voidtreckerexpress | I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take.

Who: Nita and YOU. Preferably close CR, but anyone can stop by.
Where: Quiet Car, second floor, a room near the front of the carriage.
When: Middle half of Grasshopper; post-platform, pre-event.
What: A(n ex-) wizard retreats. Some may come to reprimand, some to console, some just to find out WTF happened.
Warnings: ... Discussion of what's basically psychic assault in this log, folks. Mind your headspace!

After the platform, Nita retreated into herself. That was the best way to describe it; she could not be 'booked' in one of these rooms the same way she could have been in the Medical Car, but she spent as much time as she could in just the one room, not speaking unless spoken to, not leaving except to go to the restroom or fetch another journal.

No matter when one arrived to check on her, she would be either resting - staring off into space more than actually sleeping - or writing.

Some of the words were crossed out, as if she had had a tough time finding the right ones, but the writing looked to be formal in nature. A report. And, most notably, it was in English, not the alien curves of the Speech.

If she had to live with her actions, Nita figured, the least she could do was explain them - and explain why they were wrong.

Mostly, though, what encompassed her mind was the emptiness of it all. She couldn't even be angry now.

Fitting.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

By the time Dairine came to visit, her sister had already been visited by a couple people.

And at the moment, she was busy writing, pausing only for a brief moment when the door opened yet again.

"... Come in."

The disturbing something in her voice had lessened, but it was still all too easy for a wizard to tell that something was wrong, had kept being wrong.

Dairine shuts the door behind her, privately wondering if her sister had noticed that it was her or not. She seems very preoccupied. For good reason.

She leans against the door, arms folded. The subtle... hollowness to Nita's voice is still a little unsettling for Dairine. She hadn't had the privilege of hearing the Seniors when wizardry temporarily left them, so this is brand new territory for her.

Speaking of the Seniors...

"You sure are lucky that Tom and Carl aren't here."

"If they'd been here, I might still be a wizard. Been able to talk it over with someone instead of flipping straight into anger."

The answer comes out quickly, almost staccato, but Nita doesn't look up while she's speaking.

"If this had happened at home, though, I wouldn't even have my memories."

Hard to say which way was worse.

"Only if you had gone to them first," she points out. "They might catch some bad ideas before they happen, but they're not omniscient."

Otherwise Dairine would have gotten into significantly less trouble.

Nita's comments about losing wizardry makes Dairine purse her lips uncomfortably.

"Neets, just 'cause you don't have access to your wizardry doesn't mean you're not a wizard. You're just really really grounded." Like super grounded. Dairine waves one hand dramatically. "Like you said, if you had lost it completely, you wouldn't remember anything. But you still recall all our adventures, yeah? Haven't starting thinking they were all make-believe, have you?"

Nita snorts; she can't exactly deny that.

"True. Bobo himself is the only one who could have given them a tipoff..."

Dairine's next response, however, brings her up short.

"... No. No, I haven't. Figured that was another side-effect of being taken out of the Powers' domain. You think there's something more to it?"

Dairine more than thinks so. She's positively certain. Whether this is a result of wishful thinking or a true wizard's hunch... well, only time would tell.

"Neets, it says so right in the Manual. Have you been avoid it?"

A beat.

"Actually do you have Manual access right now?"

Nita gives her sister a flat look.

"Why do you think I didn't bring my Manual with me in here?"

If it were that simple, she'd absolutely have kept it on her the whole time.

"And summoning it's right out, for me."

Dairine puts her hands up.

"Alright, alright! Cripes, Neets." Yeah, maybe she deserved that a little asking about a sensitive topic, but it's not like it wasn't relevant.

Dairine pulls out Spot and flips open his screen.

"See, if I bring up your listing... Here. 'Juanita Callahan, Suspended.' Nothing about being an ex-wizard or whatever that'd come up as in the Speech." Dairine frowns. "Actually are people still listed when they lose wizardry? Anyway, I'd say that's pretty conclusive proof that this is a strong penalty, not a permanent measure."

If Nita looked bamboozled before...

~~[Error: Juanita_L_Callahan has ceased to take in data. Please restart and try again.]~~

"That's a good question. Didn't really have to find out during the whole Pullulus War."

All the same, it's a huge load off her shoulders.

"Not an indication of how long it's gonna last, though. Or how to handle it in the meanwhile."

She rubs her forehead with both hands, for lack of any place better to put them.

"Has Bobo sent anything else to Spot since?"

"Thank goodness for that." The Pullulus War hit hard, still does for Dair, but it was unnerving to think that it could have gone much worse. Perhaps it was better not to dwell on it.

"I mean, he sent a notification on what happened shortly after, but other than that I haven't really heard from him. Guess your imaginary friend's not talking much, huh."

She doesn't really pose it as a question. If Nita doesn't have Manual access, it's unlikely that Bobo is interacting with her either.

Dairine taps the keyboard to bring up the memo in question. "Gave me a precept of the spell in question." She looks at Nita with raised eyebrows, the silent judgment that only a sibling could properly give. Then back to Spot. "And below it, 'The Art has been suspended indefinitely, until restitution to the spell's target can be ascertained.'"

Nita's expression this time is more noncommittal, though hearing the phrasing used in the peridexis' last message makes her wince.

"And with the train as nonverbal as it is, who knows when we'll get that?"

She sighs. "I can start drafting an apology in the meanwhile... Among other things."

The phrase 'get your affairs in order' comes to mind.

"I'd be less worried about how nonverbal the train is and more worried about how mad it is." The nonverbal part could be more easily worked around. "You really pissed it off. It took both me and Xander to calm it down even a little."

Like, Dairine doesn't want to rub it in. But Nita kinda needs to know how difficult this is gonna be.

An apology sounds like a good place to start, but her wording makes Dairine's eyebrow raise. "'Other things?'"

"Yeah. From what we've learned, anger in the void is really bad."

She winces again. "As I just demonstrated."

At her sister's own confusion, she offers, "A report. Because what if Tom or Carl do show up here?"

She wouldn't have to come up with something on-the-spot, anyway.

She grimaces.

"Well, let us know if you notice any other possible signs of voidsickness. Until then, I'll assume this was more run-of-the-mill usual anger issues." Like Dair can talk.

Dairine blinks.

"Oh. Right." That's a thing. A tedious wizarding thing. "Wait, does this mean we should have been doing reports after every mission?"

Have a very, very wry look, Dairine.

"I'll remember you said that one."

As for the other part: "What do you think I've been doing since we got here? It's not just Lightning who's been taking notes. ... Think you get a pass on the last mission, though."

Kind of unfair to drum on that incident, but all the same.

Ah, crud. That's probably gonna bite her later.

"I've been taking notes!" Dairine says, offended. Just who do you take her for, sis? "That doesn't mean I've been complying an essay for every big event that goes down! That's too much work!"

...Says the girl stuck on a train with little to do.

Edited 2020-12-20 03:20 (UTC)

I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take.

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Mind if we do a second thread set on the 20th/21st Grasshopper? She'll have the train apology ready.

Sure thing! On this post of the apology post?

...? We can timeskip, if that's what you mean.

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Sorry this is so late, feel free to ignore if you want