[forward dated to the 26th] Birthdays are not always fun

[demifemme]

Who: Shura and OPEN
Where: Capricorn ward
Summary: Shura gives magatsuhi to her newly formed army for her birthday
Warnings: Sads
Birthdays are normally the cause for celebration, joy and laughter. Not for Shura today. First, it's her human birthday, which always makes her nostalgic and sad. Second, she has demons to take care of now.

She has assembled them in the Capricorn Ward, where the air is fresh and crisp and the destruction has been avoided for the most part. There, resting against a Gdon, she is watching sad movies about heroic animals on a portable DVD player. Her sobs and the emotional pain she is feeling might make it look like she has extremely poor taste in birthday activities, but she is actually doing this for a good cause. In fact, most of the demons around her, from mischievous Pixies to violent Onis, are sitting near her looking content. People with Support Persona or those sensitive to energy may see or feel powerful red tendrils of energy escaping from Shura and being absorbed by her demons.

Comments

[dontrunawayfromliving]

Sarah responds to the sort-of question.

"I had some time off, so I came to look at the trees."

And then I found you is unspoken but implicit.

[demifemme]

"Oh. ... have a seat? Gdon is warm..." Shura, Gdon is ON FIRE.

[dontrunawayfromliving]

"I prefer my warmth to be a little less of the open flames variety."

She'll approach anyway, and sit down with her legs crossed - away from the giant fiery tiger.

"Are you...all right?"

[demifemme]

"Yeah," she says, blinking. "Oh, you mean with the crying and..." She wipes her cheeks, and her demons stir slightly.

[dontrunawayfromliving]

"Yeah."

She'll just wait patiently for an explanation.

[demifemme]

She doesn't look any better but at least she's not crying anymore.

"I'm feeding my demons."

[dontrunawayfromliving]

"...what, do they eat sorrow or something?"

[demifemme]

"No, not really... They feed on magatsuhi, which is life energy from emotions. Human emotions produce the most magatsuhi, especially negative emotions like fear and pain. Since I don't wanna put myself in danger or hurt myself, I went with the next best thing."

[dontrunawayfromliving]

"...well, if you say so."

And now Sarah will just try to see what Shura is watching.

[demifemme]

"Don't worry! It's safe."

Shura is watching the heroic story of a dog who saves two brothers from drowning but is then so tired by the feat he is swept out to sea by the current never to be seen again. Just looking at the still image of the poor dog is enough to make Shura tear up again.

[dontrunawayfromliving]

Sarah stares at the screen for several long moments.

"...why would they make a movie about dogs?"

[demifemme]

Shura looked at Sarah. "Because this dog saved children from drowning all on his own? And then he diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiied..." The Onis look pleased by the return of sorrow.

[dontrunawayfromliving]

Sarah stares at the screen again.

"...I think this is one of those things where I'm just missing the context."

[demifemme]

"The context is that poor dog died while being a hero." Then she pauses in her sniffling to look at Sarah.

"You know what a dog is, right?"

[dontrunawayfromliving]

"Yeah."

A pause. How to say this?

"...I'm just going to come out and say it. Shura, I grew up on the streets of the Outer Ghetto. Dogs were food."

[demifemme]

"Oh. Uh." What do you say to that??? "In my... previous world, dogs are cherished pets."

[dontrunawayfromliving]

"...huh."

Pause to think.

"Can I watch with you?"

[demifemme]

"Of course!" Shura puts the player between them so Sarah can see the next story.