99 (Oh I could pray, but that won't stop you leaving)

[lamb_of_gold]

[He's waited. It's been weeks, but he's waited.

Mu sits alone in the forest - a place he typically avoids, for a variety of reasons -  fussing with a small wooden statuette, and beside him, a wrapped gift. He remembers almost too well the last time people dear to him left - The rage and the grief and how little had come from it.

Now he's just...tired? No, not tired. Drained maybe. There was anger there once, and it's wake left a very still and very large emptiness behind.

Somehow, being here fills it in a little bit, even if it is only with memories.]



I suppose you win again, Plane.

Comments

[oliverplus]

Mu? What happened?

[Oliver's expression is full of concern as he approaches his friend. he could barely hear Mu's comment, but he did manage to make it out--and he doesn't like the sound of it one bit. he sits down next to him, waiting worriedly for his reply]

[perfectpartner]

[Emil approaches Mu cautiously. The last time he was here, he's pretty sure Mu was dying... It's been a while, but Mu doesn't seem like he's hurt, just sad and numb.]

Mu?

[betrayedtwin]

[North frowns as he comes upon Mu. He'd seen a dot disappear from that spot when he was using his motion trackers earlier, but he thought maybe the person had left the Plane. But it's that look again... He remembers seeing that expression when he came across Mu in the hot springs. Something else must've happened.]

Hey there, Mu. What's going on, something happen again? [He tries to sound light-hearted, but really he doesn't know what to think. Is the gift for Mu? Who left it?]

[lamb_of_gold]

Oliver?

[Minute surprise, and when it fades, the sadness again. Mu's gaze drops back to the statuette.]

Kiran and Saga have vanished. I had hoped they were only busy but...

[lamb_of_gold]

Hello, Emil. No wounds on me today, don't worry. [The joke sounds about as half-hearted as the smile Mu tries to give him looks.]

[lamb_of_gold]

You could say so, yes. [It's not quite the same. Before, it had been the look of a man deeply ashamed. Now he looks...beaten.]

I have lost two who were dear to me in this place.

[oliverplus]

[Oliver gasps] Kiran and Saga!? But... [he's too stunned to know what to say. after a moment, all he manages is a quiet:] Are you sure?

[perfectpartner]

[It upsets Emil quite a bit, unfortunately.]

That's-- that's not funny. You can't joke about things like that! Not ever, and definitely not when you're making that face!

[He runs forward-- screw manners-- and goes to sit in front of Mu.]

What happened?

[lamb_of_gold]

Very. [His hands finally come to a stop.] They're gone.

[lamb_of_gold]

[!!!]

That was crass of me, I'm sorry.

[Mu looks back down as Emil sits.] Two people have vanished from this place, and both were dear to me.

[Even Saga, in his own warped way.]

[oliverplus]

[Oliver is silent again before he says:] I'm sorry. [because that's the only phrase that he can think of that at all describes how he feels--he's both sorry for Mu and because he now knows he's just lost two close friends, too]

[perfectpartner]

[Emil frowns deeply. What Mu is going through... he's been through it, too. It comes with being on the Plane. Even so, he can't be alone, not really, and so he wants to remind Mu of that too.]

I'm sorry...

[He just wants Mu to feel better. Mu is one of the few people who believed in him-- the reason he's still here, still alive, and not someone else.]

I know it probably doesn't mean much, but... I don't think this is the last time you'll meet them. Someday we'll figure out how the Machine works and we'll be able to go to any world, and visit anyone we've met.

That's what I want to believe, anyway.

[lamb_of_gold]

A part of me is relieved that this place can no longer hurt them, but... I can't help but worry for Kiki. [Worry enough that he even calls him 'Kiki' in the first place, instead of Kiran.]

[lamb_of_gold]

[It makes Mu smile a little, at least.] What I would give for your optimism.

[betrayedtwin]

Geez, I'm sorry to hear about that. [He puts a hand on Mu's shoulder.] Did they die and just not come back?

[oliverplus]

Why? [he asks the question without thinking, but he immediately realises at least one possible reason, so he adds:] What's...going to happen? In Kiran's world?

[lamb_of_gold]

I'm not sure of the details, but it seems that any peace gained by Hades' defeat is soon to be undone by the meddling of other Olympian gods.

I am long dead in his reality. Now I cannot even offer advice or protection here. I've lost a master already. I do not wish to contemplate losing a protege.

[He uses protege. He means "child."]

[lamb_of_gold]

No, they simply cannot come back. It wouldn't be the first time such a thing has happened, and certainly won't be the last.

[oliverplus]

[Oliver looks down, taking all that in--and avoiding another dose of Mu's feelings while he does so. he's quiet again, briefly, but he knows that he needs to comfort Mu. putting up one of his shaky mental walls first, he makes eye contact again. firmly, he says:] Kiran is strong. You know he'll be okay.

[lamb_of_gold]

I know he is, and I know he will be - there is no challenge he has not risen to.

And yet the worry is there. It will never leave.

[oliverplus]

[he reaches out, putting a hand on Mu's shoulder] You know...somehow I get the feeling that isn't new. [because that's a feeling even he understands--what it's like to be separated from someone you care about and unable to even find out how they are]

[softly] It doesn't mean it'll stop hurting, but...that's life. Isn't it? You still got to have the time here that you did.

[perfectpartner]

Mu... [Emil worries the hem of his half-tunic. After a moment of consideration, he reaches out and places his hand on Mu's arm.] If I'm optimistic, it's because I know things will get better.

There was a time when I was really scared. I didn't know what would happen to me, and I thought I would disappear. But you always believed in me. You never doubted me— even when I lost control and hurt others.

I'm here because-- because of you, at least in part. Even if something happens and we lose sight of each other... nothing will change that.

[betrayedtwin]

Sounds a bit like life and death in normal circumstances. [He squats down near Mu, facing him.] Were they people from your reality, or just friends?

[lamb_of_gold]

[He doesn't move away from the touch, nor does he lean into it. It's unclear if he even notices, but he tenses very briefly, then relaxes again. He doesn't answer for awhile, seemingly choosing his words carefully.]

The heart does not always accept what the mind knows for truth.

[lamb_of_gold]

From my reality both. One was a colleague, Saga. The other, my pupil from a time further in the future than my own - Kiran.