2342/Checking in: Chrono

Checking in: Chrono
Date of Scene:	19 February 2025
Location:	Dorms #2
Synopsis:	Chrono pops by Rashmi's dorm room, both to see how she's doing, and to drop off the spoils of the previous night's fight with Ritter. After business is handled, the TSAB pair just... spend a while vibing out, happy to have nothing immediately demanding their attention.
Cast of Characters:	Chrono Harlaown, Rashmi Terios

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Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown didn't, usually, come to Rashmi's door. Normally, he was the type to contact her and have them meet up, or well... come to her door but she'd know he was on his way long in advance.

Not this time. She'd know he was on the way a few minutes before he arrived and, well... he was in uniform.

Again.

Rashmi had likely, at this point, heard other girls talk about her boyfriend who 'Wore such an odd cosplay, yet always seemed so serious'. Either way, him visiting in his uniform wasn't THAT strange... but she'd also receive the report on WHY he was in uniform. Another trial, it seemed. And he'd gained the pieces and was bringing them to her as meister in training. Maybe she could put them to a proper use...

... Admittedly, the true reason? It was so he could let her know the situation was dealt with and that she didn't have to stress about it. Still, she'd be alerted by a quick, heavy rat-a-tat-tat on her door.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Japanese schools generally have an impressive rumor mill. In Radiant Heart, it may as well be its own genre of daytime TV, given just how *many* students pack its extravagant halls. A dedicated tea-drinker could know the ins and outs of the personal lives of people she'd never in her lifetime actually run across. So of course Rashmi, who is a Very Good Listener, came to hear about how the rumor-mill spoke about her boyfriend, her kohai, and her other friends.

She just didn't care, overmuch. Not enough to be *troubled* by them. After all... if they knew a *sliver* of the things they get up to right under their noses...

It's a much improved Rashmi that opens the door to her triple dorm. There's still the sadness behind her smile, but the haunted, *lost* look is done. Despite Hinote's revelations, Rashmi had done her grieving, had said her goodbyes, and closed the book of Molly's time with her.

And what she will never, ever admit, is the small part of her that would be perfectly happy to open that book up, if the impossible turned possible.

But none of this is spoken; instead, she reaches forward to gather Chrono into a tight hug, her smile widening and actually *brightening* upon seeing the Enforcer's face. "*Hi,* you," she says, leaning back just enough to look down at him. "...Wow you really *are* growing, what's up?"

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown would be content to hug her right back, though his hugging was... well. His was always a bit rigid in comparison. That was just who he was. His love language wasn't touch so much as procedure. And sometimes silly things like playing 'I can show you the world' as they flew.

But his hug was, if not as soft and enveloping... was kind and caring.

"Midchildian's development just follows a different pattern than a human's, that's all," he said, giving her a gentle, kind smile. "As for, well... why I'm here... two reasons. The first... mind if I come in?"

Once he was in? He'd hold out his device and bring out the sealed objects. Bound in ice when out of storage, sealed so they couldn't do anything on their own. "The second is to check on you. How have you been holding up?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"'Mind if you come in,'" Rashmi echoes, chuckling and tugging Chrono into the room. "When would I *ever--* okay no I can think of a few instances but they'd be *very* specific. But now is not that."

Once the door is closed, Rashmi indicates the middle of the three bunkbed-and-desk combos as hers, inviting Chrono to have the chair for sitting... Then blinking sharply, as the ice-coated objects are taken out of S2U. "...Is that what I think it is?"

The question does deflate her apparent good cheer some, but... not much, and it doesn't seem to be more than letting a facade have abit of a break. "I miss her, Chrono... but... I think I'll be all right. Even if we end up just rescuing Starcrash, I think... I'll be okay with that."

One does *not,* after all, attempt to prevaricate about one's grief when one's boyfriend has seen the very worst places grief can take a person.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown would sit, at least. "From the knight. This... may sound a bit... egotistical, but he looked... a little like me. It has given me... less than pleasant thoughts." What if there was some belkan in his lineage?! WHAT IF HE HAD TO START PUNCHING PEOPLE?!! He didn't WANNA be a belkan!

"And... I know. It... it will hurt for a while. Well... it will likely hurt forever," Chrono said. "But the amount of hurting will decrease. It gets a little easier every day. The... important thing is to allow yourself to grieve. and not just... shove it away. No matter how tempting it is."

Pause.

"... And don't allow your mother's cat-girl friends to try and console you. It's not what you think, but it's still *really* annoying." He would have a story about that, wouldn't he? "Would you like any help today? And not in a 'violating your training' way... but in a 'it's sometimes nice to work with other people instead of alone' way."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
With Chrono occupying the chair, Rashmi just sort of... sinks to the floor next to him, resting her head in his lap. *He* may not use touch as a love language, but, Rashmi has never been afraid to take full advantage of that particular perk of 'being a girlfriend.'

It helps that she doesn't go into 'uncomfortable catgirl' levels of physical contact.

And as Chrono talks to her of hurt and grief, Rashmi sighs, closing her eyes and nodding against his leg. ...Then makes a stangled sort of snorking noise, at the end of it. "...Well given that the only cat-girl I know is *my* friend, and about as good at consoling as I am at differential math..."

Cracking open an eye, she turns to make herself able to look up at him. "Well I mean... they're from how many *centuries* ago? It's not impossible that someone *defected* from Belka all those years ago, but like... they'd be the kind of Ancient Belkan who'd do *better* in Mid-Childan society, so..." Trailing off, the redhead shrugs, then takes a moment to seriously consider the offer of help. "...Do you know much about Device Core programming? Because I know you're a lot better on the software side than I am..."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown blinked a few times and, almost instinctively, when she sat by him he reached out. He ended his henshin and his hand, no longer covered by a gauntlet, reached out and lightly scritched her hair. Just gently rubbing the fingers against her scalp in the softest, most comforting manner possible. He at least understood that, in some cases, physical touch was useful. Besides, if she'd wanted to sit, she could have sat on the bed. Sometimes... you just... need some touch.

And the fact his attempts at humor were enjoyed was also a boon to him.

"I suppose that's true. Ancient belka collapsed long, long before midchildia helped bridge the gaps it left behind. There likely is some connection between the two. As for programming? Yes. I know how to setup the basic software and calibrate it as necessary. I'm not capable of, say, creating the AI's themselves, but I can a least help create the environment the AI would need to operate it. And the stuff I don't know I could likely figure out well enough." He, unlike most of the world, understood all the concepts and baselines in midchildian programs, so he could at least figure out a lot of the pieces as needed. Usually.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...Oh good," Rashmi sighs, closing her eyes and making pleased little sounds at the feel of fingers through her hair. "...Because when Alo-chan's Device started getting corrupted... It sent me a personality backup. And... I have a *second* one of those gems on me, it was pretty much purified onsite. I was thinking, if it can hold the programming needed to make a *copy* of an ancient Knight's personality... maybe it can hold a regular Device Core, too? I feel like... it might be nice, when we save Alo-chan, that she spends as little time as possible below a hundred percent, y'know?"

Not for the first time, does she take the time to appreciate how *reliable* Chrono is. How thanks to his training and his basic personality, when things get weird he almost always is able to project confidence, to fall back on his training, to be a solid and reassuring presence.

There have been times when Rashmi saw the turmoil that occasionally roils under that placid surface... but this is one of those times where *she* can depend on *him.*

She will probably be thankful all her life, for that dependability.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown gave a small nod, slowly stroking his hands along her scalp, relaxing back as he kneeded the fingers over the top of the head and down towards the ear... He sometimes did this with Fenyx (granted, when she was a bird), but it wasn't that much different from doing it with a human. Touch=nice.

"I didn't manage to get this one purified, but I don't know if it was corrupted though, either. However... Just because it is capable of storing one doesn't mean it's capable of running it. It is possible, mind. But it might not be. See, in a lot of ways our devices are similiar to computers of this world. The AI system can be stored, but it needs a lot of other systems to operate and those programs are often separate from the AI itself. Namely... how to put it..."

"If you think of the device as a game, the AI and spells would be... DLC for it. You can store them, but they'll need the software that operates them to allow them to operate. Make sense?" he asked.

"Now, just because the gem can hold the AI, doesn't mean it has enough space to properly store and run all of the necessary support software. But it might. Nicomachea will be able to tell you more, however, as his capabilities should prove capable of determining if it has enough capacity. If so, I can help you get it all sorted, if you'd like to learn a bit more about the software side of things."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"It's actually a good job you *bound* and sealed these," Rashmi notes. "Because getting them purified shouldn't be too difficult... the one who cleansed the other jewel sleeps right over there," she says, pointing at Wako's bed.

As Chrono discusses the difference between storage capacity and computing capacity, Rashmi nods against Chrono's leg. "That does make sense, yeah... How about this Sunday, you and I get something nice and hot to eat, then find an out of the way spot and survey the gems for suitability, just the three of us?"

There has not been a lot of 'just us' in the last while, and suddenly the idea of joint homework sounds *desperately* appealing.

"Oh! Also... I need you to meet Entrapta-chan, and see what she put together in the Shed. ...Probably separately, though... Entrapta-chan's a sweetheart, but she is A Lot, and like... as locked in on science and experimentation, as Hannah-chan is on fighting."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown continued to just gently stroke her scalp, running his hands against her head and just... it was strange how comforting the touch, simple as it was, just felt. Come... appealing. Wonderful. and her suggestion sounded just as wonderful.

"That sounds like a wonderful way to spend the weekend," Chrono said, his voice filled with affection. "I can't imagine anything else I'd rather spend our sunday on... Perhaps I should take you out on a date, after. It has been so busy lately we haven't had much opportunity to do such..." he mumbled, leaning down and giving the top of her head a little kiss. Ahhhh. He liked even the smell of her shampoo. It was... soft. Warm. Kind... Her.

"And I'd be happy to meet this Entrapta. She sounds... like..." he trailed off, trying to find the word. "An experience. I've never been the most scientificially minded, but having someone around who understands such things is always useful."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"She's Etherian," Rashmi notes, though whether she says that as supplement or warning is... left up to the Enforcer. "From way before all the others on the timeline, though. Like... 'parented mostly by robots *she built*' kind of isolated. But 'fixing things' is her love language, and she's nice enough to answer questions pretty straightforwardly, so..."

Trailing off in a one-shoulder shrug, Rashmi falls silent for a bit, just... enjoying Chrono's attentions. "A date sounds really, really nice, Chrono... I'd like that, a lot."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Why not both? He took it as a warning. He so took it as a warning. Raised by robots, huh... he'd heard of worse ways to be raised, so... it wasn't really a problem. And from there... they had a date. They had plans. They had... no real need for him to be here. Things were delivered, she had all the stuff she needed.

... He wasn't going anywhere. Instead, he just gently kept scritching her hair, closing his eyes and relaxing as he let himself sooth and be soothed. The only sound the sound of their breathing and the gentle, soft scritches of two very ,very overworked TSAB agents doing the best they could, however they could...

Rashmi Terios has posed:
And for a moment that stretches into forever, Rashmi is just here. With her boyfrend, who is making her skin do the most *amazing* dances just by his fingers on her scalp. It's nice to be able to get things done, but sometimes... like right now, for example... it's nicer just to exist in the same space as someone. To not *need* activities or conversation to justify your shared existence.

Usagi and Mamoru, to Rashmi's eye, are the kind of 'in love' that gets burned into legend; a love that etches itself across the stars. In moments like this one? Rashmi feels her relationship, more in tune with what she's read about nebulae; masses of color hanging in space, lit from within, and not needing anything else to be as beautiful as it is.

...Also being in love with Chrono makes her want to read space opera, just to catch up.