[PRP] Grave and Gloom (Sammy + Barth)

[Toshihiko Two]

Barth had just finished one of his many impromptu mid-afternoon naps and was groggily headed back to his dorm. It was cool and overcast, but not rainy, and he had been napping in the cemetery where the soil was soft and the stone was even cooler.

There were several problems pressing on his mind- the field trip permission form, the election, and classwork...now not only his own but making it for others. And his various projects. The Fear Division one was still in the theoretical stages: mostly notes, reading, and thinking, he had to be careful before approaching it. The Doom Buggy he couldn't be more pleased with. His personal problems were less straight-forward. Deeper sleeping, sleepwalking, the thorns, his relationships. It was a complicated mire, but he couldn't say he felt swamped. He was getting it all sorted, bit by bit.

As he meandered dormward, he was deep in thought.  

[Miliardo Kason]

Sammy was no different that day, though where Barth was happily snoozing in the graveyards Sammy sat atop a large tombstone in the cross bar of some gothic cross, the name of the owner long since faded as she quietly plucked away at her phone.

On one hand her mind lingered on the permission slip much like Barth did, she needed to know more, she needed to know what was happening to them. Were they all pawns did they really have a choice in anything at this rate? Her mind lingered to the first year exams and quickly put it aside not wanting to think about it at all.

Instead the rather gloomy ghoul went back to poking her phone pressing at the buttons with a bit more force each time grumbling all the while. Eventually she gave up on the device tossing it to the ground cursing and huffing. To anyone passing near by it would almost sound like the Ghoul was having a bit of a break down, almost on the verge of tears. That is if she was actually able to cry.  

[Toshihiko Two]

Barth heard a sudden scuffle, and frustrated noises. He wasn't interrupting-? No, he didn't think it was that.

"Hello?" he asked, a familiar ghoul coming into view. "...Sammy? You err, you alright?"

He (of course) remembered her. She was a Fitness member (unfortunately), but more importantly had fought side by side with him against Jingleberry during exams.  

[Miliardo Kason]

[colo=darkgren]Shifting about in her perch she looked up noticing Barth and quickly went about trying to compose herself smoothing out her jacket and shaking her head, "Er yeah, s'nothing, just uh, dropped my phone is all yeah..." the lie was hastily said and wasn't at all convincing as her phone was much farther then simply being dropped.

It was a rag tag piece of junk, the thing was far out of date compared to other students running around with Eyephone's and even among other Skellyphones it was low grade.

All the while Sammy tried to look away as if nothing was wrong at all.  

[Toshihiko Two]

"Very inconvenient, phone dropping," he said skeptically.

"You sure that's all it was? I don't mind. Talking, that is."  

[Miliardo Kason]

She let out a dry laugh eyes narrow, half closed not in anger but more bitter depression. "Well what can I say, wouldn't you be pissed if you were too poor to afford a decent working phone around here?"

Slumping over she rested her elbows on her knees and her head on her hands. "Oh that's not even the start of it Pillows. Jack I have so much going through my head I just want to punch someone in the face and even that doesn't feel like it's going to make me feel better."  

[Toshihiko Two]

Barth considered the question. Poverty wasn't something he dealt with from...either side of his lineage. Still, there were problems associated with using family funds. It wasn't what she was asking him.

He edged towards her cautiously, taking a seat on a swooping headstone.

"More than money problems?"  

[Miliardo Kason]

"The money problems have been around for a while, I thought I could cope but it's just getting stupid. I have no family, no job, just some tiny little fund set up through the school... barely enough to keep my clothes stitched together sometimes." She rolled her eyes, "At least getting switched into the demon dorms I got something nice to call my own..."

She reached into a pocket throwing her Hellma pin down to Barth, "THAT is the heart of half my current problems, I nearly lost Shehk as a friend over it, and currently Riley won't even acknowledge me, can't say I blame her too much that doesn't make it blow any less. All over a single. Little. Pin. From a teacher, who might be trying to kill half of us off during these little 'field trips,' that we're signing up for..."  

[Toshihiko Two]

"Riley doesn't like to lose," Barth said, catching the pin and smiling very slightly. "You and West did magnificently. Amrita too. Physical tasks aren't really my err, forte, I'm afraid. I'm not sure beating opponents to death is my calling."

He handed it back to her.

"Sometimes it's wiser to keep a low profile. I haven't been taking my own advice, as of late."

He looked at the paper clutched in her hand, then dug in his own pocket, producing a slimy, wrinkled duplicate.

"The field trips are straight forward, I suppose. No slitting your throat while you sleep. You know what you're up against. Not much to anticipate from a clever adversary, just things falling from the ceiling and so on."  

[Miliardo Kason]

"I know that to be true... but when I showed her the pin when trying to make an offer." She shook her head, "Have you ever had her speak in your head and just... it looks red? Like you can't describe it but you just feel like your seeing red. That was the last thing I saw when she told me to leave. I haven't spoken to her since." She caught the pin in turn returning it to her pockets. "Thanks though... it means a lot to have this, to know I did something right."

Tilting her head she continued to watch as he spoke snorting, "Yeah, well, that makes two of us then that could use a bit of that." She waved a hand, "Maybe if you crawl upstairs to visit me we can make a pillow fort out of you and wait till it all blows over."

She eyes his own slip in turn glancing back down at hers. So many questions; so many reasons walking away might be better, and even more to stay. "Yeah, just don't die. Seems simple enough... but... the others Amrita... Shehk." She paused for a moment growing soft as she added a third to the list, "Siddie; what about those who can't fight? Do we just leave them behind? We can't bring them but what if they came along or were forced too."

She groaned, "Why can't they handle whatever it is. Why are we the ones being used like this all over again..."  

[Toshihiko Two]

"You err, do remember that Amrita lasted longer than I did," He said. Then, sobering, "We're all weak. We managed Jingleberry because he was on our territory. It has been my longtime advantage to know that I'm weak, and therefore avoid fair fights whenever possible. ...And confrontation in general."

Barth had been increasingly questioning the scope of his designs versus the scope of this philosophy. Avoid, hide, certainly. Violence was the last refuge of the incompetent. But when pressed to the wire? The problem was that he wasn't infallible, and his resources were limited. And...

"If they can't survive now, with supplies and the support of the rest of the school as a cushion, they won't survive later. ...There's worse than robots and snowmen. Rich relatives waiting to get richer, for instance. It's practically a practice round. The err, Easy Mode. If you think about it."  

[Miliardo Kason]

"You lasted well enough Barth, considering it's not your strong point you did well enough." She glanced down at her left hand flexing the bones slowly. "All I ever do is pick fights, you lie low, and I run head long into things. That's only reason I got away with it I think." Slowly her hand trailed to the scar left from doing that quite literaly as she was stabbed with that blasted sword.

"Yes we had the advantage, but why was he here he has some history with Helma, but what about the Island? Or Carry even?"

She grew quiet twisting her hand over hand frowning, "Are you saying people would honestly go out of their way to hurt them? Why? Why can't they live a life without all the crap that happens on the field trips and just be... safe?" She blinked slowly, "Your family... they fight amongst themselves?"  

[Toshihiko Two]

"Some. Family and wealth are not always beneficial," he answered, not pressing beyond that.

"Not sure about the island. Or why we were sent there. They said it was an old enemy at the assembly. ...And the others- well, I was told that...several residents- Halloween residents had been...experimented on."

Barth sighed.

"I prefer safety. And friends to enemies. If I had it my way, Halloween would be much more comfort-focused. And beyond Halloween, possibly. Currently, I'd just like to stay alive through graduation."  

[Miliardo Kason]

"No doesn't seem like it. Better then nothing though I can say that though." She sighed softly

"We can sum it up as this, we were probably sent to do some reconisonce or fight on someones behalf. Pawns Barth. I've been a pawn once. I hated it. I hated being used to move around for someone elses game that I knew nothing about..."

She shifted on the cross again resting her back on the center post, "Yup that might be your halloween. Some people might agree, but it won't ever be like that. The best we can do is try to make our own little parts of Halloween like that."

She laughed at the last part gently. "Yeah graduating would be nice... maybe then we can change something for real."  

[Toshihiko Two]

"My own little part," Barth repeated, wistfully. He did not think of himself as a pawn, but he looked at Sammy with consideration. "Pawns become queens if they reach the opposite end of the board, you know."

"If we all make it that far. Not that I'm looking for extra work. I just want to save work. In the long run."

He looked at his slip.

"It's just all the walking that's giving me pause. ...That last part wasn't a metaphor. I don't understand why all the places we visit involve so much of it."