Week 4 [Day 13-Day 15]

[calloperators]

[Well that sure was an eventful trial. But on the bright side it looks like there’s some justice in this world, as meager as it is.

But even with the success, something starts feeling off the moment they leave the trial. Even if you might not realize it at first, the people living in this town are starting to seem more distant than normal, although you’re still more than welcome to chat with them.

Along with that, delivery trucks are suddenly popping up all over the town. You feel like they’re watching you....but thats impossible--youve only ever seen them delivery real packages...right?

Perhaps more terrifying however, is that now the Bowling Alley and the Arcade are closed! That’s so much good entertainment… gone….

...Also, starting this week something new is happening with the ghosts. What is that? Well… just wait and see.]

< LOCATIONS | REGAINS | TAKEN >

[ Day 13 (Sunday) || Night 13 (Monday) || Day 14 (Tuesday) || Night 14 (Wednesday) || Day 15 (Thursday) ]

(OOC: As a reminder, if you want to investigate or talk to an NPC, please list it in your header! And don't forget to fill out this week's Activity Check!)

Comments

[rangerslayer]

[ Hearing that doesn't feel like a victory. ]

...I'm sorry because I know what it's like to have someone important to you killed. Even if it's someone you...haven't known for long. [ ... ] If you want to be alone...then I can leave.

[ She winces at that, because just thinking it makes it harder to stay...well, manifested. ]

But I felt I owed you that. ...As someone who cares about you.

[iote]

...Do as you will, I'm not your keeper. But don't just stand around over there. Either join me properly or don't.

[He'll go back to working on the battleaxe, then; it's something to focus on. As it is, he's still cold, still distant; there's not much else to do, as far as he goes.]

You owe me nothing. If I felt you did, you would know it.

[rangerslayer]

[ She bites back a sigh, but after a few moments, she walks over, sitting beside him at the edge of the pool. ...Careful to not show the back of her head, or rather where it should be. ]

Well, you may not feel that, but I did. So I'm here.

[iote]

[That gets a soft sound out of him, neither assenting nor derogatory; he keeps working on Hauteclere, even as he speaks.]

I spent three years trying to become someone that was deserving of forgiveness, you know.

[It's still icy, still distant, but maybe there's something a bit more behind it. Not much, but...something.]

That was what I wanted, in the end, even if I didn't know it at the time, I didn't have the words for it. But I wanted to be deserving of forgiveness, and maybe be deserving of love again. I wanted to be someone who had earned that love, because loving someone unconditionally was incomprehensible to me - it still is.

I've learned two things since. The first is that I can't be that person.

[He has no interest in looking over, it seems; he keeps his attention focused on what he's doing.]

Maybe it isn't possible for me, to be deserving of things like that after what I've done. Maybe I deserved them once a long time ago but don't anymore. I can't say for sure. But the fact of the matter is that here, being someone like that isn't sustainable. It isn't going to serve me, and so it should be discarded.

The second is that it feels...natural, almost, to stop striving for that. To stop trying to attain things that I don't deserve and am never going to earn. It isn't ideal, but it's better.

You can call it running if you want. Giving up. Whatever you feel like. I hardly care. But seeking forgiveness and love have done nothing for me, and so they cease to interest me.

[rangerslayer]

[ And she sits with that, with all of it, because he’s sat with and listened to everything she’s laid on him. Still, she keeps her gaze on him, not the axe or the scenery or the empty pool.

When she speaks, some time’s passed. ]

You do what you can, to survive, no matter what...is that it?

[ Though it’s a question, it doesn’t sound like one she needs an answer to. ]

...Whether you seek them or not...there’s a chance you’ll still get them. You’ve gotten them in the past. If that should happen, what will you do?

[iote]

[When he replies, it's quiet. Not gentle, but gentleness isn't something to be expected from him.]

...I'll tell you, if it happens. Until then, there's no point in speculation when it comes to things like that.

[rangerslayer]

[ In contrast, she sounds incredibly gentle. Despite the subject matter. As if it’s baked into her words. ]

No you won’t. You can’t. Because, the ones you’re looking to get it from... They’re not here. And it’s not likely I’m leaving here, any time soon.

[iote]

...I was told of the situation regarding that, recently.

[His gaze remains low, focused on Hauteclere.]

I was told that you can be brought back, or you can be brought home. Not both. Are you aware of that?

[rangerslayer]

...I wasn't.

[ For a moment, it seems like she'll leave it at that, that sentiment enough was hard enough to express and almost got stuck in her throat. ]

It's more than I was expecting, actually. The choice.

[iote]

...I know your instinct is going to be to argue with me if I try to tell you what you do or don't deserve, and I'm not the sort of person to debate that in the first place.

But it's more likely for you to be able to affect things at all alive.

[rangerslayer]

...Did whoever told you this...did they mean we can't leave?

I don't want to be stuck in this place, Michalis. If I am, that doesn't sound much like living.

[iote]

And I suppose that remaining as you are does? Don't be rash and listen to me.

Until we can get clarification on what was meant, I only know what I was told, and the source was overly cryptic. But that was the impression I received.

However, even if that is the case, that doesn't mean their option is the only option. There are always alternate means. Somehow I doubt those will be attainable if a choice is made prematurely.

[rangerslayer]

I'm listening, I'm just considering...

[ But she trails off, really hearing him and taking a second to understand. ]

Are you saying...you'd be willing to help discover that? The other options, not presented to us?

...That could take a lot of time, you know.

[iote]

Time is of little concern to me. And I would find such an endeavor to be worthwhile besides.

[...]

I never did plan to return to Macedon with my sisters, even before all of this happened. This is...better than what I had planned for myself back then.

[rangerslayer]

[ She doesn't think she has to ask. ]

...I still think you should. Return, for their sakes at least. To let them know you're alive. ...That's something I never did, with...a close friend of mine. The only one of my original team who was still alive.

[ So, she admits, it's from experience and also... ]

But... I'd be very grateful to you. I know some of the others would, too. ...Some. Not all.

[iote]

[He's quiet for a moment at that. His grip tightens a bit on Hauteclere.]

...Then I still consider it worthwhile.

[As long as she would, then it's worth it, honestly.]

[rangerslayer]

[ She rests her hand on the rim of the pool. Not on his, but just...closer to him. ]

I can't...be around, all the time. It's a struggle, especially during the day. But, when I can... I'll stick by your side. If you want me to.

[iote]

[He glances away a bit at that; breathes. Tries to find something to say.]

You don't have to do that for me.

[...]

But since it's a question of what I want, I would...like that, yes.

[rangerslayer]

Yeah, I know I don't. But I'd like to.

[ ...That's all that can be said on that. For now, at least. ]

[iote]

Very well, then.

[...It really is. But it does seem to settle him, at the very least.]