did they ever have that spar btw. just how wrecked is both their shit? the world may never know. or we could, like, decide
anyway reyna missed the investigation bc i was running it but she's here now, looking over the gathered evidence in the glass display cases and frowning profusely at the bodies.]
[DIEDAY DIEDAY they can have sparred Wednesday morning!! They'd probably both be at least Somewhat Bruised and Souji definitely would have had to tap out because he's a fucking TB idiot,, but he wouldn't have coughed up blood at least..... Sousei got that honor this week, maybe Reyna can get it next if they survive the weekend.
ANYWAY SO MUCH FOR THEIR HIGH HOPES OF LIMITING BLOODSHED... At least Souji doesn't say that out loud. He's looking over the evidence too, lips pursed.]
It looks that way... I can't speak for Soo-won, but we found Dave in a very strange condition, too.
[i cant believe grimm is only going to last 2 weeks,]
There weren't any sort of signs of... well, anything else? The only marks where we found him were the footsteps that Belph and I made ourselves. I couldn't even find any injuries on the body beyond his broken neck, but we didn't spend much time looking since we wanted to take him inside quickly.
...that sounds almost too clean. [suspicious] There should have been footprints, at least. Dave's if he walked there himself - or his killer's, if he was carried.
[Imagine just getting concussed after living through the mess that was Today™...
Souji holds a hand up immediately in response, though.]
It's fine, you don't need to apologize. [Especially considering--] I was on my way to look for you, actually. I wanted to see how you're doing after all of that.
Reyna wishes she could forget. She grimaces at the reminder.]
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't angry. [Akechi is on her shitlist. Ann is too, to a lesser degree; from the sound of it, she really didn't know. But she was also the person best in a position to say that something didn't seem right, and she didn't... not until the very end.
It's complicated. It feels like a waste of energy, being mad at someone who's going to die tomorrow.]
...but it could have happened to anyone. If they were in my dormitory already to target Soo-won, then... it was probably just a matter of convenience for them.
[HE TOO WOULD LIKE TO FORGET. This trickery bullshit makes him tired.
In any case, he listens quietly, sympathetically. If he was in Reyna's shoes, he knows he'd have panicked and been furious too - not for his own life, but for the life of his partner. To risk Hijikata's life to get away with a kill... It would be unforgivable to him. He'd be understanding if Reyna felt the same, especially considering the one behind the tricks will continue living.]
Most likely. [Though he wonders if that really would make anyone feel any better.] ...I'm glad that you weren't harmed, though.
[She manages a smile, just for a moment - it's fleeting and barely there, but the fact that she can still manage one at all is a wonder. Reyna had some deep-seated issues even before this trial - this has only served to intensify them.
Souji, at least, is enough of an Honorable Warrior™ that he's not setting off any of her alarm bells.]
...regardless, the worst of it is over. Akechi, at least, will not be trying that particular trick again.
I'd hope we wouldn't see it from anyone else, either.
[But he doesn't want to hope too hard, considering people do desperate things when their backs are to corners. He knows that much. He's pretty sure most of the people in this castle do, to varying degrees.]
[WHAT UP SOUJI. reyna looks absolutely fucking exhausted after that roller coaster of a trial. here she is in the kitchen, eyeing the liquor cabinet, waiting. wondering.]
...how likely is it that we may need this to disinfect injuries next week, do you think?
[At least it won't be poisoned...! But he'll set to making some tea for both of them, quiet for a few moments.]
...I don't think I've ever dealt with a situation quite like this before.
[LIKE, NEEDLESS TO SAY. But really, he knows war and he knows battle. Even if he dislikes trickery and hidden politics and subterfuge, he knows that, too.
And yet, each week here is showing him something new and unexpected in the worst kinds of ways.]
There's a gold spear stuck in one of the chandeliers.
Reyna is, perhaps unwisely, attempting to scale the wall up to one of the balconies so she can try to make a jump for it. I hate this and I hate her. Please be the responsible adult here, Souji.]
[HM, BAD. At least he's not walking into the library yet again to see someone scaling a bookshelf, but this seems much less safe??
In any case, it takes him just a few seconds to look from Reyna trying to be spiderman to the balcony to the chandelier with its newfound armory of one and piece things together.]
...Reyna, this doesn't seem like a wise idea.
[JUST SAYING. He will, for once, rise to the challenge and be the responsible adult.]
[reyna manages to haul herself up and onto the balcony, so we're doing this, i guess. she takes a moment to catch her breath, chooses to ignore the fact that souji seems to think she's going to need healing, backs up, and then takes it at a run so she can vault over it and leap off the balcony's railing.
...miraculously, rng doesn't hate her today! she manages to grab onto the chandelier and doesn't immediately fall. it does, however, dislodge the spear, which goes falling toward souji. she gasps and leaps down after it, bracing herself to lean forward and roll on impact -
she snags the spear before hitting the ground, and. good news! her fall is broken by a bubble forming around her.
bad news: it catches souji, too.]
What..?!
[they've got about two seconds to try and break out of the bubble before memshare commences. spoilers: it won't work]
[CAN'T BELIEVE HE WAS ALMOST THE ONE WHO DIED IN THE BALLROOM!! Souji's immediately moving out of the way of the falling spear, at least, but he's still close enough to get caught up in Reyna's new best friend, Mystic Bubble...]
Ah—
[He also like reflexively swings a leg out to try kicking it which probably shaves another week off his life but HE CAN'T HELP IT. Naturally, it doesn't work, and now they're just trapped in hell!! Good work team.]
[Hell, as it turns out, looks a lot like a sidewalk cafe in Évora, Portugal.
Reyna sits there at a table along with a boy Souji will recognize as Nico, and a faun- no, satyr, who carries a baseball bat and a menacing look. They've got some kind of pastry in front of them, and they're in the middle of a discussion. Nico looks uncomfortable; he twists a silver skull ring on his finger.
"Nico, how can we help you?" Reyna asks.
He looks stunned for a moment or two. "I'm not sure," he admits. "You've already let me rest as much as possible. That's important. Perhaps you can lend me your strength again. This next jump will be the longest. I'll have to muster enough energy to get us across the Atlantic."
"You'll succeed," Reyna promises. "Once we're back in the U.S., we should encounter fewer monsters. I might even be able to get help from retired legionnaires along the eastern seaboard. They are obliged to aid any Roman demigod who calls on them."
The satyr grunts. "If Octavian hasn't already won them over. In which case, you might find yourself arrested for treason."
Reyna's gaze flicks to the satyr, her eyes narrowing. "Coach," Reyna scolds, "not helping."
"Hey just sayin'. Personally, I wish we could stay in Évora longer. Good food, good money, and so far no sign of those figurative wolves--"
A gold dog - Aurum - springs to his feet, along with a silver dog. Both of them let out low growls as the howling of wolves pierce the air, and before any of them can move, wolves appear from every direction - leaping across rooftops, converging on them from all sides. The largest of them saunters forward, slowly beginning to change into a tall, wiry man with a haggard face and glowing red eyes, his greasy black hair adorned with a crown made of finger bones.
"Ah, little satyr..." The man grins. "Your wish is granted! You will stay in Évora forever, because sadly for you, my figurative wolves are literally wolves."
"You're not Orion," Nico blurts out, and the man laughs.
"Indeed not. Orion has merely employed me to assist him in his hunt. I am--"
"Lycaon," Reyna interrupts. "The first werewolf."
The man looks to her and bows mockingly. "Reyna Ramírez-Arellano, praetor of Rome. One of Lupa's whelps! I'm pleased you recognize me. No doubt, I am the stuff of your nightmares."
"The stuff of my indigestion, perhaps," Reyna deadpans, pulling a foldable camping knife from the belt pouch at her waist. She flicks it open; the wolves snarl and back away. "I never travel without a silver weapon."
Lycaon bares his teeth. "Would you keep a dozen wolves and their king at bay with a pocketknife? I heard you were brave, filia Romana. I did not realize you were foolhardy."
Reyna scoffs as her dogs crouch at her side, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. She takes note of the satyr gripping his baseball bat, and of Nico reaching for the hilt of his sword, as she counts the wolves. A dozen of them and their king - Lycaon, Nico, and the werewolf exchange banter as she tries to come up with a plan.
There are so many of them. Too many of them.
Lycaon explains his plan - detain them, and spill their blood on sacred ground to make this land his own. Reyna grits her teeth.
Nico, however, comes up with a plan before she does.
"Coach," he says, "you can climb?"
The satyr scoffs. "I'm half goat. Of course I can climb!"
"Get up to the statue and secure the rigging. Make a rope ladder and drop it down for us."
"Uh, but the pack of wolves--"
"Reyna," Nico says, "you and your dogs will have to cover our retreat."
Reyna nods, her grip tightening on the hilt of her pocketknife. "Understood."
Lycaon howls with laughter. "Retreat to where, son of Hades? There is no escape. You cannot kill us!"
"Maybe not," Nico says. "But I can slow you down."
He spreads his hands, and the ground explodes - bones of all kind emerge from the earth, obscuring the wolves from their sight, trapping them where they stand. Lycaon, trapped in a cocoon of rib bones, lets out a howl.
"You worthless child!" he roars. "I will rip the flesh from your limbs!"
"Coach, go!" Nico yells.
As the satyr springs toward the temple two wolves break free from the thicket of bones. Reyna hurls her knife and impales one in the neck; her dogs pounce on the other. Aurum's fangs and claws don't do anything, but Argentum sinks his teeth into the wolf's neck; it and the other dissolve into shadows.
...and where Reyna's memory ends, Souji's begins.]
[There's something about the thrill of fights that always gets Souji's blood boiling, and something about the promise of one that sets his entire soul at ease in the strangest of ways. Like any sword would be, most likely.
He doesn't really understand much of this as it comes, but he knows that Reyna is self-sufficient, that Nico is incredibly strong despite being a year younger than Tetsunosuke. There's talk of demigods, of werewolves, all manners of mystical things he just doesn't understand. And while there's a trill of panic when the numbers are counted - of course it's always an unfair fight - there's something about this small group that he has an incredible faith in.
When the fight finally erupts, his hands twitch subconsciously at his sides, since he's always Ready For Combat. Reyna and her dogs are honestly an impressive team...
And then the memory is shifting, red tangled into red, though it's a different kind of blood this time. Blood on the sheets, blood in his hand, blood covering the crumpled handkerchiefs surrounding his pillow. From Souji's perspective, it's just this empty room and the aching of his lungs and that painful, full-bodied cough that brings up mouthful after mouthful of blood. He can see a shadow outside of his room, hear the floorboards creak - hesitation.
But his begging for the screen to remain shut isn't heeded, and it's flung open with tremendous force. Souji is left nearly face-down despite his struggle to right himself, still coughing violently, still trying to beg. His visitor's face, when he finally looks up, is twisted in a hollowed-out sort of terror, like he's looking at death itself. It's a relatively short memory that slips away in curls of copper on his tongue, panic, and the rising sounds of terror from the man in his doorway.]
[Well. That was A Lot. Reyna goes to look for Souji once the dust clears - she's got some things to talk with him about... or at least something she wants to say to him. okita, okita, where you at]
[THAT SURE WAS A LOT... Anyway, here's a Sooj, looking majestically healthy for once in his castle stay. He's been hunting around for people too, and his expression brightens when he spots Reyna.]
Ah-- Of course. [BUT ALSO IMPORTANT:] It's good to see you.
[Aw... REYNA... Souji also still looks pretty exhausted even if his health clock has been rewound, but his smile is just as genuine. He accepts the thanks with a gentle nod rather than denying it - he's been trying to stop that habit.]
...I'm glad that in the end, I was able to do something to help. If things could turn out like this, I couldn't ask for anything more.
[He's glad that this plan actually worked... unlike... 90% of the rest of their yeeting.]
[they've just spent eight weeks in murder castle, so that exhaustion is pretty legit]
It's looking like we'll be able to go home, safe and sound. [well, as safe and sound as anyone from these violent canons can be] What do you plan to do first?
Mm... I'm not sure, really. Returning back in good health is going to be surprising to everyone, I think - but I'd like to rejoin the battles, after that. [OF COURSE.] What about you?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
toughchoices) wrote2018-06-15 08:05 pm
chapter one - friday;
did they ever have that spar btw. just how wrecked is both their shit? the world may never know. or we could, like, decide
anyway reyna missed the investigation bc i was running it but she's here now, looking over the gathered evidence in the glass display cases and frowning profusely at the bodies.]
Two this time, not just one...?
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ANYWAY SO MUCH FOR THEIR HIGH HOPES OF LIMITING BLOODSHED... At least Souji doesn't say that out loud. He's looking over the evidence too, lips pursed.]
It looks that way... I can't speak for Soo-won, but we found Dave in a very strange condition, too.
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What do you mean, strange?
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There weren't any sort of signs of... well, anything else? The only marks where we found him were the footsteps that Belph and I made ourselves. I couldn't even find any injuries on the body beyond his broken neck, but we didn't spend much time looking since we wanted to take him inside quickly.
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...that sounds almost too clean. [suspicious] There should have been footprints, at least. Dave's if he walked there himself - or his killer's, if he was carried.
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That's what seems so strange about it. You'd think someone would have had signs of scratching, at the very least...
chapter one - saturday;
anyway, she nearly walks right into souji as she's rounding a corner - but spots him and dodges away at the last moment.]
...sorry. I didn't see you there.
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Souji holds a hand up immediately in response, though.]
It's fine, you don't need to apologize. [Especially considering--] I was on my way to look for you, actually. I wanted to see how you're doing after all of that.
[The whole... intentional frame thing...]
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Reyna wishes she could forget. She grimaces at the reminder.]
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't angry. [Akechi is on her shitlist. Ann is too, to a lesser degree; from the sound of it, she really didn't know. But she was also the person best in a position to say that something didn't seem right, and she didn't... not until the very end.
It's complicated. It feels like a waste of energy, being mad at someone who's going to die tomorrow.]
...but it could have happened to anyone. If they were in my dormitory already to target Soo-won, then... it was probably just a matter of convenience for them.
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In any case, he listens quietly, sympathetically. If he was in Reyna's shoes, he knows he'd have panicked and been furious too - not for his own life, but for the life of his partner. To risk Hijikata's life to get away with a kill... It would be unforgivable to him. He'd be understanding if Reyna felt the same, especially considering the one behind the tricks will continue living.]
Most likely. [Though he wonders if that really would make anyone feel any better.] ...I'm glad that you weren't harmed, though.
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[She manages a smile, just for a moment - it's fleeting and barely there, but the fact that she can still manage one at all is a wonder. Reyna had some deep-seated issues even before this trial - this has only served to intensify them.
Souji, at least, is enough of an Honorable Warrior™ that he's not setting off any of her alarm bells.]
...regardless, the worst of it is over. Akechi, at least, will not be trying that particular trick again.
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[But he doesn't want to hope too hard, considering people do desperate things when their backs are to corners. He knows that much. He's pretty sure most of the people in this castle do, to varying degrees.]
chapter two - saturday;
...how likely is it that we may need this to disinfect injuries next week, do you think?
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Knowing the way we are? Very, very likely.
[Though he understands the need to drink here too, okay...]
Perhaps we should wait until the dining hall is open for a drink?
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[...and maybe that's for the better. Reyna shrugs and backs away from the cabinet. She's not 21 yet, anyway.]
Today was exhausting.
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In any case, he sure can't disagree with that. Instead:]
Would a cup of tea help?
[Soothes the nerves somewhat, maybe.]
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I don't think it would hurt.
[they can give it a try!]
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...I don't think I've ever dealt with a situation quite like this before.
[LIKE, NEEDLESS TO SAY. But really, he knows war and he knows battle. Even if he dislikes trickery and hidden politics and subterfuge, he knows that, too.
And yet, each week here is showing him something new and unexpected in the worst kinds of ways.]
chapter five - wednesday;
There's a gold spear stuck in one of the chandeliers.
Reyna is, perhaps unwisely, attempting to scale the wall up to one of the balconies so she can try to make a jump for it. I hate this and I hate her. Please be the responsible adult here, Souji.]
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In any case, it takes him just a few seconds to look from Reyna trying to be spiderman to the balcony to the chandelier with its newfound armory of one and piece things together.]
...Reyna, this doesn't seem like a wise idea.
[JUST SAYING. He will, for once, rise to the challenge and be the responsible adult.]
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anyway, she tightens her grip on whatever handhold she's got right now and glances down at souji]
No, it's fine. I've made longer jumps before.
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Wow, though. Can't believe he's gonna witness a second ballroom death and it'll also involve a chandelier.]
How do you intend to get back down?
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[she's gonna break a leg]
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...If you say you'll be fine, then... [GO FOR IT HE GUESSES?!]
I'll stay here in case you bring the chandelier down and someone needs to fetch your partner.
[At least they got a healer.]
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...miraculously, rng doesn't hate her today! she manages to grab onto the chandelier and doesn't immediately fall. it does, however, dislodge the spear, which goes falling toward souji. she gasps and leaps down after it, bracing herself to lean forward and roll on impact -
she snags the spear before hitting the ground, and. good news! her fall is broken by a bubble forming around her.
bad news: it catches souji, too.]
What..?!
[they've got about two seconds to try and break out of the bubble before memshare commences. spoilers: it won't work]
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Ah—
[He also like reflexively swings a leg out to try kicking it which probably shaves another week off his life but HE CAN'T HELP IT. Naturally, it doesn't work, and now they're just trapped in hell!! Good work team.]
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Reyna sits there at a table along with a boy Souji will recognize as Nico, and a faun- no, satyr, who carries a baseball bat and a menacing look. They've got some kind of pastry in front of them, and they're in the middle of a discussion. Nico looks uncomfortable; he twists a silver skull ring on his finger.
"Nico, how can we help you?" Reyna asks.
He looks stunned for a moment or two. "I'm not sure," he admits. "You've already let me rest as much as possible. That's important. Perhaps you can lend me your strength again. This next jump will be the longest. I'll have to muster enough energy to get us across the Atlantic."
"You'll succeed," Reyna promises. "Once we're back in the U.S., we should encounter fewer monsters. I might even be able to get help from retired legionnaires along the eastern seaboard. They are obliged to aid any Roman demigod who calls on them."
The satyr grunts. "If Octavian hasn't already won them over. In which case, you might find yourself arrested for treason."
Reyna's gaze flicks to the satyr, her eyes narrowing. "Coach," Reyna scolds, "not helping."
"Hey just sayin'. Personally, I wish we could stay in Évora longer. Good food, good money, and so far no sign of those figurative wolves--"
A gold dog - Aurum - springs to his feet, along with a silver dog. Both of them let out low growls as the howling of wolves pierce the air, and before any of them can move, wolves appear from every direction - leaping across rooftops, converging on them from all sides. The largest of them saunters forward, slowly beginning to change into a tall, wiry man with a haggard face and glowing red eyes, his greasy black hair adorned with a crown made of finger bones.
"Ah, little satyr..." The man grins. "Your wish is granted! You will stay in Évora forever, because sadly for you, my figurative wolves are literally wolves."
"You're not Orion," Nico blurts out, and the man laughs.
"Indeed not. Orion has merely employed me to assist him in his hunt. I am--"
"Lycaon," Reyna interrupts. "The first werewolf."
The man looks to her and bows mockingly. "Reyna Ramírez-Arellano, praetor of Rome. One of Lupa's whelps! I'm pleased you recognize me. No doubt, I am the stuff of your nightmares."
"The stuff of my indigestion, perhaps," Reyna deadpans, pulling a foldable camping knife from the belt pouch at her waist. She flicks it open; the wolves snarl and back away. "I never travel without a silver weapon."
Lycaon bares his teeth. "Would you keep a dozen wolves and their king at bay with a pocketknife? I heard you were brave, filia Romana. I did not realize you were foolhardy."
Reyna scoffs as her dogs crouch at her side, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. She takes note of the satyr gripping his baseball bat, and of Nico reaching for the hilt of his sword, as she counts the wolves. A dozen of them and their king - Lycaon, Nico, and the werewolf exchange banter as she tries to come up with a plan.
There are so many of them. Too many of them.
Lycaon explains his plan - detain them, and spill their blood on sacred ground to make this land his own. Reyna grits her teeth.
Nico, however, comes up with a plan before she does.
"Coach," he says, "you can climb?"
The satyr scoffs. "I'm half goat. Of course I can climb!"
"Get up to the statue and secure the rigging. Make a rope ladder and drop it down for us."
"Uh, but the pack of wolves--"
"Reyna," Nico says, "you and your dogs will have to cover our retreat."
Reyna nods, her grip tightening on the hilt of her pocketknife. "Understood."
Lycaon howls with laughter. "Retreat to where, son of Hades? There is no escape. You cannot kill us!"
"Maybe not," Nico says. "But I can slow you down."
He spreads his hands, and the ground explodes - bones of all kind emerge from the earth, obscuring the wolves from their sight, trapping them where they stand. Lycaon, trapped in a cocoon of rib bones, lets out a howl.
"You worthless child!" he roars. "I will rip the flesh from your limbs!"
"Coach, go!" Nico yells.
As the satyr springs toward the temple two wolves break free from the thicket of bones. Reyna hurls her knife and impales one in the neck; her dogs pounce on the other. Aurum's fangs and claws don't do anything, but Argentum sinks his teeth into the wolf's neck; it and the other dissolve into shadows.
...and where Reyna's memory ends, Souji's begins.]
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He doesn't really understand much of this as it comes, but he knows that Reyna is self-sufficient, that Nico is incredibly strong despite being a year younger than Tetsunosuke. There's talk of demigods, of werewolves, all manners of mystical things he just doesn't understand. And while there's a trill of panic when the numbers are counted - of course it's always an unfair fight - there's something about this small group that he has an incredible faith in.
When the fight finally erupts, his hands twitch subconsciously at his sides, since he's always Ready For Combat. Reyna and her dogs are honestly an impressive team...
And then the memory is shifting, red tangled into red, though it's a different kind of blood this time. Blood on the sheets, blood in his hand, blood covering the crumpled handkerchiefs surrounding his pillow. From Souji's perspective, it's just this empty room and the aching of his lungs and that painful, full-bodied cough that brings up mouthful after mouthful of blood. He can see a shadow outside of his room, hear the floorboards creak - hesitation.
But his begging for the screen to remain shut isn't heeded, and it's flung open with tremendous force. Souji is left nearly face-down despite his struggle to right himself, still coughing violently, still trying to beg. His visitor's face, when he finally looks up, is twisted in a hollowed-out sort of terror, like he's looking at death itself. It's a relatively short memory that slips away in curls of copper on his tongue, panic, and the rising sounds of terror from the man in his doorway.]
chapter seven - saturday;
Okita? A moment of your time...?
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Ah-- Of course. [BUT ALSO IMPORTANT:] It's good to see you.
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[She smiles at him. She looks tired, but - the expression is genuine, at least.]
...what you volunteered for today - it was noble of you, and it seems to have worked out for the best. So I wanted to thank you.
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...I'm glad that in the end, I was able to do something to help. If things could turn out like this, I couldn't ask for anything more.
[He's glad that this plan actually worked... unlike... 90% of the rest of their yeeting.]
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It's looking like we'll be able to go home, safe and sound. [well, as safe and sound as anyone from these violent canons can be] What do you plan to do first?
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Mm... I'm not sure, really. Returning back in good health is going to be surprising to everyone, I think - but I'd like to rejoin the battles, after that. [OF COURSE.] What about you?
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[she's going to get smited. smote? whatever.]
So it sounds like there's some babysitting in my future.
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[POOR REYNA. He can only hope dealing with an idiot god will be Less Chaotic than... all of this.]