Ekkehardt Gehring (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
spelleton) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
datadiving2019-03-15 12:09 am
spelleton) wrote in datadiving2019-03-15 12:09 am
Before...
[...Oh, wait! That's right.]
--Just like how everything else in the forest is different now! [He had mentioned it awhile ago...and now the kid actually did find some evidence to back that claim up.]
[...Oh, wait! That's right.]
--Just like how everything else in the forest is different now! [He had mentioned it awhile ago...and now the kid actually did find some evidence to back that claim up.]
That's exactly right. [ His smile is a little sad. ] It used to be very different, but that was a lifetime ago.
[ Probably several lifetimes by now. Time is hard to keep track of when you're dead. ] It's a shame.
[ And that's an understatement. ]
[ Probably several lifetimes by now. Time is hard to keep track of when you're dead. ] It's a shame.
[ And that's an understatement. ]
...
[It is strange that he would look this way now. Rarely those who enter a rift would change themselves, nor could he be a ghostly recreation if he still remembers the outside. There was something very particular about this one...]
[The kid hesitated. She should just hurry and close up the rift, thinking he might slow her down. But yet...]
Hey, you should come with me then! I think you might be surprised~
[It is strange that he would look this way now. Rarely those who enter a rift would change themselves, nor could he be a ghostly recreation if he still remembers the outside. There was something very particular about this one...]
[The kid hesitated. She should just hurry and close up the rift, thinking he might slow her down. But yet...]
Hey, you should come with me then! I think you might be surprised~
Will I, now? [ He seems vaguely amused. ] Then I hope such a surprise doesn't bite.
[ He'll follow her, then. And prove adept at keeping up; even without the benefits of being a shadow-dog, he seems quite agile anyway. ]
[ He'll follow her, then. And prove adept at keeping up; even without the benefits of being a shadow-dog, he seems quite agile anyway. ]
[...Whether she wanted to admit it or not, it was kind of nice to be accompanied along the way too. Being a lone space girl meant there was plenty of time of just loneliness.]
...These sorts of things don't last for long anyway. So I guess now is the only time to experience it.
...These sorts of things don't last for long anyway. So I guess now is the only time to experience it.
[ That loneliness is something they both share, even if it's not addressed or spoken of. Of the people he knows to exist, one is decidedly and irretrievably estranged; the other refuses to speak of times past, and would rather focus on the present.
The forest and what it's become is his home just as much as it is theirs, but he still feels he doesn't belong any more.
He likes the company, too. It's fun. It reminds him of better days. ]
What manner of magic is this? I've never seen anything like it.
It reminds me of the stars in the place I used to live, before I came here.
[ At night, the Skylines could almost be another world - in the presence of the Twilight Bell, especially. Everything changed once the sun went down, so high above the clouds. ]
The forest and what it's become is his home just as much as it is theirs, but he still feels he doesn't belong any more.
He likes the company, too. It's fun. It reminds him of better days. ]
What manner of magic is this? I've never seen anything like it.
It reminds me of the stars in the place I used to live, before I came here.
[ At night, the Skylines could almost be another world - in the presence of the Twilight Bell, especially. Everything changed once the sun went down, so high above the clouds. ]
It's a Time Rift! One of my pieces is doing all this. [...And not exactly sure if to be proud or slightly humiliated by that statement. A lot of this planet's problems had been caused by her. Some might find all this stuff really neat - and it is, but it was also such a hindrance to get back and return everything back to normal.]
Most of time if they break like this, they don't...really lead to anywhere particular. But sometimes, sometimes they will show things from the past.
[...]
[And now she really must know.]
...You haven't been hit in the head with anything lately, have you?
Most of time if they break like this, they don't...really lead to anywhere particular. But sometimes, sometimes they will show things from the past.
[...]
[And now she really must know.]
...You haven't been hit in the head with anything lately, have you?
Oh, your strange hourglasses. [ He's got little idea of how they work, but they seem to be vital to her return, so he's glad, in the end, that she got them back.
Even if she did beat up Snatcher. As much as he likes him, he can't say it wasn't an undeserved beating.Also, it was funny. ]
Hmm...
[ He has to think about it. ] I think I did get hit by something, yes. Not so long ago.
[ He hadn't really paid attention to it. ] Is that important?
Even if she did beat up Snatcher. As much as he likes him, he can't say it wasn't an undeserved beating.
Hmm...
[ He has to think about it. ] I think I did get hit by something, yes. Not so long ago.
[ He hadn't really paid attention to it. ] Is that important?
I'm just going to say 'eff you' to game mechanics from here on
hattersgonnahat
2019-05-07 08:34 am (UTC)(link)
[Oh, has he now?]That might explain a lot then. ...These sorts of time rifts especially seem to happen if they land on somebody.
[The kid moved on a little further until suddenly a few of the pons she had collected floated out of her pocket and rose above them, then shattered open with light. As the light fade, it was abundantly clear that they weren't in the same place anymore. Not quite anyway. The forest was full of lush green trees and grass. Not a single trace of deadly swamp water, burning woods, or that one spot that appeared to be permanently frozen. It is far more peaceful than all that.]
[The kid moved on a little further until suddenly a few of the pons she had collected floated out of her pocket and rose above them, then shattered open with light. As the light fade, it was abundantly clear that they weren't in the same place anymore. Not quite anyway. The forest was full of lush green trees and grass. Not a single trace of deadly swamp water, burning woods, or that one spot that appeared to be permanently frozen. It is far more peaceful than all that.]
[ The forest looks -- like it used to, not how it is now. Some things are the same - lanterns and the way the trees cluster together - but moonlight filters down through the leaves and fireflies dance in the darkness. Clean and bright.
He's silent for a long moment, and then he laughs, weakly. ]
This certainly is powerful magic.
[ It's been a long time since he's been able to remember this with such clarity. It's a shock to his senses. He doesn't know where to look.
The village still thrives. He can hear the voices of children, distant and laughing. The sounds of forest creatures, filling the night.
Everything is as it was.
He appears to be somewhat shellshocked. ]
He's silent for a long moment, and then he laughs, weakly. ]
This certainly is powerful magic.
[ It's been a long time since he's been able to remember this with such clarity. It's a shock to his senses. He doesn't know where to look.
The village still thrives. He can hear the voices of children, distant and laughing. The sounds of forest creatures, filling the night.
Everything is as it was.
He appears to be somewhat shellshocked. ]
...I guess you could say it's magic. [It's a little more scientific than that, but sure. We'd be here all night if she tried explaining every little bit of it, and that's not nearly as fun as getting to explore it all. She likes this version of the forest a lot better already.]
This must be a really old memory. [Which, the kid already had a strong guess this would happen. If his appearance was in some part reflecting what this time rift was going to be like.]
[She was distracted by the sound of other kids nearby. It would seem that they aren't alone, let's go check it out! ...Well, check it out without being creeps about it.]
This must be a really old memory. [Which, the kid already had a strong guess this would happen. If his appearance was in some part reflecting what this time rift was going to be like.]
[She was distracted by the sound of other kids nearby. It would seem that they aren't alone, let's go check it out! ...Well, check it out without being creeps about it.]
[ Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, et cetera, something something. He looks at her oddly, for a moment, but doesn't question it. ]
[ There are masked children, doing the things that children do; playing and shouting and talking together. Instead of dwellings crammed with shadows and yellow eyes, there are people; the houses in the trees and on the ground bright with lights and life. ]
It is. It's been -- a lifetime, since it looked this way.
Well, several. I suppose it must be several, by this point.
[ He sounds a little distracted; a small group of three children has caught his eye. A girl with long, blonde hair and a horned mask; a brown-haired boy dressed in purple, with a mask shaped like a moon turned on its side; a boy with white hair and a mask that mimics a fox's face.
They're talking about something or other, excitedly. ]
[ There are masked children, doing the things that children do; playing and shouting and talking together. Instead of dwellings crammed with shadows and yellow eyes, there are people; the houses in the trees and on the ground bright with lights and life. ]
It is. It's been -- a lifetime, since it looked this way.
Well, several. I suppose it must be several, by this point.
[ He sounds a little distracted; a small group of three children has caught his eye. A girl with long, blonde hair and a horned mask; a brown-haired boy dressed in purple, with a mask shaped like a moon turned on its side; a boy with white hair and a mask that mimics a fox's face.
They're talking about something or other, excitedly. ]
[He did sound distracted. The kid looked over at what he was staring at too for a moment and watched. What was so special about them?]
[Actually...]
[She looked up at him again. Hey, one of those kids does have the same sort of mask as him. That's weird.]
[With that little found detail, she approached them closer.]
[Actually...]
[She looked up at him again. Hey, one of those kids does have the same sort of mask as him. That's weird.]
[With that little found detail, she approached them closer.]
the punchline is they both die, wait that's not a punchline
heartchained
2019-06-24 05:41 pm (UTC)(link)
[ They both know he's not long for this world. In that sense, she doesn't do anything worse to him than what she's accidentally done already, which is probably nice of her, considering the circumstances.
Accessing the dungeons is more of an accident than anything else. He was torn about it, really; he could probably just die on the floor (ruin the carpet part of him says, and he'd laugh if the ice currently crystalizing around his heart didn't make it hurt to laugh, or breathe, or do anything) and it would be...not fine. But acceptable, perhaps.
But it's so cold here, inescapably so. It threatens to freeze him solid, trapping him forever, and it terrifies him to die that way, without an inch of give or fluidity.
He doesn't walk down the stairs so much as fall down them. The wall catches him, and it hurts, but everything hurts, so what's one more?
Ice grinds in his chest, painfully; warmth seeps out of him once again, staining clear to red. His breath feels like it's freezing in his throat; it's the only reason he doesn't cry out in pain. He doesn't have any breath to spare.
Avery is here somewhere, isn't he? He should go and see him. While he still can. He might be able to do something, still.
It hurts to move and to breathe. It's still warmer down here than it was in the hall, so he bleeds more freely than he would have otherwise. Most of it soaks into his clothes; if they weren't red before, they're starting to become a shade of red now.
His footsteps, labored, echo on the stone; it's so loud. He feels loud, and clumsy, and numb. He feels like he'll probably slip on his own blood at some point, and wouldn't that just be dignified.
Not that death is dignified. It never is.
He keeps going. He's fairly certain it's not far, that the corridor isn't this long, but blood loss makes everything harder. ]
Accessing the dungeons is more of an accident than anything else. He was torn about it, really; he could probably just die on the floor (ruin the carpet part of him says, and he'd laugh if the ice currently crystalizing around his heart didn't make it hurt to laugh, or breathe, or do anything) and it would be...not fine. But acceptable, perhaps.
But it's so cold here, inescapably so. It threatens to freeze him solid, trapping him forever, and it terrifies him to die that way, without an inch of give or fluidity.
He doesn't walk down the stairs so much as fall down them. The wall catches him, and it hurts, but everything hurts, so what's one more?
Ice grinds in his chest, painfully; warmth seeps out of him once again, staining clear to red. His breath feels like it's freezing in his throat; it's the only reason he doesn't cry out in pain. He doesn't have any breath to spare.
Avery is here somewhere, isn't he? He should go and see him. While he still can. He might be able to do something, still.
It hurts to move and to breathe. It's still warmer down here than it was in the hall, so he bleeds more freely than he would have otherwise. Most of it soaks into his clothes; if they weren't red before, they're starting to become a shade of red now.
His footsteps, labored, echo on the stone; it's so loud. He feels loud, and clumsy, and numb. He feels like he'll probably slip on his own blood at some point, and wouldn't that just be dignified.
Not that death is dignified. It never is.
He keeps going. He's fairly certain it's not far, that the corridor isn't this long, but blood loss makes everything harder. ]
[It's dark, even with the torch for company.
He doesn't understand why she's doing this. Why? What had he done? Did she hate the flowers that much? Did she hate him?
He thinks she does sometimes. It's the only way things make sense. But then she comes down to see him, something about her dark and twisted and wrong, her smile off, her eyes red, and she fawns over him, coos and sweettalks and strokes his head and face just like she used to. As if he want chained to a wall.
One time she came down with strawberries, tried to feed him with a kiss, as if they were a normal couple on a date. He'd begged her to let him go, to seek help for herself, to acknowledge that this wasn't right. She'd just chided him as if he were a misbehaving child and went upstairs, leaving him alone down here with no supper. The next day she added more chains.
He can't hardly move his fingers anymore.
Avery looks up when he hears footsteps. They don't sound like hers. Not quite. There's something... heavy, clumsy(?) About them.]
Vanessa?
[Avery's voice is hoarse, rough from screaming for her, for help, just to scream.
For a moment, he worries she's injured. He doesn't know why. She'd deserve it at this point.
... Wouldn't she?]
He doesn't understand why she's doing this. Why? What had he done? Did she hate the flowers that much? Did she hate him?
He thinks she does sometimes. It's the only way things make sense. But then she comes down to see him, something about her dark and twisted and wrong, her smile off, her eyes red, and she fawns over him, coos and sweettalks and strokes his head and face just like she used to. As if he want chained to a wall.
One time she came down with strawberries, tried to feed him with a kiss, as if they were a normal couple on a date. He'd begged her to let him go, to seek help for herself, to acknowledge that this wasn't right. She'd just chided him as if he were a misbehaving child and went upstairs, leaving him alone down here with no supper. The next day she added more chains.
He can't hardly move his fingers anymore.
Avery looks up when he hears footsteps. They don't sound like hers. Not quite. There's something... heavy, clumsy(?) About them.]
Vanessa?
[Avery's voice is hoarse, rough from screaming for her, for help, just to scream.
For a moment, he worries she's injured. He doesn't know why. She'd deserve it at this point.
... Wouldn't she?]
[ He'd tried over and over to convince her to let Avery go. That it wasn't what she thought it was, that she was wrong.
For all the good it did. He should have just stolen the keys and let him out. She might have killed him anyway, but at least Avery would have been free.
It's dark, but it's not hard to navigate. Warmth creeps back in, the closer he gets; ice relents, and he doesn't feel like every breath is an effort.
Of course, he'll bleed out faster. But he'll die warmer.
He almost considers turning back, or sitting down right here and letting things take their course. Hearing Avery's voice reminds him of just how much he's failed. Surely it's more merciful not to be near him, to not make him watch his slow death.
He can hear ice behind him and above him, crackling, gnawing at the walls.
He wishes he could hide what happened to him, but the ice ramming through his chest and conspicuously out his back is something that he doesn't have the strength to break.
He coughs as he inhales warmer air, struggling for breath. It sounds awful. ]
Just me.
[ He limps to the wall, or tries to.
He doesn't quite make it there. His legs give out before he makes it all the way, collapsing him into a sitting position, and he feels like it's unfair at this point. ]
Sorry.
[ Like that makes this any better. He can't bring himself to look at him yet. ]
For all the good it did. He should have just stolen the keys and let him out. She might have killed him anyway, but at least Avery would have been free.
It's dark, but it's not hard to navigate. Warmth creeps back in, the closer he gets; ice relents, and he doesn't feel like every breath is an effort.
Of course, he'll bleed out faster. But he'll die warmer.
He almost considers turning back, or sitting down right here and letting things take their course. Hearing Avery's voice reminds him of just how much he's failed. Surely it's more merciful not to be near him, to not make him watch his slow death.
He can hear ice behind him and above him, crackling, gnawing at the walls.
He wishes he could hide what happened to him, but the ice ramming through his chest and conspicuously out his back is something that he doesn't have the strength to break.
He coughs as he inhales warmer air, struggling for breath. It sounds awful. ]
Just me.
[ He limps to the wall, or tries to.
He doesn't quite make it there. His legs give out before he makes it all the way, collapsing him into a sitting position, and he feels like it's unfair at this point. ]
Sorry.
[ Like that makes this any better. He can't bring himself to look at him yet. ]
[A fresh burst of heat pulses through the room then fades, leaving it colder than before.]
Ekkehardt!
[He struggles against the chains, twisting and turning, sending metal scraping against metal and stone. The shackles dig into his upper arms, the chains against his neck.
It's hopeless. Of course it's hopeless. What was he thinking?
But it's Ekkehardt. And Ekkehardt is dying here in front of him.]
Hold on! If... If you can just pack it enough you'll be fine, right?! You're a doctor! You can fix it!
[That's ice. Oh god, that's ice.
Vanessa did this.
Vanessa did this?
Vanessa killed his best friend.
His best friend came here because of him.
(He did this?)]
Ekkehardt!
[He struggles against the chains, twisting and turning, sending metal scraping against metal and stone. The shackles dig into his upper arms, the chains against his neck.
It's hopeless. Of course it's hopeless. What was he thinking?
But it's Ekkehardt. And Ekkehardt is dying here in front of him.]
Hold on! If... If you can just pack it enough you'll be fine, right?! You're a doctor! You can fix it!
[That's ice. Oh god, that's ice.
Vanessa did this.
Vanessa did this?
Vanessa killed his best friend.
His best friend came here because of him.
(He did this?)]
I-- [ He lifts a hand to his mouth, coughs up his own crystallized blood, shards scraping his throat raw as they come up. He wonders if blood loss or the ice buried in his chest will get him first and decides that it doesn't matter.
Heat washes over him and delays the enroaching frost. What a mess he must be, he thinks numbly. ]
I used most of it up. Arguing with her. [ Fighting with her, he means. ] It's magic anyway. I can't -- fix it normally. I tried.
[ He tries to get up again, to make his body move, to do anything he's telling it to. Avery is upset, so he has to get up. He has to fix it, somehow.
(Do something, he demands of himself. Do anything, anything at all, that might mean you didn't die for nothing--)
The aches and pains and scrapes Avery has received from struggling against his chains, hanging there for so long, fade all at once. Ekkehardt doubles over on the floor, coughing violently, more red shards clinking almost melodically on the floor.
It might be a pretty sound, or a pretty sight, if it wasn't his own blood he was coughing up. ]
Sorry. I'm... I know it's not-- [ He glances up at him, expression pained. ] Not enough.
Heat washes over him and delays the enroaching frost. What a mess he must be, he thinks numbly. ]
I used most of it up. Arguing with her. [ Fighting with her, he means. ] It's magic anyway. I can't -- fix it normally. I tried.
[ He tries to get up again, to make his body move, to do anything he's telling it to. Avery is upset, so he has to get up. He has to fix it, somehow.
(Do something, he demands of himself. Do anything, anything at all, that might mean you didn't die for nothing--)
The aches and pains and scrapes Avery has received from struggling against his chains, hanging there for so long, fade all at once. Ekkehardt doubles over on the floor, coughing violently, more red shards clinking almost melodically on the floor.
It might be a pretty sound, or a pretty sight, if it wasn't his own blood he was coughing up. ]
Sorry. I'm... I know it's not-- [ He glances up at him, expression pained. ] Not enough.
[And with that he's twisting and turning and struggling all over again, violent, jerking motions as he screams and tries to get free]
I don't care about me, you fool! Stay awake! Stay awake, dammit!
[He sounds panicked. He feels panicked.
It doesn't matter how many chains are wrapped around him, the world is crumbling and becoming so, so small and cold. He's watching Ekkehardt die and he can't do a damn thing about it. But if he can just do something, anything at all!]
Don't... Don't leave me!
I don't care about me, you fool! Stay awake! Stay awake, dammit!
[He sounds panicked. He feels panicked.
It doesn't matter how many chains are wrapped around him, the world is crumbling and becoming so, so small and cold. He's watching Ekkehardt die and he can't do a damn thing about it. But if he can just do something, anything at all!]
Don't... Don't leave me!
[ What can he say to that? Everything is an effort. It would be easier just to lay down and die (it would have been easier to freeze to death up there, and Avery wouldn't know anything, and maybe that would have been kinder).
Too late now. Too late for that. He keeps trying to fix things, and makes them worse instead.. ]
I'm not...going anywhere. [ He doesn't have enough strength to walk out of here any more. He'll bleed to death or his heart will stop; it's only a matter of time.
I won't leave you, he wants to say, but that would be a lie. He can't lie to him. He never really could. ]
I can't even walk...I'll just...stay.
[ He can drag himself a little closer, so he does. He leans against the wall; stone retains heat, so it's at least more comfortable. Easier to talk, to breathe, for whatever time he has left.
He doesn't know how much blood he's lost so far. At the edge of the torchlight, he thinks he can see the smears of it on the floor. By the way his head is starting to spin, it's probably a lot. ]
I should have just...stolen the keys, [ he says, after a moment. Almost conversationally, like he's not dying on the floor, like Avery isn't chained to the wall.
He laughs, weakly, even though he shouldn't. Bitter clarity is settling on him; it makes everything funny, in its own terrible way. ] It would have worked out...better.
[ It's hard to tell whether his erratic breathing is from injury, or from crying. Maybe it's both. He thought being half-frozen had stopped it, but he still has some left, apparently.
He doesn't really need to lose more fluid. But it's going to happen anyway. ]
But all I do is make things worse...
I shouldn't even...be here. Making you watch this...
[ All he'd ever wanted to do was be by their side. And look how that had turned out. ]
Too late now. Too late for that. He keeps trying to fix things, and makes them worse instead.. ]
I'm not...going anywhere. [ He doesn't have enough strength to walk out of here any more. He'll bleed to death or his heart will stop; it's only a matter of time.
I won't leave you, he wants to say, but that would be a lie. He can't lie to him. He never really could. ]
I can't even walk...I'll just...stay.
[ He can drag himself a little closer, so he does. He leans against the wall; stone retains heat, so it's at least more comfortable. Easier to talk, to breathe, for whatever time he has left.
He doesn't know how much blood he's lost so far. At the edge of the torchlight, he thinks he can see the smears of it on the floor. By the way his head is starting to spin, it's probably a lot. ]
I should have just...stolen the keys, [ he says, after a moment. Almost conversationally, like he's not dying on the floor, like Avery isn't chained to the wall.
He laughs, weakly, even though he shouldn't. Bitter clarity is settling on him; it makes everything funny, in its own terrible way. ] It would have worked out...better.
[ It's hard to tell whether his erratic breathing is from injury, or from crying. Maybe it's both. He thought being half-frozen had stopped it, but he still has some left, apparently.
He doesn't really need to lose more fluid. But it's going to happen anyway. ]
But all I do is make things worse...
I shouldn't even...be here. Making you watch this...
[ All he'd ever wanted to do was be by their side. And look how that had turned out. ]
[He struggles a moment longer, then falls limp in his bindings. The tears fall freely. Even if he could stop them, he wouldn't have the energy for it.
Funny. He thought he'd reached rock bottom and yet here he was, dangling above a bottomless pit. Ekkehardt's dying, Avery knows he's going to die when his magic runs out, and even now the only thing Ekkehardt can do is blame himself.
Doesn't he get it?
Doesn't he see?
He's the one who stuck with her for this long. He's the one who ignored all the warning signs. How clingy she could be, how jealous she could get, the little things she did to get her way, the way he would always have to maneuver to make things right... People don't go from 0 to murder that quickly. It had all been right there.
And he'd spent all this time trying to better himself, just for her--a man trying to shine brightly for a monster. And look where he was now. Look what happened to the people who really did care about him.
Shining brightly, only to be snuffed out in the dark... How hideously fitting.
Avery smiles and chuckles, his head lowered, but he doesn't reply to Ekkehardt.
There's screaming outside. Distant. Terrified. All because of a love-blind fool. What a prince! What a knight in shining armor! The damsel in distress fell in love with the dragon and was eaten alive. What a nice story.]
Funny. He thought he'd reached rock bottom and yet here he was, dangling above a bottomless pit. Ekkehardt's dying, Avery knows he's going to die when his magic runs out, and even now the only thing Ekkehardt can do is blame himself.
Doesn't he get it?
Doesn't he see?
He's the one who stuck with her for this long. He's the one who ignored all the warning signs. How clingy she could be, how jealous she could get, the little things she did to get her way, the way he would always have to maneuver to make things right... People don't go from 0 to murder that quickly. It had all been right there.
And he'd spent all this time trying to better himself, just for her--a man trying to shine brightly for a monster. And look where he was now. Look what happened to the people who really did care about him.
Shining brightly, only to be snuffed out in the dark... How hideously fitting.
Avery smiles and chuckles, his head lowered, but he doesn't reply to Ekkehardt.
There's screaming outside. Distant. Terrified. All because of a love-blind fool. What a prince! What a knight in shining armor! The damsel in distress fell in love with the dragon and was eaten alive. What a nice story.]
[ Part of him, distant (the part of him that will cling on when he dies, that will keep his soul rooted in the forest he'd grown to love, that will make him something more and less than human) can feel the land struggle and protest at being treated this way. Ice was never meant to spread this far, or at all.
It's so cold. But as his body fights desperately to keep itself alive, even as it drives itself to death with every heartbeat, he feels warmer. Maybe it's just being around Avery that's doing it, being close to him.
Or maybe it's just because he's dying. ]
You're crying. [ His voice is quiet. He lifts his hand, an automatic response; he doesn't get far before what little strength he has left runs out and he has to drop it. But there's a little magic left to him; it produces little more than a slight, unseen touch against his friend's cheek, but it's there.
He can't physically touch him. This is all he has left to give. ]
It's not... [ The words are slow and painful. He's running out of air to speak. ] Your fault.
That I'm like this...that she is.
I promise... [ He's struggling not to close his eyes and just sleep. Sleep means he won't wake up. He knows that. ]
It's not your fault.
It's so cold. But as his body fights desperately to keep itself alive, even as it drives itself to death with every heartbeat, he feels warmer. Maybe it's just being around Avery that's doing it, being close to him.
Or maybe it's just because he's dying. ]
You're crying. [ His voice is quiet. He lifts his hand, an automatic response; he doesn't get far before what little strength he has left runs out and he has to drop it. But there's a little magic left to him; it produces little more than a slight, unseen touch against his friend's cheek, but it's there.
He can't physically touch him. This is all he has left to give. ]
It's not... [ The words are slow and painful. He's running out of air to speak. ] Your fault.
That I'm like this...that she is.
I promise... [ He's struggling not to close his eyes and just sleep. Sleep means he won't wake up. He knows that. ]
It's not your fault.
Edited 2019-06-25 03:28 (UTC)
[Bullshit.
The dam breaks. He's laughing. He's crying. He can't stop.
It's all so pointless, can't he see? Everything he did, everything he wanted to be, the kingdom, his marriage, his best friend, it's gone! All because he spent those years with his head up his ass pretending it was all okay!
It's sure okay now, isn't it, Ekkehardt?! It's just FUCKING peachy!
And you know what?! He's going to die down here anyway! Might as well just get it over with!
He howls with broken laughter as the room grows colder, watches his breath puff up in tiny, blurry clouds, relishes every crack of ice as it spreads over the stone, into the cracks, into the very heart of the manor.
He doesn't care anymore.
It doesn't matter. None of it fucking matters.
Screw it.]
The dam breaks. He's laughing. He's crying. He can't stop.
It's all so pointless, can't he see? Everything he did, everything he wanted to be, the kingdom, his marriage, his best friend, it's gone! All because he spent those years with his head up his ass pretending it was all okay!
It's sure okay now, isn't it, Ekkehardt?! It's just FUCKING peachy!
And you know what?! He's going to die down here anyway! Might as well just get it over with!
He howls with broken laughter as the room grows colder, watches his breath puff up in tiny, blurry clouds, relishes every crack of ice as it spreads over the stone, into the cracks, into the very heart of the manor.
He doesn't care anymore.
It doesn't matter. None of it fucking matters.
Screw it.]
[ Vanessa had cracked over time, in her own way; little cracks and shards that grew into fault lines, painful and destructive.
Avery's transformation, if it can be called that, is much more sudden.
Two, now. Two people he loved, in different ways (one in a way he'll never say, and probably will never get the chance to say), breaking apart, in a way he can't fix, and maybe it was inevitable. Maybe there was nothing he could do, and that hurts worst of all.
It breaks something in him too (finally part of him rumbles, waiting to be released). It's not as if he'd been happy before this, just pretending to be.
He just leans against the wall and watches him, eyes half-closed, entirely silent. (He's too much of a coward to take his eyes off him, to just sleep. He doesn't want the last thing he remembers, the last thing in his life, to be darkness.)
He hopes for one small mercy, if there is anything left of it here;
he hopes that when he stops breathing, Avery will be too busy to notice.
He slips away quietly, in the end.
Talented in unobtrusive exits, in death as he was in life.
(His soul clings; it remains, stubbornly. It lights up the dungeon better than a torch.) ]
Avery's transformation, if it can be called that, is much more sudden.
Two, now. Two people he loved, in different ways (one in a way he'll never say, and probably will never get the chance to say), breaking apart, in a way he can't fix, and maybe it was inevitable. Maybe there was nothing he could do, and that hurts worst of all.
It breaks something in him too (finally part of him rumbles, waiting to be released). It's not as if he'd been happy before this, just pretending to be.
He just leans against the wall and watches him, eyes half-closed, entirely silent. (He's too much of a coward to take his eyes off him, to just sleep. He doesn't want the last thing he remembers, the last thing in his life, to be darkness.)
He hopes for one small mercy, if there is anything left of it here;
he hopes that when he stops breathing, Avery will be too busy to notice.
He slips away quietly, in the end.
Talented in unobtrusive exits, in death as he was in life.
(His soul clings; it remains, stubbornly. It lights up the dungeon better than a torch.) ]
[ He doesn't remember what they were talking about - his memory is so hazy, and he made it that way for a reason, he thinks - so even up close, there's not much to hear.
The boy with brown hair says something indistinct, and laughs; the boy with the fox mask smiles to hear it. The girl tosses her hair (decorated with flowers), but it's easy to tell that even under the mask, she's amused.
But it is easy to tell, this close, and with him following dazedly behind like he doesn't know what to think, that the child with his mask looks too much like him to be a coincidence. ]
The boy with brown hair says something indistinct, and laughs; the boy with the fox mask smiles to hear it. The girl tosses her hair (decorated with flowers), but it's easy to tell that even under the mask, she's amused.
But it is easy to tell, this close, and with him following dazedly behind like he doesn't know what to think, that the child with his mask looks too much like him to be a coincidence. ]
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