asgardeventide | Restless Magic

[Action; Gefion Park]

[It's a rare day off, which means Hibiki can be found sitting on a bench watching her animals at play! She really doesn't have enough time to spend with them, so she's happy to see that they seem to be enjoying the outdoors on this sunny day.

Happy, and a little... tired, actually.

By the time people come across her, she may well have just nodded off in her seat, her form slumped slightly to the side as she rests. The sheep, hummingbird, gusk and Cyndaquil currently running/scampering/flying around don't seem to have noticed, but there is a small hamster on her shoulder now nibbling on a bit of her hair.

...Someone may want to wake the poor girl up.]

[Video]

[And later, a video call! She is clearly pretty uncomfortable, her hands twisting and fidgeting in front of her.]

I... I didn't really want to ask about it before. I thought I could take care of it, but there's so much going on...

[Deep breath, Hibiki. It's okay to ask for help, remember? With a short gulp, she continues.]

I... have a lot of pets. But I can't take care of them as much as they need it. I work with the medical team and the suppliers. I just--

[Her expression falls as she falters.]

...I can't take care of them by myself anymore.

[As loathe as she is to admit it. Even at home, she had managed to take care of Shii-chan even while juggling her work, but here...

It seems she's bitten off more than she can chew.]

I don't know what to do with them... I have a sheep, a hummingbird, a gusk, a Cyndaquil, and a hamster. They're all really great, and they're well behaved, s-so...

I don't want to have to get rid of them... but I want to make sure they get cared for. What should I do...?

[It's almost like a plea. These animals - each one reminds her of people she can no longer see. To give them away just doesn't seem right. But neglecting them hardly seems proper, either.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Oh. Well that would explain it!

...Except not really.]

Er... S-so you can't die...? [Is apparently what she got from that.]

Yes, I can. Like I said, it's energy. It's like a battery; eventually, unless it's recharged, it runs out. I actually got it recharged, so I can live longer, so that's nice. But it's not like a cord that you plug into a wall and leads energy to your TV or computer or fridge. Last I checked, I don't have a cord plugged into my back.

[ He chuckles. ]

[No, indeed he does not!]

...So when it runs out again...?

Then my time is out. I die.

...Oh.

[So there really is no escaping it, huh...]

Um... How many times can you "recharge" it instead?

[ He pauses, blinking. ]

I actually have no idea. I don't think it's been done more than a couple of times.

[?!]

Then... you've only recharged a few times, too?

Just the once, actually. Took me a while to run out. It usually does.

Huh? But you said it was done a couple of times...

Not to me. Others of my species.

Oh!

...W-wait, only a couple of times for all your people-?

[That... would explain why so little is known, huh.]

Yeah. It's really not common practice.

[ The whole process is already artificial. They made it. It's part of their biology now, but it didn't evolve on its own.

Messing with it should be approached with caution. ]