hey mom, dead mom, i need a little help here

[nothingcanstop]

[ ...All of that happened, huh. That's the sentiment each and every week, and it's no different this time. Except, this time they've lost more people than before. Five.

The gathering invitation is slipped under everyone's doors, but it specifies something a little different. ]



[ That's a good two hours or so of difference. Enough time to wander around, for sure.

But, in the garden, at the appointed time, there's a variable arrangement of fresh-cooked food. A good amount of beef stew, some Chinese hot pot, and...watermelon? Just, an absurd amount of watermelon, cut up and set on plates. All the food's set on tables that seem to have been moved from the library, and the ground is littered with blankets, for those who don't want to sit on the grass.

And yes, she did not lie. There is, indeed, a variable fuckton of alcohol. (And coffee, for our underaged.)

This has become routine. But, we're still here. We're still alive. ]

Comments

[valentinus]

[ There was a pause as he gazed around to properly assess some of the items that had been assembled in the area before looking back at her. ]

I'm not one for parties or anything, but...

[ ... ]

Whose idea was it first?

[mouflon]

I mean, Rhea's the one who came up with the idea first, isn't she?

[ There's a... sardonic note in Rin's voice, but. ]

But if you mean the details of this one, I'm not sure. Della asked me to help out, so you can probably blame her.

[valentinus]

I wasn't very good at keeping up with who did it first, on account of never really attending any before now.

[ He absolutely avoided them like the plague. ]

I won't blame anyone for it. Anyone who helped put this together seemed to have put in a lot of effort.

[mouflon]

...Ugh, look, I'm not going to get on your case about staying or whatever. It's not like I've been especially present at all of them, or if I was, it was only because what happened didn't affect me all that much.

But... There are barely any of us left. Now more than ever, we need to stick together.

[valentinus]

You're right.

[ Beat. ]

...That's why even I can appreciate this a little.

[ He's not sure if that's the right word, but he was making it clear he wasn't here to rain on their parade, so to speak. ]

[mouflon]

Try the hot pot. I didn't spend all that time cutting food up for no one to eat it.

[ ...The dry tone is back, which suggests that's a joke! Anyway, more seriously: ]

I'm not saying we all need to be buddy-buddy with each other. God knows that I'm not. But none of us are going to make it out if we can't come together as a group for a couple of hours.

[valentinus]

I don't—

[ Then he realized a tad bit belatedly that she was joking and then left it as is.

He really wasn't good with people. Though given his extreme antisocial tendencies, that probably was rather obvious. ]

No. I suppose not.

Though, I think we've been managing that with the meetings too...somewhat.

[mouflon]

That's true. I just don't know if I would call those a... team-building exercise.

[ Well, they are and they aren't. It's apples and oranges, so far as Rin is concerned. ]

[valentinus]

They may as well be. We'd be more...disorganized without them—lost, even.

[ He remembered this week's multiple body pile up. Would there have been more if they hadn't been coming together? Would it have happened sooner when there were other serious motives if not for these parties or meetings? ]

[mouflon]

Well, yeah. That much is obvious. Even Birkin has said that they're as much about keeping morale up as anything.

[ Though... She wonders. If finally feels like things are starting to shift — and isn't there a saying about things getting worse before they get better? ]

...How much time do you think we have left, now?

[valentinus]

Not forever. If we're going by numbers, a couple weeks.

We'll either come up with something to use in our situation, or ... we'll all meet our ends soon as an eventuality to one another.

[ How many of them were left could now be counted easily on both hands. ]

[mouflon]

[ Rin hums out a sound. Kind of tired, kind of amused. ]

Just like the Professor said, huh? If we keep going at this rate, we'll be gone in just two weeks.

But I don't plan on dying here. Call me naive, but I can't accept that, after everything.

[valentinus]

[ ... ]

I can't let the Professor get away with what he's done. I want to see with my own eyes him paying for what he's done, and I won't accept anything else.

[ It's said quietly, but defiantly with his own air of stubbornness. It's a sudden fire that rose to the surface that's always been there but hidden. ]

If your words are considered naive...then my own might be thought of as the same. Or foolish.

But, I think in the end there's nothing wrong with either of them.

[mouflon]

Thanks. I'm glad to hear it.

I think most of us here feel something like that, one way or the other. Either we can't kill but we don't want to die, or we have something we want that's worth surviving for. That's why we've lasted as long as we have.

[valentinus]

...No need for thanks.

[ An almost smile made its way to his face, though. ]

There must be something to it. But, it's not like I'm unused to struggling against difficulty.

[mouflon]

I mean, same here. Being what I am, a lot of the time it's just me and my wits against the world.

[ Sometimes, there are other people with her. But it hasn't been that way for months now. Even before all this...

The rhythm of it isn't unlike the Holy Grail War, she realizes now. Every week, they all step into an elevator and let it carry them down to a battle that will determine their fate. And, every week, she has come out on top or die.

Just two more weeks. Just like the Holy Grail War. One way or another— ]

But I said thanks because I wanted to, Valentine. Don't worry, I'm not polite enough to do it out of obligation.

[valentinus]

Mm, being 'what' you are...?

[ Maybe there was a little tilt of his head at that. That said, it's been a long while anyone had said or expression any sort of gratitude to him. It felt like such a foreign thing. ]

...Alright, but I can't remember the last time someone's called me by my last name.

Just Vincent is fine.

[ Even if before he hadn't made it exactly a policy to get close to people, he kind of would like to hear people say his first name. Or at least, some of the remaining people here. It made him feel more human than what he really was. ]

[mouflon]

[ congratulations, Vincent, you are literally the first person here to actually ask that Rin use your given name ]

Is- Is it really? We're all just... We're just working partners, so I thought...

I... I'm a mercenary, you know! [ among other things, but ] Whenever I had a temporary partnership with someone, we just...!

[ Kept things formal. Maybe. ]

[valentinus]

[ And to think he had no idea...well, this was probably only even happening because his social skills were definitely out of practice. ]

...?

We just what?

[mouflon]

It's a formality...!

[ The word squeaks out. ]

We should all be trying not to get too attached or anything, right?!

[ rin you were literally JUST SAYING how you all need to be a cohesive group at this point-- ]

[valentinus]

I suppose it can be, but...

[ And this was why his expression managed to look even more confused.

He's too blunt to not point it out. ]

...That sounds like the opposite of what you were implying not too long ago.

[mouflon]

Eh, really?! B, but, being a team and getting all buddy-buddy with each other are two different things...!

[valentinus]

[ i can't believe it took literally six weeks for cultural shock to be a thing ]

...I guess. Sorry, I'm just used to...things working a little differently in a team.

[mouflon]

I mean—!

[ ugh!!! ]

I'm not saying that teams can't be like that. Sometimes, it's... It's okay to have a relationship like that, when you've worked with someone for a long time and trust them. But... It's a stupid idea to get attached here, isn't it?!

[valentinus]

...I don't see how using my first name means you're attached or holding a deeper relationship. Though, I haven't really done anything to get close to anyone here, so...

[ He'll frown, the confusion still there. Well, it was just a simple request. But, he did feel like he was missing something, though part of him just says that maybe it's fine this way too.

He'll pause, wondering again at her words. ]

I suppose it doesn't matter to me all that much in the end.