thevoidsdarkhorse | Heart Game (Continued)

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From:

thevoidsdarkhorse

[It's full of clothes.]

[Children's clothes, old and worn out. Some are falling apart, others are torn up or have blood on them. Some of the cleaner sets look like they've been cut with scissors.]

From:

carptricks

[. . .]

[reaches for one of the bloodstained outfits]

From:

thevoidsdarkhorse

[You have to be strong. You have to be quick. You can't depend on them to save you, they can't take on the drones.]

[You have to be strong, you have to be quick, you have to learn if you're going to survive.]

[Fix your own wounds, fight your own battles.]

[Be quick, be strong, be tough, be smart, because you're the only one who can protect yourself.]

From:

carptricks

[. . . hm]

[takes a deep breath, and then concentrates on those blood stains on the clothing, trying to make them-- and just them-- disappear from the cloth]

From:

thevoidsdarkhorse

[You do so, but...there is a lot of blood stained clothes. It will take a bit.]

From:

carptricks

[going to take the time to do this to ALL OF THEM, until there are nothing but clean clothes left]

From:

thevoidsdarkhorse

[...so first question.]

[Does he go looking for all of the clothes?]

[Because that is a lifetime of bloody clothes.]

From:

carptricks

[. . . yes]

[yes he does]

[d-determined!1]

From:

thevoidsdarkhorse

[Honey.]

[So.]

[After about three boxes...]

[Things start getting DARKER, more oppressive.]

From:

carptricks

[LOOK HE WAS TRYING]

[. . . he ssssssssstops tho. puts the rest of the clothing back in their boxes, and closes them up]

What! No laundry?

From:

thevoidsdarkhorse

[Have to be self reliant, have to be strong, have to be strong, have to be strong-]

From:

carptricks

[. . .]

[he can't believe he's saying this, because that mantra is also familiar to him, but--]

You can rely on other people, Roxy. They can help you be strong, too.

From:

thevoidsdarkhorse

[Mantra continues.]

From:

carptricks

[A MOMENT IN WHICH HE MISSES HIS HEART POWERS. raising his voice a bit. . .]

Roxy! Listen to me! I know it's hard, but you don't have to do everything by yourself!

From:

thevoidsdarkhorse

[Mantra goes and goes and goes.]

[It's what the universe decided, after all.]

[You have to do it yourself.]

From:

carptricks

[hrrrf. . .]

[he holds out one hand and tilts his head back thoughtfully, an idea churning around in his mind. he focuses, really focuses, on the Ratatoskr uniforms-- team is the ultimate sign that you don't have to do something alone, right?-- and tries his best to steal the nothingness away from it and produce one into thin air]

[. . . it's harder than the flowers and cards were, though. uniforms are bigger and unfamiliar]

[but he tries! he puts his all into trying]

From:

thevoidsdarkhorse

[There is]

[Meaning there. Great meaning. Teams and family and friends. Colors and what they mean, what they represent, because a color doesn't have to be your favorite to still Be Yours. All the things tied into very existence itself, at least for her.]

[A uniform appears.]

[And faintly...there is crying.]

From:

carptricks

[he breathes out in relief when he manages to yank the uniform out of thin air. drapes it reverently over some of the boxes-- see, look. . . you're not alone, you don't have to do it alone-- and then he tunes his ears into the crying]

Roxy?

[following that noise now!]

From:

thevoidsdarkhorse

[Upstairs, towards pumpkin observatory.]

From:

carptricks

[heading back to the observatory!]

Roxy. . .?

From:

thevoidsdarkhorse

[There is still that pile of pumpkins.]

[And crying on the other side of them.]

From:

carptricks

[ccccarefully stepping over the pumpkins to peek at the other side of the pile]

From:

thevoidsdarkhorse

[Don't give too much, they don't have self control, you're the only one who can watch the moderation. There's only so much you can get at once, but always have a reserve for the bad times. Careful, careful, careful, you're the only one who can do this, you're all alone in this effort.]

[And on the other side of the pumpkins is Roxy.]

[Who looks to be only about five years old, crying into her knees.]