011 → We'll see each other again

[wrigurun]

Characters: Wriggle Nightbug, Open
Setting: Floor 48, Floor 32
Format: Action tags, tags will follow original taggers style
Summary: One step back, two steps forward
Warnings: Possible mentions of character death

Floor 48

[Wriggle isn't normally one to hang around the graveyard but today it seems like she won't budge. She sits by a gravestone, curled up with her forehead resting on her knees. Tightly held in her hand is a green hat. Even though it looks like she doesn't want to be bothered it might do her some good]

Floor 32

[The next day Wriggle is a lot more active and is enthusiastically carrying on with her training. Maybe a little too enthusiastically. She's practicing punching and kicking against the tree trunks but she's clearly exhausted. Her knuckles are bleeding and the bandage around her leg is scuffed and fraying. That doesn't seem to stop her though, and she keeps attacking with whatever energy she has left.

Maybe it would be best to take a break...]

Comments

Floor 32

[hystericull]

[Did someone say "break"? This was one chump who was in dire need of one, as well. Gamzee had hardly moved from his bed for days, after being subjected to Richtofen's awful, invasive surgery, he had scars in places he'd rather not admit, as well as another Frankenstein one across his forehead, an echo of the one Jason had given him months ago.]

[He figured walking in here would get him the exercise he needed without having to deal with all of the people in the tower. The island was small, but relatively big enough that chances of running into someone in its forest were small.]

[Or... y'know, not.]

[Judging by the bloodied-up girl in front of him, his luck had run out, and he'd encountered another person. However, she did look a little worse than when he'd spoken to her last. Then again, so did he. Tentatively and gingerly, he approached, not very good at this whole "walking" thing since his insides felt like they were made of steel wool.]

Wh-what the... huff... hhh... what the fuck... are you doin'?

[wrigurun]

[It was a good distraction, trying her best to drive through the exhaustion. Even if she wasn't focusing her blows she could focus on them, to the extent that her antennae didn't even sense Gamzee's movements but rather it was his voice that caught her attention.

With her body so poised for aggression Wriggle's first instinct was to attack. She spun around, fully intending to roundhouse kick him in the side but her brain finally sparked to life just in time. Losing her balance she fell back against the tree trunk. Her breathing was shallow as she tried to pull herself to her feet again]

Training.

[Huff]

What are you doing?

[hystericull]

[He could appreciate the thought. It always felt good to pummel out your anger and distress into something that would only succeed in breaking your knuckles into little splinters.]

[If Wriggle would have landed that hit, it would have been disastrous. Gamzee's insides were as fragile as fucking china right now - kicking him anywhere in his abdomen would have probably caused him to double over in pain and promptly pass the fuck out.]

[As such, his face immediately drained of all color that wasn't already hidden by his facepaint, and he awkwardly stumbled back in an attempt to avoid her hit. Even that pathetic evasive maneuver was excruciating, and he ended up clutching his stomach as she answered.]

Recuperating.

[He raised an eyebrow.]

Ain't gonna get much combat training if all you be fuckin' doing is punchin' at some stationary trees, motherfucker.

[wrigurun]

S-sure I can...

[As much as she tries to get back onto her feet her legs are shaking too much for her to keep steady on them. All the energy she'd put into her aggression was finally spent and she barely had the strength to stand. In the end Wriggle resigns herself to staying on the ground and props herself up into a more comfortable position]

I can make my hits stronger...

[hystericull]

You can break your motherfucking hands.

[He laughed cruelly, an action he soon regretted because it made his insides start on fire.]

Then you all won't be able to be hitting motherfucking nothing.

[He moved closer, when he was sure she wasn't going to try blowing him up with her fucking feet again.]

Seem all like motherfuckin'-- urgh-- [He let out a breath and stopped moving for the time being. All this shifting was unbearable. He stood in place instead.]

Seem all like some motherfuckin' rage therapy if all I ever was to be seeing on it.

[wrigurun]

Well I'm all punched out now so you don't have to worry about that...

[Yeah, she wasn't moving from this spot for a while. Wriggle looks down at the skin on her knuckles and winces, she had been so absorbed that she didn't realise how bad it had gotten]

I told you it was training. I'm not doing this to feel better...

[hystericull]

[Gamzee wasn't worried, just making an observation. He couldn't judge, after all. He'd done the same thing on countless occasions. Wriggle was being obtusely vague, though. Making her uncomfortable would probably brighten his spirits a little.]

So, why are you doing it?

...If you motherfuckin' say on "to get stronger" again I be having no choice but to bust my own knucks on you, for real.

[wrigurun]

[He'd pretty much hit the nail on the head the first time. While it was more of a combination of rage and despair, Wriggle was just a bundle of emotion and she had to take it out on something. Still if he was offering to fight]

Oh yeah? You wanna go?

[She practically leaps to her feet before falling forward again.

Nope, that wasn't going to happen. She grumbles and sits herself back down]

And why isn't that a good reason? I hate feeling so useless here all the time. If I was stronger I might actually be able to do something.

Floor 48

[tohko_amano]

[Saber and Tohko occupied the same room, so the book girl had instantly noticed that her friend had left the Tower. Saber had been her first friend of sorts in the Tower, and her swordfighting teacher. Even though Saber sometimes left the Tower, Tohko always looked forward to lessons from her, since she learned so much more from another person than she did from just practicing on her own.

So, out of respect and friendship, Tohko had come up here to mourn a little over her grave..but her attention was diverted a little when she saw a girl sitting in a ball-like shape and holding a green hat. She didn't know the girl, but it was obvious that she was suffering the loss of a friend too, so Tohko sat across from her.]

Hey..are you alright? Did a friend of yours leave?

[wrigurun]

[Wriggle peeked over her arms at the stranger. From the redness in her eyes it was clear she had been crying. She frowned and buried her face in her arms again. As she spoke her voice was muffled]

Go away, I don't want to talk about it...

[tohko_amano]

[Tohko smiled a little as she watched and heard the girl speak. It was clear that she had been crying and wasn't feeling well about someone vanishing..but she wasn't going to leave.]

Alright then. If you don't want to talk about it, I'll be here if you just need company in a little while.

[wrigurun]

[For a while, Wriggle didn't say anything. She just curled up tighter and tried to block out Tohko's presence. It was difficult though, when her antennae picked up on all her little movements. Eventually it started to bug her so much that she scrubbed at her eyes and actually addressed her]

I'm not alright... But I don't know you, why did you even ask?

[tohko_amano]

[And Tohko just quietly sat across from the girl, watching her as she curled up even more. However, when she finally spoke up, Tohko's smile grew a bit.]

I might not know you, but that doesn't mean I don't want to help you feel better. After all, it's always terrible to know that a friend's gone, especially nowadays.

[wrigurun]

... How did you know it was my friend? I might just be having a bad day for all you know.

[tohko_amano]

Well, that's true, but we are in a graveyard. I thought you had seen a name on one of the graves and got sad. Of course..it could have been a family member or someone else, but I guessed that it was a friend, that's more common here.

[wrigurun]

[At the mention of family Wriggle has to really force herself not to start crying again. She whimpers as she bites back as many sobs as she can muster and aggressively wipes the tears in her eyes]

I-it doesn't matter what she was, she's just gone...

[tohko_amano]

[At that reaction, Tohko sighed and tried to pat Wriggle on the head. So it was a family member. She knew how painful losing your family could be..and the uncertainty of this situation just made it worse.]

It does matter what she was. After all, even if she's gone here, she's still in your memories, right? And if it turns out that she's not dead, your past relationship with her will matter.

floor 48

[chainsawn]

[ Urotsuki tends to be here too, but it's more since she can blend in with the graves when she turns her head into a gravestone, it's fun to just watch people -- not like she realises they might be sad, she's not that quick to catch on to things.

It's why she also doesn't realise something is off about Wriggle today. In fact, the moment she sees the girl on the floor, she jumps out from behind the gravestone Wriggle is looking at. ]

... Boo. [ Okay, maybe that wasn't too convincing, but she's too blank to be overly enthusiastic. ]

[wrigurun]

[Wriggle looks up at the voice, her eyes red and her cheeks damp. The initial look of surprise softens into a solemn smile as she realises that it's Urotsuki]

Hey...

[She scoots over a little in case she wants to sit down]

[chainsawn]

[ Blink. .. Another moment passes, as if she's still waiting for a different reaction even though Wriggle already spoke up, but then she just seems to give up, lowering her hands again. ]

No good..?

[wrigurun]

[Wriggle shakes her head. She feels strangely detached from everything right now, maybe a little light headed from the crying]

No... better luck next time.

[chainsawn]

Too bad..

[ She sighs - only a tiny bit - before she finally does move over to sit next to the other girl, drawing up her knees. ]

.. What are you doing here then if you don't want to be scared..?

[wrigurun]

[Her eyes drift down to the hat in her hand]

I was looking for a friend, I found some of her things in my mailbox this morning.

She used to hang about here a lot so...

[chainsawn]

[ Urotsuki looks to the hat, then to Wriggle and then to their surroundings. In the end she grabs the other girl's hand, half-moving already to stand up. ]

We won't find your friend by sitting, you know.

[wrigurun]

[Wriggle won't budge, but she does quickly glance to the gravestone she's been sitting by. The inscription reads 'Hong Meiling' and seems to be fairly new]

But I already found her...