[Day 282] I'm covering my ears like kid... [OPEN]

[hellpyre]

Who: Rin, Oshawott, Kintaro (the Tepig)
Open: Open
When: Day 282, evening
Where: The Monument
What: The loss of a brother
Format: Will match!
Warnings: Rin's temper. :|

[Speaking to Otoha had taken up a decent chunk of Rin's afternoon. Not that she minded, it had been a nice conversation about the things he had planted via shards among other things, and the company was enjoyable. But she did have other things to do, like bringing dinner to the hospital once evening rolled around. After all, it wasn't like Yukio was going to drag himself away from his work to get food on his own.

With a happy hum and a tail wag, Rin headed to the hospital with Kintaro at her heels. She had no idea anything was even remotely off until she stepped through the entrance doors.

And that's when she saw Oshawott sitting on the floor in the lobby area, making distressed noises that almost sounded like crying. Rin entering got his attention, causing him to run over to her. He was chattering so fast she could barely catch what he was trying to tel her, but soon enough he had her hand in his tiny paw and was tugging her to Yukio's office.

... which was frighteningly empty.

His books, files, notepads were all still there, but her brother was nonexistent.

Feeling a tightness in her chest that she didn't want to feel, she tried to justify his absence, saying aloud that maybe he was with a patient, or had stepped out for a moment.

But Oshawott shook his head, and a word was understood that made her heart sink completely to her feet.

"Skyway."

Grabbing both Oshawott and Kintaro up she bolted from the hospital, calling Yukio's name frantically as tears burned painfully in the corners of her eyes. He couldn't, he wouldn't--

There was no reply. No chastising voice telling her calm down, keep her voice down. Not even a distant glint of light off familiar glasses.

As night came across the Bastion that evening, Rin wouldn't return to the kitchen nor to her apartment. Curled up with a still-crying Oshawott in her lap and Kintaro at her side, she sat in front of the Monument, face blotched red but tears no longer falling.

Just a blank stare out to the space far beyond the edge of the floating land that was their current home.]

Comments

[daughterofursa]

[Rin didn't exactly pick an out-of-the-way spot to be upset. Zuko spots her on the way back to her house, and even she can immediately recognize that something is wrong, even if she can't guess what.

Kizuna is with her, as she nearly always is now, the baby dragon perched sleepily across her shoulders.]

Rin?

[There's no point in asking if she's okay. Zuko just isn't sure if she wants to be left alone or not.]

[hellpyre]

[She wasn't even sure why she stopped there. It wasn't like she could feed the monument shards and get her brother back. She was just... there, after searching high and low for any remote impossible chance that he was still in the Bastion somewhere.

She looks up at Zuko with clearly bloodshot eyes, Oshawott burying his face in to her chest. It was really hard to tell who was more upset here.]

... Yukio's gone.

[daughterofursa]

[Zuko glances around as though hoping to spot someone better qualified to provide comfort. On finding no one else nearby, she crouches down to get on Rin's level.]

How long has he been missing?

[hellpyre]

[Sorry, Zuko. You're alone in this one.]

Oshawott said... said he left this mornin' and didn't come back. He woulda been back by now. He wouldn't leave for that long and not say anythin' to us.

[daughterofursa]

So maybe he got a little lost. We can go out first thing tomorrow and look for him.

[It could be the case, but the words feel empty. She said the same thing to herself, about Toph.]

[hellpyre]

[Rin knows that, and as much as she wants to believe in those empty words she can't even begin to dredge up hope.]

... you know what happens to them out there.

[daughterofursa]

We don't know. Not for certain.

Do you really want to give up without even looking?

[ourlegends]

[ Hilda was out taking Zorua for a walk around the Bastion when Zorua suddenly rushed over toward Rin. Auntie Rin was upset, and Zorua could see that. She placed her front paws on Rin, barking worriedly up at her Auntie. Hilda came over and lifted Zorua up, sitting on Rin's other side and placing Zorua in her lap.

She was quiet for a moment, not sure of what to say ...

But then she reached over and placed her hand on Rin's. Maybe that would be better. She didn't know what was up, but she knew Rin and the Pokemon weren't okay. ]

[hellpyre]

[Auntie Rin is upset. So is Oshawott. Kintaro is upset by proxy.

All Hilda gets for a while is sniffles from both of them, the most from Oshawott because he has been making the most distressed noises this entire time. Rin is crying, yes, but it's not nearly as loud.

She also doesn't respond to the touch at first, though eventually her hand does turn up to Hilda's.]

[ourlegends]

[ She entwines their fingers and gently squeezes Rin's hand. She leans a little onto her shoulder. Hilda still decides that saying something right now was probably not a good idea.

Zorua pads over to Oshawott and gently nuzzles him. It's okay, friend. ]

[hellpyre]

[But it's not okay, because his trainer is gone and he doesn't know what to do! Zoura's comfort is welcome, but it doesn't stop him from making those pitiful noises.]

[ourlegends]

[ That only makes Zorua nuzzle more. Poor little bro. :< Zorua wouldn't know what to do without her trainer.

Hilda's still not talking. She's just going to let Rin talk whenever she feels like she needs to. ]

[hellpyre]

[It takes a while, but she does eventually begin to speak, voice quieter than normal.]

I should be used to this by now...

[scary_music]

[Ibuki's generally all over the place, so eventually she would see Rin before the monument]

Um...

... Rin-chan? What happened? Ibuki can feel a whooole lot of bad feels going on here...

[hellpyre]

[Well yeah there's a crying Pokemon and a crying girl here. Of course you're gonna feel that, Ibuki.]

... Yukio's gone.

[scary_music]

Yukio-chan...?

[Ibuki flinched a little at that. She hadn't known him that well but, still, she knew very well what it was like to lose people]

[... granted, back then, on the island, she still hadn't known her classmates that well... she'd even cracked stupid jokes in an attempt to keep everybody's spirits up when things got dark, but clearly that wasn't what she should be doing here]

You... you don't know that for sure, do you, Rin-chan? Right? I mean...

...

Um... can... can Ibuki do anything? Maybe a hug?

[Ibuki stepped closer, gingerly reaching for Rin and her pokemon. A group hug would probably help a little, right?]

[hellpyre]

[Yukio wasn't even the right twin, but he was still a part of Rin's life, Rin's family, and Oshawott's trainer at that.

It was upset all around for that reason.

Rin rubbed the sleeve of her hoodie across her eyes, shaking her head.]

Oshawott... said he went out to the Skyway alone. And didn't come back. He... he wouldn't not come back, that's just not like him! And I just...

[I just know some how, that he's gone.

She's not really sure what she wants or needs right now, but Kintaro is certainly urging Ibuki to help some how. He doesn't know how to make them stop crying!]

[scary_music]

[Ibuki sat next to Rin, fidgeting a bit]

Maybe... maybe he got lost or something? Or... you just can't know what happened for sure, right?

...

[She fell silent for a moment, before reaching over to pull Rin into a hug]

[hellpyre]

[She won't deny that hug, nor will Oshawott. He snuggles in between them, whimpering sadly.]

When people go out there alone, they just--... they don't come back...

[Most of the time. Sometimes they do, but it's so rare, and it often takes weeks.

But more often than not... they don't.]

[amnesiadragon]

[Ryu has trouble keeping track of the people in the Bastion sometimes. There's a lot more than he's used to keeping track of the names of, but it's overwhelming sometimes.]

[The sight of Rin crying, though, pulls him over immediately. He's tried to keep track of her, since she's one of the people that's been here the longest. He crouches down and sits next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.]

... Rin?

[hellpyre]

What... ?

[Her voice comes out scratchy, tired. She can't even remember how long she's been out here, and even Kintaro isn't sure what to do for her anymore. He's given up attempts at comfort and is merely sitting next to her, looking up only when Ryu approaches.]

[amnesiadragon]

[He offers Kintaro a gentle pet with his free hand, and squeezes Rin's shoulder lightly with the other.]

He's... not here anymore, is he?

[Maybe it's because he hadn't seen him around. Maybe it's because he knows what it's like to be separated from the other half of you, even if twins aren't quite the same. But he can't think of anything else that would make her react like this.]

[hellpyre]

[Was it that obvious? Probably. It had taken getting used to, but over time Rin had just been grateful for Yukio's existence in the Bastion. The connection was still there, gender meaning little when they were still siblings in the cosmic sense of the word.

She shook her head to his question, swallowing a lump in her throat.]

[amnesiadragon]

[He shifted a little to hug her, squeezing tightly before relaxing, ut keeping his arms around her.]

I'm... I'm sorry. I can't... tell you that things will be okay... but I'm here. A lot of us are here. And we're here to help you if we can.

[hellpyre]

I know... I know I just--... I wanted him to stay...

[Losing Yuki had been hard enough, but Yukio's arrival gave her some hope that she wouldn't be without family forever.

But now he was gone, leaving behind not only her but his partner.

What were they supposed to do?]