hadriel | duel 5. ( anon text. )

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duel 5. ( anon text. )

You know what fucking sucks?
The Speakeasy
The owner is never around.
Just Who Does SHE Think She Is?!?!?!
She can't do shit right around here.
WE HAVE NEEDS!
HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO STAND THIS HEAT WITHOUT MY BOOZE?!

「Hey, hey, Rey's friends... yeah, he's calling you out, come defend your friend, come show you care about her! He needs you... She needs you. Please.
The clock is ticking.

Yep, this is ruse. It WAS HARD, OK?! He feels terrible. It had to be done.」

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Okay, so last time he went to check on her she started out by yelling at him to get out of her house... Details.]

What's it to you? Does she owe you money?

dont be stupid we dont use that here
why you even put up with her?

「Sorry dude... sorry!」

Because she's my friend. Is that too hard for you to get?

How about you show up and fight like a man if you want to insult her.

[It's the only answer! Firo doesn't know what the hell is going on, but he does know that it can probably be solved with a lot of punching!]

「That does it. Oh, no, not that second part, the first! Calling her a friend.
He's not one to fall for the whole, be a man thing, that's for bullies.

So hey, sup? Spiky haired guy here, looking absolutely serious.」

Hey, Firo, was it? ... Sorry about all of this. Can we talk somewhere?

[...Okay. He didn't really expect to be given the guy's face so easily, and that makes him wonder if this is some sort of trap.

Well, if it is, fuck it. He's good and worked up now, and it doesn't hit him yet that his read on the situation might be a bit... off.]

Sorry? You think you can fix everything just like that?

You bet we can talk somewhere. Name your place.

[He spits out the words like he's throwing down a gauntlet. It may be clear that Firo doesn't think that much actual talking will be going on, and that suits him just fine.]

「Trap card. Yep. He activated it.

Oh, but of course he's going to be mad about it-- oops...」

Wait, hmm... I'm not looking for fight. I'll explain when I see you. Are you at the bar?

[Not looking for a fight? Not looking for a fight?! The feeling of utter hopeless confusion about what's going on isn't remotely new to Firo, but it doesn't do much to calm him down.]

Yeah, I am. You'd better not keep me waiting for this "explanation," pal.

I'm on my way.

「And that's about it.

He doesn't take long at all, things considered. He goes through the main entrance and looks for Firo. At least this one is especially hard to miss, with that hair.」

[Firo's leaning against the bar and facing the door, arms crossed over his chest, when he spots the new guy. At first, his plan is to stay in place to look properly tough, but he just can't hold still; he marches over.]

You wanna explain to me what's going on?

「No worries, he meets him halfway once he sees him — blame the brightness from the outside, blinding him when he gets inside the gloomy bar.

Right, let's talk business.」

Have you seen Rey lately?

[Firo's eyes narrow; he doesn't like that question, and it's not making him any less suspicious.]

Yes.

[Once. She wasn't exactly in a good state, and Firo wonders if this guy knows that she might be vulnerable.]

Now you start answering the questions. Why do you care?

「The question seems to take him aback. It doesn't give him much room to explain anything.

Why indeed?」

I... I just want to help, surely you've seen the state she's in.

[And Firo raises one eyebrow, also taken aback.]

Help? So that thing on the network is what you call help? You wanna explain exactly how that works to me?

Okay... about that... 「Sigh.」 That was an attempt to see who would stand for her. Sorry, I didn't mean to offend her for real. I was--

「Growing desperate! He is, still.」

It worked, I guess, since you're her friend, right?

[He might finally be calming down now, but he's only more lost now that he doesn't have a familiar narrative of a threat to follow.]

...And why would you want to do that?

Because she needs people like you, she doesn't need some half hearted speech from someone she doesn't know about how things are going to be alright, she needs those who actually give a damn about her to be around, she needs to realise she's wanted, needed and loved. Because right now... she doesn't want to wake up again.

「It's not and ideal way to ask, he knows it, and it might sound crazy. But the situation is just as bad.」

Unless you didn't notice.

[His jaw is tight as he listens. He does know how low Rey is after having seen her--and he doesn't like that being knowledge that's more widespread than he'd initially thought.]

I've still got some questions for you. First, how do you know this? Second, why do you care? And third, why the hell'd you think this was a good way to "help"?

[If Firo were in Rey's shoes, he'd be most concerned about number 1. Information about this weakness getting out is a major concern, the kind of thing that--Firo thinks--slaps a big old target on your back. If he's not a friend, Firo'd want to know how he came to know something like this. And if he is a friend, Firo'd want to know why he's talking about it. ]

「He nods at the questions, it's only fair to explain himself.」

I've been going back to her place over the past days, it didn't seem right to leave her alone like that... I don't know how she was when you last saw her but she's just lying there. She's hurting herself and... of course I was worried. That's all. And, I didn't know if this could help or not, but I figured that if you cannot take a little of that, you probably cannot handle her.

「Not to say she's a handful, but she kind of is.」

Look, I know it's not a good way to ask for help but, I don't think she needs a line of people she doesn't know at her door. It was the way I thought I'd call the attention of her real friends.

[His eyes darken, and he lowers his voice. It doesn't yet occur to Firo to explain that he knows of Rey's predicament and has already been speaking with her--he's annoyed, and Firo's not in the mindset of thinking he owes anyone an explanation.]

Listen, pal, you don't tell me who I can or can't handle, got it?

「Atem instead, remains silent for a moment, his reaction not coming from what is being said, but from what it is not. Why wouldn't he simply tell him he's been at Rey's place? She's more important than holding some stupid grudge over the (stupid) way he chose to call the attention of her friends.」

I didn't mean it in that way, clearly you can.

「But he's too tired to get into an argument.」

But this is not about you, nor me. If you have been helping her in your own way then, I'm sorry if I wasted your time.

[Firo pauses, assuming that the guess about him helping Rey is just a kind of meaningless thing people say to smooth things over. He didn't say anything about it, so of course this guy doesn't know...]

It's really none of your business. You want her to get helped, do it yourself. That's the only way to get anything done.

[Though, honestly, it does concern him that this guy--who Firo doesn't know--knows this about Rey. Obviously he'll have to ask her about it to make sure it's okay, but he has to be wary of such a big weakness being exposed. He wouldn't necessarily think of Rey as vulnerable, but having weakness known isn't generally a good thing for anyone.

The question might seem to come out of nowhere in their conversation, but Firo doesn't see the need to give context for it either way.]

How do you know her, anyway?

「That answer doesn't bode well... Doesn't this guy care at all?」

That's what I've been doing.

「And he will keep doing so, without his help, apparently. He's met someone as cagey and as paranoid as Firo before, it's alright. The question doesn't come as out of context as he might think, after all, he has to worry about her friend in some way, even if it is not exactly the way Atem wishes it was.」

We talked once at the Guard, had a drink. 「She already looked, not so well, even then.」 I don't know her much. But it doesn't mean I want to see her hurting herself.

[Firo can agree with those last two sentences all too well. Immediately, he recalls his recent encounter with Rey in her home, when he finally managed to bait her into opening the door and saw how bad she looked. The pain of that memory might show in the tightness of his mouth, but he tries to brush it away.]

All right. And what was it you said you were doing for her?

[Going over could encompass a lot of things. Firo wonders how receptive Rey is, considering the kind of security he had to get through, with her barricaded doors.

Mostly, he's still preoccupied with trying to vet this guy.]

「What Firo thinks and what he does is not very congruent. Atem doesn't know what make out of that. But what can he do? Shaking him by the shoulders for him to realize the gravity of the situation is not quite an option.」

Just being there for her. There is not much other I can do.

「Not that he's been too successful, after all, he wouldn't be asking for help if he was.」

Making sure she drinks some water... Just, keeping her some company. 「Cleaning dry blood of her old self inflicted wounds, bandage any new ones, changing her blanket every now and then, stand her sudden mood changes. You know, the usual.」

Why?

[It sounds like they were nearly strangers before--and this is a guy she met at the Guard at that, which in Firo's book hardly gains points for trustworthiness (sorry, dude). Then again, Rey having been part of the Guard herself might mean that their personal rapport is fine, but Firo's still sniffing for another potential motive besides kindness.]

duel 5. ( anon text. )

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