[Closed] Bad Life Choices.

[windegarde]

[It's luck more than any skill of theirs that has allowed them to capture Richard and bring him back to the Amarcian Enclave. The mountain town is secure, and the warp pad has been temporarily dismantled to prevent escape. It all seems a little...overboard to Asbel, but he can't exactly say this out loud. After all, no one can be sure what will become of Fendel's valkines cryas and the world's eleth flow.]

[Most of Pascal and Hubert's explanations have flown right over Asbel's head, but he knows they've spent much of the evening consulting with the Overseer and Poisson about what to do next. Even when he tries to follow along, Asbel has a difficult time concentrating. He keeps telling himself he should be more concerned about the larger picture, but he just can't stop worrying about his friend or wondering what motives exist behind Richard's actions. None of this seems like him at all...]

[Malik has specifically warned him to be careful around Richard, and Asbel can understand why - the look on Richard's face as he'd been draining the valkines barely seemed human. But he also believes, if given a chance, that he can get through to him somehow. If he can just get Richard to talk to him about what's wrong, then they can fix all this. Then everything will go back to the way it was. They can look for a way to restore the eleth he's taken... they can explain everything to Duke Dalen and the court... Hubert will quit talking about how he'll kill Richard if Asbel doesn't have the nerve... Sophie will have no more reason to question their friendship... they can save him and renew their pact. He truly believes this is possible.]

[--Which is why he's here. Looks like he's the one snooping around this time. Asbel checks behind him and then opens the door just a crack.]

Hey, Richard? Are you awake?

[Closed] So You Wanna Be A Magical Girl?

[curries]

[Another day, another island. Asbel tries to forget about how dull and predictable things have gotten lately and snatches at any chance for some real adventure. Sure, he's learned to be more careful, but that doesn't mean he's going to sit around on the Friend Ship like some wuss waiting for the adults to figure out exactly how safe this place is and what they should or shouldn't do. How's a person supposed to really get a feel for anything if they don't try it out on their own anyway?]

[The setting is park-like. Large trees spring up in zigzag lines on either side of a stone pathway and gardens full of flowers grow inside and outside of square fences. Looks like someone fired the gardener months ago and never found a new one. Even the path is broken in places where flowers, roots, and mosses have taken hold between the cracks. It's a little wild, a little too (weirdly) quiet. But, also kind of mysterious!]

[Spotting something familiar, Asbel dashes ahead a little ways, swinging his wooden sword at the lower branches of a tree until two or three round fruits fall to the ground with a satisfying thud, thud, thud. He squats down to pick them up and turns around with a big grin on his face.]

Check it out, Hubert! Apples!

[Closed] Proof of a nameless existence.

[voidance]

[This isn't how things were supposed to go at all. At least, it's nothing like Shu had imagined. Fighting for his life, watching innocent people die... To think he really believed he could go back to living a normal life after this. To think he honestly believed he could make some kind of difference... It seems like such a faraway dream now.]

[Or maybe this is the dream. One he'll never be able to wake up from.]

[Shu rounds another corner, running with all his might. Gunfire erupts in the corridor behind him, and the air's thick, bitter with smoke and chemicals. He doesn't even have time to stop and catch his breath. He's lost Inori in the commotion, and the others are scattered throughout the facility somewhere. He needs to find them or else it's all over.]

[He really is useless on his own... He's sure that if Gai were here, he'd be able to turn the situation around. But he isn't Gai.]

Dammit, Shu! Now isn't the time to feel sorry for yourself! If you don't think of something fast, they're going to die!

[Shu grits his teeth, zigzagging down a set of stairs as glass shatters from a nearby window. He just needs to find the others. Inori must be looking for him, too. They can still find a way out of this mess.]