paradisa | #005

Entry tags:

souji seta

#005

Whew... finally.

[That? That's the sigh of success. Souji has been utterly exasperated for days, and now, he has blessed communication back.]

Chie, Rise, whoever's in charge around here got around to giving me a royal welcome to Paradisa. I'm, um. Well, I'm kind of stuck in my room right now.

[Because he's all of a couple inches tall. He's been in there for days, wishing for food and other necessities as necessary with his journal out of reach up on his dresser across the room. It took a while to manage to hit it with a wished-up model catapult and get it down onto the ground.]

The door's locked, and I... can't really get to my key. What's been happening around here?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Does it entail a crown too large to fit through the door?

Not that kind of royal, I'm afraid.

In fact, I can't think of anything less befitting of royalty than what I am now.

Has the castle degenerated you so?

Degenerated. That's a really good word for what happened, actually. I like it a lot better than 'shrank.'

Figuratively speaking?

I wish. I'm about three and two-thirds inches tall right now.

[He wished for a ruler and measured, see.]

[ Lucrezia doesn't know what inches are, but she'll take his word for it! ]

Can you not fit through the keyhole?

I didn't think to try that...

[He did. But he has a thing with heights.]

Or I should drop you a little string through the keyhole so you might climb up.

I... think I might be better off waiting in here for this to play out. Living outside sounds hard, in general.

You cannot forever stay in your shell, little duck.

You don't think this will last forever, do you?

...

That would take a lot of getting used to.

The castle is a fickle thing.

But you can call on me should you require help with the door.

No arguments here.

I appreciate the offer. If I get to the point where I just can't stand it anymore, I'll remember there's at least one person out there ready to bail me out.

Call me Lucrezia.

And you are, little princeling?

Lucrezia. I think I can remember that. [Doesn't sound Japanese, he'll spare her the honorific.]

I'm Souji. Souji Seta.

Souji. What does it mean?

It... can have a lot of meanings, I suppose. Leader is one of them, that's my favorite.

And what are you a leader of, Souji?

Just my little group. We're... just a bunch of kids, but we're tight-knit, and it feels good to lead the rest of them.

Do they make good followers?

They do. They're the best team I could ask for.

Then that makes you a good leader.

I do my best.

[He's... on the humble side, yes.]

I just wish there was more I could do for the members of the team here...

The most you could do is lead them home. What is the second best?

Make their stay here as tolerable as I can.

...I've been learning to cook better. They deserve good food.

Can the castle not provide the most exquisite cuisine?

It can, sure. It just feels like... cheating, though. There's something about putting effort into food that makes it taste better.

Would you reserve that privilege for your followers?

[Well, hey, this problem sounds familiar! Or it would, if Souji had bothered to mention why he's stuck in his room.]

You're on a loss? What happened?!

... Do you need me to come get you?

[She doesn't think she's been to his room yet, but she can always use her Persona to find him. ... It feels kind of strange being the one to offer to come get him, though...]

[It's kind of an embarrassing problem! Being tiny sucks, Rise, don't ever do it.]

Ah... I don't think you can open my door, can you?

[Just kind of going to gloss over her first questions, there.]

If you can, some company would be nice.

[Too late. Already been there and done that. She had wings, though.]

Is it locked?

[She doesn't know how he's set up his room! But Nora's solution should work here, too...]

You can wish the lock away if it is, I think. Or change the doorknob. That's how Nora-chan got me out when I was a fairy.

[She even kept the doorknob that way since she has a fairy roommate now.]

[She's probably awfully cute as a fairy, though, gotta admit.]

It should be, I lock it whenever I come inside.

[But from his vantage point, it's pretty hard to tell. The door is monolithic at such a diminutive size.]

You can do that?

[He sounds pretty legitimately surprised, there.]

I really hope it doesn't work on other peoples doors- [Hold up, super important thing here.] The castle made you a fairy?

[The cutest, of course! Maybe it'll happen to her again someday and Souji can see for himself...]

Well, yeah, you can change your room however you want.

[She doesn't think other people can do the same thing, but she doesn't respond to that. Partially because Souji changes the subject.]

Yep! It happened when we went to this Wonderland place, but I was still a fairy for a while when we came back.

[In hindsight, it was kinda fun! Even with how annoying it is being small.]

You're sure you don't have wings or something? It took me a while to get used to them...

[He would enjoy this. He always liked his Fairy Persona, and he's always liked Rise. Combining them = A+.]

That's a relief. I can probably leave the room. Now I just need to decide if I want to while I'm... like this.

[Logic says that other people can't wish off peoples' locks. That would defeat the entire point of having them to begin with, wouldn't it?]

This place really does do whatever it wants on a whim. At least having wings would be pretty nice to experience, just once...

[If his tiny form came with wings, he'd be a lot less peeved. At least it wouldn't have taken him a week to get to his journal that way.]

I'm pretty sure I don't have any, but I'll check. [Because he's Souji and he does weird things, yep, he checks his back.] Nope. No wings.

[Stick around, Souji! Rise's first Paraversary is coming up in a few months...]

Alright... I'm on my way over, okay? Do you need anything?

[Too bad he doesn't have wings, it's really fun flying around! But he can probably wish for almost anything he needs, so it's not like he really needs to leave the room. She'll just come over and keep him company for a while...]

Oh, and if you wanna go anywhere, I can take you!

[He wouldn't miss it for the world, Paraversaries are the most frightening things and a girl needs her friends.]

Company's all I need, thanks. Wishes take all the fun out of being helpless and locked up.

[Oops, some deadpan humor there. It's okay, Rise should be used to that kind of stuff from him by now, she knows Senpai is a giant dork sometimes. Occasionally, he can even out-dweeb Yosuke.]

I think I'd better stay here until this is over. I wouldn't want to fall down a crack and wind up lost down a drain.

...This will end, won't it?

[Oh, Senpai......

It's okay, though. Yosuke's still the biggest dork.]

Yeah, these things usually end after a week! ... Sometimes it's a little longer, but it won't be forever!

[Too bad, Souji would be a wonderful dork.]

If it is forever, I might need help around this place.

You and Chie won't mind if I ride in your pockets, right?

[Yes, now he's making light of the situation. It helps.]

Just our pockets...?

[Her turn! She might have lost her dokis for Senpai, but that doesn't mean she can't tease him like any other guy.]

I wouldn't mind! I bet you're adorable like that~.

[She's getting close to his room, too. Just a few more seconds and...]

Okay, I'm here! ... Can I come in?

Riding in hair doesn't sound very fun, really.

[And where else would he hang out, huh? But anyway, it's nice to hear Rise doing her usual teasing, silly thing. A little taste of normal, he needed that.]

Adorable, huh. I guess you'll find out in a minute.

[While she's on her way, he turns away from the journal and makes the wish for the door to unlock. Now, on to the testing phase!]

Go ahead, it should be unlocked.

Aww, not even if I kept you in place with a cute bow?

[She's ridden in someone's hair before, actually. It wasn't that bad.]

Okay... I'm coming in.

[The door is certainly unlocked, because it opens and in steps the twintailed idol. First thing she does is look around for an open journal, which is... on the floor?]

Senpai...?

[She steps a little closer and kneels down, very carefully, to peer closer.]

Well, if you really want to wear a bow...

[It's a fine excuse. Not that she needs one, but it is a good excuse.]

Okay. I'll wave.

[Sweet, Souji has learned a little more about the castle today. He waves at Rise, from the floor, where he's sitting cross-legged in front of his journal. Being about mouse-sized at the moment, he can't blame her for not immediately spotting him.]

Down here. Wait, can you even hear me?

[He doesn't have the loudest voice to begin with, and being tiny means not much vocalization. This may lead to shouting.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

#005

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

[Dictated]

[Dictated]

[Dictated]

[Dictated]

[Dictated]

[Dictated]

[Dictated]

[Dictated]

[Dictated]

[Dictated]

[Dictated]

[Dictated]

[Dictated] -> [Action]

[Action]