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I won't look into it alone at least. [He's sure 76 probably knows something about the bear, or at least help him track it. He can determine how to approach it from there. For the time being, Kazuma looks puzzled at the question. They do sort of need a subject to demonstrate on.]

. . .Well, there's myself. [He's half serious. Because technically Kazuma is someone Jude's research would be helping in the end, right? Surely, it can't get any worse...] Actually, have you been down to the lake recently?

It may be good to stock up on supplies before you head out, if you really want to try finding it. There's no telling where it may be, now.

[That he won't be alone is the most reassuring statement Kazuma can make, Jude'll trust it. Leia would probably call him naggy for just bringing up packing properly, but given what he remembers of 76 and Blue, they'll probably be okay.

...]

Would that be okay? It hasn't been tested on a person with nightmare energy. I did try it on myself and a friend first, and nothing really happened. [But while it's safe for regular people, what indeed could be the worst that can happen to someone actually affected by Noctaere? He's definitely not the model of confidence and can't deny feeling a bit nervous, but does tilt his head slightly at the sudden shift in conversation.]

I haven't. Is there something there?

Heh. Of course. [Don't worry, Jude. He's been out here long enough to know not to go in unprepared.]

You'll have to eventually though. I don't have as much nightmarish energy within me as before anyway. [It be good to start small and see what happens, or so Kazuma believes.] If not, then we can go down to the lake. It's been a month, but I'm sure there's still lingering nightmare energy there. Probably a few creatures have turned from the exposure.

[Kazuma sure has been around for longer, and maybe 76 and Dr. Mikotoba wouldn't let him be too reckless either. Alright, he won't get himself too concerned!]

...If you're sure you don't mind, then I'm okay with it too. Thank you for the opportunity, M. Asogi.

[Since the afflicted man himself gave the word, then there's no sense hesitating any further. It'd be prudent to gauge effects early anyway to check if he's in the right direction, it's happened before after all that he ended up finding himself in a completely wrong one.]

Here goes...

[Fingers curling around the crystal in his hand but not quite into a grip, his eyelids droop as he does what he's described: gather the dreamotion he's been using for healing artes, and simply "pouring" it into the stone whose blue glow is beginning to intensify. His iteration of it is something that is as much emotion as it is conviction, born from a genuine desire to help others and to better the world ~~she loves so dearly~~ they all cherish. It may be laced with naivete and idealism, coloring the core with a pinkish hue, but also balanced with the drive to continue striving forward regardless of the obstacles one may come across.

The stone is fully alight now, and brows furrowed with focus, he brandishes it forward as his free hand props forth to support the outstretched arm. Just like it's been with the spyrite...]

Purify!

[Yelling things out is a ~~Tales staple~~ habit, it may honestly not be necessary depending on the user. But he sure is doing it, and like a projector with its switch suddenly flipped, Kazuma will effectively be getting completely bathed in a cone of processed dreamotion. It's an aurora-esque veil of cyan and pink and green, the colors not TOO pronounced and striking despite their variety. They don't linger long, a few seconds at most before fading, and it shouldn't feel forceful or harsh either, soft and almost fluffy if anything. That may be the desire to NOT harm, along with the lack of assertiveness that are simply part of who he is...

...

He's still a bit nervous, he can't deny, but he did give it everything he could, and this had been enough to calm and cure smaller fauna afflicted with nightmare energy before. So as the first attempt made on a person who's actually carrying nightmare energy within them, how did it turn out...?]

[He gave him the ok, but he can't deny the feeling of uneasiness, not knowing what will happen. He isn't going to reconsider his decision though. Whatever will come from this would be beneficial research information. Even before Jude hits him with the energy, there's a part of him that could sense something was coming. His snake-like tail curls, dreading what was to come.

Thought was the shouting actually necessary to activate it...? Didn't have time to ponder as he's hit with the processed dreamotion energy. At first, it doesn't appear to be causing him harm. He does get this odd prickly sensation all over his body, like a bunch of needles were poking him. His body then starts to feel cool, and not the kind of freezing cold like the weather. It was meant to feel soothing, calm down the flames within.

Just as it looked like it was working, there was suddenly a burst of flames. Kazuma yells in shock, pain. It's as if the flames were a response to push back against the calming aura around him. He doesn't recall conjuring flames like that, but a few more burst of flames come from him before he drops to his knees. Looks like there's still enough nightmarish energy for it to try and fight back.]

[Of course it wasn't going to be that simple. He did briefly wonder if the lesser emotional complexity of local fauna may make afflicted wildlife easier to assist next to a full-fledged human, but his knowledge of psychology is middling at best. Maybe something to bring up to Dr. Mikotoba later? Later, yes--]

--M. Asogi!

[Stone quickly pocketed, he's hunched next to the taller man the next moment, unable to touch him with the sudden fires whose properties he's not sure he can wholly determine at a glance. Are they persisting or were those temporary bursts? It does feel hot, and his memories of the domain from back then comes to mind. --No, not quite...]

Is there anything I can do?

[That flames would suddenly burst forth is definitely a reaction he can't say to have anticipated, and Jude's straining his focus to see if they're leaving any burn marks or spreading on Kazuma's person/cloak. Conjuring water isn't his thing, but maybe they're in luck; with so much snow still heavily blanketing the surroundings, someone who's caught on fire can simply lay down on the ground and roll over to put it out--if this fire behaved like regular fire, that is. This... looks bad, but he can't be rash either. He should avoid further dreamotion use though, he thinks; if there's any burn treatment or healing to be attempted next, it would probably be safer to use regular mana for his artes instead.

Either way, he remains focused and vigilant; if Kazuma may be able to tell him anything or what to do, he's all ears, but if he remains unresponsive and/or this worsens, then there won't be any choice but to take action. Local wildlife and an actual person are truly on completely different levels... Jude'll have quite a bit to jot down later.]

[The flames do seem to have a strange property. It would singe his cloak and anything else that got too close to him, but for the most part, he himself is unharm.]

Stay back! [He's not sure there's anything Jude can do. His body was having an internal battle, like white blood cells fighting off a foreign invader. Only it's the nightmarish energy, trying fight from getting flushed out. He screams again as fire comes out of his month. Scales start to spread on his skin and hands turning to claws. For a moment it seem like his was going to transform into that Noctaere beast again, but as he lays down on the cold snowly ground, the intensity of heat starts to lessen.

The transformation begins to recede. Bits of the scales disintegrate in the air. A visible indication the nightmarish energy was expelled? His cloak had been completely burned off, though the clothes underneath remain intact. Were the flames actually coming from him, or being produced around him? Unfortunately, it didn't seem to fully cleanse the man as he still had that serpant-like tail, with a few scales still clinging onto various parts of his skin. He seems stable at least, just exhausted after such an explosive ordeal.]

[It's bitter and undeniably frustrating, but it's reality as he's seen it so many times before, and will no doubt continue seeing it for as long as he lives. There's nothing he can do, maybe even nothing he SHOULD do. There isn't enough knowledge, enough data, and rushing in blindly and impulsively may only cause more harm than good. So he takes a few steps back as instructed, forcing himself to focus on the fact that the flames don't appear to physically burn Kazuma's own body, only his surroundings including his clothing. The fires aren't ordinary, but they're technically not hurting him, setting aside the fact that it's caused by harmful nightmare energy.

...

His fists tighten at his sides as he lowers his gaze. What's done is done. There's no sense apologizing, they both agreed. Data is data, this is new information to reference and work with. He knew from the very beginning, that this was going to be very trial-and-error heavy. So the best thing he CAN do, now...]

...I can bring you another cloak from town. Water from a canteen too, maybe? [He is aware of the small field of Glowing Dawn nearby, it was thankfully far away enough to not get caught in this. But whatever Kazuma was carrying on his own person before, including the bigger crystal and bag Jude handed him earlier...

--No, let's just focus on surveying the results so that he can accurately note everything down later without missing any details. Failures are important learning experiences, after all.]

[With the flames subsiding the cold closes in once more. Even that gentle warm breeze faltered to nature's fury. He moves to sit up, hugging himself to keep warm. Not all of his clothes had burned off, yet it seem colder than usual. What items he carried have fallen off to the side. The vial and crystal are still intact, if just exposed to the environment right now.]

Yes...another cloak would...it's good enough. [Why does it feel like he's not getting any warmer???] Maybe start a fire first.

[He's cold.

The revelation is a bit startling, especially with what just happened, but Kazuma's body language and request spoken aloud are irrefutable evidence. Unshouldering his bag, he proceeds to quickly pull off the sweater he entered the clearing in before handing it to the shivering man in fetal position. Whichever fae or local spirit responsible probably won't be happy that their gift isn't being docilely kept by the intended recipient, but this is an emergency, so Jude'll just have to ask for forgiveness rather than permission. Besides, with any luck, he'll just end up with ANOTHER sweater, because that's what happened the first time he took it off in confusion. He's still got his lab coat beneath it anyway, and as much as he's not a fan of the cold, he's gone through worse.]

It may be a bit small, but please, try it?

[That ugly sweater didn't feel tight when he was wearing it, a bit loose if anything, but Kazuma is also a larger man. Still, it's worth a shot?]

[At this point, he will try anything to get warmer again. Ugly sweaters be damn. He moves to at least try and sit up, grabbing the sweater. It's smaller size doesn't stop him from rushing to try and get it on him. Strangely, it does seem to fit him, like some kind of unknown magic had stretched it's proportions to properly fit the taller man. Maybe the tricksters behind these sweaters don't mind if they're given to someone?]

Better. [But only a little better. He might be able to at least move to somewhere not cold. He looks over at Jude, that look of frustration mixed in with concern on his face.] I could use a hand. [He raises his hand, needing assistance getting up and for support.]

[Meanwhile, Jude's busy furiously scanning the surroundings while racking his brain for anything remotely useful he might come across, or still have on his own person. They're not too far from the village, and the outskirts of Reverein remain less populated; it's probably their best bet to find an empty building to duck out of the cold and make a temporary stay in? He's perfectly capable of starting a fire with dreamotion and mana alike, but the problem would be keeping it going with a fuel of some kind, and they certainly don't have time to look for firewood right now. But come to think of it, since it's with dreamotion that one can best make the impossible possible, maybe he CAN improvise something through it? A flame that lasts and burns without fuel...

While Kazuma's pulling on the sweater, Jude manages to fish out a third crystal from his bag, this one bereft of a blue glow. On their own, they have high resonance to other substances, and he did carry with him a few more that currently remain in their natural state. He was able to make light sources out of them the day he ~~accidentally fell into~~ discovered that deposit, they lit up quite easily after he visualized 'fire' and 'light' into the crystal's core. If he tweaks that around a bit...]

Coil!

[Shouting things out loud sure seems like a necessary step, but at Kazuma's voice, he'll immediately step up at his side and hold out his free hand without hesitation or reservation, more than ready to at least help pull the taller man up. A crystal that glows orange-red with a symbol at its center is in his other hand, whether or not that's noticeable right away. His grip may belie his size and demeanor, strong and assertive in ways the teen looks anything but, Master Sonia was an excellent combat instructor, as much as Jude isn't eager to advertise his qualifications as a practiced martial artist.]

--Of course, and here. Maybe holding onto this can help, too.

[He offers the warmly glowing crystal to Kazuma once they're both standing, it's hot to the touch without being overwhelmingly so that may make it difficult to hold onto. It's pulsating with faint waves of heat, practically radiating like a miniature sun, and seems to very much function like a heater with an effective radius of a meter or so.]

Do you know of any shelter nearby? Most I saw was some empty buildings on my way here, at the outer edge of the village.

[His hand will feel cold to the touch, trying to get a decent grip to stand back up. Frost might have form in Jude's hand for just a moment. Once he was up, his free hand gingerly grips the crystal being offered to him. He lets out some air, once he feels the warmth radiating from the stone. He manages a step, and then lets go, managing to stand on his own. As long as there's this constant heat, he should be able to move around for a short distance.]

Afraid I don't, and 76 never stays in one place. [So they can't just go looking for his campsite.] A building is better than nothing though. At least until I stop being so cold. [He hopes this is only temporary.]

[Frost? The teen's eyes widen briefly in surprise, but it was gone as quickly as it had formed. He knew from experience that Kazuma's warped Noctaere form radiated suffocating heat, but ice? Is it mana... no, dreamotion imbalance in his body, maybe? Some unforeseen reaction that the amplified essence of the Glowing Dawn had triggered with the nightmare energy that's had time to acclimate itself inside him?

Theories he'll have to put on hold and entertain later, after he finds a way to stabilize the other man's situation some way or another. Jude hovers close even if it seems like Kazuma can walk on his own now, ready to step in and help as a crutch anytime just in case.]

Right. Please hang in there, the town isn't far now. [What else can he do...

--Ah. There's no guarantee that anyone may get his message in time, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to send word out and ask help from a friend? Leia lived close to his place, for one, and Marui crashed over at hers pretty often too. Who else...]

May I send word out to my friends and ask if anyone can delivery us some supplies? You don't have to meet them, but I'd rather not leave you alone in your condition.

That's fine. Do...do what you feel is necessary. [He had to hold back a sneeze there. He doesn't have the liberty to be stubborn about getting assistance. He'll try to walk, feeling stiff as a board with each step.]

We should get moving while we talk. [His steps are slow and steady. Worried he may actually fall over as his sense of balance is off.] Don't feel too bad about this. I did agree to be tested on.

[Jude... admittedly, would have most likely reached out even if Kazuma protested; he'd just try to be more careful about it, probably arrange for a pickup point further away from whichever house they end up taking temp shelter in, so it's a relief to hear him be okay with it straight up.]

Alright. [Quickly flipping out and opening his journal in practised motions, it only takes him a few moments to send word out. Once done, the journal is returned to his bag before he walks up to Kazuma's side. He doesn't initiate physical contact, but does search for the taller man's eyes.]

Please, lean on me. We'll get there quicker together, and my body heat may be of help too. [He's not asking for permission, because it's already been given. As serious as he is about this from a purely medical standpoint, he's still not brazen enough to simply act first, though something may be said for politely communicating your request to avoid potential knee-jerk reactions. He's quite set to duck under Kazuma's shoulder and prop up the arm on that side with his own once he gets confirmation, and if the other man is freezing to touch, then he'll just bear with it for the entire way. He's helped others walk more than once before, carried someone who couldn't on his back from one town to the next, even; this'll be more of the same, and far more productive than apologizing for something they both agreed to.]

Right. [He's a little concern he might freeze Jude somehow though.] You better say something if the cold gets unbearable though. [Says the guy who is in current danger. He'll come over and put his arms around his shoulder. His shorter stature does make him hunch over, but it's so worth having the extra warmth. To Jude, it may feel like someone stuck a large ice pop next to him.]

Just go into the first building we find. [Good thing they didn't go too far deep into the forest. The trek back to town won't be a long one, but it might feel that way with the current hinderances on them.]

Yeah, I know my limits. [He somehow finds himself wondering if Celsius wouldn't find amusement in his situation, though going by what he remembers of the Great Summon Spirit of Ice...

...Maybe. She was stoic, but she clearly had mixed feelings about human folly, which he's not entirely sure if this qualifies. Why is he letting his mind wander to something like that right now, anyway? Is this like his coping mechanism already kicking in, distracting him with tangentially related but still rather random thoughts as if it could make the numbing chill at his side less glaring? G-gah. He definitely can't help shiver more the longer they go, but holds his ground even if he may have to grit his teeth a little.

The short trek is made without complaint, and despite Kazuma's request, Jude ends up steering them towards not the first house that comes into sight, but another one close to it deeper in. There's no hesitation or uncertainty in the conscious decision and movements he makes, so maybe they can skim over the verbal heads-up and just keep trucking until they reach the specific house he's got his eyes on? His reasoning may become noticeable the closer they get, anyway: the snow piled on the doorknob is uniform, and there's no bumps or dips from the accumulated snow on the path leading up to the entrance. It's about a foot tall, not too difficult to wade though, plus there's a distinct lack of pots, barrels, and shovels that are commonly spotted around inhabited buildings. Thus Jude doesn't hesitate once they finally make it to the entrace, fumbling a bit but ultimately successful in getting the door open for them to tumble in.

It's dim and dusty inside the little house, but it's also apparent at first glance that the building hasn't been used in a while, mostly empty save a few pieces of furniture abandoned with the rest of it. They're alone, but more importantly, they're finally out of the elements.]

H-here. A-are... you okay, M-M. Asogi?

[On Jude's end, he's fine. Just a bit chilly, but he's fine...!]

[Hard to miss when they start moving pass the first building. Jude wasn't stopping, clearly focused on getting somewhere. So he says nothing, until he feels Jude has been going for longer than necessary. When they finally stop in front of a building, it registers why they were going into this one in particular. There was no evidence that anyone inhabited this home outside.

Once they are inside, Kazuma doesn't waste time removing himself from Jude.] Fine. [Who cares how dusty the furniture is. A couch is a couch and Kazuma is going to sit on it. Whew. Speaking breahlessly.] Get yourself warmed up.

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slapped by RL, sorry for dying off orz

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thanks ;;

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