post-dungeon regroup

[discutio]

[Obviously, they had to pull back and recover; Phoenix thought it would be best to head to the pseudo-headquarters in Invidia and settle back into the mansion to recover as well as consolidate what they all knew. There was a lot to get through, and a lot of recovery to be done by some of them. He'd need to talk to Etoile, thank Ariel, thank Medic again--]

[...But for now, he just about immediately collapsed on a couch and decided he would exist there for a while. You're on your own for food this time, kids.]

Comments

[discutio]

[And in the midst of his general distant hovering:]

You do know that I can hear you, right?

[schardynfreude]

...Er.

I'll...leave.

[discutio]

[Sigh.]

That was rather the opposite of my point. I'd like to talk to you, if you've the time.

[schardynfreude]

Whatever I've lost hasn't returned yet. [Just. To put that out there.]

[discutio]

No, I didn't expect as much.

Do you...know who I am?

[schardynfreude]

The boy from Altissia. [And it's out of his mouth before he really thinks about it. And then the wave of shame comes, a blink, a look away.] That...isn't what you meant.

[discutio]

…

[He was good enough at controlling his emotions that the pained look only crossed his face for a second, but it was a second too long.]

Phoenix. My name is Phoenix, I’m—we’re…

[Trailing off briefly, he wasn’t quite sure how to finish that sentence.]

…friends.

[schardynfreude]

...I find that very difficult to believe, and yet.

[And yet.]

You burst into flame the same as you did for that other boy.

[discutio]

...I was afraid.

[No point in being anything but honest. He'd have said the same to Chiron without amnesia, anyway.]

Afraid for everyone else's safety as well, to be sure, but...primarily yours. I was afraid, and angry, and more than a little desperate. I--we can't afford to lose you.

[schardynfreude]

...Phoenix.

[How does a guy that big get a voice to sound that small? It doesn't matter that Phoenix can't see him; he doesn't look at the man who was on fire. Fusses with the cuffs of his coat.]

I daresay it's an appropriate name. Were you...were we, ah...

[Oh we're just not finishing the question okay.]

[discutio]

[He bit back a nervous laugh; it would have just made the situation feel more tense, on his own side. Although it was funny, in a dark sort of way.]

I...well, not exactly, it...we might have kissed once or twice not terribly long ago, but there wasn't really the benefit of time enough to consider it further.

[schardynfreude]

Friends with something. I see. ...Or, no, I don't, that seems insane to me given how we were. But I've no doubt in your words or convictions.

[discutio]

I am not...the person I was. And in our time here I have found no reason to believe you are whatever you were, either.

...Strange as I know it may sound, I trust you with my life--the particulars of that phrase aside.

[schardynfreude]

I was a man given a singular purpose, and...fell from grace, I suppose. So whatever I was, it was multifaceted. I'm...glad to be so trusted, however.

[discutio]

[He'd promised Achilles he would explain that memory to Chiron; of unearthing the shreds of history deliberately buried. Would it be easier to do now, or would it worsen the whole situation? Phoenix silently weighed the odds and decided that it would be better to do very soon; but today? Probably not today, when they were both recovering from physical and mental exhaustion.]

Anyone here would call you a valued friend and teammate...well, maybe not Sword, but he has a prickly sort of way of appreciating others.

[schardynfreude]

Sword has his moments, but it's so strange how he and Wolfsbane are the opposite sides of the same coin and can't stand each other. Perhaps they are too similar.

[discutio]

Perhaps so. Well, we've functioned decently so far even with the two of them at each other's throats on occasion.

[schardynfreude]

I simply wish...that this unexpected turn of events wasn't so painful. I'm perfectly happy to meet people again, to relearn what's gone on here, but it...shouldn't have to be that way.

[discutio]

...I'm sorry, Chiron. If I had only started by attacking more decisively, this would never have happened. I took her arm off far too late to make any real difference.

[schardynfreude]

This is hardly your fault. Or anyone's. We had no idea what we would face, and certainly not the likes of her.

[discutio]

I...I know that, it's only...I feel responsible all the same. I feel sure there must be some way to fix this, and yet I don't know what that is.

[schardynfreude]

One of the hardest truths to learn is that you cannot fix everything. Perhaps that's a reason why you're here rather than among the living.

[discutio]

...you could certainly be right about that.

[A thin, bitter smile.]

Even so, I don't plan on simply leaving this as it is. I told Achilles and Mona we would find a way to restore your memory, and I intend to do as much as I can for that.

[schardynfreude]

I've my doubts you'll be finding butterflies with glimpses of my memories within them. They seem to be shared with others rather than go back to their owner, at any rate.

[discutio]

Perhaps, and perhaps not. But if the time spent here has shown me anything, it's that missing memories need not be gone. After all, the mere fact that you know me from Altissia says that much.