Oh, some say, in life, you're gonna get what you give - but some things only God can forgive

[georgeous]

[ It's quiet in the hospital after this trial. Time passes and there are no notes slipped under doors.

The eerie silence reflects the horrors that have been witnessed today. More than any other week, there is a lingering understanding that there are thing regrouping and cooperation will never be able to fix.

There are 7 dead to mourn. No amount of funeral will bring them back.

The rules George has posted to the kitchen at the start of the week have been kicked over. ]

((ooc: This is not a week for any amount of partying, no matter how little, so here is the after-moping. Tell us where your character mopes, group together to mope together, etc...))

Comments

[positivespin]

Like loyalty?

[ She'd feel compelled to stab someone who makes a move against a superior officer, so she supposes she can't really talk much then. Not when her kneejerk reaction is violence against abdomens. It's probably a really good thing she didn't walk around with a knife. (Until now.) ]

Hmm...can understand that much maybe. Just need to think more about time and place. Like QQ told a friend, choosing ambushes well is important.

[preciousking]

[ As someone too straightforward for ambushes, he shrugs. This might've been the problem between him and Danny during the trial.

A friend though, hm. ]

Is that friend anybody here?

[positivespin]

...No. QQ probably shouldn't be giving that sort of advice here.

[ Because we all know how that's going to turn out, given their track record. ]

She's...not quite from home. We met when QQ visited another world. Her hair's as red as yours, but personality is, um, opposite? To put it mildly. But she's definitely our group's boss.

[ While her description may not be glowing right now, she definitely cares a lot for the girl and it shows. Her melancholic demeanor openly relaxes a little at the thought of her. ]

my tag errored when i sent it so have a shittier one instead

[preciousking]

[ He's quiet as he listens to her, which frankly comes as no surprise to anyone at this point. For once, it isn't because he's being reserved or holding back—it's because he's wondering if he should let her continue or steer the conversation in another direction.

Mikoto glances at her, then gently takes one of the fruits she (probably) still has and starts cutting it up with the knife she got.

He doesn't mind listening to her, and he doesn't have anything else to do anyway. ]

She a good one?

[positivespin]

[ Funnily enough, the fact that she let him grab the knife despite being at her her most cautious is proof enough she trusts his judgment. A good chunk of people here wouldn't get a warning before she nicks it back. ]

She's loud, always wants meat, and makes funny screeching noises when jealous. But she's also attentive and pushes us to keep going. So...not quite the best yet. Maybe in a few years.

[ All this talking about bosses reminds her of their first meeting...and who she thought was the boss at first. ]

Didn't always think she was the boss. But it makes sense to QQ now. Meet anyone like that before?

[preciousking]

[ He'll never know what could have been, or how he could have grabbed another knife and fucked up his hand more or fucked up the other one. Tragic.

As usual, he makes a sound that generally indicates he's listening to what he's being told. ]

No. [ It's stated firmly but simply. ] What changed your mind?

[positivespin]

We always end up where she decides to go. [ Okay, maybe that's not the best answer. ] I mean, she keeps going forward no matter what. So we end up following her. Logistics usually done by other friends with more connections. Instead, she keeps eye on group and how well we get along.

[ Basically, she turned out to be much more reliable than she looked. And again, she does find reliability to be important in a leader. ]

You know, she was one of the first to realize QQ and Kongwai disliked each other. [ Wait, this is Mikoto, he probably doesn't remember all the profiles. ] ...Kongwai is a person QQ dislikes.

[preciousking]

[ As she carries on, he raises a piece of the fruit he cut into his mouth and slowly chews on it. This story is... familiar. Every now and then he finds it a little unsettling how something he's told reminds him of HOMRA, of his own life, and of the way he is.

He's not the type of person to dwell on the past and yet... here he is, thinking about a group he's not sure he'll ever see again.

He avoids commenting on what QQ said about her leader directly, both because he has nothing to say and because there's nothing he wants to say. ... Then again, his question is vague enough that it can apply to anything she said. ] Why?

[positivespin]

[ It takes her a moment to answer, too busy weighing which statement Mikoto's "why" would apply to. In the end, she simply chooses to move to the second subject. If she picked wrong, he can just tell her. ]

Mage from enemy country, that's why. He's a jerk who loves having control, breathes lies, and refuses to admit he loves cats. ...Okay, maybe not a complete jerk. He did save QQ from dying to an invincible enemy.

[ Speaking about Kongwai is a lot easier than speaking of Iria--the amount of good memories he brings up is less than those moments where she just wants to chop him on the head. Truly amazing how someone can be simultaneously helpful yet infuriating. ]

Wondered why he was the hostage at first. Then QQ remembered that part where his magic is the only thing that allows people to damage those invincible enemies. Terrible, isn't it?

[ She's just as terrible as any of the other killers and would-be killers here. He may have been part of the group, but that one detail was the one thing that gave her pause on just leaving him to his fate.

Well, that's not quite right. There is one other detail, an urge she harbors even now. ]

If it wasn't for all that...would have killed him.

[ A day ago, she wouldn't have dared say that. But right now, her agitation over this entire fiasco is overpowering what common sense she has. ]

[preciousking]

[ "Refuses to admit he loves cats"—what an odd detail. Mikoto gives QQ a curious look as he starts chewing on another fruit slice, uncertain what to make of the comment. Not that it matters. QQ moves on and his bafflement falls to the wayside, 'cause bizarre as it was he's not interested enough to pursue it. He swallows the slice.

Which is just as well. What QQ says next is... different. Why she's confiding in him, he can't say. But he acknowledges that's what this is and as such he pays more attention to her as she speaks. To her expression, her inflections, and her body language. ]

Sounds complicated. [ There's no judgment here—and no encouragement either. The way he sees it, she's vexed because doing what she wants is something she can't bring herself to do. If that's how she wants to live her life, that's something she has to deal with herself. It's not really his business.

Gently, as peculiar a description as that is for what he's about to do, he pierces one of the apple slices with the knife and holds it out to her. The knife specifically, though he doesn't point the blade at her. He's offering her the handle. ]

[positivespin]

Sort of. More like can't kill you, still need you. And he knows it and takes advantage of it. Like a con artist.

[ After she says that, she sighs and leans towards the counter to prop herself up on her elbows. The things QQ puts up with for the sake of survival. Yes, survival is still paramount and all, but there's only so much a person can take before they start cursing others out in their head.

Maybe that's why she's griping so damn hard at Mikoto right now. Months have passed since she could express negative thoughts about anyone for more than a sentence or two. And most of the time, those outburst were brushed under the rug as mere jokes or misunderstandings minutes later. Back in the World of Innocent Bonds, she kept those feelings on the down-low because the others had nothing to do with her two-person feud. And here? Well, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that antagonizing people would just paint a larger target on her back. Why give anyone more reason to justify her death? So she threw herself into being as harmless as she could take.

...Then again, look how well that turned out for everyone else.

But she doesn't get the chance to continue down that train of thought, what with Mikoto's movement distracting her. She eyes the knife with both curiosity and caution, but doesn't take it right away. It would be so easy for Mikoto to turn the blade around and slash at her. Or just plain stab her. She can hear one of her combat instructors screaming in her ear right now. "Do you want to die? Because this is how you die," he would yell, pointing at his red hair like it burned his sad-looking beard off.

She ignores him and takes the handle.

It doesn't take her long to slip the apple piece off the knife and pop it in her mouth. A moment later, she finishes swallowing the piece and places the knife down in the counter, blade away from Mikoto. ]

Thank you. ...Really, thanks.

[ She leaves off saying what that gratitude is for. Because, really, it's for a lot of things. Especially for simply listening. Right now, she didn't want judgment or even sympathy--just some acknowledgment without having to sweep her feelings under the rug again. Mikoto probably wasn't trying to do that from the start here, but she appreciates it all the same. It's helping her calm down after an emotional high of anger at the unfairness and absurdity of their situation.

Seriously, it's sad how much better simply clarifying she would kill Kongwai given the chance makes her feel--she didn't even say that much. Thanks for listening to her repressed urge to murder, Mikoto. At this rate, she's going to wake up the next morning and scream internally at what she dropped on him in one conversation. ]

[preciousking]

[ There have been so many little moments in this one conversation alone that Mikoto's completely unaware of. Things that showed QQ trusted him, or at the very least allowed him to be close enough to do something others might not be able to. If he knew how cautious she was, maybe he would appreciate these little things more than he does. But he doesn't notice, so he doesn't know.

Maybe things would be different if he were still looking at her. Unfortunately for him, he's not. He keeps his eyes forward as he releases the knife into her custody and goes back to being oblivious to the level of trust he's being shown. ]

You're welcome. [ He responds to her sincerity with his own. Once again, his tone is soft, gentle even. He won't explicitly say it but she's free to continue talking about Kongwai or her leader if she likes, he won't be going anywhere for a while.

Likewise, she's free to sit in silence with him. ]

[positivespin]

[ You know what, she will keep talking if Mikoto is okay with listening for a little while longer. She'll mostly talk about bits and pieces of her road trip with them, no longer bothering to censor her pointed barbs towards Kongwai whenever he's mentioned. Especially the part where they had to flee a burning ship.

One day, they got unceremoniously captured out in the ocean and put into boring cells. But QQ managed to pick the locks, so they made a run for it. Of course it's never that easy, so cue the appearance of their kidnapper. Turns out she's a jealous girl who got angry her crush--one of their group--didn't want to go with her. Weird, right? She hopes Mikoto never had to deal with something so surreal, but if he did, she'd be more than willing to listen in return.

By the end of the admittedly strange story out of some weird romance novel, she's definitely feeling more at peace than she was earlier. she's still a teenage gossip at heart. Telling a story without having to censor her dislike for the sake of harmony is surprisingly invigorating. Who knew? (She's still a teenage gossip at heart.)

Sure, it doesn't change what happened earlier that day, but somehow, it feels easier now to sort through her feelings about the trial. Maybe it's the reminder that their lives weren't restricted to this place before. Or just remembering the happiness tied to those memories. Either way, it definitely pushed her melancholy to the side for now. ]