possible afterlife [warning: spoiler alert for those that haven't finished!]

[lightfabre]

Silence. Not even the sound of birds chirping.

He has never seen a place such as this. Empty, no signs of so much as animals. He pauses in his steps to look around. He is more than confused, at this point. If this is where death brings you, he will be more than surprised. This is nothing like what he imagined. Green hues carefully search the area for a moment as he silently ponders. He takes in a deep breath and begins walking, once more. He eventually comes to what appears to be a town. He still has yet to see anyone. He is starting to worry that he is the only person here.

He can feel frustration building. Finally, a loud groan escapes his lips and he shouts (not too loudly-only those within ten or twenty feet would hear it!).

"Where the hell am I?!"

Comments

[lady_of_daath]

[Well of course no one is around, it's pretty early in the morning. So early that Anise stepped out in nothing but a nightgown and robe to give Luke a look,]

Luke! It's too early for this, what are you yelling about?

[The young woman crossed her arms, leaning against the doorway as she awaited the answer. She was in the middle of making tea after all when she heard the loud yell.]

[lightfabre]

["Wait... how long... Ok, so..."

That's pretty much the thought process as he studies the young woman in front of him. She looks VERY much like Anise. There is also the fact that she knows his name. First things, first... Then, he will have to go from there.]

Uh... I'm sorry, but how do you know my name?

[lady_of_daath]

...

Luke it's too early for this and you have yet to answer my question.

[The look that's she's giving Luke currently says he should get to the point sooner rather than later.]

[lightfabre]

[He sighs, realizing how weird he may seem, at the moment.]

You look a lot like someone I know, but... Well, you look older than her... [He forces it out, with a look of confusion.]

And... If you don't mind... Where exactly is this...?

[lady_of_daath]

...Oh...

[This was going to be a long morning, wasn't it?]

If you're wondering who I am; yes I am Anise Tatlin, my current age is nineteen.

As for where this place is, it definitely isn't Auldrant. It does have a lot of this from it here, but it's definitely not home.

[lightfabre]

[Oh. Well. That made things easier to take in, surprisingly.]

Uh... [Despite it being easier to take in, he is still fairly confused about it all. After all, Anise went from being much younger than... to nearly the same age as Luke. That's a big transition.]

Ok, so... It can take any of us from... any time period in Auldrant, then?

That explains everything, then. [He sighs, glad that he at least understands something around here.

Does that mean that Van could appear here, too, though? What about Asch?]

[lady_of_daath]

Yes it can, this includes multiples. Don't get them confused with replicas though, it's much different.

[Anise raised up a hand to stifle a yawn, not doing much good against it. She needed caffeine and soon otherwise she may just fall asleep mid-sentence on Luke.]

So what was happening before you came here Luke? On Auldrant that is.

[lightfabre]

[He listens silently. He is curious about the part about replicas, but decides to answer her last question before learning more.

I used the key of Lorelei, then... I was catching Asch. I don't really know what happened after that. I thought maybe I had... [His voice was soft as he got to the last part. He stops talking, after that, until...]

What do you mean the replicas are different?

[lady_of_daath]

...

[So he was from...]

No, what I meant was yes there are replicas here...but there are also a lot of different versions of people. Like You see how I'm older? There's also me from when I was 13 running around here.

[lightfabre]

Uh... did I say something wrong? [He is referring to her change of expression.]

Oh, I see. That makes... some sense, I guess. [He scratches the back of his head, before speaking again.]

[lady_of_daath]

[A soft, reassuring smile touched her lips as she looked at the boy.]

No, you didn't say anything wrong at all. And this place is kinda weird so don't worry about wrapping your head completely around it yet.

[lightfabre]

[He can't help but be calmed by the smile.]

Alright... thanks. [He manages to return a smile. The 18-year-old decides to heed her advice. There really is no point worrying about everything at the very moment.]

Oh, um... Did I wake you up?

[lady_of_daath]

Not really, I was up because the Colonel wanted to talk to me about something.

[As for what that something was...well she had no clue. He had purposely left her in the dark over the point of their meeting, all she knew was that he wanted to meet early.]

Would you like to come in? I have some tea brewing.

[lightfabre]

[Ok, that's good then. He did not even think anything of the fact that Jade wanted to talk to her about something incredibly early in the morning. That was just... Jade. He did his own thing. In the end, it was always for a reason, too.]

Uh... sure, that sounds nice, actually. [He gave her a smile and nod as he answers. Tea might help this entire thing fully process.

[lady_of_daath]

[Anise left the door open as she went inside to make sure the tea didn't over brew, taking the bag out immediately before testing a small bit.]

Perfect♥

[The puppeteer took out two delicate looking cups, pouring each of them a generous amount.]

So do you still like to over sweeten your tea like a kid~?

[lightfabre]

[He stops in her doorway, not quite sure if it is all right to come all the way in. He hears her speak, moving a little more inside to hear her. A frown appears on his face at what she says.]

I just like sugar, is all... [He grumbles, a bit.]

Yeah, I like a lot of sugar. [He stands there with a hand on his hip, only slightly annoyed by her teasing.

[lady_of_daath]

Maybe I should be asking if you'd like some tea with your sugar~

[Anise giggled softly at her own joke before placing a sugar bowl on the table along with their cups.]

Just don't eat it all, okay?

[lightfabre]

[He gives her one more frown, before lightening up a bit. He has to chuckle, because he knows she is right.]

Yeah, yeah... I'll try not to.