snowblindrpg | [log] Elephants in the room [closed]

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[log] Elephants in the room [closed]

Characters: Frisk, Toriel, Enoch, Luna, and Quark
Location The pharmacy
Date: 137 evening/night
Summary: Friends meet after a lot of harrowing adventures. Long-overdue conversations can happen finally. Or just general bonding.
Warnings: IDEFK Joker's threatened Quark and Resets might come up sooooo Nothing in action at least, all in discussion.

[130: A decently-sized pharmacy. It must have once also had a small section for food, but the shelves are empty now. Sometimes medicine can be found here. Four of the floorboards have been pulled up in a corner of the pharmacy, revealing metal beneath. The following is drawn on the wall in blue ink: "This is Building 111 on the composite map. Medication sometimes available here. Contact @CaptSteveRogers for details." Underneath this is a fairly accurate map showing the pharmacy in relation to the hospital and buildings 58, 125, and 126. The hospital is labeled "Hospital; hospital morgue is UNSAFE, DO NOT STAY THERE OVERNIGHT." Building 58 is labeled "Ice tunnel north entrance." Near 126 he draws an arrow pointed southeast, labeled "This way to downtown area."

Frisk, Toriel, and Enoch get there first, having only come from the hospital before deciding it'd be better to search the pharmacy for anything that might help with Toriel's and Frisk's illness, rather than press on to the house leading out of the tunnels. Still, there's plenty of room left and a group that'll be more than happy for the company. Especially this particular company. It's been... pretty crazy lately, after all.]

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Have we had any luck so far? [Toriel's voice is rougher from her last coughing fit, but she not about to let it stop her from helping shift through the pharmacy.

Those nearby can hear her claws clicking against smooth surfaces and picking through emptied bottles, boxes and the like.] I thought I had found crackers, but the box ended up being empty, sadly.

Edited 2016-07-31 04:00 (UTC)

Medicine and food are equally scarce here... I can't seem to find anything of use.

[They knew this all along, of course. Enoch's most useful medicinal finds had always been in the hospital, and he'd found nothing there. Why would he find anything here? The most useful thing he'd ever gotten out of this place was a pack of condoms.

Enoch looks at her over the shelf that separates them, and speaks quietly so he's not broadcasting his concern to the whole group. He knows she would want to seem stronger for her child.]

How are you feeling? Has there been any change?

Ah, we're all having terrible luck in scavenging today.

[She gently waves her hand, dismissing the concern for now. Whilst she feels terrible, she isn't about to dwell on it.] Nothing has changed, it certainly hasn't gotten any worse.

There might have never been anything here in the first place recently, or others have been by and already taken whatever we could want right now. This area has been well-traveled lately.

[He misses the days when the admin could renew objects daily. That must have taken a heavy toll, though, especially when more people began arriving and moving about.]

Perhaps a building off the main route might have more useful items? But we'll need food soon...

Given how little we can do beyond travel, I'm not surprised. We all have to keep moving. [She chuckles weakly back, feeling a little sad life has become purely that now.]

We should focus on food first and foremost honestly.

[It's no surprise Luna automatically gravitates to the two people so visibly sick. Even after they first enter the building, she'll be gently checking up on both Frisk and Toriel during the evening, trying not to intrude in whatever they're doing. As much as she tries, Toriel receives the most hesitation from her, as though she's not sure what she's doing when it comes to the monster. Quark's amputation doesn't go unnoticed, either - though she does her best to be discreet about it, she'll still pull him to the side, careful in redressing what remains of his finger.

Once the doors have finally locked, one might find her knelt on the floor at any point of the night sorting carefully through what remains of her things, a small tune being played from her direction.]

Take a moment to sit down. [Even with their mixed interactions of the past, Toriel still finds herself drawn to check on the young woman during the day. Luna has done nothing but check on Frisk, Quark and Toriel. The boss monster wagers she could use a break.

Gently Toriel catches Luna carefully by the elbow, expression soft.] You've been on your feet this whole time.

[She jumps at the touch, face meekly startled. Being swept away by what she had to do wasn't particularly new, but there's still a subtle anxiety hidden behind her eyes.]

Oh... Oh! N-no, it's okay. [She's a little exhausted between the three of them and the constant reminder of what happened the last time she and Quark were in this building, but it's much easier to hide.] It's my job to do things like this. I'll be alright.

I'm not worrying you too much, am I?

A bit, dear. It may be your job, but everyone does needs a break. [Toriel's hand drops away from Luna's elbow at the reaction, careful to give the young woman space. ]

Do this old woman a favor and take a rest for yourself.

[Luna may be obligated, and more qualified, to help, but Enoch is a nurturer to the core, and has been almost in her shadow in his own monitoring of the family. He has only watched most of the time, however, as Luna's attentions almost always voiced his own concerns.

Enoch is lured to the sound of music, approaching cautiously, at first, then becoming more confident when he sees it's Luna.]

Luna? Are you all right?

[He knows too well, the caregiver's too-common lack of care for oneself. It's his entire state of being, practically. So now is as good a time as any for someone to check on her, though he's hardly equipped to help her with anything.]

[Wrapped up in her things as she is, Luna abruptly starts at Enoch's voice.]

O-oh... Enoch. I'm sorry, I... I guess I didn't hear you come up.

[Her wrist reflexively goes to rest against the pendant against her neck - from how the music muffles, it's easy to tell that the necklace is where the tune is coming from]

Yes, I'm okay. Tired, I suppose. But not really in a bad way.

I'm sorry if I worried you.

Everyone and anything worries me. [The self-awareness is accompanied by an appropriately wry smile, if one marked by a deep-seated exhaustion.] It's nothing to apologize for. You've been busy caring for our ill. I only know how that can preclude one's own needs.

[He settles onto the floor in a kneel to rest his legs.]

Your necklace plays music?

[It's later on in the evening, as everyone's started or already settled down for the evening, that they shuffle over in her direction, settling down a comfortable distance away - easy enough to talk but not so close as to seem nosy

They don't say anything immediately, taking a moment to choose their words.]

Thanks, um... for... [For telling them that they could trust and rely on him. That he wanted to help them as much as they wanted to help him.] I talked to Quark about um... lots of stuff. He knows about um... about stuff I can do, now. Could do, back home.

[And other things, but powers are the only thing Frisk thinks all five of them know, and the others are harder to talk about.]

[She offers them a tired smile, staying quiet as Frisk sorts out their words. The idea of travelling consciousness had enough of a tiring hold on Sigma, who'd been a full grown adult. For a child to have to not only deal with it, but try to explain it to someone else... Luna can't imagine it was easy in any way.]

I was hoping you two would be able to talk a little. I'm glad.

Do you feel better, being able to tell him? Do you think he understands?

[That's... a good question. One that they definitely consider rather than jump to their first response.]

Maybe. [a beat] Not all of it. ...don't think anybody really could, 'nless they saw it too. [Did it too, really. And either way, that's a pretty short list. Asriel. Chara. Whoever it was from Luna and Enoch's worlds who could do the same thing.]

But... it's not bad I think. It... it's sorta hard to explain.

[It's hard to put to words how, even if the true width and breadth of what had happened, what they'd done and what they'd been through - was beyond the reach of general understanding... that there was still something to it. Honestly there was an odd sort of sense of unreality on how easily Quark had taken it when they'd first brought it up. It was just accepted, with the problems of Norfinbury being treated as far more pressing.

Similar to how Toriel had accepted their powers, and her primary concern had been making sure they got the help they needed.]

It's enough.

Edited 2016-08-24 09:48 (UTC)

As long as you're satisfied with what you could tell, then I think that's for the best.

[She doesn't doubt that Quark would take it in stride, just like he did for so many other things.]

Even adults have a hard time explaining it. The man I knew from home that could do the same thing? There were some things he never could tell me, either. It felt almost like... he was holding a burden of sorts. Something that he could feel, but not really talk about. Not in a way someone else could understand, anyway.

[Maybe to another person with the ability, sure, but not to Luna. She couldn't even attempt to experience something like that. All she could do was listen.]

It always seemed like it would be so lonely.

[Frisk finds themselves nodding, without even thinking really, as Luna explains. All of it sounds... familiar; her words make a whole lot of sense, and Frisk thinks that maybe if they were trying to explain it all, it'd sound pretty similar.

Even the being lonely part. Frisk ducks their head a little too much to be inconspicuous, and... in some ways this is easier than trying to talk to Toriel, who was too close to too many things. They'd told her about a lot, but... they'd never be able to tell her everything. Not really.]

It is, sometimes.

[They pause, picking over their words.]

Mom knows now, but... there's still stuff I can't really say. Stuff I don't want her to know about. Stuff that it's better nobody does. Not all timelines are good.

[Their voice gets a little quieter.]

And even if it's fixed, even if I'm the only one who knows...

[They still know. They can't change that what was done was done. Whether it was the things they'd done, or the things that'd been done to them.]

Edited 2016-08-31 05:24 (UTC)

[Frisk's had a lot to think about lately. And a lot to worry about, especially with Toriel getting so sick. It's... it's a lot. And not all of it's easy to talk about. Well... none of it's really easy to talk about. But some even less easy than others.

And then there's quiet sort of realizations, like the one that Toriel wants to get them help with their Resets, and there's two other people who know a lot about them in the room, Frisk's Resets in particular. Which leaves Quark the only one in the room who doesn't know. Frisk isn't sure if they're really ready to talk about it yet, but they don't know if they ever will be.

They think too about what Miss Luna said, about how Quark wanted to be there for them as much as Frisk wanted to be there for him. They weren't sure this or anything else Frisk might say is what she meant, but.... it'd be a start, right? They figure.

It's a good excuse to get away from the adults for a little while too, so at some point during the evening, Frisk reaches over to tap him on the shoulder, trying to catch his eye before nodding their head towards a quieter part of the building and standing up.]

[Quark gives Frisk a tired smile when they signal him to follow. It's been a long and tired night, but he's pretty happy to see his friend--for any reason. He can kind of sense that this might be about something important as he looks over his shoulder back at the others. Why would they be going somewhere quiet for any other reason?]

Is something wrong?

[Maybe it's about how sick Toriel looks?]

[The question itself... could almost be funny. Toriel was sick, people they cared about were dying, they were trapped here in Norfinbury in the first place. There was so much going wrong, always, but they kept going, kept trying to fix it, without even really acknowledging it.

Maybe that was better though. It would be easy to get upset if they always thought about their problems.

Though they still can't exactly lie to him about this.]

Mom's getting sicker. I dunno what to do about it. Dr. Watson thinks it might be that MN Poisoning, but if it is...

[Frisk comes to a halt, shaking their head.]

But... that's not it. Or um... [Guuuuuhhh] I dunno where to start, I guess.

[They come to a spot that seems like it's a good one, and sit down, though they don't really relax, crossing their legs and fidgeting with their shoes.]

It's stuff from home... that... I thought you should know maybe.

[He winds his arm around his friend's as they talk, squeezing it encouragingly and trying to keep a sad expression from worming its way onto his face. This sounds...serious. Well, more serious than everything else. So, really, really serious.]

Are you sure? I don't want you to talk about something if it would upset you.

[Frisk hesitates for a moment then nods slowly, carefully. They're sure.]

Mom found out already and um... she'd be the hardest to tell. But um... promise me you won't get upset, okay?

[They're going to try to dodge around the upsetting stuff as much as they can. Toriel had backed off pretty quickly, thankfully, but they aren't sure they can count on that twice.]

Of course I promise!

[It's a statement made with utmost confidence.]

I'm really tough, you know? I can handle anything.

[Frisk can't help but grin, despite any uneasiness.]

I bet so.

[Most adults always seemed to think kids like the two of them were made of glass. But they could do anything adults could do, really. Even some things they couldn't.]

It's never really mattered here, since powers don't work but um... [The words start tumbling out of them in a rush, as if getting it out faster will make it easier, less surreal to be talking about it.] I have some, I guess. Power-y stuff. And um, back home when stuff went... really wrong, or if I wanted to, I could go back, and... and try again.

[Their hands twist a little into the fabric of their jacket, betraying their anxiety.]

I... didn't like to use it a lot because everybody else'd forget, even important things. But here I still... I kinda wish I do. Then maybe I could do something for real. Something that'd help. I could fix things.

[Instead of just... being them.]

Edited (REWRITES I feel better about this now I think) 2016-08-04 06:32 (UTC)

[Quark's eyes go wide.]

Whoa! You can actually do that? Man, I don't blame you...that sounds so cool! But...kind of lonely, too, I guess. I think I understand.

[Maybe not how Frisk is feeling, on a personal level, but just...the idea behind it. Why it would be so difficult.]

But you know, you don't need some kind of magic power to help, right? Sometimes you can fix things just by moving forward!

[A knot of something in their breastbone loosens a bit as he just... accepts it, like that. No interrogations, no incredulity. Just... acceptance. Which is maybe what they were hoping for. They lean against him a bit more.]

Yeah... That's kinda how I'd fix things back home too. No matter what happened I'd just... keep going. Try to find a way to make it right.

[Determination.]

Maybe that helps here too but... it's not just me now. It's all of us, and... I guess I'm just worried sometimes. That it won't be enough. We can't... [They swallow.] I could try again, if I messed up, and I'd remember what I did wrong. Here... even if I'm right and there maybe are Resets happening, I don't remember. None of us do.

[It feels a lot like this is the only chance. No do-overs. And after having Resets as a sort of security blanket, for so long...]

I don’t know what it’s like to do anything like that, of course...but I can see what you mean. Why you’d be worried. A lot of things happen here that are so horrible you just wanna be able to start all over again and make it never happen.

[Quark’s embrace around his friend becomes even tighter than before.]

But you know none of it is your fault or responsibility, right? It’s hard to be powerless, whether or not you had these incredible powers to begin with. I want to do everything I can to help, and I feel horrible sometimes even though I’ve never had anything special I could do. I think there are a lot of people here who could do things back home that they can’t now. I’m sure they’d all understand how you feel, too.

[His voice gets severe.]

We were brought here in a way that won’t let us take control.

[Sometimes, he feels kind of like a mouse in a big maze.]

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[log] Elephants in the room [closed]

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