<div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: arial;">Between Time and Outside</span></strong></span></div><br/><div class="floatleft">(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/a5/4a/d0/a54ad0c78fe6f6ed9893fe8a6eb846e1.jpg)</div><strong>NAME:</strong>Date Toshiro | Date Marceline<br/><strong>DAY:</strong>June 15th, 2021, 9:30 AM<br/><strong>LOCATION:</strong>SOPHE Headquarters, Elevator to the main floor.<br/><strong>TAGGING:</strong>Kyless | Mentions: Mallory and Kevin<br/><strong>EXTRA:</strong><br/><strong>WEARING:</strong>As pictured, but with a few more wrinkles in his clothing and a far more disheveled head of hair. | A red nylon collar with a small golden bell<br/><hr/>Toshiro couldn't help but be immensely intrigued with how Kyless seemed affected by, and considerate of, the passage of what she refered to as human time. In humans studies had shown that a person's perception to the passage of time was largely relative to how much time they'd passed. A four year old might find a year agonizingly slow as it represented a full quarter of their life, while their grandparent might imagine the same time going by in the blink of an eye. While the concept of time on Earth and in the demon realms seemed to operate differently according to Kyless' recounting of the story of the Yeshawl, it was somewhat peculiar to Toshiro that a creature as old as Kyless, had she been telling the truth, was so consistently impatient with a span of time that was likely a grain of sand on the beach that was her lifetime.<br/><br/>Admittedly the décor and mundane living conditions Kyless had brought on herself would make a zen monk stir crazy, but Toshiro couldn't help but notice on this day in particular Kyless had made a point on several occasions regarding time. First was her portrayal of the Garden of Nosthervim, then her mentions of a 'short day,' and now her concern that Toshiro would or could keep her locked up forever. The latter point was especially concerning as it reflected a deeply disconcerting view of she must have of Toshiro that he would deign to dictate the remainder of her potential eternity.<br/><br/>As abhorrent as Kyless' crime had been, Toshiro wondered now, as he often did, if he had been unnecessarily cruel to his charge. Was there a point to reducing her environment to such a spartan existence when she seemed so unaware of why he was doing what he was doing? Then came the ever present doubt when it came to the Disciples of Calder, was her discomfort and naivete sincere, or was she simply winding her warden around her finger for the sake of some unseen game? His jaw clenched at the thought, although the tension couldn't help but fall away at the sight of Kyless' discomfort with the confining innards of the elevator, its sterile interior only made somewhat more homey by the gentle melody of Vivaldi's Four Seasons playing through with a metallic tinge through the elevator's speakers.<br/><br/>Folding his arms as Marceline moved to perch on his shoulder and playfully swat at one of Kyless' bells, Toshiro answered with a tone of utmost sincerity and a hint of a playful smile, “I don't want to keep you locked up forever Kyless, for one thing there wouldn't be much point to it, I'll be nothing but bones or dust in the blink of your eye.” Stroking the small patch of hair on his chin for a moment he continued while leaning his cheek against Marceline's warm fur, “My hope is to to use the short time we'll have together to eventually understand you and why you hate humans enough to have been a member of VOID.” With a sheepish half grin and a shrug he added, “Someone smarter than me once tried to tell me the dislike between humans and demons is based in ignorance, in not knowing enough about each other. I'd like to believe them so I guess I'm hoping by knowing more about you and what you value, I can convince you of that we're worth keeping around. For both of our sakes.”<br/><br/>For a moment Toshiro considered admitting that this was much easier in theory than in practice with how little he could trust Kyless, but his words suddenly seized in his throat at the sight of the tree suddenly bursting from the gap in narrow gap between the elevator doors. He couldn't help but press his back against the elevator wall opposite the door as he violently recoiled from the sight, his eyes wide as they quickly shifted between the verdant life burgeoning against the cold chrome and the still cheerfully blinking lights indicating that the bracelet was continuing to function as intended. Then just as suddenly as it had appeared, the tree vanished, leaving the two alone once again in the utterly plain elevator.<br/><br/>Taking a few deep breaths to recover from the brief spurt of adrenaline that had had him racing over every potential flawed parameter he may have set in the bracelet, he was finally able to focus on Kyless' once again. The only fleeting nature of the illusion and Kyless' obvious discomfort made it clear that the device was still largely working as intended, and increasing the restriction value would probably be an overreaction on his part. With a final exhale to help gather himself, he nodded lightly as his head throbbed with the lingering effects of panic, “I hope so too, I could use a short day.”<br/><br/>After what felt like an long excruciating stretch of silence in which Toshiro quietly continued to contemplate the level of restriction on the bracelet, the doors slid open with a happy chirp, revealing the entrance to SOPHE's main level. Stepping forward and holding the elevator door open once again so that it didn't once again lock Kyless inside, Toshiro gestured down another winding hallway as a thought came to him, “I didn't really give you much of a chance to say anything about the other place you showed me. The place with the 'Jollytwills.' It was...” Ignoring the immense sense of dread he'd felt in the moment he finished with a partial truth, “It was very pretty. The colors were beautiful, even if their sudden appearance was... unnerving.”