[ as requested, he leaves the church alongside jiaoqiu. the frantic ticking of his transformation's gears has slowed to a lethargic, almost sickly pace.
[ off they go, jiaoqiu walking slowly and carefully. he's a little transparent - literally, he's slightly see through. but that's fine, he doesn't care much about it. ]
This was a difficult decision for you. [ a little prompting, to see if chrono wants to talk. ]
I didn't know any of them well enough. The victims, the-- culprits. [ he can't say "killers", even though it had become obviously the truth. ] What right do I have to make a choice like that?
[ he faint ticking sound is speeding up again. he looks like he wants to say a lot of things, but they're all half-formed and get stuck in his throat. ]
he thinks for a long moment. a lot of people come to mind, but- a memory of silver eyes widening as a spell breaks over them, a hand in his. teasing banter. cardfights on the tables at work, textbooks abandoned. a text at night, its cold up here. makin you come with me next time.
his heart hurts. ]
Well, there's... Kazuma. He's from Earth, not Cray, but we spend nearly every day together. It's weird, not seeing him.
We go to the same school, yeah. I haven't known him that long, compared to some of my other friends, but he's my teammate, and- [ he hesitates, unsure how to word it. ] ...we've been through a lot together.
[ a laugh. was that ever an understatement. ]
We're not in the same class, but we meet up for lunch, and- after school, he'll sometimes come with me to work. Play some Vanguard with the others while waiting, and then since he's way smarter than me, he'll try and get me to study. It's working, actually. My grades were [ ah. past tense finally snuck in.] getting better.
He was on a solo hiking trip last time we spoke. I guess... he'll come back to some news, huh?
[ tries to say this lightly, and almost succeeds. ]
Ah, Vanguard's the card game we play. The deck I have with me, it's for that. It's part of the connection to Cray, but for most people, it's just a card game.
[ a huff, at the first bit, that's a little sad. yeah... he sure will. ]
A card game that gives you the ability to travel between worlds? Fascinating. [ this is 100% genuine he's like O: ] How did you figure out it could do that?
[ i guess this is one way to distract him from how horrible trial was ]
[ we're moving on from that, though chrono dwells on it for a moment longer with a sad, tight-eyed smile. ]
Ah, it's not quite like that. Vanguard kind of is just a card game, but there's like... for some of us, a link between us and one of the people from Cray, who are represented through our cards. And... that's kind of my fault? [ pauses. ] My memory's not great since I was really little when it happened, and I'm not good at explaining it anyway, sorry.
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w1 saturday
he looks gaunt, and deeply frustrated. ]
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This was a difficult decision for you. [ a little prompting, to see if chrono wants to talk. ]
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after a moment, he nods. ]
I didn't know any of them well enough. The victims, the-- culprits. [ he can't say "killers", even though it had become obviously the truth. ] What right do I have to make a choice like that?
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Would it have been an easier choice if you did know them well enough?
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...yeah. I think so. That's bad, right?
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I don't think it's good or bad. I think it's an impossible choice to begin with. The trolley problem, in a sense.
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[ what a weird universal constant. ]
Ramiel got mad when I insulted their boss. I apologised, but... it still feels like we're bein' messed with.
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[ jiaoqiu like just because i'm a furry, ]
In any case, I don't blame you for being angry. I agree with you - this does feel like being tested. Or, perhaps less charitably, sabotaged.
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[ and there's some furries on those too, for sure.
sabotaged. that clicks into place, and chrono suddenly understands why this felt so familiarly awful. ]
Yeah. That's the feeling, for sure. I hadn't realised.
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[ his tail sways back and forth behind him. ]
It's not a pleasant feeling. It isn't one that I expected out of paradise.
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[ he faint ticking sound is speeding up again. he looks like he wants to say a lot of things, but they're all half-formed and get stuck in his throat. ]
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Was it? [ ... ] It still can be your goal. You can make it to the end of this.
Why is it your goal? [ no judgement or anything, he's genuinely curious - wants to encourage it, even. ]
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with a shaky exhale, he crosses his arms. ]
I want to go to Cray. The connection between- the way my world and theirs interacted, it's gone. I... miss my friends.
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Will you tell me about them? Your friends.
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[ he looks a little sad, but grateful. ]
It's kind of all mixed together.
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he thinks for a long moment. a lot of people come to mind, but- a memory of silver eyes widening as a spell breaks over them, a hand in his. teasing banter. cardfights on the tables at work, textbooks abandoned. a text at night, its cold up here. makin you come with me next time.
his heart hurts. ]
Well, there's... Kazuma. He's from Earth, not Cray, but we spend nearly every day together. It's weird, not seeing him.
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I can only imagine. Do you go to school - is that where you know him from? A childhood friend, maybe.
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[ a laugh. was that ever an understatement. ]
We're not in the same class, but we meet up for lunch, and- after school, he'll sometimes come with me to work. Play some Vanguard with the others while waiting, and then since he's way smarter than me, he'll try and get me to study. It's working, actually. My grades were [ ah. past tense finally snuck in.] getting better.
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[ a hum. ]
You played Vanguard together? What is that?
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[ tries to say this lightly, and almost succeeds. ]
Ah, Vanguard's the card game we play. The deck I have with me, it's for that. It's part of the connection to Cray, but for most people, it's just a card game.
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A card game that gives you the ability to travel between worlds? Fascinating. [ this is 100% genuine he's like O: ] How did you figure out it could do that?
[ i guess this is one way to distract him from how horrible trial was ]
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Ah, it's not quite like that. Vanguard kind of is just a card game, but there's like... for some of us, a link between us and one of the people from Cray, who are represented through our cards. And... that's kind of my fault? [ pauses. ] My memory's not great since I was really little when it happened, and I'm not good at explaining it anyway, sorry.
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I've never heard of anything like that.