[3RD LOOK UP] - the best laid plans

[riderpedia.insanejournal.com]

[After the festival, Philip has been scarce. His phone has been on his bed for a few days, but he hasn't been there to answer it at all. He's pretty much been entirely outside of communication. The reason for this is that, during some wandering around, Philip discovered the light house and, more importantly, the library.

He's spent much of the past few days there, looking into how to restore books and trying to get started on that since nothing int he library is in very good condition. It's appalling to him, really. He's offended. But all the more reason for him to get to fixing it, since he doesn't see anyone else taking up the task.

Though after several days he found himself feeling very weak and realized he hadn't eaten anything since going out there. He's pretty sure Tendou is going to kill him...

So he's trying to subtly get back to the house and is trying to come up with a plan to get in, sneak food out of the kitchen, and then hide upstairs for a while until he can figure out how to lie his way out of getting lectured about his eating habits or lack there of. He's got a bag full of what few books weren't falling apart that he wants to look into, hoping for more answers about "witches".]

Comments

[path_of_heaven.insanejournal.com]

You'd have to spend years doing that to find anything worthwhile, Phillip.

[riderpedia.insanejournal.com]

All information is worthwhile.

Even a small amount of information could point me toward an answer. Just the discovery of the word "witch" provided me with a whole new path to explore.

I need whatever leads I can get.

[path_of_heaven.insanejournal.com]

[Tendou sighs]

I'll at least bring some rice out there for you.

[riderpedia.insanejournal.com]

I'll try to keep better track of things, but... I've never had to work without a partner before. I get side-tracked and caught up and suddenly it's two days later and I haven't slept or eaten.

I'll try to remember to keep my phone with me.

[path_of_heaven.insanejournal.com]

Good. Now eat.

I'll be back up with breakfast in the morning.

[riderpedia.insanejournal.com]

Thank you.

...I'm sorry.

[path_of_heaven.insanejournal.com]

I know.

Don't do it again.

[riderpedia.insanejournal.com]

I'll try.

[path_of_heaven.insanejournal.com]

If you're not here for dinner tomorrow, I'm not going to fetch you again.

[riderpedia.insanejournal.com]

It will be a while before I go back out there. There's no point in the state those books are in. Until I have the means to start restoring them, there's no reason to go.

What was salvageable, I brought back here with me. So I'm not going anywhere.

[path_of_heaven.insanejournal.com]

Good.

Keep your phone on you.

[riderpedia.insanejournal.com]

I'm still surprised I forgot it.

But I'm not in quite as much of a rush now, so I doubt I'll forget it again.

[path_of_heaven.insanejournal.com]

Good.

[Tendou isn't being tsun, it's not like he cares about you or anything.]

[riderpedia.insanejournal.com]

[Of course not. He didn't go out into the dangerous woods to drag Philip home because he was worried or anything.]

I met her while I was out there.... The witch.

[path_of_heaven.insanejournal.com]

...really.

[Not the most ridiculous thing he's heard.]

Tell me about it.

[riderpedia.insanejournal.com]

She was just.. there. I assumed she was magic due to not leaving footprints in the snow and asked for help finding keywords on the subject.

She revealed who she was and explained that we're currently part of some sort of diverged timeline. No.. Maybe that's not the right word. Hmm... Where we are now, exists outside of the time we came from.

No one even knows we're gone.

[And this seems to be a great source of relief to him. He still really wants to go home, since he isn't very good ad functioning without Shotaro, but at least he no longer has to worry about Shotaro functioning without him.]

[path_of_heaven.insanejournal.com]

...

I'm not sure I understand what you mean.

[The idea of a world without himself is deeply unsettling.]

[riderpedia.insanejournal.com]

What she said exactly was that her magic had "created a fragment where we are no longer there". That we "still exist" in our worlds but "now, it has split into a different reality, where you are still there".

It seems to be that we still exist in the places we came from. Time moves on with us in it. But we are also here.

I thought maybe time had just stopped where we are all from and would resume upon our return, but I don't think that is exactly right. Alternate realities, maybe.

It's worth looking into further...

[path_of_heaven.insanejournal.com]

Hrm.

[Tendou doesn't exactly like this. The vibe he's getting is essentially that he's been cloned. Tendou doesn't like clones.]

...please do.

[riderpedia.insanejournal.com]

[All Philip knows is that Shotaro isn't spending all of his time worrying about him, and that's all he needed.]

Her motives seem to center on us believing in her, and her magic. She said something about that lending to the strength. As of yet, I'm not fully sure why, but I suppose it's more than enough of a motive to drag us all here.

The more people she has here, the more there are to believe in her.

[path_of_heaven.insanejournal.com]

...

Ridiculous.

[riderpedia.insanejournal.com]

Is it?

[path_of_heaven.insanejournal.com]

Yes. That's why I said so.

[riderpedia.insanejournal.com]

What is so ridiculous about it?

Magic itself is illogial, and I'm not a fan if it personally, but I have more than eough evidence of it.

[path_of_heaven.insanejournal.com]

Magic is one thing.

Implying that simply "believing" something is capable of altering the world is ridiculous.

Belief strengthens one's own actions and nothing more. Belief without strength amounts to nothing.