[week four - wednesday]

[ceded]

[ It hasn't been that long since she woke up from her surgery. Hannibal was the first to speak to, since, obviously, he was there, and from that conversation alone she's feeling kind of drained. She's expecting he won't be the last, though.

But surprise still registers on her face when Chane and Claire walk into the room. Both of them? At the same time?

She'll blink at them for a long moment, opening and closing her mouth, and then ask, very softly: ]

Are you going to yell at me?

[ she's

tired. ]

Comments

[ceded]

[ Something about that startles her, and she stares at Claire openly, visibly befuddled. ]

But I...

[ The defense rises automatically to her lips, until she realizes she's about to actively defend her own worthlessness. The realization just makes her feel awful, and her eyes hood as she sighs and lets it go. ]

... can I really ... do more? Was what I did today enough? I want ... to help send everyone home, where they all belong. I want to protect the people I care about. [ She looks up again, her gaze moving from Claire to Chane and back. ] You guys, too. Everyone's done so much to take care of me, I ... all I want is to make sure I can repay the favor.

[generously]

If you somehow found a way to get us all home safely, we'd just end up owing you again. Who could ever repay you for something like that? No, if you feel like you owe us anything, then be more realistic. Smile if you're happy, but also cry if you're sad. Be yourself, 'cause that's what everyone loves you for.

[ what the hell is he even talking about ]

Most importantly, the responsibility of keeping the town safe falls on all of us together. It's not something you can do alone, so just take it easy!

[tightly]

[ (Gonna do it like we talked about on plurk,) The moment Xion reaches out, well - the moment after, more correctly - Chane accepts her reaching hand, letting their grips fold together and doing her best to hold tight and warm.

Claire is correct, though. So many people have already died. At this point, it's important that no one takes too much on their shoulders singularly.

Chane nods along as he talks. ]

[ceded]

[ It's with a little sigh of relief that Xion curls her hand around Chane's. She knows her friend has a tough time with things like this. Being ... close, and especially staying there. So it's ... really nice that Chane is so willing. She'll give Chane's hand a squeeze, a way of showing her gratitude.

Claire, as usual, manages to surprise her with his bluntness. She ends up staring at him, somewhat baffled, because she always feels a little baffled around him. ]

You really don't think like anyone else I've ever met. [ ... ] But ... I like that about you.

Do you really think ... that all of us can figure it out? We've never even caught a killer.

[generously]

Yeahhh... I've been thinkin' about that. If some killers are aware of each other, they'd be more unified than the rest of us. While we're always yelling at each other and not being decisive about anything, they can always stack the votes on someone innocent. ... Especially if we're the ones who end up pointing at them.

That's probably how they'd do it, right?