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Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 4:44 pm
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He hadn't had all that much time with Pachua in the grand scheme of things, and most of it had been spent staring at the monster's corpse, so it was understandable that Brenley didn't immediately recognize his voice. He would have turned down help on any other day, but right now he just wanted to gather as many mushrooms as he could so he could retreat to his room that much sooner.
"I could do with a few more of these, actually, if you really mean to help. Just—"
While he didn't recall Pachua's voice, Brenley had no problem remembering what the boil looked like. His already pale skin lightened another shade as he looked up, eyes wide and unblinking. "I'm..."
How could Pachua smile? How could he even stand to approach without taking the opportunity to exact revenge? Bren tried to push himself to his feet, to get away, but he stumbled instead, realizing too late that he had stopped breathing long enough to grow lightheaded. Mushrooms forgotten, the reaper took a step back, swallowing in an attempt to moisten his dry throat. He still didn't blink.
"You're all right. I'm... um... glad."
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Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 7:23 am
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"No!" The force of Brenley's reply was unexpected, even to him, and he was immediately embarrassed by it. He held up his hands, his fingers spread as if he meant to push Pachua away, but they collapsed as soon as he saw them, relaxing and bending into more friendly shapes. The boil didn't remember. Bren felt lighter, less troubled, and for a moment he even smiled, the corners of his mouth rising almost imperceptibly. His relief didn't last.
"N... no. You didn't do anything to me, I promise." He reached for the mushrooms Pachua had offered him, storing them safely with the others. Left with nothing to do, his hands tapped at his wide supply belt, then folded behind him.
"I hurt you though." Bren swallowed, recalling the blood and the destruction, but still not the act itself. He had been told that none of them would regenerate, that the patches were all too far away, but he had killed him anyway to save his own life. He knew if he was given the opportunity, he'd do it again. "And I'm sorry for it." The words came easily, but he still had trouble believing he meant them.
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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 1:50 pm
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"That's all there was," Brenley said, his voice barely audible. "All you could have remembered, given... well..." He almost left it at that, reluctant to relive the carnage while he was awake that he had so many times while he slept. But Pachua was directly asking why. And the reaper found himself wanting to tell him, despite the pain it might cause. Perhaps even because of it.
Bren stood taller, clearing his throat before he spoke. "The Fracs approached me. It said I could leave if I killed someone." It seemed so trite now, an offer no sane person would accept due to its immediate and obvious consequences, but he had been frightened and susceptible and desperately unwilling to die. He had so much left to do before he faded away completely, he just knew it. He simply hadn't discovered exactly what it all was yet.
"I was determined to leave, even after I saw that ghoul impaled. We can't die. It's not possible. The Fracs gave me a needle and... you were the next person I saw. It wasn't fair and I wasn't thinking." He swallowed. "If it's any consolation, no, I did not make it back consciously. I drowned on my way to get... help. I'm not a very skilled swimmer." Brenley looked down at his hands as he threaded his fingers together.
"If I had it to do again..." He finally stopped speaking, if only because he was wary of what he might say if he continued.
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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 5:58 pm
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Pachua watched him with a strange expression; there was something like… resignation in his face. Like something about the world just fell into a familiar pattern, like a dance so familiar that you could do it without thought. He was quiet for a long time, several breaths at least and his eyes stayed on Bren’s face for the whole of it before he adjusted his posture slightly, something like pride, but his face held more resignation and duty.
He swallowed, clearing his throat as his hand toyed for a moment with some of the beads around his neck before it dropped again.
“… You might have asked.” He said softly. “Next time… ask. I’m a white Quetzalcoatl, and I don’t expect you to know what that means to my clan, but you should know that… you could have asked, and if I thought it would have gotten you out safely, I’d have let you.”
His eyes dropped again to the ground, the mushrooms, and Bren’s boots.
“I’m very glad we all seem to have come back. That we weren’t too weak or drained of fear, I think that would have made it worse for anyone who did… what they had to do.”
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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2014 6:39 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2014 8:55 pm
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"No, I don't think they would." He had pondered some sort of Parker Freeman support group before, but so many of the ones who had been taken 1) thought he was a liar, 2) didn't like him outright, or 3) both, that he didn't think it would be in his best interest to participate in such a gathering anyway. "Maybe someday when it's not so fresh." Bren thought that was a pretty amiable response, all things considered.
"I spent a lot of time asleep, actually. Drowning didn't agree with me, I'm afraid." He smirked a thoroughly self-deprecating smirk. "I was ill for a while, and I had a dream that I don't think was actually a dream. Drinking from pools and... giant horsemen. I fought a hunter too. That went about as well as could be expected." He shrugged, suddenly preoccupied with his boots.
After a brief silence, the reaper dragged his gaze off of the ground and peered curiously at Pachua's wings. "My father has wings. I... obviously... do not." He chuckled softly. "I imagine flying is quite difficult." He wondered if there was a way he might imbue the monster with some sort of temporary hover charm, a form of training wings.
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