It's time for an after party!

[perpend]

[About an hour after the trial and subsequent execution, Cabanela makes a decision.

They need to do something, keep the morale up, however little it may be.

Under each occupied room door people will find the following note written:


In difficult times such as this, it is important to carry on.
Don't give into despair; we must preservere.
If you don't want to be alone this evening, meet me in the dining hall.
-Cabanela

[Upon entering the dinning hall, you will find Cabanela sitting at one of the tables; he has lit two candles that are placed at the center of the table, but there's nothing else to note.

You'll have to supply your own food, since he doesn't have much of an appetite.]

Comments

[withabigsmile]

[Blue's not particularly shy about approaching Logan once she has some degree of a handle on herself; she was going to sit down and pick at her food, but she heads over to him and offers him a plate of rice and vegetables instead; it isn't fancy, but it's simple, tasty, and it's so easy to throw rice in a pot and vegetables in a pan.]

Would you like some?

[decrees]

[Logan glances up at the offer and for a moment he's tempted to say no, but he hasn't eaten at all today and while food is the last thing on his mind, he knows better than to skip meals. That doesn't mean he's good about it though, but that's not the point.

He takes the offered plate with a stiff nod, then gestures for Blue to take the seat across from him.]

Thank you. I appreciate it.

[He can't cook at all, so he really does.]

[withabigsmile]

No problem! Anytime.

[She considers just leaving him alone at that; there will be other times to talk to him and maybe now it's better to just give him his space, but she doesn't. She sits next to him- not so close that she's right up in his face, but close enough that they can comfortably talk.]

Are you gonna be okay?

[...Concern. Concern is easy.]

[decrees]

[That's perfectly fine, he won't protest the proximity any.]

...I'm going to have to be. I have to return to Albion. I may not be able to save anyone, but I cannot give up.

[Admitting defeat will have made all of this pointless. He made his decision and there's no going back.]

[withabigsmile]

Of course not! And that's good.

[Really, it is. It's important to him. It's good that he won't just give up.]

But I was asking about you.

[Not the king and his country, but the guy that just lost a friend.]

[decrees]

[That's... Well. He wasn't expecting that. Logan and the King of Albion are the same person as far as he's concerned and it's never occurred to him that separating the job from the person might be a good thing.]

I... I don't believe I'll be alright, no.

[That's hesitant as hell and Logan still looks sort of confused by it, but at least there's an answer? It's not a good one, sorry.]

[withabigsmile]

...That's okay, too. You don't have to be, at least not right now. You know that, right?

[At first, the king reminded her of Green, but...]

[decrees]

[He's pretty emotionally stupid, sorry Blue.]

I... Yes. Yes, I'm aware.

[The last time he was Not Okay like this, he ended up holing himself up in the War Room for a solid month, so uh. He can't really afford to do that here.]

I'm not sure how to handle this.

[That admission is quiet and a bit hesitant. He isn't good at dealing with loss. He isn't good at dealing with guilt either.]

[withabigsmile]

I'm not really sure either! I wish I had a better answer for you.

[Truth be told, there isn't usually a one size fits all solution.]

I'll try to act big and brave when there isn't an easy solution. It's easier to smile than to act scared, you know? But I think you're more like my little bro. He'll take on more and more responsibility and doesn't think about himself at all.

[Maybe that's a bit of an assumption to make, but... It's not much of a stretch. He brings up his duty to his country constantly.]

Please take care of yourself. ...And if you'd like to talk about it, I don't mind listening.

[You're a cool king dude okay please don't do anything based in emotional stupidity]

[decrees]

[Logan tips his head a bit in response as he considers Blue's words.]

I intend to. I must return to Albion, but... I will not hurt any of you. If there truly is nothing I can do for Albion, then the very least I can do is attempt to ensure the survival of everyone here.

[He's not going to succeed, he knows that. But boy can he try. Having a solid goal like that helps him, even if it is one that's duty-based.]

...What is your brother like?

[withabigsmile]

He's a really good kid! He's bright and stubborn. Give him a book and some time and he can figure just about anything out, and if he can't, he'll just keep trying until he can.

But he's a little too caring and a little too trusting. [Blue he's not trusting you're just a paranoid-] He's always working hard and trying his best, but he doesn't know how to cut back and take it easy at all. Good thing he has his big sis to look after him!

[...She isn't going to bring up that he's an absolute little terror that lives in the woods, steals everything, and doesn't call for months oh my god why are boys so dumb. Nope. That's plenty.]

What about your sister?

[decrees]

[Ah, that sounds nice. Blue definitely seems very fond of her brother. Logan relaxes a bit, though he's not slouching in the chair just yet, so that's... a thing.]

He sounds interesting. What is his name?

[...Oh, his sister, uh...]

She's... well, she's naive and often very clueless about the world around her, but she is dedicated to helping people when she can. She'll get herself involved in situations she really shouldn't, but she tries her best to do the right thing. We had a fight before I arrived here and we didn't part on good terms, but she's very important to me.

[withabigsmile]

What a coincidence. I'm pretty sure he's gonna be a little mad at me too, but it was for his own good.

[Also that was like, three years ago, according to her bra size. But anyway-]

His name's Silver!

[...Yes. Silver and Blue. This sure is happening.]

[decrees]

[Please don't talk about your bra size.]

Ah, I see. I felt it was for my sister's own good as well, but I was mistaken.

[Horribly mistaken. Forcing his sister to choose between her friend or innocent people... yeah. He fucked up.]

That... is an interesting name.

[Why are you named after colors??]

[withabigsmile]

[You know, at least he's owning that he messed up.

She's not owning that, because she didn't mess up. She totally did exactly what she should have.]

It's a cute name, isn't it? It matches his eyes perfectly!

[...Here in Pokéworld we once in a while have a generation where we just name their kids after their eyes because why not.]

[decrees]

[...Would it be more weird if his name didn't match his eyes?? Hell if Logan knows, this is surreal.]

It's certainly unique. Your parents had interesting taste.

[man he is so glad he has a normal name]