explaining | [Voice]

Entry tags:

[Voice]

Man.

[A pause.]

Has anyone ever gotten that sudden rush, where you remember a whole lot of something all at once? Or you think you remember all of it, but then there's pieces missing...

Hahaha wow I'm dizzy. Okay, sitting down.

Um- well all right, I won't beat around the bush. Nami, Zack? Buffy? Draco? Meryl? What about anybody from home? Luke, Asch?

I don't need help, I'm all right to get to the village myself, but a friendly voice would be nice to listen to for the walk in. Maybe some conversation while I catch my breath. Ah, how about- hm. Your first day here in Luceti; how was it for you?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

... Guy!

[ Blinking. She still has mixed feelings about this man after his last, fairly tumultuous visit, but she knows enough to know this will make Luke happy. That's good enough for her.

Mostly.

Still, she manages a smile. ]

I guess you just can't stay away, huh. Welcome back.

Looks like, hahaha. I'm kind of glad though; I didn't really want to go in the first place.

[He smiles. Good, she's still here. Luke must be happy.]

How's it going, Xion?

[ ...

She tucks her hair behind her ear and keeps smiling, though deep down she's not sure what to think, or feel. ]

I just got back a few days ago from a really long mission. Apparently I missed a lot... I guess everything's pretty good otherwise!

You've probably heard from Luke already, right?

Yup; he's on his way with some shoes, actually. He insisted.

A long mission...was it a draft?

Huh? No... you don't remember? The missions for the Malnosso.

[ Blinking. She knows for a fact missions were a thing, last time he was here. How could he not remember? ]

[Well, there was that one time when they had to get a serum from John but that was just for another draft, and that other time a long, long time ago that they called it a mission but it was really a draft in disguise...

Hmmm.]

Maybe it'll come back to me later.

You didn't get hurt on it though, right? All together in one piece?

Yeah! I'm fine. I can handle a mission... even if it's a month long. [ Somewhat sheepishly. ] I guess your memories must be coming back in pieces... what's the last thing you remember happening? [ Curious. ]

Ah, the enclosure changed again. For another Valentine's Day; there was a tree in the plaza. [He was talking to Nami.]

... what? But that... that was over a year ago! [ Wasn't it? Thinking. She has fairly vivid memories of confronting Luke under a tree, for one of the many love experiments.... it feels like a long time ago, now. ]

That's really the last thing you remember?

Oh wow, that long? Huh.

[Considering the conversion rates though, that's almost the amount of time he spent back home. Weird.]

There's a few bits and pieces from after that, but for the most part, yeah. That's it.

... so you don't ...

[ She stops herself before she can elaborate, but she sounds ... disturbed.

Guy had been there with her when Luke had died. In fact, he was the only one to truly understand how it felt, how she reacted then. But this Guy... if what he's saying it's true, it's almost like... the last thing he remembers is the last time he disappeared, before he came back.

She's alone in that memory, now. It bothers her more than she wants to admit. ]

That's ... that's really strange. [ She manages a laugh, but Guy might recognize the tactic from Luke; it's a forced thing, meant to smooth over a topic she doesn't want to broach. ] I think you're going to run into a lot of confusion at first...

[Boy does that forced laugh sound familiar.]

Believe me, I'm running into a lot of confusion now. I can't remember people I should and remember people who don't remember me, and then others who remember meeting me twice. It's a wreck. [He needs tea. Or a drink. Maybe some Irish tea.]

[ A sympathetic sigh. ]

Yeah, I bet.

[ But she goes silent, then. Thinking. After a too-long silence, she puts up a filter, fully locked. ]

Guy? Can I ask you something?

Of course you can.

[ ... she hates this. Being alone. Not knowing what the right thing to do is. When Luke actually died, she wasn't thinking clearly, going largely on emotion and impulse.

But now... now what does she do? Doe she burden him with it? Is he fair? Would he want to know? Would Luke want him to know? ]

If ... if something had happened to Luke ... would you want to know?

[ A beat. ]

I mean, it's ... everything's okay now, but...

[Guy's stomach drops.

When's it going to be enough? Why is Luke always the one going through everything? He's just a kid, and the world keeps throwing him one thing after another-]

Yeah. Yeah, I'd want to know.

[Part of him wants to respect Luke's wishes; if Luke wants to tell Guy personal things, it should be up to him, but fuck that. Luke's his best friend. Practically his brother; Guy raised him.

Guy needs to know.]

[ ... yeah. She'd sort of thought so.

She sighs, far more heavily this time. ]

Then ... I think we'd better meet. ... do you have time?

I can make some.

Can you meet me later tonight? Ten o'clock, in front of Seventh Heaven? [If he goes to Good Spirits, he might see someone familiar- no, he definitely will, because he knows everyone who staffs the bar. He'd rather not be distracted, especially if Xion's news is going to be exceptionally bad.]

.... okay. I'll see you then.

[ A beat. ] I'm sorry to do this so soon... but... I had a feeling you'd want to know.

[ Finally, faintly: ] Bye.

[ She shuts the book. She'll meet him that night, and spend the entire interim wondering if she's made the right choice. ]

[True to his word, Guy is in front of Seventh Heaven at ten sharp. He'd actually arrived fifteen minutes early, to pace around and think about whether or not he really wanted to go behind Luke's back first thing.

Nope, that feeling is still there. Even if Luke doesn't want him to know, Guy deserves to know. As his friend.]

[ Her feelings, strangely, are much the same. Worse, perhaps, because of the fact that she'd betrayed his implicit wishes once before. He'd never explicitly told her not to tell anyone what happened to him after the fact; but he was a very private person, and she knew it.

But this is Guy. If anyone deserves to know, it's him.

So she emerges from the dark, somber but ready, trying not to startle him by way of avoiding coming too physically close. ]

Hey.

Hey.

[Guy would say she looks well, but actually she looks pretty miserable. And the way she just morphed in from the shadows was a bit creepy too.]

Want to skip the pleasantries and get down to it, or should we settle down with something to drink first?

[ The benefits of having darkness-associated powers.

After a moment, she shakes her head. ]

No. I'd rather stay outside. I don't want anyone to overhear. ... um, unless you really wanted something. [ Slightly awkward, but. She's trying. ]

I'm all right.

[They should probably get away from the main street then; Guy gestures her over to an alley between buildings. It's darker here, but sheltered enough so that they won't be interrupted or overheard unless they can see the person coming first.]

Okay. [He pauses.] You're sure you're okay telling me this? I can keep it from Luke, if you need me to. Pretend I don't know.

[ She'll follow his lead, quietly, eyes on the road for the most part. Eventually, she just shakes her head. ]

It's just... this is so familiar. And you don't remember. [ She smiles, a gentle and sad thing. ] It's not your fault. But when it happened, you were there for everything.... I think I'm just being selfish. I don't want to be alone.

[ Finally she looks at him. ]

... I'm okay. Luke ... I think, if he could get away with it, he would never tell you. He wouldn't want to make you sad, or ... burden you. He's always like that... [ She brushes her hair back behind her ear. ] ... but I still believe the people who care about him deserve to know.

[ She's silent, then. Steeling her courage. Her will. Her gut, really. Thinking about it makes her sick, even now. Watching him fade, dissolve away, had not been the hardest part. It had been the moment immediately after, when he was just gone, when there was absolute nothingness where his warmth had been. In that moment, she'd wanted to die too.

Hence why there is emotion in her voice when she finally speaks. She banks it enough for her words to be clear, but they are tense beneath, fraught with her pain. ]

... he died. You were with me when it happened. Watching him... fade away.

[Voice]

[voice]

[voice]

[voice]

[voice]

[voice]

[voice]

[voice]

[voice]

[voice]

[voice]

[voice]

[voice]

[voice; private]

[voice; private]

[voice; private]

[voice; private]

[voice; private]

[voice; private]

[voice; private]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]