paradisa | ⇒ 86

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joshua christopher

⇒ 86

[Father Nightroad | Private]

I blame you.

I blame you I blame you I blame you I—

[ There's a crash, and a roar, but no one hears. ]

I BLAME YOU!

[ A man (a boy) falls to his knees, but no one sees. ]

ABEL!

You... You wanted this! You started this! What did you do?!

[ A decision is made, but no one knows. ]

I didn't want this.

[/Private]

[Colette Brunel]

[ But someone, at least one, should know. It doesn't matter where she is right now... Unless it's in the Dead Zone, it won't be far enough. ]

Get out.

[/Colette Brunel]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[a message from Joshua? That's... unexpected to say the least. She's not sure what to make of those two words, but his tone inspires worry right away.]

Joshua? What... [she's about to ask 'what's wrong', but she changes her words at the last moment. This message from him is short enough that she doesn't register the words fully, she only hears the tone] Are you hurt?

Edited 2012-11-27 21:55 (UTC)

You have two days! Go to the Dead Zone, to Flora, I don't care where, and never come back. There will be nothing for you here.

What do you... [a warning? she nibbles her lip and pulls the journal closer to her, as if it will reveal more clues]

What's going to happen?

Nothing! Nothing will happen anymore. Ever.

[ah... she's quiet for a moment]

You're not... talking about something that someone else is going to do, are you?

Joshua, what happened? Where are you?

[ Silence for awhile. He knows why she's asking, so why would he tell her? The point is for her to go in the opposite direction. ~~Of course, any flip through the journal could spell out where he probably is.~~ ]

You won't get another warning. And you don't get to tell anyone else. Just go.

[ Knocking the stupid journal closed. ]

Joshua- [but she's cut off as the journal closes. What... what was he planning to do? And whatever he was planning to do, he warned her? For a moment she's frozen in place by indecision, but she doesn't remain still for long.

Joshua is many things. Someone she worries for, someone who can be dangerous, someone who can be kind, and at the end of it he is someone she cares for. But... they haven't talked often lately, it's something she knows and is now feeling acute guilt over. So of course she's not going to do what he says. There aren't many options for where he could be, so she decides to check the most obvious first. Closing the journal, she tucks it away and hurries off-]

[and then, a short while later, she's standing outside of Zelman's old mansion. She knows that Joshua has been living here, and... well, she's not entirely positive that he's here right at this moment (she's almost worried that he's already out doing... whatever he plans to do), but it makes sense to check here first in her mind.

At first she knocks on the door, but then that feels like a silly motion. So after knocking she tests the handle to see if it will open, and will attempt to push open the front door]

Hello?

[ It's clear that he has been here, considering the state of things. And the state would be...hard to describe, other than warped. Time is, at least—any physical destruction wrought on the property left only half-finished as splintered wood or bent metal floats; caught in a three-dimensional photograph. And there is plenty of destruction, though it mostly seems centered around the foyer and lobby, continuing on into the kitchen and ending there. Even the water that should be gushing out of the broken sink is nearly stopped, though not quite, crystalline drops of water raining down so slowly that they may be falling for decades if not released.

Despite the stillness, though, it isn't quiet. There's music playing, an old classical tune on a record player down the hall, behind one of the many doors. This is coming from the library, though, the only sign of life left, and one of the few rooms still in tact.

He isn't asleep, though he looks it, seated on the floor with his arms and head propped against a sofa cushion like a child lying their head in their mother's lap. Barely a whisper, hard to hear against the screeching violin of the nearby record player, there does seem to be someone humming 'Rock-a-bye Baby' — but no, that's just him.

Joshua has always had, if nothing else, an imagination. ]

[Colette pauses at the destruction, but doesn't allow it to distract her for too long. The music is easy enough to hear from a distance, so she follows the noise. As she gets closer, the music is loud enough to make her head hurt a bit, but just just rubs at her ears and continues towards the library.

Then, when she passes through the doorway and sees Joshua... she stops again. For a moment she opens her mouth as if she's about to say something, but then she closes it. She takes a deep breath to calm her nerves from earlier (she knows if she doesn't, Joshua would pick up on them and she wouldn't want to add to his unhappiness in this moment) and walks forward slowly but steadily. Saying something seems wrong when everything else is so still...

And honestly, she's not sure what she would say right away. Seeing him sitting there, looking tired and lost... Simply going and sitting beside him seems like the best course of action for the moment. ]

[ He shifts a little when she sits, just enough so that she can also lean against the sofa, and so he can still glance to her without craning his neck too much. But he still shakes his head, and looks up once more towards a face that isn't there, murmuring softly, only occasionally pausing as if listening. ]

I told you that you were giving her too much credit. ...Mm hmm. ...I don't know, perhaps she came here to die.

[ His gaze drifts back to Colette again, his smirk unsteady and not at all sure. ]

Well?

[she looks up towards the direction that Joshua is talking... For a moment she wonders if someone was there and she just missed it but, no...

But no, it's just the two of them in this room. The two of them, and the music. Her gaze turns back to him, and after he finishes speaking she replies in a quiet voice]

No, I came here to see you. [Not to get hurt, not to die. Her hand twitches as she thinks about reaching it out to him... But no, a motion like that seems too presumptuous at the moment.]

What happened? [because something happened, it's not even a question at this point]

What hasn't happened?

[ He looks away again, but over at the record player this time. A glance and a flicker, and suddenly it's stopped. The silence lingers, though only for a minute or two, before he continues. ]

Too much...is always happening.

[she makes a 'hmm' noise at the response]

It's true, there is always a lot...

[But it's still a vague answer from him. She musters her courage to simply ask it outright] You sound really upset. Do you want to talk about it?

Why would I be upset? My sister is here.

[ He doesn't look at her, once again resting his cheek against his arm. ]

She's upset, though. You didn't even greet her. She's the one who insisted you deserved the warning.

Joshua... [she bites on her lower lip for a moment, and then moves her face so that it's closer to his eye line. A year ago, she probably wouldn't have said anything, but she promised herself- no more lying]

It's just the two of us here. [she doesn't say it in a an accusing way. It's just an effort to pull him back into the moment]

[ His eyes narrow considerably once she manages to catch his gaze, and his tone drops half an octave. ]

Say hello to Rosette, if you didn't come here to die.

[A brief pause...]

... Hello, Rosette. [there's a distinct twinge of sadness as she says it]

[ There's another stretch of silence, enough time for someone to respond, before Joshua smiles again. ]

Why did you come here? This is the opposite of what we told you to do. You should be honored to be spared.

I was worried about you. [she knows that's a vague statement, but she hopes he understands what she means]

I wasn't sure if you were alone or not... And if you were, I didn't want you to be alone.

[ His smile widens as he looks to her; stares right through her. Empty. ]

I'm not alone. I'll never have to be alone again.

[That gaze causes a pain in her chest. She didn't do it before, but... It's at least worth trying.]

Joshua... Please tell me what happened.

[as she says it softly, she'll reach a hand forward. It's an attempt to hold his]

[ He doesn't pull away, but he doesn't react otherwise, either. ]

Hm, what do you mean? You mean stopping everyone?

It's only because I don't need them anymore. Now my sister is here, so...

[That's disconcerting to say the least. She'll continue to hold his hand, even though he doesn't react. What should she do? "Your sister isn't here, please don't" is what she wants to say... But considering his love for her, and whatever happened to make him reach this point... It seems like a cruel thing to say.

Maybe she can say it in another way? Somehow? She looks away from him, back up at the couch, before her gaze settles on him again.]

I don't see your sister here.

[ He 'hm's at that, not seeming to think it that surprising. ]

It must be the castle's magic... That's fine with me. She doesn't need anyone else.

[ A pause, as he glances to the side. ]

She thinks you're here because you want to protect your friends. That's a waste of time, you know.

Joshua

Colette

Joshua

Colette

Joshua

Colette

Joshua (1/2)

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