dangerouswind | [written

[There's nothing much on the page. Temari only taps her pen against the paper -- dot, dot, dot -- for several long moments before she finally writes something.] Tell me: Is family still family when they are worlds apart?

[Perhaps a little introspective for her normal tastes and somewhat revealing to her mental state, but... Well. She'll take a few outside opinions this time. Some days she just misses her brothers. This evening, it's particularly sharp. That, and she's tired. A bit sore. Unwilling to walk back to the apartment just yet. All in all, it doesn't make for a good mood, after being gone for so long. She's not even sure how long it has been.]

[She doesn't go home after returning to the village: she finds some clean clothes in the shop, forgoes food entirely, and instead wraps herself in a good coat she found and takes a slow walk as night falls. She'll be all over town, eventually easing toward the edges of the forest. (Yes, at night. In the cold. It's probably not the smartest plan.)]

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They probably don't even know what it really means.

It's hard to tell. But I know I do.

Then what does it mean to you?

It means that distance and loss can't change how I feel about someone. That I can still find them in my memories and it'll be like they're here again. It helps me to feel their love too, as if it's coming from wherever they are. And I know that no matter what changes happen, it can't be impossible to bridge them whenever we meet again.

So then it's love that makes relationships; not time spent apart or distance from each other. Is that what you're saying?

Yeah, like that! A wise man once told me that time's an illusion, anyway. No matter what kind of relationship it is, it's love, caring, that can keep it together!

Time is an illusion, huh? What's that supposed to mean?

It's kind of philosophical! But I think it was that guy's way of saying that we're all connected, even to people who aren't here anymore. That it's like they're still with us in a way. And it was kind of literal, too, because in that swamp my friends saw illusions of loved ones who - who weren't alive anymore. And I saw a vision of someone I hadn't met yet.

Illusions are just that, though: illusions.

Can't they sometimes be something more? And if it still makes you feel the same as the real thing... Can't that count for something?

For something, perhaps, but nothing can replace the real thing.

That's true. You can't replace something that's gone. But even when it's not as good as the real thing, it's better than nothing at all.

Or perhaps a clean break is best.

Is that what you think>

I think so.

So what do you think about family, then?

I couldn't get rid of them when I was with them; I doubt I'll be rid of them now.

That's a good answer! Are they actually here, or is it just still like they're here?

They are not here, not in any sort of way.

I see. But it at least sounds like you still remember them well.

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