luministi | ◌ 021 ◌ Spare me the thought

[After just over a week - has it really been that long? - of feeling like this, Fuu is fully exhausted. Yet she couldn't help but go out every day to sit and stare at the theatre, the pub, and the space between them.

Today she spontaneously decided to make a delivery - Mister Braxiatel will find a neatly wrapped package on his doorstep, containing a small variety of pastries from the tea house and a box of English breakfast tea.
Well, perhaps it was not too spontaneous. She'd been thinking about the past a lot, and he was a large part of the particular incident she was mulling over.]

[Biking away from West Luministi Greens on her way to sit across from the theatre and pub again, she suddenly starts peddling at a break-neck speed towards that place-- and stares at it for a long moment.

Trembling, she slumps to the ground and curls up into a ball, face buried in her knees and hands pressed to her ears.]

[[ooc: She'll stay like that for about 15 minutes before pulling herself together enough to get home. (Unless of course someone comes across her like this, or she nearly ran you over with her bike and you've come after her!)]]

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[When Brax finds the delivery, he decides to seek out Fuu. It isn't too hard to find her.]

Hello, Fuu. I wanted to thank you for the gift. [An oblique approach. He has had bad luck with people lately.]

[Fuu has nearly cried herself out, but her hands are still pressed to her ears. At his voice she shifts her head so she can glance at him, her eyes wide and haunted. Slightly bewildered by his calm thanks, she takes a deep breath before answering him in a shaky voice.]

Y-you're welcome. But I-

[She then suddenly brings her head up with a start, then relief floods her face, followed immediately by fear.] Oh- it's stopped. It's stopped-

[He shifts to be on her level.] What was it?

D-didn't you hear it, Mister Braxiatel? Why- why else would you be here?

[She looks across the way to the space between the theatre and the pub, where the phone booth used to be.]

It was ringing, but it's not there. And it's stopped... Wh-what if someone dies again-!

I didn't hear anything. [He puts his hands over hers, an awkward gesture.] If they die, then they die, but more than that we must try to work this out so that nobody has to. We need to stay calm and focus.

[She shivers slightly as he covers her trembling hands, but not because his hands are cool to the touch. His words- the first half made her deeply fearful. And the second half, well, it was hard to even think of being calm and focused, let alone being so.
Drawing another deep but shuttering breath, she shakes her head slowly. She can't. She just can't.]

[Even as he feels the fear taking over him, he does not let it overcome him.] You can, Fuu. I have faith. Calm yourself and listen only to the sound of my voice. [It was cheating, but he let that little hint of hypnotic suggestion into his voice.]

[Closing her eyes she listens and takes another deep breath. She still feels very much on edge, but not as upset as she had been a moment ago.]

"Someone in town is lying and not who they appear to be." "Someone in your midst is not who they seem... Beware." [She shivers and opens her eyes, looking at him imploringly.]

The message from the phone and the message on the card. It- it's all I can think about. It's driving me- crazy. Maybe literally? You really didn't- hear anything?

Truly. But you know how things are here. We must rely on each other to find the answer.

You- you can trust me. You won't pay attention to what card I got, will you? You know I'm not the liar... [Her anxious words come rapidly, still fearful.]

[He frowns, but nods.] Yes, of course. It would be impossible to believe of you.

[The frown worries her... but she's too relieved at his words to care, for the moment.]

Thank you.

[She slumps slightly, the emotional outburst clearly having drained her. She is anxious for a moment about having shown such vulnerability in front of him, but tries to push that feeling aside. He's seen her worse. However she still finds herself trying to put up a brave front-]

Thank you... for coming after me. I feel better, but perhaps I should go home and rest now.

If that's what you like, but... to be quite honest, I'm wary of leaving you alone at the moment. You don't seem at all at ease.

[And he's absolutely right - she's not at ease. And truth be told, she doesn't want to be left alone with the cruel, frightening, dark thoughts that have been haunting her all week. But that same paranoia is holding her back, trying to fill her mind with reasons why not to trust him...]

[After a long pause, she suddenly blurts out,]
Please stay with me! S-something is really wrong, isn't it...

Very much so. [He smiles a little, his own sense of humour.] It appears they've decided to hit hard with the emotional assaults this time.

[A smile is much better than a frown...]

Yes... but- you seem all right. How come? [She cannot shake the suspicions.]

I wonder. Perhaps I've had the fear scared out of me. [Despite the joke, it is not so far from false. It is hard to be pushed off the edge when he has already made that fall.]

[Through all the anxiety a thin thread of compassion rises up. For all the things she's faced in her short life, certainly he's seen more, and worse.]

I'm sorry. And... thank you for the help you can give because of your experiences.

[He smiles, still calm, still reassuring.] Thank you for letting me put them to any use. Is there anything I can give you to help you keep calm and focused even while I'm gone?

[She blinks in surprise at the offer, then gives it serious thought for a moment. Yet but for a fleeting thought of her favourite teddy bear from when she was a child, or for the sudden appearance of her dear friends, she could think of nothing that could calm her.

If the CATs were functioning properly, she might have even been so bold as to ask that he call on her every now and then, for he seemed to be able to cut though her anxiety... but that was not possible now.]

Thank you very much, Mister Braxiatel. But I'm afraid that I can't think of anything, really...

If you do, you know how to find me. [The smile becomes a little more joking.] Set out a cup of tea.

[Fuu blinks at him in astonishment for a moment, then gives a faint laugh and a tiny smile.]

I will do that. [She literally will.]

And I apologize. Leaving you that package seemed like... the right thing to do at the time, but I hope I didn't trouble you.

There's no reason you should apologize for such a gift. I appreciate it.

You do- oh, I'm glad. [She sighs a little in relief and her smile gets a little brighter.]

◌ 021 ◌ Spare me the thought

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