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 Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2014 11:26 am
Nevada was dead.Otto returned from the Haunted House with a body. The blood covering his own was that of Nevada's, the only wounds he seemed to bear were ones he'd taken in the artifact mission previous to the encounter, and fresh ones on his hands from attacking an unforgiving wall as he'd tried in vain to save Nevada. He'd been made to watch her die. He'd watched Nevada get torn apart. Murdered before his eyes. He'd had his time with her, or what was left of her. When he walked through the portal, he forced himself to allow other hunters to take her away, for her body to be dealt with. He wasn't entirely sure what that was. Likely cremation, but he didn't want to think of it. He didn't want to see her body get destroyed. He couldn't handle that. He couldn't handle what he'd seen as it was. He'd never gotten to say goodbye. He wasn't sure he wanted to say it. He watched them take her away until he couldn't see them anymore. And then Otto began to cry again. He sat in the hall of the life labs, still covered in blood and his face stained with tears. He could barely get out a text message that was any sorts of understandable without bursting into sobs again. Every second of living hurt once she'd been taken. Breathing hurt. His soul hurt, as if it had been ripped in two and the other half thrown away. He finally got out two separate texts. People he knew would need to know. His phone dropped from his hands. Curling into a ball as he cried, he could not move from that hallway. kuroopu Text from Otto to Ian: shes gon Ol-j-man Text from Otto to Stormy: shesgone.
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Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2014 11:57 am
He wasn't in his room when the text game.
The phone he'd smashed at the first text from Otto had been mostly repaired now, held together by a few well-placed pieces of tape and a little help from someone in the labs. It wasn't perfect, but at least it sent and received messages, which was all he cared about. For a while, he'd debated turning off his phone altogether, but maybe - maybe - she would call him, she would come back from wherever she'd left.
A tiny, minuscule shred of hope in a world meant to be hopeless.
Now he stood somewhere in the vicinity of the offices that housed many of the division leaders, though Ian wasn't entirely certain how he'd gotten there in the first place. After leaving Shiloh on the beach, he'd just walked, walked until his head had stopped throbbing and had settled into a dull ache instead, the agony giving away to numbness.
His phone buzzed. He wasn't sure he wanted to look at it, but he reached for it anyway, fingers fumbling in the pocket of his pants until he found it, pulled it out, and flipped it open.
Text from Otto -
Ice spread from the tips of his fingers outwards, up his arm and filtering throughout his chest until it had taken over his entire body. His mouth opened in a wordless gasp, a strangled sort of sound that indicated he was having trouble breathing, that he couldn't draw enough air into his lungs.
The phone slipped from his fingers, crashing to the floor.
He knew he should have gone after her. Why hadn't he gone after her? Why hadn't he stayed with her?
Why why why why why why why why -
He stumbled backwards until his back hit the wall, his body trembling so violently it was a wonder he was still vertical. Ian pressed a hand to his chest, gasping, his chest heaving, his head spinning so much he felt dizzy and nauseated and pained all at once.
No no no no no no no no no -
Slowly, slowly, he sank to the floor.
Don't. Stop. Don't. Stop. No.
He stretched his hand out to the phone and dragged it towards him.
No no no no no no no no no - Bittiface Text to Otto:where are you
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Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2014 12:09 pm
She was midway through her tenth re-reading of the twenty-sixth line of Maian Myths Volume III: Deities and Lost Lore when the text arrived. Stormy glanced at it. Stared at it. Found that in her exhaustion and itchiness it was terribly hard to string words together, let alone words that already were pushed into one.
There were a few choices she could have gone with frmo here. She went with the most sensible one, the one she'd always choose even though it hurt sometimes.
Mechanically, she closed the book. Swept it of dust. Got up. Relocated its shelf. Stretched up and onto her tiptoes to put it back next to its siblings. Turned. Walked.
Bittiface Text to Otto:Please give me about half an hour. Let Ian know if you haven't yet. I'll meet you both wherever. Preferably someone's room. Just let me know. kuroopu in the case that you two want to rp a bit before I get back from night class in the evening <3 otherwise i'll just timeskip with my next post
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Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2014 12:23 pm
He heard his phone buzz, but he took a moment before picking it up again. His emotions came in waves, some bigger than others. He'd have a moment when the tears stopped, and he could breath. Then a simple thought would make the sorrow come crashing down again. kuroopu Text to Ian: life lab hall Ol-j-man Text to Stormy: he knows. in life labs for now He let the phone drop down again, still huddled against the wall of the hallway. He buried his head in his hands, gripping at his dirtied blond hair in fistfuls as he rode another wave of sobbing.
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Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2014 12:31 pm
It took him a few moments to gather himself together, another minute to drag himself to his feet, and several more to actually make himself move. His body felt numb, his mind and heart even more so, and he pressed a hand flat against the wall of the hall to keep himself vertical.
It was easy to find Otto. Slumped in the hallway, his hands over his head, his thin body shaking violently, and Ian just stood there for a moment, staring down at him, at this boy that Nevada had loved, that she had spent many nights telling Ian about, a happy flush to her cheeks.
That had been before. That had been before everything.
Silently Ian made his way towards Otto, hand still against the wall, and then he sank down in front of Otto, reached out, and wrapped his arm around his bloodstained shoulders to pull him against his chest, his face in Otto's hair, fingers of his free hand clenched into a fist against the wall.
And he said nothing at all, eyes burning with the effort of holding everything back, on his knees in the hallway of the life labs, just trying to hold himself together.
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Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2014 12:41 pm
Otto should have been startled. But in the time he'd been alone in that hall crying, the sudden sensation of someone pulling him close was all he really needed now. He barely knew Ian. He knew him through Nevada. It was that connection that made it any kind of familiar. He was a stranger, but he was a warm body offering comfort. Someone who knew just what was wrong. The blond didn't stop crying. He wished he could stop feeling for a while, the pain inside burning him raw. "I couldn't save her!" He wailed out in despair, gripping at Ian's shoulders as his body shook from sobs. "There was a wall, and then he just tore her apart. I couldn't break through it. I couldn't stop him."
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Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2014 1:28 pm
Not knowing Otto all that well had nothing to do with the situation, not anymore. Otto had been precious to Nevada, and that was all Ian had needed to know, because it was Nevada that he had trusted, Nevada that he had been drawn to, that he'd relied on.
Nevada that he'd loved, even if it was platonic love.
His grip on Otto's shoulders tightened, fingers digging into the other's shoulders, and Ian gritted his teeth, his heart aching, his mind and body in agony, rebelling against the knowledge that she was really and truly gone, that she had left this world, had left their world.
"I'm sorry," Ian said, and his voice broke, though he didn't want it to, and he clung to Otto as much as Otto was clinging to him, a wetness on his cheeks that he tried to get rid of.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
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Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2014 8:01 pm
It was more than a half hour. Or perhaps exactly a half hour. Or perhaps twice, thrice that time. Or maybe an entire age. At some point in the vast and unknowable stretch of mourning, Otto's phone went off.
Grief wasn't something she felt needed to be publically displayed, let alone in the labs.
Not a minute after the message pinged, Stormy arrived without a noise, a ragdoll in her usual layers (maybe moreso, given that she would have been more appropriate for winter) and a far too cheery bear-themed hat covering most of her shaven head. She viewed the tangled pair forlornly, a fist forming underneath her lengthy sleeve (no skin, no skin to show, not for the bugs, not for anything), nails digging into her palm harder and harder until the impulse to crash with them subsided and only pain--life-giving, happy pain--was all that distracted her.
It just wouldn't be polite to fall apart in front of company.
Her personal training ingrained in her, Stormy barely made so much as a scuffle against the floor, ghosting to Ian and Otto and crouching before them. Wordlessly she reached out, one at a time, to find their hands, finding it rather childlike when it wasn't Gale's she was seeking. But no child wore their expressions, and there was nothing, nothing at all immature about grieving together.
She simply wasn't allowed to participate in the same way. She hadn't earned that right, just as she hadn't earned many things, it seemed. Her duty--perhaps her punishment even--was to sit vigil and help others, as she always had.
When she found their hands, Stormy gently wormed her fingers between theirs and gave a small tug, making to stand and take them with her. The labs were no place to be at all.
(The labs, the infirmary, the bed, the bugs, don't let the bedbugs bite--)
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Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 5:33 am
Time was strange, in that sometimes it went by too slow, other times too fast. And then sometimes the passage of time was simply ignored. By the time Stormy came, Otto's cries had ceased, save for sniffling and the occasional whimper. The sadness and loss was still raw, but the energy to cry any more was waned for the time being. He looked up as he felt someone's hand take his own. Stormy looked different, unlike her self. Who could blame her? Otto untangled himself from Ian, who hardly looked great himself. All three of them were miserable, beaten down. Emotionally and physically drained. The teen stood, rubbing his eyes with a sleeve. He felt gross, snotty and his cheeks burned raw. He was still covered in Nevada's drying blood on his skin and clothes. It just reminded him that yes, she'd been killed, and she was gone forever. He fought back the urge to break apart all over again.
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Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 8:44 pm
He didn't know how long they sat there, each one desperately clinging to the other as though it might make some sort of difference (it wouldn't, it never would, it was never going to make a difference again). Time seemed to come to a rapidfire halt and then start up again, too fast and too out of control, until everything finally crashed together.
A hand touched his, warm and firm, and Ian felt Otto beginning to pull away. He lifted his head and saw Stormy, her expression giving away nothing; flat and emotionless, she tugged at their hands in an almost childlike gesture, and Ian followed suit, letting himself be pulled to his feet.
He looked sideways at Otto, sliding his fingers through Stormy's.
"Your room," he said. "Shower."
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Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 9:20 pm
It was a different direction than she meant, but it would do. Only now did the blood start to register in her vision, not simply as after-effects from a mission gone wrong, but because it was most likely ▓▓▓▓▓▓'s.
Stormy rose with only a slight nod to show that she was self-aware outside of her automaton motion, for a moment catching someone else staring at them behind Ian and Otto's backs. But if she had no words for either of them, she certainly held none for Jack. The moment it looked like he was going to open his mouth and say something, she turned around and tugged the pair away without a backwards glance, neither fast nor slow in pace--like everything else, it was carefully modulated so that she didn't fracture.
She did not stop for anything.
Otto's door, if it was unlocked, was promptly passed through while tugging them along. If it wasn't, in true Mist fashion Stormy simply produced her stole lockpick set and cracked it without bothering to wait for Otto to get his key, not even blinking an eye about it. Once they were inside the room, she let them go and tugged her hat tighter to her head, her gaze flickering between them for a moment in consideration before nodding again.
(They were here because she put them here. Thus, they couldn't possibly leave.)
She made a "be right back" motion as she stepped back into the hallway, closing the door behind her with a quiet click. They could get themselves settled while she retrieved a few necessary items.
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Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 4:04 am
Shower. Right. Otto couldn't bear to keep looking down at himself and seeing Nevada's blood all over him. It made it all worse. He followed along, his hand clung to Stormy's, his eyes on the floor. Nothing seemed familiar on the way there. Even his own room was foreign now. None of it held the possibility of having Nevada there. The teen dragged himself to the bathroom, stopping by his bedroom to grab clean clothes. He tried not to cry again. With all his will, he tried hard not to cry again. Inside the shower, with the jet of water crashing down and filling his ears with noise beyond the silence of Deus halls, he felt safe once more. He could cry here, as the water took away what was left of Nevada from his skin. She washed down the drain in a spiral of colour. The teen dropped down, hunched on the shower stall floor and cried to himself. Felt sorry for himself, and mourned her loss. She was gone. She was actually gone, and there was nothing his mind could do to pretend it never happened. He'd seen it happen, and he could never un-see it. A long while passed before Otto emerged from the bathroom, clean, damp and clothed. A towel hung lazily over his wet hair, and he almost looked surprised to see Ian there. He'd forgotten he'd come with others. Ol-j-man in case you need it, here is the floor plan of his room
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Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:52 pm
Ian waited outside of the bathroom while Otto showered, taking a seat on one of the couches. He wasn't sure where Stormy had gone, except that she'd indicated that she would return after Otto was done.
The room was enormous. He wondered how many times Nevada had come here, how many mornings she'd woken up with the man she loved, how many times she'd come to visit him, just because she could have. Ian wrapped his arms around his stomach as though it might help squeeze some of the pain away, but he couldn't do it, couldn't stop the agony inside of his heart, the cold that spread outwards.
He was still drowning, after all this time.
The click of a door opening meant Otto was finished; Ian had lost track of the time, and he looked wearily towards the other, leaning back on the couch and resisting the urge to fall asleep right then and there.
"Do you need anything?" he asked, and then mentally slapped himself because of course Otto needed something.
He couldn't give him what he needed.
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Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 7:49 pm
They would not so much hear her return so much as smell it.
It was a mystery as to how Stormy opened the door at all, given how full her arms were; probably some expert elbow work to manage the knob. Four large pizza boxes were shoved into the room first--two pepperoni, two cheese--each emblazoned with the Domino's logo (she honestly didn't know which brand would have been better, but it was the first one she had seen in her short trip off-island). Sitting at the top like a crown were a small pile of napkins and a box of classic buffalo wings. Cushioned between the boxes and her body was a large bottle of regular Coke, while two thin snuggies were draped over her arms--one themed after Elsa, the other after Anna.
(They had made a quick trip once when the restrictions on the portals had been lifted, had jokingly argued over who was who, had eventually come to an agreement that it didn't matter because they were both princesses.)
She had been adamant about making only one trip. At least she was used to a heavy load, given the kind of weapon Thane was.
Nudging the door closed with her back, Stormy shuffled in and turned to set the food on the table before the couch. It didn't occur to her that nobody would feel like eating, not once while making the journey to and fro. Emptiness was emptiness. It was simply logical to assume an empty stomach was somewhere among them, simply logical to assume that somebody might want something to dull the feeling of a serrated knife slowly cutting through their insides. Food was the solution. Even if nothing was taken, now she had reserves; now she wouldn't have to leave her room at all, if she wanted. It was comforting.
She did not bring alcohol, even though she knew it would have been welcomed. ▓▓▓▓▓▓'s personal store was now her own, if they really needed. But for right now, she decided that they ought to try and tackle this as soberly as possible before drowning.
After unloading everything but the blankets, she then laid each of the aforemented onto the couch before turning and heading to Otto's kitchen to get plates and cups. Similar to the way she had arranged teacups and saucers and spoons at Gale's house, so too was Stormy trying to account for and manage every little detail here, fix everything up until it was perfect again. It was the only way.
She came back and set the rest of the appropriate items down before taking a step back, her hands clasped before her. The look she gave them indicated they were now free to take what they felt from everything, like a butler or maid waiting for approval or disapproval.
There was only one item she had not yet shed, one thing that hadn't become very noticeable under the layers of food before: her flower-print messenger bag. Letters peeked out from from side.
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Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 9:03 pm
Otto shook his head in response to Ian, slowly tilting his eyes down to the floor. He remained quiet. Stormy came back. Otto couldn't have imagined how she put together a pizza party so readily and swiftly. Just how long had he been in that shower? The teen slowly took a seat near Ian, watching the girl work with a glazed over look in his eyes until she finally stopped. Blue eyes looked to the deliciously perfect meal. It made his heart hurt. A teenagers ideal dinner; pizza and pop aplenty. He wished Nevada were there to share it. He wished she was here. Otto wasn't hungry. He didn't want to leave the food. Stormy had gone through the trouble. She was coping. This was likely her way. Tenya urged him to at least try one bite. A boy needed to eat, traumatic night or not. He slipped a slice of pepperoni pizza onto a plate, curling up with it on the couch. A small, nearly inaudible thank you was murmured from the boy's mouth before taking a small bite. It smelled really good. It tasted really good. But he didn't feel good at all. He felt sick. Flashes of what had happened continued to haunt his eyes. The teen stared past his lap as if he wasn't looking at anything of this world. As if he'd died back there with Nevada.
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