trusthell | WEEK 4.

WEEK 4.

WEEK 4
Three more have died this past week. Milla Maxwell was killed for breaking a rule, Chiyuki was murdered, and you all had a hand in executing Yoshikage Kira.

It seems like this isn't going to stop any time soon. How many more will join them this week?

Saturday is given to regrouping and rest; on Sunday morning the clock chimes as it always has, but at least there are no bodies to find today. It seems you're safe for now. The night before wasn't necessarily a peaceful one, however; you'll probably feel a bit groggy when you wake up, and it seems you've regained something that you didn't realize you'd lost...

Despite the Wordsmith's reaction to the last trial, it seems as though you've been rewarded once again for a job that was...well, it was done, even if he didn't explicitly say it was well-done. Another door has opened in that stairway, it seems, leading you further down into the building; once again, there are more rooms down there, more things to occupy yourselves with.

Or perhaps just more means to get creative with regards to how you take initiative with your fellow Apprentices.

~~APPRENTICES REMAINING: 23~~

~~APPRENTICES REMAINING: 22~~

APPRENTICES REMAINING: 20

SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

[OOC: Welcome to week four of Trustfell! Feel free to make as many top levels as you'd like and tag out to other characters! This post is for all of your interactions this week... at least until the weekend. Don't forget to save those threads for coins and the activity check!

If you'd like to get in contact with the Wordsmith, you can do so through letters or the switchboard!]

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I brought you some dinner.

[He indicates to the plate in his hands. It looks much more like something Varric might be familiar with: some kind of cooked beef and some steamed vegetables.]

I didn't see you out and about tonight, so I thought you might be hungry.

[Varric gave the food a look, then glanced up at Watanuki. An attempt at smiling was made, but came out as nothing more than the faint lifting of his lip. He took the place and carried it to his desk, where he sat and toyed with it.]

Appreciate it, Goldie.

[If the taller man was particularly astute, he might notice that the phone in Varric's room has been shifted around, to be closer to his desk.]

[Watanuki is going to go ahead and slip into the room, since Varric hasn't told him otherwise or closed the door or anything. He will push it shut behind him though, trying to be at least somewhat discreet about it. He's pretty sure shouting is going to happen, and the soundproof rooms will be handy for that.

He does notice the phone, by the way.]

Been busy today?

[He shook his head. Picking at the meat on his plate, Varric refused to actually look up at Goldie.]

Not particularly. After this morning, I just felt like keeping to myself.

Yeah, I understand that.

[He falls silent for a moment. How does he say "Don't even think about bringing Hawke back, it won't work" without provoking anger?]

I...considered it for a moment, you know. What would happen if I had the chance to go back, to fix everything. With Mom and Dad, I mean.

[...did he ever tell Varric about it?]

It was an accident. I don't really remember the details, but it was a really bad accident. I don't know how much I could change, I was only eight at the time, but just the thought of getting that chance was tempting.

[His shoulders loosened as Varric breathed out. He wasn't the only one that had considered it. Even Watanuki, his ever present voice of reason, had allowed it to sit in his brain.]

[But he'd also done more than just think about it. Varric clenched his fists, casting a glower in the direction of the phone. As if that were to blame.]

I called him. Asked him if the motives could be combined. If I could rid that thing that killed her from existence, and then pull her out...

I thought about it. For a second, hell, more than a second, I was willing to give up you, the girls, all of it.

[Even though it stings a little, Watanuki nods. No judgement here, he understands the temptation.]

Remember my boss, Yuuko? I haven't told anyone yet, but she's really powerful. Really, really, really powerful. She can do anything she wants. You know how, in some places, people worship gods as creators or all-powerful beings? She makes gods.

[That might have been a metaphor, Watanuki doesn't know that she was actually making real gods that one time, but a little fib wouldn't be terrible here. He's trying to get Varric to not do something, and he would never be able to find out that this might not be 100% true anyway.]

But even she, in all her power, can't bring someone back from the dead. So that's why I decided not to listen to the Wordsmith. In order for him to be able to bring someone back from the dead, he would have to be stronger than someone who can make gods. Which I doubt he is.

[Varric wanted to argue, that impossibilities across the universes were possibilities elsewhere. If he'd learned anything from this endeavor, it was that. Hell, where he was from, having electrical lighting was an unheard of thing. Dragons were impossible in Phi's world.]

[Maybe Yuuko couldn't do something in her world, but why couldn't the Wordsmith in his?]

[But he'd already resigned himself to... not defeat, because giving into this was hardly that negative. Not sacrificing his friends, having that resolve...]

[If anything, he was defeated at his own thoughts.]

You're right. I know you're right. [It didn't make him feel any better though. He certainly didn't look any better.]

[Watanuki wasn't sure that this was something he could make Varric feel better about. Grief and moving on, that was something very personal, and everyone handled it differently.

He wanted to try, though. Even if it meant risking failure.]

I just don't want to see you do something you regret, only to not even get the reward you were hoping for in the first place. I've seen that happen before. A lot.

[He paused there for a moment.]

Would you...want to see her again? Even if it meant that she was still dead, and that it was just a chance to say goodbye.

[That, at least, can be done.]

[Varric ignored his first statement. It wasn't that he didn't agree -- he did, perhaps more than Watanuki realized. In fact, it was for that reason that he didn't speak up: he'd already agreed with the man. There was nothing more to be said that hadn't been said already.]

[It helped, of course, that the offer Watanuki made proved to be an effective distraction. The man had spoken about spirits before, being able to commune with them and some such. He wasn't sure it would work, however. There was no guaranteeing the fact that Hawke was truly dead -- she could have just as easily been locked in an eternal duel with the nightmare. If she was it was just as possible that her soul was trapped in the fade.]

[Barring all that, could a stranger really reach out to a soul from worlds away?]

What are you proposing, Goldie?

It's not something that can be done until we're out of here, but if her ghost is still around- which it should be, ghosts last for a long time- then I can find it.

[He pauses there for a moment. Why did he say 'I' instead of 'Yuuko'?]

...or Yuuko could. One of us could.

It's not the same as having her alive again, I know. But it would be a chance to talk with her, at least.

[A talk with Hawke, a chance to say goodbye... It was better than nothing, and a hell of a lot better than killing kids to get it. His shoulders loosened, and he nodded to the man]

I'd... I'd like that. Doesn't matter who does it, you or your friend. I'd just... like to see her. Tell her I'm sorry.

[He nods at that. It's the least he can do, after Varric has done so much for him.]

I'll make the arrangements for it when we all get out of here, then. I don't know how long it'll take to do- time gets weird between different worlds sometimes- but I'll make sure it happens.

Thank you. In the meantime I'll... be sure to stay alive, I guess. Make sure you can actually help me with this whole thing.

Sound good?

[He nods, but then he hesitates.]

...

And if you do die- not that I want you to, but if you do- I'll get both of your souls together somehow. Then you can still apologize to her.

[Watanuki himself will have to pay the cost if that happens though. He's not looking forward to that, but it's worth it for a friend.]

Hey. You better bring me by, even if not for Hawke. Someone has to harass you from beyond the grave. [Not that he wasn't already harassed by spirits, but at least Varric was charming.]

If you can tolerate all the crazy people in my life, I will.

I'm used to crazy, kid. Don't worry about it.

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WEEK 4.

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