[After...party?] I would give anything, but for the grace of God I'm here and still aware

[madgiganticfeelings]

[So that... certainly happened. Christine ran along with everyone else to escape the suffocating smoke, slamming the doors behind them in the hope it would slow the flames down. She tries not to see sticky beer-stained carpet as she runs, tries to hear the voices of her newfound friends, rather than the screams of teenagers, but it's certainly difficult.

She only stops to hastily throw open the door to Steven's room and let out Lion with them, but otherwise retreats into the gardens before... letting herself watch the opera house in silence.

Thankfully, it doesn't end with as much damage as the last fire Christine experienced. In time, she can stop shaking and unfold the note still clenched in her hand. And then she looks back at the opera house with... a different kind of fear on her face.

A fear so deep that when Mephisto and Anne finally start suggesting the possibility of returning inside, she's up on her feet in an instant.]

Meeting in the woman's first floor washroom. Give me ten minutes and I'll be there.

[Before anyone can argue with her, she runs off, hoping she sounded firm enough for them to follow her request.

She and Lion move to Stephen's room first to acquire whatever notes might still be there, but she's returns to the bathroom soon enough, all the papers now collected in her binder.]

Okay. We're probably freaked out. God knows I still am. And I want to encourage you to leave when you need to, take a break if this all gets to be too much. But I think... I think I speak for everyone- [Finally, finally she can speak for everyone. Her voice is strong enough now.] - when I say this.

[Her knuckles go white around her binder and her eyes spark back to life.]

We are not letting that fucking Wizard win anymore. So let's talk time loops.

Comments

[heathencall]

[Once the crowd outside has dispersed, Mephisto allows himself a moment. That moment is spent railing against an empty grave, furiously pounding his fists against the stone until the knuckles are cracked and bleeding. He can't wait long enough for Stephen's grave to properly oriented.

His path of destruction continues through the halls and into his room. Here, he throws aside anything he can get his hands on. The keychain, the second one he'd gotten after handing the first over to Stephen, is thrown to the ground. He considers stomping it, but instead stops short and kicks it under his bed.

His eyes burn. His heart aches. He feels like such a fool.

... 30 minutes after Christine's order, Mephisto shows up in the women's room. His hands have been hastily bandaged (it's a parallel that he's trying not to think about). He lingers by the door, not sure if he should even stay.]

[likemypicture]

[Anne's willing to give him a pass to the 'don't leave me alone with more than two teenagers at a time' rule to go do that-- but he's not getting off that easy once he enters the women's room. She waves him in, patting the bathroom floor beside her.]

[heathencall]

[He glances toward her and gives a half-nod. Acknowledgment of their own deal, but little more. He's definitely not moving toward her.]

[madgiganticfeelings]

[The meeting's casual enough, and she knows they certainly can't solve all of this tonight, when all of their wounds are still fresh, so she at least is just waiting, reading things over, as she waits for Mephisto to arrive.

She's not sure whether to approach him or not, but she... remembers her letter, and so she moves over to his side. Her hands move to take his bandaged ones.]

...Let me know when you need these changed. I'll help you.

[She doesn't ask where they're from.]

[heathencall]

[Mephisto eases away from her touch -- not an outright flinch, but he's certainly not interested in the contact. He shifts so that they're tucked away, out of sight out of mind.]

I'll be fine.

[madgiganticfeelings]

You're still allowed to not be fine, once in a while.

[She hopes that doesn't come out sounding terse. She does move her hands slowly back away, folding them back into her own cloak for warmth.]

But... I trust you.

[She settles back against the wall, but she knows Mephisto understands what she means by that. She's trusted in him for all of this to be honest with her. Their very first promise had been for there to be no more lies between them. If he's willing to break that now...]