[12:15 PM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

At first, Ekmeros was a little surprised, and perhaps worried, that someone had actually come up to talk to him, but he softened when he realised it was Shino. "Ah, hello again, good morning." He stood up and offered his hand to shake. "I apologise, I found myself a bit busy yesterday."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[12:25 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Oh, no worries. I'm simply glad you're okay." Shino laughed gently. "Did you enjoy the mass ceremony?" @Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline

[12:32 PM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"Ah, yes, I've never been to a 'mass' before, this was a good first." Ekmeros nodded to Shino's question. "I was all right, yes, I was just meeting with some other contestants."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[12:33 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Well, if you'd ever like to see another, we host them daily. Tommorow's should be nicer, the Hand of God had some buisness today and couldn't attend. He usually leads them."

Shino smiled. "Oh, that sounds nice! Did you enjoy their company?" @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[12:49 PM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"Ah, Yeonaixho." Yep. That guy. "Unfortunate he couldn't attend his own mass but I suppose business comes up. I hope he's all right."

Ekmeros nodded. "Yes, they were nice, although odd." Then his eyes widened slightly. "Right, I meant to say- one of your flowers in the greenhouse was turned to stone yesterday."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[12:52 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Mhm. I think he's doing alright, now. He's a bit difficult to read, sometimes." Shino sighed.

"I'm glad they were nice, though I suspect most of the people we've invited are some degree of 'odd'." He paused. "To stone? What kind of flower was it?" @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[12:59 PM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros just nodded in response. "They were young, so perhaps it is because they're young that they're strange to me." Sir, Mallon and Eben are twenty and you are thirty six. Man's acting like he's fifty. "It was a rose, he took the flower with him, it was to demonstrate his abilities."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[1:03 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Shino laughed. "Perhaps. The youth are.. something, that's for sure."

"Oh, that's good. Many of the plants we keep in the greenhouse are rather valuable, so I'd hate for any of those to be damaged. We have extra roses, though. It should be fine." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[1:11 PM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"The youth are something," Ekmeros echoed. Just two guys in a chapel. Complaining about the Youth™️. "They were nice though, and showed some interest in my viol, which is always nice. If I'm honest, I find it easy to talk about." Then he flushed with embarrassment, remembering his info dump to Shino the first day on the island. "Which... I'm sure you would be aware of, now."

"The roses did look nice," Ekmeros said, almost humming his words out. "Unfortunate one is now... stone. One less rose." He paused, then eventually added, "Not that it matters that much."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[1:17 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Oh, that's nice! I'm glad that some others here appreciate music." Shino smiled. "Speaking of, I've had some time lately to prepare a good flute piece. It's one I haven't practiced in a while, but it should be nice. I hope you'll like it."

"Well, I'm glad you got to see them. We like to take good care of our plants here. And truthfully, one less rose will not put the church in any sort of trouble." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[1:28 PM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"Well, I looked through some of the music I have last night before I slept, though I haven't quite decided which one would be best to play, but really it's just sorting through the different options. Nothing difficult there." Ekmeros laughed quietly to himself. "Most of them I won't need the sheet music." He had nothing more to say about the roses but nodded to show appreciation of them at least.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[1:33 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"We can wait til you're ready." Shino smiled. "Truthfully, I'd like some time to practice on my own, myself. It's quite impressive that you can play without sheet music, that's something I've yet to accomplish, save for a few simple tunes I've memorized." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[1:45 PM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"I learnt most of the music I know when I was younger. I like to believe my memory is rather good because of it." Or maybe he was just autistic. Both. "I just find that once I knew my instrument inside and out, I could easily work things out. It's incredibly important to me. I have dabbled in other instruments but never been as good with those."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[1:51 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"That makes sense. The skill is impressive, nonetheless. I'd think it'd take a lot of effort to know something so intimately." Shino nodded. "What other instruments have you tried?" @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[12:35 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"I attempted the lyre, I believe it's called, but I found the shape difficult to adjust to. Besides using something other than my bow on strings... it was unnatural to me." Ekmeros chuckled to himself. "I know that probably sounds strange."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[7:12 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Ah, the lyre. I'm not too familiar with it, I must admit." Shino hummed. "No, it doesn't sound strange. Once I attempted to learn clarinet, but I couldn't wrap my head around the fact you had to hold the instrument parallel to your body rather than perpendicular. We're attached to the familiar." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[8:18 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"It has strings and that is all that was familiar to me," Ekmeros joked, laughing to himself. "If the familiar suits us well enough, why not be attached? I don't really find a point in straying too far from it, if given the choice." He laughed again, more under his breath and kiltering off into a reflective hum.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[8:22 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"I wholeheartedly agree." Shino nodded. "There's a certain comfort in the familiar, in the routine. That's why I so like my life here, on the island. Every day is just like the rest, and I am content with that." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[8:28 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros nodded approvingly. "Well, my days are mostly the same. Either I travel for a day, stop somewhere, perform to pay my way and take rest, or I wake up, perform again and visit the local area to see if there is anything small I can help with to be paid again. I fit in music practice amongst that where I can. It is a good, stable routine, I've managed it for the last twen-" He paused, then decided to change the amount of years. "Roughly fifteen years." Despite the change, he did sound pretty proud of maintaining a routine for so long.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[8:34 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"If it's served you for fifteen years, I'm sure it's a very good routine." Shino nodded. "I've only been here on the island for about ten years, but I do enjoy the daily work, the prayer and rest times, the expectations placed upon me. Do you enjoy your travels?" @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[9:07 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"It is." More nodding. These bitches love nodding. "Ten years is still a good while, it must also be a good routine." It was mildly fascinating that, for ten years of his travels, there could have been a chance of Ekmeros happening upon Shino and yet, it took a tournament on a distant island for the two to meet. He smiled and chuckled under his breath at the thought but didn't share it. "I do enjoy the travels, though I'd have to travel even if I didn't. Staying in one place for too long can drain money rather quickly, and I've found that tips begin to dwindle naturally, so moving keeps me fresh to people."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[12:33 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"It is a good routine." Shino smiled. He mused on the information Ekmeros had provided- the life of travel had been once familiar to him, but now, it was impossible to conceive. "Do you think you'd continue, traveling, even if you didn't have to?" @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[1:00 PM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"Well... if I didn't have to, it would have been because I found something to stay for." Ekmeros shrugged. "I have my viol, and that is portable so I can still travel with that."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[1:08 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Hm." Shino noticed how the response wasn't a direct answer to his question. "And what do you think would be worth staying for?" @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[1:12 PM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros looked around the chapel, for some sort of distraction as he considered his answer. "I'm... not quite sure." In truth, he knew what he would stay for. Yet saying it out loud seemed like it would ruin what chance he had left of achieving it- finding it, holding it tight and never letting go. He stared at the chapel ceiling for a long while, his thoughts rotating. "I haven't really thought about it." It was all he thought about.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[1:16 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Really?" Shino tilted his head in surprise. He'd thought the topic would be close to Ekmeros. "Well, if you ever do wish to settle down, I can assure that you'll be welcome here." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[1:23 PM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros blinked, taken aback by Shino's statement. Very blunt. "Ah. You and- and everyone else who lives here, you've only know us for three days, really. You're very generous for extending such an offer so quickly."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[1:24 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Well, our church is built upon a foundation of genorisity. Myself, and everyone else who works here, has witnessed and lived it. It's our core value to extend that same genorosity, given to us by the Hand of God, to everyone we can. If someone is in need of shelter or protection, we happily provide it." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[2:58 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros listened quietly, his nods slight but not dismissive. He was quiet after Shino spoke for some time, then rested a hand on the pew they stood by. "I have to admit I've never been to church before- too busy, really, and I'd never really... thought about religion. It was just something there, for other people." He traced his finger back and forth, bending it and relaxing it in a drawn out motion, as if checking for dust. "They just always seemed so quiet and... isolated."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[7:30 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Shino hummed in thought, his gaze drifting to the stained glass above the altar. "Just because faith was not there for you before, doesn't mean it can't hold a place in your heart now. I won't lie, we are quite isolated out here... but there's a peace to it. A kindness, to not have to worry about the troubles of the world. You would have a place here. I promise." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[12:52 PM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros followed Shino's gaze, silent as if absorbing his words, the magnitude of them. "I... the troubles of the world keep me there. I have something out there to find. It's why I started travelling." His hands returned to his viol's case, gently squeezing the strap as he slowly inhaled. "It's something for me to do. I can't give up on that. I'll find it soon."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[1:03 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"There is always something we are searching for..." Shino mused, intentionally vague. "I wish you well in your quest. If... if I may ask, what is it you're looking for?" @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[1:04 PM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"...you may not." Blunt ass bitch.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[1:05 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Shino shifted his gaze from Ekmeros. "It might be easier to find whatever you're looking for if you volunteered that information. I could know, but I'd never know that's what you were searching for. It's a horrid, viscous cycle." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[1:10 PM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"It is not your burden to bear. And... I do not like to give secrets so freely. Only one other person knows what I am looking for and that was only because he saw me at my weakest and helped me become who I am now." Ekmeros glanced down at his viol with tightened lips.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[1:18 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"No one should have to bear a burden alone. If it is too much for me to bear, it's too much for you, too." Shino hummed, not making eye contact with Ekmeros. "And again, you're refusing help. Help that might make it so you'd stop your travelling in searching entirely. I have to wonder, Ekmeros..."

"If you're really searching for something, or if you're chasing a dream." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[1:23 PM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros was silent for a while. His fingers gently brushed up and down the case, almost like he was playing the viol despite it being encased within, his eyebrows furrowed. "I would rather talk about something else," he eventually said, once again looking around the chapel.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[1:28 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Shino didn't reply immediately. He let silence fill the space between them.

"Of course. There's plenty of other things to speak about."

[1:29 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

@soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[1:33 PM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"Yes. Plenty of conversations to have." However, Ekmeros did not move to make more conversation, standing in silence. To his credit, he could be thinking about what to actually talk about.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[1:34 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Soo...." Shino hummed. "Have you enjoyed your time here?" @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[1:39 PM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros blinked and then slowly nodded. "Yes. Yes, yes, it's a lovely island. The roommates I have met seem nice, and the other contestants I've met are nice."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[1:40 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"That's good." Shino nodded. "I heard from Luuk that you spent some time in the library the other day. Did you find anything interesting?" @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[1:43 PM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros' life flashed before his eyes as he remembered the library. "Ah... well, I did some reading, I did feel like I bothered Luuk there. The library is... interesting."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[1:46 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Oh, he didn't mind. Luuk is generally... difficult to read m, but he means no harm. He was simply a bit concerned about you. He said you seemed... agitated." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[1:48 PM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"...did I?" Ekmeros glanced back at Shino. "I suppose I did read some... records that might have confused me." He was really trying to avoid the ghost, as if mentioning it would summon it to his side.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[1:52 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Shino noticed Ekmeros's hesitancy. "Really? Perhaps I could help shed some light on whatever's troubling you. I'm no expert in the church records, but I do know them well." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[2:01 PM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"The one I read had... a lot of deaths. I can't remember the year, a couple decades ago about," Ekmeros eventually mumbled.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[2:04 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Oh." Shino frowned. "I wasn't part of the church back then... but from what I know, we experienced a horrible bout of Magnolia Fever in the early 2000s, about twenty years ago. It's a sickness that's common in the Southern Loucari, and most catch it when they're young and gain immunity, but only a small percentage of our church's population was South Loucari at the time." Shino frowned. "Truly, it was a tragedy." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[8:57 PM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"I see." Ekmeros glanced back around the chapel. "That's unfortunate. I've never heard of the Loucari before, I suppose it's not an easy place to travel to." The answer made sense to him, but it was only one of the things he had struggled to understand about the library. His uncertainty - or perhaps dissatisfaction - was still clear on his face.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[8:59 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"It is. It's very difficult to get in or out." Shino nodded sadly. "Astrid and I hail from the Loucari, actually. The northern part. The South Loucari isn't a region of the Loucari so much as it is it's own separate nation but that's another discussion entirely."

He frowned at the still-concerned look on Ekmeros's face. "Is... there anything else bothering you?" @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[8:24 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"Hm." Insightful response. "Well, we were looking for a good conversation, weren't we? But I won't press if you would rather not discuss it."

Ekmeros sucked in his cheeks with a sharp sigh. "...I believe you'll think I'm crazy if I tell you. But at the same time, you've lived here so... perhaps you'll be able to provide more insight."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[8:33 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Shino's brow furrowed. Anything prefaced with 'I believe you'll think I'm crazy' probably wasn't the best thing to hear. He turned towards Ekmeros. "What happened? Maybe... maybe I'll be able to figure it out." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[8:37 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Well. No going back now. "I... heard someone speaking to me- well, not someone, really. Someone who was dead, I believe. A woman."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[8:39 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Shino's expression remained concerned, but was otherwise blank and unreadable. "Did you.... know this woman?" @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[8:41 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"No, I- I don't, I didn't. I didn't recognise her. She was asking me to... look at her?" Ekmeros glanced away, one of his hands tightening around the strap of his viol case.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[8:43 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"I see..." Shino's frowned deepened. "What did she look like?" @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[8:45 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros' lips tightened into a fine line and he sharply inhaled through his nose. "Well. I didn't see her, exactly. Just felt her hand on my shoulder, here." He gestured with his free hand where the ghost had held his shoulder. "She wouldn't leave me alone until I looked at her, but when I did she vanished. That is why I said I would sound crazy."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[8:47 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Oh." Something shifted in Shino's expression- the change from worry to sympathy. "And... have you ever experienced this sort of... illusion before?" @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[8:49 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros just shook his head. He kept his gaze averted but his eyebrows furrowed, feeling the shift even if he wasn't looking.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[8:53 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Shino nodded. "This may be difficult to hear, but...." He paused.

"There are... medical conditions that can cause these sorts of... auditory hallucinations. Sometimes, they can be triggered by stress or anxiety. I believe... you may be experiencing something like that." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[8:58 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros shook his head. "No, I would know if I was ill," he tried to affirm to himself, with a nod. "I haven't experienced anything like this before, only when I got to the island..." But he was already considering if it was something to do with the climate, or maybe even his anxiety on the boat, his eyes flitting around the room as he came up with his own reasoning. "I don't feel ill."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:02 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"It's not the sort of illness you can detect. These conditions alter the way you think, making you believe things that you should know aren't true. It's no fault of your own."

"We should speak to Yeonaixho about this. He's got more expirience with this sort of thing." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[9:07 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"I know what is true," Ekmeros insisted, though his voice wavered. He now squeezed the strap of his viol case with both hands, a reminder of the truth. He grit his teeth to stop himself saying more, because saying more would lead back to that conversation about why he travelled. He had searched twenty years for the truth on his own, there was no point in bringing others into it now. He furrowed his brow to hide his concern- his fear, even, about the concept of the truth not being so.

"The Hand of God," he eventually mumbled as Shino mentioned him. "I'm sure he has better things to do."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:11 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"It can be difficult to break out of the delusion." Shino continued. "I really, truly think we should find you some help. Yeonaixho is far more expirienced in this field than I. If there's something to be done, something that can help you, he'll know what it is." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[9:16 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros didn't respond, squeezing his eyes shut, focusing on how real she had felt. Her hand on his shoulder, cold and bony and demanding to be perceived - and yet she had vanished when he gave into her cries. He forced his face to relax, as to not seem as crazy as he was being made out to be - and he was being convinced to believe that he was.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:23 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Ekmeros, will you be alright if I leave briefly to go get Yeonaixho?" Shino placed his hand over Ekmeros's shoulder, just to let him know he was still there. @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[9:25 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros was quiet for a little while, then he looked over at Shino, almost cautiously. "Would it not be easier to find him together and... talk there?"

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:26 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"I'm afraid he might be in the staff building, where guests aren't allowed." Shino frowned. "But if you really would feel unsafe without me, I can make an exception." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[9:27 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"...no, I can stay here. I was just thinking of ease. I will feel perfectly safe on my own, I travel alone all the time after all."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:28 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Shino nodded, and began to leave for the chapel's exit. "Are you sure?" @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[9:28 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros just nodded.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:32 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Shino left the chapel through the main exit. The grand building fell into silence.

Until the silence ended. Ekmeros would become faintly aware of haggard breathing, of bare, pacing footsteps, of a voice that'd be frighteningly real.

"I used to be real." She muttered, sounding afraid more than angry. "Promise me you remember. I was real." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[9:35 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros tensed at the breathing that wasn't his own, stood frozen still to assure those footsteps were not his, but the voice- he turned his head. Perhaps, if he ignored it, it would simply go. But doubt clawed at him, since it had taken him doing as it asked for it to leave.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:37 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

No matter which way Ekmeros turned his head, the voice and footsteps would always be behind him.

"Please, promise me." She cried out in anguish. "Promise me you remember me!" @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[9:38 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

His voice scratched at his throat as he spoke. "I don't think I'm the person you mean to say that to. I do not know who you are." Then, Ekmeros considered, perhaps if the ghost lingered with him, it would be proof to Shino - and Yeonaixho - that it was real.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:44 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

The woman began to sob, falling to the floor like the sound of a dropped corpse. "You remember me. You remember me. You have to remember me! Please, you have to-"

Suddenly, she fell completely silent. Only seconds later, they heavy chapel doors swung open. "He's in here." Shino led Yeonaixho in. @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[9:49 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros winced at the sound of her dropping to the floor, then whirled around as the chapel doors open, then turned his head around as if to check the ghost was definitely gone. "She was here, too," he muttered, mostly to himself rather than Shino or Yeonaixho; in fact, he was trying to keep his voice down.

Weren't ghosts supposed to be bound to places? Not that he was an expert but surely she should have been kept to the library. He scratched his fingers against the strap of the viol case, not liking the odds of him not being crazy.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:52 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Yeonaixho sat down in one of the pews next to Ekmeros- actively trying to make himself seem less intimidating. It didn't help that much, given that his fine, golden robes were stained with dried blood. "Hello again, Ekmeros." He began, speaking gently. "My good friend Shino tells me you've been expireincing some- fraility of the mind." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[9:56 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros stared at Yeonaixho's robes, then glanced over at Shino. He didn't say it out loud but his facial expression very much said 'what the fuck'. However, he chose not to vocalise these thoughts, for now. "Hello- I'm not- it's not fraility of the mind. I'm not- not frail." His eyes flickered back down to the blood on Yeonaixho's robes as he swallowed the lump in his throat.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:59 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Shino placed a supportive haben over Ekmeros's shoulder, but didn't say anything.

Yeonaixho's brow furrowed in concern. "I know this sort of thing can be difficult to accept. Can you describe to me what sort of things you've been experiencing?" @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[10:01 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"I'm not frail," he quietly repeated before taking a deep breath. Ekmeros did not want to have this conversation, not again. "I- I need to ask, your robes, there's... blood on them. Why is that? Are you all right?"

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[10:05 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"I'm quite fine. One of our staff got injured today, but I've healed her up. Everyone's fine. Please, let's focus on you right now." Yeonaixho reassured.

"Believe me, I do not think any worse of you because you suffer this condition. I've been living with the same for years. I just want to know how I can help you." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[10:10 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

With that brief distraction from the conversation quickly shut down, Ekmeros was silent for a little while longer. "It's true, what I saw- heard rather, I didn't... see her. She was in the chapel, just before you returned, after Shino left." He looked at Shino, then away. "...frail, makes me sound old. Incapable."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[10:15 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"And you heard this woman again... what did she say to you?" Yeonaixho asked gently. "Is she still here now?"

Shino gave Ekmeros's shoulder a supportive pat, but still said nothing.

"I don't mean to suggest anything of the like." Yeonaixho reassured. "I simply mean to understand what you're expiriencing." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[10:19 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"She left just before you entered- and I know how that sounds, but she was here. She was asking me to remember her, that she was real. Perhaps- perhaps she heard our conversation, Shino, she was trying to tell us- well, me, that she's real." It was only as he suggested that that Ekmeros realised that he did, in fact, sound crazy. He tore away from Shino's hold, not angrily but wearily, paced a few steps before he gently rubbed his temples with his fingers.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[10:24 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"These sorts of hallucinations can be... insistent, demanding. They can seem like they know impossible things about you, because they are a product of your own mind." Yeonaixho continued cautiously. "The woman you heard- I don't believe she's real. No one saw anyone enter or exit this chapel."

"Ekmeros, please." Shino pleaded. "We just want to help you." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[10:27 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"She wasn't asking about me, I don't even know if she was talking to me, really. And no- she didn't leave, per se- I heard her, she dropped to the floor and suddenly there was just silence. She's- she's a spectre, of some sort, she vanishes." Ekmeros sat down in another pew, a short distance from Shino and Yeonaixho. "I've never heard this woman before, I've never heard anyone like her, if my mind was making this up on its own, surely she would have some basis in something I recognise?"

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[10:32 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"A... spectre." Yeonaixho repeated, his tone disbelieving. He sighed. "While it's more common to hallucinate things you're familiar with, that isn't always the case. I've had hallucinations of people I've never even met, people who were never real in the first place." He touched a hand to his chest.

"And- if it is some sort of spectre- why would you be haunted by someone you don't recognize?" @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[10:38 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros' hands needed to do something as he listened, his finger toying at the end of his ponytail. He didn't respond to Yeonaixho's words, letting them wash over him. He seemed to know this sort of thing much more, which explained why he was the leader here. Ekmeros ran his fingers through his hair and slowly looked around the chapel, as if trying - hoping - to spot the woman and be able to prove her existence. He huffed out a singular laugh, incredulous at his own thought. He'd be lucky, wouldn't he?

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[10:40 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

No matter where Ekmeros looked, the woman was nowhere to be seen. Even the spot where he'd heard her body drop was empty.

"Ekmeros, are you listening to me?" Yeonaixho asked. @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[10:42 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"I am," Ekmeros responded, almost coldly. He adjusted his tone after taking a deep breath, mumbling a gentle apology before quietly continuing, "I'm not- I'm not imagining this, I don't know why she's haunting me- maybe I'm just unlucky."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[10:44 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Ekmeros, you seem to me to be a very rational man. And I know it can be difficult to accept this faulting of your mind. Surely- it makes more sense if it's not a ghost." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[10:49 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

His mouth opened- then shut, then opened again. "It's- I'm not- I know the truth." He moved one hand to his forehead, rubbing it. "I... it could be a ghost." Ekmeros hadn't sounded very certain of himself but now his voice was wavering more. "Then- what could it be? I'm not sick, I would know..."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[10:51 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"It isn't the sort of sickness that you can identify in yourself. It's a condition of the mind." Yeonaixho further explained. "Most likely, your brain is working to push away any doubt that you could be sick and forming this sort of- delusion that you're haunted." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[10:53 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"I know my mind incredibly well - I keep it sharp, I would recognise if something changed," Ekmeros tried to insist, twisting around slightly to face Yeonaixho. He still didn't sound so sure anymore, even though he was forcing confidence in his words to cover up that uncertainty.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[10:56 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"No one truly knows their mind" Yeonaixho countered. His features softened. "Please, Ekmeros. It will be easier when you accept the truth." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[10:58 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros was silent again, at first shaking his head - because he did know his mind. He knew the truth, and he knew his mind. But then he stopped shaking his head, the doubt creeping in. "I know the truth," he muttered under his breath. Then he was quiet for a little while.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[10:58 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"And how do you know?" @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[10:59 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"It's all I know."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[11:00 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Then can you truly be certain? Perception- self-perception especially, can be misleading." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[11:00 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros was silent again. His gaze flickered from the pew he was sat on, to the ceiling of the chapel, then he shut his eyes.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[11:02 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Both Yeonaixho and Shino fell silent with him. @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[11:02 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Eventually, without opening his eyes, he spoke, almost inaudible. "How can I fix it?"

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[11:06 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"It's not the sort of thing that can be cured... but it can be treated. You can adapt your mind to recognizing when your perceptions are false, and recovering from it. You can live a normal life, I promise." Yeonaixho insisted. @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[11:10 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"How do I treat it, then?" Ekmeros stared at the ceiling of the chapel, his hands grappling at the strap of the viol case again. "I've lived a normal life for so long, why has anything changed now?"

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[11:15 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"I can help you." Yeonaixho said calmly. "I can teach you how to manage it. It will not be a quick process, but I will help you, just as I have learnt to manage the deceit of my own mind." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[11:16 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros didn't respond or even look away from the ceiling, his only acknowledgement a gentle nod.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[11:29 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Shino whispered something to Yeonaixho, informing him of Ekmeros's slight movements.

Yeonaixho cleared his throat and asked, "Ekmeros, do you wish to remain here and undergo the treatment?" @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[11:31 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros blinked as Yeonaixho cleared his throat, then nodded again. Then he seemed to recognise that he should probably speak. "...yes-" Then he paused. "-well, what... treatment is it?"

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[11:33 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"It's an intensive therapy program, I suppose would be the best way to put it. If you'd be open to it, we could also test out a few different medications." Yeonaixho suggested. "All in all, it would be a few months- six at the least." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[11:38 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"I have... I have things to do outside the island," Ekmeros mumbled. He was already weighing up the options. Perhaps his old life would help return him to normal, he'd never experienced anything like this outside of the island. But what if it didn't change? How could he travel? How could he search, with this... thing, breathing down the back of his neck. "Would it work? Definitely?"

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[11:39 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"We would find something that works." Yeonaixho said. "I promise." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[11:40 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros was silent again, then he looked to Shino, as if asking for a second opinion.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[11:41 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"I think you should go through with the treatment," Shino suggested. "Yeonaixho can work miracles. I trust he'd be able to help you, too." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[11:42 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Yeah of course the cult member would say that wouldn't he. Ekmeros seemed to think it over more. "Would I be able to continue in the tournament?"

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[11:44 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Of course!" Yeonaixho replied. "We can wait to start the more intensive treatments til after the tournament is done. You'll simply stay on the island afterwards. Honestly, it'll probably be better to wait til the tournament is finished to start the more intensive treatments. Then, I'll be able to dedicate more time to you, specifically." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[11:48 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"And after- after the treatment is over, will I be able to leave?" It was less of a request, or a question. It was almost like an ultimatum. "I have things out there... to do. Look for. I can't abandon them." Ekmeros ran his fingers across the viol case gently, his nails barely scratching the case and certainly not leaving any marks.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[11:49 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"If that is what you wish, of course." Yeonaixho nodded. "You will be sworn to secrecy about the location of the island and anything else you come to learn about it's history, but we would never imprison you here against your will." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[11:56 AM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros nodded. "Yes, of course. I... I can keep secrets." Then, much quieter, he muttered, "I should have kept the spectre a secret..."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[11:58 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"I appreciate it." Yeonaixho nodded. He noticed the added comment, but didn't address it. "I only wish to help you, Ekmeros." @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[12:04 PM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"I know." Ekmeros didn't know what else to say or do. He was just sat there. Not really chilling.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[12:06 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Neither Shino nor Yeonaixho replied immediately. After a still moment, Yeonaixho said, "Is there anything else I can help you with at this moment?" @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[12:14 PM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"No, thank you." Ekmeros abruptly stood up from the pew but didn't actually like. Move to leave yet. Man's standing.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[12:18 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Shino approached Ekmeros as he stood. "Would you like me to accompany you to- whereever you're headed?" @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[12:26 PM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

"I think I will just go to my room," Ekmeros replied, not exactly answering. "It has been... a strange morning."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[12:28 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Would you like me to walk you there?" Shino asked again.@soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻

[12:31 PM]soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻:

Ekmeros paused, then nodded. "That would be nice."

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[12:33 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Shino neared Ekmeros, and began to lead him down the aisle out of the chapel. He didn't say it, but he found great happiness in the fact Ekmeros took comfort in his presence. @soul | peregrine 🎭 + ekmeros 🎻