wtfox | [seasonality] catchall for bradley

[wherever bradley happens to be, lila is walking nearby! more specifically, she is walking while reading something - probably the post from earlier? - on her phone, and she narrowly misses bumping into him, but sidesteps at the last moment.]

Oh, sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going.

[it's bonfire time!! which means s'mores.

lila is roasting a marshmallow when she spots bradley. she waves the stick it's speared on in greeting.]

Hi!

[the cafeteria!!

lila is here because... well, even when things are tough, you still have to eat, right? and who knows what tomorrow will bring...

but she's kind of just staring at the food and not picking any of it up. what's bradley up to.]

[lila is in the school uniform on the right but in summer dorm colors because her clothes are in the wash after all that gross smoothie stuff!!

there are bruises on her legs that weren't visible during trial because she was wearing tights lmao

anyway she's sitting at a table by the cafeteria, looking sad and picking at her food.]

[wow. they've sure got another dead body!! and lila is not happy about it, but also, she's still worried about the cyoa crew. so, a bit after the investigation has concluded, bradley will get a text.]

how are you feeling today? are your burns any better?

[wow! what an awful trial!

lila seems very upset. she hasn't made it back to the dorms yet - instead, she stops at the bonfire and kicks a rock into the flames angrily. ugh! scapegoating! she hates it, thanks!]

[He's checking out the new room. Hard to say if it's better than the last or not, but it's what they've got.

As soon as Lila comes close enough, she'll get a memory.

Bradley and a black haired man are walking through a cavern. The flapping of bat wings, and water droplets, and a conversation that the bats recorded.

A languid voiced man, "Brad...! Say something, don't fall asleep! Brad!!"

A voice that is very clearly Bradley, "... Shut up. It hurts... I'm fine... An injury like this can't get me... ch..."

The other man, "What do you fucking mean you're fine? How many times are you going to almost turn to stone before you're satisfied?! ... You never listen, you're always so reckless... I can't put up with this any more... Maybe I'm sthe strange one here saying something like this in the North, but... ... Challenging strong enemies, or getting your hands on valuable treasures - It's all over once you turn into stone...!"

Bradley, "There's no point in living if I'm not gunnin' for strong enemies or treasures. How's that any different from turning t' stone?"

Silence.

Bradley, again, "...Ch... Haha... Don't make that face... I'll be all right as long as I have you. I'm counting on you buddy."

The bats' eyes flicker and glitter. Akira looks at Bradly in the present, and their eyes meet.

"What do you think?" asks Bradley.

"Eh?"

"Turning into stone without ever havin' challenged anythin'. Living without risking my life for the things I want. That's not like me at all. Even so-

Was I the one who should've changed?"

He sighs a little as the memory ends, looking distant.]

[well, here they are in daycare, probably vibing near the baby monitors.

her vibes are not at all surprised.]

...our message got cut off, but I think this probably would have happened even if it hadn't.

[poor mandricardo.]

w0, sunday 1.0

w0, monday