27 (shortly after the ending of the Feast of Fools)

[takethat]

[Staring at the empty door, sans nameplate, Phoenix can feel his throat burning with the effort not to cry.

Someone, some ethereal shadow of a memory, had once told him that the only time a lawyer can cry is when it's all over. Now, defeated, he stands there with tears leaking from his eyes anyway. He'd taken Maya's presence for granted, just assuming that since she'd been such a staple of the castle when he arrived, she would always be there.

He stands for a long time, silent and heartbroken, before leaning heavily against her door and clumsily thumbing open the journal.

These kinds of announcements never get easier--especially not when they're about one of his closest friends in the world.]

For... for those who knew her... Maya Fey went home.

[What else can he say? He will be leaning on the door there in the hallway for a while yet, tumbling into silent thought.

After some time, he writes a filter in the journal.]


[Trucy Wright]

Trucy--I want to talk to you. I can tell you've been avoiding telling me a few things I would really like to know.

Comments

[takethat]

[Wheatley's voice startles him out of his reverie.]

...I'm sure.

[His own voice is strained, though he tries to keep it in check for Wheatley's sake.]

And I'm... sorry.

[wheatdos]

I...
I-I... It's okay. Isn't your fault, You-you didn't do anything. You... you didn't... you didn't make her leave or anything like that.

...

Y-you know what? I'm sure she's happy. She-she wanted... she wanted to leave, you know. Always did. She did. that's... that's why we made the uh... the... that's why we became partners anyway. So we can find a way out. That's what it was all about. That's what it was always about. Wouldn't be right to... to...

[There's something strange about the way he's rambling, because the moment he trails off, Nick might hear a noise that seemed very uncharacteristic. A sniffle. A choke. A deep inhale.]

...to want her here. Wouldn't be right to keep her against her will. Wo-wouldn't be right.
She... she's free and happy now.

...

...And I'll never see her again.

...

...

Oh god I'm leaking.

[takethat]

[At Wheatley's outburst, Phoenix, too, coughs out a small, soft sob, pulling in a shaky breath immediately thereafter.]

It's okay, Wheats--it's okay, I'm leaking, too.

[He tries to still his breathing, but somehow, Wheatley's openness with his emotions is giving Phoenix some silent permission to do the same, and he can't quite manage to stop crying now that he's started.]

You're right, she... she really wanted to go home. More than anybody else I've met here. She's probably happy to go back to Kurain.

[wheatdos]

Kurain?

[His voice cracks strangely high for his pitch.]

[takethat]

That's her home--the village she's from.

[He can't help but smile softly to remember how fondly Maya always spoke of Kurain.]

Her little cousin lives there, too, and they're really close.

[wheatdos]

Ah. Family.
Family is always a nice thing.

[With another sniffle, the journal rustles.]

I think I'm gonna go off to town. Get some clear air. Don't think I can stand to look at these walls right now.
You're f-free to join me if you want.

[His tone is enthusiastic again, but he'd be able to hear the force in his tone. He was still terribly sad.]

[takethat]

Can I?

[He doesn't want to get in the way if Wheatley needs some space--he can certainly understand that--but he himself wants understanding company.]

[wheatdos]

Yeah. Y-yeah. That's a good idea.

[He needed the company too. He figured no one else'd understand either.]

I-I'll be in front in a few minutes, mate.

[takethat]

See you there.

[He picks himself up and shuts the journal, moving off to meet Wheatley. He'll be there shortly.]

[wheatdos]

[He'd catch the tall lanky bloke kicking stones out in front of the castle, pacing back and forth. Honestly, it was really strange to not see him with an uppity nature about him.]

[takethat]

[Phoenix approaches him, hands stuffed into his pockets, eyes downcast.]

Hey, Wheats.

[wheatdos]

Hey mate.

[He looked at him and gave him a rather superficial smile. It was strange seeing Wheats in such a distraught state, so it was easy to see right through it. He wouldn't say much of anything initially, beginning to walk beside him to town.

It wasn't till a few strides he mustered up his ability to speak.]

How long has she been here?

[takethat]

[He's content to walk in silence until Wheatley speaks up first.]

...when I got here, she said she'd been here three years. Four, I guess, by now.

[He takes a slow breath.]

Long time.