[center][abbr=Octopath Travelers][img]https://i.ibb.co/88KWNj5/OTbanner.png[/img][/abbr]
[sup]____________________________________________________[/sup]
[color=FFC6C6][u]Level[/u]: [b]10[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 165/100[/color] [color=2e2c2c]------[/color] [color=BC8DBF][u]Level[/u]: [b]7[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 216/70[/color]
[color=gray]𝙱𝙿[/color] [color=gold]●[/color][color=gray]●●●●[/color] [color=2e2c2c]----------------------------[/color] [color=gray]𝙱𝙿[/color] [color=gold]●[/color][color=gray]●●●●[/color]
[color=lightgray]Word Count: 1173 (+2 exp)
[b]Location[/b]: The Under - Dirtmouth[/color][/center]
Besides what had transpired in the home of Confessor Jiji, the night had been thankfully uneventful. It wasn't a particularly good night's sleep, but it was uninterrupted by ambushes or any other nasty surprises. Any rest they could get was ultimately a good thing. Of the Travelers, Therion awoke first. He usually did. With no strange nightmare to plague him like the night before, he was a little more upbeat than usual. He stepped out of the little shack after dawn, wandering off a little ways to do some stretching. Then he was off to the outskirts of the Chasm to see what the other early risers were up to. If nothing else, he had a few things he wanted to part with - the less encumbered he was, the better.

As he did that, Primrose began to rouse herself from her own slumber. It was truly morning by then, but the dancer lingered a little longer in her own chosen hut to comb her hair out roughly before re-securing it in her usual ponytail. She freshened up a little, as best she could with what was on hand. With no leads on her fellow travelers and the Jiji's ability turning out to be nearly opposite to what she expected, Primrose decided that first order of business after their work in the Under was finished would be going to get a real bath somewhere nice. Maybe the hot springs in Gerudo Town, or getting back up to that heavenly spa. It would be nice to take Jesse, Ms. Fortune, and maybe even Rika along too. She was sure that Queen Sectonia would be up for another trip there.

When she emerged from the building as spruced up as she could make herself, there were still a handful of people around. She could hear shifting inside of nearby huts, most likely the rest of the group slowly stirring into wakefulness. She could also hear the sound of men working in the pit, continuing to mine whatever they could find on the fringe between above and beneath the earth. It was there that Primrose made her way to, considering the activity was likely to draw others towards it. Though she couldn't imagine going back under ground that way. She shielded her eyes from the sun, taking her time as she walked. The sunlight felt good after days underground.

In the various mining camps she flirted for free breakfast, leaving a trail of longing stares after her. She also spotted Nadia with a new haircut, though she scampered off somewhere quick. As far as preparations went, Primrose didn't have many to do. Her mana was replenished, and her few pieces of weaponry seemed alright. After the meal, she was more or less ready to go. 

It was only a little while later that she came upon Therion. In the light of the sun he looked much more different than he had underground. It was easier to see that his skin had a pallid blue tint, and it was stretched tighter over his bones. It was an unhealthy look, but the man himself didn't seem any worse for wear. Primrose's own changes from the night before were subtle enough that they might go unnoticed, her height besides, but Therion was shrewd. He noted them immediately, though he opened the conversation with something else.

[color=BC8DBF]"Sold some of the stuff we don't need,"[/color] he told her. [color=BC8DBF]"Actually, 'sold' is a bit of a strong word. Thought I was supposed to be the thief."[/color]

He wasn't upset about the paltry sum he'd gotten back; most of of it he hadn't paid for anyway, one way or another. It was the principle of the thing was all. He had elected to keep hold of most of the minerals and gems he had in case the next place their adventure brought them to didn't except geo as a currency and wouldn't exchange. The sack of it he'd accumulated wouldn't do him any good if that was the case.

[color=BC8DBF]"So what happened? You didn't go right to bed?"[/color] Therion asked as the two of them moved away from the bustle and up away from the crater for now. It was quite obvious what he was referring to.

[color=D34C25]"Well... It's a long story,"[/color] Primrose said, in the way she would when she was intending to brush something off. Last night was hard on her mentally, from the experience in the prison with Robin, the phantom battles against Simeon, and then facing off against her self to top it all off. She hadn't wanted to let anyone know about what had happened at Jiji's, but after getting some rest and doing some thinking... and seeing Therion's altered form before her now, recalling the conversation she'd had with Ms. Fortune in the Home of Tears and how she'd cut her hair back down to her original length... maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing to let everyone know there was a way to get back to normal, at least a little bit. [color=D34C25]"...so listen well."[/color]

She explained what had happened, and how the regret wasn't a fallen friend but an alternate self. She mentioned how the other Primrose had become a spirit without any ashes, and that she had fused with it. Truthfully, she didn't feel any more or less like "herself." Every spirit she'd absorbed had become a part of her, and she felt as natural with them as she felt without them. Still, if it helped any of the others, they could find more of those grotesque smelling eggs below.

Therion was bewildered by the story, but there wasn't much he could do besides accept it as truth. He'd been doing some thinking too, both the night before and that morning. Things had been getting supernatural in a real spooky way lately - the dreams, the archangel's book that Kamek had shown him, and now ghosts of living people. He had kept his nightmare from his friend, feeling that it would become prophecy if he spoke it aloud. But it was time to come clean. He returned the favor and told her about the village he'd dreamed of, the familiar inhabitants and its ultimate fate at the hands of a Consul.

His tale was grim, even if it was just a dream. Primrose pressed her lips into a thin line, thinking. 

[color=D34C25]"...as you said yesterday, there isn't much use in worrying,"[/color] she said. [color=D34C25]"But we'll be extra vigilant, just in case."[/color]

The call on the linkpearl came at a good time, just after the travelers had wrapped up their preparations and their more serious conversation with each other. The comment about the mask fragments surprised Primrose - she had thought they'd had all of them. She had many of them on her person now, so she wasted no time in heading to the station to meet with the Koopas. Naturally Therion tagged along.

[color=D34C25]"[i]We'll be right there,[/i]"[/color] she sent back via pearl. She'd tell them all about Confessor Jiji in person once everyone was back together.