middleofsomewhere | 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

She knew enough not to believe the news, and was thankful to have been broken out of the illusion. She knew enough to no longer trust the media, because before the spell was broken she believed it with absolute question. Anything demanding perfect devotion was concealing something.

"...Senku... I..." Her head lowers. "...I want to hug you. I want to be aware that you are not there anymore. That you have people who love you. That want you to feel safe and protected."

"Please..." Should he say no, she would respect his wishes. At the very least, he would know her feelings.

It was a blunt proposal that not only outlined how Eight felt, but what she thought about him and there was little room for ambiguity.

He really appreciated her for that.

Senku considered that a moment. "Alright." He agreed after a moment. "Waist, please. I'm not a fan of things grasping around my shoulders or ribcage." That was how Gen got away with hugging him, they found ways he could tolerate it.

Were it not for the events of the past week, Eight may never had been so forward. Octarians enjoyed their ambiguity and subtlety. Open and direct expressions of emotions could be taken badly, and embarrass both parties who were not used to such displays. However, the days in Jinnjar gave her a new way to live. She had spent a "lifetime" in a human family, and learned to appreciate how liberating being open about one's feelings could be. Hugs felt warm and comforting. Sharing laughter felt so much brighter than when it was held in. Even tears felt less painful when it was shared with someone who cared. Though she hated the deception, she learned to appreciate this fact of human socialization. It was scary, yes, but it also... felt right.

She nods to the request, a warm smile coming to her face. Her gait is uneven as she hobbles towards his, the fatigue of the last day looming over her. As she approaches from behind, she reaches around his waist weakly, her head pressing against his back. She didn't have much energy, but at least she could do this.

If anyone asked Senku, humans were still too ambiguous for his liking, but he responded by gently placing a hand on her arms.

He appreciated the hug for the gesture it was meant as.

"I..don't normally think of myself as someone who's helpless. Might sound strange when I have my faults, but I have my strengths too. I tend to consider myself as being able to take care of myself and going toe to toe with the others around me." Senku admitted softly.

"But. I was entirely outclassed this time, which I know now certainly, and I appreciate your willingness to help me and care about me." He murmured. "It would upset me if something happened to you."

The feeling was mutual.

"You're not strong of body, but you use your strength of mind to compensate for that." Eight noted. It was a quality she admired, but sometimes she wonders if Senku relied a little too much on his intelligence to protect himself from his own limitations. But that was a conversation for another day. "You never liked having a challenge in front of you. For you, that's just another obstacle to overcome."

At that last point, she pulled her head away so that he could hear her clearly. "Senku, do you think of me as someone who is helpless?"

He definitely had a reckless streak that didn't help, but he couldn't help that either. It maybe made him more confident than it should have, but it was a discussion for another time.

"I love challenges." He smiled ever so slightly. "For that reason. So I can overcome them."

He blinked a few times. "What? Of course not. Why would I think you helpless?"

"Because." She noted, tightening her grip around his waist. "I don't mind when someone hugs me, and reach out to help me." Which was... partially true. She was competitive and independent and sometimes takes being offered help quite badly. But it was the point she wanted to make! "Sometimes you make yourself very hard for others to care for you. I don't want it to because we think your helpless."

"It's not that." Senku answered. "I'm not against taking help, I just don't like being touched. It's very uncomfortable to me. Like...I don't know. I can't describe it. I've never been able to describe it."

He huffed lightly. "Don't feel insulted, I didn't let my dad hug me either, and Gen only rarely does." At least, outside of their sleeping positions, Gen was very careful to keep his hands mostly off of him.

"Mmm..." She nodded, burying her head into his chest. If this was going to be one of those precious, rare moments he was going to allow it, then she was going to enjoy it for as long as she can.

He was going to allow it, but not for very long.

Eventually, he tapped her arm and cleared his throat. "Let me go?" He asked.

She was so into it she dozed off for a moment. She murmurs a little before pulling away begrudgingly. "Thank you." She whispers.

He responded with a soft smile. "Sure."

She nods. "Should you ever need any assistance, do not hesitate to ask it of me." She trusts his judgement, as wild and dangerous as it can be. "...provided I am well-rested."

She's could almost feel the wave of fatigue looming over her.

"Fair enough." He chuckled lightly.

"I think we all need more sleep after that mission." He wasn't getting up to go though.

Neither was she, and she sidles back into her seat.

"You go on ahead. I'm going to enjoy my..." She frowns into her cup. "...I'm staying here for a while."

"I wasn't planning on going yet." He said, with a wave of his hand. "So." They could just sit quietly perhaps.

So Familiar a Gleam: Conclusion

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