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

10 July, Tuesday | Brennan Siblings

[larue]

[ He sends the message right as they get the news. ]

SENT: 11:11 PM
calling you. pick up?

[ And proceeds to walk off to one side with a cigarette already lit. ]

[intelligencia]

[She stares down at her phone for a bit right after getting that message. She's sitting on the street curb, watching everyone else mill about. The atmosphere is understandably heavy... even Minato Arisato doesn't look pleased.]

SENT: 11:12 PM
okay

[You know there's a Problem when your baby sister gives such short answers and DOESN'T bother capitalizing or putting punctuation marks.

[larue]

[ Putting in that call, waiting for her to pick up.

He knows you, Cinds. And he's shelving his own feelings over this whole thing because he needs to know that you're okay. ]

[intelligencia]

[She answers immediately.]

Hi.

[Exhausted Brennan is exhausted, in all definitions of the word.]

[larue]

[ He can hear that, he knows the familiar weight of it.

So. Sitting down now, flopping on the grass and leaning an elbow on his thigh as he rubs his fingers on his temple. ]

You tried. It's okay.

[intelligencia]

I really wish it was. It doesn't FEEL okay.

[Now there's a hint of disgruntlement in her voice. Times like this, she acts her age.]

[larue]

[ Falling quiet. ]

No. [ His voice is soft. ] No, it's not.

[ Silence at that. A heavy, loaded one.

Looks like he can't shelve his own baggage after all. ]

[intelligencia]

[She doesn't speak for a while either.]

I just wish it had worked out. Everyone's worried. [A beat.] You're worried.

[She knows this for a fact. She's seen a bit of how you talk to Jessiah Vice. This is personal for her big brother; she's aware of this.]

[larue]

[ Lighting up now. He's going to need to get a new pack. ]

It's only the second night. We'll find him.

[ He's trying to sound confident about that. Operative word: Trying. ]

How are you? Disappointment aside. How are you.

[intelligencia]

We will.

[His certainty is something she can buy into, and well. If you weren't certain about this sort of thing, it wasn't going to happen.]

And I'm okay? Honestly. Tired, but this is what I signed up for.

[And she wants this. Everything, she feels, led her to this point, a point where she could honest to Elaine say that she has a chance at getting everything back, and keeping her loved ones safe.]

[larue]

Good.

[ His relief is audible. Watching Taning's face the previous evening had been hard. Waiting, hoping, spending the mornings unsure -- it's hard. ]

How is everyone else?

[ He's taking a puff, idly looking up to scan the area for any signs of... well.

Focusing back on Cindy now. He can think on that one another time. ]

[intelligencia]

Sabina's pretty angry, but she insists that she can walk it off. [And from the way Cindy's talking, it's clear that she believes her blade mate.] Jill and Mia are okay: just tired. Jessica's handling the debriefing for us... she's all right.

[And she hasn't really checked on the other blades that were with her. She didn't feel like she had to, at least not yet.]

[larue]

[ He's glad for that. Hearing that in your voice puts him at ease. He trusts your blade because they're like family now, but it's also hard to know that he can't be there to check up on you himself.

Six years was a long time. And the last few months entirely too short. ]

You guys hang in there. [ And because he needs to say it. ] And I'm just one text or call away.

[intelligencia]

I know, Josh, but I think you've got more than enough to deal with on your end. Besides, they divided all of us up for a reason, right?

[Watch out: she will fuss and bully you if she has to.]

[larue]

[ That earns you a smile, and it's clear when he replies even if he still sounds tired. ]

I know. [ Killing his cigarette now, and setting it aside for when he can toss it. ] I just needed to say it.

[intelligencia]

[Oh, big bro. This is why she loves you. This is also why she wants to work hard, to give you less of a reason to worry.

It probably won't work out that way, but she was welcome to try, right?]

Have you called dad up? He was asking about you when I did.

[larue]

Not yet. [ He's a little grateful that the certainty in his voice masks the realization that the idea hadn't actually crossed his mind. He's been spacing out lately, hyper-focused on the task at hand because if he doesn't, his thoughts have a tendency to wander in a direction that's been making his appetite tank. ]

I will though. After this.

[ Looking down at his palms now, his voice soft, a touch worried -- you'll note that. You know him better than most. ]

[intelligencia]

[And because she has, and she has never been one to beat around the bush:]

What's on your mind?

[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.