animus_network | [text/action]

[It's too quiet.]

[Rick's been wandering the Tower since Thursday, trying to help whoever he can with their shadows, checking up on them every few hours when he can catch his breath. But after yesterday, he's lost track of nearly all of them...and earlier today, he watched yet another die. After making a full circuit of all the safer floors and the stairwell, he's only now beginning to realize that perhaps Sertoria's death was just a continuation on a pattern that he's somehow missed.]

[It's evening, now, and around him the Tower has become eerily silent. Rick's staggered his way to the top floor dorms; his collar is almost as clear as it was Wednesday. He knows that the network hasn't been working well, but he's so alone, so terrified that he's failed all the people that he's tried so hard to help, and this is the only other way he can think of to try and contact them. The message he sends is short...]

Is anyone still up and around? There's so few people left...if you're still alive, I'm on the first floor of the dorms. We should stick together. Don't let the shadows win this.

[...but the message that comes out is glitched, nearly unreadable in spots. Rick paces between terminals, reloading his post to see if the problem fixes itself--and then, appropriately enough, he gives one of the computers a solid, frustrated kick, and collapses on the opposite side of the hall.]

[It's doubtful that anyone will be lucky or persistent enough to decipher Rick's message. If they do, though, he'll be curled up by the wall where he left himself. A shadow rubs his back.]

[You tried, honey...but you can't save everyone, you know. I told you it wasn't worth the effort and you just didn't listen...]

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Well enough, thank you. I've been with good company.

[ Indeed, for all her words, his pet is rather faithful.

The skull she carries around might be a little off-putting, though. ]

I would ask you the same, but I suppose the answer to that would be rather obvious. [ He leans back against the wall and chuckles a little ruefully, adjusting the position of the staff across his lap. ] Forgive my prying, but... is something the matter? More than it has been as of late, I mean.

[My, Ion, you are acting...a lot more formal than usual. Rick wonders if he should be worried. Maybe he's just tired, too. And where did he get that staff? It's probably not worth worrying about.]

[Rick rests his head and closes his eyes, relishing in the coolness of the floor against his cheek. Quietly he murmurs: ] ...S-So m-many d-died...

... So I've noticed. [ Ion is slow to reply, and his voice is soft and quiet when he does. His eyes shutter and his head bows, slightly, as if in prayer for the dead.

After a moment, his eyes open, and he stares down at his hands. ]

I know they'll be okay, eventually, but... it's far too empty right now, isn't it?

I can't imagine... it must have been awful for those who died alone. [ Or- perhaps they weren't alone, not really.

And perhaps that's worse than if they'd truly been alone. ]

[Rick shudders with an involuntary sigh. All those people he promised he would check up on, offered to help and provide company...all of them, gone within the day. It wasn't enough. They had died thinking of why he wasn't there for them, alone and miserable...]

...I-It's...my f-fault...

Why? It isn't as if you could be in multiple places at once, is it?

You couldn't have been there for everyone who needed it. It just isn't possible.

[ "I was always with you until you sent me away." ]

I...I know. [Rick drags a hand through his hair, covering his face.] B-But if I'd j-just f-found them e-earlier, m-m-maybe...

[ Ion's expression turns a little downcast. ]

Maybe if you had known. But as it is, you didn't, and there's no way you could have known. There's little use in lamenting what you could have done differently now, when much of these matters are beyond your control.

[ said in a way that's both patient and very to-the-point, but not unkindly. ]

... Besides, we can't be sure things wouldn't have turned out the same way, in the end.

[He takes a deep breath. Ion is, as usual, correct, and is handling this situation with a lot more control and tact than he ever could. Rick nods in silent understanding, although he doesn't seem especially reassured.]

[He's silent for a moment. Suddenly, Ion's closing thought hits him in an odd way and he pulls a face.]

...W-What m-makes you s-say that?

[ Briefly, a flicker of something passes over Ion's expression, but it's gone so quickly it's hard to be sure it was even there in the first place. It's preceded by his shadow taking a step forward, with something like purpose in its step, so perhaps it'd said something? ]

There are just some things you can't change. [ Solemnly, he laces his hands across his front and closes his eyes. ] There are things we can't fight, no matter how much we try.

Better, then, to focus on what you can. [ And just like that, the placid smile is back on his face as he looks back up at Rick. ]

You probably shouldn't stay out here for too long. I imagine there are people who'd be worried if they found you gone.

[Rick nods, although his brow is still knitted with a combination of confusion and concern. He agrees, somewhat, but...what a strangely pessimistic thing for Ion to say. It's almost as if someone's flipped a switch in his brain...Rick can't quite place what it is.]

I-In a m-minute. I...I n-need to l-lie d-down f-for a bit.

[He pauses, still thinking. When he makes up his mind, Rick twists his head to look at Ion with tangible amounts of worry.]

...Are y-you okay?

... Truth be told, I am a little bit tired from the events of the week. But I'm fine, really. You don't need to worry.

[ He laughs a little, lightly. ] In fact... My Fon Master Guardian has done quite an admirable job of staying by my side, this past week. I've been hard-pressed to leave her presence.

[Predictably, Rick continues to worry. Perhaps thankfully for Ion, the mention of a some kind of follower proves a suitable distraction.]

Ah...who? [He's never mentioned a "Guardian" before...is that some kind of bodyguard? Suddenly Rick remembers an encounter from earlier that week: ]

...A-Anise?

[ He's briefly surprised by the mention of a name, but it quickly clears in favor of a bright expression. ] Oh, so you know her! I didn't know you two were acquainted.

Well, that makes things easier. Yes, Anise is one of my Fon Master Guardians. [ Even if she wasn't the one he was talking about, though he was alluding to her. ] She also seems to take her job quite seriously, so with all these shadows about, well...

But I'm sure she wouldn't mind me doing this, for now.

[Rick nods slowly and pauses to think. He comes back more worried than before.]

...Is sh--she...o-okay?

She was fine the last I saw of her. [ He looks slightly thoughtful, for a moment. ] Granted, they've been troubling her, too... but she's been well enough despite them, I think.

Really, it's not your place for you to have to worry so much. At least, you should take care of yourself first so you don't worry others.

I...I h-hope s-so.

[He sighs and settles deeper into the floor, but he's calmed down quite a lot. Ion's calm reasoning, as...strangely distant as it was at the moment, really did wonders for Rick's state of mind.]

...Y-You're r-right. [He chuckles lightly.] A-And y-you'll have to t-tell me a-a-another f-five times b-b-before it s-sinks in...

I'm sure she's fine. [ His sigh is a long-suffering one, but he's still smiling. ] Very well, if you insist.

You should take care of yourself first. It'll worry others if you don't. Even if it wouldn't, you couldn't very well worry about others if you're not [ alive ] well enough to do so. And again, it's not your place to have to worry about us.

[ Then he pauses, and chuckles a little, bringing a hand to his mouth. ] I'm sorry, that was only four, wasn't it?

[Rick wheezes--it's obvious from his squinted eyes and grin that it's intended to be the precursor to a laugh, but he doesn't seem to have the energy to fuel it that far.]

...I think...th--that w-will w-w-work.

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