ataraxion | [005: Video]

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[005: Video]

[No Octopus suit for you this time, Tranquility. Instead, LB is in her typical silver plug suit looking down at the communicator, set on her bed. Hell yes, she was bored, but at this point, she was smart enough to not explore very far without supervision -- and supervision would make it all pointless anyway.

But hey, it's been a while since she's said anything on the network anyway -- odd, considering she felt more at ease on the network than dealing directly with people -- might as well have a little fun with it.]

Heheheh... so I've been here probably about a year? [Because with everyone apparently missing a jump, who knows how much time had really passed.] But I still never really get used to how peaceful this place is, compared to where I came from.

[Yes, really.]

That got me thinking, though. In my world, nearly every soldier was named after an animal their superiors felt represented them. Like -- eheheh -- someone who was swift and efficient might be called "Eagle" or someone who eats a lot would be called "Pig". Or if you were a really useful, sometimes they'd add something you're famous for before your title. Like, uh, Sniper Wolf and Vulcan Raven were legendary soldiers, were I was from. And me? I somehow got two with Laughing Octopus and Laughing Beauty.

[Her shoulders raise up in a shrug.] Don't ask me why they thought the second name was necessary -- eeheehee -- I'm not really sure myself.

But, anyway! If you had to choose your own name, what do you think they'd choose for you?

[LB sometimes liked to think of names for other people she knew, but she might as well open the floor to everyone else; get to know more people in the process.]

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Hullo. In my world, there's a spell that most people can cast and it creates a sort of silvery, animal shaped protector and the animal it shows usually has some connection to who you are as a person, so I suppose, most of us would've been named after that.

Heehee, hi.

[She tilts her head with interest.] So it's some kind of mystical ritual? Ahaha? What was your animal, then?

It was a way to concentrate your happiest, strongest memories and use them, in a physical form, to protect yourself.

[After the problems with James, Harry's not really sure he ought to talk about the shape his patronus took.]

I haven't cast it in a while.

[Happiest memories, huh? It was something of a bittersweet topic for her, as her happiest moments all lead up to eventually creating herself into something she felt wasn't quite human.

Still, she manages to keep a muted smile through this; there wasn't any point in drawing concern from others.]

So is this form something that changes often?

Not really, no. It's not unusual for it to change, but some people have the same patronus their whole lives and that's not odd either.

[He's not scared to cast his, but he's unsure if how he feels about the chance that he's changed so much that it's no longer a stag.]

Do you like being Laughing Octopus? I know they're amazing animals. Really clever.

Ah... heeheehee. Are you ashamed of your "patronus", then?

[Because there had to be some reason as to why he wouldn't talk about it. LB wasn't specifically after the exact reason behind it, but if he was uncomfortable talking about it, then at least she'd know to try to think of a different topic to talk about.

To his question, though, LB glances up thoughtfully.]

Back then, I really didn't care what they called me. Though considering my, uh, situation, I suppose it suited me fine.

[Even if the octopus really tied in the darkest part of her history to her name forever.]

Either way, I still have my octopus suit, so it's a name I can't really escape too well.

No.

[He speaks without thinking, but after he contradicts her, Harry does mull it over a little. He's not ashamed of it, but he's not sure he wants to show off something that's so personal to a stranger without due cause.]

It's not that. It's more that I don't know if I really match up to mine anymore. I was a lot younger when I first cast it.

[No point in putting off the inevitable.]

Did you want to see what it looks like?

[LB turns her head to the side, wondering if this was really a good idea.]

If you're comfortable doing it, go ahead. Heeheehee.... but if it's a problem, I don't need to see it either.

Let's do this and see what happens.

[He hasn't cast it since he died. What if it's gone all wrong? At least she won't know any better.

Harry moves the comm so that it's taking a clearer picture of the room. He stands off to one side and confidently pulls out his wand and casts the spell. There's a rippling wave of silver light that flows out, flickers a bit unsteadily, and reforms into the shape of a tall wading bird. It's a heron.

Keeping his face turned away from the comm to hide his expression, he walks over to the bird to get a better look at it.]

I guess we have our answer then.

[Her head recoils back from the bright light, but she still manages to catch a sight of the tall bird.]

A heron, right? Eheheh? Not sure if I've even seen someone take that codename, in my time.

[The bird cocks its head to one side and looks from Harry to the comm unit before stretching out its wings.]

I think I've had enough codenames and nicknames for a while. Bird or not, I'll just stay Harry.

Kind of plain, isn't it? [She smiles, not being entirely serious.]

Heeheehee -- "Mystic Heron" does have a bit of a ring to it, don't you think?

I think it's the best nickname of the lot.

[Harry smiles and looks to the bird, dismissing it with a gesture.]

But magic, huh? [It was still something a little beyond her comprehension, even if nanomachines could sometimes simulate similar effects.]

Can everyone do something similar, from your world?

There's enough of us that we can live apart from the rest of society, but not so many that we can really join the rest of the world.

...so are you guys like some sort of cult or what?

[Harry rears back from the comm screen, looking shocked before he instinctively denies her accusation.]

No! We're just not very public. It's...

[He's never really thought about why they're separate from muggles, just that it's what needs doing. It wouldn't be safe to train wizards in a regular school.]

Well, some people say that we need to be kept secret for our own safety, that mu-, that mundane people would harm us. Others seem to think that if we integrated, we'd loose our culture.

[LB sighs in relief, because wow she really didn't have any good experiences from cults. Listening to his explanation, she rubs by the collar of her suit, calming herself.]

You know, it never did make sense as to why people wanted to hurt people with more power than them. But regardless, I suppose with that kind of difference, it would be a little hard to integrate.

I guess. Maybe a third? A quarter? We're born to non-magical parents and then we're taken to school for it.

[He's not used to explaining this to non-wizards and he winces at the way it does sound vaguely cult-like.]

There's some kind of magical school?

[Give her a minute to process that in her head, and then she laughs in reaction. Not because she finds it particularly funny, but because her psychological condition pretty much made her laugh as an emotional response for almost everything.]

It really almost sounds like some kind of pretend game one would make up, as a child.

They needed to teach us somewhere safe, so yes, there's a magical school. And, it does, a little. I think that it could be a lot of fun for a child.

[His expression flickers for a moment. When he was very young, he remembers wishing for someone, anyone to come take him away for all sorts of half-mad reasons, but he'd never gone with 'wizard' as an option. Long lost son of a famous dinosaur hunter, maybe.]

I guess if it was a safe place for you to go, it's a good thing you were brought there, yes? Not everyone is so lucky in finding a place of sanctuary.

[Because it really would have been nice to have something like that, years and years ago.]

[There's that expression again. In many ways, Hogwarts was a good place and he loves it dearly, but it's not the sanctuary he'd once thought it was.]

It was a good place. They were talking about rebuilding it when I was brought here.

[She notices how he uses "was" and recoils with a bit of a frown.]

Ah, well at least they were restoring it to its former glory, yes?

I hope so. It wasn't perfect, but it was a really good place. It tried to be a really good place.

[His smile is a bit lopsided for a moment.]

Sorry, I keep being told that I should be more cheerful, less 'dour', and the world I came from is, on the whole, a good place of good people, but it's...we had a rough patch, I suppose and no one wants to hear about that.

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