85

[perfectsymmetry]

[Action 1: Coming across a droned Kay Faraday while on his paper route was startling to Crowe. It practically gave him chills. Immediately excusing himself from her, he made his way over to her house. There would be an easy way to tell if it was permanent, and that would be her belongings. One look through the living room window would confirm the worst - her big flat screen TV was gone.

Just to make sure, the young thief quickly snuck his way around the back and up to Kay's room while she was still out. Sure enough, her Little Thief computer was gone too. Heartbroken, Crowe collects his former friend's notes she had on their investigative work, and slipped back out, hopefully unnoticed by her housemates.]


---

[Phone call filtered from drones/NPCs. Crowe sounds distracted.]

Ah. Everyone might here the drones whispering about the bowling alley. O-Or I think for some, maybe the hotel or a camping trip? Last year it was Makeout Point... A-Anyway, sometime soon we're all going to be stuck somewhere for a few hours. Nothing bad should happen if it's like last time, but you never know what Mayfield will do. Last year we all were, um, paired up in cars for several hours. Ah, the teens I mean. The adults were in the hotel and the kids were at camp, I believe. So. Um. Just to warn you all.

Uh, also, if anyone knows Kay Faraday, she... she's gone now. For good. I thought I'd just. Let people know.

[There's a moment of silence before he hangs up.]

---

[Action 2: Oh look, a package for Crowe! Standing at the mailbox, Crowe opens it up, wondering what he has left for the town to send him. Inside is a small, well-worn soccer ball, obviously meant for young child. He gives it a fond smile, turning it over in his hands. His first name is scrawled on it in childish handwriting.]

---

[Action 3: Later, Crowe can be found at the diner, sitting in a corner booth by himself with a milkshake. What else would his old BFF do in this situation by cure it with ice cream?

It doesn't seem to be working though. He's barely touched it, opting to sit there with his headphones in, drowning the world out.]

Comments

[mute-mystic.livejournal.com]

[Silence nods silently at this, and goes so far as to reach across the table and touch Crowe's hand in a wordless gesture of comfort. Writing standard phrases of sympathy like "I'm sorry" or "If there's anything I can do..." rather than speaking them loses too much of the effect - written words can't convey the same depth of empathy the way a voice can, at least not as easily.

At the offer of a milkshake, though, Silence can't help but let out a quiet huff of breath in what might be a laugh.] NOT SURE I WANT TO HEAR ABOUT ANYTHING WITH THE WORD 'MILK' IN IT FOR AWHILE. [Even in amusement, he still seems subdued, but nevertheless the smile he gives Crowe is borderline mischievous.] YOU = BRAVER MAN THAN I AM.

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

[His face reddens a little, but Crowe actually manages a slight smile now.] Yeah, you're right. Maybe that's why I can't touch this thing. I-I guess that's not very brave, eh?

[mute-mystic.livejournal.com]

[Silence lifts a shoulder slightly in a shrug, his own smile brightening a bit at the sight of Crowe's. Knowing he's cheered the boy up at least marginally helps to improve his own mood.

He's torn between offering Crowe a sympathetic ear in regards to his friend, and wondering if perhaps it isn't too soon to expect him to talk about it. In the end, he chooses an entirely neutral subject to change to.] WHY COME HERE IF YOU WEREN'T HUNGRY?

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

Ah. W-Well, when Kay was sad she's come here and get some ice cream to cheer herself up. I was trying to do the same thing in her honor, I guess.

[mute-mystic.livejournal.com]

[Silence smiles at this. It's a rather sweet gesture - an effort to hold onto the memories of his friend. Silence himself may once have done similarly, although he outgrew it some time ago; with a potentially limitless lifespan, and more memories than anyone could know what to do with, eventually such gestures lose all meaning.

And, sometimes, such gestures would be...ill-advised, depending on the friend in question. Silence finds himself laughing silently at the thought of doing the sort of thing Nusakan might have cheered himself up with.] PERHAPS FOR THE BEST THAT I DON'T DO THE SAME FOR MY FRIEND. STRANGE MAN WITH...UNUSUAL TASTES. ['Unusual' is a very polite term for it.] YOUR FRIEND WOULD WANT YOU TO CHEER UP, CORRECT?

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

Y-Yeah, she would. I'm trying, but it'll take some time. It's always hard when you know that all the people you're friends with here could basically disappear in an instant. [He absently fiddles with the straw in his milkshake.]

Oh, um, I don't know if your friend was someone I knew, but there's a chance I have a photo of him. I took a lot of pictures with my project, maybe he's in there. What was his name, or what did he look like?

[mute-mystic.livejournal.com]

REAPPEAR, AS WELL. COME BACK FROM THE DEAD. NOT ALL BAD. [This isn't much comfort, and Silence knows it, but he feels that cold comfort is probably better than none at all.

At the mention of Nusakan, and the possibility of Crowe's having a picture of him, he tilts his head bemusedly. It's strange - and unlikely - that Crowe might have a picture of him, but it's worth asking, he supposes.] DOCTOR NUSAKAN. TALL MAN, PALE SKIN, GLASSES. WEARS A V. STYLISH LAB COAT. [He smirks, ever so slightly.] A MYSTIC, LIKE ME, SO IS ATTRACTIVE IN A SIMILAR WAY. YOU'D RECOGNIZE IT.

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

A-Ah, that's true, yeah? I think I ought to be glad we come back more than anyone...

[Oh, Crowe recognizes that immediately. The man he was sure was a vampire, or something like it. He was really a mystic?] O-Oh, actually, I do have one of him! Ah. It was... It would be hard to forget. The picture isn't... um... It's a little odd. But I'd be more than glad to make you a copy.

[mute-mystic.livejournal.com]

GRANTED, MAYFIELD MAKES THAT NECESSARY. ONLY DIED ONCE BACK HOME. [Silence's expression isn't at all dire as he writes this; in fact, he looks rather amused by it, a joke only he understands.

He brightens noticeably when Crowe confirms he has a picture of Nusakan, and doesn't doubt for a moment that they're thinking of the same person. He hadn't been kidding about being sure that Crowe would know the man if he'd seen him. At the mention of the picture being odd, he simply begins to laugh silently.] THAT'S NUSAKAN, YES.

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

[That's met with a bit of confusion on Crowe's end. He's met people in Mayfield who've died back home, but Silent doesn't seem bothered.] You... what?

Ah, well, I'll get a copy of it made for you tomorrow, and drop it off for you in your mailbox. Sound good?

[mute-mystic.livejournal.com]

[Silence nods agreement to Crowe's proposition. He supposes clinging to a picture of Nusakan is pure sentimentality, of the sort he'd mostly given up, but...it's going to be lonelier without him. And he does hope to see him again in person someday, so it's hardly pointless to cling to a memory which might at any time become relevant again.

For now...Silence tilts his head as he considers how to proceed. So he hadn't explained the process by which mystics were created, had he...well, no time like the present, he supposes.] MYSTICS ARE MADE, NOT BORN. I USED TO BE HUMAN. [Here he smiles again, somewhat mischievously.] WINGS NOTWITHSTANDING - GENETIC ABERRATION. A MYSTIC OFFERED TO TURN ME, AND I ACCEPTED. BUT FOR A HUMAN TO BECOME A MYSTIC, THEY HAVE TO DIE FIRST. [He shrugs, and his usual smile may take on the slightest hint of a wistful air.] HE KILLED ME, AND BROUGHT ME BACK.

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

[O-Oh. Crowe's quiet for a moment as he mulls this over.]

Ah, that sounds.. like it must have been difficult. A very hard decision to make. But I guess it was worth it in the end, yeah?

[mute-mystic.livejournal.com]

[For a moment, Silence's normally direct gaze shifts elsewhere. It's not quite wistfulness in his expression now; in fact, it's hard to put a word to at all. A combination of regret, longing, gratitude, thoughtfulness...as though he's not actually sure he can answer Crowe's question, and is trying to weigh everything that's happened since that day in order to give him an accurate one.

The answer doesn't seem to be easily reached. And though Silence turns back to Crowe eventually, with a smile and a nod, something in his eyes doesn't seem entirely convinced.]

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

[Crowe can tell he hit a nerve. He looks apologetic.] A-Ah, sorry, I don't mean to pry or anything.

[mute-mystic.livejournal.com]

[Silence shakes his head with a smile and a rueful shrug.] NOT YOUR FAULT. I WAS...YOUNG. AROUND YOUR AGE? DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I WAS GETTING INTO.

[And also desperately, unwisely in love, as often happens to humans who are charmed by mystics.]

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

I guess it's a hard thing to comprehend until its happened.

[Crowe sighs lightly.] Sorry, I didn't mean to bring the mood down even more...

[mute-mystic.livejournal.com]

[Silence smiles, shaking his head. Crowe can hardly be blamed for the direction his own memories take, or his own youthful ignorance. He reaches across the table, touching the boy's hand lightly in a gesture of reassurance.]

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

[Crowe smiles a bit again at that.] Hopefully i-it'll be our turn to get out of here soon enough, yeah?

[mute-mystic.livejournal.com]

[Silence smiles a little wistfully at that. Oh, yes, he'd like to go home to the regions he knows, back to work at IRPO, to see Nusakan and Fuse and Cotton and the others again...but at the same time, he's made a few close friends in Mayfield. The idea of leaving them - and, judging by the occasional bit of chatter he's heard on the phones, forgetting them entirely - is bittersweet.]

HOPEFULLY. BUT I WOULD MISS YOU AND LUCAS. [He pauses. Well, technically, he wouldn't, since he'd forget the very existence of them...but no. He can't help but think some part of him would still miss them, even if he had no conscious memories of what he was missing. There have to be limits to Mayfield's power.] EVEN WITHOUT MEMORIES, I THINK.

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

[Crowe looks touched at that, and his smile grows - much more genuine of one. And like always, his face reddens a bit.]

A-Ah, same here. It would feel like... like something was missing, you know?

[mute-mystic.livejournal.com]

[Silence's smile softens in return.] SOMETHING WOULD BE.