A second murder shook the town of Cartesio. Clarisse's ambush plan ended with Katsuki Bakugou's death. Now what?
Nothing to be done other than continuing their life and watch what happens. After two weeks, after the deaths they have seen, it's hard to think there's a way out. The only option is to wait for the right chance to turn the tables and see a weak point in the Sergeant's plans -- and hopefully not see any murders.
The townspeople's attitude towards the tourists soured even more. The destruction of the church was much worse than anything they had seen so far, and they ran out of patience. People who in the past were nice and wanted nothing more than to make the tourists happy now aren't afraid of saying to their faces what's what. Random pedestrians shout at the visitors, telling them to stop being criminals. Although there are a few who have more patience than the rest, general opinion is clear:
The tourists are nuisances, to say the least.
In the lobby of the motel there's a few more brochures, and
the maps have been updated once again.
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cartesianism2018-10-21 10:51 am
no subject
[She takes another moment, though; she's far from used to discussing this openly, and she's not sure where to start, or how much detail to go into immediately.]
I guess, like... My family life isn't the greatest, and it's kind of made everything else go downhill lately. That's probably the easiest way to explain it.
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No platitudes, got it. What's been going on exactly?
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[She’s certain he is; honestly, it’s not hard to tell from the hesitation in her voice that she’s stalling.]
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[But he does see that Natalie is not. He's really not all that interested in getting people to talk about subjects they're uncomfortable with unless it's immediately pertinent, but ... they don't really have much else to go on other than some vague understanding that both of their family lives have been non-ideal, to put it mildly.
His tone softens a bit.]
Take your time, Natalie.
cw for child death, mental illness
[It’s said a little too quickly, a little too forcefully - if there’s anything worse han feeling vulnerable, it’s the feeling of knowing that other people can tell she is. She takes a breath, and:]
Let’s zip through this real quick. My parents had a kid before I was born, then he died, so they immediately had me thinking it would solve everything. They, of course, were completely wrong, and now my mom has frequent hallucinations that my very deceased older brother is still alive, hallucinations which she vastly prefers to acknowledging that I exist. My dad is too busy taking care of her and pretending we’re a normal family to deal with me.
[It’s said in a rush, and her shrug at the end is not nearly as careless as she’d like it to be.]
Your turn.
no subject
My turn.
[A beat. He continues in a fairly matter-of-fact tone once the initial hesitation passes. It's all stuff that hurt in the past, but a lot of it is healing over.]
You know my mom's Galran. I didn't know anything about her until two years ago. She left me when I was a baby so it was just me and my pop for a while -- which was alright, we got along okay. He never really said anything about her, never told me who she was so I just.. grew up thinking I was a normal human being.
He died when I was just a kid. He was a firefighter and he went back into a burning building to try and save a few more folks. Never made it out. After that I was on my own. Didn't have any other family to take care of me, so I just took care of myself.
Felt pretty unwanted and abandoned so I lashed out at a lot of other people. Got into dumb fights, never tried to apply myself in anything. Most people just kinda gave up on me. Would've ended up in juvenile detention if it weren't for Shiro.
[There's a weak smile that looks more like a grimace if anything.]
I'd say there are a few similarities in how we felt, yeah.
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...Yeah, I guess so.
[She doesn't want to get sidetracked, but she has to wonder:]
Who's Shiro?
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That aside, the question about Shiro is easy to answer in comparison. Keith smiles, this time more genuinely.]
Shiro was an officer from the Garrison. He came to my school one day to recruit kids to join their space exploration program. He's the one who encouraged me to join the Garrison, stuck his neck out for me when others just wanted me removed from the program. Without him I'd have never turned my life around.
[There's quite a bit more to this story, but despite all the compications and twists that surround Shiro and their exploits it all comes down to a fairly simple summary.]
My brother.
no subject
[She pauses again, glancing down.]
He sounds pretty important to you. Someone who got you out of a really tough spot. Maybe part of why the Sergeant is interested in us, is... We're people who have messed up before, but someone came along who helped us, and - now that we're here, they're gone. People like that, they'd be more...
[She pauses, trying to think of the best word.]
I don't know. Susceptible?
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[There's something about that that doesn't quite ring true for Keith, but he's considering it pretty seriously. There's no question in his mind that Shiro means the world to him, so the idea that his love for Shiro makes him "susceptible" in his brother's absence seems... not counterintuitive exactly, but wrong nonetheless.]
In terms of having easy leverage you mean? [A beat.] Or what are you thinking?
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[She pauses, trying to decide the best way to put this.]
If there was someone who found you when you were in a bad place and helped you find the way to go, wouldn't you feel even more lost without them?
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..Yeah, I did.
That whole period of time when Shiro had just disappeared after their battle with Zarkon? It'd been like nothing else fucking mattered but trying to end the war as quickly as possible no matter what price they had to pay just so he could devote all of his energy to finding Shiro again. But--]
The situation's different now. Of course, I'd rather have him by my side, but Shiro or no Shiro -- I know what I have to do.
[He looks up again.]
Is that how you feel right now? Lost?
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That's not... No. I shouldn't have-- it's fine.
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Look, I know I'm not exactly the easiest person to talk to, but... it's okay if it is. I'll help you. I'm not about to let the Sergeant use either of us in whatever it is he's trying to achieve. But we're gonna have to be able to trust each other more.
no subject
[Fight or flight instinct finally kicking in, she shakes her head, standing up from the table.]
That's probably the similarity, so we figured it out, so - I should go.
1/2
So when he's actually trying to be considerate and things go sour? That's more disconcerting than he can really put words to. He blinks in surprise.]
I'm --
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Whatever. You were here first. I'll get out of your hair.
[It's probably the wrong thing to say -- that much occurs to him as he says it, but it's not really a sentiment he'd take back.]
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I brought it up. You didn't... do anything. You don't have to go.
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But Keith quite that same person anymore. Or at least, he was trying not to be for the sake of the paladins. He breathes out after a moment, arms folded across his chest.]
Look. [Deep breath. Let's try to sound a little less prickly.] It's fine. I'd rather eat in my room anyway. Don't really care for all the dirty looks I'm getting. I'm sorry that this wasn't easy for you to talk about, but it wasn't easy for me either. I'll see you later.
no subject
Wait, I wasn't trying to...
[A breath in, a breath out. While she doesn't finish that thought, it's not difficult to tell that she's trying to voice that she wasn't trying to upset him.]
Look, you were right, okay? That's all.
[About her feeling lost, that is.]
no subject
That's just normal, isn't it? You don't just grab a teenager with no experience with the paranormal or serious violence, throw them into an environment where you're expected to kill and not end up with a disoriented, lost mess. There's more to it than the obvious "duh" factor of it, but it still makes Keith sigh.
But then again, he can respect that it's because you're in a place like this that admitting that you're scared is even scarier. Keith has his objectives to keep him grounded; he doesn't quite know how he'd be reacting to all of his if he'd been brought here when he was her age.]
Let's both just get out of here. [A beat, then he tries again. Softer.] I'm probably the last person you want to hear this from, but... you don't have to be brave alone.
no subject
...Neither do you.
[Then, after a hesitation so brief it's barely noticeable, she turns to leave.]
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Keith doesn't call after her, but he watches her leave the bakery for a moment before giving himself a mental shake and leaves the premises himself.]