Waking the Dead 2.0 || August 9, 2063 || Tuesday

[kalikat]

[Dinner is served late in the mess hall because it's a grand banquet in honor of the Magistrate of Kibo. It's a pretty modest celebration, all things considered: the people at Kibo are invited, along with her family, any Searing Wind members who feel like dropping in from wherever they've been as of late, and a few friends among the other Keepers of the Vigil. That's about it.

Still, Kalika looks like she's having fun. Her husband and her children are, of course, all in attendance, together with her husband's familiars and the entire division of the Strays from Seigi. The food, mind you, is excellent, and there is more than enough booze.

You're welcome to come and go as you please. Kalika's easy like that.]


OOC Notes:
+ Will have some threads for NPCs of note, but just to give you a general idea: many members of the three blades are in attendance, along with pretty much anyone whom Kalika views as family. If you want to request for somebody, lemme know!
+ Debby and Noey: feel free to put your NPCs in here. =w=
+ Feel free to start your own threads too. Just specify if it's open to all, or if you're going to thread something out with a particular PC.

Comments

sup

[bostova]

[ It's late when she sees Joshua arrive. She doesn't watch him all night, but she does look for him every now and then, just to make sure he was still around and hopefully not making a fool out of himself. She's seen him watch Hikaru but never approached him (as with the other way around). She had half the mind to knock them both out, but it wasn't her place. They needed to sort this one out themselves.

She sighs a few hours later, when she sees Kaz walk away from Josh, probably into the forest. Excusing herself from her current company, she makes her way to the Hounds' blade leader and sits next to him. She rolls her eyes when she sees him still on his tablet and playing some game. She deliberately bumps her shoulder on his a little too hard so he'll tip over just a bit. ]

Playing games all night isn't a very sociable thing to do, Joshua. Are you turning into me?

[larue]

[ He's got his earbuds on so he doesn't hear you come out. About a third of his attention is on that game -- the rest is on the fact that he'd just watched Kaz go off, had wrestled with the idea of maybe going after the kid and coming to the painful and exhausting conclusion that it doesn't matter what he does now, the silence between them said enough and he's got no more spoons in him to play Big Brother.

When you bump his shoulder, he tips, yes. That tablet actually nearly slips off of his lap and on top of how heavy this day has been ( and man, is it not over ) it should be understandable that he frowns and glares--

--at least until he sees that it's you.

Those earbuds come off just as you ask him that question.

It shouldn't make him smile, but it does, for about half a second and then he's turning away and pressing his lips together with an incredulous look coming to his eyes because -- Really? He spends most of tonight keeping his shit together and suddenly all because Yulia's finally around the ducts behind his eyes are traitorous little shits?

What the flying fuck. ]

[bostova]

[ She... didn't expect that reaction. She's suddenly flustered and panicked, looking around, trying to see if Hikaru was around-- no, he was still inside and nowhere near Josh. So what was it? Something she said? Something Kaz said (or didn't say)? She was only trying to lighten up the mood, really.

Damnit. This day's been too long, and a lot's happened this morning. Not to mention this little... whatever was happening between Josh and Hikaru. If Josh stays here any longer, it wouldn't probably be good for him.

And she did promise Hikaru she would check up on Josh.

She sighs, puts a hand on Josh's shoulder. ]

Let's get you home.

[larue]

[ Josh's got his eyes closed now. He's breathing in slow and deep, lips still pressed together as he takes each breath in.

He's not a child. He's twenty-eight years old and capable of getting his shit together even under the weight of everything in his chest and in his head.

He's not going to run. He's had enough of that. His life is fine and he can make himself fine to match that. ]

No. No, no need. I'm good. [ Turning back to Yulia now, clearly not aware on how tired and sad and bordering on wrecked he looks.

Yeah... good luck with convincing yourself that you're perfectly fine, Larue. ]

[bostova]

No, you're not.

[ Her voice is soft when she says it. She doesn't even have to look too hard to see how tired and horrible you look right now. No one else has to see that. People here worry too much.

She gets up, holds her hand out for you. If you don't take it, she'll pull you up anyway. ]

I'm taking you home.

[larue]

[ He's staring at that offered hand for what feels like the longest minute of his second life. He also knows that he must really look like shit for Yulia to give him this out, to speak like that, as if any louder would be wrong.

Hanging his head now, and closing off his tablet before he breathes ( slow exhale, heavy like letting it out hurts ) and stands.

It's not that he doesn't want to take her hand. He just can't. Not when all he wants to do is curl up in bed and into himself. ]

Okay.

[ Head bowed now as he clutches the tablet in both hands, fingers cradling the weight of it like it's the only thing that's keeping him together. ]

[bostova]

[ She puts a hand on his shoulder and steers him out of the mess hall, out of Kibo. Cab's on her, don't worry. She can't help but worry, though, sitting quietly at the back of the taxi with Josh.

Dealing with emotions is so weird. ]

[larue]

[ And he's going to be quiet most of the way -- it's a rare thing for you to see, really: Josh LaRue, quiet, somber, looking worn and in need of something but not entirely sure what that is.

His eyes are turned out towards the scenery that's passing you by, hands limp on the satchel on his lap. ]

[bostova]

[ Yulia doesn't like this quiet. It feels like Seigi all over again, but this time... At least she knows how to deal with this, now.

Sighing, she lets Josh stay quiet for the rest of the ride to the West District, to the Brennan residence. At lease be grateful she isn't ripping you a new one, Josh, even though she would really like to. ]

[larue]

[ He's actually genuinely surprised that she's still quiet once they hit the halfway point between Kibo and Falner, and as the cab pulls up right in front of his house he's just ready to head up and crash back into bed.

He's fishing out some cash for the cabbie to take you back to Kibo as he turns to you. ]

You didn't have to take me home but... thanks.

[ He's handing you that money at that. ]

[bostova]

If I didn't take you home, you would be sulking there all night and would have made things worse. You are welcome.

[ But she's not taking your money; she's already paid the cab driver anyway. ] Keep it. [ That's when she gets out of the cab and heads for the porch at the Brennan's place. ]

[larue]

[ There's about a couple of seconds of delay before he steps out himself and closes the door behind him.

He'd done his best to be unobtrusive, to keep as much out of sight as possible -- it's precisely why he moved outside.

Apparently even that was a mistake. Should he have pretended that things were okay instead?

No. No, that wouldn't have been good either. ]

[bostova]

[ She's waiting for Josh to get to the porch with her; she knows he needs time to process things so she just leans on the post, arms in her pockets and waits.

She'll be here if he needs her... And if he wants her elsewhere, well... she'll have to see where this goes, first. ]

[larue]

[ There's a look of surprise on this one's face when he catches you leaning against the post and looking like you're not planning to leave him alone anytime soon. As such, he's going to set his tablet down off to the side on the top step so that it's out of the way before he goes to fish out his cigarettes.

His hand's shaking now. Maybe it's the fact that he's been crumbling ever since you cracked that joke, or the fact that he's been wrecked ever since this morning, when he'd tried to apologize only to have it not work and Hikaru had told him flat out and clearly hurt that whatever insecurities Josh was dealing with were things he couldn't fix.

Truth of the matter is, Josh knows that. He knows this is all on him. But he's just so fucking tired. He's tired in a way he can't put into words and his chest hurts so much and his heart isn't his own anymore. The tragic thing is, even if he could ask for it back, he wouldn't because he was way in too deep and it hasn't even been twenty-four hours since he fucked up all because he needed a moment to breathe.

This is what you see then: Josh attempting to light up, failing, trying again and again. And again until his hand jerks from the elbow and he very nearly throws that lighter.

Just very nearly, though, because he's now sinking down to sink onto those steps, bending forward to press a hand to his forehead, eyes screwed shut.

Yes, Yulia, it's dark, but you're standing at the right spot to see the way the light is slanted at just the right angle to reveal when those tears come streaming quietly down Josh's face. ]

[bostova]

[ Well... Shit. Was it something she said? Did she go too far? Should she knock and call Cindy, or someone? Why did she ever think this was a good idea?!

Momentary panic done (thank fuck no one else was around to see that), she sits over with Josh and puts a tentative hand on his shoulder.

She's trying to think of something to say, something that doesn't state the obvious or something that was too... too... ugh, why is dealing with feelings so complicated?! Especially when they're someone else's feelings? ]

...Sorry.

[larue]

[ There's a shudder from Josh when she says that, and an awkward sound -- something between a laugh and a sob -- escapes the Sin-Eater.

After several breaths though: ] W...why are you apologizing?

[ He's looking up at her now. And yes, he looks utterly wrecked. ]

[bostova]

Because I can't help you right now.

[ It's not like she can just cut up whatever's bothering you, LaRue. And she's not suicidal enough to try cutting the Blade King, not even for you.

So.

Yeah. She can't help you sort your feelings out. She can't even sort hers out. ]