Tell Me of the Other Side (Shi)

The last day that Noctis would be in the Velvet Room before being able to go out and devote his full time to his research on the other side. He could not be more eager to try out many more types of cuisine that their world offers, as well as new things to study about human tendencies. It was a momentous day for him, maybe not to others, as either they didn't seem to care, or they didn't want to go. Oh well, more food for him in the coming future. Some Attendants were around but Master Igor seemed to be away that day, which he found to be a bit disquieting. He wasn't going to see him off? A shame, but hardly enough to dampen his mood.

He had his Velvet Room attire that everyone wore, but he himself added some flair to it, including a bit of fur he found on the other side to the collar area. He was getting hungry and could not wait, and reached into his pocket to pull out a lollipop, open it from its package eagerly, and pop it into his mouth. He loved food, but what he loved just as much if not more was human sweets, especially things like lollipops and chocolate. He would then continue to pace the small area of the Velvet Room he occupied to try and waste time, in the hopes that he might get distracted on something, or he would be allowed to leave soon.

Stepping into the velvet room, Shi stood in her normal clothes, holding her compendium. She had planned to go to limbo and train herself; going through the velvet room would be a lot less troublesome. But as expected, upon arrival, the attendants stared for a longer than needed amount of time. It seemed that there were some inexperienced attendants too and not just all the hot shots. Although, she did plan to surpass her ‘siblings’ and become the best of her kind, doing that would have all of Igor’s words smacked right back at that gigantic nose. But keeping her cool might be the best idea right?

She walked towards a blue chair away from Igor and sat in it. The color of the chair was obviously blue; I mean why it wouldn’t be. Such an ironic names though, the velvet room, why did everything have to be blue? Imagine a velvet room attendant hating the color blue. Now that would be the first thing Shi wanted to laugh at. But her face was still emotionless, her eyes like voids. She was like a doll. A rag doll with no expressions yet she moved. Had she come to life, what was the purpose with her being there if she wasn’t truly ‘alive’ yet? Emotions were a sign of one’s ‘ego’ which is needed for a persona. So why couldn’t she have one. Her own ego, it was just too bad it was not possible in a million years for that to ever. Still she tried every day. Soki had taught her some although it was hard to force emotions, maybe this was something that took time, and maybe it would never come; only time would tell. Opening her book, she stared at the two skill cards she owned. Charon and Alice, two of the Death arcana, one was a demon child the other was the one who guided people across the river Nyx to the underworld, both with tremendous power. Maybe she could actually go to limbo and not die with these two powerful personas.

Noctis would continue to pace around before someone had made an entrance. It wasn't a particularly large entrance, but the oddest thing was the looks this Attendant was given, and they weren't even looks of praise or greeting. Some ranged from indifference, to almost hatred. Then he remembered, that one specific Attendant seem to have some unheard of notoriety. However while his curiosity made him ask, no Attendant, not even Master Igor would explain to him what happened. And now she had returned on a day he was around. She also seemed to have come from the other side, something Noctis had been waiting for all day, maybe something this Attendant had seen that Noctis hadn't. The thought made him a bit excitable.

Noctis abruptly stopped his pacing noticing that she had come to sit in a blue chair, and turned to the new Attendant, walking to her, a bit eagerly to learn. He saw she had her Compendium, which is surprising given the rumors he had heard. It was a shame he didn't have his. Good method of defense, and from what he had heard, it was needed on the other side. He saw that the Attendants seem to notice him walking to her and gave him the same stares, which didn't seem to bother him much at all. He always was the eccentric of the group, so he stuck out sometimes, even more so when walking to a sort of 'celebrity'. He saw in a chair near her, folding a leg over his other looking at the Attendant. She seemed very....void. Expressionless, no emotions whatsoever. He cleared his throat preparing for a conversation. "Excuse me. You know of the outside world yes? Well, I was curious if you could tell me anything about it, as I am going to go out and stay there for a while to explore, and I didn't know if I should get some advice," he said letting out most of his story to her without really thinking.

He was strange, approaching her just to ask her a question like that. He definitely was an attendant with those clothes; there was no doubt in her mind of that fact. He also asked of the outside world, being completely honest she did answer his question. “Humans, the humans agitate me, some more than others. A few though, have been smart enough to bond with. Although even then…” She paused, would she benefit from telling her? Or was this just her being ‘nice’ towards the naive one. Either way she would look the male now. “Experience it, look for a ‘bookstore’ and obtain some ‘books’ about human culture. Go on the ‘internet’ and look up something. Those things will help you. But, stay near velvet room doors as much as you can. If you get lost in the real world, you might not be able to comeback…” She would look down at her compendium, without one you wouldn't be able to find your way back without a persona-user. "You may know me anyways, but my name is Shi."

He listened to her answer and nodded. Humans agitated her? What an odd thing to say. He hadn't met many humans when he was outside, but when he did, they seemed to be indifferent at their worst, and at their best, very caring and helpful. "Hm, it had not occurred to me that there might be unsavory humans out there. It was what I was interested in studying, the bonds humans go through in friendship and love...Hm?" he saw her make a pause. "Although what...?" he asked. He had heard some familiar words in her explanation, and some not so familiar. Bookstores, a place where you gather knowledge and pay for books to take with you. However the word 'internet' threw him off. He had no inkling as to what it was or what it is used for. Although, he felt as if he was being a bit.....naive and did not make that known to the woman.

It wasn't that it bothered him, but being explained by hand would take half the fun out of it. He wanted to see the world for himself, these explanations would be for his background research so he knew what he was getting into. It also made him feel a bit peculiar at the woman as she explained to stay near the Velvet Room. "The Velvet Room is the last place I want to be. I want to see the world," he said chuckling. It would be no trouble to come back to the Velvet Room, and he intended to do so to update with everyone else. Maybe this woman was more protective of herself. He didn't ask, not wanting to pry. "My name is Noctis, I have heard of you...somewhat, but I am unaware of what happened," he said.

Shi would look down at her compendium, when he asked her to explain the events that made her who she is now, she would pause. After a few moments, looking up “It was about… What year is it? 2013… So about… 90,000 years I would assume I may be spot on or way off. In any case, I am the first of our kind. Born when man’s evolution began, now you may be thinking, why would this girl be so behind in her duties if she had been around that long?” She would pause again. Gripping her compendium in one hand and looking him in the eyes, her emotionless stare might have been intimidating on a mortal, but maybe not on this man. “… I was born, with no emotions. When… Igor tried to add some personality to me, I refused him, and almost fought him until I lost. I was locked away in the collective unconscious, and was just recently released.”

She added so much strain on Igor’s name, for her hatred still stood, although, she would never admit that she hated him to his face. She would look down at the compendium, gripping it tighter before looking back at him. He was new, not even owning a compendium, he could get killed. “Those bonds, you speak of Social Links correct? Those are formed every day. But when you step out of that door, you will experience a huge deal of pain and suffering. Not to yourself, but the whole world out there is just like that. There is always someone who isn’t going to like you, not everyone is friendly like you would think.” She wanted to call him by name but his name was so weird… What was it again? Not Notciss? After thinking for a moment, the older attendant finally figured his name and continued to submit her late replies “In any case, it is a pleasure to meet you, Noctis… Noctis, that means Night, yes? My, that is a wondrous name. Mine is just ‘Death.’ And Noctis-san, why do you not want to be in the velvet room? I mean, I myself, would not want to be trapped here. But, you are safer here. Hmm, my interest is peaked.”[/color]

He watched with intent as she took a moment of silence to form her answer. Surely if it took that long then the answer must be slightly complex. Or, at least, long. His lips tightened slightly in a bit of surprise hearing her age. Ninety-thousand? She barely looked like a human teenager. Then again, Noctis had been around fairly recently, and apparently, Attendants like him do not age physically. "Since the beginning huh? I wonder what life was like for you back then," he said thinking. She must have learned and seen how the world was back then. He looked around the room, his thoughts wandering. He returned his face to her eyesight. "Did you ever see the first humans?" he asked. He was getting distracted again. This always happened when talking to new people. It was like a setting he did not know how to turn off. He sighed and shook his hand. "Nevermind, please continue," he said.

Her stare seemed to be void of....anything. Noctis tried to discern what could be hidden in her eyes, but it wasn't even that they hid anything, they just were empty. Shi was quite unlike the other Attendants who seemed to all be quite expressive in their own way, small or large. He frowned when she mentioned her attack on Master Igor, something he normally doesn't do. He tends to be either very happy or content, and not much can bring him down....but attack Master Igor...? Unheard of. "You attacked Master? Why would refuse emotions? It allows one to gain personality, become their own, and be able to come in contact with others far more strongly," he said. He didn't believe he was being naive at all, surely you have a better method of conversation with a personality than without one right?

He even caught her speak his name in a darker tone. He nodded when she mentioned 'Social Links'. "Suffering? Well, the pain is worth the possibility in my own opinion. There are probably not great humans out there, which you would probably know, being out there longer than I have. But surely there aren't nearly as many as you think? I....I would like to study the types of bonds, like friends, love, romance, those kinds of things. I will only believe in the best of it all," he said. Admittedly he may have been a bit naive. The only thing he knows for sure in that world is that human cuisine is positively delicious. Speaking of which....he reached into his velvet shirt and pulled out yet another lollipop after finishing this one, which he opened and put into his mouth, enjoying the taste of what humans decided to call 'cherry'.

"That's right. Noctis is Latin for 'night'. Shi is, Japanese correct?" he asked. He was quite eager to answer Shi's question as best he could. "Well, I have, shall we say, gotten a bit dull of the scenery in here, when I see how nice the other world can look. I love their food immensely, and the idea of Social Links fascinates me so," he said nodding again smiling slightly. The waiting was now getting a bit long to him, and he was now starting to grow slightly impatient. He tapped his foot as he chewed on his lollipop in anticipation to leave.

“I do not like the fact I was going to have set emotions, him forcing me to feel one way. I was also young…” She would stand, her eyes blinking as she stared down at him. “ I must be going, this meeting was very intriguing.” She would hold out her hand, waiting for a ‘handshake’ wither he took her hand or not she would pull away, holding the compendium in one hand. “Good day, Noctis-san…” With that the small attendant would turn, walking towards one of the blue doors that stood in the velvet room. She stepped out it, ready to head to limbo to ‘train.’
[exit]

He would think on what she said as she spoke. Is having a personality inherently better than having none? That could come in handy when dealing with Social Links, and getting to know this woman more. He then smiled nodding. "It was nice to meet you too Shi. Maybe we will see each other in the future," he said. He took her hand in both of his shaking it eagerly before letting go. "Farewell, Shi," he said as she went out of the door. He stood there, eager to continue waiting, until the moment he could leave as well.

((END))