Week 3

[bathymetric]

Good morning, New Rapture. A new day is dawning.

It's a strange sort of feeling, waking up on Sunday. Not the least because, well... you fell asleep on Friday, didn't you? Whether you sleep or not, none of you remember Saturday. Everything, by all accounts, seems to be Sunday. Weird.

It's not all bizarre feelings of lost time that you have to show for your efforts, though - it seems that another wing of New Rapture is ready for you. Perhaps there's more information to be found about your situation there... and maybe more about the history of this place, if that interests you.

There are still 23 of you left... Keep getting to know them. There's regains to get, after all!




SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

[ ooc: Welcome to the second week of Unknown Seas Round 3! Please make sure to mark any investigation toplevels accordingly, post your ac, and you can reach either Mayor Fontaine or Eleanor for conversations! ]

Comments

[honeyedtea]

[ She's sat exactly where he left her when he returns, with the only difference being that her hands are now folded carefully in her lap as opposed to gripping onto her hair as she had been. And she looks slightly less like she's about to swoon out of her chair, so we'll call that an improvement.

She doesn't look up when he approaches, instead keeping her head ducked, as if not quite trusting herself to meet his gaze – but eventually, she does speak up. ]

... I shouldn't have... made such a scene.

[kninja]

To be fair, Princess, I started it.

[Because he's a hooligan, but a gentle one, he crouches on the floor in front of her instead of taking a seat like a normal person.]

...I won't ask you what that was about, but... if you wanna tell me anything, I'll believe you. There'll be no additional questions out of me.

[honeyedtea]

[ Mielle stares down at him – her eyes are a little overbright, both with the promise of tears and something else. The words are crowding up in her throat, desperate to come out, but there's a voice in her head reminding her – above all else, remain composed. Don't make a scene. Don't lose your temper. Behave with the dignity and composure of a noble at all times, even if your heart is shattered, even if you've been thrown to the dirt and kicked while you were down there, even and especially when you're so angry and so afraid that not even words are enough to express it–

But Obi says he'll believe her. With no further questions asked. When was the last time anyone believed Mielle Roscent when she tried to tell them the truth?

She opens her mouth. Closes it.

Opens it again. ]

If it's long enough– and the cut is clean– they bind it in ribbon. The gather the hair and bind it in ribbon.

[ Her voice is low, raspy, as if she's sharing a shameful secret. ]

After an execution.

[kninja]

[Obi's eyes widen. His imagination didn't take him all the way to this conclusion. How her hands had flown to her neck, what she'd screamed at the first day's meeting, he'd clocked those things and started to wonder how her claim she'd died might be true. An execution, and everything that goes with it--the "they," the formality, the knowledge of what's coming--that's so much worse than he expected. The cold horror of it drops into his stomach, though he fights to keep it off his face.

He breathes and swallows.]

...I believe you.

[He promised he wouldn't ask questions. He has plenty, many of them outraged and horrified, but he keeps the word he gave her. What he says instead, in a low, steely voice, is:]

We won't let that happen to you here.

[honeyedtea]

[ It takes a moment for the words to sink down and really settle in her mind - but when they do, she makes a soft, involuntary noise of surprise, as if that'd been the last thing, the very last thing she'd expected to hear. And it's not as though the others have been unkind to her or that this is the first time Obi has spoken to her so gently but-

When was the last time anyone told her they believed what she had to say?

She throat pinches tight and she squeezes her eyes shut to try and give herself a moment to regain her composure, but all that does is make a stream of tears spill out and down her cheeks. ]

I was so afraid- when we first woke here- I wanted to believe I'd been saved somehow, that someone cared to give me a second chance and then to hear I had been brought just to die again... I couldn't bear it...!

[kninja]

[While he’s a knight, he’s no gentleman, and so he doesn’t have a handkerchief on hand to offer. Instead, Obi unbuckles the small cape he wears and wraps it gently around her shoulders, like the square of fabric might help hold her together.]

I know. It’s gotta be terrifying for you, huh?

[She can use the edge of the cape to wipe her tears. It’s surely seen worse. In the meantime, Obi returns his hands to his knees.]

But whatever the circumstances, what’s true is that you’re alive with everyone else, here and now. And while I can’t speak for everybody, I know I don’t intend to just let this so-called Mayor kill us off. We all gotta help each other out, you know?

[honeyedtea]

[ It's far from proper to use someone else's clothes to wipe her face with – but it's even worse to let Obi see her in such a state. She presses the corner of the cape to her eyes, trying to both hide her crumpling expression and to dry her tears. ]

Y–yes... ever since I arrived here... you and the others have all been so kind.

[ She manages, with some heroic effort, to not sniffle into his poor cape. ]

But then with everything that happened on Friday... I just... It made me so afraid again.

[kninja]

That's natural. It's scary stuff we're dealing with. It's even worse when you remember hurting and being so scared before. That's what pain and fear teach us--what we're supposed to run away from, so it can't hurt us again.

[Here we go, life lessons from a sketchy ninja knight man.]

But sometimes, you can't run. Do you know what to do then?

[honeyedtea]

[ She makes a thin, wet noise – maybe an aborted laugh – and shakes her head. ]

No. I don't. I think... running is all I've ever been good at.

[kninja]

...Hah, maybe My Lady back home would appreciate me saying it like this.

[He holds up one finger. For once, he's deadly serious.]

The only antidote to fear is doing something about what you're afraid of. You don't hafta do it alone, especially if you're not sure what can be done. Two heads are almost always better than one.

But anything else--hiding, or pretending nothing's wrong--is just a temporary salve.

[honeyedtea]

[ Mielle lets out a hard breath, like a soft hah. Doing something she's afraid of – he really makes it sound so easy. But then again... a lot of things in this place have been easier than she expected. Easier than back home, at least. Which is the part that's been so frightening. The others have been so kind, so gentle with her. So what will happen when they're done with being kind?

She doesn't voice that thought, though, instead going back to wiping at her eyes. The flow of tears has eased now and all that's left is the embarrassing traces left behind. ]

This Lady of yours... sounds quite wise.

[ She manages a smile. It's a fragile, uncertain thing but it's certainly better than her tears. ]

Maybe I could stand to be a little wiser as well.

[kninja]

[Definitely better. Obi smiles, too.]

She's at least as reckless as me, honestly. That's why Master has me look after her. Even though she's had good reason to be afraid of the world, she keeps her eyes open and always on the path ahead of her, come what may.

[He seems to catch himself, and his smile takes on a slight, self-aware wryness.]

It's part of why I'm so fond of My Lady. Hard not to admire someone like that, right? I'm sure we could all stand to be a little more like her in one way or another.