[Day 229] Well some one has to stay behind [Open]

[bastionpc]

Who: Everyone who didn't go on the trip
Open: Open
When: Day 229
Where: The Bastion
What: Not everyone is going to go search for the Core. Some people have to stay behind and tend to the daily things in the Bastion, after all.
Format: Any
Warnings: n/a

[Regardless of the Bastion's current state, there are still things that need to be done from day to day. Some one has to attend to those things, and not everyone can just up and leave. Some people might not even want to leave, and there are even a select few that just can't.

So for those of you staying behind, make sure you're not strangers to your fellow survivors!]

Comments

[hellpyre]

Piiiig...

Oh you'll be fine, it's not a water attack. It's not even cold!

[Rin is laughing a little at this whole thing, too. Nothing like some good old fashioned pranking to get some humor in the tense air.]

He's still poutin'.

[individuates]

[Yep, the babies can certainly be counted on for that sort of thing! More curiously concerned noises, some of them semi-submerged. She's sorry, okay? Tama-chan's sorry!]

At least he's still in one piece! Perhaps we'll make a swimmer out of him yet, ne Tama-chan?

[hellpyre]

[Indeed.

Kintaro lets out a plaintive noise again, but Rin lowers him back in to the water and this time he takes to it much more readily. He's still not thrilled but it's better than whining.]

He's gettin' there.

[individuates]

Yeah, sounds a lot like a certain someone I knew who jumped into the onsen without actually thinking about what onsen-ning entails…

…am I gonna have to come and drag her out or do you reckon she's going to behave herself?

[hellpyre]

... who in the hell did that?

[Like seriously how dumb can you be? The water is barely three feet deep.]

I think she'll be okay. Maybe she can teach Kintaro how to swim.

[individuates]

…that would be the person to whom you're entrusting Kin-chan's swimming lessons. Not to worry, though! She's got better since then! She and Seimei even managed to start some kind of... secret fish operation behind my back...

[hellpyre]

Some how I'm not surprised. Seimei-san is full of weird things like that.

[And Kintaro will be taking those swimming lessons, Tama-chan. This water thing is strange! But Oshawott is being encouraging about it at least.]

[individuates]

Yeah, he's a total pushover when food is involved.

[see, Kin-chan! You have willing instructors who are there to help you out! Aren't you lucky?!]

[hellpyre]

I haven't really talked to him since the hospital...

[But she doesn't want to dwell on that. All she can hope for is that Kaoru and Seimei managed to work things out.]

[individuates]

I'll try to send him your way. Point out to him there may be apologies due…

[He's not saying whose but… most likely Seimei's. He is perfectly aware that as high as tensions were running for the poor individuals in quarantine right from the beginning, it also had people finding unlikely confidantes. And he was ever grateful to Rin for jumping to his aid, in his absence. As ugly as things had gotten]

[settles on a rock, wrapped up in a towel with his arms around his knees, watching the steam over the water and the occasional ripples from the swimming lesson taking place on the other side of the partition]

…he was in bad shape. When I got to his room that day. And for a good while after, but when I remember that time in particular…? There was a moment I know - I know - that he was done. Like, I saw it written all over him.

We've talked it through since, and we're stronger for it, but I can never forget that. Just like I know he can never forget how he felt when he saw me there, either...

[hellpyre]

[That was good then. They were better, which meant she had less to worry about. Injuries were not only ever sustained on the skyway - the heart could just as easily be damaged. That was something she wanted to try and prevent as much as she could.

She shifts a little in the water, lowering herself in to it until her chin touches it.]

Does he even wanna talk to me after that? He made it pretty clear that he didn't much like the way I was talkin' to him.

[individuates]

Generally speaking, he doesn't appreciate that kind of stuff so much.

[a sigh, chin coming to rest on his knees] ...I never said he'd want to talk. But you guys can't stay mad at each other forever.

[hellpyre]

I ain't mad. I'm disappointed.

[An really she was never mad, just upset that he would ever think that breaking Kaoru's heart was some how the "better" option.]

But if he doesn't wanna talk to me then... there's shit all I can do.

[individuates]

For what?

I know myself well enough to be sure that if it had been a matter of him just… just not-loving me anymore it would have destroyed me but… it wasn't like that.

[hellpyre]

Th-that's just it! It would have been one thing if that was the problem, but the fact that he does love you and he'd still rather break your heart than deal with any problems in your relationship both current and future--! What kind of idiot just runs away at the first sign of trouble like that?!

[individuates]

[he gets the anger, Rin, he does]

…but we're both runners. It's more engrained in him than me, maybe, but I still understand that thinking and why it led him where it did.

All the tension with Hikaru, that was only part of it - the biggest thing at the time was the virus. He was hardly the only one involved in the expedition but he still blames himself for bringing it back and… think about it. If you saw someone you loved at death's door despite all your efforts, despite all your promises despite how careful you'd been… regardless of what they would have to say on the matter, wouldn't you feel ashamed, even for a second? Like you'd failed…?

[hellpyre]

Hell yeah I would!

[Not the answer you were expecting, huh?]

Of course I would! God, do you have any idea how many times I've fucked up, how many times I've nearly gotten people killed? I bet you don't even know that I've hurt people before! My friends, just because I didn't know how to fuckin' control myself! Of course I would feel like I failed if even helpin' did nothin' to save the people I cared about.

But I spent my whole damn life runnin' away from people, from my problems, from the people that were scared of me and I got sick of it. I was so... tired of bein' that alone...

Sometimes... sometimes promises get broken. Sometimes we fuck up even when we try our best not to. But if we left the people we loved every time it happened then we wouldn't have anyone, would we?

I just... didn't want him to break your heart because he felt like he couldn't just talk to you about what was goin' on in his heart... not when I knew you were both so much better than that.

[individuates]

[absolutely the answer he was expecting, actually, just not as much emotion and there's a pause for a moment while he just sits quietly for a bit.]

I get that. There's still a lot of stuff Seimei doesn't get. But he's getting there.

[…why do you think it took them this long to get to this stage in their relationship]

…slowly, sloooooowly getting there.

[hellpyre]

[Rinchan has a lot of emotions about people getting to be happy and not doing the stupid things she used to do that left her miserable and alone.]

... very slowly.

[Burble.]

[individuates]

There is progress! And he said he was going to talk to me about these things in the future and screw Hikaru.

[Thank goodness for the partition, though he audibly slaps a hand over his own eyes and drags it down his face. Nice one, Kaoru.] That is… uh. In the sense of finally stopping thinking that one relationship has to be sacrificed for the other; and to stop caring that they've… still not entirely warmed up to each other yet. And trust that he'll get there eventually.

[he heard that burble :/]

…everything all right in there?

[hellpyre]

[She's just half sunk under the water now because wow she made an ass of herself.

She comes up enough to mumble:]

Yes. And I know what you meant.

[individuates]

…that was you? I thought it was Kin-chan who'd gone under.

[…thank goodness you got it, Rin-chan. Thank you for not teasing him :/]

[hellpyre]

[She's only a pervert when the right moment calls for it.]

Nah, he's doin' okay. Tama-chan's got that handled pretty well. I'm just feelin' like an ass for gettin' so upset...

[individuates]

Like I said. It was tense. You guys were all packed in together with very little notice or preparation. Anyone would get upset.

[that kind of shows, though, that he's not quite aware of how ugly things got]

…though I am grateful. That you tried to fight my corner.

[hellpyre]

Yeah, well... we're friends. Even in this place I want my friends to be happy. And you're happy with him...

[She was friends with Seimei, too, but he was the one saying he would leave Kaoru for frankly really stupid reasons.]

... I know I ain't always the nicest person around and I probably said some things I shouldn't have to him but I just didn't wanna see him make a really dumb decision that was gonna hurt you.