( closed )

[tricksune]

Who: Yusuke Kitagawa (tricksune) and co.
What: general catch-all, currently custom prompts only, but feel free to pm me if you'd like me to write you one!
When: march, possibly april
Where: various
Warning(s): will warn in threads

Comments

[persistor]

[ There's a certain level of discretion, normally, for situations like this. Gazes politely averting when certain, unspeakable words get tip-toed around — in theory. Red chooses to hold Yusuke's gaze for as long as he'll allow it, her answer coming in the form of a single, grim nod. He's heard from him, in slow, but certain terms. Some details to follow up, once she pressed him for them.

It didn't sound pretty. Seeing here, she's starting to see why.

She crouches down beside Yusuke, taking in the appearance of the security drone. Exceedingly primitive compared to what she's seen, but that doesn't mean much anymore. She's not here to help, exactly, more just to make sure that no one's driving themselves to the point of exhaustion in an attempt to do something—

Her arms crawl at the sight of a brilliant, static-y white that seems to cover the edges of the drone ( or maybe her arms crawl at the same time, out of pure coincidence; she doesn't want to entertain that possibility for long ). Red's body freezes, blinking the sight away.

A trick of the light, maybe ( she hopes ). ]

[tricksune]

[ At least she's honest. His eyes soften slightly—she'd lost a friend today, too. He'd brought Boxer here, Boxer'd taken the news back, and he's glad that he had someone to share it with who might buffer the blow. But it still means that she's taken on a bit of the burden herself. For her to still be here after... he wonders if it brings any relief to see the scene for herself. ]

I'm sorry.

[ For her loss. He's just out of sorts enough that he misreads the minutiae of her body language; the hard stare, the sudden stiffness, all of it could just be consequence of the bleakness in the lab, the suffocating atmosphere lingering even as the gas has been cleared out.

(That must be it, right...?)

It seems that something about the drone's caught her eye, though, so he explains as placidly as he can. ]

It's just a bit of clean-up and investigation left... You needn't push yourself to be here. [ He's not sure if he really anticipates the day being over, but the truth is that there isn't much left to do. ]

[persistor]

[ The apology seems to shake her back to reality, tearing her eyes away from the white that seems to slowly, but certainly, fade away. Listens quietly ( not like she can do much else ) while Yusuke tries to explain what's left to do, eager to ease the blow for her.

It's ... sweet. He watched Richie die in his arms, that much she knows — and from the way that Boxer acted, it's not hard to tell how bad it got. And yet, here he is.

She shakes her head — there's no need, she's the one who just got here. Finally pulls her phone out of her pocket, typing up a short message for Yusuke to read ( keeps her attention focused on the living, the real, because if she stares at the drone again who knows what she'll see ). Ignores the pain that shoots up her arm again, jaw tensing in an attempt to bite back the grimace. Red turns the screen over. ]

You probably need the

[ There's laughter that rings behind her, high, clear, playful, Sybil's. The phone clatters to the ground, as she whips her head around.

Nothing.

( You're not looking the right way, Red. ) ]

[tricksune]

[ It's easy enough to read along as she types, that much is normal. And that's about all that stays normal, because there's a sudden, abrupt disturbance (impossible to follow, because it's all in her own head, his own surprise only a reaction to hers) and he nearly flinches.

...He reaches down to grab her phone for her, though he moves more slowly than he really needs to, stiff with caution. Maybe he's just overly attuned to everything going wrong today, but something was off. The extremists had all run out ages ago, threats trickled out with them, and now... there shouldn't be anything left. (Theoretically. Though he should realize there's always room for a little more tragedy in any given hour.)

He speaks slowly, too. ]

Is... [ He leans his head, looking over her shoulder. ] something the matter?

[ If he heard anything—and of course he didn't—there's nothing that indicates as much. Just a puzzled look, phone gently nudged against her shoulder to return it. ]

[persistor]

[ Later, she'll realize that's the first time in a while she's neglected her phone. It's her primary mode of communication, after all, a mouthpiece for someone that can't speak — under most circumstances, she can't imagine ignoring the drop.

And yet, in the moment — she barely hears the sound.

Red stands up — eyes scanning the room from end to end, her hand reaching behind her for a sword that isn't there. It's hard to tell if Yusuke's words registered — she turns, but she looks past him, face to face with horrors that aren't supposed to be here.

( Sybil's grotesque, no-longer human form a stands in front of her, just as poised and terrifying as the first time she's seen it. Her voice changes according to the appearance, clarity replaced with static, strange, unsettling modulations that set her entire body on edge. I was waiting, waiting, waiting— )

She hisses, despite herself. Expression crumpling as her hand moves to cover the trail of color up her arm, seemingly in pain. It's only about then she seems to remember that Yusuke's still here, in the room, with her ( between herself and Sybil, and who knows what this thing will do to him ).

She shakes her head. Looks at him dead in the eye. Go. ]