video;

[spiritshifts]

[ Throughout this video, Milla is fiddling with her bracelet's functions, trying to figure out what it can do. ]

How fascinating. This object doesn't appear to run on mana of any sort from what I can tell, and yet it works much like a spyr--

[ Click. You are suddenly treated to a close-up photo of the bottom of Milla's face. ]

Hm, I wonder what that did.

[ She leans forward to peer into the camera, filling the lens with her blinking eye. ]

In any case, that introductory guide was appalling. I attempted to coerce the woman who greeted me for further information, but she was disappointingly unforthcoming. I'd like to say something bold like "I refuse to be trapped here!" and "No power is greater than Maxwell!" but I suspect that's a frequently voiced sentiment among new Travelers - and, frankly, cliche.

I've never been particularly gifted at introductions, but I'll do my best.

My name is Milla, and I'm the Lord of Spirits. Pleased to meet you.

[ She's so modest about it too. ]

Comments

[Video]

[caster_blaster]

Nice to meet you too, lady! Got to disagree on the guide, though. I think it has a certain artistic merit to it.

[spiritshifts]

You're kidding. It looks like a child wrote it.

video.

[trustexercises]

That's my new deity in charge, Milla. You'd do well not to insult him.

[spiritshifts]

Ah, there you are, Alvin. I saw your name on the contact list.

You don't really think I'll extend any respect to someone who facilitated dragging me away from my duties, do you?

( VIDEO ) 1/2

[patients]

[that voice. Jude knows that voice - he knows that voice very well. the sound of it has never left his head since the last they've seen each other. every memory he has had of her - good or bad - he can always vividly remember her voice, her face, her touch... everything.

Jude has never forgotten her, in fact every night when his mind drifts in a lull of sleep, his mind recollects every memory they've shared with each other. there has never been one moment when he hasn't missed Milla.

so it's no surprise that he's a little taken aback when he suddenly hears her voice.]

[patients]

Milla... [seeing her face brings back all those memories, every moment they spent together, all those feelings come rushing back to him. just speaking her name sounds broken, like he's on the verge of tears.

and maybe--no, actually he is. but Jude smiles like he always has, as if nothing has changed, as if he just saw her yesterday.]

It's really... it's really you, isn't it?

[caster_blaster]

Which makes it basic enough for anyone to understand it. I mean, I was hungover when I got here. When you're in that state, simple is better. Trust me.

[spiritshifts]

[ She'd seen his name as well as Alvin's, and she'd considered messaging them both privately. But this - this directness, this openness - was more her style. (It certainly had nothing to do with the small, irritating voice at the back of her mind wondering what Jude would think, seeing her away from the path she'd chosen. But of course she'd been foolish to worry about something so stupid. It's Jude.)

Milla doesn't regret her choice in the slightest. She's proud of it, of who she chose to be and the people who brought her to that point. But that doesn't mean she doesn't miss them, sometimes so much it feels as if her heart might burst with it. She'd never felt loneliness so acutely before, despite having the Four and Muzet beside her. ]

Jude. [ She smiles at the sight of his dear, familiar face. ] Last I checked, it is.

[spiritshifts]

You were--

[ Sigh. ]

This is the kind of warrior this world's gods choose to fight for them? I shouldn't be surprised.

[caster_blaster]

Hey! I'll have you know that I pretty much saved my whole quadrant of the galaxy, once.

[spiritshifts]

While drunk?

[patients]

[just hearing her say his name like she always used to is enough to catch a hitch in his breath. it's Milla - it's really Milla. tears swell in his eyes but Jude tries to keep them from falling. no, the last thing he wants her to see is him crying like a baby when he wants to show her that he's grown since they've last met.]

It's - [he chokes here but tries to recover quickly. nope, no tears here. not one.] It's good to see you.

[caster_blaster]

...Not all the time. Look, it's a stressful line of work. There's nothing wrong with unwinding now and then, you know? It's just something people do.

[spiritshifts]

[ If it's childish to be moved to tears, then Milla must be a child. She feels her own eyes burning, her vision blurring at the edges. It's as if her body is outside her control at this moment; it bows to her heart. ]

You too.

[spiritshifts]

[ It's not the fact that he drinks so much as he was drunk when he was brought here. That doesn't suggest anything complimentary about this man or the gods of Asgard ]

Far be it from me to judge you.

[ Her tone remains skeptical. ]

[caster_blaster]

Look, they didn't exactly ask me if I wanted to sober up first. They just snatched me up.

video;

[failassassin]

Mind filling me in on what 'mana' and 'a spyr' are? [Turlough asks, peering at the camera.]

video;

[verybigpheasants]

The Lord of Spirits, is it? [ that sounds

really cool. ]

Seems like our new arrivals are getting more and more impressive, Lady Milla. [ ....oh, wait. It's kind of weird thinking back on it. ] Ah. Or... do you prefer Lord Milla?

[trustexercises]

I wouldn't dream of having you do that, but I also don't want the guy to curse me in retaliation. So keep it down.

[trustexercises]

[Because it's not like Alvin wouldn't be sitting there ready to pay attention to this. But the fact that anyone else can pay attention to it? Way to kill his cool persona. All these feelings. People might figure out that he's associated with them!

Okay, the real reason he decides to pipe up is because they haven't seen each other in a while, and doing it over these bracelets just doesn't seem appropriate.]

Why don't you two skip the crying through this weird technology and speed up the reunion a little?

video;

[trustexercises]

She's used to Lady, but that might bring back some traumatic memories.

[Ivar, oh Ivar.]

So I recommend going with "The Great Lord Maxwell." Trust me, it rolls right off the tongue before long.

[patients]

[Jude isn't sure what to say next. it's as if he's in a dream & if he says something even just slightly stupid, she'd disappear from his sight again. instead Jude just let his eyes rest upon her face, taking in every bit of her features as if he'd just seen her. he really did have this world to thank for bringing her back to him.]

I hope you didn't give the maid too much trouble. She can only answer so much. [he could jsut picture the woman boldly asking her questions, hands on the hilt of her sword. it's enough to get him to smile fondly.]

From what I can tell, this bracelet isn't of any technology we've seen before. [if it were work of spyrites it would make his job a hell of a lot more easier.]

[patients]

--Alvin? W-What're you talking about? No one's crying!

[Video]

[comeonthensexy]

The Lord of Spirits? Really?

What does that mean, then?

video;

[cerebral]

Pleased to meet you, too. I'm Charles. Do you prefer to be addressed by your name or title? [Someone's British is showing.]

And - as someone else asked - what's mana? Just curious - I'm doing my best to learn the differences in technology and magic between our worlds.