some moments last forever, and some flare out with love, love, love [afterparty]

[visiblepattern]

[So that all sucked really bad, huh.

Forrest had meant what he said about going to the clinic immediately after all of this, getting medical supplies ready and set up on hand to prepare to receive people - Dandy is the primary candidate for this, whether he likes it or not - but before he goes he grabs Rossiu for the briefest moment before sending him on his way. Sure enough, when the note comes in a few minutes it isn't in Forrest's flowing, delicate hand but rather something blockier and incredibly neat. If you've seen Rossiu's handwriting, you'll recognize it: ]

We're having a memorial gathering in the ice cream parlor in an hour. Feel free to attend if you'd like, or if you would prefer to not be alone.
[...It seems like as good a place as any.

There are some things set up, though not terribly many; the tables are set out and are perhaps a bit closer than they normally would be, but go ahead and make yourself some sundaes, pull up a chair, talk to one another, ruminate over whether Jason and Hagakure would have liked this (or whether Vholran wouldn't have, either way) - it's your night, to do what you want with.]

Comments

teen girls suite

[sastruga]

[Mafuyu comes back into the suite just to see Mielle sitting there. And immediately, like it's the most natural thing in the world, goes over to sit.]

Mm... Looks like the book isn't holding your attention very well.

[honeyedtea]

[ Mielle gives her a strained smile – a little less strained than she otherwise might have given someone else, but still. It's not really the sort of day she can manage anything else. ]

I've been doing my best but... well, my head's so full of other things, it's hard to focus.

[sastruga]

I think that's more than fair. Days like this are difficult... I never really know what to do with myself once we all split up and go back to our suites again.

[honeyedtea]

Mm.

[ She lets the smile gradually slide off her face – even for Mafuyu, she's too exhausted to keep it up. ]

It's quite... strange that this has all become so routine. It's not as though I've gotten used to it, exactly... but oddly, I don't find myself so shocked when a Friday comes around and something horrible has happened.

[sastruga]

Mm. I know what you mean. It's been very consistent so far, hasn't it?

[honeyedtea]

It has. ... it's a little frightening, really. When we first arrived here, I didn't want to imagine that anyone around give in, but...

[ Pause. A hard swallow. ]

It makes you wonder just what else everyone could be hiding.

[sastruga]

[Mafuyu pauses as Mielle says that.]

Ah... mm...

I suppose anyone could be hiding anything, huh? I mean, we thought we knew Penelope-san, but... then it turned out she was very different.

[oh my god stop talking]

[honeyedtea]

... mm. I'd even thought that it wasn't very likely for her to be hiding much because she seemed so straightforward but... Any one of us could be hiding anything at all.

[ Her stomach churns a bit. Mafuyu wasn't supposed to become someone she cared about this much - it had been practicality, safety in numbers, to begin with. She can't even pinpoint when things had changed - just that eventually, Mafuyu became someone she needed to have here with her.

If she told Mafuyu even half of the truth, would she be abandoned?

Would she be able to stand that? ]

... Mafuyu. Would you say, by now... that the two of us know each other quite well?

[sastruga]

Ah.

[For a moment there, it's like things are happening in slow motion. Like watching a car crash happening and being unable to stop it. All she can do is sit there and deal with the icy feeling in her stomach.

...She's been losing her head too much in the trials. Just... sometimes in the heat of the moment, she hasn't been able to stop herself from slipping. Even if it had been for Mielle's sake, it still must have been too much... huh?]

Yes, I think so. Well, I like to think we're close to everyone here, of course, but...

You're pretty important to me, Mielle.

[Oh.

She means that, doesn't she?]

[honeyedtea]

[ She manages a smile – or maybe the vague approximation of one, at least. ]

Mm. I'm happy to hear that. Truthfully... I feel the same. I'd always worried that... maybe our staying by each other's sides was more to do with safety or convenience, even by now. But I think the two of us truly have become friends, haven't we?

[ And it's strange – because Mielle thinks that too, with all her heart. It's strange because a girl like her doesn't have friends, not without some expectation of them stabbing you in the back sooner rather than later. And maybe it would be wiser to see it coming in this place, when they've already had so many people willing to throw them away for the sake of escaping, but–

But she just can't imagine it coming from Mafuyu. Or maybe she just doesn't want to. ]

And... when you become friends with someone, true friends... you're supposed to be able to share anything, aren't you?

[sastruga]

[That feeling in her stomach intensifies and it feels almost as if someone is trying to crush her insides. Share anything... that's so much easier said than done, isn't it? Yes... she does think that... they really are friends.

Or whatever that word means to her.

Either way, it surprises her. To think that she could make a friend in a place like this, a real one, when death is lurking around every corner. When any of them could be hiding anything. When she's...]

Ah... Of course. It's important to feel comfortable enough to share first, of course. But... for my part, I'm always open to listen to anything on your mind, Mielle.

[There, that's... that's enough, right? She isn't trying to make Mafuyu say something specific... surely.]

[honeyedtea]

Mm. Yes. It's the same for me. So–

[ The words dry up in her mouth faster than she can say them. She tries a few times, mouthing words she can't bring a voice to before she's forced to try again. She knows the longer she keeps secrets, the more she refuses to tell the truth, the worse things will become if it does eventually come to light. She'll be the worst thing she could possibly be in this place – a liar. Untrustworthy. And it'd be a slippy slope there to ending up executed herself.

Her throat is dry too. Even when she swallows, she isn't able to wet it. But eventually, she manages to make something come out. ]

If... if it turned out that I'd done something bad before coming here... maybe bad enough to deserve being here...

Would you hate me for that, Mafuyu?

[sastruga]

[...Huh.

That isn't what she expected. It's a sudden swerve and suddenly... oh. It's Mielle who's in the car accident -- not her. It's a relief and confusing at the same time. There's a moment where Mafuyu is quiet, probably not helping anyone's nerves any.

It wouldn't be responsible to make a promise like that, without knowing more. But then... then, it's hard to imagine anything making her hate Mielle. Even if she did something awful, she doesn't think she would.

In this case... it also doesn't feel right to give her a fake smile and reassure her like it's no big deal. It is, isn't it? To both of them. Mielle deserves more honesty than that.]

...No.

I wouldn't hate you, Mielle. I promise.

[honeyedtea]

[ She isn't really sure what other answer she'd expected. Mafuyu was a kind girl, wasn't she? She'd probably rush to comfort her, to tell her that whatever it was surely wasn't that bad. And it would be a salve to the wound, it would take some of the sting, but it wouldn't do anything to loosen any of the words caught in Mielle's throat.

That calm, blunt acceptance is different, though. She doesn't think Mafuyu is lying – after all these weeks joined at the hip, she's beginning to get a better sense for when she's fibbing. And she doesn't know if that acceptance would go as far as Mafuyu's saying it would if she ever learned the truth but...

But somehow it reminds her of Obi. Obi gently bundling her up in his cloak and telling her not to run. That he'd believe her, no questions asked, if she chose to trust him. Not that it had done him any good.

Mafuyu isn't a bit like Obi. But right now... Mielle feels like she might be believed in the same way. ]

... What happens to... to criminals where you come from?