screwthatnoise

♥ v2

A cold, delicate hand grabs yours and pulls. It pulls, and it pulls... there's a sense of urgency in this icy grasp, as well as a trace of reluctance. Abruptly the hand let's go, right as your vision fades to black, and for a brief moment, only a brief moment, your senses disappear. There's only the eerie sensation of weightlessness before your feet are settled back on solid ground again.

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[ He shrugs, a bit impatiently. ]

How would I know? I've never managed to stay dead.

[ Then he pauses. He regards Nurse Echo a little more seriously. ]

I didn't know that you thought about death that seriously, beyond what happens in games.

"I think a lot about death. The reasons. The pain behind it. That's why I'm here."

That's pretty morbid, you know.

"Somebody has to take care of it. And that is me. Nurse Hail."

Have you considered not thinking about dying?

"Thinking about dying is my purpose... but enough of that. Dying is not that big of a problem."

The nurse walks over to that weird gurney to inspect the body laying on that.

Dying is a huge—

[ His voice trails off as he finally notices the corpse. ]

Who is that?

She ignores you question and examines the body.

"The one who helps Hail cope. Or was supposed to help. She died earlier today."

[ His eyes widen. ]

She died?!

[ Then he looks at Nurse Hail, his tone urgent. ]

Can you bring her back?

She scoffs.

"She is not dead anymore. She has been revived. But she is sleeping right now."

Well, that's a relief. Someone like her, she's bound to be important.

[ He walks over to look at her, grabbing Janta before he moves away. ]

But how did she die?

"She really isn't important..."

Nurse Echo sighs and gives Janta a pointed look. Janta just looks back at her and tilts his head.

Nurse Echo looks back and you.

"I do not know how. It looks like someone took a blunt object to her head."

Of course she's important, she's part of Hail. And everyone needs to be able to cope somehow.

[ He pauses. ]

That sounds like some kind of metaphorical bullshit, but I'll bite. Do you know if anything bad's happened to her recently?

"It's okay now because I am helping her cope."

She puts some thought into this answer...

"Many things? That is all I can say. I do not leave this room. But I found a dead person in the garden outside of the building, which should not be possible because Zwei cannot leave. And I found Coping in the garden, too. I think it might be linked."

Why would Hail's avatar of death help her with co... ping...

[ His eyes go wide for a moment, then he shuts them and pinches the bridge of his nose. ]

Well, shit.

Nurse Echo tilts her head. Not in confusion, but in interest.

"But it is okay now that coping is reviving. Maybe she just needed to be taught a lesson... after all. The dying plants in this room. They are her doing."

I don't think she needs to be "taught a lesson", she needs help to get stronger.

[ He looks around at the plants and considers. ]

You mentioned a garden. Is there a watering can out there?

"No. I think dying will help her."

The nurse tilts her head towards the far corner of the room.

"There is a watering can right there."

How the hell will dying help her?

[ As he's speaking, he's heading towards the watering can and checking to see if it has anything in it. ]

There is something in the watering can. It seems half full.

"Like I said. She will learn her place in this heart. If she cannot help Hail to cope properly, dying should help her realize her wrongs."

That is some seriously screwed up logic.

[ He takes the watering can, goes to one of the dying plants, and pours a little water into it. ]

But it's not water that pours out. It's dark.

"You don't understand her logic."

[ He stops what he's doing when he realizes it's not water, and peers inside, trying to figure out what it is. ]

Care to explain, then?

I'll be frank, it smells like liquor.

"I cannot explain her logic. She has hopes and dreams, when one with coping shouldn't have had them. She worried more about the future than the state of Hail's being. She relied on the future, and it failed her. The plants... they are that."

Of course she should have those. Hail needed those. Needs those. That's all a part of her state of being. Which isn't to say that she should rely solely on that, but... It's important.

[ Liquor, huh? Clearly, this requires a taste test. Which is to say that after he speaks, Clue is actually taking a sip from the watering can. ]

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