middleofsomewhere | So Familiar a Gleam: Conclusion

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So Familiar a Gleam: Conclusion

Time to leave!

There is not much of the city left, but the park is holding together as those anchoring help those who are not voidtreckers through back to where they belong. Monsters continue to attack and a little further out there is a battle of hearts and minds being fought with the mass of colours and chaos.

Eventually, after the bulk of citizens had been evacuated everyone with SCA's on would hear Jin-Roh's voice after a few frantic beeps, as Chiff aligned everyone's SCA's. "We are almost done here, if you are with anyone not tethered to a voidcraft get them to the evacuation point, as quickly as possible."

Anan pulls out of the anchoring point to call out to any defenders in the park. "Come on! Anyone who isn't a voidtrecker! It's time to go."

Luckily those off fighting the entity headed the message and made their way to the park as Jin Roh spoke again.

"Everyone else get ready. When we call it you need to leave. If you don't have your SCA on then get to someone who does."

As the last people rushed to the park Anan calls out again, through her SCA and outloud to the park. "You need to unanchor, before you can evacuate. Everyone be ready."

She goes in again though, because there are some last people, those from the large battle, getting through as another message was called.

"Almost there. Be ready. On my command..."

Anan unanchored again. "Quick everyone unanchor."

"NOW" Jin Roh's voice came through strong on their SCA's. Hopefully those with SCA's would grab those without.

There is some outside help as well, the train pulls anyone who is unconscious or still under the entity's control, forcibly evacuating them. This includes Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji and Zagreus.

Luggage Carriage

There has been a mass evacuation before and that was crazy enough but since then the population of the train has almost doubled and now it is an extremely tight squeeze as everyone crashes into the luggage carriage at the same time.

The train jerks and rolls as they enter into the void at breakneck speed and again as they seem to slow, rather than speeding off though the void.

There's a crackling from their SCA's. "Voidtreckers? Voidtreckers come in!" Anan's voice. "Please tell me you made it..."

There's only a few moments of signal and soon they are flying though the void again, away from the strange non-world, the entity sealed for now. To new adventures, but first hopefully some time to recover from all that has happened.

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Oh... well, that's fine. Her name wasn't Mimi Widogast either, but it was a nice memory. She also wants to note how happy he was to have that name. She'll keep that for herself, though.

"Once upon a time, my name was Mimi K. Octoling." She reciprocated. "But for a time... I lost my name and where I came from." Not unlike the illusion, really.

"When I was wandering with no recollection of who I was, I was given a new designation: number 1-0-0-0-8. The... guardian that who woke me thought that was a mouthful, so he shortened that to Eight. Agent Eight."

"So I started my new life as Eight."

He was very happy to have that name at the time, quick to introduce himself and emphasis the Widogast, to make gestures with his left hand more than his right. In the illusion, Essek was elated to be Caleb's husband, in his own way, but that wasn't real. That wasn't him. Not really.

There's a long second where he listens to her, digests the information through the foggy broken mind, he's quiet, but only because he doesn't want his mind to forget what he's learned, to not let it slip away. The hand she holds trembles, it has since she grabbed it, but the shake worsens.

"Names ah--.." his jaw flexes as he takes a breath and tries to get his tired mind to cooperate. "Names are, ah, complicated and personal matter at times, but.. what name do you wish to have me use?"

Eight notices the tremble begins to pull away. As a general trait, octarians were observant and somewhat timid, noticing social queues and being far more aware of themselves than their surface-dwelling counterparts.

"On the train, I go by Eight." She said matter-of-factly before turning away, a hand stroking one of her tentacles. "...but if you wanted to call me Mimi I wouldn't mind."

Essek allows her to pull away without trying to stop her. Even as her hand leaves his, he can feel the pervasive tingle of overstimulation. The trembling continues regardless, more from his own exhaustion and migraine than the touch.

"Then... ah, when it's just the two of us, I'll call you Mimi?" He wants to make sure, gauge her response. Names are important, some people change their name like they change clothes and some will keep the same name through many lives, but Essek has always been good at honoring the name he's told.

More than the reaction of being pulled away, the fact that Essek didn't mind calling her Mimi made her quietly happy. "..as you wish." Is the only thing that she will say. Names are indeed complicated and mark new changes and new directions. But sometimes a reminder of where you came from and of happier times did no harm.

"So, why aren't you going to see Caleb?" She hoped he didn't think that would be enough to move her away from the original topic of discussion.

Essek huffs a small self deprecating noise, as if he had hoped it would be enough to get her off that topic. It seems that it only delayed it. He closes his eyes, brow furrowing for a moment, trying to organize how to tell her this, there was so much to it than he would divulge, she didn't need to know his depth of shame and guilt.

"I-... He and I are not as close as we... well, unintentionally led you to believe," he reaches up to rub at his face, as if that could get rid of the fog. "He... he wouldn't find comfort in my presence."

Her eyes narrow, scrutinizing his movements. Was she wrong of her original assumption? But they seemed so close...

"Did... he say that...? That doesn't sound like something he would say." Or... was that entirely for her sake? Sadly she did not know them well enough to be able to refute that claim out of hand.

Essek frowns, unsure how to explain it. He doesn't know that his muddled mind is getting locked up in memories of more complicated matters, of a lack of trust and the time taken to rebuild it, a time this Caleb has yet to live. Of the world of difference their two point in time make. It's a lot to process and his fractured mind isn't able to bear it.

"He didn't, but... our friendship is fraught with complexities," a pause. "We-- I--" a sigh. "Now is not a time to be faced with such matters."

Eight notes that Essek's constitution is all over the place. The haze and pain of everything must have been terrible indeed if it got him this confused. Even though she was exhausted beyond her limit, she still had the clarity of purpose to keep moving forward and to make sure her friends are safe. She... wanted to give him a little courage, a little push.

She steps forward such that she is within Essek's personal space. A bold move for an Octarian, but she wasn't about to back down. "Now is exactly the time." She countered, looking him in the eyes. "We're... very similar, I think. We observe more than is really there, and think when we should act. We want to make sure things are safe and we are making the right choice. But one thing I learned from Nory, the Inkling I told you about? Sometimes there are times when you let your heart move you. To ignore your worries and doubts and live what you feel."

"Its what I love about her." She finishes to herself in a voice that is barely audible for anyone but the most pointy-eared to listen in on.

She isn't wrong about him, he does sit back, observe, and think. It's very rare that he's someone who can act without thought, the last time he didn't give something enough thought of consequences it resulted in Caleb, the others, and himself basically being tortured. It makes him more hesitant than before. So while her words aren't ignored, he just can't bring himself to walk in there and possibly hurt Caleb's recovery.

"I can see why," he gives her a smile. "And I-... that-- she isn't wrong. I have friends that... ah, embody that in some ways," he looks down, his expression fraught with emotional pain, thinking of them, but he takes a breath and tries to push that away, smooth his expression.

"I'm... Perhaps later."

Eight peers at him intently a long while. She understands but couldn't help being a little disappointed. But this too wasn't her place. This too wasn't their time. They were adults, and though she was their child in only a fiction, a part of her still felt that sense of filial obligation to honor his choices.

But that didn't mean she wasn't going to say something. "You do have friends... here, now. Some even... from your world." She closes her eyes.

"Nory is safe now. I helped her go home. And... I don't know if I will ever get a chance to make new memories with her." Her eyes open looking past Essek. Back into a world she was no longer a part of again. "I'm going to miss... having that chance."

It's hard for Essek. She says he has friends, but he has yet to really consider anyone here as such, not yet. Sure, he had Caleb and Beau but... the timelines were different. It made everything so complicated.

"That's what I want for him, to... see him home safely, he has so many amazing things to accomplish once he gets there," he looks towards the door.

She had a point, but it still worried him. There were so many what ifs and buts, perhaps he was letting himself be a coward. Was he missing some chance or opportunity? Or was it better to keep distant? It made him feel as if he was on a tightrope without a net to catch him. But she seemed rather adamant to make a point, so... perhaps he should just proceed cautiously.

"But, if it will make you feel better," he gives a sigh, "I'll check in on him."

She nods. "I will be there with you."

Realizing that he didn't like to be touched, Eight instead stands next to him and leads them both to Caleb's door. A part of her hoped that he was somehow still awake and would be able to show how much he'd appreciate the gesture, but he had only recently gotten some rest.

She pauses, giving the words that Essek just said some thought. "...how long into the future are you from his time?"

"If he's asleep, we leave him to his rest," Essek says that firmly. They will check on him and leave if he's sleeping. Caleb is far too light of a sleeper to have them trying to make conversation when he needs his rest. Part of him hopes Caleb is asleep.

He gives pause at her question. Too much, he said too much. For a Shadowhand, Essek was doing a piss poor job, even if his mind was fractured - it wasn't an excuse. He was shamefully slipping.

"Enough," he says it with a sigh. Enough time for the world to be in peril, enough time for people to change, enough time for everything to be so different.

Unfortunately for Essek, Octarians are renowned in their abilities for subterfuge. Or, they would be, if the surface dwellers were even aware that they still existed. Their reconnaissance teams were so good that they scarcely altered a blade of grass as they moved. Suffice it is to say, they were quite capable of picking up small details.

"...enough for them to doubt your intentions and for you to break your alliances?"

He looks at her for a long second, assessing, calculating, he doesn't hide it, which would be unnerving for many who knew him as the spymaster he once was. Perhaps in some ways he was slipping, but in others he was not. That was enough for him.

His gaze moves away from her, but not before he gives her a smile, something with a hint of sharpness.

"In a way," his tone is neutral, ungiving. "Come, let's see if he's asleep or not."

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So Familiar a Gleam: Conclusion

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I cannot believe i did it again, this is what i get tagging tired

<3<3

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