I'll wait, so show me why you're strong

[isafraid]

[And so the day's trial for the attempted murder of Gabriel Knight draw to a close with... charitably better results then usual.

They were alive, at the least, but that didn't mean there wasn't several blows against the trust that had been built up here. One mole that attempted murder, another that quit, and another that was given the offer no doubt put strain on several relationships... most notably Sigrun's.

It was all, in a word... frankly shitty. But now it's all out there, no sense in trying to get it back.

An hour (or two) after the "trial" ends and everyone's gone off on their own business, Speedwagon heads back to the kitchen. It was the usual plan in mind, what they did after every trial. And everyone, regardless of what was said or done, would soon find a note being slipped under their door.]

[Name],
There's gonna be food in the dining hall, in case anyone's got an appetite for it.
I know some might want to be alone after that mess of an investigation, but if you don't then the offer's as open as it's always been.
I'd say sticking together might still be safer then not.

-R E.O. Speedwagon

[And yes, folks that arrive in the dining hall will find a nice spread of sandwiches, soup, and what leftovers Speedwagon could scrounge out of the fridge. Speedwagon isn't the best cook in the group, but there's definitely stuff here that's good enough to eat.

...Sigrun's 'masterpiece' was, thankfully, left out of this. Keeping folks alive is the goal, after all.]

Comments

[amygdalae]

[There's a pause as Bruce considers Colress' words. He takes another swig from his bottle and lets it hang from his hand.]

You don't need to worry about that.

[Considering everything else Colress barely did anything to garner any kind of hate or anger from Bruce. Not that is reserved for something else entirely.]

[pokexplorer]

I...I see.

[He's a little surprised to hear it, actually. He knows that in the grand scheme of things, he didn't commit an enormous crime this time. But in the heat of the moment, he was concerned that his reveal would have been the icing on the Terrible Cake.

He sits in silence with Bruce for a moment as it sinks in.]

Do you recall the time that you spoke with me when I was in a particularly bad place? You wanted to talk to me, and extended a helping hand though you said you were not sure what the best way to help might be.

...Might I extend the same hand? I understand if you would rather be left alone, but...I do feel concerned about you.

[May as well just say it. He knows that Bruce probably isn't okay right now, and that's understandable. But he wants to show he cares about that.]

[amygdalae]

[It was sort of a terrible thing to top off what had happened, but at the point in time Bruce had already effectively more or less shut down. And again it wasn't as if Colress was in any wrong - whatever he had been considering beforehand, what mattered was that he didn't take up the offer. That's good enough for Bruce.

He starts to try and take another drink, but pauses when Colress speaks to him and kind of... pauses for a bit. It's not a very long pause by all account, but its one that is perhaps kind of speaks a lot on Bruce's on end.]

...I'll be alright. [He says, after the pause is over, and Bruce takes the drink that he had been going to do so before Colress made him pause.] I just need some time.

[Some time to stuff this all the way down and possibly never dwell on it until the time when they do get out of this place alive. If he is still alive at the end of it. Who knows at this point.]