[SO sometime on Monday afternoon, a certain Lord of Spirits is searching for a certain graveyard tromping urban prince!! she, of course, waits until he has a chance to clean up from the morning's excursions to track him down at the hotel]
[she can't help but chuckle a bit as she folds her arms over her torso. although the movement hurts due to her injury. . . and so she's forced to drop her arms to her sides. one day, she'll learn]
I almost feel as though the quiet is a well-deserved reprieve. We should savor it as much as we can.
I wouldn't take that bet, because I know you'd win it.
[plus she just isn't really a gambling woman, but you know]
I'm fine now. It doesn't hurt just to walk around and breathe anymore, but I do have to be careful not to agitate it. I'm certain I still have a few more weeks before I'm back to full health.
[the bruises haven't even begun to fade yet, but that's because it hasn't even been a week]
[he nods at that—he's glad she's at least doing better, even if it's worrisome. but he has to ask, a bit curiously.]
...Was it worth it? [getting injured—did she actually get anything out of it aside from that injury?
it's not a judgmental question, at least. he understands why people keep doing these things and he can't say there's not going to be a time or circumstance where he wouldn't do the same. but there's a lot on the line, and he's aware of what a disadvantage he's at right now, so it's a bit tough for him to be as bold or fearless about it.]
[she answers that without hesitation, without any sense of remorse or regret. knowing there's a lot on the line and being aware of her disadvantage merely propels Milla forward. she isn't afraid to be bold or fearless]
Even if we didn't discover anything immediately useful in the gunsmith, simply opening the building means we're one step closer to turning over every moss-covered rock in this town.
[oh my god. she tries not to laugh, because laughing too hard can hurt her ribs. also: it's dark humor, she shouldn't laugh at someone losing a leg!]
We won't know until we try it, at any rate. [and, slightly frustrated] But I'm unable to explore any other buildings myself this week. Perhaps the next, too. I have to leave the task to those much more capable than I.
[he knows that won't really stop her, but noct doesn't want to see milla getting herself killed. he doesn't want to see anyone die, but he knows that she really can't afford to.
the whole lord of spirits thing and all.]
Wonder who's gonna be the one to take the plunge this week, though.
[it. . . won't stop her, but she made her intention clear from the very beginning. she knows she can't afford to die, and even in taking risks she'll fight tooth and nail to stay alive]
And whoever it is, for Dr. Lecter's sake I hope their injuries are superficial at best.
[Noctis is too kind!! she is definitely moving much more slowly than usual, but the walk is still good for her. she can't stay in bed forever]
Do you remember the meeting we had last week? With Percy, Natalie, Harry and Jason? And the discussion we had about the role which could end this game?
[the pace is fine, he's not really in the mood to walk too fast.
though when she speaks up, he quirks a brow. honestly—he's not surprised entirely that this is coming up. more than once, he's been approached about things from that conversation, so the only thing really left to wonder is what she wants to know.]
Yeah—my memory's not shot to hell even if my nerves might be, you know. [it's just a response to lighten things a little, even though he's obviously taking it seriously enough.]
Kind of a tough spot to ask where I learned it and say I don't have to name names, you know.
[it's... definitely something he doesn't feel the best about talking about—and though it makes him uncomfortable, he doesn't completely hold back either.]
Might make some trouble if I said where I heard it from first. [but!] I think it was getting around anyway. Someone else mentioned it to me, and they'd heard it from someone else, too.
[for whatever that may be worth, but even noctis knows it's not worth very much at all.]
[she knows she's putting him in a tough spot. that's why she's trying to allow him to remain as vague as possible]
As I thought. It seems we're all playing a complicated gossip game. Word spreads fast, but no one is willing to name any names or help guide the people who need to be together to each other.
. . . a fact I understand, of course, considering how careful we all have to be about handing out our trust.
[still. . . perhaps she'll have to approach Noctis like she did Percy]
Trust... and not wanting anyone to get killed who doesn't deserve it.
[that's more his problem than anything else. he doesn't want to incriminate other people, nor does he wants to incriminate himself.
but he also knows that he doesn't want to break trust with people he ideally wants to be on the same side as—people he thinks are good. noct's not good at this sort of thing, tough.]
Figured there was a reason—questions like that don't come without 'em. [what that question is, though.
[that's another thing Milla understands. she, also, doesn't want to get anyone killed who doesn't deserve it. she had said it before and she'd say it a million times, to anyone who would listen. . . this was a game in which trust was a commodity both hard to give away and to receive from others]
[she doesn't answer his question directly. her next comment almost makes it seem like she's changing the subject. . . a little bit]
I suppose when you think about it, this role you heard about. . . it's their job to strike out only when absolutely necessary. Isn't it?
[there's something purposeful about her choices of words, and she's watching Noctis to see how he reacts]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
week 5, monday afternoon sometime idk
Good afternoon, Noctis. Are you keeping busy?
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Oh, Milla—hey. [she'll get a casual enough wave—at least today he's not in the worst spirits ever.]
Busy enough, I guess. It's not like there's all that much going on right now, at least.
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I almost feel as though the quiet is a well-deserved reprieve. We should savor it as much as we can.
[since, you know. it probably won't last]
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[he may as well say what they're both already thinking, right? either way—he winces a little seeing the way she moves.]
How are you holding up, anyway? [she seems largely okay, but it's pretty clear that her injury got her pretty good.]
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[plus she just isn't really a gambling woman, but you know]
I'm fine now. It doesn't hurt just to walk around and breathe anymore, but I do have to be careful not to agitate it. I'm certain I still have a few more weeks before I'm back to full health.
[the bruises haven't even begun to fade yet, but that's because it hasn't even been a week]
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...Was it worth it? [getting injured—did she actually get anything out of it aside from that injury?
it's not a judgmental question, at least. he understands why people keep doing these things and he can't say there's not going to be a time or circumstance where he wouldn't do the same. but there's a lot on the line, and he's aware of what a disadvantage he's at right now, so it's a bit tough for him to be as bold or fearless about it.]
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[she answers that without hesitation, without any sense of remorse or regret. knowing there's a lot on the line and being aware of her disadvantage merely propels Milla forward. she isn't afraid to be bold or fearless]
Even if we didn't discover anything immediately useful in the gunsmith, simply opening the building means we're one step closer to turning over every moss-covered rock in this town.
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You think we'll actually find anything in any of those places, though? I mean... aside from a good way to lose a limb or two.
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After all. . . when Shinnosuke and Jason opened the post office, several of us received letters from those who had died.
[and THAT is useful, even if those letters were censored. or at least, Milla's was]
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[funny too, because he was the recipient of a letter as well. one that was also heavily censored.]
I wonder if there's really anything else that'll come from the other building like that. It's... pretty weird.
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[she doesn't know, it's just a thought]
I'm not really sure about the cinema and the restaurant, though. Or the unmarked buildings.
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[that... doesn't seem like a worthwhile endeavor.]
The other stuff seemed practical... not really sure if a restaurant or a cinema's gonna give us much.
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We won't know until we try it, at any rate. [and, slightly frustrated] But I'm unable to explore any other buildings myself this week. Perhaps the next, too. I have to leave the task to those much more capable than I.
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[he knows that won't really stop her, but noct doesn't want to see milla getting herself killed. he doesn't want to see anyone die, but he knows that she really can't afford to.
the whole lord of spirits thing and all.]
Wonder who's gonna be the one to take the plunge this week, though.
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[it. . . won't stop her, but she made her intention clear from the very beginning. she knows she can't afford to die, and even in taking risks she'll fight tooth and nail to stay alive]
And whoever it is, for Dr. Lecter's sake I hope their injuries are superficial at best.
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but he can't really argue that any further anyway, so he lets it drop.]
Yeah, me too. I think we've had enough of the serious, life-threatening injury stuff already.
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[even she's able to admit to that, and her hand ghosts over her bruised ribs, the skin black and blue underneath her fingertips]
At any rate-- I was looking for you because I had some questions to ask. Would you mind taking a walk towards the homestead?
[so they can have some peace and quiet]
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[he's completely okay with it, and he'll definitely keep a bit of a slower, lazier pace so milla doesn't end up exerting herself too much here.]
What kind of questions, anyway?
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Do you remember the meeting we had last week? With Percy, Natalie, Harry and Jason? And the discussion we had about the role which could end this game?
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though when she speaks up, he quirks a brow. honestly—he's not surprised entirely that this is coming up. more than once, he's been approached about things from that conversation, so the only thing really left to wonder is what she wants to know.]
Yeah—my memory's not shot to hell even if my nerves might be, you know. [it's just a response to lighten things a little, even though he's obviously taking it seriously enough.]
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Please understand that I'm not asking you to name any names or betray any bonds of trust you might have with someone else. But. . .
Where did you learn the information you gave to the rest of us? It seemed as though you had already heard it from someone else before the meeting.
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[it's... definitely something he doesn't feel the best about talking about—and though it makes him uncomfortable, he doesn't completely hold back either.]
Might make some trouble if I said where I heard it from first. [but!] I think it was getting around anyway. Someone else mentioned it to me, and they'd heard it from someone else, too.
[for whatever that may be worth, but even noctis knows it's not worth very much at all.]
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As I thought. It seems we're all playing a complicated gossip game. Word spreads fast, but no one is willing to name any names or help guide the people who need to be together to each other.
. . . a fact I understand, of course, considering how careful we all have to be about handing out our trust.
[still. . . perhaps she'll have to approach Noctis like she did Percy]
There is a. . . reason, I'm asking.
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[that's more his problem than anything else. he doesn't want to incriminate other people, nor does he wants to incriminate himself.
but he also knows that he doesn't want to break trust with people he ideally wants to be on the same side as—people he thinks are good. noct's not good at this sort of thing, tough.]
Figured there was a reason—questions like that don't come without 'em. [what that question is, though.
well, that's the issue here, right?]
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[she doesn't answer his question directly. her next comment almost makes it seem like she's changing the subject. . . a little bit]
I suppose when you think about it, this role you heard about. . . it's their job to strike out only when absolutely necessary. Isn't it?
[there's something purposeful about her choices of words, and she's watching Noctis to see how he reacts]
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