savetheearth | 007 — handwritten & open action.

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007 — handwritten & open action.

Who: Banagher Links (

argents) & you!
When: January 8th, throughout the day.
Where: LCU hospital
What: Protagonists gonna protag. Banagher followed his destiny, chased a princess, and got shot up by a Blood Key for his trouble. Newtype hax means he's now rotting in the hospital, going stir-crazy. ~~Little does he know he's not the only one of his trope in this situation.~~

( HANDWRITTEN )

Got mixed up in something, at the hospital. Need a change of clothes / phone charger.

( ACTION, OPEN )

[ So he may feel a little stupid, sending out what amounted to an SOS. But he can only stare at the pale interior of his hospital room for so long.

Because he's only been here a day, and he's heard it a thousand times. Luck, luck, luck. It's beginning to get so old that he almost wants to say, no, it wasn't just dumb luck. But then again, he's not entirely sure he believes that either. Taking a bullet and living was a humbling experience. Taking a bullet and having it miss bone, miss his brachial artery... maybe he ought to start believing in miracles a little more, once it sinks it.

Not to say that miracles didn't hurt like hell.

In the end, it's all he can do to stifle his own focus on what landed him here, along with the pain that's still coursing through all his muscles. Sweeping beneath bruised skin, and delving into the bone. Frowning and setting his head back, he looks up at precisely nothing.

That'd really gone terribly, hadn't it? ]

(ooc. feel free to put the time in the subject for action!)

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[ Leaning forward, his brows lift. ]

But you didn't say it out loud, right?

[Blink, blink.]

N-no, I didn't... then you really...?

[Her shock broadcasts well, but on some level... she's impressed rather than scared. Sure, there are things she doesn't want let out, but... it's quite a power. It makes "magical girl" look kind of mundane in comparison.]

There's a lot about it I still haven't figured out.

[ Yes, yes he really. Looking away again, he collects this thoughts as well as he's able. From the approach, it's obvious he still doesn't really have the best handle on how to describe it.

But he tries, at least. ]

But I can sense a lot of things. Innocent stuff like that, or... not so much. Like when things are about to go wrong, I know it. I can react to it — right down to knowing how to take a bullet, and come out like I did. [ He touches his shoulder. ] So it's not just feelings, but reflex, too.

[On the surface, she's attentive and taking this in well. But Winter's thinking back to a few things that didn't quite make sense. The fact that it seemed to be easier to convince him of things in person. How he just had that knack for knowing exactly what was wrong. That time in the rain, when nobody should have known she was out there... actually, that one really stood out, because it meant he hadn't "found" her there at all. He'd purposely left his house and run into a storm, for her. All those times at the library, he came out to talk to her because he knew she needed it.

She liked to think she could serve as someone that could help people with their problems. Draw out what was wrong. But she'd lost before she'd even begun. To this person... this amazing person with a heart as deep as the sea, and the (ill-gotten) skill to use it to its fullest. She respected that. She admired that. She... admired him, really.

And somewhere deep inside, the argument between the part of her that wanted to keep their relationship the same and the part that didn't mind exploring... came to a sudden and decisive halt. A halt that gives her a warm feeling inside, because maybe she could make this work after all. If he cared this much about someone he'd barely been getting to know over the last six months... maybe she could find the courage to take the next step.

And that's probably a strong enough feeling for the Newtype in question to pick up. Belatedly, she realizes that it's going to happen... but she's not sure she cares enough to rein it in. After all... just because he's an empath doesn't mean she has to hide how she feels, right? So she's standing there with a dumb smile on her bright red face, not sure what else to do.]

I think... I understand.

[ Four words, and already there's an immeasurable weight off of his shoulders. It's a special case, since he's become so used to hearing her speak over the months — listening to everything that meant anything to her all come rushing out from where it'd been held for what he suspected was years. Maybe it was unfair of him when he knew so much about her, to keep what he was capable of carefully off the radar. Maybe he'd just been wary, or even a little afraid. Empathy was touted as a virtue, and yet it terrified him, to come off as anything less than genuine. Sometimes he'd needed help in reading her, or a nudge in the right direction, like the rain that day, and other times... well.

Other times, like now, he didn't need anything at all to understand.

Already, he looks a little more alive than he had before, less a victim of the unfortunate circumstance that landed him here in the first place. It's a distant flicker in his mind, at this point, making him appear a little softer, and less on the offense. Funny, how maybe he'd just needed to butt heads with her to finally see it. Courage, and happiness, and a multitude of other things he doesn't care to name, and he's happy he doesn't have to.

It just is.

In response, he smiles, like she's bleached away everything that scared him about himself. Maybe he's the one that should have been thanking her, this whole time. ]

I think I've been waiting for someone to say that. I'm glad.

It's an amazing power, you know? You don't have to depend on p-people being able to say what they mean. Not when you can just... understand.

[She glances over at Raquel a little wistfully.]

All I can do is hit things with my power... granted, we n-need that, too, but it's not anything that flashy. I'm a little jealous, honestly.

[She pauses. How much did she want to say...?]

And I'm glad I could help. You... looked like you could use it, Banagher.

Are you saying I look bad?

[ If there's any indication that she had, in fact, actually cheered him up, it's the fact that he can turn around fire back a harmless quip. It's something he doesn't linger on long though, following her gaze over to Raquel. ]

If I'm being honest, I didn't know what to think of it. Whether or not it meant I was genuine with anyone, when I suddenly had that perspective. It's almost scary, how much the world opens up like that... and I wondered what everyone would think, if they knew.

[ Which played a factor in his decision to play it down, if he admitted to it at all. At least now there was someone important to him that he didn't have to hide it from. ]

You shouldn't be jealous though! Not when I know you're right. Your power actually lets you protect people, as Diamond.

[ Not that he's seen it for himself, but it was an obvious shift in her whole demeanor. ]

Even if you can still overdo it.

[ Another tease, because yeah, he knows. Birds of a feather. ]

I'm s-saying I was worried...!

[Meanie. But she sighs all the same.]

You... even before all this, you were a kind person. All this did... was give you the tools to understand everyone better. I don't think you c-could be anything but genuine with the people that are important to you. And... I know I'm a little biased, but I think the others could be convinced to see it that way, too.

And I'm just jealous because... before I g-got my power, all I was good at was talking. And you've got such an advantage there, now... but I'm not giving up. There are t-things that I can do, and I want to keep doing them, as long as I can. So I'll let you take care of the people I can't reach with my words, and I'll fight to protect them.

[She colors a bit at the end; she knows she can't deny that remark.]

Or at least, I can try to be responsible about it. I just get s-so passionate about this, sometimes...

You ought to be proud of that. [ He shifts, as if he knows he's being a little bit hypocritical, with how he feels about why he's here. Or how he'd felt before this, anyway. ] Being passionate about protecting people. I want to think that whatever ways we find to do that, or... whatever ways come to us, like your power, or mine, it just means we can work together to see this through.

[ It's something he can say truthfully now that she'd given it form — if he could get through to people, if she could fight for them, if she trusted him enough to do that, then... ]

So we don't have to take on the world alone.

I am proud of that passion. More than I think even you know. I just wish I d-didn't have to hurt people because of it. To get hurt myself. I've been burned more than once already... it's hard to come back from that.

[She sighs, looking back at him.]

I depend on my power, to keep me alive when things get hard. It's s-saved me more than once. It'll probably keep happening, too. I will use whatever is at my disposal to make sure I can keep doing what is important to me, because without that, I'm just... a girl that's becoming a v-vessel for someone that's already dead.

But if I can keep going... that changes. I'm Winter Adamas. Whatever happens, there are people I will protect, things I will do, promises I will keep. Because that is who I am. And I'd be honored... if you'd help me, Banagher. Help me be myself, help me do the things that are important to me. Because I'm not the only person a-affected by my actions. Not... not anymore.

[ It comes as no surprise to hear her advocate both sides of the coin, so to speak — a product of being so passionate about something was that it left you open enough to be struck down by it. It left blind spots in better judgment, and blind spots on people. But that's something he's come to admire, just how many times she'd gotten back up, for herself and for those she loved. Really, the importance of that feeling suited her. Probably why he couldn't bring himself to apologize, when she'd pinned the blame on him. ]

No, Winter. You're right. You're not the only one anymore. Finding importance in people, the real thing... it's not easy. And it's not black and white, at least not enough for me to say things like, 'it takes sadness to appreciate happiness', or pain to appreciate gentleness. There's way too many other things involved, you know? That's why, when I knew I could sense everything that's in between, I got scared. I told someone once that I wouldn't be, but that was before I knew how much it made the whole world expand. Right in front of me.

[ Which was at the crux of the matter, why he's been so tight-lipped until now. There was so much to understand — how could he handle that kind of responsibility? That weight, the very gravity of it? Was that fair? ]

This whole time, I've been able to use it. This power, being a Newtype... never knowing if it was really something that was mine.

[ He raises his gaze again, very squarely. ]

I forgot why I said I wouldn't be afraid of it in the first place.

[ To reach that foreign pulse that existed in everything and everyone around him, no matter how immense, and drag his fingertips across it in an effort to understand it. Need it. Give as much as he got out of it. ]

But I remember now. It's because I wanted it to be my own! No matter how heavy it is. So I could have the resolve to help everyone, and you, to not just be some vessel —

[ For all of his conviction, something about that word snags him. Something familiar. In an instant, his eyes widen with the force of a pulse that thunders through him. It's different, this time, nearly visceral. Something roars into his mind's eye that actually makes him recoil a little from the force of his own words. ]

[She sees that, and she hesitates. What happened...? Was it something she'd said? Or had he remembered something? At the end of the day, it probably didn't matter that much - her role didn't change. She'd come to check on him, to reassure him. That was her role, and she could still do it. That much was... still within her power. She didn't have to be a- Newtype, he'd called it? She didn't need those crazy mind powers to be able to do that much.]

You have the power to understand. The things I can't say, the things I don't know how to say... it's a heavy power. It's... I c-can understand why you'd be afraid of it. Nothing is sacred, not even the dreams in our heads.

But at the same time... it's a freedom most of us can't even d-dream of. The freedom to never make a mistake. To know what to say, what to do, without having to guess. To live... without misconceptions. It can give you courage. I know I... would do anything, for a p-power like that.

So, please... don't run away from it. I know it's... easy for me to say. I just have a plush toy and m-magic. [She holds out a hand, and Raquel obligingly flies to her, and she holds him in her arms.] I don't have something crazy like that. But you... have this power for a reason. Past-you did, too. Whether he used it for good or evil, I... can't say. And yet... that doesn't s-stop you from having a responsibility to try. To find that resolve. In whatever way suits you best.

You're more than a vessel, Banagher. J-just... just like me. I want you to believe that. There are people that need you, and there are things only you can do. Through your power, and your words, and your smile...

[She falls silent. Here she is, lecturing him on this... the world can be a funny place, huh? He's the whole reason she can talk like this. Over the months, she'd drawn so much courage from talking to him... if she could repay that even a little bit...]

Edited (lol HTML) 2014-02-21 17:44 (UTC)

[ As soon as the effects of one pulse subsides, another one surges forward to take its place. It's... kinder, in some respects. Rather than the memory that had rattled him cold, this is simply — knowledge. A theory, and a next step. Wisdom.

...mankind will then be able to understand each other without misconceptions...

Part of him can't believe it. People like him had a theory. ]

If everyone was like that...

[ Banagher can't help but say it aloud, somewhat thickly. Replying not to what she'd said, even as he was listening, but what she'd caused. What comes then is actually a puff of air that he supposes sounds like a breathless laugh, if he hadn't cut it off. He raises his free arm to press his thumb and forefinger to the corners of his eyes, like he's trying to clear his mind and focus again. ]

You need to stop giving me pulses, I think.

[ That statement is much lighter in tone. There's still something unsteady in him, but he's focusing on her words, pushing it back. She was standing right here, telling him — he was still a part of this, that everyone... wasn't she? ]

Even if I have the freedom to never make a mistake, I don't think I'd want to live like that. Knowing things doesn't always mean I'll understand what it is I feel. The only way to know that for sure is... being around everyone. Understanding what that responsibility means. To everyone I know.

[ On instinct, he shifts his injured arm in his sling, putting his good hand to his heart. ]

...My first pulse, someone was trying to tell me something. I think I get what it is now.

[ Briefly, his fingertips dig into his shirt, before he moves it. He knows, he knows he messed up, and he can't do much right now. But he still offers his hand. ]

I want to help you. [ A smile. ] If you don't think I'll just be slowing you down.

S-sorry. [How was she supposed to know she kept using magic words? She shakes her head lightly.] Not my fault, this time.

But... you're right. It would b-be kind of boring, if you had all the answers. We don't learn, if we don't... make mistakes sometimes. [She colors a little bit.] Not that s-some of us learn even when we do. [She's expecting to be bopped with a banana at some point.]

Still, different people... expect different things. I c-count on you to... give me stability, sometimes, when I'm feeling uneasy. That's not what any other person necessarily wants or needs from you. Some of us d-don't know how to express those things. We just... guess, until we're understood. And the people we're close to understand our idiosyncrasies, our tells, our desires... it's h-how we grow together.

[Seeing him grip his heart, she wonders what's wrong, but... that kind of told her a lot. That he didn't understand either. It was a little refreshing, in a way - she'd kind of gotten this image that he seemed to have all the answers. That he knew what was going on. This put a little crack in that image, in one corner. Where she could ignore it if she needed that illusion to last. But when she felt like nothing made sense... that crack reminded her that even her heroes were human. He bled when you cut him, just like her. It was something that she needed from time to time... and something she'd grow to appreciate.]

I'm... happy to hear that. I just h-hope I'm not a burden to you, as much trouble as I get into.

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007 — handwritten & open action.

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