[seasonality] catchall for sieghart

[wtfox]

Comments

w3, monday

[wtfox]

[an outdoor playground isn't exactly what lila wanted when she said she wanted to get out of the daycare, but at least they can get some fresh air now! she's looking around once they're able to get outside.

which puts her into close enough contact with sieghart that ... bam! memshare!

wow, superheroes. who'da thunk?]

[ercnerd]

[Bam. Sieghart, who was innocently enjoying the outdoor air, takes a moment to ponder what he's just experienced.]

What was with the masks?

[wtfox]

[uh]

...you saw that, too?

[ercnerd]

It's been happening on and off around here. You should steer clear of everyone if you have an especially embarrassing memory you don't want anyone to know about.

[wtfox]

...how are we supposed to steer clear of anyone, there's only so many places we can go...

[ercnerd]

Hmm . . . luck?

[wtfox]

[gimme a memory, jae]

If we had good luck, I think we'd still be alive right now...

[ercnerd]

[No.]

I don't know if luck had anything to do with . . .

[And then he's cut short by a memory:

The ashen smoke and stench of burnt flesh choke your throat, leaving a rancid aftertaste, as you navigate the burning ruins of your second home. What was once a warm refuge attended by the kind souls of your brothers is now a hellish purgatory with their bodies strewn everywhere like ragdolls. There are so many of them, yet nary a one so much as utters a cry while the fire claims their limbs. Every step you take lands your feet in a puddle of their blood, growing increasingly desperate as you call out their names, hoping against hope for a response.

You cough into your excoriated arm, damaged from a collapsing pillar you passed earlier. How long have you been in here now? If you don't hurry, you may collapse before you can get anyone out.

Your breath hitches when you come upon Graham, crumpled on the ground, with the fire raging all around him. Dropping to your knees, you gather his body in your arms and shield him from the scorching heat, only to find that his chest neither rises nor falls.

"N-no!" Your vision blurs and voice cracks as you give him a shake. "Get up! Wake up! Please!"

But Graham doesn't open his eyes. Your dearest friend, who saved your life when he found you, a lonesome stranger on the verge of death, with nothing but kindness in his eyes and who later accepted your nameless self into the fold as family, is gone.

Everyone is gone. The fire is just meant to bury what's left of them.

Ignoring how the same fire pricks your eyes, chokes your throat, and sears your skin, you hold Graham's corpse close and wail in a terrible combination of grief and rage.

Who could've killed the immortal Highlanders? The question rattles harshly within your mind, piercing the deafening roar of the flames. Whoever it was, you'll kill them. You'll tear them apart. You will get revenge.

If only you hadn't been so careless.

Your chest tightens. Although you scream yourself hoarse, it does nothing for the pain in your heart as you weep at once. You can't breathe. You don't think you can even live with yourself. The grief, the rage, the guilt—they hurt. They hurt so much that you think you may just go mad from it all.

This is your fault. It's your fault—all of it. Your fault. Your fault, yourfault,yourfaultyourfaultYOURFAULT—]

[wtfox]

[well



that's a lot! no wonder he wants revenge! honestly, lila has wanted revenge on people for less intense things than this! when they come out of the memory, she's left reeling from it - her gaze darts up to his face to see how he's handling it.

was the warning about memories popping up meant to get her to go away so he wouldn't have to relive his...?]

Um...

[you okay, bud?]

Week 4: Friday

[ercnerd]

[Sieghart is already in the nap room, seated upright on his bed of choice from last night. When Lila enters, he lifts his head. They're still far apart enough that he doesn't confer his emotions onto her.]

Hey. Did you watch the investigation?

[wtfox]

Mmhm. It was Wang Lu and Byleth.

[byleth was not a surprise!



wang lu kind of was though.]

[ercnerd]

[He nods.]

That means someone acted independently again.

[wtfox]

Yeah.

...I was sort of expecting them to leave her alive, though - in case they couldn't find anyone at a trial...

[seems a little shortsighted to her...]

But... maybe it's better this way. She won't have to keep killing people anymore, and without an "easy" vote, they'll be more motivated to look for whoever did it this time.

[ercnerd]

They may not have had a choice.

[Even from this distance, a wave of worry reaches Lila.]

But it's too early to say. We'll just have to see what happens tomorrow.

[wtfox]

...yeah, that's true.

[hm! hm.]

I hope it's not as... much... as last week.

[ercnerd]

The longer this goes on, the more people will hurt. It doesn't help that they don't have the information we do.

[wtfox]

Maybe we should try to put some of it into the marquee...?

w7, saturday

[wtfox]

[we are here in the void


lila is up and out for a walk, honestly, because she wants some fresh air after nine hours of friendfiction. when she spots sieg, she waves.]

Oh, hey.

[ercnerd]

[He nods in return. He was covered in paint earlier, but now he's in a school shirt and pants.]

Hey. How are you feeling?

[wtfox]

I'm feeling pretty good, I think? As long as we don't get any plot twists thrown at us tomorrow, we should be going home.

[...]

That's what I've wanted most this whole time, so...

[ercnerd]

Are you going back to your home?

[Not her dimension, but her actual home.]

[wtfox]

Maybe! If I can convince my mom to move us back to Rome...

But there are things I want to take care of in Paris first, so. Maybe not right away.

[ercnerd]

What were you doing when you woke up in this dimension, Lila?

[wtfox]

Oh, you know... going to school, hanging out with my friends... normal things for a teenager.

[ercnerd]

Will you see those friends once you return?