[ It takes Nanami a little while to get to the Tanabata park. She's a little slow and awkward on her feet, now that she's on solid ground again, and she's feeling ill besides.
But as soon as she arrives, she makes a beeline for the giant tree in the center of the park, and settles down next to it, laying in its roots. Even untransformed as she is, it's grounding, soothing to be near her.
Maybe Harry sees her approach, or maybe he doesn't arrive until later, when she's half-dozing in the tree's shade. ]
[ She opens her eyes, and he's standing there. The harpy. She recognizes him, and also his voice.
She struggles to her feet, with one hand on the tree for support. Coughs into her elbow before facing him. ]
Hi. [ She holds up a hand in greeting. She feels awkward, but... she's the one who asked to meet him, so she's the one who needs to lead this interaction. ]
My name's Chiaki Nanami. I'm... we met in a very strange way, I guess...
[ She speaks evenly and gently, even though her voice is hoarse, like she's coming down with something. ]
EMPATHY - (She isn’t angry with you. They weren’t able to stop him.)
AUTHORITY - (Grow a spine you look like a kicked dog. You are still a soldier in Her army. She lives in your lungs. Straighten your back. Breathe Her with your whole chest.)
PERCEPTION - (She looks ill. What’s with the cough?)
He reaches out and touches her soft almost human hand, looking down at the leaf-like texture. Nymphs are neat.
“Harry Du Bois. …I think I’ve met people stranger ways.”
He tries to smile but his face is already fixed in his grimacing Expression. So his face just twitches. His jaw is crooked. The Expression used to hide it or make it look more charming than it is now.
Harry’s stance shifts, becomes more rigid. The feathery crest on his head fans out.
AUTHORITY - (Finally. Now you’re standing like a man, at least.) HALF LIGHT - (Scare her. Show her how fucked up you really are. Make her regret doing this. Calling you here to a pretty park by herself. Wanting to know you. You could fuck her up.)
VOLITION - (Don’t do that. Be normal. Answer her question.)
While the furies argue in his head, he grits his teeth and starts padding his pockets down for a cigarette. His fingers brush spare change, keys without homes, and scraps of paper before he finds what he’s looking for. He lights up. He hopes the flash of the lighter scares her, just a bit.
TINY LIGHTER FLAME - (Fear the man who holds me! Look upon me and remember, child! I am the vestige of THE BURNED MAN.)
He feels bad immediately- no matter what her reaction is. An apology is forming in his mouth. He has to rush to cut it off. Speaks over it. He is not sorry. Everything he does has purpose. He isn’t just lashing out because he’s sad and crazy.
[ She winces at the flame, but maybe not for the reason he expects. She may only be partly transformed, but fire still makes her flinch; it's not a plant's biggest friend.
She holds her ground anyway, though. It's just a lighter. ]
Kun...? Oh, you're-- you're supposed to say it, where I'm from. [ The easy and honest answer is this: it's something that was drilled into her long enough that by now it's just habit, even in Ryslig where it doesn't really matter; it's meant to show respect, but for Nanami it's just How Things Are. ]
Kun for boys, san for girls... usually. There's others, like sensei and chan...
[ She sits down carefully in the dirt next to him, leaned up against the tree's trunk. It's funny; she's already starting to get a sense of him, she thinks, despite the halting and tangential nature of their conversation.
She can't help but smile a little. ]
I'm okay. It's... changes. [ She briefly considers leaving it at that. ] The Fog... She has to get all the nanites out of me, I guess.
ENCYCLOPEDIA - (What are nanintes? Are we supposed to know? We do not know nanites.)
“I’m from Revachol. Also Earth, but we call it Elysium sometimes…as a term of endearment. I’ve heard of Japan. That’s the Earth with France and…Ital? Where they speak Italian.”
He points at his mouth. He’s perked up. The Earth so many people are from interests Harry. A world undivided by Pale. It sounds like it should be a world without borders too.
“Apparently I’m speaking France language. But we don’t have France. To me I’m speaking Suresne. From Sur-la-Clef. Your name sounds Seolite to me, but I don’t know anything about it.”
“Oh, uh. Physics. Natural phenomenon. My planet wasn’t even round, not exactly…”
He trails off. The excitement that animated his features is leaving quickly.
“I wanted to die doing something useful for the Fog. Because I want to hurt the Fourth for hurting me. For…”
COMPOSURE - (Your voice breaks. Your jaw creaks.)
AUTHORITY - (For the love of god!)
“Making me be the only one left.”
He stands up abruptly and steps back a few feet, putting distance between them. He’s digging in his pockets for a green handkerchief. He holds it against his burnt cheek and breathes heavily.
“I did it for the Fog. You and Reira were just there. I'm crazy.”
[ She watches him stand, and move away from her. An odd ache clutches at her heart.
She stands slowly, carefully, using the tree as balance again.
How deeply understandable is it to her, to lose, to grieve? How much does a part of her know what it means, to feel indebted to the Fog, even grateful to Her, for bringing her back?
So he wasn't there to save herself and Reira. That makes a lot more sense. It explains why he was ready to go.
A massive explosion, and suddenly one of her friends was gone. But it's not the one in the square she's thinking of. It's one from back home. One that, even if her stage insisted otherwise, she still wishes she could have stopped in some way. ]
Maybe we all are, a little bit... [ Her eyes are watering, and she quickly rubs them away. ]
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Whoever it is you're missing... [ She hesitates. Well, she has no context. There's only so much she can do. She shrugs helplessly. ]
I just... thank you for telling me, it-- thank you, Bois-san.
Harry turns and muffles his scarred face into the arm of his jacket. It’s a loud and ragged sob.
HALF LIGHT - (You didn’t save them. You still watched them die. Your brain and eyes manipulated their mirrors so you'd see how their small bodies would fall and break on the pavement. You didn’t save anyone.)
VISUAL CALCULUS - (Pre-mortem forensic crime scene reconstructions. You see them everyday. A car swerves out of the path of a young man. He walks away but you still see him there, in the road.)
INLAND EMPIRE - (You can still see her skull cracked from the trajectory of the swing. Blood in her hair.)
With a swear he smacks himself hard in the face and walks away quickly.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
after Beat's post
But as soon as she arrives, she makes a beeline for the giant tree in the center of the park, and settles down next to it, laying in its roots. Even untransformed as she is, it's grounding, soothing to be near her.
Maybe Harry sees her approach, or maybe he doesn't arrive until later, when she's half-dozing in the tree's shade. ]
no subject
EMPATHY - (She looks very peaceful. Which must be nice after you exploded her friend in front of her.)
Harry approaches and waves. He’s wearing comfy jeans and an orange sweater that reminds him to be nicer.
“Uh hey.”
no subject
She struggles to her feet, with one hand on the tree for support. Coughs into her elbow before facing him. ]
Hi. [ She holds up a hand in greeting. She feels awkward, but... she's the one who asked to meet him, so she's the one who needs to lead this interaction. ]
My name's Chiaki Nanami. I'm... we met in a very strange way, I guess...
[ She speaks evenly and gently, even though her voice is hoarse, like she's coming down with something. ]
What's your name?
no subject
AUTHORITY - (Grow a spine you look like a kicked dog. You are still a soldier in Her army. She lives in your lungs. Straighten your back. Breathe Her with your whole chest.)
PERCEPTION - (She looks ill. What’s with the cough?)
He reaches out and touches her soft almost human hand, looking down at the leaf-like texture. Nymphs are neat.
“Harry Du Bois. …I think I’ve met people stranger ways.”
He tries to smile but his face is already fixed in his grimacing Expression. So his face just twitches. His jaw is crooked. The Expression used to hide it or make it look more charming than it is now.
no subject
Mm... Ryslig's like that, I guess.
[ Hope's Peak was, too. But that's neither here nor there.
She takes a deep breath. ] I... wanted to get to know you. If that's alright. So far all I know is you killed... um... a couple of my friends...
... but with Beat-kun, at least... I think you helped him, and us too. So... why did you do it?
no subject
AUTHORITY - (Finally. Now you’re standing like a man, at least.)
HALF LIGHT - (Scare her. Show her how fucked up you really are. Make her regret doing this. Calling you here to a pretty park by herself. Wanting to know you. You could fuck her up.)
VOLITION - (Don’t do that. Be normal. Answer her question.)
While the furies argue in his head, he grits his teeth and starts padding his pockets down for a cigarette. His fingers brush spare change, keys without homes, and scraps of paper before he finds what he’s looking for. He lights up. He hopes the flash of the lighter scares her, just a bit.
TINY LIGHTER FLAME - (Fear the man who holds me! Look upon me and remember, child! I am the vestige of THE BURNED MAN.)
He feels bad immediately- no matter what her reaction is. An apology is forming in his mouth. He has to rush to cut it off. Speaks over it. He is not sorry. Everything he does has purpose. He isn’t just lashing out because he’s sad and crazy.
“What’s that mean? The kun. I don’t know it.”
no subject
She holds her ground anyway, though. It's just a lighter. ]
Kun...? Oh, you're-- you're supposed to say it, where I'm from. [ The easy and honest answer is this: it's something that was drilled into her long enough that by now it's just habit, even in Ryslig where it doesn't really matter; it's meant to show respect, but for Nanami it's just How Things Are. ]
Kun for boys, san for girls... usually. There's others, like sensei and chan...
yes he’s slav squatting, perching if you will
“Are you sick? You should stay off your feet. Where are you from?”
no subject
She can't help but smile a little. ]
I'm okay. It's... changes. [ She briefly considers leaving it at that. ] The Fog... She has to get all the nanites out of me, I guess.
I'm from Japan, on Earth. What about you?
no subject
“I’m from Revachol. Also Earth, but we call it Elysium sometimes…as a term of endearment. I’ve heard of Japan. That’s the Earth with France and…Ital? Where they speak Italian.”
He points at his mouth. He’s perked up. The Earth so many people are from interests Harry. A world undivided by Pale. It sounds like it should be a world without borders too.
“Apparently I’m speaking France language. But we don’t have France. To me I’m speaking Suresne. From Sur-la-Clef. Your name sounds Seolite to me, but I don’t know anything about it.”
no subject
[ Well now she's interested. This person's from a whole new world where things are different. She leans forward, curious. ]
What's it like? Do you know... how it's different, from Earth?
no subject
He trails off. The excitement that animated his features is leaving quickly.
“I wanted to die doing something useful for the Fog. Because I want to hurt the Fourth for hurting me. For…”
COMPOSURE - (Your voice breaks. Your jaw creaks.)
AUTHORITY - (For the love of god!)
“Making me be the only one left.”
He stands up abruptly and steps back a few feet, putting distance between them. He’s digging in his pockets for a green handkerchief. He holds it against his burnt cheek and breathes heavily.
“I did it for the Fog. You and Reira were just there. I'm crazy.”
no subject
She stands slowly, carefully, using the tree as balance again.
How deeply understandable is it to her, to lose, to grieve? How much does a part of her know what it means, to feel indebted to the Fog, even grateful to Her, for bringing her back?
So he wasn't there to save herself and Reira. That makes a lot more sense. It explains why he was ready to go.
A massive explosion, and suddenly one of her friends was gone. But it's not the one in the square she's thinking of. It's one from back home. One that, even if her stage insisted otherwise, she still wishes she could have stopped in some way. ]
Maybe we all are, a little bit... [ Her eyes are watering, and she quickly rubs them away. ]
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Whoever it is you're missing... [ She hesitates. Well, she has no context. There's only so much she can do. She shrugs helplessly. ]
I just... thank you for telling me, it-- thank you, Bois-san.
cw: intrusive thoughts, child death, mental illness,
HALF LIGHT - (You didn’t save them. You still watched them die. Your brain and eyes manipulated their mirrors so you'd see how their small bodies would fall and break on the pavement. You didn’t save anyone.)
VISUAL CALCULUS - (Pre-mortem forensic crime scene reconstructions. You see them everyday. A car swerves out of the path of a young man. He walks away but you still see him there, in the road.)
INLAND EMPIRE - (You can still see her skull cracked from the trajectory of the swing. Blood in her hair.)
With a swear he smacks himself hard in the face and walks away quickly.