faceless man counting crumpled bills // OPEN

[nothinglikea]

Who: Rose Dawson and you?
What: Event shenanigans
When: April 8th-15th
Where: Gaze

Content Warnings: possible underage drinking, hypnosis, hopelessness, monsters, potential for instant beasthood, corruption, draining of soul

Comments

[nothinglikea]

Rose's brow furrowed slightly as she wondered why she was being distracted from the butterflies. They were so beautiful and strange, even as she felt worse and worse somehow looking at them. But she could still feel that tap on her shoulder, her arm being taken so that she was looking at someone else.

She found herself saying distantly "Ah. I suppose they'd have to be, wouldn't they? Even beauty comes with a catch." And she thought for a moment about what that might mean in the future. "Thank you. I owe you a favor."

[undermoonlight]

Atsushi's shoulders sunk with relief once they'd made eye contact. With a weak smile, he waved his own hand to dismiss her thanks. "It's fine. We have to look out for each other here, right?"

It seemed like too small of a thing for him to accept a favor over. Cautiously, he lifted his gaze to take a peek at the giant butterfly that had landed. It was amazing how light they were, despite their huge size.

"Compared to some other things, they're quite gentle." He looked back at Rose, "My name is Atsushi Nakajima. Are you, uh. Feeling okay? You were staring pretty intently."

[nothinglikea]

She could see the relief in his posture and felt rather bad for making him feel tense in the first place. But wasn't that something she'd discussed with Argonaut, that she shouldn't feel as though she had to make excuses for her feelings? (Well, she conversed. Argonaut mainly stared at her with those wide, wise eyes as she unloaded on him.)

To her, it's not. Currency in favors and owed debts were at least as good as actual currency she'd come from. Granted, she's thoroughly pleased to be away from her world and finds the local system of currency adorable, hilarious, and reassuring depending on her mood. Jack would like it. Cal would raise such a stink, he'd bring the combined wrath of Trench down on him.

"They are. Despite this endless night, I find myself...almost enjoying this month's antics? They're a pleasant relief after last month, that much is certain." For one thing, seeing mushrooms everywhere got old fast. Having mushrooms grow from her skin? Terrifying. "Yes, I guess I feel okay enough. The unexpected beauty, it took me to another place."

"I'm glad to meet you, Atsushi. I'm Rose Dawson."

[undermoonlight]

"It says something that this month is enjoyable. How long have you been here, Ms Dawson?" Not to say that she's wrong. Rose has a very solid point that these gentle butterflies are, well, gentle compared to some of the other events in the Trench. He's hoping that she missed out on the month of abductions and blood sacrifices.

"I agree that the butterflies don't seem to intend any harm, if that's what you mean. They just have an unfortunate... side effect, I guess?"

[nothinglikea]

"Well, it is. All things considered. And, let's see...when I first arrived, it was near to Valentine's Day. A holiday I had little patience with in my world and even less here." But, what if Jack had arrived with her? Then she'd have the merriest of Valentine's Days. And there's always time for those two things, it's only a matter of time.

"Yes, that seems to be the lot of it. They don't mean to be harmful, they need hope. So do we. It's just that their hope and our hope can't necessarily coexist, despite any hopes to the contrary."

[undermoonlight]

"That's certainly a kind way to look at it..." And it makes Atsushi feel guilty for being so hostile towards the butterflies. Rose has a point: They need hope just as much as anyone. It's more sad than anything that they are forced to take something so precious.

He decides not to tell her about any of the events prior to February. Instead, Atsushi smiles lightly and nods in understanding. While he enjoyed his Valentines Day, he remembers when it was a day that served to remind him of unpleasant things.

"But still: Are you feeling any better now that you're not looking at it? Whether they need hope or not, you still need yours... It's kind of important here, honestly."

[nothinglikea]

"I suppose so?," she said, wondering if she was being naive again. Despite being on-guard for just about every option where she was from, the future brought about even more options to be leery of and she couldn't be on guard all the time. It would slowly wear away at her until only madness remained.

She'd heard whispers and rumors about previous days, days dating back to those of the Dream. But most people weren't willing to go into too much detail, which she had to respect. After all, she was nowhere near ready to tell her own truth and knew it may take months and months to get ready.

"Yes, I'm feeling better. It's too bad that we can't seem to coexist with the butterflies, but if there's no way, there's no way." And she considered a moment before she asked "How long have you been away from home?"

[undermoonlight]

"There might be no harm in them flying through, right? As long as they don't stay." Atsushi had always wanted to see a butterfly migration when he was a child. It was a natural occurrence, if not a bit inconvenient, and it wasn't like the butterflies would stay here forever.

He smiled at her answer, only to have that smile lessen when asked about how long he'd been there. "Over half a year now? I was in the nightmare town prior too. Has anyone told you about that place? But in total, maybe two years..?"

[nothinglikea]

"I hope you're right. They seem almost like sirens, impossible to ignore their call once it's heard. Or seen, in their case." She'd never heard of anything like butterfly migration before. If she thought about it, she'd have to realize that the butterflies did go somewhere since it wasn't like there were a lot of butterfly remains once summer turned to fall.

"They have, a little. That it was a girl's dream and there was...no way out, other than to do her a harm." 1912 phraseology again. But it sounded better than "murdered." But, two years! "How does one cope with something odd happening, one month after another?"