Fifth Beat | Just Go

[knightime]

Characters: Dave Strider, Oichi, Marisa Kirisame, John Egbert, Shion, Vriska Serket, Aisha Clanclan, Sora Himoto, Yuki Yagizawa, any of Dave's Weapons not being transferred
Format: Any/Either
This log is: Closed
Location: Fortitude Gates
Summary: In two days, Dave has literally gotten bad to worst. Now he's transferring friends and people he's acquainted himself to in an attempt to avoid them.
Warnings: Probably more sad shit will happen. ALL THE WARNINGS.

Thursday had just been an entire whirlwind. He scarcely even remembered what happened. He fought Suzaku and somehow won. Then he got in a fist fight with Vriska and triumphantly got his ass handed to him. Oh...well that explains why he feels and looks like shit.

Dave decided that he could work something to his advantage. If the winning condition could be easily met with six Weapons, he could transfer them to other Fortitude Players right? After he got himself slightly cleaned up (slightly being a keyword here), Dave had contacted Marisa and Oichi about a transfer and to meet at the Gates of Fortitude. He'd be giving up some close people and Vriska (he just doesn't want to see her anymore) to them. They wouldn't be able to touch him without the penalty, and he was fine with this. He could go on his merry way and indulge in not talking for the rest of the Round. Sure, shit may hit the fan when the round ended, but it gave him time to sort. Of course, he did warn the two Players that they better take care of the Weapons he was transferring and give them their rights.

Once he had contacted the two Players, he contacted all the Weapons getting transferred to meet him at the Gates in front of Fortitude. He explained that they would be transferred and the reasoning why, and where to meet for it. He said there really was no choice in the matter, as this would only really last through Friday anyways and it was just to help other Players of his school out. Also, he was making this mandatory for them to meet, because trying to round everyone up otherwise is a pain in the ass.

Dave is already there when they get to the Gates. He's got his shades on despite it being dark. Maybe you can't make out how pale he's gotten. Or that he's got ugly blue or black bruises forming. But you can probably see the bandages around his neck and he hadn't changed uniforms, so it was still dirty (although he also did fight a battle that day so).

[OOC: There are three threads set up where you can try talking to Dave, for Weapons to meet Marisa and for Weapons to meet Oichi. You can make separate threads if you want to mix and mingle though!]

Comments

[fabricates]

She didn't have much time to react between John approaching her and the strike to her face. Her head snapped back from the force. For a second time that week, pain exploded in face, and blood filled her mouth as her lip cracked open and she was sure she'd bit the inside of her own mouth in the process.

Vriska has had a lot of injuries in her life. A lot, two of which had been actually crippling. But not a single one had been as painful or crippling as this inexperienced blow to her face. She was pretty sure that even if she could remember how she died, it wouldn't have been as painful as this. It was more than just a punch, it was John punching her, and she didn't even have to read the text to know why. But she hadn't been expecting... This. Though she'd never really seen him angry despite how much he'd been through in the game, she hadn't expected his anger to be physical like this. But maybe it wasn't, usually. Maybe it was because of who she fucked with. This was not a consequence she'd be prepared to deal with.

Her hand moved to her touch her lip, and she stared a little dumbfounded when her fingers came away coated in cerulean. She wasn't sure why she was surprised he was strong when he wielded hammers like he did. But maybe it wasn't that at all that she was surprised over. It had to be the fact that John was actually angry at her. While she could deal with every troll in the Veil hating her, whether she wanted them to or not, and while she could deal with every other kid hating her if they wanted to, she couldn't deal with John being angry with her, let alone hating her. And fuck, what if he hated her? The last shining hope in her miserable, doomed existence, and she may have just extinguished it with an offhanded decision to screw with his friends. She felt sick, like any minute she might vomit if she tried to speak. What could she even say?

Finally reading his PDA did nothing to quell the bile from rising. In fact, she was pretty sure it made it worse. She didn't want to look at him, she really didn't want to see whatever expression he was making at her. But she owed him at least that much. She owed him more than that, and she owed Dave and Jade too, if she was being honest with herself. She needed to apologize, and maybe she could do that with Dave and Jade later over text, but now? She didn't have her text to hide behind, and she didn't even have her sarcasm when it was John. Her gaze finally moved from the PDA to look down at his face. And honestly? His expression might as well be another blow. She didn't think she'd ever felt worse than this, except maybe when she killed Tavros or one other time but she could't remember the reason. She opened her mouth, closed it again when nothing came out, and when she finally opened it again the word vomit began.

"I didn't mean to. Well, I guess I did mean to at the time, but it was stupid. I was stupid. I didn't think she would believe me? I mean, not that it makes it okay or anything. Bluh, that's- I'm... I feel bad about it. I just wanted her to stop crying. It was like the worst possible way to get her to stop but I don't... I don't know how to do this human thing, this doesn't happen with trolls. I mean, not really?"

[wakingsavior]

He doesn't hate her. God help him, he doesn't hate her even though he's pissed as hell. He's angry, and he honestly feels kind of betrayed that she would do something like that to his friends, but part of him knows that trolls are a lot further from human than they seem on the surface.

He watches her face intently as she talks, and-- okay, some of that got lost because he can't concentrate as closely as he should, but it's an apology, of sorts. More of an apology than he thought he would be able to get out of her, to be honest, and he hadn't even had to push her for it.

Well, okay, he hit her, but he's pretty sure that he just hurt his wrist more than he actually injured her, at least physically. She looks--

God, he can't stay mad at her when she looks like she wants to be sick, or disappear into the ground, and he can't stay mad at her for being a dumb kid who doesn't really know how to deal with humans in any real way. Because no matter how badass any of them are, they are all dumb kids.

He sighs, and starts to sign instinctively, which just makes him suck in a sharp breath and wince when the pain in his wrist shoots up his arm again. Yeah, definitely hurt himself worse. That's... kind of lame, actually. Typing with only one thumb is a little tedious, but he manages it. It does take a while, though.

ok. that is good to know.
i'm still mad at you, though.
you need to apologize to dave.
and then you need to apologize to jade and tell her you were lying.
because shit's really fucked up right now over this.
you don't know how to do the human thing and that's ok, it's not your fault, but i'm teaching you a little.
you need to apologize to them.


...sorry about hitting you. :(

[fabricates]

Her eyes shifted back to the PDA, reading over it and nodding numbly. The fear drained from her limbs, and her expression looked a little less shell-shocked over the entire thing. Okay, if he was apologizing about hitting her, then he probably didn't hate her, right? She really hoped so. If she could salvage this by apologizing to Dave and Jade she... She would. Even if it meant swallowing all of her pride to apologize to Dave. She just didn't want to fuck up her friendship with John, and if it meant playing nice with the other kids well. She could do that. Or at least, she could try.

Vriska wasn't stupid enough to enough to not notice the way he winced or nursed that hand. It made her feel even shittier that she'd indirectly hurt him like that too. Emotional distress was bad enough, wasn't it? She scrubbed at the blood still dripping from her lip, smearing it over her hand as she gave a nervous smile.

"Don't be. You gave Strider a run for his money with that punch, though. Sorry about your hand. Wait-"

Her hand was shaking a little, and she fumbled through the movements and gestures, but she wanted to try it anyway. Maybe it would mean something if she tried. And maybe it would be easier? Well, she doubted that. Saying sorry was hard. Admitting she was wrong was hard. She had no idea how to even sign the word 'sorry', so she just spelled it out in what Dave had taught her. She guessed she didn't have much of a chance at lessons after this royal fuck up, though.

[wakingsavior]

Well, she came damn close to fucking it up, honestly, but John is horrible at holding a grudge. He'll be a little wary of her, and they're not going to be hanging out until the worst of the fallout has been dealt with, but... in the end, she's still his friend. The fact that she agreed so instantaneously to apologize is definitely a good sign, to him, and it puts him at ease, at least as far as she goes. He's still got to try to talk to Dave, and find Jade, but this one thing had been settled... pretty quickly.

He can't help but smile back at her when she smiles - just a little bit of reassurance that he doesn't hate her, even if it's a little bit forced. Shit. Is. Fucked. Up. Still, no point in making another friend more miserable than she already is. He quirks an eyebrow at the mention of Dave, and he means to ask, except that she's signing. It's just finger spelling, and it's kind of messy, but she's doing it. He wonders if she taught herself or somehow talked Dave into teaching her.

A bit of typing later, and...

thanks.
you should go apologize to dave now.
try not to get in an argument.

He gives her a pointed look and then nods over to where Dave is standing.

[fabricates]

She couldn't control the way her face soured at the suggestion of apologizing to him now. Seriously John, she just embarrassed herself apologizing to you, and she felt like the most worthless troll in the history of trolls. What would her Ancestor think of her if she could see her now? She'd be a disgrace. She wasn't sure she could swallow anymore of her pride to apologize to Dave now. She needed a screen between them to do it if she wanted to keep any respect for herself. Not that she really had any left at this point. It was hard to when the person she'd aligned herself closest with had just punched her in the face and she'd just stomped on everything she'd grown up learning not to do.

"Does it have to be now?"

It seemed a little pointless asking, but if she could postpone it even a little longer, maybe she could salvage some semblance of self-respect for this.

[wakingsavior]

John doesn't bother saying or typing or attempting to sign anything. He just crosses his arms over his chest (well, as best he can with his wrist hurting like a bitch) and gives Vriska a long, hard look.

Yes, Vriska, that look is saying. It has to be now.

[fabricates]

Yeah, she kind of expected that. It didn't make it any easier to mentally prepare herself for what she expected would be the most degrading experience of her life next to dying. Probably more so because at least she couldn't remember the circumstances around that, but she would never forget this. That sick feeling was coming back, but she gritted her teeth and steeled herself.

"Fine, fine. I will." She turned on her heel to stalk off.