I won't pretend that I intend to stop living

[mildwildchild]

Who: erryone in Pride
What: recovering from the events of December 7
When: late December 7/early December 8 - ???
Where: Pride HQ and wherever else they're allowed to go
Warnings: Carnies? references to I Will Twist the Knife


So maybe you've just gotten back from the most mellow kidnapping ever and you're itching to tell your bandmates about what went on with the cool helmeted guys while everyone else was at that stuffy party. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait a little while to tell them, but that's okay - surely you can keep yourselves occupied until everyone else returns.

Or maybe you're one of those who wound up at that party of Naomi's, and your night was a little less fun. Now you're back at HQ, possibly with mended physical injuries and almost certainly with a few new psychological scars. Now's your chance to check in on your friends and bandmates who missed out on all the trauma and deal with things as best you can.

Comments

CI Penthouse

[dishevelment]

[Cosmic Indulgence's penthouse was where Koumei would stay for the night, sleeping the fitful sleep of those who feared it, of those who preferred the land of the living over the dead. The wound in his side hurt with every breath, but he couldn't keep one small detail far from his mind as he road the rollercoaster of insomnia that night.

This pain was nothing. The javelin that had struck him in the world of those weird dreams-- that was pain.

Anxiety about another dream drove him to the kitchen in the middle of the night-- where he found Garnet picking at something in front of her in silence.

Finally, he knew he could relax.]

....Garnet. You don't know how glad I am to see you right now, [He said without preamble, a weary smile spreading across his face.

Somethings would indeed turn out all right.]

Re: CI Penthouse

[twoscompany]

...............

[Well, there's only one thing she can do right now.

She might be coming over to give you a hug, because, oh god, you could have been killed.]

CI Penthouse

[dishevelment]

Whoa-- careful!

[He stiffened instinctively when Garnet wrapped her arms around him, careful not to jostle anything too roughly, before awkwardly relaxing in her arms.

Though it was entirely possible that he was a deadman walking, that didn't matter. This was reality, right?]

[twoscompany]

[The hug - once Garnet feels the stiffening - instantly loosens considerably. There is an expression on her face which looks hurt, her eyes narrowing--

Wait. No. She's not hurt. She's concentrating.

She's looking for injuries.]

Who did this?

[dishevelment]

The synth player from that new jazz band in Virgo, [he said, looking away uncomfortably while he recalled the young man with the bleached hair and the odd glint in his eyes.]

I don't know what started it, Garnet, but things got crazy at that party.

[twoscompany]

Synth player...

[She's mumbling to herself at that. There are...no, there's really only one...ah, no, damnit, he can't mean--

Though there's a flash of worry in her eyes, she shakes her head and looks back at Koumei.]

What happened? Aside from the obvious, I mean.

[dishevelment]

...I was buzzed, we got talking about instruments, and he pulled a knife.

[He shook his head-- he really didn't have any answers on that front.]

It was brutal. The bosses of both labels had it out. Someone was killed. It's....

It's pretty bad.

[twoscompany]

[Oh. Oh dear.]

Who was killed?

[Please, don't let it be someone I could have saved. Somehow.

Even if she didn't see it. Even if she had no visions. Surely she could have, right?

Why was she feeling so insistent on this saving thing? Was it the girl she saved by the record store?...]

[dishevelment]

...It was someone from Virgo, Ms. Naomi. The woman who hosted the party.

[His demeanor was quiet, almost cold-- as if Death, somehow, were an inevitability no matter what moves were made.

The icy nature of his responces lately were unnerving him, but there was no one he could easily talk to about it.]

[twoscompany]

[If Garnet's unnerved, she doesn't show it. Honestly, given what he must have seen, of course he'd be unnerved, at the very least. Of course, if Koumei's having problems with memories and thoughts...

Anyways. She hadn't seen Naomi in her flashes and visions. She's not sure whether to feel more or less guilty about that.]

Was she the only one from Virgo who was attacked by the other Virgo members, then?

[Weird. Why would they...?]

[dishevelment]

It was Ms. Santiago.

[Koumei corrected her swiftly, with none of the usual langor in his tone.

This was serious, and he was worried about the safety of everyone involved.]

[twoscompany]

Ms Sa--when did she get to the party?

[She hadn't intended to attend, last she'd heard. Did she?

...Why is she more surprised at that than the fact her boss apparently murdered someone else?]

[dishevelment]

I don't know-- I was kind of trying not to bleed all over the carpet.

[His memory really was hazy after the young synth player struck him with the blade he had pulled from nowhere. But still....that pain wasn't the worst he had felt.]

[twoscompany]

[After a moment, Garnet nods. She needs to find out more, though. She knows this. Between visions, these injuries, and just randomly teleporting inexplicably back to Pride HQ...

She brings a hand onto Koumei's shoulder.]

Do you need me to change anything?

[dishevelment]

Not right now. The worst of it was taken care of back there, so it's no immediate problem.

[It just hurt. Koumei heaved a sigh, suddenly feeling the weight of the night's events fall upon him.]

...I'm just so tired I feel like I could sleep for the next week.

[twoscompany]

Then you should probably get some rest, and stay in bed.

[...Its not often Garnet actually encourages Koumei to sleep for a week, but this isn't a normal situation anyhow.]

[dishevelment]

[Her comment was met by a lengthy silence and a surprisingly stern look in the lazy pianist's eyes.]

As much as I want to, somehow I feel like that would be a bad choice right now.

[He needed to check on everyone and make sure they were safe too. Then, and only then, would he feel comfortable taking a rest.]

[twoscompany]

Are you in any condition to do anything right now?

[She looks back at him, not quite ready to give up on making sure he'd be all right. If there's something he wants to do, surely, she can do it, or it can wait, right?]

[dishevelment]

....Not really, [he confessed, heaving a weary sigh while he spoke.] This still doesn't feel right, Garnet.

[twoscompany]

I know. None of this does.

[She nods.]

Right now, you need to look after yourself. You'll be able to do what you need to do, whatever that might be. But today's not the day for that.

[dishevelment]

[...Rationally, he knew that. But it was hard to fight off the impulse to make sure all of his contacts were safe, and that the general well being of the youngsters in their label was secure. Although he now had to wrestle with the prospects that his point-of-view character in those dreams might potentially be dead, he also knew that it was a small matter in the larger picture.

A sense of understanding had come with the blow-- as if some puzzle, somewhere had been resolved. There would be no regrets if the worst really were to come. But...]

I know. That doesn't make this any easier.

[twoscompany]

I know it doesn't. Look...if there's something you want me to do for you, just let me know. I can do it for you, and you can get your rest.

[dishevelment]

Thanks, Garnet. I really appreciate that.

[And he did. Although he was reluctant to share the details with the trusted Keytarist of his band, especially when she was buried underneath a slew of her own problems, it was good to hear and feel her support.

It allowed him to relax some-- and that was the best medicine a doctor could order.]