It's a sad song - It's a sad tale

[musacal]

[ WELL THAT... HAPPENED, HUH. YO WHAT THE FUCK DISCORD THAT'S BALLER.

Good thing the Wizard's probably going to be occupied with THAT for a while longer because it looks like this long ass, nogood day isn't quite over yet as there's still one more incoming curve ball. In contrast to the smell of smoke from the auditorium there seems to be a... sweet, banana-y baked good smell coming from the cafeteria? But who could have been baking while you were all at the trial--

If you go in there or even just pass by at all, you'll find on one of the tables there's a plate with several warm and fresh banana muffins. Underneath the plate, just sticking out enough so that you can see a corner peeking out, is a folded up note:


You are not alone. I'm here to help.
I'll be waiting for everyone in the
girl's washroom on the first floor.

Come and find me.
-a friend

At the bottom of the note is a small, hand drawn banana. The handwriting and muffins might look familiar to two of you.

...soooooooo you up for a meeting after all that shit? ]

Comments

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Orpheus doesn't pass by the cafeteria immediately. He lingers in the hallways, wandering them aimlessly and looking shell-shocked and distant. Antonio is dead, and finding his body already feels like it happened a lifetime ago. Discord is probably dead. Hester is injured and something happened to the Wizard? It's a lot to take in, and he just sort of... doesn't. Doesn't absorb any of it. Can't get his head around it.

It's only when he notices how oddly empty the school is, that he notices the smell of baking in the air as he passes by the cafeteria that he ventures in and sees the note. Without a thought for how suspicious it might look, he abruptly changes course, heading for the girl's restroom with considerably more purpose than he seemed to have before. ]

Hello? [ He peers in the door, cautiously, before entering. Wow, guess this sure is where everyone went, huh. ]

[musacal]

[ By this point, Nana has already started to take the mascot suit off, hoping that she has enough time while the Wizard is dealing with everything that happened during the Execution that she can take a much needed break from it. When Orpheus comes in though she stops and looks at him in surprise. ]

.......Peter Parker?

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Orpheus just blinks at her, owlishly. ]

What?

[ Look it's been a long day, he doesn't have the mental capacity for this. ]

[musacal]

[ His confusion is enough for her to realize her mistake and she gets flustered. ]

Ah-- sorry, my mistake! You just look a lot like someone I met before...!

[ Who she had to keep meeting.... several times...... ]

[themuseabandonsyou]

Oh, no, it's okay? I don't think I've met you before, um. It's nice to meet you? I'm Orpheus. How did you... get in here?

[musacal]

Orpheus...? Oh! You're Orpheus! I've heard about you from Hermes-sama before!

[ wait WHAT ]

My name's Nana! I'm a friend of Maya Tendo's. And as for how I got here... it's kind of a long story, but my Boss got me in to help!

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Orpheus snaps almost fully from the haze that's been surrounding him since this morning at that, looking pretty much the most excited he's been since he got here, barring his repeated reunions with Eurydice. ]

You know Mister Hermes? Is he - how is he doing?

[ Orpheus has never really seen Hermes be anything but kind of melancholy at worst, but that doesn't mean he can't still worry about him. He's his favorite uncle! The only one he's ever met but also just on the whole a really good uncle! ]

Oh! You're - the one who was here, one of the previous times this happened! And you all got out, even the people who died? I - wow. I can't believe you're really here. Maya must've been so happy to see you're safe.

pre-bathroom

[brokeforgood]

Orpheus? [Farrah feels… very small and lost, right now. But she’s not going to ignore anyone. She’s got an arm full of her things—- in the process of hauling them between dorm rooms.

Looks like she’s moving out of Broadhurst, almost as soon as she moved in.

She pauses—- she almost asked if he was okay. That’s a stupid question. None of them are.]

Hey.

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Orpheus blinks at Farrah a couple of times before responding, having to drag himself back to reality. Did she ask him a question? No, she's just saying hello. Okay. He can do this. ]

Oh, hey, Farrah. [ he says, quietly. ] What are you - oh.

[ Right. She'd been staying with Antonio, hadn't she? Something threatens to break inside Orpheus for upwards of the fifth time today, but he tries to keep it together, not wanting to let his own grief make Farrah's worse. ]

Um. Do you need any help with that?

[brokeforgood]

[Farrah’s just as dazed, staring at him like he’s just made the most absurd question in the world. Then she realizes—- and nods, handing off about half of what she has into his arms. Jesus, she has a lot of those cat plushies, doesn’t she? And the remaining sonic that had been hanging out on Varian’s bed.]

Yeah, thanks. Not—- back to Longacre. You and Eurydice can keep your privacy. [Its as close to teasing him as she gets—- she means it as teasing, but there’s something missing from her voice. That bunk above Eurydice has been empty since Farrah moved.]

Ambassador. I’m gonna stay with Benj for a while.

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ The fact that she's teasing him, or trying, kind of flies over his head. He doesn't exactly have his wits about him at the moment, so he just nods, numbly. ]

Thanks. [ he says, flatly. He'll take an armful of unnerving cat dolls and... whatever this blue thing is, and trail along after her towards Ambassador, debating what to say next or even if he should say anything. What can you say, to a girl who's just lost two father figures in one blow? His instinct is to say that he's glad she has Benjamin, but is that - too little?

After thinking about it long enough that the pause probably gets kind of awkward, he finally says, ]

Good. I'm sure he'll be glad to have you. And - if you need anything else, from the rest of us - just ask, okay?

[brokeforgood]

[Farrah hesitates at his offer, which just serves to make the entire thing even more awkward. Which is… very fitting to her true self, if she’s honest. She’s gotten through the last year by filling the silence with whatever thing pops into her head first. It’s weird to not do it. To try and think of what she’s going to say, and the ramifications of it.]

… Thanks. I’ll try not to cause too much trouble for everyone.

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Orpheus just looks at her seriously, and says; ] I think you deserve to cause at least a little trouble, if you want? I think we all do, at this point. But, um. I get what you mean. It's not trouble to need help, though. Just remember that, okay?

[brokeforgood]

[She hesitates again when he says that, but she can’t keep herself from blurting it out as they reach the doors to Ambassador.]

I don’t know. I think I might be cursed.

[themuseabandonsyou]

Oh.

[ See the thing is that's... not an unfair assessment, in Orpheus's estimation. Maybe not for the exact reasons Farrah means, because really that kind of applies to all of them, but. ]

You've lost... a lot of people. We all have, but. I know you and Rina and Varian were all close, and... [ The rest still feels too fresh to talk about, directly, so he just shakes his head. ] I don't really know what to say, about it. I don't know that there is anything to say, that would make it better. But don't... stop reaching out to the rest of us. Please. Seeing you pull away from everyone over this -

[ It's not what Antonio would want. ]

I don't think anyone wants to see you hurt like that. Not alone, at least. It hurts, but we can hurt together.

[brokeforgood]

Connor was my friend too. And the Balladeer took care of me—- And since then, every single week, it’s like—-

My dad seemed to have it all together but now he's gone too. And now my stomach hurts worse and worse and every week at the end of the week I feel my heart beating louder and faster and I'm like, Jesus I’m still in this freakin school and everyone I love is—- [dead. She takes a deep breath.]

What if—- Benj is next, or you——

[themuseabandonsyou]

I know. It's - I meant it, when I said so many of us love you, Farrah.

[ Possibly not the SQUIP, hence why not 'all' here, but. ]

But that makes it harder, to - feel anything but hurt, after they're gone. And I don't really know how to deal with it either. I've never known.

[ He takes a deep breath, and looks away. ]

Today, of all days
See how
The most dangerous thing is to love
How hard
To heal or to rise above
Our eyes, too grief-filled to overcome