Not Again | Catch All for Guy

[applechemist]

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W0 - Sunday

[applechemist]

[ Hello, Guy! Escha was not in the mood for cooking for once, so with a tray of the provided food, she's looking for somewhere to sit and eat! And hey, why not have some company?

So she approaches wherever he's sitting. ]

Do you mind if I sit with you?

[menially]

[He about chokes on what he already had on his mouth in an effort not to flail out of the chair, though it still ends up with him jolting enough that his chair makes a horrible screeching sound on the floor.

Smooth.]

W-whoa, uh-- Sure, help yourself. I don't mind at all.

[He's. Gonna subtly move his chair back a few inches further than he had been sitting before. Hrgh.]

[applechemist]

[ Escha is just under the impression that she startled him very badly and he is being very polite to make sure she has room. So. She sits down beside him and smiles! ]

Thanks. It's nice getting to eat with other people around, like this.

[menially]

[thank you fonon god

He's still a little tense at the proximity, but he forces his shoulders to try and relax.]

Agreed. Much better than being crammed in that bus, for sure.

I'm guessing that might not be what you mean, though, huh. [Casual, as he turns back to his food.]

[applechemist]

It was nice not being alone on the bus too, but I'm glad to be off of it.

I actually mean before all this. Before the last "game," even. I was so used to eating while I worked and eating in the atelier. But eating around other people is way better.

[menially]

It's hard not to multitask while you work, you know? Sometimes when you get real involved with something important, it's kind of impossible to put it down.

I think people might say that either means you're pretty passionate, or you're a little too overworked.

[applechemist]

[ Escha is visibly brightening up at that first part. Yeah! You gotta multitask! This guy gets it!!!

But laughs self-consciously when he hits "overworked." ]

W-well. Maybe... But I love my work!

WEEK 1 - TUESDAY

[menially]

[Well. All of the chairs are, APPARENTLY, all stacked into a convenient barricade leading up to the theater today! Annoying!

Considering it's just camp chairs, though, it's easy to move around them and head over to where the theater is playing through a trial set in the ballroom of a mansion, still running perfectly despite how heavy the rain is falling. And on the outskirts of the theater, as far under a tree as he can manage, is Guy, lounging on one of the chairs that he'd pulled from the barricade, leaned over on his knees with his hands gripped together in front of his face, mouth pressed tight, concentrating on the screen.

If he's got company, he absolutely doesn't notice.]

[applechemist]

[ Regrettably, Escha still doesn't really know about. His phobia. So she comes and sits down next to him.

... But at first doesn't say anything, because boy does he look upset. Instead she just watches the screen, too. ]

[menially]

[



Well, he is no longer watching the screen the second he sees her out of the corner of his eyes sitting RIGHT NEXT TO HIM. He screeches, gripping the chair like he means to immediately yank himself out of it--

Considering that camp chairs are not very stable, this momentum backfires. He and the chair tip backwards immediately, the chair collapsing on itself as Guy tumbles back into the mud.]

[applechemist]

[ Wow she must have startled him really badly! ]

Oh, I'm sorry!

[ And she. Gets up and approaches him to go offer him a hand up. Great. ]

[menially]

Don't--!!!!

[He pushes himself away on his hands and knees in a panic, boots scraping in the mud and face draining white.]

E-Escha, please, j-just don't come any closer--!!! Please!

[applechemist]

[ She pulls her hand back and takes one step backwards. Then kneels down. ]

Is it - someone's power? [ That's her best guess about what's happening? ] I can help you.

W1 - Friday

[applechemist]

[ Well that sure was an investigation where Escha was in the middle of Guy being clearly upset and Asch aggressively ignoring him. Awk........ ]

Did you... Want to talk about anything?

[ No reason to point out that he's in a bad mood. Even if four people were okay, this is still dead day. Even one dead person is sad. ]

for the sake of not running literally everything together i'll put this after she talks to asch

[menially]

[Everything's fine, he's off in the kitchen brewing tea, gloves stuffed into one of his pockets, his knuckles red and raw from doing who KNOWS what.

He'll spot Escha out of the corner of his eye and give a stiff shrug.]

You mean about what we found? We could. I don't think there's much we can do with the information until tomorrow.

nods

[applechemist]

[ She stays in the doorway, since she knows better than to get closer. But... Frowns. ]

That too. I agree that we don't have enough information to determine much yet, but if you wanted to talk about that, we could.

But that's not really what I meant.

[menially]

[He'll pause mid-way through grabbing something from a higher cabinet, brows raising.]

No?

Okay, well... what did you mean, then? Did something happen?

[Like... outside the obvious?]

[applechemist]

[ Hrm. She hesitates. ]

Just... You're upset. And - anyone would be upset, since someone just died. The whole situation is as miserable as ever.

But Asch mentioned that you knew him, so... I don't know. I just wondered if you wanted to talk about it.

[menially]

[Ah.

His expression doesn't budge, outside a softening of his eyes. She'd talked to Asch already, huh?

...]

Yeah. I knew him.

He's one of the three of us that came over from the temple. Smart kid. Soft-spoken. Nice. A little too trusting for his own good.

[A beat, in which the kettle starts to whistle. Guy drifts, shaking his head slowly as he rubs one palm against his face.]

This isn't really the place for conversation, you know...?

...Go find a seat out in the mess hall, alright? Let me grab another cup and I'll meet you out there.

W1 - Saturday

[applechemist]

[ Escha seems to just be taking an evening stroll by herself. She's heading back to the cabins from the mess hall, late in the evening, so she crosses paths with Guy and just. Frowns when she sees him. She still looks as apprehensive of him as she did during the trial. ]

... Hello.

[menially]

[He's on his way back out to the docks, but he pauses when he sees her approaching. His expression stays pleasant, voice even, but he's intentionally giving her some extra space than usual.]

Hey.

How are you holding up?

[applechemist]

[ She looks like she wants to be angry at him. Because she's heard some incriminating things, and that's frustrating, and she doesn't think that the culprit was anyone they had suspected, and so she's just kind of mad.

... But after a moment she just exhales, like she doesn't have the energy to be angry. She's too tired and sad. ]

I'm alright, I guess. I was almost falsely accused, which feels bad. And instead someone else was falsely accused. Which feels bad.

[menially]

Yeah. It's not a great situation whichever way you look at it.

I didn't think it was either of you. I still don't. But we must have really screwed up somewhere if that was the only options anyone could settle on.

[It's infuriating, enough to make his entire demeanor twist bitterly for a long moment. But he'll let the tension settle into his fingertips, into how his palm tightens momentarily at the grip of his sword, before relaxing.]

...

I know it's easier said than done, Escha, but... try not to blame yourself.

[applechemist]

I'm not necessarily blaming myself.

It's not my fault that the evidence led to the two of us, and... It's not my fault that people chose him. But if they hadn't, it would have been me.

I just... After everything on the ship, it's kind of funny.

[ It. Does not sound funny. ]

[menially]

...Why do you say that?

Was there something on the ship that played out in the same way?

[It sounds that way, but if she doesn't want to talk about it, then that's her choice, not his.]