deercountry | October 2021 Event Overflow

[Blue brooks no resistance to being ushered away from the rows of graves, from the unpleasant stink of the monster felled nearby. he puts a hand on his lion's shoulder and starts along, unfortunately not able to set the fastest pace, but he's still a bit wired by adrenaline, so he can stay upright and make it to the lantern without much trouble.

Yuri's words give him pause, though. his second chance...]

That's true. This place...even when it's...fraught like this. It's still...a chance to live a life no other Mu has.

What comes after is...something to worry about later, isn't it.

I'd say so. I dunno if we can know it. I mean, yeah. Irene was here, but that doesn't mean we all will be.

[ He shakes his head, looking up into the sky as they walk. Yuri keeps his pace slow to match Blue's, the Mu flanked on all sides by the lion, Yuri, and Repede. ]

This place is kind of a second chance, isn't it?

[ He's been thinking a lot about it, recently, that no one knows his past, here. No one knows what he did, except Flynn. He doesn't have to tell anyone if he doesn't want to. He doesn't have to be branded as a murderer, here. ]

Is that...something you want, Yuri?

[that pensive aura is hard to miss, and it gives Blue cause to glance his way, even as a lantern's light can be discerned through the fog ahead of them.

he won't give voice to those marauding memories that he'd gleaned upon their first encounter; those are Yuri's memories, and they weren't given freely.]

[ Yuri shrugs a shoulder, not returning his gaze. He doesn't want to think about it, right now. Things were fine back home. Good, even. Sure, they had a lot of work to do, but he'd been pardoned, Flynn had forgiven him, accepted what he'd done. The world was moving on, but that blood is still on his hands. Ragou, Cumore, Lambert. Now, Diluc. ]

I dunno. Maybe. Don't have any choice now, do we.

[they slow to a stop before the lanterns and the strange little ghouls writhing at its base. here Blue fixes Yuri with a more careful look - that piercing gaze he gets when he's searching for more than just surface-level things.]

There are still choices we have to make. Time...will move no matter what we choose. But our lives...can change based on what we decide.

We're here for now...and we don't know what doors will open in the future. The way doors...opened for the dreamers who preceded us.

There's still...a lot you can have a say in, even in this place, Yuri.

[ Blue can see under Yuri's facade that he's afraid, afraid of his own choices, of what he'll do, what he's done, when given the choice. He's made hard choices, choices that he had to do, to save others from hurt, but so many of those choices hurt others, too. They hurt his friends, they hurt Flynn, and most keenly: they hurt himself. He's torn up, aching, pained from the choices he's made. He's taken on that hurt so others don't have to, and it's all building, built, up inside of him.

But, of course, he doesn't say any of that. ]

I guess.

[ He holds a hand out for Blue so they can take the lantern home, together. He just wants to be home, now, to put his effort into something useful, like cooking or taking care of Repede.

But maybe Blue deserves more than that as an answer. When they land outside of their little cottage, he sighs and goes on: ]

I've never been great at figuring out what I want to do. Flynn, he always knew exactly what it was. I just... do stuff. When it happens. But aside from that? [ He can't help feeling left behind, a lot of the time. Directionless ] I dunno. It's hard to choose.

[Blue's gaze seems unrelenting, even with that lapse caused by their change of location. unrelenting, unchanging while he takes in the frustrations being carefully vetted and doled out for him to perceive. Yuri's far more controlled and wary with his emotions, even if Flynn's conditioned himself in self-restraint, too. it's just a different context, different purpose.

there's a lot more guild gilding these cages, when it comes to Yuri.

after a beat of silence, Blue squeezes Yuri's hand, not letting it go even as he turns to let himself be guided into the cottage.]

It's...never as exact as it seems from the outside. And the choices we make...are rarely ones we make alone.

You won't have to worry about that part. [deciding things alone.]

...no. I guess not.

[ How often will he have to learn that lesson? That he doesn't have to, and shouldn't, do it alone? He tried for so long, to be the strong one, to take on things so others don't have to, and yet again and again his friends would offer to help, would get angry at him for trying to do it alone.

Blue is saying the same thing, even though they've only known each other a few short months. He lets Blue keep ahold of him as they head into the house. He feels exhausted, the chase and the ghost and the fight taking it out of him, and the leads them to the living room so he can slump down on the couch ]

Hey, Blue? If I start making stupid choices, call me out.

[ He doesn't exactly know what makes him say it, but he can just imagine Estelle's pout and Karol's concern and Judy's placid disapproval if he started doing stupid shit here, too. Flynn will try to keep him in line, but in his own, Flynn-way. But Blue? Blue is steady, he makes measured decisions, he's not a hot head like Yuri and Flynn are.

Yuri trusts him, and he wants Blue to be able to trust that Yuri won't make those stupid decisions that might endanger Blue, too ]

[considering everything that's happened in such a short span of time, Blue knows the moment he sits down somewhere, he's not moving for a while. not without help, anyway. so it may as well be somewhere safely out of the way...

that's why instead of sitting beside Yuri, Blue just draws near, keeping a hand on the lion. the other reaches over and sets atop Yuri's head in an affectionate manner.]

Will you do the same for me, then?

[ Yuri's first instinct is to throw him off. He tenses under the touch and is poised to duck out from under his hand, but this is Blue, and they're both tired, and it's... kind of sweet. He smiles up at Blue, even though he does take Blue's hand off of him ]

Yeah. I will. Dunno how likely that seems.

[it's just a seemingly simple exchange, but previously-forged bonds are a reinforced just that much more for it. were there not that layer of trust and awareness, he'd flinch from having his gesture dismissed that swiftly, smile or not. as it stands...]

You've known me for but...a little time. [as it stands, he can still smile.] Not enough time to...be making those choices.

For now, will you help me up the stairs?

I like to think I'm a good judge of character.

[ He pushes himself back up with a sigh, offering Blue an arm. He isn't fully aware that pushing him off might have hurt him at all. He just... doesn't love being touched, not in ways he doesn't choose, but an arm to help Blue walk, he can do ]

Sure. Need some time to recover after... all that.

[right...'all that.'

Blue silently takes Yuri's arm, silently works his way up the stairs with his help. each step feels heavier than the next, and more than simply because of gravity. he's...exhausted. riding on the fumes of Yuri's own heightened state of mind has well passed, the both of them exhausted. as the weight of it starts to settle in, 'all that' starts...to feel less and less like the dream it was along the way.]

This...really is real. Isn't it...

The ghost? Yeah. That was real.

[ Yuri walks slowly with him, his eyes flicking to Blue as they reach his room ]

All the other shit? Real, too. I dunno want to tell you, Blue. This place, weird stuff's happening to us.

[Blue's gaze is still ahead, taking note of the room. a bed. his bed? but not the one he'd known for centuries.

still his, though.]

And we go on. Even now. [he breathes out a soft note, moving again.] To wake up...in this place to another day.

How strange.

Yeah.

[ It is weird. Really weird, but Yuri doesn't stop to think about it often. He can't change anything, so why bother thinking about it? Maybe it's not the healthiest thing to do, but it's what he's been doing.

He helps Blue sit down on the bed, but doesn't move away yet. ]

Strange to think-- you know, I spent almost my entire life in Zaphias. I only left about a year ago, and now I might never see it again.

[Blue exhales slowly, as sitting down is what finally saps away the remains of all that adrenaline and energy he'd been able to hold onto for so long. he can't even put up a fight to keep his eyes open, head tilting down as his hands fall away from Yuri's arm.]

In memories. And dreams... The place...all things go. [until they're found again, or...or maybe something different. something Irene knows, not them.]

[ Yuri watches him for a long moment. He looks so much younger, peaceful, sitting like this. ]

Yeah. At least we have that.

You rest, I'll make some food.

[ He hesitates just a moment longer, then steps out of Blue's room to leave him be. ]

October 2021 Event Overflow

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject