[ wandering around the gates and looking at the still-blank screens like... man... he'd kind of thought maybe the start of a new week would have made something happen up here. ]

What do you think they're going to use this space for? Trial room or something?

[looking up at the screens with a little frown, nodding.]

That'd be my guess, yeah. Makes more sense than any of the other places.

[also porridge is here and comes over to say hello to todomatsu!! by which i mean he gently paws at his shoe to demand attention.]

I guess it could also be somewhere we haven't seen yet, and this could just be a central hub or...

[ trails off as he feels something pawing at his foot and looks down to see a dragon..... ]

...Um, this is yours, right?

We'll find out, I guess.

[when they have their first hateful trial... he nods, though, brightening up a little.]

Yeah, that's Porridge! You can pet him if you want, but I can grab him if you want a little space.

Ah... No, it's fine, don't worry about it.

[ he's sort of ambivalent because he's not actually a big animal person in general even if he pretends otherwise sometimes... but also pickles turned out to be awesome and this is another animal with a food name starting with P so maybe he should be open minded

tentatively reaches to pat his head... is he scaly... ]

[he is scaly!! and he gives a happy chirping noise as he gets pet. meanwhile:]

I think he likes you.

[ just like old times, todomatsu is here by the big pyre at the center of the village, where the profile posters are posted up on a notice board and books are still collected on the shelves that got dragged out here from the academy library.

being back here feels weirder than he'd expected, actually. after a year of being home and mostly settling back into his old ways, he's suddenly remembering all the shit that happened here in much more detail and being confronted with his own past character development that had largely washed away with time.

but he shakes himself out of it and looks over with a smile. ]

Well... Here it is, the infamous village with the stupid name.

Interested in seeing anything in particular? This right here was where we held trials, actually.

[ well, that's good, at least. ]

Hey... How are you feeling?

[ also glances down at porridge... are you good or did you get dragged on that trip too ]

[porridge looks completely okay! just extra clingy for now.]

Um... Not good? [a beat.] Well, physically better, but - I really liked Manwol.

[ ...nods. ]

Yeah. I didn't know her that long, but so did I. Sorry.

I am, too.

[after a moment:]

All we can do for now is make sure we try our best to find out what happened, though.

[coming into the security room...]

...Can I bring you anything? Food, blankets...?

[ well, the vibes in here are terrible, but he looks fine. he's just messing around on his phone and looks up when rupert comes in. ]

I mean, I wouldn't say no to a beer at some point.