Numb (Mae)

Mae walked silently down the streets of San Malarus after a visit to her mother... She felt a bit empty... Kinaku was going to move on from Azores soon... Oh, how Mae wanted to tag along... But she had important things to deal with here first... And first on her list of things to do was... well... Seeing Rin... Last time they had met, things went pretty badly... So, it was up to her, Rin's closest friend, to keep a watchful eye on the Passive Musician...

And there she was... Outside the studio, looking through the glass doors apprehensively before entering... If Mallory was there, she would give her a gentle smile before asking: "Excuse me, Mallory-chan... Is Rin available by any chance...?"

So... that was Mallory's kid? Mae looked at the boy playing his game with a curious look before returning her attention to Mallory. She seemed to have been lost in her own thoughts, judging by her reaction... Not that Mae blamed her. She found herself lost in her own thoughts quite often too, so she wasn't in a position to judge.

"Alright... Thanks." Mae gave Mallory a gentle smile before she headed towards Rin's booth... Of course, it wasn't difficult to find... She knew her way around here fairly well by now, considering how many times she had been here over the last couple of months. Walking through these hallways now felt a bit surreal... After the escapade over at the Tower, it was a bit odd to walk down these halls to check up on her friend... Back then, she had seen a side of her friend that she never wanted to see again... Hopefully nothing made Rin snap like that in the near future...

Mae found herself standing outside Rin's booth, carefully listening to Rin's music, making sure she was not seen or heard herself... Right now, she wanted listen to the music for a while... To think that she had such a beautiful voice... And she stuck to being a DJ was quite astounding... "You should use that voice of yours more often, Rin..." Mae said, once her friend's song died down... She walked in, smiling gently towards her friend before sitting down on a chair... "How are you holding up...?"

"Heh... If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything." Mae said with a gentle smile as she closed the door behind her. "Not that I'm saying you should stop being a Disk Jockey... But don't let that voice go to waste either. It'd be nice to sing along on stage someday." Yeah... That would've been nice... "What do you say, Rin? After all this is over... how about the two of us start a band or something?" It was just a suggestion. Not that Mae had anything against it. In fact, she wouldn't have taken anyone else. Rin was the only one that Mae trusted enough to do something like this with that had any musical talent... "We'd of course need to run it by Calvin or something... Unless, of course, you're going to go back to your parents..." She bit her own lip lightly, looking at the microphone... She really didn't want Rin to leave...

"Well... I hope it gets better... Say... Just for old times sake... why don't we have one last jam session...?" Mae asked. Hopefully Rin said yes... "So... Did you hear Gonea's message too?" She eventually asked, looking back on Rin, with a slight look of worry on her face... Gonea's message had been... interesting... Rin and everyone else had lost their blessings... Well, if the event was going to make a return, Mae was ready for it... No way that she would back down from this a second time...

"Hehe. Then you have something to look forward to, no? This tour and everything... Where do you actually plan on going?" Mae asked with a bright smile on her face. She had been curious as to where Rin would be going once this was all over... Going on tour, yes... but where?

"Heh... I suppose that was just wishful thinking on my part..." Mae said eventually. She had expected an answer like that... but still, Mae couldn't help but feel a bit dissapointed... But then again, it was Rin's choice, not hers. "Well, after this is all over... I'm probably going to start looking for my real parents again... They are the sole reason as to why I came to Azores in the first place..." There had simply not been enough time for her to go on a dedicated search for them recently, due to everything that was going on... But once this was all over, Mae would start looking again... For her past... Where she came from... "I just wanna see her once, at least, you know? My real mother that is." Of course, she had been speculating as to what her real mother was like on numerous occasions... Over the course of her life, Mae had been constantly chasing after them... She needed to know where she came from...

"Ah... I see..." Mae said eventually. "We don't have to if you don't feel like it..." She looked at the microphone... Oh how long it had been since she had used one... Maybe soon, she would pick it up again...

"I'm hesitant too... I don't really want to fight her, if I can avoid it... She seems so kind, and only she only wants the best for us... Why would I fight against her? I don't have a motive to do so... At all..." Of course, the very thought of fighting someone else wasn't a pleasant one for the girl... if she could resolve things peacefully, then she would do so without question... "I dunno if rebelling is the best way to go about things... But right now, I feel like taking down Thesis and whatever else threatens Azores should be a priority. At present, the event serves only as a distraction..." And that's not what they wanted, now was it?

Mae laid a hand on Rin's shoulder. "C'mere... Just let it all out... No need to hide anything from me, Rin..." Her voice was calm and reassuring. "..." She fell silent for a moment, waiting for Rin's reaction... If she was truly crying... Mae wouldn't stop her... Sometimes, you just needed to let it all out...

"Well... Whatever path you may choose to go down, I wish you the best. And remember, if you need anything at all, or just someone to talk to, I'm just a phonecall away." She'd smile warmly at Rin. So, she really was leaving huh...? She wanted to beg and plead her to not go... but that would accomplish nothing... Mae knew that... Sometimes, you just had to let things play out. Maybe this world tour would do Rin some good?

"Iceland, eh? Sure, I suppose if I can catch a break from my studies, I'll swing by." Of course she would find the time. Mae would jump at any chance she had of seeing her friend by that point... Seeing as they probably wouldn't see eachother for a long time after... Not until her tour was over, at least... "So... W-Will you ever come back?" The girl asked in a somewhat worried tone.

"Alright... I'll shut up." She said, backing off a bit. She really shouldn't be pushing that subject any further... It just hurt her more than it helped... Ugh...

"Rin..." Mae looked at her friend with a sombre look. "I'm sorry... I'm not doing this because I pity out at all... I'm concerned... But if you don't want me to try helping you as a friend, then I'll stop." She felt quite helpless herself right now... "What kind of a friend am I...?" She whispered to herself, looking down on her own feet, away from Rin's view. Why couldn't she help? What was she doing wrong? It hurt seeing Rin like this... But perhaps... it was just better to leave her be... As much as it pained Mae to even consider leaving Rin alone in her state... but what other choice did she have?

"Don't worry about it, okay?" Mae said with a faint smile. "Take all the time you need." While it pained the redhead to say this, perhaps it was just better in the long run to let things have it's course...

"I don't think you're asking the right person for that, I'm afraid." She said, frowning a bit at Rin's words. "What about me then? Or any of your other friends here? Had you not come here, we would never have met... Has our times together really been that trivial to you...? I... Dunno what to say about that..." She really didn't... But if that was what Rin truly felt, then... that would explain a number of things that had happened...

"Rin... At least you've been fighting... Fighting for your ideals... Look at me. I've lacked the strength or resolve to fight for my own goals or ideals... I... can't even protect those that I hold dear... No matter where I look or who I turn to, Rin... I feel left behind... I'm just.... not needed anymore. I'm only a friend in their eyes now... Not a comrade who is willing to fight to the bitter end for the sake of everyone else... At least you were fighting..." Why things had turned out this way, she had no idea... The world was slowly leaving her behind, just like her biological parents had left her behind... And she was left alone to find them herself... Not event the reason why she was on this island to begin with was anywhere closer than it had been back in January... "I'm just a steppingstone, Rin... Think about that for a second..."