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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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. ]

That liquor sure is some hard stuff.

"The garden and the fresh air... they are outside to admire, not to accept into the main part of the heart. She should have made do with admiring them from the cracked windows. She wouldn't be dead if she just made do with what she had in the ballroom."

That's bullshit! Even if it's risky, that doesn't mean she shouldn't enjoy those things. What kind of a life will she have if she never goes outside? Let me tell you this: If she just stays where it's safe, if she never tries to experience everything there is to enjoy... If she just stays cooped up inside, she's not truly living.

She looks over you coldly.

"Coped up inside what? The main part of the heart? She needs to stay inside. If the true heart is inside, the rest of the heart should remain inside, too."

[ He looks at her, and then he grins. ]

Then I'll just have to take the true heart outside.

"Do you know where she is?"

The nurse looks right at you. She doesn't seem like she's asking for a real answer here.

[ He waves a hand dismissively.]

Details, details. No, I don't. But that doesn't mean I won't try to find her.

"...it wouldn't be safe for her to come out."

I think I'd rather let her decide that than you.

"Really? Because with Coping dead, I am the one in charge of protecting her now."

You know, I really don't think an avatar of death ought to be in charge of protecting anyone.

"That was the only choice left for me when Coping died. Do not bring that conversation up again."

I still think she deserves the option. If she tells me "no" to my face, then I'll listen. But you can't decide for her.

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