Taking the long road home

[bloodyashes]

Characters: Anyone. Everyone.
Setting: The few days after the event, throughout the Tower as you will.
Format: Mingle! Assign your own dates/locations/etc, tag yourself, do as you do.
Summary: Jason's dead. So are a lot of other people. Fallout and picking up the pieces.
Warnings: Discussion of death and cannibalism inevitable.

[Catch-all for events following the Event. Discuss Jason's death and its consequences, come back from the dead, party?, quiver in fear?, take a long, hot bath. Whatever it is you do, do it here.]

Comments

[puppy_lancer]

...See what? Jason's death? If you're talking about it, I saw what happened right afterwards.

[And he wishes he hadn't seen it at all.]

[oathshackledbird]

[Diarmuid winces slightly at that. Considering they are warriors, they are used to seeing people die. They just aren't so used to what came...after this time.]

Will...you stay and talk to me about it? Ryoji...died down there. I...

[Yeah...he doesn't want to think about what that might mean with Jason dead. Even more than that, he had been worried about his brother and unable to help. Diarmuid doesn't want him to run off again quite so quickly...]

[puppy_lancer]

[He lets go of Liath Macha's reins and pats Diarmuid on the shoulder.]

...Yeah, I might as well. Has Ryoji come back yet?

[oathshackledbird]

[Diarmuid shakes his head. That's why he's so worried. He should be back already.]

I won't keep you long. I just...

[He sighs and gives his brother's hand a squeeze.]

This...isn't good...

[puppy_lancer]

[He squeezes Diarmuid's hand back.]

No, it sure doesn't sound like it.

[He feels a knot forming in his stomach. What if death was permanent from now on?]

I'm sure he will come back. He has to.

[oathshackledbird]

[Diarmuid nods, but doesn't speak for a long while. Finally, he swallows hard and looks up at his brother with a serious expression.]

Promise me. No more games, no more volunteering. You have to be more careful. Promise.

[puppy_lancer]

I swear on my name as a hero, on my name as the Hound of Culann.

[He closes his eyes and turns his face away.]

I was so stupid this time. I just up and believed the prize would be worth it. You should...punish me.

[oathshackledbird]

[Diarmuid sighs and rolls his eyes.]

Why is everyone asking me to punish them recently?

[He shifts, bringing his fist up to lightly graze his brother's jaw.]

There, consider yourself punished. Or do I need to crack your jaw to make it stick like I did with Reno?

[puppy_lancer]

Because you're the only one who has a brain these days, it seems.

[He rubs his jaw.]

This is fine. Besides, if you crack my jaw and knock me out, who'll you be talking to ?

[oathshackledbird]

Well, I could keep talking to you.

[A grin tugs at the corner of his mouth.]

It might be a good way to convince everyone I've finally lost it, so you all don't keep coming to me for punishment...

[puppy_lancer]

[He snickers.]

Even when you lose it, you're still saner than most people. Besides, who are they gonna go for punishment if they don't go to you? Me?

[oathshackledbird]

[Diarmuid raises an eyebrow at Cu Chulainn, a teasing twinkle in his eyes.]

Do you even know how to punish someone, brother?

[puppy_lancer]

[Cu Chulainn makes a face at his brother.]

Hey, I tried to punish you once. It's not like I've never done it before.

[oathshackledbird]

Only once? Surely you have punished people more often than that...

[Then again, perhaps not. His brother hadn't led a group of man-children or raised any children of his own...]

[puppy_lancer]

A few of Scathach's other pupils, sure. And almost all the members of the Boy Troops. But, you know, we were all kids back then.

[Usually, though, Lancer was the man-child getting punished.]

[oathshackledbird]

I...don't know if it counts as punishing them if you get punished as well once you are done punishing them.

[Diarmuid shakes his head, patting his brother on the shoulder.]

Thank you. For promising, I mean. It makes me feel a lot better.

[puppy_lancer]

I'm glad.

[He mutters, leaning on his brother's shoulder.]

...So, did anything else happen during the last few days?

[oathshackledbird]

Besides me worrying myself grey about you and Ryoji and how many others down there?

[Diarmuid sighs, putting an arm around his brother's shoulders and giving him a squeeze.]

You missed Waver threatening to sit on me if I volunteered to go down after you guys. Does that count?

[He laughs softly and then frowns.]

Before you were taken away, did you hear anything about people having their hearts stolen?

[puppy_lancer]

[He shakes his head.]

No, I haven't. Was that really happening?

[oathshackledbird]

Yes, apparently it was a little game for those of us Ruana didn't pick to be part of the bigger one.

[Diarmuid frowns.]

I spent a good part of the day being cursed and yelled at by those closest to me while I was looking for teddy bears that held the 'stolen' hearts inside of them. I was only able to find one in the end. They were hidden very well...

[puppy_lancer]

[He winces.]

You shouldn't have had to go through that.

[He gives his brother a quick hug.]

So whose bear did you end up finding?

[oathshackledbird]

[Diarmuid returns the hug and then shrugs.]

None of us deserve to have to go through this and what you guys faced was much worse.

It was Reno's. When I was looking for it, I remembered his wedding was in the meadow and I thought maybe... Fate was kind enough that it was actually there.

[puppy_lancer]

And he turned back to normal after that, right? Is everybody normal now?

[oathshackledbird]

Yeah, thankfully even those whose hearts weren't found returned to normal after just a few days. Before things got really bad in the Labyrinth, actually.

It makes me wonder if it was all a distraction or something...

[But then again, that note about Ruana's heart makes him wonder if there was a purpose they just can't see...]

[puppy_lancer]

Maybe it was. Or maybe it was Ruana's way to do Valentine's Day. She does like holidays.