Nightingale's Heart

[soulping]

[Everything is dark. So dark, it's hard to imagine any light making it here... It seems gentle, though, almost protective. But it can't protect you from everything- and there's a rumbling sound in the distance...]

((chan is #nightingay!))

Comments

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[justichthys]

[ She notes the door, and its distance, with a furrow of her eyebrows. Of course a place like this wouldn't be easier to escape from … and what are the chances that there aren't booby-traps along the way? ]

… Okay, Aoko. You're okay. Let's … let's see if there's anything we can do here, first.

[ Little as she likes poking around in people's souls, Aoko can't easily walk away from suffering. With a deep breath to steel herself, she hurries over to the glass tube. ]

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[soulping]

[If you look inside the glass tube, the corpse inside is obviously Sparrow's...]

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[justichthys]

[ She was braced for something terrible, so she manages not to reel back. Manages not to gag, or immediately burst into tears. ]

Th … This is that game …

[ The one she died in, too. ]

[ Purses her lips, bites the inside of her cheek, and tries to see if she can pull Sparrow … 's corpse … out of the damn tube. Doesn't matter that she's dead, doesn't matter that she's covered in blood, she should not have to stay in there. ]

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[soulping]

[If you touch the glass, it shatters, slicing you and each cut making you watch her die over and over and over and over]

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[justichthys]

[ It. It happens. It definitely happens, and Aoko is crying now, tears flooding down her cheeks, bile rising in the back of her throat. ]

[ She doesn't let go of Sparrow. Won't let go, won't stop, until the other girl is safely out of the tube. ]

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[soulping]

[You have her body now... but it won't move. It won't wake up, it won't move, it's cold and it's dead and this isn't right what's going on it's all your fault]

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[justichthys]

[ My fault. My fault my loved ones die; I'm not strong enough. Not good enough. I can't help them, I can't save them. I … I …! … I have to keep trying, I can't just give up, I don't want to give up! ]

C-Come on!

[ MAYBE IF SHE KICKS AT THE TUBE to break it even more?! Maybe. Maybe if she endures watching her die over and over and over and over until there isn't any tube left, she'll be able to at least give her somewhere decent to rest?! ]

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[soulping]

[Each kick cuts, letting you watch the death more and more... but if you keep it up, there will be nothing left but crushed glass powder.]

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[justichthys]

[ … okay. she'll. just take a moment to rest, breathing in shuddering gasps and sobbing grossly ]

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[soulping]

[sorry aoko :(]

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[justichthys]

[ it's her fault. her fault for not putting enough strength behind her leap, her fault for not being able to help sparrow, her fault if what she's done hurts Nightingale. ]

D ... Damnit ...

[ can she haul Sparrow out of the wreckage and powdered glass? ]

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[soulping]

[She can. You now have +1 corpse.]

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[justichthys]

[ hooray ]

G-Got you …

[ Step one! Haul the corpse away from what little remains of the tube, half dragging and half carrying her. Step two! Lay the corpse out as respectfully as she can while a shaking mess of tears. S … Step three … actually. Checking on those cuts all over her legs. ]

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[soulping]

[aoko dear you do have an inventory in here.

what you don't have is any new items but a cell phone. just what you came in with. unless you came in with bandages, your legs are kind of in a really bad way- cut to hell and back. They work still, but you are losing blood...]

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[justichthys]

[ ????????? look she's still getting used to rpg logic, okay. ]

…

[ She stares at her legs through the tears, blinking hard. ] Eheh … P-Puma-nii's going to have kittens. [ Mutters to herself as she shakily starts tearing into her clothes, ripping at the fabric until she has a decent number of makeshift bandages. FIRST AID TIME … ]

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[soulping]

[But as you bandage your legs, suddenly, Sparrow's corpse is being pulled away...]

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[justichthys]

Wh—

[ GRABBING THE CORPSE WHAT THE FUCK ]

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[soulping]

[Even with you, it keeps being pulled... and the one doing the pulling seems to be... Nightingale herself, tugging on the corpse's ankles.]

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[justichthys]

N-Nightingale-san?!

[ where did you even come from ]

Wait a minute, I'm—I'm going to try to help her!

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[experiencepoints]

You can't help her.

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[justichthys]

I-I can! [ keeping a hold of this corpse, nooo, don't take away this opportunity to maybe make things slightly less terrible. ] And ... and so can you!

We just ... [ she steals a glance at the clock. ] ... need to fix that, right?

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[experiencepoints]

You can't fix it. Even if you try, things only become worse.

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[justichthys]

That's not true. [ Doesn't matter that her breath is still hiccup-y from tears, she says that as firmly as she possibly can. ]

You can't erase what's happened, but ... there's always a chance to do some good after. It's important to try, no matter how scary it is.

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[experiencepoints]

It's true. If you try, all that happens is...

[the glass tiara on the pedestal is shaking...]

Re: NYSSA'S REALM

[justichthys]

[ Flicks a glance at it, nervous. ]

Nightingale-san ... You've been through a lot, I know. You've seen things that nobody should ever, ever have to see. I know how hard it can be to believe in yourself after things go wrong.

[ Scrubs her sleeve across her eyes. ]

It doesn't make you a bad person. It doesn't make you a failure. No matter how many times you fall, somebody will always be there to take your hand, and they know that you'll be there for them, too. You just need to learn to trust them, and yourself.