idolpro | Shrike's Heart (#4)

Entry tags:

!heart games

Shrike's Heart (#4)

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It's sort of... peaceful in here. That's probably because it's empty nothing's on fire and also because there don't seem to be any corpses in here, but still... after everything they've seen before, it's a nice respite.

[She's curious about the letter on the table.]

Oh, Shen-san, look...

Do you think it's okay to read it?

Well...

[he looks around. is nobody looking? ok, good]

...Maybe just a peek.

[What's it say?]

[ Unrolled, the letter reads, in an antique script you seem to nonetheless be able to read:

Dear Lark,

I don't know how to find you again. I don't know why you'd put yourself in danger for me again.

I also wish I wasn't so weak as to only find a way to see the world is beautiful because of you. I wish I could see what everyone sees in it.

I wish I could have been who you needed from the start, but I guess that might have not been meant to be, either. I'm not sure I'll ever be as much as you deserve.

The letter isn't signed. ]

Oh...

[Oh, no, is this a love letter...?

[Is it a sad love letter?

[You got her right in the sixteen year old girl.]

Oh, no.

Oh no, Shrike... What a sad letter.

[He hopes she remembers being reunited with Lark. If not now, then someday.]

Edited 2020-02-22 07:13 (UTC)

I didn't think it'd be so sad...

[She sets it down on the table. Sighs.

[Takes a seat.]

... I'm going to write back to her.

Oh yeah... I guess I'll write something too, come to think of it.

[he feels instinctively compelled to do this!!

[he finds a spare pen and paper and gets to work while Wednesday's writing hers]

All right...!

[She moves over to make room for him.

Dear Shrike-san

I dont know what to put down here!! but i wanted to say something because youre a good person & a great friend & im really glad we met. you always try your best for all of us especially ur team.

im sorry you had to see all these awful things & its ok that somethines you find it hard to remember the good things. it doesnt make you bad or unforgivable!!

you deserve to be happy. thank you for always being so kind to me.

~ aya

[... there. She sits back and puts down the pen.

[Maybe this needs a second draft?

[She draws two cute birds with a heart over their heads and labels them shrike & grifin instead.]

[ holy shit aya who gave you license to be this cute

there's some twine, if you want to roll it up and put a bow on it. ]

[Yes to twine and a bow.

[After she's sealed the letter, she also takes one of the dolls she was planning to repair?? maybe?? from her pocket and sets it on the table with the letter on its lap.]

[ you tie it up really nicely and place it with one of the dolls; it's really very cute. it really brightens the place up, just having that one personal touch here, since the rest of the room is very austere—military corners for all the beds, and five out of the six beds laid out with white ceremonial garments and a single lotus flower. ]

[That's something she only really notices after she gets back to her feet...

[This reminds her a lot of putting flowers on school desks, actually.]

[ each flower is a single blossom, reddish pink in a way that looks uncomfortably like blood at the ends of each petal. the clothes are pristine, perfectly pressed.

the last bed is empty. ]

[... It sort of feels like she should be bowing her head again - so she does, pressing her palms together and closing her eyes.

[She's not going to take the doll back, though. Maybe it'll be comforting.]

[ it's a thoughtful gesture—something about it seems right, for this room. perhaps it's unsurprising; the military probably sees its share of death, and this seems to be a barracks for a unit of five soldiers and an officer. the empty bed seems to belong to the officer, since it's set apart from the others. ]

[Two letters—

The first:

Shrike,

You're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. Don't forget that the beauty of the world other people bring to you is the same sort of beauty you bring to others. The world is better for having you in it.

Don't give up; keep searching for your light.

The second:

L—

I'm not very good with words, so I'll keep this short.

I think a lot about where I want to go when we graduate. Maybe I'd stay here and try to find my family. Or maybe I'd carve out a space of my own in Liar Hell. Or maybe I'd look for a different world entirely that has a better place for me in it.

But the more I think about it, the more it doesn't matter. The only place I want to spend my days is by your side.

I'll be back soon. Wait for me.

—S

The first he folds up and leaves next to Wednesday's.

The second one he folds up tiny and puts in his pocket.]

Edited 2020-02-22 07:34 (UTC)

[ really, the place feels a little warmer already for your addition, since the rest of the room is very austere—military corners for all the beds, and five out of the six beds laid out with white ceremonial garments and a single lotus flower. ]

[Alright. That out of the way, he starts poking around the room like the unsupervised child he is. He doesn't recognize the flower or their significance.

Did Shrike live here? Hmm.]

[ It's clearly a military barracks; it seems to be part of a large encampment, by just looking out the window. There are precious few personal effects, here, but it seems likely that she did live here, at one point.

The sun is dipping below the horizon outside. ]

[hmmmmm

What else is visible out the window? He's going to take a peek outside]

[ there's some trees! it's a little odd, because this sort of camp should be in an open area, but for some reason it seems to have been placed in a relatively dense, dark forest.

night's really coming fast, huh. ]

[wow trees AND darkness. Dislike. Outside is bad.

Turning away from the window, he's going to open the door just a little so he can peek into the room beyond. What's happening out there?]

[ the room beyond is actually... not a room, but the outdoors. it looks like it's a camp made more of freestanding smaller buildings, rather than one big building—probably easier for them to build and expand on, given the technology level you're seeing here.

night's falling really fast, now, too.

you two can carry on or stay. ]

[On the one hand, he wants to get out of here because he hates literally everything about being in a dark forest.

On the other hand, he kinda feels like he should check this area out more and see what's in the camp, because if it's here then it must be important.

On the other other hand, the line seems to be leading to another building in this same camp, so following it is kind of a compromise, even though it still involves going outside, which he hates so much.

I guess he's going to stand here waffling at the door until Wednesday weighs in, because currently he's leaning toward "stay inside until morning"]

Edited 2020-02-24 23:37 (UTC)

Shen-san...?

[She comes to stand by his side, cautiously touching his sleeve.]

Are you all right?

Re: THE BARRACKS

Re: THE BARRACKS

Re: THE BARRACKS

Re: THE BARRACKS

Re: THE BARRACKS

Re: THE BARRACKS

Re: THE BARRACKS

Re: THE BARRACKS

Re: THE BARRACKS

Re: THE BARRACKS

Re: THE BARRACKS

Re: THE BARRACKS

Re: THE BARRACKS

Re: THE BARRACKS

Re: THE BARRACKS

Re: THE BARRACKS

Re: THE BARRACKS

Re: THE BARRACKS

Re: THE BARRACKS

Re: THE BARRACKS

Re: THE BARRACKS

Re: THE BARRACKS

Re: THE BARRACKS

Re: THE BARRACKS

Re: THE BARRACKS