[PRP] tampered path (chester & jeremiah)

[azuredreams]

"Some who were close to him, yes. Others, I don't know. Adoelle, Heliodora, Michael, Jennifer, Ming ... Three of those names were preserved, the other two changed and joined by another ..." His fingers raked through his hair, Jeremiah looking to the water once more and then turning his attention back to chester.

"Who knows the full ramifications of removing it from existence. What would rise up in it's place? What would have not come into existence? You could put things into far worse shape but-" He shook his head. "It was probably a little bit of everything. Bravery, pride, wanting to save those he cared about ... Some of us were closer to him and his husband then and they watched us fall one by one. Not all by AIDS but by the culture and fear ..." His lips twisted into a wry look. "It was not exactly a good time to be growing up in the height of the epidemic."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

Of course. They'd all been there, hadn't they? He had been so caught up in how the life he knew might be ending that he hadn't thought of the previous cycles as more than bizarro alternate timelines in some poorly acted sitcom. But those copies of people had been just as alive as he was, and apparently some of the originals had even been close to Renard.

"Admirable but impulsive," he concluded. It was the attitude of someone who had been born well past the worst of the epidemic, someone who was more concerned with surprise bombings than a insidious illness that turned your body and the world against you. "On all sides. And not easy to prevent, though I wish more people would talk before they acted." Or maybe he simply wished people weren't crazy. Okay, fine, that wasn't fair.

"I'm sure that's far too simple of a stance." He shook his head, swallowed. "Things have spread so far and become so much more. Knowing how it began is almost frustrating at this point."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"Imagine someone who knows more than most," Jeremiah offered, "and compound that frustration and it is still not quite close enough. For as many questions I find an answer to, I find that there are several more it brings up. The reality of the situation is, quite often, that I may not ever find all the answers to everything. I will have to be satisfied with what I can find out- and that this will all end."

A breath was released, Jeremiah's gaze going ahead and then flicking back to Chester. The light in other ashdown was fading as moonrise was coming. "The fact of the matter is a fair portion of our own actions do not get little time to plan. Even what happened in the Void had little to no time for planning. We are, in fact, running out of time as we speak. Reset will happen sooner rather than later."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

"Hm. Something will surely end." Chester didn't know what to feel anymore, having gone from cynicism to begrudging optimism to simmering irritation over the course of this conversation alone. He had implied that he trusted the Nobles to see positive change through where the rest of them couldn't, that he would prefer it in fact, but it struck him that he should at least make an effort. If there were so many questions, there was a slim chance more eyes would help find answers.

"Is there anything I can do? I doubt it, but..." He shrugged.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"Look for answers when you can? Try to understand your own part in this? Don't give up hope? You can be involved in this as you want. There are many ways you could help, you just have to decide: how deep do you want to go down the rabbit hole."

It was a simple truth. Chester could bury himself in all of this or he could stay on the outskirts for the end to come. What that end was no one knew yet.

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

It was not what Chester wanted to hear, but this simple call to action bolstered him anyway. He really did want to stay inside, ignoring it all, but there was so much to lose that it would be rather shameful if he didn't even try.

He nodded shallowly, looking at the ground. "I suppose I'll dip a toe in then." He laughed once to himself. "I'll let everyone know about all the nothing I find."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"I doubt very seriously that you find nothing," Jeremiah let out a wry laugh. "It is never nothing and, quite honestly, always more than something. You usually find more than you ever thought you wanted to know."

He shook his head. "I can point you directions, if you'd like. Give you an idea of where to start looking."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

"If you would," Chester said with a nod. He might have relished his time using and studying magic, but he'd neglected to network, as it was.

"People, places. I'm admittedly ignorant of the big names in all of this." He hadn't properly known how Renard and Sunny fit into this strange puzzle before the void and had only come across Melany's actual name well after he'd seen her in person.

azuredrems

 

[azuredreams]

"There's the library in other ashdown, if it is open to you," Jeremiah said immediately. "The books there function more like living memories of moments." A pause before he snorted. "I often thought that the place was Sunny's mind but I've a feeling that it's more complicated than that.

"Sonny," note the difference, "is someone else you can approach but they are not Sunny. So their knowledge of things is not the same at all." They were far, far younger for one. "Do you know America Jones? She would be someone to approach. Eve Fitzpatrick as well." Jeremiah paused, fingers raking through his hair. "I do not normally give out names but these are people you can approach who might have more information for you. You could also speak with my husband, Algie. He's got a knack for being able to find books that are exactly what you're looking for."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

"I do appreciate it. I know America, and Algernon of course, and I won't bother them if I can help it." If he approached them instead of this Eve woman or the new and not quite improved Sonny, he would do so just as he always had. Whether that was annoying or not was outside his scope of understanding.

"I'll see what I can do." This all felt very... large. Beyond him, somehow. But he would try, like he said.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"You can also reach out to any of the other beings here. Anyone that you find here will likely have some kind of knowledge that is beyond just this cycle. Pride, for example, would likely have some kind of information." His shoulders rolled again, Jeremiah's posture relaxing some finally.

"There are more players in this now than I ever imagined there actually being. It's gone far beyond the missing teenagers case that I handled last year."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

"I'm beginning to see that," Chester said, adding Pride to his mental list. While he thought he would probably stick to visiting the more human members of their circle of horror, getting permission of a sort to approach the others was freeing in a way. If they objected to his presence, he could just point a finger at Jeremiah and tell them he'd said it was okay.

"Are our principals doing all right?" He had no idea who they were, but since he'd heard of no new murder victims, he could only assume they were fine.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Chester was treated to a rare sight. Jeremiah opened his mouth to reply before he closed it. He opened again, as if he was trying to speak, only to close it once more.

It took another try before the words came out haltingly.

"Two out of- the three- are fine." His fingers curled at his side, in and out slowly as he frowned.

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

Chester swallowed and brought his hand to his throat for a second in sympathy.

"All right. That's good, I guess. I mean, I hope the third is not in danger of dying or anything..." He shook his head. "Don't tell me. That looks painful." Maybe not physically so, but he knew that if some mysterious force was preventing Chester himself from speaking, he would be inordinately irritated. As far as he knew, things had only gone horribly wrong when all three principals had died the first time, so even if one of them was already on the way out, they probably still had time to fix things.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah tried to speak again, to answer, but couldn't. Instead he shook his head, face looking oddly like he was not getting enough air. A hand pressed to his forehead, frown still in place while he tried to work on being able to breathe.

In through his mouth, forcefully, and then out his nose.

Smerdle