imeeji_frontstage | (no subject)

I even started wishing some of you were there... just so I wouldn't be by myself, and wouldn't have to figure out what to do on my own. That's awful, isn't it? Wishing the rest of us were in danger, because I wanted the company?

No... I wish we had been able to help you, too.

...

You said you volunteered to lose so other people wouldn't have to, right? Have other people already told you about Lilith?

I've heard the name.

After I... said what I said, a few people told me that suicides get sent to Lilith. That was the first time I'd heard of her.

Gods. I'm so sorry, Wednesday. That was my failure. We should have talked about this a lot sooner.

Did people tell you who Lilith is? Where should I start explaining?

I heard some things...

[What were they? Wednesday frowns. She can remember the conversations, but the details - it's like none of it really sank in. She couldn't have really been listening. Too busy trying to fight back her panic.]

A couple of people mentioned it to me. They said it - she - was worse than dying. That didn't make a lot of sense to me at the time, but... they told me that she dealt with suicides, and that just saying - what I said could count, and...

I'm not mad with Prim. I - I think she was saving me from a lot more than I knew. I think that must be why she did it.

Lilith is a demon. As you know, if people die in the games, they get revived afterward. But anyone who suicides gets taken to Lilith instead.

We don't know very much about her so far... What we do know is that she will give you a choice to either stay in whatever corner of Hell she lives in to be tortured for eternity, or come back here after paying a price. It seems like the price is different for everyone, but it usually involves some kind of permanent, unhealable modification to your body.

A what?

[None of that sounded... at all good. Or comforting.

[Wednesday can't imagine eternity at all, never mind an eternity of pain. She can't imagine being threatened by a demon. She can't even imagine what it is to be hurt intentionally, not properly, not yet. She focuses on the only part of it that makes sense: the price.]

Like... she takes away one of your legs, or something?

[Okay, so she can't imagine losing her leg either.]

Yeah, something like that. One guy has a cut across his throat that never heals. Another person lost his eye, but also grew horns and a tail. That kind of thing.

That's what happened to C's neck?

[Oh.

[Oh. Wednesday's hands fly to her throat, protectively.]

I, um... that was a stupid thing for me to say, wasn't it?

Oh! You saw already! Yeah, C was the first person to get sent to Lilith, as far as I know. He was gone for days. Everyone was super stressed about it.

And nah, that wasn't stupid at all, don't worry. It is a very strange wound, and I doubt you had any reason to suspect a demon did it!

C was...

[It makes her frown. It makes her think. It... doesn't seem to fit, with what she's seen of C, but - isn't he exactly the kind of person where it would be impossible to tell, from the way he acts around strangers, who he is in the dark?]

I suppose it seemed impolite to wonder... does that make sense? Is he all right now? He seems pretty carefree most of the time, but - that doesn't have to mean anything, does it? People can be any way they like, when they're in public.

Honestly, I have no idea how he's doing. I don't really know him very well.

I can't say I really know him at all. He's in B's unit, isn't he? I hope they can look out for one another.

AlcheME, yeah. It seems like they all look out for each other pretty well. I'm sure they've given him lots of support.

Well, that's good to know.

[Wednesday sighs. She pushes her hair back from her face--

[She really needs out of these clothes.]

Thank you for telling me, Cobalt. And I'm sorry to have worried you.

You don't have anything to apologize for. I'm really glad you're safe, though.

A lot of stuff happened today and I... realize there are a lot of things we probably should have talked about sooner.

After you've had a shower and a little bit of rest, do you think you'd be up to talking a bit more tonight? Or do you need a break?

I should be. And I... well, it sounded like nobody really anticipated something like this happening again so soon, so you couldn't have known you'd need to tell me these things. Do they normally take people into games by themselves, though? I don't remember that being in the guide.

No... I can't remember that ever happening before, where only one person was pulled into a bad game. I figured there would always be at least one of us there to support you.

In retrospect, I don't know why I believed that. I got complacent, and you could have been really hurt. That's on me. I'm sorry.

Oh, please don't blame yourself! I'm sure it just seemed logical it would be that way, if it always was before. You weren't to know we'd get two games like that in a row, Cobalt. Everyone seemed surprised it was so sudden...

I suppose this place just likes to blindside us - even when we've been here for a while.

That's... yeah. This is always changing. I shouldn't assume that things will always be a certain way.

Ah -- sorry, I didn't mean to keep you from your shower.

Oh, please don't worry. I had an awful lot of questions, too. At least now I don't have to worry about rushing back to ask them. Thank you.

Sure. We should still talk about some more stuff once you're ready, though.

I really do need to go and get changed, don't I?

[She... really, really wants to get changed.]

You're right, though. We should speak later. There's probably an awful lot I'm forgetting to ask.

Go for it! I'll still be here when you're done.

Thank you. I'll be back in a bit?

[This outfit's probably had it, actually. Writing it off sounds better than the time it'd take to get it cleaner.

[Either way, it'll be a relief to be shot of it.]

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we_meet_again - 2019-02-24 22:50 (UTC) - Expand