themainframe | [Video] ♞ Fire Cross I

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[Video] ♞ Fire Cross I

So do any of us actually have any useful information about the gates yet? We can't just sit on our asses every time we're not being attacked by digital bugs. Most of us have been here two months and there are people who've been here even before then; someone has to know something.

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[ He laughs a little. He'd never actually been in the Scouts when he was a kid either. ]

That salute's almost as stupid as Garden's.

[ It was an insult, definitely, but his tone was surprisingly gentle. Probably doesn't excuse the insult, but he feels it's nice to know there are other weird salutes out there. ]

Dunno if that's the actual salute, but I'll take your word for it.

[He...drops his hand.] Yeah, it is kinda weird...

[This...person does not seem as bad as before so he doesn't want to jinx it, but...] Um, I'm Cam.

[Never introduced himself. So.]

[ He has half a mind to mock him, something like "Hey Mr. Um." But now he's feeling a little sentimental, so he isn't in the mood. Maybe later. ]

Seifer Almasy. Head of the Disciplinary Committee and Sorceress' Knight extraordinaire. Well, you know, back in my world.

[ Here he's just Seifer Almasy, he supposes. Seifer Almasy, the partner of an annoying Impmon. ]

That...sounds real important. [And maybe a little cool.] I'm, uh, just me, Campbell Saunders, so... What's a Sorceress' Knight do?

[Now he's getting curious.]

It is important.

[ He contemplates whether or not to tell the kid. It couldn't hurt and he does like talking about himself.... Besides, there's a chance he may hear this story elsewhere and he'd prefer to be the one leaving the first impression. ]

It's not all that different from a knight. In my world, sorceresses can uses genuine magic when regular people can't. So, people bein' people, they're afraid of sorceresses and want to kill all of 'em. Obviously, the job of the knight is to prevent that from happening.

[ Though considering neither of his sorceresses are here... guess he didn't do too hot of a job. Whoops. ]

Comes with fame and glory an an entire military at your disposal.

[ And the risk of being manipulated so you're brainwashed and crazy but that's such a tiny, insignificant part of the story! The real winner is the fame and glory. Come on, who doesn't want that? Seifer did! ]

[And Cam listens, growing more and more impressed; magic, he knows, is common in other worlds, just as much as aliens, all that-- but he's a normal high school student, who's lived most of his life in a small, middle-of-nowhere town in Canada, so it's only natural that he's still surprised, even after a few months living in this weird world, hearing about all these amazing, wonderful things.

And so, it becomes clear as to why Seifer would think of everything in terms of jobs, and slowly, Cam tries to think of something to say.

What comes out is just:] ...Wow. That's...really amazing.

Your world must be pretty boring if you think it's amazing. What, no magic or dragons or the world hanging in the balance where you come from? What an easy life. What are you, anyway? 14, 15?

[A very big frowny face.] I-it's not easy...! Just 'cause there's no...magic, or stuff like that. ... 'm 15, go to high school.

Ahhh, right. Homework and peer pressure and social groups.

It's not just that! [He's shouting again; his voice cracks.] Being-- just-- just because it's not, world changing stuff, it doesn't mean that, it's not hard, just-- everything.

[That stubborn little voice mutters in his head, about how much he's making something out of nothing, how he should just stop being such a crybaby and how he probably wasn't strong enough anyway, why'd this world even take him?

In a hiss, he breathes in, because without realizing it he stopped for a moment.]

...My problems are still problems.

It's only hard if you let it be hard. Can't say I've ever experienced a normal high school life, but if you walk around letting people get to you in any setting, of course it's gonna be hard. When you let people get to you, you make it world-changing stuff.

I'm getting to you. I'm getting to you and I'm not even trying.

[ And if he were trying.... Well, it's a self-proclaimed special skill of his to get under people's skin. Still, it's not the same when he has this much of an effect on someone when he's actually making an effort to be polite and civil. If he actually picked on this kid? On Cam? Seifer's almost positive he'd fall to pieces. ]

Look. We may be fragile mortal beings. That doesn't mean we can't take on the world. You got dreams, don't ya? If you work toward those, you can handle anything.

[ That's it. He's been in this world too long. It's glaringly obvious because he feels uncomfortably guilty for upsetting a kid he barely knows by being himself. He liked it better when he was too busy following orders to care about the consequences of his words or actions. Now he has to sit here and think and deal with everything instead of leaving it behind. ]

[He listens, listens and you know, Seifer's right, but that just leaves a pit in Cam's stomach. How much does he have to try before he reaches that point again? The point where he's completely given up, in the greenhouse, and...

It leaves a lot of pits in his stomach.]

You're right, 'm... sorry.

[The feed cuts. He...needs a walk.]

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