Abel Lazarus
Oh boy! Atsuko would love to meet someone like herself after all this time!
Abel Lazarus “It’s a fur coat. Real fur I’m pretty sure. I’m… Not sure If I want to seek it out. Perhaps I’d burn it but I know it means a lot to my brother- and I’m not so sure if burning it here affects… Out there?”
“…So it won’t be difficult to burn, then.”
And again, all this thinking about what other people thought. The innkeeper had long since grown irritated of all that kind of talk. Shouldn’t you just do what you want without any consideration for others, all the time? That’s what she thought, at least.
“…If it causes you that much distress, then your brother is wrong for still holding onto it, isn’t he?” Not untrue advice from Atsuko, but she was also just really trying to talk him into burning it. “All the better if it affects out there. If the painting I burnt disappeared from the outside, it would still be too soon.” Too many people had already seen it, papa had put in too much effort to keep her away from it. Coward.
Abel Lazarus “… RNA might have it. I’m not sure, though. They could have left it in another car but. They might have kept it with them. I’ve not been paying attention. Perhaps they gave it to Fenna at some point if not- I think they thought it belonged to her.”
Ugh.
“Great. The two people who cut me the least slack.” As if either of them would give anything to her, regardless of her motives. If she was honest about it, it would make them certain they wouldn’t be giving it up.
Abel Lazarus “… If you did happen to find it in your possession- I wouldn’t care if you decided to burn it.”
“I can light the fire, but I can’t get it back. Neither of them trusts me. That part’s on you. Besides… there’s little point if you’re not there to cast it into the flame yourself.”
Abel Lazarus “It’s a shame there’s no marshmallows or anything. S’mores would be nice right now.”
“……………”
Nope, Abel was right. She was a little too far gone at the moment. Atsuko had actually never had s’mores, but if she had, she would probably get distracted and just watch her marshmallow burn to a crisp before she could eat it. Oh well.
The fire crackled, and bit by bit, the crane—the memories—were reduced to ashes. That was the beauty of the flame, wasn’t it? It could create, it could sustain, but it could also obliterate and destroy just like that. It was a dangerous thing to play around with, Atsuko knew that. But still…
“…To burn an entire fur coat… I’d probably need to make a bigger fire than this. Get some firewood, too, for good measure.” Looked like she was back… at least a little. But it also still seemed like she intended to wrap Abel into the burning of the fur coat and not doing it on her own. What’s the point in that? “So if you get it, just bring it to me and I’ll… make a special bonfire, just for you.” What a nice offer! Generous queen.
