dualislogs | [Closed] Catch-all

[He wouldn't have said anything right then. Squall was lucky Seifer turned into a forge-head.

He reached out to grab Seifer by the shirt near his shoulders, almost reminiscent of that time he saw himself kill Seifer. He looks lost and guilty all at once and he doesn't know what to do.]

Rinoa's gone.

[It hurts. He looks away after he says that, hands trembling, trying for some maddening reason not to cry.

He tried to protect her and he failed. Just like that.]

[There's a moment where Seifer was about to shove Squall off of him, he doesn't get the grabbing thing the guy does and he very much dislikes it. But again he's too paralyzed by the words that come next.]

What?

[He snaps, far harsher than necessary while his mind reels to catch up to the implications of that. Rinoa's gone, again, Squall's the one left here alone this time... Squall, the Knight, without his Sorceress.

Surely she went... no. Oh no.

The irritation drained out of him immediately and for a moment he stood there, just watching Squall, brows furrowed while it all began to sink in. Squall's demeanor, how poorly he was holding himself together, and just the full weight of this. Oh Hyne. They'd all failed her.

Since he'd not bothered to move away instead of pushing Squall off of him Seifer just reached out to wordlessly wrap him in a bear hug instead. Somehow that seemed a better response than telling him off for crying.]

[Grabbing is for stressful situations, okay? And considering what he knows of people who disappear from the dorms. Or those who've been turned into robots... He failed her. It doesn't feel like there's a way to come back from this.

He opens his eyes wide from surprise when he's suddenly drawn into a hug. He expected... yelling, cursing, more disparaging remarks, 'I told you so's. He doesn't look up from where his head is turned against Seifer's shoulder. His own arms go around Seifer's back instead, clutching at his shirt as he breaks down into broken sobs. He shouts, wordless but sometimes it's her name that cracks through his voice.

He's never felt this shattered.]

[This would make the third time for Seifer, losing Rinoa, but he wasn't going to harp on that. No, by now he's accustomed to loss, and to failure. But for Squall this must be new. Even growing up in a military academy he'd been fairly sheltered.

They both failed her, but Squall as her Knight would be feeling the bitter sting the greatest.

So, rather than give him accusations or grief he'll let him cry it out instead. Thankfully away from Garden Seifer has had some time to reflect and learn a few social graces. Nida's helped, as had Rinoa in the past.

He'd like to stop making the same mistakes of his past. Here presents an opportunity to try something different.]

We'll make it right.

[Is all he mutters. How he's not sure yet, but damn it they can't fail her again.]

[Squall couldn't get hurt if he never let anyone close. This was the exact thing he feared but there's no way back from it now.

It's ugly and embarrassing, this crying but he eventually runs out of steam, nodding vaguely to Seifer's words. They'll find a way. Didn't he say the same to Tidus? To Nida? Without knowing what it actually feels like.

He loosens his grip slowly, tries to pull back, stand on his own two feet again when the wave of dizziness hits and he staggers back against the other man. What is...]

Seifer...? I don't... feel...

[The rest of the words don't make it out as he slumps over, unconscious.]

[It never works out the way you expect. Hell most of the time it doesn't even turn out how you want. Seifer knows these truths all too well.

He releases Squall, not turning to move away because... Well exactly what he expected happened, so at least he was ready to catch Squall before he goes and hits the floor.]

Yeah, I figured.

[He says to his unconscious rival. Good thing he brought a camping cot down. He'll just get Squall tucked in and drag it into the work area so je can keep an eye on him while he gets coffee ready. Guy's going to need it.]

[Listen, if nothing else, Nida knows how to properly not invade a private and intimate moment between people. And, you know, how to let himself grieve in silence away from other people because, well, there was enough need for it these days and he didn't want to be a pain in the eyes of either of his brothers. Which was why, after learning that Jason didn't remember him, Nida had come to the warehouse in a rush. Had left his bike around the back and come in as quietly as he could. Because he needed to be up high to clear his head, and the liked the security of the warehouse, the familiar heat, the tightness of the air high up.

Unlike Seifer, he'd noticed Squall coming in, had watched the man approach and had almost jumped down to interact with the others, but even from his height he'd read tightness in Squall's posture. Strange tightness. Not the usual. Emotions, he realized later. Something he should have recognized from the time Squall had seen his memories and been trying to hide it some. So he'd stayed high. This was their moment. And when he heard the words... Well, that was a new pain.

It wasn't until Squall passed out that Nida rose to his feet on the particular girder he'd been on, and on quick, quick feet he moved over it to a support and then started his way down. So it was Nida dropped with a bit of noise, not much but some so that Seifer wasn't completely shocked, behind his brother.]

Want me to make coffee? Or something else? Something to help?

[Let him work the nauseous energy out of his gut. Because last time the two of them lost Rinoa, well... they had known it was to their home and not to... not to what they've lost her to now.]

[Seifer really needed to learn to look up in the warehouse, as Nida nearly startled the hell out of him. Shadow tendrils flared to life, angling threateningly in Nida's direction. A few beats and Seifer sighed.]

Hyne, you can't be creepin' up on me like that. Yeah, he'll need it. Get the sugar.

[That will keep Nida busy for a few while Seifer goes to drag the cot over. Multiple arms come in handy at times like this.]

If I gotta leave make sure his dumb ass doesn't go trying to walk for a while.

[Focusing on the effects of a broken bond is easier than thinking about what probably happened to Rinoa. He's not ready to address it.

Eos is ready to curl up with Squall though.]

I don't know, Seif. I think I keep proving that I not only can, but will sneak up on you like that.

[Be careful of your grammar choices, because Nida definitely will work with what he's given. And be amused by it too. But he isn't smiling when he says that. Isn't laughing, isn't playful. It's knee jerk, not actual teasing. He ignores the angry arms and reaches out to lay a gentle hand on Seifer's arm, just for a second, and then he's moving away to the coffee maker. He absolutely knows how the Commander takes it. Years of studying the man, after all.]

Today just doesn't want to stop being terrible. I'm definitely not loving that. Seifer, do me a favor and don't let the Head take you. I don't have much more to lose.

[Seifer and Squall. They're all he has left.]

Ha ha, you're funny. Fuck you.

[He doesn't care if it's knee jerk or not. Doesn't care if Nida thinks he's being funny. Not in the mood for his bullshit.

It isn't about how Squall takes it, it's about how he's going to be feeling with a freshly broken bond. Who better among them to understand than the person who's lived it already?]

Ain't exactly plannin' on it.

[He mutters as he's working to get Squall situated on the cot. Should be fine there for now. There's still a lot of work to be done. Now, more than ever, they can't afford to slow down.]

[Yeah, Nida isn't in the mood for it either. Which is a good thing, because he might have asked if that was a strange sort of incest they should avoid. But, well, Nida was the one in the room that had never been connected with a Sorceress. His witch hadn't exactly had the same sort of magical bond forged with his boyfriends that Sorceresses maintained with their Knights. He didn't know. He couldn't know, and never would. On some level Nida understands that he can't even remotely understand what Squall is going through. That's why he bites his lip and goes to start preparing coffee.]

We'll... we'll find a way to fix this. So that we get our people back. So they remember us.

[After all, there had to be SOME memory issues, right? Because why else wouldn't the Head replace them with robots and then just have the robots work amid the other new arrivals? Why wouldn't the others be interacting with them, keeping up the pretty little fiction that everything was okay and the year cut off really was true? He sighs as he measures out the coffee.]

Does... it hurt? When the bond is broken? Is there something I can do for him? Run out for pain medication or see if I can find Cloud or Zack with one of their healing orb thingies? Or... If it's something that needs numbed, I could... talk to Tifa about a delivery here. From where she works.

[Alcohol. He means alcohol. He'd risk carrying it back here to make sure it was there for Squall if he needed it to deal with the immediate issues of the bond breaking. Provided nobody cared so much if Nida just, you know, lived up in the rafters for a while to stay away from it but also make sure Squall didn't abuse too much.]

[Which really would have just annoyed Seifer more. Best to let the jokes die for now. Later maybe, when they're in better spirits. Seifer just nods, and once Squall's tucked in with Eos hopping up to curl up against him he moves to go perch on his workbench.

Nothing else to do but wait.]

Mine did, [He nods over at Squall.] He was up and around, dunno if his hit as hard.

[Rinoa was kinder than Ultimecia at least.]

Cure won't do much, and I don't think we should be encouraging him to try to fill the void with booze, do you? Best just to let him rest for now. Think I've got some aspirin in the med kit. Gotta see how he's managing once he wakes.

Edited 2020-02-12 19:25 (UTC)

[Still hit hard enough for Squall to pass out. Which of course left Nida wondering how bad it had been for Seifer. Not that he intended to ask.]

I don't know how to help with this. I don't... I don't know how to handle much of anything today. I wasn't ready to lose my little sister too.

[Yeah, he'd gone to full on adoption of the Sorceress. He had a pretty big family now. Or used to have. Losing two 'siblings' in one day was definitely too much.]

Any clue how long he might sleep? I guess I can dig out some cards or something for us to do while we wait.

[He has to assume that Seifer isn't going to do more smithing while Squall is out. Too noisy. And Nida would love to fight out some tension, but he wasn't sure Seifer would be up to anything other than hovering.]

[Which Seifer hadn't been surprised by. He'd be more surprised if Squall hadn't passed out, honestly.

He just nods solemnly. Wasn't ready for this either. Not at all. Now with the implications of what Rinoa had been replaced with... It pissed him off. The helplessness was the worst part. The failure. The fact they didn't even know it was happening.

He's trying not to think.]

Dunno. Could be hours, could be days. Might have you go on a grocery run this keeps up too long.

[Because of course he'll be staying to watch after Squall.]

You know I'll do whatever you want. Whatever is needed. We're... we're all we have left.

[His protectiveness of Seifer and Squall has just been amplified. Quite a bit.]

[They don't know for certain if there's no recovering her whatsoever, Seifer will hold that tiny sliver of hope close to his heart and never disclose it. There could still be a maybe. In this world of strange technology and magic, there could just be a maybe...

But for now, he'll focus on the future. They have to survive.]

We get him back on his feet, and we prepare.

[For war, of course, the one thing they're all good at.]

[Well, there you have it. Goals. Vague and frustrating, but it's something.]

I've never been good at being a rebel, Seifer. I wanted to be, but... Well, I don't know how to solve a problem like this one. But I will do what I can. Everything. What preparing can I do now? Because I may go mad if I have to sit around. At least give me a corner to clean. Because otherwise I'm going to think too much about Rinoa and Jason.

[Ambiguous goals leave room for adjustment, but still at least give them something to start working toward.]

We got plenty of rebels around to take advice from, got our own trainin' and experience. And hell, when sleeping beauty there wakes up, we do still have the world saving hero.

[A vague gesture toward Squall. Seifer's never been especially successful at his endeavors, but he has more than enough heart to try his damndest. One thing that can be assured is that he won't go down quietly.]

Right, so, first thing how's that truck runnin'? And is it sturdy enough to haul a load?

[Yeah, was Squall really a world saving hero? Or had he just been lucky. But he nods at what Seifer says. He definitely trusts his brother. Perhaps more than Seifer would think is appropriate.]

The truck is running smoothly since you made me that last leaf blade for the suspension. So it'll be fine from now on. Wasn't expecting that last load to crack the thing through.

Do you have a plan for it?

[Closed] Catch-all

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject