crau2 pcs: estelle

[unbested]

Comments

[unbested]

Y-yeah, uh... One of the times we stopped in before, um... this other spirit told us that the only cure once someone started changing was... this stuff that would be left behind when a... material... um... a spirit with like, a solid form, was destroyed. A-and that you had to do it early or it wouldn't work.

[ his hands are balled into fists, pressed hard against his knees, and he looks down at the floor. ]

So, um... when the others attacked, Cloud fought them off while I hid with him, and I told him what that other spirit told us. That... if he wanted to save them, he'd have to die.

I didn't... I didn't tell him what was going to happen to the world if he didn't. S-so when he said okay, it was because he wanted to save them, and not... not because he felt guilty...

[mustbepurged]

Oh...

[There's concern and sadness in her eyes.]

I'm sorry, Sebastian...

[unbested]

[ he shakes his head; it feels awful accepting pity when he's the only one who came out of that with nothing but minor cuts and bruises. ]

His cat saw it and hated me... and when those guys were back to normal, they asked where he was, and I had to tell them I...

[ he opens up his fists and looks at the palms of his hands, then just buries his face in them. ]

I-I don't understand how those things work, so— I mean, maybe he was never even really real... a-and I know that was the only option, but it just. It feels really terrible.

[mustbepurged]

[Estelle lifts a hand, seemingly to reach out to him... but then appears to think better of it, and pulls it back to leave it buried under the long sleeve of her robe.]

I don't think anyone can blame you for that... You were trying to help.

I... I can imagine how it feels, though...

[unbested]

...That memory I saw, you mean?

[mustbepurged]

[Her gaze falls, and she nods.]

That's... one instance, yes...

It feels horrible to try your best to help people, and find that no matter what, your actions end up hurting someone...

[unbested]

Yeah... it does.

[ he raises his head with a sniffle and wipes his eyes. ]

I really miss when everything was simple. People I didn't know did bad stuff to other people I didn't know, and I could just come in and be the good guy and set things straight.

[ ...probably by getting the bad guy executed, if he'd ever gotten that far with a case, but he's not thinking about that. he never had a problem with it before. ]

[mustbepurged]

I wish things could be that simple...

I... I feel so powerless to help anyone...

[unbested]

Me too... so... thanks for letting me help you today, at least.

[ because he really needed to do something helpful that he wouldn't have to feel bad about today. ]

Did... you want to talk about happened too?

[mustbepurged]

[Her expression lightens at that a little. She can certainly understand that.]

I... well... we were back at the space station.

[unbested]

The... the one from last week, you mean?

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Yes, that one.

We were judged for our "sins" and then... we had to undergo some sort of trials to overcome them.

And there was a horrible creature that made us play a cruel game... Whether we won or lost, someone always got hurt.

[unbested]

Oh...

Was the game part of the trials, or just... something else?

[mustbepurged]

It was part of the "Wrath" trial. When we lost, we'd get hurt. When we won, the other people at the table... people who looked like friends and loved ones... They got hurt instead.

[unbested]

Ugh... and that was supposed to make you... overcome your sins? Was that just an excuse for them to mess with you all or something?

[mustbepurged]

I wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter. That creature seemed to take joy in the suffering of others... perhaps like the Nightman does.

[unbested]

Yeah... I think these things are all happening for his entertainment too. We got this tape that— well, it was a couple of the staff talking, and it sounded like we were originally supposed to be dying on those trips too, not just at the hotel... but they've been stopping that from happening.

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So they've been protecting us...

... Actually, we found a tape too.

[unbested]

You got one from the thing today? We just watched ours in the security room a little bit ago...

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We did, too. [wow how convenient our groups just missed each other]

You can watch my copy, if you want.

[unbested]

Ah... yeah, that would be cool if you don't mind. I can bring mine over later if you want to see it. Was yours something similar?

[mustbepurged]

A little. It involved the staff, too. They talked about something happening with the dead... I'm going to try sending a letter to see if I can hear their side of the story.

It sounded like they tricked Virgo, and stole a key from them... and Virgo was worried that they were opening a door they shouldn't open, that there's something dangerous there...

[unbested]

The dead stole it from them? Does that mean the staff really can see them and talk to them?

[mustbepurged]

I... I think so.

Apparently, they called Virgo there, saying someone was hurt... and then they tied them up, and took a key from them...

I received a few letters mentioning that "someone" was there with them, but I couldn't make out the names... Maybe they were trying to tell me about the staff who visited them.

[unbested]

Wow...

[ that seems kind of mean... ]

Ah, yeah, I had letters like that too! When I sent one back I asked if they could try to describe who they were talking about since the name was getting blacked out... don't have an answer to that yet, though.

I also, um... had one that said to pay attention whenever anyone gets flowers, but I'm not sure what that means. Um, what we're supposed to be paying attention to, I mean.