[God, his heart could break. Something catches in his throat. Still ragged from the smoke, the frigid, cutting water.]
Better than I could be. Better than the rest of the gang. [Shouldn't have been. He smiles and coughs, covering his mouth sluggishly.] You were out and about as well, huh JQ?
[ something in his expression twitches - he hates hearing pain from people he cares about. who doesn't, right, but... ]
In a manner of speaking. [ for as much as you can call the tower out. wryly: ] A better experience than my memories that you wandered through? Or worse?
His mind instantly flicks to Taair. But then he can't be sure of that either. Laurence had something to do with a tower too. It's fucking architecture, it could be any goddamn place at all.]
By what measure? [Richie snorts.] It was a shorter length of time, sure. And I took far less hits for one, ocean water is a much kinder killer than a goddamned wolfman.
...But I was worse, there. I was paid to do worse.
[He sits in it a moment, mouth a thin line.]
And you? Ranking your trips to the great beyond, how's this one compare to the last?
It is. [ Oh, he's a smart one, isn't he? You're right, I do like him. ] Or something pretending to be her.
[ there's a little brief dreamscape - curled up on the bed with him is a familiar white haired foxian, grinning at richie from where she's draped over jiaoqiu. ]
[Ah. Hello again. Richie's barred from emoting as much as he usually does, considering the great gash across his face, but he does pull a hefty double blink at the sudden ghost from CYOAs past.]
How ya doing, Miss Lady? [Hard to look at the gal, when the last thing he remembers her for is the gutting scream she gave on finding Yukong dead. Nor pairing her with the nasty shit she's whispering to JQ now. Give the guy a break, would you?
As if telling a spectre to knock it off is all it takes.]
[The growl pings some innate, animal fear in him. Like the shock of seeing the family dog raise hackles for the first time. Well then.]
Sorry, sweetie, I don't think you're my type.
[Either this mirage-bitch in a friend's clothing will be gone in forty-odd hours, or he'll slip into his own troubled delusions and forget about her. She's not the real deal, and she's not real period.
Richie closes his eyes and looks to the ceiling, blinking hard.]
They dug deep on this one, huh? Sending you back with a tagalong. As if you aren't still strung up in whatever hold it all has on you. Bruises or bitter words. Your favourite regrets...Fun shit, all around.
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Better than I could be. Better than the rest of the gang. [Shouldn't have been. He smiles and coughs, covering his mouth sluggishly.] You were out and about as well, huh JQ?
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In a manner of speaking. [ for as much as you can call the tower out. wryly: ] A better experience than my memories that you wandered through? Or worse?
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His mind instantly flicks to Taair. But then he can't be sure of that either. Laurence had something to do with a tower too. It's fucking architecture, it could be any goddamn place at all.]
By what measure? [Richie snorts.] It was a shorter length of time, sure. And I took far less hits for one, ocean water is a much kinder killer than a goddamned wolfman.
...But I was worse, there. I was paid to do worse.
[He sits in it a moment, mouth a thin line.]
And you? Ranking your trips to the great beyond, how's this one compare to the last?
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Sometimes the emotional pain is worse than the physical. [ Aww, Jiaoqiu. We caused both, you know. All in the name of doing it better.
he. closes his eye entirely. ]
About the same, though... I understand what you mean, I think. What I had to do - what I was talked into.
[ You've always followed my orders. ]
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[The voice. It's nagging at him. Richie cants his head, hating the implications of everything Jiaoqiu is saying. Everything he's listening to.]
Is that Feixiao?
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It is. [ Oh, he's a smart one, isn't he? You're right, I do like him. ] Or something pretending to be her.
[ there's a little brief dreamscape - curled up on the bed with him is a familiar white haired foxian, grinning at richie from where she's draped over jiaoqiu. ]
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How ya doing, Miss Lady? [Hard to look at the gal, when the last thing he remembers her for is the gutting scream she gave on finding Yukong dead. Nor pairing her with the nasty shit she's whispering to JQ now. Give the guy a break, would you?
As if telling a spectre to knock it off is all it takes.]
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You know me, don't you? Well, how about we make a deal, since this one is pathetic - I could give you anything you wanted. A new arm, maybe?
to which jiaoqiu growls - legitimately, like an inhuman growl, and she pauses, glancing back at him. ]
... Let's not shop for a new deal, hm? Stay where you are.
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Sorry, sweetie, I don't think you're my type.
[Either this mirage-bitch in a friend's clothing will be gone in forty-odd hours, or he'll slip into his own troubled delusions and forget about her. She's not the real deal, and she's not real period.
Richie closes his eyes and looks to the ceiling, blinking hard.]
They dug deep on this one, huh? Sending you back with a tagalong. As if you aren't still strung up in whatever hold it all has on you. Bruises or bitter words. Your favourite regrets...Fun shit, all around.