Voice Testing!

[cageofroses]

My goodness, what an odd idea this is.

[A faintly steely note slips into her voice.]

I don't think being controlled suits me any more, mun-san.

[Pause.]

But if you promise to let me make my own choices, we could reach an agreement. After all, there are so many worlds to look through. And I do have to look for her.

[Smiling.]

Shall we give it a try?

Comments

[princely_calyx]

[A smile as she leans on one hand.] It can't really hurt to try, can it?

I'm glad that you're standing up for yourself, though. [Maybe she helped Anthy after all.]

[cageofroses]

Utena-sa... [She stops herself and smiles slightly.] Utena. I didn't expect to see you here, so soon.

[She takes in Utena's words and blinks.]

Yes, everything changed. You changed it. I hope you know that.

[Anthy still feels very nervous, sometimes.]

Have you been well?

[princely_calyx]

[Utena can't help herself and grin at the correction.] Glad to see you also dropped the whole "sama" thing. And yeah, never thought I'd see you in this place either. [The changes to a soft smile.] But I'm glad I did.

Wait - everything? What happened? [Of course, she only knows up until the swords of hate were aimed and coming at her.]

[A gentle quirk in the smile.]

I guess what exactly happened doesn't matter, just that you're free. [How did you survive that drop in the coffin?] I'm glad. I always wondered. And hoped. [That was just a touch quieter.]

Yeah, I have. My mun has me at a pretty interesting place called Anatole. It can be a real pain and sometimes really dangerous to be there but it can be pretty fun too. Though I haven't seen anyone from our home, I've made some really good friends there. [And maybe an enemy or two as well.] It's fun, learning about the other worlds out there.

How about you?

[formerly_known_as_prince]

You're looking for me? But I was looking for you and...I guess we'll get to have that tea sooner than I thought.

[cageofroses]

It seemed like the thing to do, Utena-sama. [A little pause.] No, Utena.

[A little more briskly.]

I'm afraid I don't have any of my tea things, though. I've been travelling light.

give a look at imperial_saga for her btw? I'd love an Anthy

[formerly_known_as_prince]

Heh, so have I...It looks like you finally broke that habit! Oh wow, I wish I could record this moment somehow.

I'll check it out ^.^

[cageofroses]

Well I'm not the Rose Bride any more, so it only seems right. All that is in the past, now.

[She settles herself down and smiles.]

But how have you been? What happened to you, when you vanished?

for the rest of her AU history, see her journal

[formerly_known_as_prince]

I woke up in a church hospital and Ohtori Island was gone. I had huge holes in my memory...still do, actually. But I remember you. And I remembered that the answers to all these questions I have are in the fae realm. So i've been looking for you, and a way in, ever since.

Oh and i've got this weird compulsion to...do good. Pull stuck cats from trees. Protect villages from monsters and raiders. That kindof thing.

Very good

[cageofroses]

Well the memory loss was always probable. You did take the brunt of the swords that shine with human hatred, even if it was only for a moment. Human bodies aren't meant to bear that weight.

[Anthy looks very serious as she says all this. She never really got to talk to Utena about the underlying reality of the situation. It's good to get it out in the open, even if it does mean breaking the habits of millennia.]

Didn't you always have that compulsion, though? [She smiles.] Miki, Juri, Touga, even Nanami, in her own way: you changed the lives of all the duellists. And mine.

[She's feeling fidgety, and since Utena seems to know more about the world now, she figures a little magic won't hurt. There's no sparkle, no crack of thunder or flash of light. She just reaches under the table and takes out a wooden box. Inside are a teapot, two cups, a tin box of loose-leaf tea and a pot full of boiling water.]

On second thoughts, I think tea might be helpful.

[formerly_known_as_prince]

I...guess I did. [She blushes, pulls out a chair, sits down.] It's just gotten stronger recently.

[She never really questioned how Anthy's magic worked because she always thought that it was something she'd never be able to understand in the first place. Take what she just did there: if there'd been a shimmering in the ambient light or the mumbling of phrases, it would fit into any number of theoretical schools of human magic. But when Anthy really worked on her own (and not on display for others, like when she pulled out the sword), things just happened with the inevitability of the tide. But if Anthy wants to tell her, she'll do her best to understand it.]

Thanks. [The tea is impeccable, of course.]

[cageofroses]

My my.

[Anthy sips her tea, not really thinking about the flavour. There is something very wonderful about having Utena here, without any of the lies or complications of Ohtori, and that is what she savours.]

You can always ignore those impulses, if they prove troublesome. I do believe we have choice in our lives. And it would perhaps be wise to remember the lesson of Dios. No one can save everyone, Utena. You have to let them save themselves.

[It's almost funny, giving Utena advice. She would never have done it before. But she has lived so long, and what good are all those years if they can't help when they need to.]

[formerly_known_as_prince]

I don't know if I can, actually. I get this feeling it has something to do with...everything that happened. It's almost like an addiction.

[She gets quiet a moment, looks down into her tea as if she could divine her answers from it.]

You're the only one who could possibly get it. But if you came, it'd be just like...back then, for you. But I want you by my side...Guess i'm more selfish than I thought, huh?

[She looks over the rim of the cup at her, hoping eye contact will show that she's being sincere.]

[cageofroses]

[What Utena describes worries Anthy deeply, but she bites her tongue down. She has given her advice, and it is up to Utena to take it. Or not. But memories of Dios' inevitable self-destruction spiral through her mind, and her mouth dries out. She takes another sip of her tea.]

Addictions are internal, compulsions external. You should think about which this is, and think carefully.

[She takes a moment more to think about Utena's last words, sipping her tea slowly.]

It's not bad to be selfish, Utena. Not unless you let it overrule everything else. And I... [She looks down and then looks back up, making herself catch Utena's eye.] I want to be where you are, too. If you think this place is so bad for me, then let's find another world, together.

[formerly_known_as_prince]

Well look at you, miss wordy. I guess I hope it's the first one, but it could be the second...[It can't be helped. Anthy's always been the brains of the team. More importantly is reassuring Anthy about the implications of that. She has only circumstantial evidence that Akio can't reach her where she is.]

Wherever you go, i'll go. [She reaches with her free hand to grasp Anthy's, just like they would when they'd fall asleep in perfect unison across from each other, a perfect yin-yang.]

[cageofroses]

Making up for lost time. [Anthy is almost surprised that she can joke, when in truth the subject worries her so much, but freedom is a wonderful thing.] Whichever it is, it doesn't have to control you. I promise.

[She looks down at Utena's hand, hardly knowing what to say. Utena's fingers are cool against her skin, but it still feels like the most heat she's known in years. Her heart gives such a youthful flutter, and she almost wants to blush.]

Together.

whoops wrong account there

[formerly_known_as_prince]

[Unlike Anthy, Utena's feeling of euphoric, swimmy embarrassment at the contact is entirely in line with her age.

She'll stay like that for some time with her then, sipping her tea when she remembers to, no longer needing to fill silence with awkward speech or stretching.]

[derobement]

Well, that's new.

[cageofroses]

New? For you perhaps, Juri-san. But old would be much more accurate.

[She smiles with a kind of glassy brightness. Not all her old habits have gone away.]

Have you been here long?

in case you're still looking: i play this utena at luceti and would LOVE an anthy! :3

[revolutionarygirl]

Ah, Himemiya! [It's been a few months since she's seen Anthy.] I'm really happy to see you. I know that time isn't passing back home, but...

[Wait a second.]

You're looking for someone? [Completely oblivious. This Utena just finished having her happy little chat with Mikage. ...the one where she punched him in the face.]