Cloud

[residentflorist]

code

Lilium
Derived from Latin lilia, which may have come from a corrupted
pronunciation of a word from an extinct Eastern Mediterranean language
Humility, devotion, restored innocence after death

"Lovers used to give these when they were reunited."

Comments

[residentflorist]

Directly ask Karma if he killed Death. [so you know.]

[residentmerc]

... You still think he did it?

[ probably a stupid question, ]

[residentflorist]

Maybe. [and she doesn't like thinking a child was responsible, but.] There were a lot of things that were paralleled to what we found from Death's murder. But I still couldn't ask him. Even knowing death was still written on his arm.

[residentmerc]

... It's vague enough it could mean that guy. Or could just mean he doesn't want to die here. [ he doesn't know how to reassure her, he thinks, and it's not the first time. it's frustrating, a little. ] It's not like he would've told you if you'd asked. Not if he did it.

[ right? ]

[residentflorist]

It was only death on Friday. He told me it was new as of Friday morning, when I was bandaging his bleeding hands. He's a nailbiter, you know? Not unlike the hand we found. And when I mentioned the fire in the swamp he immediately said he had nothing to do with it.

Death was still on his arm today, but there were new words now. Fear, safety, comfort...maybe a few others. It was hard to tell when everything with Boothill happened. [...] It feels a little coincidental is all. But it's why I couldn't ask in the end.

[because she'd been more sure before, and then suddenly Less Sure.]

[residentmerc]

[ hm. it is a lot coincidental. he stays silent for a bit, mulling it over ]

Even if you had asked him, I don't know if we could've managed splitting the vote at that point. Not with Boothill being a lot more obvious an answer. [ by, uh. turning into a snake? guy? person? yeah. ] But you obviously weren't the only one suspicious. We can keep an eye on him for now.

[residentflorist]

We didn't have enough time. [she just doesn't like things being unresolved and not having the ability to get an answer.] Boothill being more obvious helped, in a sense. But if something like this happens again, will it really be that easy?

[she doesn't mention keeping an eye on karma yet because...there are multiple problems here.]

[residentmerc]

... Probably not. I wouldn't say we got off easy on this one already.

[ they kind of did very poorly even if they managed to find an answer!! woops ]

[residentflorist]

You know what I mean. [boothill definitely tipped his hand or we would have straight up voted for someone else.

speaking of...]

Cloud, who did you vote for in the end?

[residentmerc]

...Boothill. [ he stays quiet for a second ] You?

[ he assumes the same, because if she didn't feel right asking karma outright, then-- probably weird to vote for him ]

[residentflorist]

Boothill. [so yeah.] It feels like we went with the easiest route.

[residentmerc]

By the time we found the easiest route, we didn't have a lot of time left to figure out the hard one.

[ does it count as the easy way out when it had to be given a spotlight by the killer conveniently dropping their murder evidence on us ]

[residentflorist]

I know we had to vote for the ritual to take place. But if the cult can interfere like this, doesn't that mean we're going to be responsible for sacrificing others if this happens again?

[residentmerc]

... I think we should expect it to happen again. [ which isn't what she asked, but it's on his mind, so he says that first. ] What are our choices? Either we go along and put them through the ritual to stop them from killing, or we... let them go, and they'll kill more people. Just a different flavor of sacrifice.

[ he shakes his head ]

They were implying not voting wasn't an option, too.

[residentflorist]

[no! that's not what she asked! but cloud is usually pretty blunt about these things so she's unsurprised.]

Right. If we find them and put them through the ritual to stop them, we lose less people versus letting them go and risking them taking more of us. But just because it has to be this way now doesn't mean there can't be a different ritual we find later to separate the monster from the person.

[...also that's not fun either.]

Let me guess. Not voting would be sacrificing ourselves?

[residentmerc]

I'm not saying this is the only thing we can do forever. But for now, it's the only option we had.

[ he's not satisfied with it either! he has some personal issues about people turning into monsters against their will and not being able to be fixed or whatever,,

he shakes his head ]

They didn't outright say, but that's the most likely answer. We're connected to all these rituals whether we like it or not.

[residentflorist]

[yes. i wonder why they both have some issues about people turning into monsters against their will and not fully acting on their own conscious.

she doesn't say anything to that right away, but she grips his arm a little tighter before they seem to arrive at the church. she doesn't quite go inside yet, but she does look at him as if asking if sitting down outside is fine.]

...we already had people volunteering to die in people's places if they didn't like the answer. [so this does not exactly bode well for future trials.]

[residentmerc]

[ mystery :)

he's looking up at the church for a bit so he misses her look first, but then he nods at her like. whatever she wants is fine. ]

Yeah. Like that'd help. [ it does not bode well for future trials and he is also kind of--annoyed. about it. ]

[residentflorist]

[we sits.]

It's going to get bad as people get to know each other more. There are going to be people other people don't want to lose. [in some cases, there are already people who have people they don't want to lose.]

[residentmerc]

[ sitting... in front of the church... like we are zack... ]

... Think that's already the case with some people. [ they are some of them, but words are not happening on that ]

[residentflorist]

[we are zack...]

... [well. yes. they are some of them, and aerith acknowledges that much.]

Caelus told me he and Aventurine were fighting back where they're from. They weren't on the same side, but coming here they'd agreed to trying again. And Karlach, Gale and Astarion were traveling together back where they're from. I don't think they'd give up on each other no matter what happened.

[again, like, hard same, but we are not making words happen there yet.]

[residentmerc]

Lucas and Mathis are from the same place, too. [ if we're going to be listing every body. he looks down at aerith but he is not going to be the one to put real words there right away, because he doesn't think it's helpful ] It won't get any easier with time for anybody.

[residentflorist]

Mmhm. Lucas said Mathis is his student. [we are still going to avoid the words. instead, we are going to sit side by side as she looks off into the distance at the pyre.]

...it's a little cruel, isn't it? Bringing so many people from the same place and being told they might lose them.

[residentmerc]

... Maybe the cruelty's the point. [ maybe dying alone is worse, though? he doesn't want to ask that out loud. ] Seems like the kind of thing this "ritual" would like.

[residentflorist]

[she doesn't say anything immediately.]

...I don't think I like that very much. [which is such a simple thing to say, but it kind of says everything at the same time. maybe cloud will understand or maybe he won't. there's the additional layer for her, knowing she was brought here after being pulled away from her friends the first time. being pulled away a second time does, actually, scare her. but the best she can do is everything to keep all three of them safe and get back to where they belong.

the idea that it could be used against them...is awful. but even without cloud knowing the full extent, maybe he'll understand the dislike translates into her worries that they aren't exempt either.]