and it takes, and it takes, and it takes

[acherontiastyx]

[It... definitely takes a while for the weekly after-execution note to arrive, but it does --- kind of scrawly and on ripped paper rather than nice stationery.]

EY. YO. WE GOT EFFIGIES IN THE DINING ROOM AND WE'RE GONNA BURN EM.

FOOD TOO. THE USUAL AND HOT COCOA. GOOD FOR THE SOUL. GET SOME. MAYBE TAKE IT BACK TO YOUR ROOM IF YOU HAVE TO. JUST GET SOME.

[Anyway, in the dining room, there's plenty of mugs set out, with a janky looking arrow sign pointing into the kitchen to where you can get your hot cocoa. On the table, there's Vichyssoise, a pot of green tea, and some booze. There's also a cookie tray on the floor away from the table on which to burn the Wordsmith and Kimbley effigies, which are handily placed near the food on the table.

...also if you go in the kitchen without shoes on just. Watch the northern corner. There's no kidneys, but there's a lot of broken plates there for some reason...]

Comments

[firstaid]

[She sees Killia and offers him a forced smile and a nod.]

Y-yes I am. I figured I would come and see how everyone was doing after... after that trial.

[deofoled]

...I've been doing that a lot longer than you have, even if I don't smile while doing it.

[ He's pretty well versed in pretending to hold everything together while it's actually the opposite.]

[firstaid]

[Is he... calling her out? Her smile wavers a bit, but it comes back. Killia is always guarded around it it seems, with occasional times of showing genuine emotion so she figures maybe this is how she should start acting around him.

Pretend she's okay.]

What are you talking about? Oh, you mean helping others after this trial? You seem like you've been rather preoccupied with that.

[deofoled]

[ He totally is, yup.]

No, pretending to be fine.

[firstaid]

[Her smile wavers once more, and keeping it this time is more forced.]

It's... I'm okay. [No, she's not.] I've been doing what I can to make sure this doesn't affect me as much as it could.

[Escapism. It's one of the things she's great at.]

[deofoled]

Estelle, if you don't want to talk about it I'm not going to force you to.

[ Because that is the last thing he is here for, one of the things he values the most.]

But you still need to take care of yourself.

[firstaid]

[This wouldn't be the first time she's heard to take care of herself. Not here, but back home. Yuri would tell her not to overdo herself and suddenly she'd end up winded or passed out from overworking herself. Here... it's no different. Just a completely different context.]

There's nothing to talk about. It's... the same as everyone is likely feeling.

[So she'll bottle it up, find a way to pretend that feeling isn't there. She's not hurting the worst of all so she feels like she needs to keep herself composed. But it's also she just doesn't want to feel this pain.]

And don't worry, I'll take care of myself. I've been able to do that much so far.

[deofoled]

But you were close to Gold, weren't you? I know Silver better, so there's no way we could feel the same right now. [ It's why he's been running around so much, because this trial didn't affect him nearly as much as most others here. It was still a mess, but it was a far cry from week two.]

[firstaid]

I... Gold was... He...

[She's trying to find words, but she doesn't want to break down in the dining room. This isn't the place for it. So a few deep breaths and she's silent.]

...He... was my friend. And... he...

[She puts her hand over her mouth, trying to calm herself, but that doesn't stop a few tears from streaming down her face. It's hit her now that... that Gold is gone. She can't just go see him and enjoy his positivity anymore. Even if he was unique and even if he flirted with her a bit, she still greatly enjoyed his company.]

[deofoled]

[ ........... ]

I'm sorry.

[ What else could he say at a time like this? He steps closer and offers her his hand if she wants it, more words escaping him. He could tell her that things would be okay, but that would be an obvious lie.]

[firstaid]

[She knows he's not the type to offer words of comfort yet his actions are more than enough for her. Though to be honest, there are no words of comfort that would erase the pain. Some people are good with words to the point that they can make it hurt less, but... sometimes not saying false words is better.

But she does take his hand. A reminder that someone she's come to hold dear to her here is still alive.

Was it a mistake to make friends with people when there's this fear that those she's come close to... will die?

She doesn't have any words right now, instead she just squeezes his hand, a reassurance to her that he's here... and he's still alive.]

[deofoled]

[ He squeezes her hand back, not letting go. He still feels like he's all kinds of awful at this, but it's also the least he can do.]

Do you want to talk about something else?

[ Maybe that would be better, and he has a bit before the cakes are done.]

[firstaid]

[She's insanely easy to calm down and please, so just being here is more than enough for her, in her opinion.]

I... don't really know what else to talk about right now.

[She's having a difficult time clearing her mind, and it seems either she thinks about Gold's death or her mind goes blank right now.]

I want to talk about something else, though.

[deofoled]

Okay.

[...]

Did I ever tell you about the other members of the Rebel Army besides Christo and Seraphina?

[firstaid]

[She shakes her head.]

No, but I would love to hear about them!

[deofoled]

[ That's good, because they're far easier to talk about than himself.]

I didn't remember them until recently but... we took on two young demons, Usalia and Zeroken. They both want to get revenge against Void, and even though they're young I can't blame them. Usalia is the reason curry is on my profile, it's something she has to eat almost daily.

There's Red Magnus too, but I never forgot about him. He's like Gangrel.

[firstaid]

Is it her favorite or is it really the only thing she can eat?

[Estelle definitely has her favorites, but even she likes to mix up her meals.]

[deofoled]

She actually hates curry, it's why she has to eat it. One of Void's generals cursed her with a spell that causes her to go berserk if she doesn't eat it enough. That's how we met her...she was on the verge of losing control for good without a source of curry.

I had some on me, though.

[ Because of course he did, he always has food.]

[firstaid]

To go berserk if she doesn't eat a food she doesn't like? That's... awful!

[It'd be like if she had to eat sukiyaki all the time. Yuck!]

[deofoled]

It is...but she has to if she wants to avenge her parents. She's too young to have to deal with all of that, but I won't stop her as it's what she truly wants.

[firstaid]

[A child avenging her parents... that's far too sad. Yet it sounds like the state her own world it is. People fighting for revenge, fighting so they have have a decent life.

It's another reason she needs to get home, regardless of her fate... because she can help change things with her position.]

Children are strong and are capable more than others realize. They understand what's going on and will do their part and what they can. They're... very strong.

[deofoled]

I just wish she wouldn't have to. No child deserves to live like that, to be fueled only by revenge.

[ A beat.]

But she's probably the most resilient among all of us, always upbeat and cheerful.

[firstaid]

I understands the need to be like that. It's better to see the world and imagine it to be beautiful than otherwise.

[Given she's the type of person that sees her world through rose tinted glasses. Not that she ignores things wrong with it, just that no matter what, her world is beautiful.]

[deofoled]

I think you and her have that in common. Lieze was the same way.

[...]

It's a good thing, more demons need to be like you.

[firstaid]

You speak about Lieze a lot. What is she to you? It sounds like she may have been your girlfriend.

[She would normally squeal over this, but knowing a few things as well as how sad the situation is right now she can't summon the energy at the moment.]