of losing everything over and over.

[drinkandforget]

Would you rather end the cycle and have your existence end completely?

That is also possible.

[She makes no threatening move; apparently she does not plan to demonstrate.]

[repudiate]

Honestly, I've already thought quite some times before that something like that might just be for the best.

[ demonstration or not, she does answer honestly - even if her tone is still lacking the proper emotion aside from just sounding tired, almost. ]

To have everything end..

[drinkandforget]

[Being willing to accept fate puts Ange ahead of a lot of humans, in Lethe's mind, but that cynicism disturbs even her, slightly.]

To have everything done and left behind. Forgotten. That's what you wish for?

[repudiate]

... Yeah.

[ But it's strange, how exactly at a moment like this she can't help but think of Keiichi smiling, and then Primo's more pained expression-- ]

Not yet, though, but.. there's one thing I still have to resolve. After that, everything can fade away forever for all I care.

[drinkandforget]

You don't have the right to choose the moment. [This, again, is not said as a taunt, but simple truth. No person is given to know or decide the moment of their death.]

[repudiate]

Not for a single death, no, but surely for the complete stop of the cycle if such a thing were possible.

[drinkandforget]

To end a cycle like that would take a lot of power. Are you so powerful?

[repudiate]

No, probably not. I won't overestimate my abilities, and they're already pretty crappy even without overestimating them.

[ Besides, it would be pretty lame for the 'witch of resurrection' to be the one to end a cycle like that, huh? ]

Maybe I'll have to find someone who can.

[drinkandforget]

[She thinks of Galaxia.]

You should be careful who you hope to find.

[She has no choice but to stay loyal; but she knows Galaxia is a cold power.]

[repudiate]

So you're telling me to not just trust anyone, is that it?

[ Because she knows enough about that, really - she's already trusted someone for their power before only to find out she was used. ]

[drinkandforget]

You might not need the advice, but it's still wise.

[Ange seems the practical type, much like Lethe herself. Of course, again like Lethe, it doesn't mean she might not have reasons of her own for agreeing to something.]