DUNGEON - BELLMARE ENCLAVE (BELLMARE MOUNTAINS, PT 2)

[phantasmods]

The shadows are starting to grow very long as you crest his particular ridge - it's not night yet, but it will be soon. In the shadows of the afternoon, with a tall mountain already blocking the sun, lies a snow-covered valley that is different from the ones you've come across thus far in your investigation.

This valley is home to a town, and unlike all the settlements you've seen so far - Incendia, the Telovia mining town, and the manor - it's very much active. There are actual people in the streets, visible from above, going through their days on snow-free streets, bundled up against the cold.

Those of you who asked were told of the handful of people who didn't go into the slumber of stasis as the Fissure conditions of the world grew worse and worse, instead isolating themselves and trying to continue living their lives as they could. Now, it seems, you've found exactly such a group.

Welcome to the Bellmare Enclave, and enjoy your stay.

[[OOC: Welcome to part 2 of the dungeon! For the most part, interaction with the town's NPCs can be handwaved as described on the main information post. Worth noting are the following major things: The Bellmare Enclave isn't expecting visitors, though the people are generally friendly to the new arrivals. They don't know about the time dilation effect of their Fissure - to them, it's only been about eighteen years since the Slumber Plan was put in place and they withdrew from the world. And finally, by a similar token, they have no idea how far the Fissures outside of their own have grown - while it's not uncommon for them to find odd objects from time to time, they'll assume that the characters are just arrivals from other places within their own world, rather than outsiders, until told otherwise.]]

Comments

[foolishjustice]

We have so much freedom in our lives here, it's hard not to think about what we really want. And I'm sure seeing others happy in romantic relationships isn't helping...

[hairpincurves]

... Yeah. It's hard, you know? Seeing all that, and the PDA, and...

[foolishjustice]

...And I doubt I've been helping with that. Even with everything I give you in terms of physical affection, I know it's...not quite the same, when it's all platonic.

[hairpincurves]

It both helps and doesn't, I think. It's not the same, no, but... it's still more than I had from anyone back home.

[foolishjustice]

I mean with my fiances and Minato. But...I'm glad I can help at least somewhat. You already know how much I care.

[hairpincurves]

I do. And it means more to me than I can ever really convey.

[foolishjustice]

I've already gotten the impression it means a lot. I'm sure you wouldn't be nearly so relaxed with me if you didn't realize.

[hairpincurves]

[She nods, having at least perked up some after all of that.]

Thank you, Goro...

[foolishjustice]

You seem to be feeling at least a little better...

[hairpincurves]

I am... thanks for the help.

[foolishjustice]

Any time.

[He ruffles her hair lightly...just as another flash of memory hits. Sae grumping in Leblanc because she's been mistaken for Goro's mother, Sojiro snickering and Goro laughing so hard his stomach hurts...and having a hard time stifling laughter even after she gives him a glare that would've silenced most people immediately. Goro comments on her having been mistaken for his sister before. She gives him the gift from his fans anyway, but is clearly grumpy about the fans' assumptions.

It cuts to the inside of the courthouse, where Goro is working hard when he feels something soft plop onto his head. Sae has brought another gift, and Goro apologizes for the fans troubling her, seeming entirely uninterested in the actual contents of the bag. It's not just the gift she's brought, though. She's found out it's his birthday, and wants to take him out for a birthday dinner...something which leaves him staring in silence for long enough that Sae asks if he's refusing, before he hastily accepts.]

[hairpincurves]

[The next memory leaves Akira in stunned silence as she watches... and maybe grinning a little as she watches Goro keep laughing despite a glare that would've made most people wither.

Her taking him out for a birthday dinner, huh...]

... I'll be damned, she can be playful.

[That can't be what she's choosing to take away from this.]

[foolishjustice]

She can be.

[He chuckles, clearly amused by the memory.]

My birthday...I didn't know about Leblanc then, but something similar did happen. It was back when hints of the Sae-san I used to know still showed through sometimes.

[hairpincurves]

Yeah?

Man, though, getting mistaken for your mother, haha...

[Yeah, she's snickering.]

[foolishjustice]

She used to be very compassionate, even friendly at times. We actually met because she noticed I was working through lunch and decided to bring me something to eat. She even had a sense of humor back then...I haven't quite forgotten what her laugh sounds like.

[But boy does he sound nostalgic for it.]

[hairpincurves]

You really do miss how she used to be, huh?

[foolishjustice]

...I do.

[He rests his head against Akira's with a soft sigh.]

She's...one of my Confidants, actually. But with the person she's become, we've ended up fighting the last couple of times we tried to talk...and our bond has felt fragile ever since that first major argument.

[hairpincurves]

[She reaches up to comb her fingers through his hair, frowning faintly.]

I'm sorry to hear it. I wish I could help or something, but...

[foolishjustice]

This is why I arranged for her Palace to be the one I entered with the Phantom Thieves. Her cognition has clearly become distorted, so I'd hoped making her a target would both save her from herself and ensure I wouldn't be forced to kill her.

[hairpincurves]

Then things went a little awry, huh.

[It's the understatement of the year and she knows it.]

[foolishjustice]

I never got to see the results, myself. I missed the confrontation with her Shadow, and then I came here before I had the chance to talk to her.

[hairpincurves]

Well, you'll be able to when you do go back...

[foolishjustice]

I know.

[...]

But, I'm a little scared. She'll know the truth about me by now, and with our bond already feeling strained close to the breaking point...

[hairpincurves]

... I can't say I know her or your bond with her all that well, but... if I may... You said something similar happened to that vision around your birthday, right? I think it's... worth considering that if she did take you out to dinner, then, she was volunteering her own time for that. Even if your bond is strained, I think... I think it might be a little stronger than you may think.

[Of course, that's just speculation on her part, but...]

[foolishjustice]

Maybe...she did once care about me. But the Sae-san I used to know had a very strong sense of justice, and she would have learned of my involvement in the mental shutdowns without any sort of context.