paradisa | 19th slide

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wade welles

19th slide

So apparently I don't even need the castle to help me forget that I've been here over a year now...

[This comes with a lot of feelings for Wade, most of which are melancholy, but she hates to dwell on those feelings. Sitting here crying won't send her home or reunite her with her friends. She has to look on the bright side.]

I haven't lived in one place for this long in...well, a long time. Seems like a whole lifetime ago, sometimes.

But anyway, happy anniversary to me, huh? [The sarcasm and denial is thick in her voice.]

I wished up a cake. You're all welcome to some. Otherwise I'm going to be severely tempted to eat it all myself. [Because crying isn't productive, but she can sure as hell eat her feelings instead. Booze will probably come later]

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...Cake?

[Sweets? Anna's always up for that. Helping someone get their feelings out is always a plus too.]

I like cake! Especially if it's chocolate. I mean, I wouldn't mind some if that's okay with you of course.

I'm Anna, by the way. I... haven't been here very long. Only a week or two! I'm still learning about the place.

[ He doesn't respond for the cake, although it may seem that way. ]

What kind of cake?

Where is it?

[Part of her is suspicious, because Boogeyman, but hey...]

Dining room. I'm there right now.

Angelfood. With strawberries.

Are you going to take the cake with you when you leave?

It's not chocolate, but I could ask for some if you'd like.

[She's cutting a piece right now, and there's the distant sound of a knife scraping on a plate.]

Well, Anna, you'll maybe get a chance to learn. Some people stay here a long time and some people don't. But, uh, I'm in the dining room, if you'd like to join me. It's right on the first floor. By the kitchen. Can't miss it.

Depends on how much I end up eating. [Roughly equivalent with how many feelings she's pretending not to have today]

Hmmmm.

[Cake is kind of an appealing idea. Pitch doesn't have to eat, but he will on occasion, and there really isn't any food that he dislikes.

What he doesn't like is interacting with depressed or upset people. He doesn't gain anything from it-- unless there's also fear mixed in there, of course.]

I'll be by in a few hours.

If you want. [Wade never stays down for long, but she's taking her time to wallow]

What kind of cake do you like? [Because honestly she hadn't really associated Pitch with cake in her head and it's mildly amusing]

[Rise's still reeling a little herself from how easily the castle just hit the reset button on everybody. It was quite a reminder... of who she was when she first came here. Who she'll probably be again when she gets sent back.

But if anything, it just made her recovered memories of life here that much more important. At least, for now, while she still has them. And Wade is one of the most important people she has left in the castle.]

... Are you in the dining room? I could be there in a few minutes.

[The cake is tempting and all, but being there for Wade is the most important part.]

[Hearing Rises's voice brings a tiny smile to her face even in her funk. She has friends here too.]

Yeah, I'm there. Plenty of seats free.

No preference.

[And true to his word, he will be there eventually... though he'll linger in the doorway first, looking to see if she's still in there.]

[ ... All right, he may now be responding for cake. ]

Are you sure it's angelfood? Because that sounds tempting enough to be named something else entirely.

It's only a wayside, Wade. Your visit here. I know it's not easy, being held in one place for so long.

[She laughs]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure. It's what I wished for.

[She pauses to nibble on a strawberry]

I know. I mean...I hope so. It's not it does feel like my life used to be sometimes. Always some trouble to deal with. Always someone to save. Always something new to discover...

[Wade is in fact long gone, but there might be a large piece of cake set aside for him under a glass bell jar with a small note next to it that reads - "For Mr. Boogeyman"]

[HE COOL. He can't take it through shadows and doesn't feel like walking all the way back to his room, so he'll just stand here and eat it. Thanks, Wade.]

Great! Make sure to save me one!

[Her sudden cheerfulness is kind of artificial, but it's for a good reason. She really wants Wade to cheer up!

It doesn't take long before she slips into the dining room. Before Wade can even notice her coming, she's pouncing to claim the seat next to her.]

Hey.

[She gives Wade an encouraging smile, but doesn't say anything else. She'll let Wade handle the direction any conversation begins. Or just be here for her, if that's all she needs.

She's totally going to help herself to some of that cake, though. Like she'd ever let Wade eat the whole thing! She'd ruin her figure! ~~Can't say the girl doesn't have priorities...~~]

No, no! That's okay. Any cake is good with me!

Sure, I'd love to join you! I'd love to hear all about this place. [Any mention of sweets is the best way to get her anywhere.]

Well, I'm not as much of an encyclopedia about the castle as some people are, but I'll do what I cam. [Sweets works on most people, she's discovered]

[She smiles at Rise as soon as she looks up, and there's a spark of brightness there under the melancholy she's trying to hide. She hands Rise a fork as the other girl is cutting herself a piece]

Hey. How've you been?

[ It's a melancholy smile he makes at his end of the journal. ] Almost like a home from home. I think you and I have some things in common.

Where can I find you before you eat all of that cake?

Dining room. Close to the entrance. Can't miss me.

Excellent. I'm on my way. [ Journal softly closed and a few minutes later, in he comes. He has something with him though, a bottle of wine. It's probably very, very old. ]

Hello. You are over twenty-one, aren't you?

Twenty-three, thank you. [Said with a faked indignant tone, set off by a slight smile]

[ His mouth twists into a smile he tries to suppress and does badly at. ] Good. In that case, a gift for your anniversary. [ He sets the bottle down but doesn't open it. ] A little dusty, but stored right and perfectly acceptable to drink.

[ He sits down at the table. ]A year, then. It's a long time.

Thank you. [She does sound genuinely grateful as she pulls the bottle closer to get a better look at]

I guess I'd probably be twenty-four now that I think about it. It just doesn't feel real. Then again, I lost track of time alot when we were sliding too...

You're welcome.

Yes, I can imagine the difficulties. It's funny how people still mark birthdays, anniversaries and time passing when really, it's not. Not in relation to where we came from at least; we're not ageing. We all need something to mark by. I mark time better when I keep moving. Doing things slowly, in the right order... it's a bit boring, really.

[She chuckles a little] True, but I there are some days...a lot of days...that I miss boring. Normal. [Her smile widens just a bit, however, though there's a bittersweet feel to it] It was craving something different that got me into sliding into the first place.

[She looked up at Five] What makes you think time isn't moving here?

[She smiles as she accepts the offered fork, and gets her own slice of the cake onto a plate.]

Honestly? Still kinda shaken up. I've been here so long, I forgot what it was like at first...

[She hums thoughtfully, pausing to take a bite.]

How about you? ... Sounded like you're used to moving around a lot, huh?

You could say that, yeah. [She poked at her cake a little]

Before I showed up in the castle, me and a group of friends were traveling parallel dimensions.

[Rise may not be much for sci-fi stuff, but she's heard enough in this place that she can put it together well enough.]

So... you're used to going to totally different worlds?

[That sounds like it must be hard. Just being taken here was weird enough, she can't imagine going to all sorts of different worlds.]

... I guess this is the longest you've ever stayed in one without them, huh?

[She can definitely relate there. It's been a long time since any of her friends from home have been in the castle.]

[She nodded, solemnly]

Yeah. We were pretty much everything to each other. We kind of had to be, since we actually haven't been able to get back to our own universe. It was such a stupid mistake...

[Feeling the tears coming despite herself, she bites her lip]

[Oh... she can kind of relate there, minus the travelling to different worlds. Her friends back home were the first friends she ever really had, and she treasured her time with them so much. She was lucky enough to have some of them in the castle for a while, but it's been a long time since then...

Forget the cake for now, she's scooting her chair over next to Wade. Draping an arm around the other woman, she hugs herself closer, leaning her head on Wade's shoulder. Partially because she wants to comfort her, but also because thinking about how much she misses her friends made her want a little comforting herself.]

I... I miss my friends a lot, too...

[Come to think of it...]

... It's probably been about a year since I saw some of them. I'm not even sure anymore.

[So maybe she can relate to a lot of what Wade's going through. Even with how different their situations were before the castle.]

[That was about all it took. Wade started to sob, though quietly, wrapping her other arm around Rise.]

I'm sorry...

[She meant as much for Rise's situation as she was for crying all over her]

Sometimes...I forget I have friends here too. It's just...hard...

[Apologies are completely unnecessary... Rise's cried all over Wade before, it's only fair that it'd happen the other way around at least once.

Wherever this conversation goes, she's perfectly content to settle into the hug for now.]

Me too...

I mean, I've always had Sugar-chan to look after! But... it's weird. Not seeing anyone from home for a really long time, and then when people here start leaving...

[She wonders if she should be used to that by now. But then... would she really want to be used to losing people like that?]

It gets really hard to keep making new friends sometimes, doesn't it? But what else can we do...?

[She's holding on to Wade even tighter now, almost as if she's afraid she'll disappear too. Subconsciously, maybe she is...]

[She laughs through the tears, a little bitterly, but genuine all the same]

I know what you mean. In a way...I was kind of used to it when I was sliding. Except I expected it, and we were the ones leaving, not the other way around.

[Rise just sits there quietly for a moment. Still hugging onto Wade. Finally, she sighs again.]

... Was it easier?

I keep thinking it would be... if we knew when people had to leave. But...

[It's not like she'd miss them any less. Would it really make a difference?]

[Wade sighed as well and pulled back just a little so could wipe her cheek with the palm of her hand]

Sometimes it was. Heh, I think, early one, we tried to take a lot of people with us. That never really ended well.

It's gotta be hard, going to another world... even if you really want to escape.

[She's thought about this more than once. Some friends she's made here, she's almost wished she could go to their worlds with them. She knows she has friends waiting for her back home, but the longer she spends here without them, the more distant they seem. Even though none of them will ever know she was gone.

Suddenly, she gives a quiet, almost sad chuckle.]

This place really gets to you, huh? You end up thinking about all kinds of crazy things...

[A sort of smile tugged at the corner of Wade's lips]

Yeah, I guess so. It's funny that I'd been starting to think lately that we'd never find a way back to our own world, and that maybe it'd be better if we just picked a nice world and stayed there - and here I am stuck here. Not forever maybe, but it feels like it sometimes.

But I'm really glad I met you...[She gives Rise a soft squeeze]

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19th slide

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