BEAU

[stormsoff]

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[stormsoff]

[ He feels the spike of guilt, and honestly, it's answered with just this ... slow, cold sadness. Icy and inconsolable.

But it's quickly erased by a spike of pure worry. ]

Luna... yeah, I saw her too. I think this stuff is getting to her...

[ He'll look at her curiously, and the prospect of working on the problem calms his feelings a little. ]

Is it? Last week we had the... weird limb thing, and... that, like, other emotion thing? [ ... ] How does it match up?

[disreguarded]

[ hoo boy, she hates that sadness. it's upsetting, and even though he switches to worry, she still holds onto that sensation quietly. ]

I think Nia had her head taken off. Eaten. So - our limbs coming off... [ she shifts uncomfortably. ] I don't know about the other emotion thing. Maybe the monster made people feel those things? Maybe it was really hungry. That was one of the effects. Jin Ling was eating raw steak, and Meltryllis --

[ and that's where an icy spike of anger and fury curls up in beau. ] Her stupid fucking pride.

[stormsoff]

That's not totally gone, you know.

[ to demonstrate, he pops off his pinky with relative ease before popping it back on again. ]

It's not as bad as it was since I don't just have limbs falling off or anything, but it's still possible to do. But ... still ... [ a breath. ] You could be onto something.

[ whoa, HELLo. that's-- yikes! wow. that sure is a lot of anger. it's enough that Isaac actually shifts, rocking back and just staring at Beau. ]

... wh-what happened? [ He doesn't respond to her anger, at least, not with his own -- there's just this sense of concerned befuddlement. ]

[disreguarded]

[ aw man, she hates the body parts coming off thing. she's still not over her arm jumping off and going to steal raw steak from Jin Ling, okay, it was traumatizing. but.

oh, oops. she didn't mean to startle him. she glances at him with a frown. ]

Sorry - sorry, I'm just. [ she hesitates. ] Just the way she was acting in the trial, you know. She wouldn't cooperate.

[stormsoff]

[ Isaac is ... quiet, when she says that. His emotions are as hard to read as his face, a big muddle in his chest. He'll nod once or twice. ]

I know. I voted for her.

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Yeah. I did too. [ hey, now. she holds out a hand, offering for him to take it. ] And so did Phoenix.

We both think she did it. [ she picks at the fabric of her tracksuit pants. waves of heaviness hit her here and there - the tiredness is getting at her. ] Trying to be careful about talking about it with people, though. I don't trust everybody here with certain shit.

[stormsoff]

[ !!

To hear that others voted for the same person ... actually brings him some comfort, that he wasn't alone in his irritation and suspicion. But it's still not exactly a good feeling, since .. the murderer is still out there. And if it's her... ]

... who d'you think is untrustworthy?

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[ she thinks about that for a while, and then: ]

Honestly? Everybody except for like. You. Phoenix. Ayabe, Lio. Hunter. I'd say Luna, but she avoids me, so I can't get a good read on her. You guys are the people I'd trust to tell things.

Not saying I don't like the others. I do. It's just - you know.

[stormsoff]

[ ... Isaac nods along at the names, and Beau will get a pleasant surge of his quiet happiness over being included in the list. ]

I don't know Phoenix or Ayabe that well, but Lio is good people. Hunter too. Luna is ... [ ... ] She's a good person, but I think being here is taking a really heavy toll on her.

Um. Akira. He's someone you can trust, too.

[disreguarded]

[ aw. it makes her smile a bit, at least. isaac mentioning phoenix gets a little ping of - affection? the familial kind. kind of like how you might feel about a parent. she picks a bit more at her clothes, hoping isaac can't feel that much. it's embarrassing. ]

Akira. Yeah, he seems like a good guy. He made sure I was doing okay after the first trial.

[stormsoff]

[ if isaac picks up on Beau's dad feelings, he doesn't show it. ............ but that doesn't matter because there's a brief ping of amusement in response. of course, his own feelings towards Beau are pretty strongly familial, too. ]

Heh, well... he's the person I went to after my fight with Asch. I didn't know you well yet, but Akira, he ... he did something important for me, back when we first got here. So I knew I could count on him. He's ... one of my closest friends, and a good person.

[ they can trade: isaac is now the one to feel a rush of affection, though this is less familial. he just clearly treasures Akira a good deal. "did something for me," though, is accompanied by a brief spike in ... grief, for whatever reason. ]

[disreguarded]

[ NO DON'T LAUGH AT HER god, all she wants is a nice dad, okay. but - past that, when she feels the amusement, she makes a brief face at him. it's a nice feedback loop of sibling sibling sibling. relief. happiness. ]

Yeah? [ beau asks, softer. she smiles a bit. ] I'll take your word for it. He's gotta be, if you feel like that.

[ A beat, and then she reaches for isaac to get an arm around his shoulders. it's nice to know he has other people to help. ]

I'm glad you've got friends, kiddo.

[stormsoff]

[ DO YOU SEE HIM LAUGHING, IS HE LAUGHING! But ... it is nice. Being around Beau feels so normal and natural he's almost started to take it for granted.

She reaches out an arm, and he goes willingly, leaning into her side and shutting his eyes. They can't sleep, but even this small thing helps, a little. He'll nod, but ... ]

It's weird. Why was it so much harder back home? I really do have friends here, and it's like ... what was I doing wrong before, and how did I fix it? I don't even know.

[disreguarded]

[ she keeps him close, resting her head on top of his. she wishes he could sleep - she wishes she could sleep - but this is good too. ]

We're in a bad situation. I think it makes it easier. [ she murmurs. ] We all have to kind of get along. Us versus the bad. [ sniff. ] Or maybe you just found a lot of people like you, here.

[ a yawn. ] Hey. Weird question - are you an only child?

[stormsoff]

[ oh no. her yawn makes him yawn, too. that’s gonna be contagious.

He nods along to what she says, but there’s some uncertainty and a soft touch of grief there. Whatever’s making him feel that way, he doesn’t comment immediately. ]

Huh? Yeah, I am. Why?

[disreguarded]

No reason, just - I was, too? Growing up.

[ there's a mixed bag of emotions here - sad, angry, defiant, but mostly bitter. ]

It was a whole fucking thing. My dad wanted a boy, and he made sure I knew that -- anyway. Recently they had another kid, a boy I haven't ever met, and I kind of just. I've always wondered if I'd be a piece of shit of a sister.

[ she closes her eyes for a moment, settling against him. there's that sibling bond again, plus relief and gratitude. ]

But uh. I don't think I would be, now. So that's been kinda cool to realize.

1/3

[stormsoff]

[ ... ]

[stormsoff]

[ You know, feeling each other's emotions was one thing. They've been passing the familial ping back and forth for a couple minutes now.

But somehow, actually hearing it out loud, Beau just outright ... asserting herself as his big sister ... ]

[stormsoff]

[ For one reason or another, his eyes flood with tears, and he has to blink rapidly, looking away. He doesn't actually cry, but dang, he seems close. Beau will just get this immense, intense surge of mixed emotions: gratitude, happiness, grief, confusion. It's a lot.

He swallows, blinking a few more times, and then ventures: ]

... yeah. I ... think you're right about that.

[ sniff. ]

[disreguarded]

[ oh no, isaac. the flood of emotions she feels from him are a little overwhelming, but that's okay. she hiccups out a little laugh at the burst, and shifts just enough to hug him tightly. ]

Thanks. [ she murmurs. ] That, um. That means a lot.

[ he gets relief, and acceptance, happiness, tinges of worry, tinges of pain. a desperate need to protect. safety. ]

[stormsoff]

[ Isaac will actually smile, grinning and elbowing her gently. Which is no small feat with how tightly she's hugging him, but he'll manage it before loosely wrapping his arms around her in return. ]

Were you worried about it? Dork.

[ but he's not missing that last thing--the desperation. Instinctively he tries to send back a feeling of reassurance. They'll protect each other, as best they can. ]

[disreguarded]

Shut up. [ she says, laughing, pinching his shoulder. ] I was maybe a little worried.

[ she rests her head against his. ] Dork.

[stormsoff]

[ He just nudges her again, grinning. ] Who's the dork, geek?

[disreguarded]

Oh, don't you start with me! [ she laughs, grabbing him and giving him a noogie. it's gentle! and she leaves room for him to squirm away if he really hates it. ]

[stormsoff]

Agh, stop, aaaaaa--

[ He'll definitely wriggle wildly in her grip but he's just trying to shove her. But. He's also laughing, so that's a definite victory. ]