the ninety-fifth; and death i think is no parenthesis

[gunslinger]

[Acquaintances of Freya]

I've been taking the time to check all over, because...she really is the type to run off if she thought it was best, and nameplates can be removed by human hands. But I've looked everywhere I could think of, and someone reliable's confirmed that Freya's no longer in Paradisa. She left the same day the babies did.

[ So that was a very depressing night for Jr. thank goodness for Ino's bosom. ]

Sorry I don't have better news. [ Since he's pretty sure she went back to uh die...but he'll just keep that tidbit to himself. ]

[/Acquaintances of Freya]

[Allen Walker]

Hey man... We need to talk.

[/Allen Walker]

[Reno Browne]

Something unexpected happened. I know you probably won't respond to this, since you've gotten so good at the avoidance game, but Harper's here. I need to know if he's the same guy, and if that means you guys can just... Or is he an alternate version of himself?

I need to know. Could this happen to you? Or any of the people out there?

[/Reno Browne]

[Krasus]

Thanks for the help. Sorry it was such a dead-end.

[/Krasus]

Comments

Jr.

[save_the_souls]

[That's ominous]

Jr.? What is it?

Allen

[gunslinger]

[ Well he could have buttered you up with small talk and gotten you comfortable first... But then he'd feel like even more of a dick, dropping the bomb after that. ]

Something you should hear about. Don't freak out; it's not an emergency. But it's some news you should hear before the others do. Come by the house when you can, all right?

Jr.

[save_the_souls]

Um...of course.

I can be there in a few minutes.

[and he's moving to get on his way there!]

Allen

[gunslinger]

Don't pull a muscle or anything.

[ He's not in any hurry to make you cry again. B| ]

Jr.

[save_the_souls]

[a soft amused noise] I won't, don't worry.

[aaand about ten minutes later he's knocking on the door. He feels rude just coming in when the place is no longer his]

AYYY

[ino]

[and this little lady will be answering the door, unassuming]

--Oh, hey Allen.

HOUSE FILTER FOREVER

[save_the_souls]

Ah- oh! Hello Ino! [he smiles at his friend]

Is...Jr. here?

[ino]

Hey. How are you?

Yeah ... one second. [she'll step back to let him in the house, and call up the stairs] Jr--!

[gunslinger]

[ Jr.'ll be peeking his head around the corner to glance down the stairs, before he drapes his arms over the banister and waves a bit. Normally he keeps the visits out of his room and all, but...asking Ino to leave the living room would just make her suspicious.

He doubts this is any better, but there's hope. ]

Jeez, way to book it. Come on up, Allen.

[save_the_souls]

Ah, I'm fine. And you?

[He steps into the house and wave a bit to Jr as he approaches]

I didn't! I was at my flat and that's not too far away from here...{okay maybe he did a little]

[ino]

I'm good ...

[she'll just glance at jr. curiously when he invites allen up. because a) usually they don't go upstairs and b) .... kind of awkward when she's standing right there ...]

[gunslinger]

[ At Ino's look, Jr. just waves a hand dismissively like she's a stupid nosy girl. NOSY. ]

It's just guy talk. I won't steal him for too long, then maybe we can all watch a movie.

[ No they won't be watching a movie. But white lies are healthy or something. ]

[save_the_souls]

Ah...sorry Ino. We'll be down here soon!

[But he follows Jr up the stairs...this is concerning :| ]

[ino]

Yeah ...

[LMAO, SHE IS LIKE ... THIS IS BULLSHIT, but. she'll stay down here .... for now ...]

[gunslinger]

[ Jr. doesn't say anything else, disappearing back around the corner and waiting for Allen to follow into his room. Alby's there, asleep on the bed, although the kittens seem to have scattered all over the house. ]

Sorry for how sketchy it sounded... I didn't know what to say.

[ He still doesn't, but he's used to winging bad news. You can never predict how it will go, anyway. ]

I know you're still dealing with what happened, and I hate to make it...worse.

But you should know something about Yuan and Tim, and...how different things are now. You know the bodies are sticking around, since Arthur's death, but nobody's known why.

[save_the_souls]

[He steps into the room, choosing to go sit on the edge of the bed near the dog. Because dogs are awesome. In a way...he's both surprised and unsurprised to hear this be the topic]


He...he told you how it was?

[gunslinger]

[ Making sure his door's shut, Jr. sits at his desk chair. He hesitates only a moment, before nodding, knuckles rapping tensely against the desktop. ]

When we camped, the night before we descended into Libet. I don't think he planned it. It was kind of a—...mess, really. But I heard what I needed to. I don't know if he's told anyone else, but it's...been on my mind. And now that death's visited again, it's time for people to know.

He just... He remembered, basically. Everything. The whole two weeks. And the, well— [ He bit his lip. ] We burned his body, so the castle had to reconstruct it from scratch.

[save_the_souls]

[He grimaces at that, feeling a twist in the stomach. He knows Arthur requests no one else to be burned, it made it w3orse. But he could see how that would make it worse. Just....god that sounds terrible]

So that's why ...

[he swallows]

W-We'll have to make sure they aren't. I already told Kate to tell Tim's close relations not to cremate. But...I didn't know anything more than that...

[gunslinger]

[ He nods and leans back in the chair. ]

The time during, he said, was like nothing, but being aware of the nothing. No movement or sound... He couldn't say anything. The way he described it made me think of someone drowning.

It's important the bodies are treated with care, so that the castle only has the initial injuries to re-build. But it's more than that. Up until now, while people have grieved, it's been easy to move on because there haven't been any lasting effects most of the time.

No matter how seriously people want to take it, in the long run death's been like having an ally get seriously injured, then fall into a coma we know they'll wake up from in two weeks, all shiny and new. And for those who've died, they had nothing to remember but their injuries. Not even any wait.

If Tim and Yuan's bodies are still around, too, then they're probably going through something as well. There's no telling if it's going to be the same as what Arthur experienced, or if it'll be something different.

[save_the_souls]

[Allen's silent as he listens, his eyes cast down. So...that was the hell that Arthur went through in his time gone. The thing that he couldn't bring himself to share with Allen. Imagining two weeks like that...his chest tightens a little....no wonder Arthur was the way he was when he came back.]

[He wish he had known sooner. But...there was no changing that]

[Finally, Allen bites his lip and gives a nod]

If that...if that is the case, then...

We'll have to be ready for whatever it could be like for Yuan and Tim. And...and make sure their loved ones know too. So they can be prepared and...

And we can make sure...things are...better for them.

[gunslinger]

[ Jr. doesn't respond right away, watching Allen's reaction with a mixture of sympathy and resolve. Things needed to be handled, but... He's never been happy with how Allen and Arthur's relationship was handled, how it ended, and he feels bad that he hasn't been able to help either of them with it, really. ]

He should have told you. I told him to, but...

[ Another pause, and he sighs, rubbing at the back of his neck. ]

He should have told you a lot of things. It isn't your fault he pushed you away, Allen... He was doing it with everyone. Arthur was so messed up after, he'd built up what we were thinking and how he thought we were reacting in his head. He thought we didn't want to know what happened to him, or maybe he thought we couldn't handle it. [ Which is ridiculous, really. It's tragic, but Jr. has heard of worse things. Still, paranoia is paranoia... ] I think he let his own fear swallow him for a bit, and he just didn't know how to handle it, or who to trust. There's no telling how the castle may have messed with his mind in ways even he's not aware of.

So...yeah, if people are aware, and know what to expect, hopefully we can keep that from happening to the two of them.

[save_the_souls]

[A hand clenches the edge of the bed as he listens to Jr's words, a form of support. These were thoughts he was trying hard not to think about after all, wounds he's been avoiding for a great long while]

I know.

Arthur...should have done a lot of things. But...I also know I didn't help matters either since I was caught off by his death as well...I wasn't ready to deal with it as well as he needed. Maybe if he had trusted us a bit more or if I had taken more care to try to listen...[He shakes his head]

It matters not how it affected us, it's past. It's possible he doesn't even remember it anymore...at least I pray so.

[He is still mad at the castle for doing such a thing, still concerned that it did such a cruel thing to Arthur...he can only pray that his memory loss pertained to that as well...and no one reminded him of it. ]

But we'll do what we can to prevent all that. I'll....I'll help out in any way I can...it's the least I can do. [Especially...for failing so much with the one he loves]

[gunslinger]

[ Clearing his throat awkwardly, Jr. glances to the side. His eyes follow Alby as the dog stretches and jumps off the bed to go sniff at the door, perhaps because one of the cats are out in the hall.

His gaze lingers, though, and he frowns, before looking back to Allen. ]

Well, then...sorry to bring up more bad news, but he does remember again. At least that event. We already talked about it, and he's going to be the one to inform the castle about it. Soon, before the others wake up.

[ Really, Jr. could have done that for him, but he thinks it'll be better for Arthur to talk about it with others, and to at least feel like he's helping people with information. ]

[save_the_souls]

[a pause, then softly] ....Oh.

[That's...well...At that? Allen takes a deep breath, falls back on the bed...and tries the zen thing for about five seconds before his face scrunches up into anger and his fist punches the headboard above his head]

Dammit!

[gunslinger]

[ Jr. winces, although he's sure the headboard took more damage than Allen did. Well that's the sort of reaction he has a kinship with, at least. He stays quiet, letting the other man get it out of his system however he pleases. What else is there to say? ]