It keeps happening

[forcegalactic]

[After that horror show of an execution, Mordecai is still restless from the investigation and trial. He has too much pent-up energy, and plenty of others are sure to be upset, too. Ashley was loved by nearly all of them, the trial was mentally draining, and that execution was crueler than it should have been.

Two hours after everyone has returned to their rooms, they'll find a note slipped under their doors.]

We can't go on with empty stomachs. There's food in the kitchen, and the dining room is always open if you need someone to talk to.

Please keep anything outside of eating and civilized conversation away from the dining hall. That room is meant to be a peaceful place for those of us that need it.

-Mordecai Benmont Jiminy

[Today, there's cream of tomato soup warming up on the stove with a set of bowls besides it. It's a more mindless dish to prepare than mashed potatoes, as much as Mordecai wants to vent his frustrations on the potatoes.

He decides to follow Cabanela's tradition and lights one more candle, and after some consideration, lights a sixth. Let those who cared about either girl pay their respects.]

Comments

[charcoalfeather]

[Sometime after the party has died down a little, Rakka drifted back to the rooms, stopping as she comes across the door of her... friend? It was Susan's room. She liked Susan, so why didn't she see her?]

....Susan. Susan? [She repeats, giving the door a soft knocking, before letting her ear brush against the wood. She would listen for... anything, really.]

[ninehundredlives]

[Oh. That's Rakka.

Dammit.]

What?

[charcoalfeather]

[Oh, thank goodness.]

Umm... [She searches for the obvious words.] I-I just wanted to know if you're alright.

[ninehundredlives]

I'm fine.

[Hear how fine she is?]

[charcoalfeather]

[That is a lot of fine going on right now.]

...Susan, can I come in?

[ninehundredlives]

Why?

[charcoalfeather]

I... [That's a good question.]

B-because, I want to see you. And maybe talk to you...

[Checking up on her friends like they would disappear if she didn't was becoming not as funny as it might have been.]

[ninehundredlives]

...alright.

[After a few moments, Susan opens the door. Her face has been scrubbed, probably with the sleeve tugged over her right hand, but it's obvious she's been crying. She darts a glance around the hallway, then steps aside.]

Come in.

[charcoalfeather]

[To be honest, Rakka wasn't expecting Susan to open up. When she finally does, Rakka is taken aback, however briefly. It's immediately noticeable that she was crying, and it took one to know one.]

Umm... okay.

[She quickly steps inside. Better to get in quickly, lest they want anyone else to see them like this.]

[ninehundredlives]

If we're going to talk, I...don't want to do it out in the hall.

[Cabanela's room is right next door, and she doesn't want to see him right now. Susan's room is sparse; she's clearly not made any effort to decorate, save for the cat clock ticking away on one wall.]

[charcoalfeather]

Umm... I understand.

[It's not the most decorated room, but Rakka's was just cluttered with things she received from the machine. A costume there, a tumbleweed over there.... she made it feel nice. This room just... it fit Susan.]

[ninehundredlives]

[What, empty and bleak with occasional cats?]

So... [Susan crossed her arms uneasily.] ...what did you want to talk about?

[charcoalfeather]

[Unfortunately. Rakka thought it would have looked nicer with a few more things. But talking about decorating at the moment probably wasn't just.]

[Her eyes drift back to Susan, her expression mirroring that sense of unease. It's true that she wanted to say something to her, but that thing was becoming difficult to put to words.]

....Well, I wanted to come and check up on you, since you didn't show up at the dining room after the trial.

[ninehundredlives]

I didn't want to be around that many people. Especially after that trial...

[It was fine before - Susan hadn't been very well-acquainted with any of the other dead. It's still awful, of course, but she's not the kind of person to break down over the deaths of strangers.]

But I'm alright.

[charcoalfeather]

[...Rakka just looks up at her, eyes wide and standing out even more because of the familiar redness around them. Her gaze is largely uncertain about that statement.]

[ninehundredlives]

...really.

[She has no idea what she can possibly say to back it up. It's not even true.]

I've never liked to be around people when I'm sad. Which is pretty often, I suppose...

[charcoalfeather]

You were crying. [Which is obvious, but she was just pointing that out anyways.]

...I think, I remember being like that, too. Sometime, a long time ago.

[ninehundredlives]

[...well, yes, thank you for pointing that out.]

Have you been getting more memories back?

[charcoalfeather]

[She's just very sincerely worried for everyone right now, including Susan. At least moving the conversation along seemed wise enough.]

I have... I think.

[She pauses briefly.]

...Can I tell you something?

[ninehundredlives]

Of course.

[This had better not make her cry again.]

[charcoalfeather]

[...It may not make Susan cry.

Rakka breathed in, and out.]

...I think I used to be a Human before I became a Haibane. But, I can't remember anything like that.

[ninehundredlives]

[Okay so she's gonna assume Haibane is whatever Rakka is now. This seems to be upsetting her, so Susan moves to sit on the bed, gesturing to indicate Rakka can join her. She's glad she made it earlier now; there's nowhere else to sit in here.]

Why do you think so?

[charcoalfeather]

[She would be correct in that assumption, at least. Everything else was seemingly up in the air, the way Rakka acted confused by it.

And she would have likely just stood there, had Susan not made the offer to sit. So, Rakka slowly joins her on the bed, sitting to her side. There's not much she can say; it's been a heck of a week for her.]

... It all started with my first memory. I remember saying that I was nothing special, and how I wanted to go home. But I couldn't.

[ninehundredlives]

Why not?

[charcoalfeather]

...We're not allowed to. And, apparently if I did find them somehow... they wouldn't recognize me.

[Her gaze drops. She can't really look at Susan, and she doesn't especially feel like looking at herself. She remembers the words, amidst her confusion and the fever setting in. Reki had tried to console her, in her own way. But most of all she knew the truth.

And if she got out of here... would it even be any different? She had been wondering that for weeks. And, right now, she was trying really hard to not break down in someone else's room.]