[anna takes a moment to just kind of... think about everything that's happened in the past month. there was communion? no, that was two months ago. uh. she was—no, that was january too. god. what the hell has she been doing? other than getting her eye stabbed out. christ—oh! the penrose! the nuclear spaceship crash! she tries not to jerk her head over the realization; she just widens both eyes while keeping her head steady.]
No, I don't think so. But honestly, it's been a bit of a scramble in here lately, so... I could be forgetting something. Why, what happened last month?
[ with everything happening, gosh he doesn't blame her. he's almost happy she didn't get to see the worst because the flashes he does remember were so beautiful, yet . . .
heartbreaking. at least he was still alive and had ways to grow, here. ]
I— I think I was older? But I . . . [ he worries his lip. it's harder to explain now that he's trying to. ] I didn't stay for too long.
[ah, fuck. that's what he means after all. anna sits there trying not to respond for a moment. thinking about apollonia, thinking about the way everyone else changed. thinking on how apollonia died, too, and how she lives on inside anna at the same time. thinking about how complicated it all is. she breathes out through her nose, her chest sinking.]
I hoped that wasn't what you were talking about. That's why everything's so scrambled in here. [but her own problems aren't what matter. her good eye moves to look at him. (without the glass eye, she can feel her other eye's muscles moving, trying to do it all in sync. she really does not like that sensation.) she asks a question like she suspects the answer.] Was it peaceful, at least?
[apollonia and kriemhild flash in her memory. a large part of her prays that falco never experiences what they had.]
[ the memories a jammed, scrambled— but he knows enough of it. he’s gentle in drying his work around anna’s eye socket as he speaks. ]
But I know I stayed with Jun. Just watching the beach. We were talking until it was like . . . Falling asleep.
[ he’s afraid to say it was nice, but after sitting through weeks of considerable, horrid aches and pains that wouldn’t go away, that lifting warmth was bliss. ]
[god. this is the part where falco loses anna, at least internally. on the outside, she can handle this just fine. her expression doesn't change and she doesn't seem like she's flinching or grimacing or whatever, or at least not more than she would be given the eye care going on. inside, she can't imagine making peace with apollonia, wishing her a more graceful exit from the world. but falco has always been her better. falco has always had a kinder heart than she could ever fathom.]
I got to do that with Kainé. It was... peaceful, even if it shouldn't have been. [she's happy that her bonded is back to normal, and that's probably the most she wants to think on it. she's keeping herself as steady as she can.] So I get it. What do you want to do for him?
[ which might sound worse than it is. maybe? he's just . . . well, he trusts sharon. he trusts d, too. that bounds together with the will to risk and he's set. ]
[anna almost shakes her head, then thinks better of it and just gives a quiet "uh-uh" in response.]
I think I've seen the name around, but I don't know if I could tell you much more than that. [there's a few ideas on what falco could be talking about, especially with that last question, but she won't jump to any conclusions.] I have some guesses.
You're going to let yourself get turned into a vampire so nothing else can get you? [she has no idea if it'll actually work, but it is kind of a big deal. she sits with it for a moment, not really judgmental in her gaze or her posture. she's just...]
I appreciate that you told me, definitely. And you're sure this is the best thing for it?
[she's just thinking about the idea. falco wouldn't be undead, but... well, no. no, anna, you know that you can't think something like that, because literally how would you justify it versus yourself? how could you have problems with someone else doing something that you'd been fucking thrilled to do? she furrows her brow as she has that small internal debate, then comes out with an answer.]
Everyone needs to do what it takes to protect themselves here. We can't all, I don't know, bond with Kainé to get by. Sometimes we need to take more extreme measures. And if this is what's going to keep you safe, I think you should do it.
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[anna takes a moment to just kind of... think about everything that's happened in the past month. there was communion? no, that was two months ago. uh. she was—no, that was january too. god. what the hell has she been doing? other than getting her eye stabbed out. christ—oh! the penrose! the nuclear spaceship crash! she tries not to jerk her head over the realization; she just widens both eyes while keeping her head steady.]
No, I don't think so. But honestly, it's been a bit of a scramble in here lately, so... I could be forgetting something. Why, what happened last month?
no subject
heartbreaking. at least he was still alive and had ways to grow, here. ]
I— I think I was older? But I . . . [ he worries his lip. it's harder to explain now that he's trying to. ] I didn't stay for too long.
[ he died. he died for good. ]
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I hoped that wasn't what you were talking about. That's why everything's so scrambled in here. [but her own problems aren't what matter. her good eye moves to look at him. (without the glass eye, she can feel her other eye's muscles moving, trying to do it all in sync. she really does not like that sensation.) she asks a question like she suspects the answer.] Was it peaceful, at least?
[apollonia and kriemhild flash in her memory. a large part of her prays that falco never experiences what they had.]
no subject
[ the memories a jammed, scrambled— but he knows enough of it. he’s gentle in drying his work around anna’s eye socket as he speaks. ]
But I know I stayed with Jun. Just watching the beach. We were talking until it was like . . . Falling asleep.
[ he’s afraid to say it was nice, but after sitting through weeks of considerable, horrid aches and pains that wouldn’t go away, that lifting warmth was bliss. ]
I don’t want it all to stop there.
no subject
I got to do that with Kainé. It was... peaceful, even if it shouldn't have been. [she's happy that her bonded is back to normal, and that's probably the most she wants to think on it. she's keeping herself as steady as she can.] So I get it. What do you want to do for him?
no subject
[ which might sound worse than it is. maybe? he's just . . . well, he trusts sharon. he trusts d, too. that bounds together with the will to risk and he's set. ]
Do you know . . . Mister D? What he is?
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I think I've seen the name around, but I don't know if I could tell you much more than that. [there's a few ideas on what falco could be talking about, especially with that last question, but she won't jump to any conclusions.] I have some guesses.
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[ better than being dead dead, he adds: ]
They think a bite can stop other curses from happening. And I wanted to let you know, so . . . You don't have to worry about anything.
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You're going to let yourself get turned into a vampire so nothing else can get you? [she has no idea if it'll actually work, but it is kind of a big deal. she sits with it for a moment, not really judgmental in her gaze or her posture. she's just...]
I appreciate that you told me, definitely. And you're sure this is the best thing for it?
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[ he can’t say everything, but they have all been collectively searching with no promising result beyond this one. ]
I, erm . . . Won’t be undead, at least.
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[she's just thinking about the idea. falco wouldn't be undead, but... well, no. no, anna, you know that you can't think something like that, because literally how would you justify it versus yourself? how could you have problems with someone else doing something that you'd been fucking thrilled to do? she furrows her brow as she has that small internal debate, then comes out with an answer.]
Everyone needs to do what it takes to protect themselves here. We can't all, I don't know, bond with Kainé to get by. Sometimes we need to take more extreme measures. And if this is what's going to keep you safe, I think you should do it.