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[After an evening of wandering around and searching for people, as well as answers about this place, Fran arrived at her suite wondering about something she'd been feeling ever since she arrived - and is still feeling, really.

So, why not ask the other people trapped here?

The video feed turns on, revealing a rabbit-eared woman. Her expression is neutral, though her ears twitch ever-so-slightly before she speaks.]

I am curious. Is anyone familiar with the nature of the... [Mist? No, not quite. But definitely something like it.] Magicks on this beast? Is it the tortoise that is the source, or something different? [Yeah, yeah, turtle, but it reminds her of the monsters back home, so she's calling it a tortoise.]

I am able to sense it as I can the mist, but... they are not so similar that I cannot feel a difference.

[Oh. She's forgetting something, isn't she?]

I am Fran, if anyone wishes to know.

It is... a strange sensation to be as sensitive to this as I am the mist. If anyone has an answer, I will be grateful - so long as it is more useful than the one the kedan offered. [It doesn't quite occur to her that only someone from Ivalice would understand what she means when she mentions the mist, but oh well.]

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I'm... guessing that mist is where you get your powers from, or where you draw your energy from? Back home it's called the Life Force, what you connect to, to help you cast spells and everything. From what I've felt while here, it's like the turtle is that thing that you draw energy from.

Which is why it's really bad when you lose your powers, because that means there's something wrong with the turtle.

[Fran was going to say that yes, that is pretty much how the mist worked, but the last part of what he says grabs her attention.]

You lose your abilities? Completely? [As in it's not the same as being unable to cast spells after draining one's mana? ~~Unless you have an ether handy.~~]

Yeah, completely. My brother, he's a speedster? Like, he runs really fast, that's his thing, but he lives life really fast. So when he lost his abilities, he wasn't able to do much of anything. [He makes a face.]

They're already limited, here, otherwise I'd wish everyone out of here. But if there's something wrong with Asti, then anyone who has abilities? Either they get diminished, or gone.

I assume 'Asti' is the creature's name? [But anyway. What Billy has to say is interesting... and also worrisome. Though something does have her curious.]

Has anyone previously sensed when it became ill? Or has it always been sudden? [With her own sensitivities to the mist and... Asti's life force, apparently, Fran wonders if she would be able to feel the creature if it's health took a turn for the worse. Like when she could sense changes in the mist. It's an interesting thought, though she has no real way of knowing for certain.]

Oh, yes! He's been called Tu Vishan, but he's also called Asti. I think that's what he calls himself? I don't actually know. [Sorry, he's gotten all of that information second hand. But he gives a nod.]

I think they have? Maybe not immediately, but... you know, if you go to the turtle's head, you can communicate with him psychically? So maybe he can talk to you. But I think we all feel it, when he gets sick. I just haven't been here yet when he was sick!

I see. [So far she's heard that the turtle's head can give off an 'overwhelming feeling', and now that it allows one to communicate with the creature. The two are not mutually exclusive, of course, but it is likely that Fran will avoid the place, anyway. With her sensitivity to the mist, and... Asti's life force, it seems, it would be better to avoid a situation where she could be weakened or enraged. Such is the life of a viera.]

I suppose we will find out, though I would hope that this Asti does not become ill so quickly or easily.

[Yeah, Billy stays away from the head as much as possible. He doesn't know what could happen there with his powers, and he knows he's not so in control of them that... well, he can't let anything happen. He's got something to prove.]

It seems to be only when something makes it sick. Otherwise, it seems like it's really good most of the time? Does that make sense?

Yes, that makes sense. And it is the thing that we are meant to fight that has been making it sick, yes? [She remembers hearing that from a few of the people who replied to her.]

Yeah, the thing we need to fight... it makes the turtle sick. That's why there's a bunch of us who are really working hard on this, because we figure, if we finish it off, then maybe we'll get sent home, right?

If we are meant to kill it, then one would hope that we will be returned once the deed is done. Though I would not so quickly place my trust in the ones that brought us here.

I hope that's what happens. [He hesitates, though.] But there's... there's something else. What happens to all the people who might be dead back home? Do they just get sent home to die?

We have no reason to believe otherwise. [Which... is not something she likes thinking about, considering it seemed as if she and Balthier were going to dier before she arrived, but. Well. It is what it is.]

Yeah, but. [He pauses, chewing on his bottom lip for a moment.] What if everyone had a choice? If you wanted to leave, you can, but if you don't, you can do that, too? Because no matter what, you're still alive, here.

Perhaps. But there will not be a way to know if choosing is an option, until we do what we are meant to.

Yeah. Guess we better get started, huh? [He smiles.]

Yes, I suppose we should.

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gfgfdgdf IM SORRY how did i miss this aaa

It's okay! <333

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I'm awesome with journals.

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