Week 7: May 13th - May 17th

[cartesio]

Seventh Week

The tense truce that had covered Cartesio was over. The town, feeling betrayed after having given a chance to the outsiders, pushed back. Enraged, they started getting even more daring, starting to get into the tourists' only safe haven: their motel rooms. They don't manage to break in, but it's not unusual to hear thumping on the doors, someone trying to get in. The windows are almost perpetually broken, there's so much graffiti on the ground floor of the motel, both inside and outside, it's hard to know what each one is saying. Can't be anything good, that's the only thing that's certain. The lounge's furniture has been tore to pieces, the lobby only has the guestbook intact, and the planters in middle of the motel are broken, the soil and plants strewn around.

The residents of Cartesio are near their breaking point. The despair, fury, and desire to get rid of the outsiders so everyone can return to their peaceful lives, have covered the town. It won't take long before they reach their breaking point, and if they do...what will happen to the visitors?

The Sergeant's grip on the town is total, and next week is the one marked as END. It seems like there's no way out, like the Sergeant won.

But you can't lose hope. You have to remember: now that you're on your darkest hour, the only way lef to go is upwards. Things can get better, you have to make it happen!

In the lobby of the motel there's a few more brochures, and the maps have been updated once again. Don't mind that some of them have been damaged in one of the attacks on the motel.

Links

IC Rules
Guestbook
Room Assignments
Events
Locations
NPCs
Activity Check

Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday

[Welcome to the seventh week! If you want to contact the Sergeant, please post here!. Also please remember to submit your activity check!]

Comments

[marmoron]

[He looks like he wants to say something, but instead he's quiet. After another moment:]

I'm not leaving Shiro.

[robitussin]

I'm not asking you to.

[She sighs.]

I'm just asking you to not do something stupid, or something that's going to get you hurt.

[marmoron]

[There's a lot he could say in response to this, but he goes with:]

I could say the same thing to you.

[robitussin]

[When she speaks, it's not hard to tell that's irritated her somehow.]

...No, I don't think you could. I'm not the one who just got tied to a tree because I tried to break into the lodge again.

[marmoron]

[There's a pause.]

No. But you're doing something else, aren't you.

[robitussin]

[A few seconds pass.]

...He told you.

[It’s a quiet admission, not a question.]

[marmoron]

[He's looking at her directly. Everyone who hasn't been comatose during the trials knows that Keith has zero problems getting overtly confrontational if he needs to, so the restraint here is fairly obvious. His voice is quiet for now.]

Just tell me the truth, Natalie. What have you done.

[robitussin]

Don't...

[She trails off without completing that thought, taking a breath. Her shoulders square up and her arms cross over her torso almost protectively; it's not hard to see how uncomfortable she is, all of a sudden.]

I... How much did he tell you?

[marmoron]

Enough to know that he's probably not lying.

[robitussin]

That doesn't tell me anything.

[And as such, as runs a hand through her hair, stressed.]

I was just trying to help, okay?!

[marmoron]

Natalie.

[His tone's utterly deadpan here.]

I'm not asking about your intentions. I'm asking what you helped him with. What you told him.

[robitussin]

What?

[She blinks, shakes her head.]

I didn't tell him anything! And - look, if I was helping him, it was only to make sure that none of us got arrested, okay?

[marmoron]

[He represses a sigh.]

Look. You don't get it.

I'm not asking because I think you're a traitor who sold us out. You don't have to keep defending yoursel. Just tell me what you helped him with so we can try and fucking figure out what he's up to.

[robitussin]

...It's not going to help us figure it out.

[She sighs.]

He wanted the cameras in the fire station broken because he knew if they were working, they'd record what we did to the diner. He wanted the spotlights from the casino moved to the graveyard so we could stop the townspeople easier. He said... If we got caught too early, that'd hurt his plans, too.

Okay?

[marmoron]

[There's quiet for a moment, his eyes never leave her face.]

Were you ever going to tell us about this?

[robitussin]

...He made it pretty clear what he'd do if I did.

[In contrast, she can't meet his eyes at all.]

But I'm guessing that changed, since he told you for whatever reason.

[marmoron]

He was mad that you showed everyone the device at the meeting yesterday.

[A beat.]

Said you were no longer welcome.

[robitussin]

...Yeah, that figures.

[She sighs.]

I was just supposed to plant it. I wasn't supposed to ask for input or whatever.

[marmoron]

[Another pause, then finally he does look away.]

You don't have to protect me, you know.

[robitussin]

...What do you mean?

[marmoron]

He said that it only hurts me that the deal's off.

[Connecting the dots, etc.]

[robitussin]

[After a moment, she blinks a few times, reaching up to run the heel of her palm against her eyes.]

I couldn’t... lose you, okay? And if I could make sure of that by doing something that could have helped everyone else, then...

[marmoron]

[For a moment he's quiet. It still makes him pause when she says something that he finds so weirdly relatable. He always thought it was more awkward when he couldn't do that with people, but he's finding he might've been wrong about that.

He glances up at her again, but doesn't really know what to say to that. Or rather, his go to response of 'knock it off' just isn't what he wants to say to her. He approaches wordlessly, and if she allows it, he'll give her a hug.]

[robitussin]

[She tenses slightly, but only because it isn't really what she was expecting. There's a pause, while she breathes in and out...

And then, as quickly as she tensed, she's returning the embrace. Muttered:]

I'm sorry.

[marmoron]

[He breathes out, holding her in silence for a moment. The truth is that he's sorry, too. Sorry for being a cause of concern... and sorry that he's not sorry. It'd probably mean a lot to her if he could just promise to stay put, but....

Eventually, he asks quietly:]

What are you apologizing for?

[Because if they're anything alike, he knows she's not sorry for trying.]