And you can't pull me down

[musacal]

[ There's a groundhog anxiously pacing around the halls when suddenly everyone appears in the lobby and she's rushing up after all the initial reactions. ]

Wh... What happened?!

[ And where the FUCK is Maya UHHHHH ]


(ooc: y'all can respond to this however you want and make any generic top levels you need!)

Comments

[mayavericks]

[Maya folds both of her hands around Peregrine's own. She hates how they shake, especially knowing that it's been from her. Twice in a row now, even.]

Then take this as my solemn vow, Peregrine Wells. After this letter, there will be no more tragic keepsakes. Only living memories.

[comeandfindme]

[ As Maya takes her hand, Peregrine's mind supplies a dangerous hiss. I shouldn't trust her. Maybe. Maybe that's true. But even though her heart aches, the touch still comforts her as well.

She used her. But she's still Maya. Just like Howl is (...was) still Howl.

Peregrine moves her other hand on top of Maya's. She grips them both tight. ]

You have to be telling me the truth this time. [ It's soft, dire, and almost apologetic. Almost. ] I don't— I don't know if... This was already too much.

[mayavericks]

I... was telling the truth last time. When I promised you last week that I would not go anywhere.

None of this should have happened. [Least of which not her survival but... She won't say that part aloud. That's not what anyone wants to hear.]

cw: assisted suicide talk?? kind of???

[comeandfindme]

[ I can’t— ]

…Janis was right. This…wouldnt’t’ve happened. Even more than the others— this wouldn’ta happened without him munching around in our heads. [ … ] I… I know that, you just—

[ She holds Maya’s hands tighter, to make her own still. ]

You can’t…use me to try and die again.

[mayavericks]

I will not, my love.

[She does what she can to thumb over Peregrine's skin. It stings a little, considering the small cuts she still has on her own hands but... She tries all the same.]

Oh, girl, just stand with me
I'm forever yours, faithfully.

[comeandfindme]

[ Peregrine pulls Maya’s hands to her mouth and kisses one of her many cuts. ]

I’m still yours…

[ She can’t love Howl after what happened and hate Maya. Just like she can’t hate Howl and love Maya. It’s all so complicated…but at least this time, she has the opportunity to talk to the person who tried to leave her. She has the chance to make this right. ]

You- you said…something about a letter?

[ Her voice wavers. But she doesn’t let go of Maya’s hands. ]

[mayavericks]

That is... correct.

[Even if she doesn't want to let go of Peregrine, she wants to get this much out of the way. She reaches over and plucks the letter up. Peregrine's name is on the outside, written delicately, albeit hastily. She sets it between them, only to go back to holding her hands.]

[comeandfindme]

[ Cautiously, Peregrine unwinds their hands and withdraws the letter Maya presented to her. She unfolds it.

And her eyes water again until the world burns and blurs. ]

You... You, uhh. [ She tries, fights against the lump in her throat. Until the last lines, she makes it. Cheering, even.

Your beloved.

The weight of it all presses down on her. It settles at her heart, at the matching letter in her breast pocket, where it would sit, had Janis and Hester not given her another chance to set things right. ]

...You...mean all this?

[mayavericks]

Of course I do. I would not write it or leave it with you if I did not.

[Admittedly, she glances away, abruptly self-conscious after Peregrine's reaction.]

If you feel otherwise -- that's quite alright.

[comeandfindme]

Shit, Maya, you said I made you a better person, what'm I supposed to say to that?

[ It's not bad. The tone in her voice—it's overwhelmed, a little hysterical, but it's not bad.

This may have been the last thing she heard from Maya. This. After everything.

Her throat has a wet lump stuck in it. She blinks quickly, pressing the letter to her chest. ]

Of course— of course I feel— [ It's all so much. All of it. ]

[mayavericks]

It's the truth, Peregrine. You did not know who I was before here but...

[She makes a face, trying to figure out the best phrasing. It's not like she can outright say "Ask Nana."]

Some of my dear friends could tell you of what I've done. And it was worse during the revues. I was willing to give up the people I cared for, all for the sake of winning.

[comeandfindme]

Okay. Okay, we've all changed here, but, I, but— but me?

[ Peregrine's aghast. Stunned. ]

Did— did you miss the part where I— the whole thing, back there in the auditorium?

[ How could she think Peregrine of all people made her a better person? ]

[mayavericks]

And did you miss everything I did back in the auditorium?

We... are not perfect. Change isn't static. We slip sometimes.

[comeandfindme]

I— ...I did that 'cause I...wanted to hurt you, Maya.

[mayavericks]

And I forgive you for it. That's also part of change is... forgiveness, right?

[comeandfindme]

[ In that moment, she wasn't just speaking to Maya. She's realizing...

It was Howl. It was both of them. It was the Wizard. It was Whitetail. It was everything, all the anger she'd felt built up over the last few years.

It wasn't fair, to point all of that at one person. ]

...I... I guess...it is.

[ I love you. I'm sorry. I love you—

Peregrine very carefully moves to hug Maya. ]