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

[bolderfell]

I know.

[He's quick to say that--maybe a little too quick--but Anna isn't just a fresh wound. She struck a blow against all those old hurts that never healed right, that had already begun to crack and bleed as this place twisted at him.

Couldn't he have said the same thing, just four weeks ago? '...Because if I didn't throw them away, they'd betray me too!' When did that change? What started it? How many hands was he given, and whose didn't he take?

After giving himself a moment, he lets out a small, wry chuckle and meets Rin's gaze again.]

Damn. Look at us. You didn't mean to get attached, either, did you? But here we are.

[mouflon]

Of course I didn't. [ She makes it sound like a stupid question, and her face colors. ] But this isn't Anna's GRANBELM. [ My Holy Grail War, she means, but everyone she's spoken to about that is already gone. ] There's no reason that trusting someone here should be like asking for a knife in the back. The only reason it is is because people keep refusing to take each other's hands.

[ ... ]

God, I sound like an idiot right now. But we've always had a better chance of getting out of here together than we did separately, and... Maybe trusting someone without caring about them is a lot to ask for.

[bolderfell]

[She does sound like an idiot, a little. At least to Therion. But he can't say anything about it, because he's been sliding into this sentimental foolishness inch by painful inch since the very first day.]

...Or trying to care without trusting. [He inclines his head. That's his own confession to ass-backwards emotional investment in the group.] This is one hell of a mess, but you're right. We've always needed to work together. Even I recognized that.

[After a moment, without fanfare, he offers his empty palm. A handshake.]

Here's to... hands, or whatever.

[mouflon]

You don't have to draw attention to how stupid it sounds...

[ She grumbles. But, still, she takes his hand. ]

[bolderfell]

[And shake.]

Nah. I've got to be me.