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nautilusopus · 7 years

Text

The Number I

Chapter 13: If You Thought This Story Was Dialogue-Heavy Already Then Buddy Have I Got Some News For You

I really need to stop second-guessing chapters because it just causes delays and GOOD GOLLY was a lot of garbage posted in this tag in my absence. Longer chapter than usual to make up for that and wipe away the bad taste a front page full of rapefic and paedoshit and repetitive garbage tends to leave in one's mouth.

Also I'd just like to mention my recommended videos are full of industrial lathe accidents and eye surgery now and YouTube refuses to show me anything else. The sacrifices I've made for this stupid ass story. You're welcome.

Thank you to @fury-brand, @limbostratus, @cateringisalie, and @auncyen, because this one needed a lot of work.

There are holes in the world, and spaces between numbers. Neither should exist. Cloud starts noticing them, and he isn’t the only one who has. And unfortunately for him, he’s both. (Contains graphic depictions of violence.)

Cloud had been doing paperwork for the last three hours. He eventually learned it was three hours because Tifa had come to him in the middle of hour two, wondering what he'd been up to. He'd said "nothing", and as far as he knew that was accurate because none of the work was done and he had been sure before it had only been ten minutes. He'd been staring at the holes in his wall for longer than he'd thought.

Everything felt fuzzy today. It was Yuffie's turn to watch him right now, and he'd blanked out twice in the middle of her conversation. She'd said something to him. About him? Maybe. He knew he'd said something, too. She'd said something after that, but without the sentence before it he didn't know how he was supposed to reply to this one.

"...Yes?" he offered.

Yuffie crossed her arms. "What did I just ask you?"

He didn't know. He was supposed to know, wasn't he? If he didn't know the answer fast enough, she'd be mad, and --

"I was asking you if you needed help with expenses. You said yes, and then I asked you which part you wanted me to work on first," said Yuffie. Was she mad? She was probably mad now.

"Oh," said Cloud.

"Well, let me have a look," she said, and leaned over the form he was working on. She stared at it, then looked back at Cloud.

"So... is this a prank?" said Yuffie, and held up the paper he'd been working on for him to see. He'd blacked out most of the form, nearly every inch covered in formless scribbles.

"That's..." Now that she had brought it to his attention, Cloud did have a vague memory of doing that. It had made sense at the time, and he knew it wasn't right now, but couldn't quite put his finger on why that would be the case.

"It's that modern art you hear so much about, right?" said Yuffie, before crumpling the paper. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes."

"You are Cloud, right?"

"Yeah." He was, wasn't he? "I'm Cloud. I'm Cloud."

"Prove it. What did you get me for my birthday?"

"Water canteen. Materia inlay. I made it." She was mad. If she was mad at him, they'd make him listen for longer this time. There was a chemical tang to the air.

"...Yeah, I guess so. So did you want help with this stuff or not?"

"...What?" She wanted something. He didn't know what. He was supposed to know. She would be mad.

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Y'know, let's do this later." Something seemed to click for her, and she turned back to him. Cloud flinched at the sudden movement.

"Tell me what you want to do later," said Yuffie pointedly. Cloud stared at her. He couldn't seem to point his thoughts in any particular direction right now. Doing later. What you want to do. What I want to do. I want. Want to do I want I am I want. A muscle in his arm spasmed.

Yuffie seemed to take his hesitation as a sign and wheeled his office chair over to the bed before dumping him out of it onto the blankets. There was too much noise in his own head, drowning out his own thoughts, and then drowning out him. There was a woman fussing about him, positioning him against something soft and folding him into a shape for her to slip in next to so she could write words into him more easily. He was melting into the walls, which were already covered with the words he'd let leak out. His arm arced out involuntarily, grasping frantically at something that wasn’t there.

The bits of him that used to be Cloud dissolved back into the green. It was too much trouble to be anyone, let alone be Cloud, right now. This is fine, was the last thought he managed to have for a while.

Schhhhhhick.

The sound was satisfyingly smooth, as good as the blade felt in his hand, lighter than air despite the reinforced steel it was supposedly made of. His breathing was heavy, his blood pounding in his ears, the scent of combat, of adrenaline and sweat and a mix of hormones he didn't even know how to describe, hanging richly in the air. A red heat sprayed up his arm and into his face. He let the body of the monster he'd run through slump off his sword, leaving it on the ground where it had fallen next to what remained of the other three.

A buzzer sounded, and he lay the sword down on the floor in front of him and stepped away, kneeling on the ground and putting his hands behind his head. Some of the blood ran past his nose and into his mouth, delivering a wealth of information that only parts of him, the old parts, could use. The lab aides quickly rushed in and began removing various sensors from him that had been monitoring his vitals, and the guards quickly escorted him out of the examination room once they were done.

He had grown taller in the time he'd been here (one year? ten?) -- not a whole lot taller, since he had never exactly been large, but enough to be the last bit of height he had to go. No longer a boy, very nearly a man. They had improved him, for which he was grateful. It felt good to be as strong as he was, to know he was better, the same way he knew he was taller. To know he was being made whole. To perform well for them, all these humans that had made him everything he was, and to finally begin whispering back to Mother.

The things he fought varied from week to week in size and shape, but they were otherwise generally consistent -- older specimens. The bad ones, the ones that didn't work out, and were consigned to the storage room until a use had been found for them. In this case, that use was bettering him, Series 3 of the Jenova Project. Giving him something to cut through, so they could measure how skillfully he did it. That was all they were good for.

Not like him. Not like Cloud.

In front of his cell, they were met with Hojo standing in the hallway accompanied by a pair of guards of his own, his hands steepled expectantly. Cloud stood and waited to be addressed.

"Welcome back, Series 3. It seems congratulations are in order."

Cloud waited, either for the professor to be finished speaking, or for him to be given orders to speak.

"Your performance this week has been excellent thus far," he continued, now only barely managing to stare down at Cloud due to his recent growth spurt. "My expectations for you were quite high as it stood, and yet in the three years since this leg of the project began, you have still managed to exceed them by leaps and bounds."

Cloud nodded after a moment, judging the risks of speaking unprompted. It appeared to be expected here, though. "Thank you, professor," he said.

"Your cooperation has been noted as well. I have therefore decided that you are worth investing in at this stage, as the potential next iteration of Soldier... among other things," he said, clearly pleased with his work. "And the President happens to agree. As such, I think we're due for a few formalities. As well as certain rewards, for good behaviour."

He stepped back and nodded to the guards escorting him to open the door to his cell. Cloud kept his eyes on the ground so Hojo wouldn't see the confusion in them. He should know what was going on, probably. Shouldn't he?

He was led inside, and the door wasn't shut immediately behind him prompting him to actually look up around himself. His eyes landed on his cot, and his mouth fell open.

It was a sword. A real sword, a proper sword, one that he probably wouldn't break by putting his full strength behind it. It was massive, nearly as tall as him, and more than half as wide. The blade was finely sharpened, the metal engraved, with a hinge near the base with a couple hollows for storing materia directly in the blade, for easier spell channeling. A sword that must have needed to be specially commissioned, which wouldn't be done for just anyone. A sword designed with an incredible amount of strength and destructive power in the arm of the wielder in mind.

A Soldier First Class's sword.

His sword.

Next to it, neatly folded, was a distinctive uniform and a pauldron.

Cloud's knees went weak.

Hojo watched intently from the doorway as Cloud knelt down next to it and reached out a shaking hand to grasp the hilt. "Perform well enough, and perhaps one day when the world is ready for you it will be official."

His arms suddenly felt like jelly as well, and he supported the blade with his other hand, looking it over. It was his sword. His. Just like a Soldier.

"Thank you," he managed to choke out.

"Hm." The guards began to file out. Cloud didn't look back at any of them, busy looking at his sword. His sword.

"Earn it." The door slid shut.

I will, though Cloud, the sword sitting on his lap, the uniform pressed into his face. I will. I will.

He fell asleep that night, on his cot and under his blanket that he had earned, next to his sword, the First Class uniform clutched to his chest. He really should have put it away, but he didn't want to let it out of his sight so soon. Clothes were a privilege and not a right.

He was looking forward to putting them on, but the next morning he was told to strip, and was then sprayed off with the hoses in preparation for an operation. Dr. Crescent was there, which meant it was probably an important one.

Once the sedatives were in his system he couldn't do much more than move his eyes, but from what he could see from his position on the operating table, there was something in a box that she and Hojo seemed excited about. It looked almost like a materia, and had the same sort of magical tug around it as one, but Cloud had never seen a white materia before.

He was jarred from any further contemplation when the operation began, the searing pain of the scalpel carving into his chest below his right pectoral making it significantly hard to focus on anything at all. He caught a word every now and then, about the Ancients, contact, naturally receptive. He couldn't make much sense of it, and it made even less sense when the materia was lowered into his abdominal cavity and the slow, excruciating process of sewing up what wouldn’t heal right away. After the drugs wore off, he kept quiet; both because he had not yet been addressed, and because something was concerning him.

It was strange -- although he was very, very much in contact with the materia now, the spell didn't come to him. There was no rush of knowledge, no easy recollection of all the ways one could reach into the Planet. It seemed to be reaching to him, trying to pull him somewhere, but to where he wasn't sure.

Maybe it was just because his chest hurt too much to focus. He hoped they wouldn't ask, because "nothing" was almost always a wrong answer.

After another hour or so, when he had been deposited back in his cell, he eagerly changed into the uniform -- his uniform -- and looked at his reflection in the sword. He was stronger now, his muscles more defined, and his features were sharper and more mature-looking than they had been when he was fourteen. The uniform was a bit big on him, since most Soldiers trended away from a slight build, but the shirt fit comfortably. His eyes were unmistakably glowing, and they even looked a little bit like Sephiroth's did, the pupils still just a bit more biconvex than they were perfectly round like a human's, as dilated as they were as the sedatives slowly worked their way out of his system.

It had been quite a while since he had seen his reflection (months? years?), and it was with a small jolt that he realised it was him, in that Soldier uniform, with those mako eyes, looking like a grown-up. He spent the rest of the night staring back at his reflection in the dim (though not for him) light provided by his eyes.

He didn't feel any older. He couldn't quite remember how old he'd been when he had first come here. Fifteen? Maybe sixteen. He'd been thinking of himself as such for long enough. The further back he thought, the less there was to remember. Maybe the doctors knew how old he was.

Could he buy lottery tickets? Cigarettes? Booze? Could he get married? Own a house? It had been a long time since he'd thought about any of these things, but looking at his face -- a man's face, a Soldier's face -- brought it all flooding back. These were things he wanted when he was younger. Things that came with being a grown man in Soldier.

For the first time in a while, he thought about the name tied to all those old worries. Cloud. This is what Cloud wanted, wasn't it?

He quashed the thought almost immediately, as though it were an unpleasant image. It wasn't allowed to be his name. That was bad, like Cloud. He knew how to not do anything bad anymore.

He realised after another moment that much of it wouldn't matter -- he was Shinra's now, and if Shinra hadn't mentioned these things to him yet, they probably wouldn't at any later point either. He wouldn't need any property beyond his sword, or companionship beyond the company. Shinra was his home. He rarely ate food these days either, receiving much of his nutrition intravenously.

There was something else he had wanted with Soldier, too, the reason it had been his dream, but he couldn't remember what it was anymore.

It probably wasn't important.

There was something that felt wrong this time. It was night, Aeris could tell. She'd deliberately waited to avoid another encounter with Cloud's family in the middle of the day. One thing at a time.

She was pretty sure Cloud was here -- at least, something was. But there were no thoughts coming from the presence; no steady stream of resentment bleeding into her perception. It was little more than a niggling feeling in the back of her head, the way the "whiteboard" was.

She felt something on her hand and looked down -- there was a young woman sitting next to Cloud in bed, her fingers laced around his. She appeared to have fallen asleep sitting next to him. He had been propped up against the wall. Some sort of animal appeared to be asleep across his lap. It was quiet here, and both the woman and the animal were curled up quite closely to her. The blanket even seemed to be handmade. It would have been nice if it didn’t feel incredibly intrusive, which she supposed it was.

It's me again, said Aeris. No response. That wasn't right.

...Hello? Cloud? If you're willing, I'd like to talk. And apologise

Something seemed to brush up against her as she said his name, but it was so faint she wasn't sure she imagined it. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on it.

She felt her way towards the something -- there was something here. She was sure of it. As she listened, she could feel bits of thought occasionally congealing before disappearing again. Something was definitely wrong here.

Well, she didn't know what this was. But someone else would.

She extracted her hand from the young woman's and gently shook her. "Psst. Wake up," she whispered.

The young woman did not wake up. The animal did, and she managed to choke down a gasp as she saw that it was apparently on fire. Before she could shake the woman harder, the animal opened its mouth.

"You're awake!" it said. "I was worried, you haven't been this long in a while..."

"...You talked."

The animal (wolf? lion? it certainly seemed too big to be a dog) stared at her, cocking its head to the side, and then bared its teeth.

"You're not Cloud," it said in a growl.

"I -- no, I'm not. I came to apologise," said Aeris. "What's wrong with Cloud? He's not... he's not here."

"And whose fault is that?" It had walked itself forward and was now snarling in her face.

"Not mine. He was like this when I got here."

"Well, you're most likely making it worse."

"Just -- listen," Aeris hissed. "I came here to try and fix things. And I can't do that if I don't know what's going on because no one will tell me anything."

"...Cloud is having an episode," said the... something, glancing at a digital clock by the bed -- a digital clock that used a twelve hour system, maybe? "This one has lasted ten hours and forty-nine minutes. I had hoped he had finally thrown it off, but it was just you."

"An episode of what?" There shouldn’t be any reason what she’d been doing would have given him any brain damage (well, apart from the incident with the coma), but anything further and she’d have to call off the project anyway. Talking was one thing. Scrambling someone’s brains was another.

"Cloud has sustained severe and continuous psychic damage over the last decade. It is difficult for him to maintain his sense of self. It is an ongoing battle, and on occasion he loses ground."

"What do you mean, ‘psychic damage’? From what?”

“That is Cloud’s business. Not yours.”

“And... how long is he usually like this?"

"It's difficult to say. It could be a few hours, or a few days. His longest was a little over two weeks."

Two weeks with their contact point out of commission... that could end the project, and doing things achronologically was nigh unworkable.

She had another thought, then, of a headline -- “DISGRACED SCIENTIST FIRED. RUINS THE LIFE OF BRAIN-DAMAGED BYSTANDER. ACTUALLY WORSE THAN MENGELE.” She pushed it away.

"What's your name?" asked Aeris. The dog-thing stared at her suspiciously.

"Nanaki. I am visiting until Cloud gets better and you go away."

"And you're..." Calling something that could talk a "pet" would probably be a bit rude, even if she was reasonably certain that was the case in one way or another. Who else let their friends sleep in their beds? Not that she couldn’t see why. She wondered if he would allow her to feel his fur.

"I am Nanaki," said Nanaki shortly. "I'll be waking Yuffie now."

"Wait!"

Nanaki stared at her. "For what?"

"...Maybe I could help. I can sort of feel him... moving?" That wasn't the right word. "He's here. I could talk to him."

"You do that. I am going to wake Yuffie now anyway."

"Don't --" she shook her head and let it drop. Priorities -- dealing with whatever fugue state this was.

She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the strange presence that wasn't the whiteboard. If she hadn't been deliberately looking for it, she wouldn't have noticed it as anything more than occasional intrusive thoughts in the back of her mind. Whatever it was, it wasn't truly thinking.

She tried writing to it in the way she wrote to the whiteboard. Hello, she said.

Hello came the reply, but it was merely an echo of her own words; stimulus, response.

It's me Aeris, she thought. It's me Aeris, echoed the parts that weren't really a person. They began to twist closer to her.

I came here to talk to you. If you can hear me please give me a sign. Again, she heard the not-a-person echo her thoughts -- no, not echo. They'd been thinking them at the same time.

Cloud? Are you there? No, not thinking them -- she was thinking with those bits, as though they were just another part of her mind.

They began to congeal around her, and more and more they became another part of her thoughts. Stop it, they said, or she said. She tried to say to them, anyway, but there didn't seem to be any of them left.

He was gone. How could he be gone? He had just been there -- and now here he was, twisted up so deeply into her she couldn't tell what was her own mind and what was him, mimicking.

Not good. Not good at all, he had to be here; she searched her own thoughts frantically. She was here to talk to Cloud, and Zack had her count to thirty before she came here, and Lazard had taken a blood sample from her as part of a routine checkup --

She felt a thrill of repulsion run through her, and a very small part of her said no.

She thought more about the appointment. It had been just in case constantly drugging her was having adverse effects on her, she remembered. She had looked away from the needle going in, but she had watched it on the way out.

The thing that said no pulled away further, and it seemed to recognise itself then. Parts of her turned out to be the pieces she'd collected, and more and more of them identified themselves -- never again -- broke his arm -- I don't belong here. It became easier and easier to find the parts that had convinced themselves they weren't parts of anything else. She pulled away from some, and pushed others in towards each other, each thought connecting to another idea that distinctly wasn't her, and for some reason despised having its blood drawn.

It was still twisted up against her, but it was distinctly no longer her.

Who, it asked. She hadn't told him to do that.

Are you feeling alright? She replied.

I'm here, he said, as if to remind himself. I'm here. I'm Cloud.

Someone was touching her, and she opened her eyes to see Yuffie twisting her arm behind her back. She sighed. "I'm not going anywhere," said Aeris.

"Fat chance," said the woman. "I shoulda kept a better eye on you last time."

Aeris sat up and pulled her arms away from her back -- Cloud was a lot stronger than her, it seemed. She still needed to ask about that business with the motorcycle.

"See? I’m helping. I can hear him," said Aeris. "There's something wrong with his head. What do I do?"

"You leave," said Nanaki.

"Fine. I'll figure it out myself. Should be easy enough," said Aeris, and closed her eyes again.

I'm here, she could hear him saying. He was still built around her and through her, using her to define what was and wasn't himself.

...I thought I'd apologise, said Aeris. I likely sounded bossy and rude. So I thought I could start by telling you a little about myself in exchange.

Cloud said nothing. She wasn't sure if he could really hear her.

I'm from Reading, and I study physics in London. That's a really large city in the United Kingdom. We have a queen, and a prime minister. Neither one of them really does much of anything for the country, but at least people like the queen. It felt strange, narrating to herself and and knowing someone was there to listen.

My parents, they studied physics as well. Most people in England, they live with their parents until they become adults. Mine are gone though. I didn't know many people besides them, so it was very difficult. She could feel him listening now, a gentle probing against what she was saying. When I turned out to be good at physics too, it was decided that I should get into the field as well. It's all very fascinating. And now, I'm picking up the project they left behind.

I'm not from Reading, she heard him say, as though trying to convince himself.

No, I'd imagine you aren't, said Aeris. Where are you from?

Nibelheim. I'm from Edge. I'm from Nibelheim. I'm from 6 7 dark in the storage room don't make me go back don't want to go back I'm from 3 I'm from Nibelheim Sector 7 Edge Nibelheim Midgar please don't make be go back 7th Heaven off Reedgrass and 25th.

She needed to get him... out, for lack of a better word. This was too much information too fast. She wondered if he was getting about the same experience from her.

Then he asked, Yuffie?

Aeris started slightly. ...No, I'm not Yuffie. I'm Aeris. I came to apologise.

She didn't get a response that was articulated with any words, but there was a good amount of confusion and unease rather than the expected hostility.

I'm not from Reading, he said again. I'm not from Reading...

Something clicked into place then, and she felt a stab of pain shoot through her that had her gasping out loud. She reached up to grasp at her head, but her arm stopped halfway and put itself back down.

"She's here again," she felt herself involuntarily say.

"Yeah, I know," said the woman. "What should I do? Should I get Tifa, or... you're awake."

"I am," said Cloud, as Aeris felt her jaw part and her mouth moving to form words she had no input in making. And then she blurted out, "I said I was here to help. I just want to talk. I --"

Her speech broke off into a sharp gagging noise as the throat they were both using tried to say two things at once. Nanaki looked between her and the other woman helplessly.

"I'm going to talk to Cloud for a bit," she said slowly. "Then I will leave."

"...Two hours," said Yuffie. "Or I'll..." she glanced at Nanaki, who didn't seem to know how to finish the threat either.

"Yes. Two hours." She closed her eyes again and leaned back against the wall again.

What happened? she asked Cloud. He must have still been a bit disoriented, because what he said next didn't make much sense.

I've been trying to push in since you started doing this, but it was too hard. You let me in. I thought you did this. I don't know why you let me think and move this time, and not the others.

...What do you mean? The others? The earlier runs, probably.

That's the only way I know to describe it. I wanted to move but you wouldn't let me. And now you are letting me. That's what it feels like.

Well -- look, I was serious when I said I was sorry, pressed Aeris. So... if I'm gonna ask you a bunch of questions, then you should ask something too. Does that sound fair?

...You helped me, said Cloud.

Sorry?

You... in my head, you talked to me. It... it helps to hear people talk.

Oh. Well... least I can do.

He was quiet for a while. He seemed conflicted about something.

...How are you doing this? he asked eventually.

Well, began Aeris, I do a lot of very complicated calculations based around that signal I mentioned earlier -- the one we found coming from this world, that has something to do with you. Then I get into a tank with a lid that's filled with liquid gallium, and some other metals. Brainwaves are just electrical signals, after all. We pick up those signals, and we can tweak one set of signals into another to match mine.

Is that what you're doing now? he asked.

Yes. Technically I'm asleep right now. I'm writing down what we're saying on -- well, that's another conversation. I'm keeping track of it, though.

...So, you didn't... do anything to me?

What do you mean? she asked nervously. Whatever the implication was, it seemed unpleasant.

To do this. You didn't do anything to me. I'm not... I'm not different from how I was before you started this?

I doubt it, said Aeris. I don't quite understand why the data we obtained led us to you, but since it did, I don't think it's very possible that we might have based that data on you before even meeting you.

...So, we're humans. And so are you, apparently.

Well… I think so, said Aeris. In a manner of speaking.

"In a manner of speaking"?

Yes. You mostly look like what humans in my world look like, but I think there might be a few differences. I'm not certain. Your family seems to be what I'm used to... mostly, anyway, the wolflion was new, but I couldn't help but notice your eyes --

Aeris felt her fists clench involuntarily.

What about 'em?

A sore subject. Perhaps there were different subspecies of humans, and this one was a minority. Well... I noticed earlier they glow. We have animals that naturally produce light in my world, but humans usually aren't one of them. Does it impair your vision any?

Shouldn't you know that by now? he deadpanned.

I... yes, I suppose I should. Are there many humans with glowing eyes here?

Not anymore, said Cloud. And it's not a normal thing. They're from mako treatments.

...What's mako?

There was a pause. What do you mean, what's mako? It's -- never mind. They used to use it to power stuff --

-- until it was outlawed. Yes, I remember that from yesterday. But... it's a medication, as well as a fuel source?

Not a medication. Performance enhancer. I've had five years worth of shots and tissue infusions of it.

Performance... that's how you lifted that motorcycle. Not everyone can do that?

No. Just me.

And anyone else that's had those... injections. Are they legal? How many others are there?

They were legal -- they were issued by Shinra. And there's nobody left anymore. They're all dead.

Was it a health compli --

I thought I was asking the questions here, snapped Cloud.

I'm trying to get some common ground here. A lot of what you've been saying doesn't make much sense to me. Things like "materia" and "mako" and --

Well... maybe you can tell me the kinds of things you do know, he said, and for some reason this reply didn't seem as testy as the others.

I could tell you about the people on the team with me.

...How many of you are there?

There’s six of us. I suppose technically there’s more, since we’re funded by CERN, but there’s six of us specifically on this project.

...What’s CERN?

It’s the organisation I’m part of. We study physics.

Physics? He said it as though he didn’t quite believe her.

Yes. You know, different kinds of matter, spacetime, dark energy. Things like that.

So if you’re a physicist, how come you’re messing around with me?

Like I said before, that’s what I want to find out. This was an accident, sort of, finding you. We know how this works, but not so much why. Or maybe it’s the other way around…

Just physics, though?

Well, I mostly study physics. So does Fair, albeit a different application of them. And Hewley mostly does maths, which is sort of a purer form of physics -- which we’ll need when we start planning things like navigation. Lazard is a medical doctor, just in case something goes wrong, because we won’t be able to leave for medical attention.

...And why’s that?

Well, this place is a clean room, isn’t it? Say one of us showed up on your doorstep tomorrow --

Please don’t.

...Hypothetically. If I came straight there, there’s a good chance both of us would die.

Probably. If I didn’t kill you, someone else would.

That’s… well, that’s not really what I meant. Like… let’s say -- you have colds in your world, right? Something you get sick with for a day or two?

Yeah, we have colds and the flu and stuff.

Well, let’s say that we didn’t. If I went to your house and was around you, I’d pick up whatever you were carrying and bring it back home with me. Even if it didn’t make you very sick, it could kill us because we have no natural immunity to it and no way to treat it. The same goes for you. So we’re locked in here with no contact from anyone else for a few weeks at a time, for your safety and ours. There’s an even cleaner clean room in the middle of the facility too.

Sounds like you’re talking about a lab.

There are parts of it that are labs, yes. Tseng has one for biology things. I don’t really understand much of what he’ll be doing, but then that’s why he’s doing it and not me. But viruses are viruses. Even if neither one of us are sick, we could still transmit something to one another.

...What do you mean? There was a hint of suspicion in his “voice” again, but this time it seemed tinged with interest.

Well, the way I understand it, viruses make more of themselves by changing your DNA to pump out more of them. Even after you’ve recovered, they’re still there in your system for good -- sorry, I’m not -- you’re familiar with the concept of DNA, right? Do you call it something else?

We know what DNA is, he said shortly. And I know how viruses work.

Ah… good. Then you know how --

Yes.

I haven’t even said anything.

I know what viruses are.

...Out of curiosity, what do you know about them?

There was another pause as he seemed to be considering something.

Most of what you already said. They latch onto a host, rewrite the DNA of the host cell. Really contagious. They’re sort of… the odd phylum out, because they’re alive, but they’re not actually alive the way bacteria are, and that’s a hard thing to wrap your head around. They exist to make more of themselves because that’s what they are. Anything in that weird in-between space that acts the way that does, we call that a virus.

That seems about right, said Aeris, even if the last bit hadn’t quite been clear. For someone with a hatred of modern medicine he sure seemed to know a lot about it. Do they usually teach that kind of thing in schools here?

I guess so. We went over it a little before I dropped out. I didn’t learn it in school though.

...When did you drop out? He did seem the type, now that he mentioned it.

I kinda stopped going to classes when I was eleven. But I left officially when I was thirteen. Spent three months on the road on the way to Midgar. Probably missed a lot of stuff I should know, but Tifa usually helps me out with the bookwork.

...Why did you leave? Aeris herself had technically finished grade school when she was thirteen, but leaving voluntarily was completely unthinkable. Was it a money issue? How long does school usually last?

Sort of. I thought it would be nice to help out Ma with the whole food thing. So I went and enlisted.

...Enlisted? That didn’t sound good. Perhaps it wasn’t as bad as it sounded.

Yeah. You know, military, police, military police… they mostly deployed me in Midgar, though I got sent to Wutai a lot during my first year. Mostly cleaning up pockets of resistance hiding out in the jungle. Work for disposable grunts...

You… they dep -- how old were you?

Fourteen. What’s your problem? He likely could feel her disgust and sadness slowly settling in, and it was probably giving him the wrong idea.

Fourteen.

Yeah. I mean, I did leave a little late. Everyone else in my squad was twelve, except for a couple guys in their thirties that just never got promoted. I got enough shit from them about dragging my feet, I don’t need it from you.

Sorry. I just… where I come from, that -- letting children into the military... it’s considered a war crime, she said weakly. There was a brief pause. If they’d been speaking aloud, she would have been sure he’d snorted in disbelief.

What’s a “war crime? asked Cloud.

Definitely not good. And absolutely as bad as it sounded. Before she could reply properly, someone tapped her on the shoulder, and she jumped and reflexively swatted at whatever was in front of her, but for some reason her hand came up short of actually touching anything. Cloud was determinedly holding still.

Watch it, he warned. Yuffie, who was sitting in front of her, had flinched away from her arm.

“Sorry,” said Aeris. “Has it been two hours already?”

“No,” grumbled Yuffie, edging away from her just in case. “But I’m getting everyone else up. You’ve got questions to answer.”

“I -- I also have some questions,” said Aeris, her voice sounding slightly panicked. “How is it that none of you have heard of war crimes?”

Yuffie stared at her. “I mean… it’s a war, right? The whole thing is made of crimes. It seems a little redundant to make a word for that kind of thing. You can’t exactly march up to soldiers or world leaders and arrest them for fighting a war the way wars get fought. I mean, maybe they do where you’re from, but...”

Aeris just gawked. Cloud took the opportunity to speak up then.

“She’s been asking about physics a lot,” he said. “Can you get Cid? I can’t make heads or tails of any of this, and I’d like to sleep soon. The WRO’s gonna be here in the morning, I think.”

“Who --” began Aeris. Then she shook her head. We need to come up with a system.

What “system”? replied Cloud rather irritably. You’re the one that’s letting me do this suddenly. Even though you didn’t have much of a problem forcing me to do whatever before.

I didn’t know! I didn’t… never mind. Just -- I don’t know how I’m “letting” you. Your head was a bit funny when I came here. Maybe it has something to do with that.

I’ve got a system for you. You keep quiet and let me talk for once.

...Alright. That’s fine.

“Just… get everyone,” she felt herself say. “I wanna get this settled.”

Nanaki stared at her hard, then exchanged a look with Yuffie, who turned to her and said, “Password?”

What does she -- ?

“The hell are you talking about?” said Cloud, voicing her own confusion.

“The real Cloud knows the password,” replied Yuffie without missing a beat.

“Fuck off, no I don’t.”

Yuffie nodded to Nanaki. “Yeah, it’s him.” Nanaki sniffed and padded out of the room to fetch more onlookers to complicate things.

...Now what? asked Aeris.

Now, said Cloud, we get a few things straight.

Control, or at least the illusion of it. Gods, he’d missed this. It was something he experienced in brief spurts during a repair, or in the middle of a fight -- periods where Cloud knew exactly what he was doing, how he was going to do it, and why. There was a clear problem and a path to a solution and Cloud would force a straight line between the two because it was the easiest way to do things.

“She says her name is Aeris Gainsborough,” he said, “and that she’s human. She doesn’t seem to know anything about Jenova, or the WRO. She’s part of a group called Sern, or something like that. I wasn’t supposed to be part of this. We’re trying to figure out why I am.”

“How’d she get ahold of you?” asked Cid.

Cloud shook his head. “We don’t know that either. She mentioned something about a pattern --” he paused as Aeris filled him in on more information, trying to keep himself focused on some point in the room so no one would comment on his eyes glazing over, “-- but the person that discovered it died years ago. So we’ll have to answer a lot of these questions ourselves.”

“If she’s a human, how is she doing this?” asked TIfa. She’d positioned herself in front of the window and kept glancing at the door as well. Cloud shrugged.

You explain it, he told her.

And she did, and he felt his mouth move involuntarily as she launched off into another explanation. Something about broadcasting, and other universes, and distinct electrical signals, and waypoints.

“...and he’s the only one there is, and we don’t really know why. There were others at first, but they all flashed out in seconds. I don’t know why that is either.”

An uncomfortable silence filled the room.

“...Well, the WRO’s going to be here tomorrow morning anyway,” said Reeve. “We’ll know for sure by then.”

“If you’re humans, I guess y’all live on the Planet, right? One of ‘em, anyway,” said Cid, looking a bit disappointed.

...What does he mean by that? Is there only one planet here? What happened to the others? probed Aeris. From the pictures we got of your sky we know there are probably other planets out there, so --

The Planet is the one we’re on, he said. Why would you think there’s only one? How many Planets do you live on?

Just the one, replied Aeris. But you just… you call your world “the Planet”. It doesn’t have a name?

No. What other Planet would we be talking about? It doesn’t need a name; if it wanted one, it would ask for one.

...You just call it “the Planet”, then?

Yeah. Why, don’t you?

No. We call ours Earth.

...So, you’re getting on me for us knowing what planet we’re obviously talking about, but you call your planet “dirt” just to be sure.

“He’s zoned out again. Someone pinch him,” he suddenly heard Jessie say from in front of him. He blinked hard and brushed her hand away rather firmly.

“I’m fine.” He leaned back against the wall, yawning. “She says it’s called Earth.”

“Sounds fake,” said Cid. “Let’s say I buy that. Best case scenario, who’d you want to be in contact with? ‘Cause the space program was dissolved over a decade ago, and starting up a new one’s been outlawed as treason.”

“What? Why?” said Aeris, using his mouth again.

Stop that, he snapped.

I’m trying.

“Hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but you ain’t the first alien we’ve brushed up against,” drawled Cid. There was a glint in his eye that Cloud hadn’t seen there since the night before.

“It was decided it was… safer,” supplied Reeve in a clipped tone. “Given that we have no way of knowing what else was out there. We would likely not survive a second confrontation. Of course, this may count as an exception given this isn’t really an airspace violation.”

…”What else”?

Long story, said Cloud, rubbing his forehead. ...Though I guess it’s one I’ll probably have to tell you anyway.

“There’s a lot of countries involved,” he continued aloud. “So there are a lot of people that are interested in the project continuing. They’re here for information, she says.”

...Who are all these people? asked Aeris. You never really said. You mentioned family, but you never said how.

“...She wants to know who you are,” relayed Cloud. “Personally, I think. And how we met.” He got another flash of confusion from Aeris and wasn’t sure why. He was answering her question, he thought.

There was another pause as a glance went around the room. Cid was the first to speak up.

“Cid Highwind,” he said. “Used to be into aeronautics. I’m the one that deciphered your vandalism. Met Cloud when I joined Avalanche.”

“Reeve Tuesti,” said Reeve. “Senior member of the World Regenesis Organisation. I was… initially sent to gather intelligence on Cloud. I met him properly when I joined Avalanche.”

Intelligence? I thought you said you were a mechanic.

I am a mechanic. I used to not be a mechanic. Shut up and listen.

“I’m Tifa Lockhart. Cloud and I grew up in the same town. We…”

“You don’t have to tell her anything,” said Cloud. “In fact, you probably shouldn’t tell her anything about that in the first place.”

So… it’s complicated? Is that why you were sleeping with that other girl when I got --

Shut up.

“Fine, then. I had to leave Nibelheim when it burned, and I met up with Cloud in Midgar five years later. I convinced him to join Avalanche, and he lives above my bar now.”

What’s Avalanche?

A group we used to be part of. We blew up reactors, fought Shinra, saved a bunch of people…

Er --

I said it was a long story. Later.

“I am Nanaki,” said Nanaki. “I met Cloud during his incarceration in the Shinra Tower. I joined Avalanche as a matter of prudence, given we were both fleeing from the military in the same direction, but I stayed as a matter of personal attachment.”

“Lady Yuffie Kisaragi of the Golden Kingdom of Wutai,” said Yuffie. “I tried to mug Cloud ‘cause he looked like a dumbass. I joined Avalanche to mug him some more because he definitely was a dumbass and let me. Now we’re friends. I still take his stuff sometimes. It’s a game we play.”

"It's really not," said Cloud quickly.

"Then stop leaving your wallet around in the back of your dresser drawer where anyone can find it and I'll start taking you seriously," retorted Yuffie, pointedly dangling it in front of him. He snatched it out of her hands. She'd probably taken it when he was asleep.

"Barret Wallace," said Barret. "Mr. Wallace or 'sir' to you. I hired Cloud as part of Avalanche. Abdicated due to... personal reasons, and 'cause I got sick of him taking all my damn money. Let him handle the payroll for a change."

"I'm Jessie Mahoney, and I was working for Avalanche as our technician when Cloud signed on," she said. "I dated him twice and dumped him because he was a giant prick the whole time and Tifa's the only one that can put up with it. We still hang out though," she added, as Cloud shrank a bit further into the bed.

Ignore that.

Absolutely not.

"...Aeris is from Reading," he said eventually. "She likes space."

You like space, right?

I do like space! Though I wouldn't say that's my specialty. So, that's your family? They're all former co-workers.

Yeah. What's wrong with that?

Nothing. I love all of them, she said enthusiastically. Only...

What?

Do you not have any relatives? Or are families not organised by blood here?

Usually they are. I said already I didn't have any. They died years ago.

Oh. Well, your family's brilliant and I like them already. Tell them I said hello.

"...She says hi," he added lamely. He got a chorus of monotone "hey"s from around the room.

So, the stories behind these people are as good as they sound, aren't they?

I guess. I mean, we all kinda met in unusual --

There was a knock on the door downstairs. They all froze.

"They're here awfully early," commented Tifa. "After all that time they spent dragging their feet..."

"Can't be, can it?" said Cloud, frowning. "It's probably Reno doing something scummy."

The knock returned, louder this time, and someone downstairs who distinctly wasn't Reno announced themselves as a driver for the WRO. Cloud slid himself out of bed.

"Everyone clear out, I gotta get dressed." So much for sleep.

Cloud watched everyone file out, then began to shrug off his pyjamas.

Wait -- I'm still --

Then leave. Not my problem.

That's not the... Her voice trailed off as she forced him to stop and stare at his skin, or more accurately, what was decorating nearly every inch of it.

What happened to you?

Oh. You mean...? Stabbed a bunch, among other things.

...You’ve led an eventful life, then.

I guess so. Avalanche picked me up as a mercenary. It was Tifa’s idea to join. I remember I almost left after the second job when they cut my pay.

I don’t know why you’d leave. There was an unusual pause, where she seemed to be focused on something he couldn’t see. I’d love to have a family like that.

Why, what’s yours like?

My parents died a few years ago. I haven’t dated in a while. I guess this project is the first time I’ve gotten to talk to someone in a long time. Another pause. What are they like? That dog, he seems nice.

Nanaki’s not a dog.

Well, what is he, then?

...We always thought it was rude to ask, so nobody ever did.

Do you suppose he would be mad if I pet him?

...I mean, maybe not. You’d have to ask.

I’m going to next time I come back. He looks like he’d appreciate a good pet.

Don’t make it weird.

I’m not, she said indignantly. And another question -- do you always sleep together like that?

Not… not for a while, I guess, said Cloud. We used to, on the road.

It was kind of nice, she said.

Yeah, he said after a moment. It was.

It took him another couple minutes to get dressed, because Aeris was torn between wanting to examine more of his body and attempting to respect his privacy, which meant Cloud had a difficult time looking at what he was doing at all. She'd taken a particular interest in his boots, or more specifically, what was stuck in the treads of them (scientists, complete nutters, every last one). Then he'd buckled on his harness and loaded his sword into them.

...What's that for?

It's a sword. You use it to kill stuff and defend yourself.

...And... you expect to kill someone during this visit? Will they be alright with you bringing a weapon?

I don't know. It never hurts to be safe, right?

As it turned out, the WRO was very much not on board with him bringing his sword with him, and after a heated argument insisted he at least have it in the back seat rather than in his hand. He reluctantly agreed, if only because he could probably set the driver on fire and retrieve it faster than they could pull a gun on him.

Aeris stared out the window through most of the drive, staring at the city as it blurred past them, which was actually fine by Cloud; he didn't care much for cars. Too cramped. There had been a time when he'd been just as enthusiastic about them as he was with bikes, but that was before he'd spent a fifth of his life locked in very small spaces. Any distractions were more than welcome, even if they came in the form of someone forcing him to stare at every single street sign and pedestrian she came across. She even seemed fascinated by the brief view of the Wastes they caught when they were on a highway overpass.

Aeris suddenly sat up straighter and addressed him.

I figured it out!

...Figured what out?

What was different about your city. I haven't seen a single plant anywhere, the entire time I've been here. Apart from the wood you've made things out of. What happened to them all? In my world, they usually plant grass and things in cities. Do they not do that here?

...Not in Edge, said Cloud. We're too close to where the reactors used to be. Nothing really grows here anymore without a lot of coaxing. They're not gonna waste that energy on things like grass and flowers when it has to go to things like food and lumber. Most wood we have to import in.

That's...

I've seen real flowers before, said Cloud proudly. There was this jungle we were visiting. They were everywhere. You see the pictures, but it never really captures the smell right. One day, I'm gonna go back and visit.

Aeris was silent.

There were flowers just outside Nibelheim too, when I was little, he continued. Tiny blue ones. I don't remember them, though. That's what Tifa says.

...I have a garden at home, said Aeris. I grow different flowers and mints and things. Maybe I'll bring pictures, if we ever --

Silence.

If you ever what?

No response. The strange presence in his head seemed to have vanished, and he felt the beginnings of nausea begin to creep in. Before he could investigate any further, the vehicle ground to a halt.

"We're here," said the driver. Cloud let himself out and immediately fished his sword out of the back seat, the expanse of the facility they'd driven to looming ahead of him. It had been built fairly recently on the outskirts of Edge, and there was still construction equipment littered outside of it. Tifa and Reeve emerged from another car that had pulled up beside him.

"We're right here with you," said Tifa. Cloud nodded, and slipped his sword into his harness anyway.

"Why did you pull me?!"

"Shh!" That was Tseng, clamping a hand over her mouth and hauling her out of the tank with Zack. For some reason, half the computers against the wall were in the process of rebooting.

"We had a power issue," he explained in a low murmur. "And when we went to sort it out, we --"

"Something moved. I saw it. I know I saw it. It followed us up here," whispered Zack, anxiously glancing around. "It was big. Way bigger than a rat."

"What would even be in here with us?" hissed Aeris, removing his hand from her mouth. "This entire compound is sealed off."

"Maybe something came through?" muttered Zack. "Can't have, though, the centre room's still closed off."

They sat in silence for another few minutes. There were no sounds beyond their own breathing, and the dripping of NC fluid onto the floor. A faint hum could still be felt coming from below them, and Zack was still staring fixedly at the maintenance hatch set into the floor by the wall. It sat there, unremarkable as always. The whiteboard flickered back to life.

"...You must have imagined it," said Lazard eventually. "We've all been cooped up here too long. It's getting to us. The next restock period is in a couple days, at least."

"I didn't imagine it. It was... I don't know what it looked like," broke off Zack, frowning. "I saw -- it was something. I was looking at it, but when I looked at it, it was like... like I didn't want to see it, so I couldn't."

"We need to get out of here for our own mental health," said Angeal. "We're well ahead of schedule, at least. Did we save the transcript?"

"Right here," said Cissnei, patting one of the computers. "I dumped it as soon as the lights started flickering."

"You're not authorised to be using those," warned Angeal. Cissnei rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I will delete it."

"Thank you, you're a valuable part of this team," interjected Aeris. "Speaking of which, you read --"

"Yeah, we read it," said Zack. "Part of it, anyway."

Aeris approached the computer. "What do you mean?" she asked, then leaned in and saw for herself.

We know what DNA is and I know how viruses work.

Good. Then you know how

yconfirming@@*@

not said anよything.

I know what viruses are.

Out of curiosity what do you know about them?

Most of what you already said. They latch onto a host, rewrite the DNA of the host cell. They are very contagious. they 門6226s7xuuu8subecause they 偽 infect65535ria are and that’s わ a hard thing to unれderstand they exist πολ8xujれονται. Anything with behaviour between in not 4μεtween, we call that a virus.

That seems about rigわht. do they usuallれのy teach that kind of thing in schools here?

I guess so. We went over it a little before I dropped out. I didn’t learn it in school though.

when did you drop out?

I sort of stopped going to claこs000learn90 when I was elevどe11111ten one. But I left officially when I was thirteen. Spent 3 akkkkkkkkkkkkk traξid missing should know, but Teefa usually helps me out with the booもkkeeping.

"A good chunk of it's like that," said Cissnei as Aeris scrolled through, hoping to god she’d remembered to switch it off for part of the conversation. The official report did not need details of her personal life in it. "Most of it we can parse, but..."

"I thought we fixed this bug," said Aeris. Most of it looked more or less legible, at least. Good.

"We thought it was caused by the partial," said Angeal. "But it seems like there's some sort of interference bleeding through this time. Tseng and I will look into it."

Tseng nodded. "We have something to work with, it seems, but..." he gestured to the bits of the transcript that were legible. The ones about war crimes and the potential for an international incident across two worlds.

"Mm," nodded Aeris. "Do you think we could ask for an official diplomat during the restock period?"

"It wouldn't be out of the question," said Tseng. "It explains a lot of the hostility, too. They're expecting the worst because it's not out of the question for them to expect it.

"So... the situation as it stands is that we are in contact with a likely shellshocked former child soldier from a world with no equivalent of the Geneva Convention. It may have been obvious, but that would explain why his expectations of us are likely not good."

"We really oughta ask for a shrink, if Lazard can't do it for us," said Zack. "Like, I'm just saying, it just turned into a necessity."

“I thought you said he wouldn’t want a professional anything in his face?” quipped Aeris. Zack shrugged. "Look, there's a lot to go over," she added. "I'm getting back in in six hours. I want to know more about the rest of them. Especially that aeronautics man. He said they'd already had first contact with someone, and it's probably a good story and no one wants to talk about it."

She retreated back to her room to sleep off the meds. Lazard must have been at least partially right about drugging her for as long as they were, because she had very strange dreams.

The sky was burning, the ugly red colour of an open wound. It whispered to her things she couldn't understand, and behind all of it she heard music -- the most beautiful, terrible sound she'd ever heard. She covered her ears and looked out at the city, and then at the low roar coming from above them, and gasped. It was big. Too big. Aeris didn't think she'd ever seen anything that big before in person. But the more she looked, the more she felt it was looking at her, and the more she felt an insatiable hunger, and a spark of rage that kept growing and growing --

The world ripped in half. She was dead, she knew. She had to be. But she wasn't afraid -- she was returning to where she needed to be. It was time to finally be let out --

Aeris awoke with a jerk and stared at the ceiling, reorienting herself. She could have sworn, though, that the whispers were still echoing around the room, if only for a moment.

#the number i #spitegarbage #forfdorfsorf #[DIALOGUE INTENSIFIES]

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childesballs · 7 years

Text

Rosewood Anemones Chapter 1

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 3,232

Story Summary: Living as a woodworker crafting furniture and nicknacks in the small town of Elysia, Sorey lead a peaceful lifestyle. Pieces came and went along with customers, most never leaving a lasting impression. Never could Sorey have imagined the day a beautiful boy, with knowledge of ancient history rivaling his own, would come in to order a coffin.

Notes: Ggggaaaaahhhhhh over a month of sitting on this secret project with all of two people I could scream to. But I’m finally beginning to post and holy shit does it feel good. Some of you may recognize this from a post way back when by the lovely @amarietie, who is too fricking awesome for letting me take to writing it. Okay, I’ll stop my screaming there (for this post anyway).

AO3 Link

That sterile smell that always accompanied hospitals is exactly what kept Sorey out of them. Even after three years of monthly trips here, he never could adjust to it. Clutching the strap crossing his chest just a little tighter, he continued down the halls, nodding and waving towards the staff that greeted him. The relief of ducking through the doorway of the Turtlez gift shop never came soon enough.

“Well heyz therez Sorey. Wha’dya got this month?” A small boy drenched in orange from head to toe sprang up from behind the desk.

“Hey Orange. Just some small stuff. Pendants and tags. Nothing special unfortunately.”

“Don’t worry about it. Youz stuff always sellz well. Very well.” Sorey turned towards the second voice. Leaning against the door frame was boy identical to Orange, except drenched in white.

“White! When did you get back?” Sorey beamed.

“Eh, just a couple dayz ago.” He waved a hand as he came to sit next to Orange.

“Oh, did I hear that voice correct?” A third voice, one Sorey barely recognzied, yet nonetheless he gleefully met.

“Dark. You’re back too?” Orange zipped around the counter and crossed the room in a blurr. White only a moment behind. Then they three were deep in conversation that Sorey could barely follow. He chuckled as he made his way to the unofficial woodwork section and silently setting up his wears.

Before he'd emptied half his bag, the three brothers surrounded him, discerning eyes scanning every piece. Orange and Dark staying longer on each piece than White, who moved around the whole picture. They were ecentric for sure, nonetheless, top notch merchants.

Once everything was in place, he turned towards White. No words needed for Sorey to be handed an envelope, full of his take of last month's profit. A few words of what they'd like to see next month, and Sorey was off to handle his other errand.

Moving down empty halls, he found himself near the garden. The term being used loosely. Elysia Medical had been built strangely, in that a rectangular section in the center had been left as an external space. For years it was just a place for patients to get fresh air. Now it sat as a stunning garden fitted with numerous flora.

For as much as Sorey passed by, he'd never actually stepped into it. Today, he had actually contemplated it, but seeing someone else there changed his mind.

A boy, looking about his age with silver hair, tipped with pale aquamarine, and stunning violet eyes sat with his nose burried in a book. Part of Sorey, recognizing the book, wanted to strike up conversation— he knew two people, one being himself, that had read The Chronicles of Maotelus. His sister being the other, hadn’t made it past the first chapter; her lack of fluency in the ancient tongue making it a hard read. But this person flipped pages nearly at the end with a speed that rivaled Sorey’s.

Sorey forced himself along, both realizing he'd been staring, and still having business to tend to. Silently, he hoped to cross paths with them again, and if they had the book then he would approach without hesitation.

A large sigh left him as he twisted down more halls. To think there were others in his small hometwon that could read the ancient tongue. That he wasn’t alone in that interest filled him with an excitment he could barely contain. Taking a deep breath to calm his thoughts, he rounded the last corner leading to his destination.

Unsurprisingly, the owner was absent, but the door left ajar with a red feather hanging from the knob. Sorey pushed through to an empty room decorated rather lavishly. Well, lavish is how she put it. Sorey just saw a collection of his work. And here he was adding another piece. How could he do any less for his best customer though?

Reaching into his bag, he retreived a round figure. He never did understand her obsession with round things, but it had been an oddly fun piece. Setting what she called Arma Dylan on the desk, he turned back towards the door, after tucking the envelope addressed to him atop the things in her upper most drawer. His policy for regulars was that he didn’t take payment until he’d received their 100% satisfaction.

Moving back through his route to exit the hospital, he passed the garden again, only now it was empty. Opting to save his garden experience for another day, he pushed on and out of the hospital with little more than few passing words to staff that hadn’t seen him come in.

Making his way down the side road that would lead back to his shop, Sorey turned his phone back on to see the enivitable texts from Rose.

Hurry it up would ya?

C’mon. Sorey. You know I have a date tonight.

Soreeeeeeeeeyyyyyyy

He chuckled. Of course he knew she had time sensitive plans, but she didn’t know his job was to stall her. Ignoring her call, he dialed Alisha. After ensuring his job no longer needed, he quickened his pace.

The shop barely in sight, he could see the fuming redhead behind the glass. Before he’d even reached the door, she bolted, hands latching onto his collar. He laughed awkwardly, rubbing his neck. Her brows relaxed as she sighed and released her grip.

“Ugh. You have the worst poker face. I knew something was up when you wouldn’t answer.”

“Hey! I had to make the usual visit It just… happened to be convient for her.”

“Whatever. I’ve got a hot date to get to. Not that you would know anything about that.” She waggled her eyebrows at him as she elbowed his side. Sorey gave a light shove to her shoulder.

“She’s impatient you know.” Rose went wide eyed after checking her phone and spoke some form of tongue that Sorey could only assume meant goodbye before she vanished.

Shaking his head, he pushed through the front door, and slumped into the desk chair. Every part of him wanted to slink into the back, curl up in a corner and take a nap. Fighting that instinct he instead pulled out his sketchbook and at least put some measily attempt into his work. That plan failed as his head fell onto the paper, and his eyes slid shut.

Staying up to sunrise with Rose and Alisha had been a mistake. One he knew he’d regret when he had to leave the house after only sleeping a few hours for the hospital delivery. He stirred against his makeshift pillow, before forcing himself to sit up and continue ‘working’. Work being mindlessly doodling designs for future projects instead of adding to the things he’d already started.

Once he’d made the decision to use his phone as a music player, hours ticked by unnoticed and while it didn’t qualify as top notch work, he’d at least progressed with detailing things. He felt the itch to start something, but what to start is where he debated.

He straighted, raising his arms over his head before closing his sketchbook, set on moving into the back to fire up the lathe, except he did this just in time for the bells attatched to the front door to chime. Ready to start his usual greeting, when he realized this was no stranger.

"Busy at work like usual?" Red tipped silver green hair swayed with each step.

"Yeah," he paused to scratch his head "first time in a while I haven't had a list of commissions so my personal projects got backed up." She gasped, a first coming over her chest.

"Well that's no good!"

"I know I know. You always snap up my newest pieces." His huff was met with a shining smile.

“Speaking of,” she reached into the pocket of her long white coat and held out an envelope “will you please just start taking what I leave?” She huffed. Her glare made him feel like a five year old being scolded.

“Alright, alright.” This wouldn’t be the last time this conversation happened.

“I suppose now wouldn’t be appropriate for setting another commission?” She faced him directly, eyes soft, and arms falling to her sides.

“Geez Lailah. You really can’t get enough. So long as it’s not a big one again.”

“Oh no. Just… another pendant.” Sorey sank a little. That had been what first brough Lailah to him when he were starting out.

“Can’t turn that down now can I?”

“You most certainly can. But I suppose that’s enough for me to say I’ll be back in a few days once I’ve gotten permission.” Lailah had been about to add something else when her phone went off. She sighed before answering, but not in her usual singsong tone. The call ended in less than a minute.

“I swear I can’t escape. It was nice seeing you for even a little.” She waved as she made her way out the door. Sorey shook his head. He couldn’t fathom the burdens of being the head doctor for an entire hospital. Even if Elysia’s was small in comparison.

Sorey leaned back, hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. Another one… How she voluntarily took on those cases baffled him even more. Spending all that time getting to know someone when you know they’re on a short clock. He couldn’t do it in a thousand life times, but he held the utmost respect for Lailah choosing that path.

Before his thoughts could travel much further, the bells chimed again.

“Welcome to Aroundight Woods!” He beamed at a new face. As the person stepped further inside and out of the beating sunlight, Sorey wondered if his heart had heart skipped a beat. Silver hair with pale aquamarine tips, bright violet eyes, and skin like snow melded together into what had to be the most gorgeous thing Sorey had ever seen. He quickly threw on his best smile as he rounded the desk.

“Anything I can help you find? Or just browsing?” It was his usual spiel, but he’d nearly forgotten the words this time. The male held a hand to his chin as he glanced over a few of the larger works adorning the walls.

“I wanted to inquire about custom pieces?” Sorey hadn’t anticipated a voice like wind chimes.

“That’s kinda what I specialize in. Mostly furniture or knick-knacks, like lock boxes or tops, but there’s hardly a thing I’ll refuse.” Excitment rushed through him. Even though he’d been happy at the thought of returning to personal projects, he delighted more in pieces for others. The small male turned away, intently focused on a random sculpture sitting on a shelf.

“Have you… ever done a coffin?” Not an unusual question, but he’d never recieved it from someone so young.

“Quite a few.” Sorey had the urge to ramble about how many he’d done and how personal and individual each piece had been, but he held his tongue. Though after a few moments of heavy silence, he spoke again.

“I like to personalize them though. Any idea what kind of wood they’d like?” Starting simple was always his method. Never knowing how well people would handle the questions, and having asked his fair share of wrong questions, he’d learned to let the customer have all the power. The other raised a hand to his chin, thoughtful eyes lazing to the side.

“Mahogany has a nice color to it, though I’m more partial to Cherry. But if I had to pick a single type, well, I do have a soft spot for Rosewood.” A surprisingly chipper voice accompanied those sparkling eyes that Sorey couldn’t tear himself away from.

He knew he’d been staring, though unintentionally. Those words taking some long moments to sink in. As his lips started to form sounds, he inhaled. Lightly biting his lip he did his best to stifle any outward reaction. He’d never had this situation but Rose had made him think about it.

“Cherry is pretty easy to come by. Mahogony, while I can get, costs a lot. And I mean a lot. Rosewood I can get as easy as Oak, but real cost for you is in labor.” He hoped his voice had stayed calm. Treat it like anything else. Sorey became distracted in watching the other run fingers over a woodburned image of pillars with eye shaped designs.

“I see you have penchant for Temperance of Avarost styles.”

“Wha—? Wait, you actually recognize it?” Sorey stammered. Hardly anyone caught the motifs any older than a couple centuries. There was light chuckle as the male spun around to a table full of sculptures. He gently picked up one, after requesting permission, and turned it around and a round before setting it back down. Something had seem oddly familiar about this male, but only then did Sorey realize why.

“You even pull from the Era of the Gods? I must say I’m impressed.” He crossed a leg over the other as he leaned back.

“People love the styles that came out of that era, yet no one even knows where they originate.” Sorey’s arms crossed.

“Tell me about it. It’s a real shame how little history people know.” By this point he had turned to face Sorey, hair swaying with the shaking of his head that followed his statement. Sorey bounced to the desk, haphazardly reaching for his sketchbook and flipped to a page that had crudely drawn patterns and buildings, sectioned by a set of rune like scribbles. He held out a spread.

“What I really love is seeing how these different styles can mesh today, and it’s kinda the inspiration for a lot of my work.” Sorey realized he was a hair away from full on rambling, something he’d only ever done with his sister. While she had her interest in history, it still paled against Sorey’s.

Hands reached for the book, and Sorey, uncharacteristically, let the book go. He tended to guard it like a diary, yet here he felt comfortable letting this stranger handle it.

“You can write in the ancient tongue?” Sparkling violets shot up. Heat rushed through Sorey’s face. He’d forgotten about that being with these sketches.

“I, uh, may have taught myself…” He turned away. He’d seen enough scorns in response to that, but he anticipated a different reaction this time.

“So I take it you’ve read all the Shepherd myths then?” The other smirked as his arms crossed.

“You mean the Chronicles of Maotelus?” Sorey’s enthusiasm grew more difficult to contain. Pales lips gapped, eyes wide and wild, arms falling as he looked floundered for words.

“Seriously?” He finally stammered. This lead to Sorey bringing a chair up from the back room and the two talking and exchanging thoughts and opinions and theories on a thousand years worth of history. By the time either of them swam out of their bubble, sunset was looming. The other male sat up, checked his phone, and then faced Sorey again.

“I should be on my way. I shouldn’t have taken up so much of your business time.” The other lowered his head towards Sorey.

“No, no, it’s perfectly fine. Actually, if you wanted to swing by again, I’ve got a few pieces I’d love to show someone who’ll see the history etched in.”

“Sounds great.” With a small smile, he headed for the door.

“Ah, wait. I uh, didn’t catch your name…” Sorey scratched at his jaw. That typically only got asked once a deal had been started.

“Mikleo. Though it’s sort of rude to not give yours first.”

“Ah, crap. Sorry. I’m Sorey.” All his years of doing this and building these social skills and they all became nonexistent.

“See you later Sorey.” Mikleo gave a wave before pushing out the door.

Sitting back at the desk, Sorey couldn’t fight the stretching smile. He found his phone amongst the mess of papers, opened up his messaging and quickly typed a message to Alisha.

Oh man do I have something to tell you when I get home.

She hadn’t responded and she wouldn’t. He waited out another hour just in case he had any last minute customers. Gathering all his books and supplies, he hurried towards the door. Streets empty and night fallen, he decided closing shop thirty minutes early wouldn’t hurt buisness.

While he’d usually take the scenic back streets, he settled for main streets since the route was shorter. He knew how silly and childish he was being. Getting this exicted over someone he’d probably only speak with for this commission. Yet, he couldn’t contain himself. Feeling like he may have found his equal in all things history.

Only half way up the stairs of his apartment complex, before he even had time to start searching for his keys, the door swung open. There was a silent moment as he took in the rare sight of blonde hair pulled into a bun.

“Well don’t just stand there! What happened at the shop?” She pulled him inside. Sorey kicked off his shoes and tossed his bag beside the couch before falling onto it. Setting a forearm over his head, he recounted those forty minutes that changed his entire week.

“So this guy came in, and sure he seemed a little odd at first, but Alisha. He recognized the styles I use.”

“He’s versed in history. Not like that’s rare.” Rose chimed, Alisha sitting on the floor in front of her.

“But he even recognized the Era of the Gods styles. And, he can read the ancient tongue.” Sorey had meant to keep his excitement from seaping into his words.

“Aw shit. I think your brother finally has a crush.” Rose grinned at Alisha, even though she couldn’t see it.

“I just met him! And besides…” He sank further into the couch. All the excitement at having found someone seemingly as into history as he was, and all memeory of what had lead to the meeting had been buried. Alish hummed as she turned to look at him. After long silence and Sorey turning onto his side facing away from them, Rose spoke up.

“What’s the catch? Too young? Too old? Here on vacation?” Sorey sighed, his head laying on one arm, while the other curled around his waist.

“He… he came in to order a coffin.” His voice went hoarse. He knew it was getting over his head, and jumping to worst possible conclusions.

“Ouch. For a lover I take it?” By this point Rose had ceased with Alisha’s hair and both of them were gazing at Sorey’s back.

“No… I think… I’m pretty sure it’s for him.” Sorey visibly tensed up with the words.

“Hey, he’s probably just a forward thinker.” Rose assured.

“It is a practical thing to be planning in advance.” Alisha agreed. Sorey mentally slapped himself. How could he have let his mind go to the darkest depths so easily again? He stirred into a sitting position, facing the girls again.

They had a valid argument. People had come to him before making these arrangements for well into the future. Sorey had even planned out his own. The truely unnerving part was the order coming from someone seemingly his age.

Sorey did his best to push the thoughts away and focus on the late night coffee Rose offered.

#tales of zestiria #sormik #fanfiction

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kayostesting · 7 years

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test

You are now Choromatsu, and you have just arrived in the Land of Aluminum and Frogs. FUCKING FINALLY. Excuse that. You’re a bit mentally on edge after dealing with your server player and his dumbass shenanigans. But enough of that. Being so high-strung isn't going to get you anywhere. Perhaps you can wind down by exploring your planet for a bit. From what you gather by looking out the window to your side, the land seems quite barren, however you can see a few trees in the distance. There’s also a nice stream flowing just a little bit away from where you are. You glance at the windows behind you and find a giant mountain and… a mirror above it? What in the world could that be about? You’re gonna have to ask your spri...never mind. You’ll figure it out on your own. Your computer suddenly pings. That’s probably Osomatsu-niisan. It's probably a good idea to answer him. -- fappyGap [FG] began pestering moneyMeister [MM] at who knows what time -- FG: I’m back. MM: yeah good job MM: gluing together your little cube thing FG: Oh shut up. FG: Anyways, I need to go set up Ichimatsu now. I’ve left him hanging long enough. MM: yeah yeah MM: but hey MM: where are your consorts MM: were supposed to have them right FG: Now that you mention it, there’s nothing here but some plants and trees. MM: huh FG: Actually you know what I’m going to go outside for a bit. -- fappyGap [FG] ceased pestering moneyMeister [MM] at who knows what time -- You look up from your computer screen to exit the pharmacy. It’d be a good idea to get your bearings first, and then you’ll get right back to helping Ichimatsu. You turn around and go back inside, only to see something stand nearby the river. What’s that over there? Hmm...oh, it must be one of your new consorts! You quickly jog over to see what it is. Is it... …is that... Is that Jyushimatsu’s heirloom?! Why the hell is he even here??? You stare at each other for a few seconds before the...Hijirisawa? Yeah. Hijirisawa. Hijirisawa Shonosuke. You stare at each other before the Hijirisawa Shonosuke jumps into the river. You suddenly don't understand anything. In fact, you are currently casting sincere doubt on the laughable insinuation that you or anyone else ever actually did for even a single moment. Whatever. Time to get back to Ichimatsu. You’ve wasted enough time. You rush back into your office and quickly connect to Ichimatsu and start placing things down in your parents' house. Oh wait, he’s pestering you. Better see what he wants to say. -- fuckingFurry [FF] began pestering fappyGap [FG] at who cares about the time -- FF: oh wow. FF: you’re actually helping me now. FG: Yeah, ok, I’m sorry for leaving you hanging for so long, ok? FG: I’ll get you all set up as quickly as possible, so sit tight. FF: got it. FF: also don’t make a huge racket. FF: mom and dad are gonna wonder what’s going on. FG: Right, right. That’d be a good idea. FG: We can't have them flipping the fuck out right now. FF: as if you can talk. FF: you've been flipping your fucks like goddamn pancakes today. God that asshole is annoying. But no, you're going to be calm right now. No more fuck-flipping for you. Instead of chastising Ichimatsu for his asinine comment, you open up the inventory and place down the Pre-Punched Card along with the Totem Lathe and Cruxtruder. You then look around the room for something heavy you can use to eject Ichimatsu's Kernalsprite. You do not want to rip out anything that may cause a leak. Speaking of which, you’re going to have to patch up the damaged plumbing in the building you're in one of these days. But regardless, it's time to get back on track. You decide to look into your parents' living room and pick up a chair. Thank the Virgin God your father’s a bit too preoccupied with the televison screen to notice a floating chair behind him. You drag the chair upstairs and drop it onto the Cruxtruder and then quickly move your cursor to try and catch it before it lands. Somehow, that actually worked. You move the chair over in a corner to deal with later as you expand a wall and deposit the Alchemiter while Ichimatsu removes the Cruxite Dowel and begins carving it into a Totem. You suppose this is a good time to think about what to put into his sprite. FG: Hey Ichimatsu, what do you want to throw in the sprite? FF: don’t care. FF: throw in the chair for all i care. FG: Yes. Thank you. FG: That’s really helping us progress. FF: is that sarcasm? FF: i can't tell. FF: wait. FF: i just realized that i don't care. You pick up a random scarf from the floor. Maybe you can prototype the Kernalsprite with this. It’s not blue or sparkling, so at least Ichimatsu probably won’t object to it too much. Looking at it closer, is that…is that your Nyaa-chan scarf? OH, IT IS!!! FUCKING JACKPOT!!! You toss it into the sprite before realizing how your prototypings affect your underlings' appearences. You then remember you’ll have to fight imps influence from Pornsprite. You decide to initiate a HIGHLY DANGEROUS DOUBLE FACEPALM x2 COMBO. Whatever, what’s done is done. You watch as Nyaasprite comes into existence. CHOROMATSU: NYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa she’s so great! You would love to switch places with Ichimatsu right now. Actually, speaking of Ichimatsu, he’s talking to Nyaasprite right now. You’re so jealous! Maybe you could pop by over there using the gates later and then meet her. But you've got to be careful, methodical. Start with your thoughts on her new single. Nonchalantly mention that you've reserved her new photobook, and throw your Tumblr URL into the conversation. Don't be pushy! Act appropriately distant, unlike those other fans. Make her feel like you really get her. Yes! Make her feel like you really understand her stress. There's nothing to fear; your plan is perfect! FF: choromatsu. FF: what the fuck. FF: why did you throw that dumb idol scarf in there. FG: NYAAAAAAAAA CHAAAAAAAAAN!!! FF: god fucking dammit. FG: SHE'S SO WONDERFUL. FG: NYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FF: no. FF: stop. FF: i’m gonna just keep talking to her to get an idea of whatever the hell i’m supposed to do now. FF: since someone's being too much of a fappy bastard to do anything that isn't completely vomit-inducing. FG: I’M SO JEALOUS. FG: MY ASS HAIR IS ON FIRE. FG: Her divine visage glows with the beauty of 3000 suns. FF: fuck this. Oh, it seems that Ichimatsu’s gone into the group chat. FF: hey. FF: osomatsu. FF: you piece of shit. FF: get over here and restrain your client player. MM: what MM: im busy trying to help totty over here FF: he threw his stupid idol shit in my sprite. FF: he’s goddamn fangirling over it now. FF: blabbing about her “divine visage” or something. FF: just slap some sense into him. MM: yeah yeah ok i got you FG: NYAA-CHAN IS THE BEST. FF: fuck me. MM: lol i think ill pass You feel something poke into your face. It’s probably Osomatsu. You decide to ignore it for now and keep looking at Nyaa-chan. So pretty and wonderful, rivaled only by Totoko-chan! Ouch, something’s slapping your cheek. You turn around to swat whatever it is only to see a goddamned dildo dangling from the multicolored cursor in front of you. Screeching in horror, you quickly grab a random book nearby and proceed to smash it into the dumbass meddlesome cursor and fake-ass dick. After beating the vulgar object into oblivion while screaming at the top of your lungs, you switch over to pestering Osomatsu and slam your hand down on the keyboard rapidly. So much for keeping your fucks unflipped. -- moneyMeister [MM] began pestering fappyGap [FG] at lol insert time -- MM: hey MM: choromatsuuuuuu MM: how many times do i have to pokeHOOLYSHIT MM: nevermind MM: lmao you need to calm the fuck down FG: FRETGHFGFFGHTRHTUQETRYRJYNB C CB GNRJYMUKARY. FG: OSOMATSU-NIISAN. FG: WHAT THE FUCK. FG: WERE YOU THINKING. FG: OH WHO AM I FUCKING KIDDING. FG: YOU DON'T THINK. MM: are you sure you wont want that later FG: YOU KNOW WHAT. FG: YOU CAN GO FUCK OFF RIGHT NOW. FG: YOU SEE THIS PICTURE? YOU SEE IT? MM: wow lmao flipping the bird FG: THIS IS MY UNDYING RAGE FOR YOUR UNACCEPTABLE TOMFOOLERY. FG: NOT ONLY DO YOU FAIL TO TAKE THIS GAME SERIOUSLY. FG: BUT YOU ALSO INTENTIONALLY TRY TO FUCK IT UP. FG: You know how dangerous this game is. MM: lol MM: if you want help, perhaps you should elicit some profound wisdom from your wonderful sprite MM: who should have quite some expertise regarding your current dumbassery MM: ;) FG: You're impossible. FG: And it's "solicit", not "elicit". MM: ah MM: so elicit some profound wisdom MM: and get back to me once youve cooled down a bit -- moneyMeister [MM] ceased pestering fappyGap [FG] at lol insert time -- HE FUCKING LEFT. That petulant brat. You decide to not elicit some profound wisdom from your dumbass sprite and instead choose to- Ah hell, Ichimatsu's contacting you again. FF: hey. FF: if you’re done getting off, i need to get back to getting into the medium. FF: or i’m sorry, “The Medium”. FG: I’m sorry but I’LL NEED A MOMENT WITH OUR STUPID ELDEST BROTHER FIRST. You switch over to the group chat where everyone’s currently blathering away. Osomatsu’s talking. You are GOING TO GET HIM. MM: misson complete FF: perfect. HD: What the hell is going on…(・_・ヾ MM: just taking care of chorofappyski HD: What? FG: OSOMATSU-NIISAN. FG: YOU FUCKING BASTARD. FG: FUCKING FIGHT ME. HD: Oh my god. (－‸ლ) FF: oh hey he’s back. FF: and not slobbering over that idol. FG: NO SHIT. FG: WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING. MM: i thought we just established that i dont think MM: do you have amnesia too MM: along with your severe case of royal tightass-itis HD: What the hell did you do? ｢(ﾟﾍﾟ) MM: slapped him with a dildo ;) FF: perfect. HD: Oh dear god. FG: NOT PERFECT. FG: THAT IS FUCKING DISGRACEFUL. MH: OH, EVERYONE’S HAVING FUN OVER HERE!!!!! HD: Jyushimatsu-niisan, you might want to leave. (❁°͈▵°͈) FG: I WILL END YOU AND YOU WILL BE EXILED EVEN OUT OF HELL. FG: AND THEN I WILL END YOU. FG: AGAIN. FG: YOU WILL BE DOUBLE-DEAD. MM: lmao id like to see you try FG: FUCKING TRY ME. FG: I DARE YOU. FF: i have a cool cat toy you wanna see? MH: KITTY!!!!! HD: Yeah why the heck not. MM: why are you even so fired up about it -- fuckingFurry [FF] shared files -- HD: Ehhh, that’s pretty cool looking! (◕‿◕✿) FG: BECAUSE YOU FUCKING USED THE MOST OBSCENE THING YOU COULD HAVE. MH: IT’S SO INTRICATE!!!!! FF: i know, it’s pretty nice. PP: Hello, my dear brothers! I have finally finished carving my Cruxite Dowel, and I am currently engaged in the action of Alchemizing my Artifact. If I am not interrupting anything, may I inquire over what has occurred in my absence from our lovely gathering for conversation? MM: i mean you wouldnt listen to me MM: and you know ichimatsu asked me to “slap some sense into him.” MM: so i did FG: WITH A FUCKING DILDO. FG: YOU CHOOSE A FUCKING DILDO. FF: i didn't mean that literally you dumbass. MM: ;) PP:...Eh? HD: Karamatsu-niisan, you’re seeing this, right? PP: Yep. MH: AH. MH: BY THE WAY. MM: i mean what else am i going to use MM: your sprite spawns those things all over the place FG: And exactly WHOSE FAULT DO YOU THINK THAT IS?!?!?! -- muscleHustle [MH] shared files -- MH: EVERYONE SAY HI TO ESPKITTYSPRITE!!!!! HD: Ah, ESP Kitty! ( ・ ̫・) FF: nice. MM: lmao take a joke alexfapper graham bell FF: anyways i’m gonna go figure out what i need to do with this cat. FG: WHAT EVEN WERE YOU TRYING TO DO ANYWAYS. FG: DESTROY WHAT DIGNITY I HAVE LEFT??? FG: GIVE ME A BONER??? MH: I NEED TO ENTER THE GAME SOON TOO. HD: Idol otaku have their pride too, you know. MM: that was the plan MM: to give you a boner PP: Perhaps it’s a good idea to postpone our chatting to another time while we all try to enter The Medium in order to escape from our deaths. HD: Agreed. MM: and you got one -- fuckingFurry [FF] logged the fuck out -- -- heartlessDemon [HD] logged the fuck out -- FG: FUCK YOU. -- painfulPrat [PP] logged the fuck out -- -- muscleHustle [MH] logged the fuck out -- FG: I’M DONE. MM: lmao You turn away from your computer and slam your face into your desk. This is too tiring, go be someone else. You're too fed up to deal with anyone else's bullshit.

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