015 [Video]

[thechoiceisyours]

Heya, guys. I'm sure a few of you um, already know what I'm gonna say.

[Chris definitely doesn't look as cheery as usual, but also not terribly upset; mostly he just seems a little drained, but otherwise calm enough.]

Em's uh... Emily's gone. So I guess I'm gonna have to take over for her in the 'telling people like it is' department, and I'd add like, the 'being right' one but I'm already right at least as often as she is. However, I'm totally not doing the sewing or getting up early to run the coffee cart parts. Gonna need other people to step in on those.

[And okay, joking aside, he takes a deep breath and continues.]

I know um, I know a lot of people here knew her, but not necessarily much about uh... What we're going back to, at home, since I don't think she talked about it much. So if anyone has any questions about that, I can probably answer, and hopefully that'll make things... You know. A little easier?

[Worrying about what people are returning to is usually the hardest part on him, when someone leaves, after all. Oh, and one more thing--]

Wolfie's still here, by the way. So no one freak if you see him with me; as Em always said, he only bites if you're an asshole.

Comments

[souveraine]

I am really sorry that she is gone. She was a good friend and I will miss her.

I can take over the sewing shop if no one else wishes to. I worked there with her and know how things work.

[thechoiceisyours]

That'd be great; I found the keys to the shop here at the house, so I can meet up with you somewhere and hand them over. You know about the deal with Delight and everything?

[Oh, and--]

I uh, don't think we've met, by the way. I'm Chris; Emily and I are from the same world.

[souveraine]

We can meet at the sewing shop if you would like? Yes, I can speak with Delight and see if she is willing to continue the deal.

My name is Anne and it is a pleasure to meet you, Chris, despite the circumstances.

[telephoning]

[Agh, she would... normally try to match format, but she doesn't really have anything to say about the contents of this message other than what caught her eye - she'll go for text in case an audio or visual message would seem a little too callous.]

I didn't realize that we could go back.
You have a wolf?

[Unrelated comments on their own, but.]

[thechoiceisyours]

[It's okay, he's not judging; he's done the same thing before.]

Yeah, sometimes people just disappear. Since a few of them have come back and remembered being here, and say they just came back from being at home, we've just sort of figured that's what's happening.

Yeah, though I mean I guess he's not really mine. He just lives with us, and we feed him and he looks out for us.

[He's still a wild animal, after all, even if he's very used to people.]

[telephoning]

And I was going to say that people seem to like exotic pets here.

["Just disappear", though... Some nerves are starting to set on-edge at the idea of finding herself back home that -- quickly and easily, but she'll try to smooth 'em over, at least try to wrap her head better around it...]

It seems like a safe guess. Is that all you know?

video ..

[rehashing]

[ Emily was somebody who grew on Elena, even when she was looking at Elena like she'd grown a third head. She was a new friend. What's another loss, really. But, this isn't about what Elena's lost (there's much more where that came from), this is about Chris.

She didn't know Emily knew Chris, but mentions of coffee runs and the descriptions of what he'll be taking over make it clear. ] I'm sorry Emily's gone. We had coffee once. [ Believe it or not, it was nice. ] I could run the coffee cart a few days a week, if you're looking for offers. And I don't have a problem telling it like it is. [ She doesn't say it with attitude, or like Caroline would. For Elena, this is a fact. She's an honest friend. It's only when she outright lies for the greater good, or she's not sure of how she feels when she doesn't outright 'tell it like it is.' ]

video

[thechoiceisyours]

Thanks. That'd um, be a big help about the coffee cart, if you really don't mind.

[Although he thinks they'll probably have to cut down how much coffee they're doing in a day anyway soon, with Delight and Rage going on the away trip. But he really appreciates Elena offering, especially since she doesn't really know them well and doesn't owe them anything.]

video

[rehashing]

I don't.

[ She suspects there's more. Emily's gone. He's feeling deeply, and her sympathy runs deep, deeper than it used to. It cuts her to the core now. Of course she's the compassionate vampire whose sympathy overwhelms her. ]

Is there anything else I can do?

text

[leashed]

I'm sorry for your loss.

What is a 'Wolfie'?

text

[thechoiceisyours]

Thanks.

He's a wolf that we ran into back home, and he showed up here with one of my friends a few months ago.

text

[leashed]

Oh. I thought I sensed something like that around here.

He is your pet?

Video

[knifecollecting]

[Jo admittedly wasn't that close to this teen, but she's talked to her and Chris a few times and she knows the cave will miss the official seamstress.]

Sorry she's gone.

Video

[thechoiceisyours]

Thanks. I mean, it'll suck not having her around, but I think she was running out of patience for this place.

[Joking making everything okay, obviously.]

Video

[knifecollecting]

[Jo smiles softly. She gets it.]

God, aren't we all?

[Video]

[pyralisit]

Do I offer condolences or congratulations?

[Video]

[thechoiceisyours]

Kind of hard to say, yeah. I mean... I guess it's best for her to back overall, though it's gonna suck at home for a bit.

[And he's pretty sure she didn't really want to go back, but that's a moot point now.]

Re: [Video]

[pyralisit]

Everywhere is terrible. At least home is a familiar terrible, I suppose.

For what it's worth, I'm sorry you have to stay behind.

audio

[unitas]

...You need to talk or anything? [ Because Chris and Emily have been around nearly as long as she has. They've suffered the same bullshit and to hear that Emily is gone. It's like a heavy pit in her belly, something akin to sadness and regret. She knows how close those two were and... It only seems right to offer. ]

audio

[thechoiceisyours]

[Although she can't see it, the offer causes him to smile just a little bit. Not that long ago it would've been completely unimaginable, and he really appreciates it.]

I think I'm okay, at least... You know. Right now.

[He knows Emily lives, back home. It's going to be a difficult road for her, and the rest of them, but he'll see her again; whether or not either of them will remember what happened here and how good of friends they ended up, who knows. But they'll have the chance, at least, and that's more than he can say about a lot of people.

So he's handling it, for the moment anyway.]

B-But um... If that changes...

[He might take her up on the offer.]

audio

[unitas]

Any time. [ She states. She knows what it's like to lose people now, to even have people to lose. Chris and Emily were important names in Hadriel. Sharon might not have been Emily's biggest fan but she'd been here a long time, she helped Chris with the coffee cart, helped make the emotes, and even started the sewing shop (something she ultimately thought of as useless but others seemed to like). It sours Sharon a little to know she's just gone, like so many others, but it's better than being stuck here, right?

Yeah, of course. ]

I'm just a call or text away.

[survivorsguilt]

Hey, I'm really sorry. I didn't know her, but...

[Ellie shrugs helplessly, feeling kind of dumb. She can't empathize, since she never met Emily, and yet she wants to say something because Chris is such a cool dude.]

It sucks.

[thechoiceisyours]

Thanks. It does suck, but... It'll be okay. And I mean, I guess it's only fair, since I disappeared on her once before.

[And came back, so maybe she'll come back too.]

[text]

[readytobe]

[Ah. This is...a sad post. Even emotionally-stunted cat monsters can understand that.

...]

You are Chris? [That wasn't a sympathetic message. He was probably supposed to send one of those first.]

[text]

[thechoiceisyours]

[It's okay Mewtwo, you tried. Also Chris really isn't bothered, and is just sort of curious at that response]

Yeah; I think I'm still the only Chris here, anyway.