experiencepoints | (no subject)

[ BLUEBIRD IS DISTRACTED WITH LAUNDRY ]

[ (don't worry she's wearing clothes) ]

[approaches

as quietly as she can manage from behind

sneak sneak sneak, until she's pretty close]

Cecilia's not providing that sort of thing for you? Huh.

Oh! Nightingale!

[ spins to face her, pleasantly surprised – and promptly gives her a very thorough look over ]

Hey. How's it going in here? Gotten bored yet?

[she looks. rough. she hasn't been sleeping, she seems tense and ready to jump at a slight startle, her eyes are still a bit red and puffy, she's favoring one leg even if they're both fine now, etc.]

...

[ her smile quickly fades into concern (and maybe ... something else, as well? it's hard to say for sure; bluebird's good at that whole POKER FACE thing) ]

Nightingale ...

[she's still trying to smile, but it's strained.]

Yeah?

... You don't need to force yourself.

[ opens her arms out, offering a hug? :( ]

...

[she hesitates, but then hugs her tight.]

If I wasn't forcing myself, I'd just be drunk alone in my room again right now. I kind of do need to.

I was referring to your smile.

[ yeah, this is a pretty damn tight hug ]

[leans into...]

So was I.

You can push yourself without forcing cheer.

[ YOUR HAIR. IT IS BEING STROKED. ]

Do you want to talk about it?

... Not really, honestly. But I need to. I came here to warn you, after all.

... Hm.

How long do you have with us?

... I don't know.

[i should be getting back soon but maybe i can stay here where i won't fuck up anything else.]

[ welp ]

[ SCOOPING YOU UP BRIDAL STYLE ]

[.... oh ./////. oh my. i'm okay with this.]

Well, you know that you're welcome to stay with us for as long as you'd like! It's never a bad thing to give yourself some time to decompress.

[ setting you down gently underneath a tree, and flopping to sit cross-legged against the stump. ]

...

[she shakes her head, tensing up again]

I'm sorry. I have... a lot to confess. And once that's done, I really... you probably won't want me to stay.

[ gently: ]

It's bad form to make assumptions.

...

[deep breath]

We're responsible for Nyssa torturing a team to death. And we played on Amalthea in a bad game.

The castle's gone, now. The realm belongs to Nyssa, somehow. The Queen's like her puppet now. It's bad.

So... Don't come back. Stay here. Please.

[ WELL THAT'S ]

[ THAT'S. ]

[ THAT'S SURE SOMETHING, ISN'T IT ]

Nyssa—what?

She took over. Everything is hers now. The castle's been replaced by her realm.

Then we have to fix it!

[ That's her response, immediate and firm, cutting through the horror bubbling in the pit of her stomach. ]

How?

[ with a bite of restrained sarcasm: ]

By sitting safely in Cecilia's realm, doing absolutely nothing. [ ROLLS HER EYES … and then takes a deep breath, visibly dialling herself back a few notches. ] I don't know how to fix it yet, but we can find out through research and experimentation.