worldinnovator

Sin, when you're free, I need to talk to you about something.

( Is it about David? It's about David. )

[ David who? ]

I'm free, I'm just sorting things in the house.

Alright, I'll be over shortly. ( When is Ja'far not at the office doing work tho. Jesus, Ja'far.

He does come home rather quickly though, thankful that of course Sinbad picked someplace convenient for them to live, on top of everything else. Once he comes into the house, he seeks out Sinbad, looking a little grave. )

I think we should sit down for this.

[ Sinbad arches an eyebrow at Ja'far's serious manner, looking a little surprised by his mood. A pause, before he shifts to take a seat at one of the bar stools there in the kitchen, hooking one heel against the rings below it. ]

Well, this sounds serious. I take it this is not something as pleasant as discovering you have feelings for someone else, is it?

( Ja'far takes a seat as well, hands folding into his lap as he sighs, shaking his head. ) I wish. No, I should've brought this up earlier, but other things became far more important.

( He shifts, trying to think of exactly how to word this. ) We've never really talked about what happened to you after the first Sindria fell. You, rightfully, didn't want to. But... ( He sighs again, staring off at nothing in particular before refocusing on Sinbad. ) I don't want to pry into it, but something Judar has apparently experienced has made me question things. Something that happens in our futures that is connected to that.

[ Sinbad stills at the mention of Sindria's fall, tension singing in him for a long moment, but then he just looks perplexed before giving a quiet scoff. ]

You've been talking to Judar? Are you certain anything he tells you about what's to come can be trusted? The magi is more than a little biased after all this time, you realize.

I certainly didn't want to believe it, and I question the validity of at least some of it. But, he showed me things, Sin. Things from Aladdin - from Aladdin's past and... world. ( He shakes his head. ) I'm still confused about it, but what Aladdin showed him seems to be true. All I know about speaking through the rukh doesn't seem to give much leeway for lies.

Are you forgetting he's a magi? Beloved of the rukh? Even if it is dark and twisted rukh? If anyone could figure out how to twist and distort the truth even through the rukh, it would be him.

Sin, I know. But I can't write off what I saw in his... memories. ( That stupid hot cocoa. ) We accidentally managed to share a drink in Patara. What I saw through that... Sin, it didn't make any sense.

( He starts to explain, then, what he saw through Judar's memory - a small, young Sinbad, shouting questions about god, what Judar said had happened. Some of what Judar explained through the rukh. )

None of this makes sense to me. I don't know if I believe a lick of it, but he's offered to show it through Kouen's rukh if need be. If any of this is true, Sin...

[ He knows of the cocoa now, had experienced it with Aspen, and he stills, his eyes widening slightly. He's fairly certain there's less chances of lying through that, although he still did not expect Judar's memories to be anything but biased.

But still. He heaves a deep sigh, settling back on the stool once more and fixing Ja'far with an even look. ]

Why don't you tell me what you saw and what has you worried? I confess, I know nothing of what Judar was babbling on about, so I don't know what you expect me to tell you.

It's... about the fall of Sindria. I know you took in Serendine, along with others, but. Judar said it was a medium. Something this... Il Ilah would try to touch the world through. And that something - or someone came into you through it. That is now trying to influence you to do something horrible.

( He shakes his head. ) It all sounds ridiculous, but I can't figure out how to explain that memory of his without asking you this. I don't want it to happen, Sin. I want to stop it before it ever can happen.

[ Sinbad just looks perplexed by this, but to be fair, what had happened at the very end of that battle was hazy at best. He'd half-Fallen into Depravity because of what had gone down - might have entirely if not for the hopes those he took in also held - their sorrow, their grief, their pain, their loss, yes, but also their dreams. Their hope. Their love. Two sides of a coin, and so much of it, always. ]

Ja'far. I have no idea who this Il Ilah is. He claims this was like the incident from Magnostadt? But Ja'far, if that was the case, how was it stopped? How did the world not end? You saw how many of us it took to stop it on that battlefield. There were none there in Sindria who could wield that sort of power - even me, not on my own.

( So much of that was unknown to Ja'far as well, things he'd wondered about over the years, but never had asked, since it had been so much for Sinbad. He had just been happy that Sinbad was alive. But now, he's just scared. That memory... It was wrong. It had to be. )

I don't know, and that's what scares me, Sin. I don't know what happened during that last battle, and I was on the ships during Magnostadt. But, I saw that thing in the sky, reaching for that medium. He said that's what's Il Ilah. And it's a god.

Since when do you believe in gods? After all we've seen?

[ Sinbad's voice is soft, but there's a slight frown on his lips as he reaches out to cup a hand against Ja'far's cheek. ]

What can I do to reassure you, Ja'far? I don't want you to be scared of... of something that probably isn't even real.

I don't necessarily believe in gods, but... I believe that thing is a threat, something we've strived to stop in what we've been doing.

( He sighs, leaning into that touch, his hand cupping Sinbad's in turn. ) I don't want it to be real, Sin. I don't want even the possibility of it to be real. That's why I wanted to talk to you about it, to maybe change whatever this is. Stop it from happening, if it's real.

If such a thing is truth, then you know we will stop it, Ja'far. [ His gaze and voice are serious as he meets his lover's gaze. ] We've come too far to fail in what we've always aimed to accomplish.

Sin. You're always so idealistic. ( It's a sigh, but he's half relieved. With Sinbad like this, idealistic as ever, it does give him hope. He won't worry about this as much, not for now. ) Then I will keep it in my mind, just in case. If we ever get to leave this place, we'll stop it. I won't let you turn on yourself if Judar is somehow right.

[ Sinbad makes a quiet scoff. ]

I think it more likely that Judar being right about something is as much cause for a world-shaking catastrophe as me being possessed by an evil god of Al-Tharmin.

( Ja'far snorts in response. )

I'd have to agree with you. If I had not shared that cocoa with Aspen, I would have ignored the validity of any of what I saw to begin with. But... ( He sighs. ) Just be careful, Sin. You get into enough things as it is.