[Souls of Paranoia]Jennifer & Serah - About Oz

Pineapple

The Rotten Fruit
Week 14.5

Jennifer had been on edge since Oswald had left, and Red was very much aware of that. The two hadn't left their home at all since the encounter. The place felt strange since Oswald was there. Ribbon was constantly wanting to check over her shoulder, and checking corners in rooms.


"You need to relax, alright? He's not here."
Red said, trying to calm the girl, but she was having none of that. The note which Oswald had written was crumpled in her pant pocket. The man bothered her in many ways, and she knew nothing about him. The body was Leah, an actress, that much was known. Yet without a good look at her face, Red couldn't find out who she used to be. Leah was a bit too common of a name.


Ribbon and Red always spoke out loud in their home, it felt more comfortable for them. More normal. "But he can get in here anytime he wants... Red, who is he anyway?" Ribbon inquired, wondering just who this Oswald person was.


It was a complex question, one that Red couldn't actually answer accurately. "It's complicated." She said simply, hoping to leave the topic where it was.


Ribbon wouldn't have that, and wanted something. She wanted to know what Red knew. "You must know something, tell me, please."


Red sighed and grabbed onto Ribbons body, moving towards an intercom. "Alright, but I'm getting a drink." Red said before buzzing onto the device, where Yuki answered. "Bring me a glass of Red wine, please."


Red sat down on a nearby chair and began to think briefly before Ribbon interjected. "Red?" She asked, getting no response. Shortly after Yuki presented the bottle and a glass to Red, pouring her a drink before leaving.


"In a past life, Oswald was an actor. Or maybe a tribal priest. He might have been an architect or a farmer. These are all things I've heard. I don't know who Oswald was." Red explained before sipping the wine.


It didn't answer what Ribbon wanted to know, and Red could tell. "However, do you remember what Oswald said? Feeling the memento's pulling at him, feeling the hunter?" Red asked for confirmation before proceeding with her story. Ribbon of course remembered, she remembered the encounter well enough. "People like me, souls, we don't feel that. I've never heard of anyone else feeling it besides Oswald. He may be speaking figuratively, however, I believe it's more then that."


Ribbon wasn't sure about what Red was saying, Oswald was a dramatic man, a regular thespian. Why would she take it so literally? "I don't get it. Everything he said was a metaphor or symbolic. Why wouldn't it be then?" Suddenly, the tale of Oswald grew more intriguing.


"Powers don't work on mementos. We can't even move this pendant with forces. Yet Oswald power is impersonation. He can become anyone who doesn't have a memento. He wears the mask, and it all blends into the person." It was strange. mementos were not suppose to change, it's true.


"Ribbon, darling. I have no doubt of Oswalds age. A millennia at least. Yet I have never heard of a soul over then a few hundred years. Marco is nearing two hundred. Hunters likely get the older souls. That's why they are not around." Some of what Red was saying was her own theories and ideas, but they grew from knowledge she had gained as she tried to form logical conclusions.


"His memento seam's different. He's older then any others. He feels things that no one else can. I don't believe Oswald is any normal man."
The statement was a sock to Ribbon, who didn't quite follow.


"So he's some alien? What do you mean?"
Ribbon asked, curious.


"No. Don't be absurd. Maybe he used to be a man, but he has no memory of who he was. Yet tell me then. Hunters and the Evil, they clearly exist. We can confirm this. They are not human. Can they die? Can they become mementos? How would we ever know?"
Red was now into full hypothesis mode, she had no facts to back up any claims anymore, but they were her own assumptions.


"...So he's a dead hunter?" The thought terrified Ribbon more then anything she could have thought herself.


"I don't know. Maybe he is. Maybe not. But Oswald, he is not any normal man. Not anymore."
Red said as she finished the glass of wine.


Later that evening, Ribbon found herself staring at the node Oswald had left her with, and she finally found the strength to reply.


A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool...


Which are you Jennifer?




A fool.


~Jennifer




Yet when morning came, the note she had left beside her bed was gone, without a trace.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top