POST-ROUND 1 MINGLE

[idolpro]

[ Once the decisions have been made, everyone is ushered—though those gentle tugs—out their respective mud rooms into the courtyard. An impossibly tall and incredibly dense garden hedge divides one half of the courtyard away—moreover, it increasingly gets taller when climbed, preventing its residents from escaping their slice of the courtyard. From beyond, idols can hear the distant sounds of something rumbling—perhaps it's the ground shaking. . .

The roster is visible on a large screen, though as time progresses, certain names are blacked out. . . ]

[ Mouths and Hands will be able to transform into monsters at-will, though Hands are much more diminutive and Mouths have supernatural abilities at their disposal. Moreover, unit abilities are on. ]

Comments

[sagescion]

[He looks up, the flash of anger on his face dying for the moment when he realizes who it is. He's covered in wounds, the worst being where Eirene stabbed him with her talon.]

No. I'm not.

[He really hates these games. It feels like his entire body is just full of hate and anger - the games, the people who are around him, all of it. Most of all, he hates that he decided to be selfish back in their room instead of trying to find some way to avoid fighting.]

[crossmyheartandhope]

Right. That's - stupid question.

[Reaching out to take his arm]

Here, c'mere. Come sit down.I can find a healer for you.

[sagescion]

[He pulls away, that anger returning.]

No. I have to find Valor. I should have been the one to fight him. Where is he?

[He's shaking with anger, his hands curled tightly into fists. Hurricane is welcome to keep trying to convince him to sit, though. He's still going to be a ball of anger. It's strange because the twin he gets angry like this is Alisaie, not him. He normally is calmer. This isn't calm. It's pure blinding fury.]

[crossmyheartandhope]

[He does not reach out again - almost as if he's used to people pulling away when they're too mad to deal with him]

Wait - you didn't get to take on the guy you picked?

[sagescion]

[It's really nothing personal. He would tell him that if he could think straight.]

No. Some girl from SensitIV. They apparently had no problems targeting us.

[He doesn't know that for sure. It could have been random. Or they just only cared about Zhongli and not the rest of them. He doesn't know. That also makes him angry. They could have killed Aether or Hurricane right along with Alisaie and himself. He hates them. He hates the girl who killed him most of all.]

[crossmyheartandhope]

Aww, man. That's rough, dude.

I can't believe they didn't even let you keep your matchup.

Here, for real, though - sit down for a sec. Even if you don't wanna see a healer, at least lemme bandage you up some.

[sagescion]

[He hesitates, because part of him - however small - still feels like himself beneath the anger. He looks from Hurricane down to his own hands, one still holding the lance.]

Very well.

[He follows Hurricane almost obediently, his anger swallowed for the moment.]

I am... sorry that I failed again.

[Failed. Died. Same difference. He's tired of making these people he loves - his unit - worry about him. He's tired of feeling so useless.]

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Guiding him over to a bench so that he can sit down]

Dude... who said you failed?

What you did was real brave. You just stepped right up and volunteered, didn't you? Game like this, that's the hardest part. You did your part and then some.

[sagescion]

I don’t feel brave. I feel like I want to hunt down Valor and make him hurt because I didn’t get the chance.

[He sits on the bench, staring down at his hands.]

I lost to someone I’d never met.

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Hesitates, then sits down next to him. After a beat, he digs out his heart weapon and takes off his jacket, starting to cut it into strips to make bandages]

Sometimes that's how it goes, in games like this. Y'know?

It sucks, but... the hardest part's getting up and doing it. And you did it, and you came through. The worst part's past, and you came through it already.

[sagescion]

[He just listens, hate boiling inside him while his thoughts still center on Valor. He doesn't know why he just wishes he could find him and hurt him. He'd been trying to let all of this go before, but then the hunger and now this feeling has overtaken him.

He has to focus on Hurricane's voice, just trying to let the words sink in and give him something to distract himself.]

I still feel like I didn't do what I set out to do by volunteering. I wanted to target Valor as soon as it was up for discussion. I felt selfish - I'm angry that I didn't get the chance.

[crossmyheartandhope]

Hey.. You weren't selfish. Okay?

You gave it your best shot. Ain't your fault they messed around with targeting.