IC Contact: Recollé

[notyourutopian]

Eleanor Lamb

Hello you've reached Eleanor Lamb's voicemail. I'd explain what's next but I can't imagine you don't know what to do at the beep.

VOICE | TEXT | VIDEO | ACTION

Comments

Action.

[burningblossoms]

[And right on cue, Yukiko rolls up in the Mystery Machine. The passenger side door slides open and she calls out to her bestie.]

C'mon Eleanor! Hop in!

Action.

[notyourutopian]

[Eleanor stopped long enough to push her backpack and a bag with her makeshift targets into the back of the van, then climbed into the passenger seat, grinning.]

The beach, huh? [She said as she buckled in.] So by 'training' you mean 'probably swimming' right?

[burningblossoms]

I actually mean training. But I also want to show you something.

[Already rolling out, Yukiko hit the main road out of town quickly.]

I...have sort of kept a couple of things from you. [A hint of shame in her voice.] Mostly because I didn't really know how to say it, but also because some of it isn't my secret to tell. Aaaannd with everything going crazy like it has been over graduation there's been no time.

So today. I'll give you a show, too.

[notyourutopian]

I'll just pretend I didn't stick my swimsuit in my bag then.

[She grins as she leans back, but her eyes narrow a bit.]

Well...alright. I'm not one to turn down secrets and shows.

[And then she leans forward again to fiddle with the radio.]

[burningblossoms]

Oh, we can go swimming too.

[The radio blares a little bit of jazz, the NPR station she usually keeps it on.]

But...just so you're aware, it's a new power. Something a bit crazy seeming. Remember how I said I felt I had a guardian angel?

[notyourutopian]

[Eleanor can get behind jazz.]

Yeeees....

[And she was politely believing it because Yukiko believed it, and she believed Yukiko. but that wasn't the same as believing it...exactly...]

I think we're past crazy for powers, Yukiko.

[burningblossoms]

[Well, that's just it. She'll be seeing soon enough.]

Um. What if I told you I know her name.

[Very distinctly: Her]

And what if I told you I can summon her into reality.

[notyourutopian]

Well. [A beat.] I...would...proooobably...take your word for it?

[Maybe?]

Although like, seriously, you would need to show me.

[burningblossoms]

That's part of why we're going to the beach. There's a spot I found nobody bothers with.

[On the other side of some rocks. In the woods. ssssshhh]

Also, does the name Amaterasu mean anything to you?

[notyourutopian]

Uhm. [It did sound vaguely familiar.]

Asian god of some kind, right?

[burningblossoms]

Goddess from which the Imperial Household is descended. She's the Goddess of the Sun, of Japan. And in a way, war.

[notyourutopian]

Sure, her. Because I am totally up on my Japanese mythology.

[Eleanor laughed softly.]

So your...guardian angel...is a Japanese sun goddess?

[burningblossoms]

[Yukiko smiles somewhat nervously as she speeds up, head bobbing.]

She is. She's...well, I remembered her name was Sumeo-Okami. That's one of Amaterasu's names.

[One she had understood instinctively.]

And I'm not sure she's a guardian angel, not anymore. At least, not literally.

[notyourutopian]

Sumeo-Okami. Okay.

[Hm.]

So what is she then? Not actually a goddess either, I assume?

[burningblossoms]

I don't know what she is, exactly. But it doesn't feel right calling her a guardian angel.

[A sigh, and she turns down another road.]

I remember them being called Personas, though. I don't know what they are, but that's the name.

[notyourutopian]

Personas. [Eleanor was just repeating everything tonight, wasn't she. She was trying the word though, it felt familiar, really, but mostly because she was pretty sure she'd read it somewhere.]

That's like...a mask? Like with actors when they're in character?

[burningblossoms]

It's...yes that's what the word means literally but I don't know what it means in this context. It's...a psychological theory about the masks people wear to hide themselves.

[Which is weird. But yeah she's just a high schooler.]

[notyourutopian]

Right.

[Eleanor frowns faintly, but not at Yukiko, just out the window, then shakes her head.]

So...okay, I'm confused. What exactly is it?

[burningblossoms]

It's something I can summon. Something I want to show you.

[notyourutopian]

...Well, alright. [Another little laugh.] So drive faster I want to see.

[burningblossoms]

I'm already going twenty over the speed limit but we're almost there gosh.

[VROOM VROOM]

[notyourutopian]

[And then, magically, they were there!]

Speeding is a victimless crime.

[burningblossoms]

Yeah well...

[Turning off the car, she steps out into the evening and starts off down the beach, expecting Eleanor to follow.]

We're not far. I've been practicing alone or with Souji around here, so none of the Sleepers freak out.

[notyourutopian]

[Eleanor slid out of the car as well, stopping long enough to grab her backpack before she headed out onto the sand with Yukiko.]

Is that what we're calling them now? Sleepers?

[burningblossoms]

That's what Yosuke and I started calling them. It seems to fit, since they feel like they are missing a part of themselves. Or are kind of dreaming, if they think Chocobos are normal.

[Yep.]