Ritual of Destruction

[hearnoplague]

[ So, Kallamar was going to just burn the conques Lobelia left behind in the Seagull cabana, but apparently that's a bad idea.

So instead, he just brought them all in a drawstring backpack and invited people to do as they wished with them. Happy destroying! ]

(OOC Note: The shells will release whatever sound was stored in them upon destruction. Have fun with that. )

Comments

[idologue]

[ Lacus has managed to stop crying, and she's also managed to take a shower and wash off all the splatter of Lobelia that has landed on her during the events of the trial. Like Kallamar, she has headed to seagull, and saved a single conch.

She won't be found at the afterparty proper, but she remains on the main island. If you go wandering to the far side of the island, away from the group, you'll be able to hear singing. It's specifically the second half of the song: ]

On the day we were born, we were embraced
And now we search for those gentle hands again
The melody of prayer; one vanishes,
And all begins again; a powerless, painful continuation

One day, to that green morning,
We'll cross through all these nights
Because that is the place each one of us searches for

Now, within my own heart,
I want to keep you warm
So dear, and yet so far -
In the name of peace
Fields of Hope

[ She is not looking for company, but can be approached. ]

[stilllovesyou]

[Nona does approach, after she's done singing, because despite everything she loves Lacus' voice. She stands next to her silently before asking the question.]

Did you love him?

[idologue]

[ Nona...

Lacus knows that Nona went through a lot today, and that she was in the right to be hurt. If things had been different, she would have liked to be there for her.

Unfortunately, what Nona is asking about cuts right through the heart of the matter. ]

... I did.

[ If it's between loving and not loving, she loved him. The worst person she has ever loved. ]

[stilllovesyou]

[There's something amazing about that, she decides.]

I think you're better at it than me.

[She can't bring herself to love him. She can't bring herself to mourn him. She's not sure if she hates him, in the moment she felt like she did but now he's just meat. There's no point in hating meat. She can't understand the vindictive rage of the others any more than she can understand Lacus' grief.

It's alien. Human in a way that Nona hasn't figured out how to be yet. So she touches Lacus' arm and leans her head against Lacus' shoulder.]

I'm sorry that your friend killed my friend. And that your friend turned into meat. I still love you.

[idologue]

Nona... I still love you, too.

[ Lacus isn't sure what she expected from her - something more complicated, perhaps? But Nona is always straight-forward. Lacus wraps her arm around her shoulder - a gesture of support, of love, that she couldn't give earlier today, but means all the more now. ]

But... I don't think it's a matter of being 'good' at it. There is no shame in not being able to love him. Nobody can expect you to, after all this.

[butcherspice]

[After Billy's cleaned off and had his fill of destroying personal property, he takes to a more isolated part of the island, and hears singing. Ah...Lacus. She'd had a lot of interesting things to say back there, but she'd mostly just seemed upset. Can't say he understands, but he can't help commenting.]

...pretty song.

[idologue]

[ Ah, Billy... Lacus feels a little awkward standing before him now. Not because of what he did or said, which was crude but all justified, but because... There is something misplaced about her grief that she'd like to keep from disturbing the others further. ]

Thank you.

[ And still, she can't help asking: ] Are you satisfied?

cw implied suicide ideation

[butcherspice]

[He genuinely considers the question in a moment of silence.]

...I don't know. [He should be. He sort of is, since Lobelia's dead. That doesn't change that Vergilius is dead, though, or...]

Just makes you sick wonderin' why, don't it? Did he take him up on that duel thinkin' he could take him? Why bother...indulging him in that?

[He'd hoped Verg wouldn't have gotten too tired to stop fighting against the rottens worlds they lived in. Or maybe he had without Billy noticing.

How many times has he been ignorant to how much fight someone would have and lost them as a result?]

cont. cw implied suicide ideation

[idologue]

[ Yes, it can easily make you sick. Lacus nods, solemnly. She thinks she understands Lobelia quite well, but Vergilius is another matter entirely. She never knew anything about him at all. ]

And if he thought he could win against Lobelia...? The trial would have started up all the same. Do you think he would have sent one of us to our death in his place?

[ Or was he expecting to die all along, regardless of who won the duel - just like Lobelia was. ]

[plunges]

[ Xiao is absolutely wandering on the far side of the island, later in the day, anduckily, he manages to catch the tail end of her song. Like Haruka, Lacus has a soothing voice, one that's easy to listen to. However, there's something about it that feels...sorrowful. Perhaps it's because he saw her sobbing in the middle of that gruesome mess of a trial.

It's that reaction – her ability to care for someone as vile as Lobelia – that compels Xiao to approach. ]

...I hope I am not interrupting.

[idologue]

[ Lacus would really rather be alone right now. None of what she is feeling and thinking will do any good to share with the rest of the group. She respects their feelings, understands their legitimacy, and still... Her own heart needs a chance to breathe, for just tonight.

Still, she just shakes her head. ]

You're not. I'm just wandering - I don't think I will be able to rest tonight.

[plunges]

I understand.

[ He won't, either, for very different reasons. Still, since he's here, his expression is not one of judgment, pity, or anything of the sort. It's thoughtful, if anything.

He may not be good with socializing, but even he can sense that now would not be a good time to ask her what he'd like to. ]

I won't be here long. I only wanted to see how you were doing, after everything. [ And, for what it's worth: ] And...my condolences.

[idologue]

[ That is... strange to hear, from one who has been sent into a hell dimension by Lobelia just today. After a moment of internal conflict, Lacus decides that she appreciates it. Xiao seems to be saying that their feelings can coexist - she agrees. ]

... thank you. I'll be alright, in due time.

[ She doesn't know when that will be, but by tomorrow she'll have worked out how to fake it. ]

You didn't get hurt too badly, did you?

[dancing_flames]

[Shuda wasn't looking for company either, which would be why he'd wandered away from everyone else. But it seems as though company has found him, and so he just stands silently to listen to the song in the hopes that it will lighten his mood even the slightest bit.

He doesn't mean to disturb her, but when he moves to step a bit closer so that he can hear better, the crunch of the seashell that gets caught underfoot will no doubt alert her to his presence.]

[idologue]

[ Lacus startles, the singing immediately cutting out as she becomes aware of someone else in the vicinity. She whirls around, and then relaxes when she sees Shuda.

Though Lacus had been in no way to adequately react to it in the moment, she noticed his support on the trial island. If nothing else, this means that he is somebody who has accepted her grief. ]

... good evening. It's difficult to come to rest after all this, isn't it?

[dancing_flames]

[For a moment, a ghost of regret crosses his face-- he hadn't intended to alert her to his presence, much less interrupt her singing. But what's done is done, and while he doesn't move closer just yet, he makes no move to step away, either.]

... yeah. I'd hoped...

[But he stops. What HAD he hoped, anyway? That he could have exacted a bit of his own revenge? That so many other people hadn't ended up collateral damage in these events? That when he'd spoken to Vergilius on the beach earlier that evening, he could have said or done something that might have kept all of this from happening in the first place?

He sighs quietly.]

... guess it doesn't really matter what I'd hoped.

[idologue]

[ Lacus takes a moment to answer. Grief is heavy on her mind and words come to her more slowly than they usually would.

Eventually, she settles on something very simple: ]

I'd also hoped.

[ She'd spent the whole day hoping, against better knowledge. ]

We'll have to find new things to hope for.

[diabolizes]

[ Wei Wuxian makes a point to go seek Lacus out, and when he finds her singing, he’ll wait until she’s done before walking a few steps closer to her. ]

Beautiful song, Lacus.

[idologue]

[ Wei Wuxian... As a fellow Seagull, he knows better than anyone that Lacus and Lobelia got along quite well, and even shared the bed in the last week. Nothing in the canbana is going to feel the same from here on. ]

... thank you. I won't be back in the cabana tonight, so if you would like to use the bed, you're free.

[ Though sleeping in Lobelia's bed is probably also. weird. ]

[diabolizes]

[ Yeah, it is, and he doesn’t know if he would even feel right taking her up on that offer. ]

I’ll likely stay out myself, but thanks. [ He tilts his head, a small frown on his face. ] Would you like for me to go grab something for you to eat? Or a drink?

[idologue]

[ That actually throws her completely. ]

... oh. I... Actually, I cannot recall having eaten anything all day.

[ And she can't claim to have an appetite either, but eating is an objectively good call. ]

[skyworp]

[Unfortunately for Lacus, Skywarp catches sound of her singing and decides to make his presence known.]

A pity. [He says, he smiles.] He would’ve enjoyed hearing that, I’m sure.

[idologue]

[ Ah. One of the few people who might have actually enjoyed the show Lobelia put on.

Despite everything, there's a thin smile back from Lacus. ]

I think so, too. He wanted for me to keep singing, and I shall.

[skyworp]

For him? Or for yourself?

[Perhaps they’re one in the same.]

[idologue]

What do you think?

[ She's more curious about that than anything. ]