paradisa | ❀ Episode 12 ❀ [Dictated] - backdated to October 24th

[Rise's sitting quietly on her bed this evening, reading the letter Chie left her. And looking at the family photo of them with Shiori. ... Not the one from Shiori's real family, but one they took together while she was here.

Someone else already announced Chie's departure, but that's not what she plans to talk about today. Not exactly. Chie was just the latest in a long string of lost friends... and not even the worst of them. She'll miss her a lot, but they'll see each other again when Rise goes home. The rest, she might never see again. And she never got to say goodbye to any of them.]

Hey... does anyone here ever feel like they'll be here forever?

Like, I know we all get sent back someday. But after seeing so many people come here and then leave... doesn't it kinda start to feel like it'll never end?

And what if you don't want to leave? I know a lot of terrible things happen, but...

[She hesitates, taking a second or two to really think about it before continuing.]

... Has anyone ever met someone that made them want to stay? Even just a little bit?

[She's not thinking about anyone in particular, nope. There's no reason she needs to get that thought off her chest and maybe hear what everyone else has to say about it. None whatsoever.

She just has a lot of conflicting thoughts when she really thinks about all of this, okay?]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Someone from my world.

I guess it's like a second chance, you might as well take advantage of it right...

Yeah... I think I'd feel the same way.

[There's a pause as she thinks about that. If only she had someone back home... ~~that she didn't forget because of her loss~~...

But then she wouldn't start maybe possibly feeling that way about someone here.]

What if... it wasn't someone from your world? Would it be any different?

[~~You mean like him and Nat before Tex showed up~~]

Why would it be different? Unless, they're like a talking lion or something.

[Don't make her giggle when she's trying to be sad, Church! (No, really, she appreciates it...)]

Well, I don't think she's a talking lion, so I'm safe there!

[Whoops. Did she mean to share specifics?]

Oh yeah... got a special someone then?

I... I dunno...

[Her blush is practically audible in her tone. Church has managed to get her mind off of Alex's current state, at least, but she's still kind of awkward about this question.

Better awkward than depressed, though.]

We... kind of kissed already...

[Rise, why are you sharing these details with Church of all people?! Even though he did just kind of cheer you up a bit...]

Oh ho... really now. [Friendly teasing tone and chuckle.]

[And now she realizes what a horrible mistake she's made. ... Well, maybe not that horrible. But she hadn't meant to be so open about it, either!]

Ah... well...

It's, um... not really official or anything! I mean... I probably shouldn't have said...

[Enjoy this while you can, Church, not many people get to see (or hear) Rise this flustered.]

[oh the chuckling.]

Don't worry I'm not going to go blabbing to anyone.