PAGING ALL CLOWNS: THE LOG

[prophetable]

characters: Diode Zipsell and YOU!
location: Bonfire Square
date/time: Mid-July onward!
content: A really cranky child has woken up from a very, very long nap, and has a lot of pent-up aggression about it. Proceed at your own risk, he might bite, but he has all his shots.
warnings: N/A

[The mysterious "ambassador" isn't exactly advertising where he is in the flesh, but it shouldn't be too hard to find him. Where else, after all, would he have revived than the church? Anyone who heads in that direction is bound to pass through Bonfire Square. And there, standing and pacing on top of one of the benches that surround the fire, is an apparently very young child standing by the bonfire and aggressively scrolling through his tablet.

Anyone who approaches him with the intent to talk will received a quickly raised hand.]

Don't interrupt me, I'm thinking.

Comments

July 16

[callada]

[Why is there an unknown child in the middle of Beacon?

Rosinante pauses and watches for a second. He'd just run out to the general store to grab more food to restock their pantry with now that he and Law are back from the Helix Station, so he's got a bag full of fish and beef and rice fit to burst with everything he crammed into it, and he should just get going, probably, but - did a child actually turn up without warning somehow, or is he still hallucinating? After coming face to face with that trapped world eater, he already knows there's something wrong. Maybe this is just another thing.

About to speak, he's instead met with that retort, and he gives the kid a few seconds more as if that will help before frowning and just speaking anyway. Come on, kid.]

Did you just get here?

[prophetable]

[Diode sighs, but at least stops pacing and looks up from whatever he's doing.]

Just the other day, yes. You must be one of the ones who went to the Helix Station, correct?

[callada]

Yeah. Just got back, ourselves.

[The kid sure does talk like he knows what's going on, though. Which is good, but adds to the strangeness. He doesn't really look old enough to be so comfortable on his own.]

I'm Rosinante.

[prophetable]

Ambassador Diode Zipsell, at your service.

[Not so subtly, he seems to be gauging for a reaction of any kind.]

[callada]

[And he'll get one. Rosinante might be well-practiced at masking his reactions as needed but this doesn't strike him as a situation where high-level subtlety is needed. He scrutinizes the kid with a creased brow and a perplexed frown. Is he not a child, but just very small? His proportions are childlike, but he's heard of the small folk who live on the island near Dressrosa, and the way Diode talks makes him wonder if this is a similar situation.]

Ambassador of... where, exactly?

[prophetable]

The galaxy.

[Which, of course, isn't helping his situation. He even looks pleased that Rosinante isn't immediately dismissing him, so all this could theoretically just be the boy's imagination. Diode makes himself as important-looking as he's able.]

But you can consider me Beacon's ambassador, for the time being.

[callada]

Pretty sure we don't need an ambassador. Especially not one who just got here.

[Who would he even be ambassador to, anyway? The world eaters?

He shifts the bag on his shoulder, adjusting the weight. He's pretty sure that he's imagining the smell of raw meat, it's not like the stuff is just out in the open air. But it's appetizing, even if it's just in his head.]

[prophetable]

Then I'm pretty sure you've been wandering around here with your eyes closed.

[And he's back to looking critical again. Wrong answer, Slenderman.]

This isn't my first rodeo in Beacon, and the state of things are more than blatantly abysmal.

[callada]

Won't argue with that. Abysmal's a word for it.

[But somehow he doesn't feel like having an ambassador to the darkness is a particularly useful solution to that problem. Still,]

Who're you planning on ambassardoing at? Thought we were pretty alone out here. Especially now the Night Market's just one person, and nobody's heard from the Wild Hunt in months. I was thinking I might go see if I can find where they're hiding out, actually. See if any of them are even still alive.

[prophetable]

I wouldn't bother. They likely perished in the same flood that destroyed apparently everything and everyone else who was important around here.

[He huffs, turning his attention back to his tablet. If anyone he remembers from before was still around, if they've already made themselves known to the residents of Beacon, he doubts they'd still be hiding now, when they'd need resources more than ever.]

I'm completely fluent in the language differences between the types of spirits that live here, for one thing. It would be beneficial to have someone who can talk to them in their own language and provide translations that are more than just proficient at best.

[callada]

[Ah, an ambassador to the spirits! Something he hadn't even considered, especially for someone new to town - which Diode insists he isn't, of course.

That in particular holds promise of a lot more useful information than just how to talk to spirits, though. Not to say that isn't important itself, but - more is good.]

So when you say this isn't your first rodeo, how long ago were you here, any idea?

[Must be able to tell based on the date in that tablet. There might not be any way to verify whatever he says, though, unfortunately.]

[prophetable]

It sounds like somewhere around 30 years or so ago, maybe longer. Robin isn't my direct successor, and with Dr. Solis gone, I can't determine a specific time frame.

[All he knows is he was at least two Lighthouse Keepers ago.]

[callada]

So you knew Dr. Solis. Did you know her well?

[He frowns in sympathy. Nobody here in town ever really got to know her, and yet her loss is one they all feel. Besides which, she might have notes or records of his existence to prove his claims.

A thirty year old lantern, able to be restored - it does give him a little bit of hope, though it probably shouldn't. There are no resets now. The world eater they killed was trapped, and evidently the Night Market didn't believe it was old or developed enough to be at its full potential. The next one that comes won't be as easy to deal with, and that one wasn't easy. There might not be anyone left afterward to try and repair lanterns.]

[prophetable]

...I'd like to think so.

[There's definitely a hint of something there, of loss and affection, but Diode is a professional and intents to remain such.]

She was an intelligent woman, an incredible support for us all. We spoke often of what we believed best for Beacon and its inhabitants.

[callada]

Sorry. It's a shame to have lost her. From what I understand, she was trying to find a way out of here if we had to escape. I wonder if she noticed the lighthouse go down and thought she needed to act.

[She probably didn't mean to sacrifice herself in the process, but with all of the guilt she had carried for so long, maybe she pushed herself farther than she should have. Certainly farther than anyone here would have asked of her.]

And what did you believe was best? I think - without her, we need guidance. We need your insight.