Afterparty? Catherding?? .........Afterherding?????

[aboyandhiscar]

[As soon as they're let out of the trial area, Mike makes a beeline for lounge and kitchen. Why, becomes apparent, because soon after, the room furniture in the lounge is arranged in a circle, with a seat for the all the remaining guests.

There's also a pot of coffee and soda cuz it's been a long fucking day. Maybe there are cheezits too, I don't know, a seventeen year old boy put this together. There are pizza rolls probably.

IN ANY CASE, hope you had enough time to flop and mope because Mike's knocking on every door and telling folks to meet in the lounge--if they aren't in their rooms, he'll slip a note under their doors. Once gathered, he skips straight to the point.]

I know it's been...a rough couple days for all of us, but we can't rest just yet. Especially not after that.

Before anything else can happen, we need a plan. How do we get to our friends, and how do we get them back?

And has anyone gotten any more weird notes lately?

Comments

[chainbroke]

[ It's a lot easier to fall into negative thinking after something like that, and away from Star's positivity, it's... no wonder that Naminé is significantly more subdued. She has a soda, though, and she clutches it like a lifeline. ]

I want to believe him. Did he... give you any clues to help us escape?

[defyingfrigidity]

I do as well.

[It's hard to give out trust, sometimes. Elsa knows from the mess with Hans that you can't always blindly trust kind and honest-looking face, and she knows that even people you thought were your friends could do terrible things, like Tadashi and Demyx....

But this is different. She's not sure if something inside of her wants to cling desperately to something she might be able to spark into hope, or if she's just going along with it because she needs something to focus on so she doesn't waste away. But he sounded so kind, so warm...]

He didn't, no. All he told me was that we had to free ourselves.

[chainbroke]

[ She nods. It's hard, certainly, but at the same time, the desire to hope is so intense that it's almost an ache. Naminé takes a sip of her soda. ]

I wonder if that just means that he really doesn't know, [ she says softly, thoughtfully. ] I'm glad he reached out to you. He didn't have to, and yet, he did.

I think that says a lot.

[defyingfrigidity]

And he didn't ask anything in return. He didn't forbid me from telling the rest of you any of this. [Not like Ezra did...] All he did was talk to me for a while and give that information.

If he did have any idea on how we could escape... I think he would've at least given me some sort of hint, or something to work with.

[chainbroke]

[ For a few moments, Naminé thinks about how this might be a trick. A way to lure them into a false sense of security and hope.

But... no. No, she can't think like that. Not when Elsa is so firmly convinced that his intentions are good. ]

You're right. We have a lot of work ahead of us, don't we?

But, I wonder... Do you think he'll come talk to you again?

[defyingfrigidity]

.... I don't know. He might, but... he came to me in a dream. It isn't often that I get much of that now.

[She wouldn't so easily admit that, in most other circumstances, but the deep, dark circles under her eyes can't really be hidden. No point in denying it now.]

I could... try, to see if it helps...?

[chainbroke]

It's worth a try, I think.

[ Please get some sleep, Elsa... Naminé doesn't say it, but she's worried. ]

[defyingfrigidity]

[She nods. Look, she's given up on her own personal health, but if it can help the others in some way... she'll try and do this, at least.]

I'll be sure to let everyone know as soon as I can, if anything new happens.

[chainbroke]

Okay. And if you need anything, I'd be glad to help.

[ We're all in this together, after all. ]

[defyingfrigidity]

Of course. We... we were already planning to help each other out, right?

[She still hasn't forgotten about Namine's plan to lift everyone's spirits... even if the air of depression is hanging low over them, she's still willing to help Namine with it.]

[chainbroke]

[ Even with the gloom... her face lights up. ]

Oh, yes, of course!

[ She's so happy Elsa remembered. ]

Maybe... we could set up a gathering... and have everyone create their own ice cream sundaes.

[ The idea's still in the works, admittedly. ]

[defyingfrigidity]

... Wander had an idea like that.

[She hadn't meant to bring up the dead, possibly bringing the conversation down, but... it was one of the things that really stood out, when the grief and pain of losing Anna were still fresh and raw.]

I wouldn't be able to help much with that, though. My magic can do a lot of things, but it doesn't extend to making ice cream.

[chainbroke]

... It sounds like something he would suggest.

[ She smiles sadly, then goes quiet for a moment. ]

Well... we would need some way to keep it cold, wouldn't we? And we'd need some decorations, too. And I'd definitely need help figuring out which toppings would be good.