crau2 pcs: estelle

[unbested]

Comments

[mustbepurged]

Oh...

[She just... lets that sink in.]

...

I tried to go in there, but it was like my body just froze... I couldn't move forward another step...

[She kind of looks like she's barely staying on her feet right now, though.]

[unbested]

Huh. I'm not sure what that...

[ ... ]

A-are you okay? You look— um, like you don't feel great.

[ comes over to put a hand on her shoulder to try to steady her? ]

[mustbepurged]

Y, yes, I...

[She'll let him help her.]

Actually, something else happened this morning...

[unbested]

This morning? Was it— you didn't get buried, did you??

[mustbepurged]

[She nods weakly.]

[unbested]

Oh, jeez... I'm sorry, that must have been really scary.

[mustbepurged]

It was... especially the nightmares. I knew what they were like, but actually experiencing it...

[unbested]

What... what kind of nightmares were they? Was it what that letter you got was talking about, you think? The... not all dreams are pleasant, sweet dreams are the best dreams thing?

[mustbepurged]

I... I don't know...

It started really nice... I was in a field of flowers, and I was having a picnic with lots of friends. There was Rita and Yuri, and Cloud, and... you were there, too...

But these shadowy figures came in from the forest and attacked us, and everyone got hurt... and...

[unbested]

I-I was?

Did anything happen after that? Or was that...

[mustbepurged]

... Everyone was hurt...

So I tried to tend to their wounds, but when I reached out... my hands turned into claws. I couldn't do anything to help, but everyone was suffering, and... all I could do to end their pain was...

[Her eyes well up with tears. She tries to wipe them away.]

I'm sorry...

[unbested]

N-no, it's okay! And I mean— it was just a nightmare, you didn't really hurt anyone!

[ he will grab a handkerchief out of his pocket and offer that to her if she needs it??

...it's clean, but he won't blame her if she thinks it's gross, because god knows it's gotten a lot of use here... ]

And... even if you actually had, that's... you know I'd understand, right?

[mustbepurged]

[She takes it and looks at it before her gaze snaps back to him in alarm.]

Wh-- no, you shouldn't have to accept something like that!

[unbested]

I mean, I— you remember what I told you last week, right? H-how I... what I did to that kid in that other place... so... I get it! Feeling like you can't forgive yourself even though you didn't have any better options...

[mustbepurged]

Sebastian...


I...

[She dabs delicately at her cheeks and under her eyes, and hands it back.] ... Thank you.

[unbested]

Y-yeah, you're welcome.

[ he puts the handkerchief back in his pocket, and he'll... kind of pull her into a slightly awkward hug if she seems okay with it?? god he's bad at this. ]

[mustbepurged]

[There's a moment... then she hugs him back, squeezing tightly.]

I'm glad it was just a dream... I'm glad you're still here.

[unbested]

[ oh. that's... really nice to hear, and whatever awkwardness there might have been on his end seems to fade away with it, at least for the moment. ]

Yeah... and I'm glad you're still here too. I... really like you a lot, you know?

Week 6, Saturday

[mustbepurged]

[Estelle's out in the courtyard, sitting on a bench. She'll try to quickly wipe her tears when she sees Sebastian coming, though it's a somewhat futile effort.]

[unbested]

[ oh... he'll sit down next to her and offer her the handkerchief again. ]

[mustbepurged]

[Thanks, crybuddy. She'll take it and dab lightly at her cheeks.]

I... I just don't know what to think about all of this...

[unbested]

Y-yeah, it's... kind of a lot.

[ ...the head was a lot.

he frowns down at the ground. ]

I don't... I mean, I think the way we voted... wasn't wrong, really.

[mustbepurged]

[She shakes her head.] I don't blame anyone for the way they voted...

I just... it's everything else. Everything that led up to this...

[unbested]

[ that's a relief, because honestly, he doesn't feel bad about voting out hua cheng; he just feels a little bad about not feeling that bad. everything else, though... has been rough. ]

Yeah... It's been... pretty bad.

A-at least that should have been the last time, though? Supposedly next week is just... figuring out how to save everyone, I guess.

[ he pauses. ]

These last few weeks... I was really scared that the shadows were going to make me do it too. Early on I was just scared of someone else killing me, but... after the memories and stuff, seeing how people felt about mine...

I... I love my pops, but... I really hated the idea of most people here dying for his sake.

[mustbepurged]

[She lifts her head at that, apparently surprised to hear this should be the last time. But he continues, and she listens.]

Your father... He's your hostage?