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]

That's my girl.

[He won't ruffle her hair but. He will pat her shoulder.]

I'll make a blasphemer out of you, yet.

[isawallflower]

[ My girl.

She loves it. She loves it, she loves it, she loves it--it's like...she's a little kid again, or- a little kid she never really got to be, but for the first and only time, she feels good about feeling like that shy little girl who splashed in puddles and hid behind others. Something about it all makes it-

...it makes Riley wonder if it's okay for that little girl to still exist.

To give herself something to do, she sweeps a few strands of hair from her forehead, even though most of it's up secure in her ponytail. The grin she gives, though a little embarrassed, is brilliant, and real. ]

I think if Annleigh ever heard me say that, she'd faint. A lot like you pretended to, actually.

[heathencall]

[That smile does something to him. That smile has done something to him for weeks now, turning the manipulator into the manipulated, only so much more innocent than that. There's no urge to fight against this softer feeling that she brings out in him, she's long since quelled that fire.

To hell with this place, and the Phantom lording over them. Even if he has to fight tooth and nail, clip his own wings, give everything he has, he'll make sure he can keep seeing that smile.

He will not be robbed of this one good thing.]

She sounds awful.

[isawallflower]

[ For the first time in weeks (...longer, actually, if she really accepts-), a pure peal of laughter bursts out of her. She can't help but cover her mouth to quiet the giggles. Blaspheming in a chapel's one thing, but making fun of Annleigh O'Daniels? Now the other girl's going to come bursting through a wall, with a Bible in hand, or something. ]

She's annoying! [ Oh no! Riley frowns for a moment. ] Well. I mean, I'm captain, I shouldn't say that.

[heathencall]

Do you think I'm going to go gossiping to your friends?

[He puts a finger to his lip, muffling his own laughter. Obscuring the stupid smile he's wearing.]

Of course, I can't guarantee I'll be able to hold my own tongue if I meet her.

[isawallflower]

Don't. [ She holds up her hands, but, like, she's grinning sheepishly again. ] Please, she's like... Okay, so she's annoying. But...she's also really good. And, sometimes she's just...a really happy, positive person to have around? Even if she gets annoying about religion and is always texting her boyfriend.

[ --Oof. Okay. Okay, she frowns again for a moment. Don't really have to worry about that anymore. Anyway. No, it's fine. ]

I...wanna try and be a better captain, for all of them. Like...to make us a real team.

[heathencall]

Sure, sure. [He holds his hands up. Gesture of innocence. He'll be good.

... Probably.]

I think you'll do just fine. You've managed to keep us in line. Mostly.

[Jeremy Heere is an outlier and should not be counted.]

[isawallflower]

[ That genuine smile slips a bit and she chuckles. ]

Well. I've been...trying my best~! You know. Doing what I can.

[ ...She's gonna pet the octokitten again. ]

[heathencall]

Would you like your daily dose of "I'm proud of you?" now, or later?

[She's already smoothed her hair once but. Maybe he can do it again? It's fine.]

i thought i sent this a literal hour ago

[isawallflower]

[ WOW. Wow! That's a shot directly to the heart! For a moment, she seems like a normal kid, whining softly. ]

You don't have to say it like that... [ But. She wouldn't say no. ]

time is fake when you grieve

[heathencall]

[This feels normal. Weird, because they're sitting in the doorway of a chapel, with monster-cat between them.

But normal.]

I'm proud of you, Riley. That will never change.

[isawallflower]

[ She's cross-legged on the floor, neck sinking into her collarbone. It's almost stupid how normal this feels. How much Riley wishes it would never end. ]

And you're not just saying that? You mean it, every time?

[ Just...petting Octokitty, letting one of its tentacles wrap around her finger. ]

[heathencall]

Do I look like a liar to you?

[He says it with a half-smile. A funny joke, the idea of a demon lying.]

Of course I mean it, Riley.

[isawallflower]

I know. [ She says, and she believes it. That's such a novelty. ] I just...have to double-check, I guess. This is- it's new for me.

[heathencall]

[Laughter comes... surprisingly easy around Riley. It still surprises him, even now.]

How do you think I feel?

[isawallflower]

Then we're learning together.

[ After giving most of her attention to the sweet mutant cat, she finally works up the courage to glance back up. ]

I like that.

[heathencall]

As do I.

[His hand finds hers against the cat. He... supposes the creature isn't that bad, if it sparks this much happiness for the people he cares about it.

It can stay.]

We will learn together, and get through this together.

[isawallflower]

[ Ah. Despite everything, everything, Riley feels so warm. So full.

Have you ever felt so good you- you're bursting out of your skin?

She thought she knew what that felt like. She didn't. For the first time, she really, really feels like a Phoenix. ]

...I like that too.

[heathencall]

Well. I think you'll find that my deals and promises are quite binding. So I recommend you begin preparing what you'll say to this... Annleigh. And to Cairo, of course.

It will only be a matter of time.

[He doesn't feel the slightest bit wary making that promise to her. There's a strength that comes from this bond with her. He'll get her home safely, no matter what happens.]

[isawallflower]

[ For a moment, Riley wonders if she should tell him. The truth. What she remembered last week. What she's pieced together. The dull roar and crashing waves and ever-present static in her head.

But she remembers the motive, and her team, and the sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach returns. So she says nothing. ]

I'll...have a whole speech drafted! For all of them.

[ (She'll regret that she says nothing.) ]

[heathencall]

I eagerly await being able to hear it then, Riley.

[He lets himself imagine, dream for a moment, of meeting these girls that Riley calls friends. Maybe he'll get onto them about not showing her enough support, for making her feel like she had no one to catch her. But he knows they're not the real problem.

He just hopes she won't mind when he puts the fear of God Mephisto into her parents.]