week 4

[stagemanagers]

[Another week, and two more dead. King Richard and Red are both gone, and once again, it was through nothing more than an accident in the heat of the moment. Maybe if you all stay calm and collected, nothing bad will happen again?

Well, maybe not.

When you wake on Sunday, you'll find that you've recovered another one of those memories - or had another dream, if you still wanna be in denial about it. The grounds remain as they are, but this time, the door blocking the stairwell has been unsealed. You can now venture up to the second floor! This is the second time that's happened; it's almost as if you get more space every time someone dies. Or maybe the whole place just seems quieter.]

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday


(( Welcome to Week 4! Please remember to submit your AC and your memory regains, as well as your coins! You can also still contact the Phantom. ))

Comments

[heathencall]

Riley.

[There's a chiding note in his voice, one he can hardly believe himself. He distinctly recalls testing her limits at one point, to see what it would take to break her down. Now, he's the one dragging her back from that.]

Do I need to carry you again? I can't guarantee that will end well for either of us?

[isawallflower]

[ She turns her head to look at him, and her eyes focus for the first time in...maybe the whole conversation. ]

No? ...No, I...might just need a little help.

[ She turns off the treadmill and, if he'll let her, moves to lean her weight against him. Like jumping off the wall, it's good she's so small and lithe, because it means it's easy to dip towards him. ]

[heathencall]

[Mephisto nods, body bending to accommodate for her weight. His hand snakes around her waist, securing him to her side as he moves to balance the two of them. Carefully, he eases her off of the treadmill, all while the fingers of his free hand try to figure out how to turn the damned thing off.

He gives up after a short moment and begins to guide her to a better place to sit.]

I'm starting to get too used to worrying about you.

[isawallflower]

[ Once she doesn't have to support her full weight, here head droops. ...She also isn't keen on looking in the mirrors here, so. He mentioned a bottle of water- she actually has one here, in the corner of the room. That's probably a good place to set down.

Riley gives a faint laugh and smile. ] Now...you sound like Cairo.

[heathencall]

[He spots the bottle and crowds her toward it. Between his strength and her size, it's easy to get her settled on the floor and hand the bottle off. He remains crouched beside her, hand around her shoulders as he studies her face, her form for any signs of further weakness.]

From the way you speak of her, I must be taking after one of the best.

[isawallflower]

[ Riley leans against the wall and takes a long drink. The expression on her face when she looks up... It's almost giddy, for a moment. Riley, currently, is pale and...incredibly tired. She must not have had a good sleep, on top of all this.

But, for this little moment, there's this. ]

When we were kids... Everyone laughed at me. I was just...so shy. So afraid of everything. But Cairo... She took me under her wing. When the other kids made fun of me, she put a stop to it. Ever since, we've been...

[ She doesn't quite know how to describe Cairo. It's not inseparable, they've had...well. They wouldn't fight for this long, but Cai's always been abrasive. And Riley will never understand the other girl's love of partying. But.

The very specific Cairo Emotion wells up inside her. ]

It's easier to be me when I'm around her.

[heathencall]

[Mephisto allows himself to entertain the thought of Riley being herself. He already knows that this place has brought out the worst in others, even as it seems to be dragging out the best of him. As much as he liked to think that he knew Riley, as long as the menace of this place was held over them, he doubts he'll be able to see anything.

All the more reason to get her out.]

I look forward to meeting her, then. To seeing you truly shine.

[That... brings a thought to his mind. Whatever smile he'd been working toward is quickly dashed away.]

If I may be so forward... It sounds like you have had very few people willing to take you under their wing. That seems... unfair.

[Tl;dr, your parents suck Riley and he'll die mad about it.]

[isawallflower]

[ She's got the water bottle to her lips when he says that. There's a something pulling at her insides. She pretends she hadn't, but she remembers a half-quip, half-question, Has anyone ever like... seen Riley's parents? and Riley herself all bubbly smiles. She truly thought little of it, in the moment.

But. Looking back on it, waking up.

Her hand lowers and the lovely little smile on her face dries up. ]

Um. I mean, it's just...like that sometimes, you know? Sometimes...you just have to pull yourself up.

[heathencall]

It seems... wrong.

[Self-sufficiency, that was fine, he supposed. He saw no need to cling at a parent's skirts for a lifetime. But that was still a far cry from what felt like abandonment for Riley. And if he's honest with himself, the concept of being left with nothing rings just a little too true for Mephisto.]

Why create something if you do not intend to nurture it?

cw: parental neglect, frank abuse talk

[isawallflower]

[ Oh, so we're just. We're going for it, are we? Riley drops her eyes. ]

They're not completely awful. Like. I'm never hungry, I'm never hurt. They let me use their money. They don't fight...very often. They're just...not around.

[ Maybe it's a testament to how tired she is that she's actually talking about this. Considering weeks ago, she sought instead to dodge as many questions as she could... ]

[heathencall]

[Mephisto is... pretty sure there's more too parenting than all of that but... like hell he understands exactly what that is.

One thing does come to mind, though.]

When was the last time they caught you as you were falling?

[isawallflower]

[ Riley’s very still. She’s also quiet for a time that’s probably only five, ten seconds but feels like a lifetime.

When she finally speaks, her voice is so quiet that had he been farther away, he probably couldn’t hear it. ]

I don’t remember.

[heathencall]

[Mephisto gives her the courtesy of processing... whatever it is that she needs to process. He rests his hands in his lap, hesitating to reach out for a moment.]

Do you truly think that's fair to you? Because I don't.

[isawallflower]

They’ve always been busy. But. My dad took me to the park once? When I was really young. I remember being so...happy, but. I climbed up...some kind of play castle, I was always really good at climbing. He was watching, for a minute, when I started I know he was watching. But, I got to the top, and I turned around to...see if he saw how high I got.

[ A faint little recollection. Riley keeps staring at the ground, breathing slowly. ]

He was on his phone. Probably something for work. I called out to him, but— He plugged his ear and moved farther away. [ Daddy! Dad! She’d seen other kids jump from swings to their parents’ arms. She wanted to call out, catch me! to know what it felt like. But she couldn’t even get that far. ] He didn’t even look.

I just went by myself after that. Dad, and mom... They didn’t really care if anyone was watching me.

[heathencall]

I... do not know anything about the merits of climbing on a "play castle." I won't say that I would have watched you then, but.

[On instinct, his hand extends, seeking hers out. He gives it a squeeze, the same way his heart squeezes as he stumbles over the words he's trying to form.]

I have seen you climbing higher and higher here. You have grown since that first week. Opened up to some. Relaxed at times. I see that. And I am... proud of that, I suppose.

[isawallflower]

[ She's still just staring blankly away from him when his hand finds hers. That little squeeze acts as a defibrillator, shocking life back into her. She looks up jerkily. At least she's too exhausted to cry. She's a little sick of crying. ]

That's... That's really all I ever wanted. S-s-someone who... [ For a moment, she can feel herself start to panic with the single stammer. But. She squeezes his hand back. ] ...would tell me that.

[heathencall]

Well. That's what I'm here for. [Another squeeze as he meets her eyes. The mocking edge in his voice, the constant expression of skepticism, it's all gone. He isn't used to being genuine, but he's doing his best for her.]

Your own personal guardian angel. Fallen angel but... Details, right? [He smiles, small but warm.]

I'm proud of you. [He'll repeat it as much as he needs.]

[isawallflower]

[ No. No. She's too exhausted to cry, she's not gonna do it. She also doesn't want to shut her eyes, because...this could all vanish, if she does. ]

You're proud of me. [ She repeats it, because it's foreign, and she wants to wrap her mind around it. ] You're...proud of me. Even though... I get too intense...and work myself too hard and...make you worry about me. Even though I can't...get everything perfect... You're proud of me.

[heathencall]

[Each time it's repeated, it feels like another nail in the coffin. He's dragged an inch closer to damnation, to tying himself irrevocably to the mortals he's come to know here. Even up until now, he's had his doubts, held out "hope" that whatever had come over him could be done away with.

But it can't. And he knows it now. Whatever creature he's made himself out to be, it's gone.]

If I could skin whoever told you that you had to be perfect for someone to be proud of you, I would. [It's... a bit of an awkward shuffle, to lean over and try to hold Riley, but at least he's getting used to the gesture.]

I wish you would give yourself a break. But that does not change how I feel. It doesn't take away the pride.

[isawallflower]

[ She doesn't understand it. For years she's been trying, trying to do something perfect. Just one thing, so maybe her parents would give her at least a smile. A home-cooked meal she didn't have to make herself. A stupid family vacation instead of business trips. So maybe she could be worth something--so she could finally bury the stuttering, shy little girl who had to be saved from herself.

And yet. In this horrible place, in less than a month. Here's something she's never had before. She gasps in a shuddering breath and finally shuts her eyes, leaning into the touch. ]

I, um. You left the pasta, right? [ A soft, floaty voice. This is so much at once that Riley needs to deflect, just a little. So she can process it. ] I forgot to thank you for it.

[heathencall]

[Mephisto's smile verges the bashful. He glances to the side, fixating on a particularly interesting section of the floor. As if he could somehow channel that bizarre mix of feelings out of himself and into that singular speck.]

I did. [He chews on his cheek for a moment, hesitating.] And the bear, before that.

[isawallflower]

[ She's so warm from working herself to exhaustion, but this makes her warmer. ]

I knew. You weren't very subtle.

[heathencall]

Perhaps that's for the best. Imagine if Stephen had attempted to take credit for my efforts. Or the Phantom.

[He is working so hard to do right by everyone, he'll beat whoever steals his thunder.]

I hope it helped some.

[isawallflower]

[ She's leaning more against him than the wall now. ]

It did. After that...hurricane nightmare day, it was...really nice to see. [ A moment: ] I'll try not to destroy this one.

[heathencall]

[Mephisto adjusts his posture only a little, just enough to accommodate for Riley's weight.]

If you do, I will just have to find another. Break into the booth itself if I must.