Waking the Dead 2.0 || July 5-11, 2063 || The Wait

[kawaakari]

[Beautiful as Seigi is and generous as your hosts have been, it is hard to forget why you're here again.

Zangyaku is carrying on as per usual, as if your presence doesn't mean anything. It isn't a dismissal, though: it's an acknowledgment of the work that you must do, and that they are, by merit of your presence, helping you do it.]


General OOC Notes:
+ This is a catch-all post for any interactions that take place during the in-game period I indicated. Make sure to label your subject lines accordingly!
+ You're all staying at close to the Wolf's Ward, which is the wing devoted to the Blade King and the Wolfborn.
+ You're free to move around until about 7 PM. You have free run of the base.
+ You can, regardless of whether you have a license with Zangyaku or not, join in on minor routine engagements like patrol, or helping out at any of the divisions.
+ There is a free teleport back to Falner. You can go any time, as long as you're back before call time for the vigil with Ginko Takasugi-Vice from 8 PM until 4 AM.

General behavior of significant NPCs in the area:
+ Kasumi is your host, and effectively the officer in command for this leg of the operation.
+ Hikaru is generally NOT around during the day. He only turns up around dinner time to eat with everyone, take a temperature check on his end, and then immerse himself in his own work.
+ NPCs that have been fielded out to watch over David Young and Minato Arisato are available on call.
+ Other NPCs may be available on request. Just ping me?

Comments

[larue]

Just... [ a sigh. ] Just worried.

[ About Hikaru. But he doesn't say that out loud. There are a lot of other feelings as well, but ever since Yulia trounced him soundly the other day, he's been trying to manage them better. ]

Things have been feeling pretty tense.

[intelligencia]

Well, yeah. Inquisitor Vice is kind of gone and probably in danger.

[A beat.]

Unless this isn't just about the operation, and Inquisitor Vice's disappearance.

[larue]

[ Any other time, he'd tell you, Cinds. Because at any other time he'd know what it was he could tell, what it is exactly that's gone wrong, what he did, and what he figures he could do to fix it.

The brush-off on the first night, he chalked up to Jessie, to this whole operation. But the second time he'd checked in with Hikaru not been much better and he hasn't really seen the Blade King since -- not in the mornings, not even at dinner anymore, though he's heard that the guy's been around.

He thought they were good. Had thought whatever it was he'd said wrong was done, the air clear between them.

Guess he was wrong. ]

I don't know what it is just yet. [ It's not a lie, this is just his way of asking for time, because he needs to sort his shit out before he unloads on anyone.

He scrubs a hand over his face at that. ]

I just want to keep my head in the game for now.

[ Read: Yes, something's up. No, it's not just the operation. No, he's not up to talking about it just yet but yes, he will come to you when he figures it all out. He loves you, you're his sister, the girl he raised when there was no one else capable of doing the raising, and one of the people he trusts to call him out on his shit that doesn't involved sparring and getting soundly trounced in front of a number of onlookers. ]

I need to keep my head in the game.

[intelligencia]

[She's quiet for a moment because she's absorbing all of that: your words, the way you sound, and what you're NOT saying.]

I'm here if you need me. Always. Okay?

[That's all she can give you, right? The reassurance that when you do come around, she'll do what she can.]

[larue]

[ And that offer is all he needs, even if the breath that leaves him sounds a little too exhausted. ]

Okay. I'll remember that.

[ It's late, they have to finish their watch even if the chances of Jessie coming up on the radar tonight are slim to none. Tonight makes the second time now that the Card's slipped away. Tomorrow, people will be more vigilant. ]

Get some rest. You guys did good tonight. You did. [ And because this is you, and you've helped, even if just a little: ] Love you, pumpkin.

[intelligencia]

[That is making her smile on her end. Moments like this make her so happy that, if she had been anyone else, she might have cried.

She could have lost this. She could have lost everything. Instead...]

I love you too, Josh. [Not 'bro' this time. She calls you by name in moments like this.] Sleep well when you do, okay?

[larue]

I will.

[ If he's a little misty-eyed, it's really... everything ontop of everything else. If you were here, he'd probably cave and tell, curl up around you because he still holds to the truth that you were the one person he did right by from start to finish -- but the engagement comes first, and he doesn't want you worrying while you're out there. ]

I'll go crash after the Hounds finish up our shift. Will text you when I do.

[ Softly, now: ] Miss you. Love you. Go be good.