idolpro | Shrike's Heart (#3)

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!heart games

Shrike's Heart (#3)

The woman before you is beautiful—fair of features, with lovely golden skin and luxurious long black hair, petite. You have the immediate and distinct impression that she's just let go of your hand, and she steps back, and smiles.

It's not quite a happy smile.

"I'm sorry," she says. "There's just nothing I can do, as things are. But the way is there; it just needs to be lit."

You open your mouth—maybe to say something, or to express confusion—but you have to cough, and taste something metallic, spattering black blood onto the ground in front of you. Then you realize—blood seeps from opening wounds in your arms, your chest, your stomach, your face. It rims your eyes and trails from your nose and you feel like you're dissolving—

—and you fall through the ground like it's the surface of a lake, and go down, down, down.

> Wake Up

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[ she tilts her head, and glances at his portrait on the wall. ]

Don't you, though?

I'm... maybe. I just... don't know what to do.

[ Following her gaze. ]

... It's complicated probably.

Well... what do you want to do?

I want...

[ she looks hesitant, and then remembers— ]

Oh! I was cooking.
...I'm not supposed to, since that's for servants, but—do you want some? If it hasn't burned.

Sure. I like eating.

Ah, here, then—

[ she skips over to the kitchen to inspect what she's left on the stove; she turns down the heat on the saucepan, and inspects what's in the pot.

now that you're looking at the kitchen, it looks like there's something peeking out from next to the refrigerator. ]

[ Gold's very familiar with Avante kitchen by this point, so he'll take a moment to glance over at whatever's next to the fridge, reaching over to grab it. ]

[ what's tucked next to the refrigerator seems to be a framed portrait—by appearances, of the girl tending to what's on the stovetop, although half of the image is obscured with black paint such that you can't see most of her face.

meanwhile, the girl is draining a pot of noodles—glass noodles, not spaghetti, and humming lightly as she stirs whatever's in the pan. ]

[ Taking out the painting and trying to see if he can wipe off the paint... ]

[ it's dry, and caked on in several layers—it seems like it's been like that for a while.

the girl doesn't notice, and then turns her head— ]

Should I put on some te—

[ ...and freezes. ]

...oh.

Oh- sorry, I found this tucked in there, I think it's been dirty for a while.

It's...

[ she looks a little guilty; like she doesn't want to look at the portrait. ]

I'm really not supposed to be here at all.

... Do you want to be here?

...well, yes, but...

[ she looks away, turns the heat off of the stove, and tidies a few stray hairs back into her bun. ]

...I'm dead. I don't exist anymore.

You exist here though, inside Shrike.

[ Looking back at the painting, trying to clean it more. ]

Even if you're dead, you can still exist here.

[ probably there's like, a sponge, or something, since this kitchen doesn't seem to understand that it's in fantasy historical southeast asia. ]

...I think I might extra not exist, though.

What goes into Oblivion doesn't come out. I'm just a memory.

Memories totally count.

[ Taking the sponge to carefully use. ]

And after this, a memory of you will live on in me too.

... Mm, I'm-

[ Pauses for a moment, then. ]

Osamu.

[ she smiles, and it's... mostly not pained. ]

Hi, Osamu. I'm—

...I guess I don't have a name. I think you can guess where it went.

Would it be weird if we gave you a temporary one?

...if you want to, that's all right. I think.

I think everyone on Avante's been going with bird themed names...

[ Looking at her... ]

... So something like Sparrow or Wren?

[ she smiles. ]

"Wren" seems nice.

[ she turns around, having plated some of the noodles with a sort of stir-fry of vegetables, sauce, and some kind of meat. there's a pair of chopsticks stuck directly upright in it. ]

Did you know that shrikes are also known as "butcherbirds"?

[ The chopsticks are worrisome... ]

I've never heard of that.

[ just a little worrisome, yes. ]

They impale their prey on thorns or spikes, I guess. That's where the nickname comes from.

[ she looks away. ]

I'm glad I met you. But I think it's time for you to go.

She's waiting.

Mm... alright. But just remember, you can belong here too, if you want.

[ Putting the portrait in a standing position on the counter. ]

Avante would approve.

I'm just what could have been, but—

I'll try.

[ she smiles, and the next time you blink, she's gone, and you're holding the plate. the chopsticks are now laid to the side. ]

Shrike's Heart (#3)

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