You're probably woken up by the explosion first. A loud, deafening boom comes from behind the walls of the residential district. When you look outside your window towards the darker, more secretive area of the city, you might see the structure around it... crumbling, the land falling in on itself slowly but surely. That might be what wakes you up first. If it doesn't, you may be awoken instead by the sudden jerking feeling behind your navel pulling you from where you are to somewhere... else.
It's dark. The first thing you notice is that it's dark -- and then come the scrabbling sounds of creatures in the dark, like metal being dragged across metal, a chilling, sharp sound. The first thing that becomes clear, as your vision adjusts, is that you're on a rickety pathway, metal and rusting and frail, above what appears to be yawning blackness. Far, far below, there's the faint sound of rushing water, a ways away.
The second thing that becomes clear is that you are very much not alone. Something is out there with you, and from the screeching metallic noises that come ever closer, it seems to be stalking you.
Thankfully, you're not alone -- right?  ...
...........
................
:)
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PHASE I [ ??? ] It’s drafty here. You’re below ground, that’s for certain from the echoes of the wind in the darkness. If you continue on forwards along the rickety, metal railing that serves as a walkway, the skittering noises of creatures in the dark follow -- but they don’t appear.
It seems everyone has been dumped along this pathway at random; you may be with friends, with enemies or with someone you’ve never met before, but either way, it soon becomes clear. There are only two ways to go along this path: up or down.
If you choose to take the path that follows a gradual slope down, the sounds of water lapping against a surface increase bit by bit, the air growing heavier and danker, until finally, the metallic platform gives way very suddenly (watch your step!) to a muddy bank. Down here, everything is darker, and not far away there’s the water. It’s cold and frigid and there are unfriendly creatures that await if you choose to delve into it. However, if you brave those creatures, and dive deeply enough, there is a mask. It rests half-buried by silt and rocks, but it’s there, and can be found by any intrepid explorers.
Somehow, it feels a little familiar.
And if you carry on in the cave system underground, eventually you will come across what appears to be an altar. There is blood on it -- not fresh, but not more than a month old -- and pieces of trinkets. Old bits of cloth, locks of hair, and some of them may even be familiar. Any dropped character who has a reasonably large amount of spiritual or magical power may have left scraps, such as pieces of clothing, trinkets, hair, or the sort behind at the altar.
Maybe that's why they weren't in the Nexus Code.
PHASE II [ ??? ] If you go up, you will eventually make your way above ground. It takes some time, and some luck -- you’ll have to avoid rusty railing and pathways, the path crumbling under you and that creeping sensation that something is following and watching you -- and then you’ll suddenly be in fresh air.
Well. It’s not so fresh, really.
The landscape is broken down and crumbled. It may have once been part of the city of Cerealia, but now it is in utter disrepair and decay. Buildings have crumbled, and debris is everywhere. There are signs of the same level of technology that Cerealia has -- but it is all broken down and utterly inaccessible.
And you’re not alone.
It seems the technology and metal and broken down destruction has gained sentience over its time sitting alone, waiting. And it is not happy to be disturbed. The creatures are made of pieces of everything around them, and when cut down, they’ll just slowly rebuild themselves from the debris.
It might be time to run.
They aren't happy about being disturbed, and you're in their way.
PHASE III [ ??? ] Above ground, there are a lot of broken down buildings.
Some can’t be accessed at all; some are too broken, too reduced to rubble. For those looking for shelter, they'll be able to find buildings where the doors can be forced open and they can camp out on the inside to various degrees of stability. Though the ceiling may cave in or the floor fall out from under you at a moment's notice, it's better than being out there. Be careful, because none of the architecture here can be trusted anymore.
And other buildings... are even less trustworthy than that.
There is a series of buildings in the midst of the wasteland, somehow still standing. They stand there silently, towering over the rest of the rubble in their two-story glory, and if the doors are forced open, it soon becomes clear that the building itself is full of mirrors.
Once, the mirrors had perhaps covered the walls and ceiling. Once, this building might have been akin to something of a ballet studio, somewhere to express yourself creatively. But now the mirrors are shattered and broken into pieces and the building lacks the joy it might have once held. Shards of mirror cover the floor, some big, some not so big, but they still hang from the walls as well and everywhere you look, you can see yourself.
And then, the reflection changes. From one blink to the next, you see a memory playing in the mirrors. Your memory. You’ll see a glimpse of one of your most traumatic or life-changing moments, broken up but clear in the shards. Blink and look away, and it’s gone, only to show up again in the next mirror a few moments later. Surely it’s just a trick of the light, right?
Except if someone else is with you, they’ll see it too -- and you might end up seeing a bit of their own past as well. Hope you're fond of sharing.
PHASE IV [ ??? ] If you survive the monsters, the crumbling landscape and the untrustworthy buildings, you may eventually find a terminal. It is buried deep among the rubble. One turn around a corner, one stumble into a hole, and you will find it. It sits there, out in the middle of nowhere; the building in which it used to be housed is apparently long gone, reduced to nothing but rubble.
And if you turn it on, there is a brief message.
Transmission Broadcasting.
Transmission Connected.
And then, there is a face.
BONUS [ ??? ] For those who have been wearing their masks a little too much, they might also start to notice that there are some strange effects attached, which worsen the more they’ve been wearing said masks. How badly they worsen is up to your discretion.
➝ Broken Mask: An intense feeling of paranoia, focused on whoever your character is with. They might also begin to remember fabricated memories of being betrayed by those people.
➝ Barcode Mask: Everything will begin to have value to them. There will be whispers in the back of their mind of the worth of their friends, the worth of a monster, the worth of everything around them. An intense need to own and consume as much as possible and as quickly as possible.
➝ Dripping Blood Mask: An intense lack of self-worth, a hollow feeling and thoughts of being weak and empty. Feeling as disposable as possible and an intense listless along with it.
➝ :( Mask: A need to prove yourself, to show everyone how strong you are as quickly as possible. You can do things, you can be of worth to everyone around you. Why won't they see that? Why?
➝ Ivy Mask: A choking sort of terror from all things metal and technology based, and a need to lash out against it. An intense distrust for anything that they feel is against the laws of nature.
➝ Grey Mask: More personable than normal, more emotional, more empathetic. An intense feeling of kindness and gratitude to those around you and a renewed love of life.
➝ Feather Mask: A dulled, lack of emotion. A detached feeling to everything around you. A sort of bland curiosity towards things without any empathetic reaction.
➝ Bloody Fingerprints Mask: They'll feel absolutely fine. No change.
The effects of the broken mask can stack on top of the others, if they chose to break their mask after the other effects began to appear. No other effects can be stacked, as no other changes can be stacked.
PENALTY [ ??? ] For characters who die while in the dark parts of the city, things will get... a little strange. They will die as normal, but they will wake up almost immediately after their death -- in the Nexus Code. They will have a few surreal moments to be there, to see their friends who have left Cerealia hanging lifelessly from odd, glimmering strands (though there are some faces, of course, that are missing, anyone who was spiritual, or magical, seems strangely absent) and then --
They’re back to being dead.
When characters revive in Cerealia, anywhere from one IC day to three or four IC days later, they will find that things are… not quite right with their code. They’re glitching, for a lack of a better word. Sometimes, their fingers will phase right through an object, their own limbs registering as cold and lifeless. Sometimes, they will see a face watching them -- but when they turn around to try to see who it is, the face will be gone.
These effects will last an IC week, before slowly things go back to normal.
That was strange.
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ] |
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Stahn's reaction does make sense, though. It made sense before just because that's the sort of defense Kashuu would expect to see between two people with a close bond, but it adds a new dimension of understanding, and he nods once in a quiet way.]
All right. [There's a part of him that wants to ask why it happened, how they got to that point, what happened next - but a lot of that is something he'd want to hear from Leon at his own pace, and he doesn't want to force Stahn to jog his memory even more than he already has. Reliving painful memories is something he wouldn't wish on many.]
I'll keep that promise. [Even though it doesn't need reaffirmation, he says so anyway.]
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he wouldn't disagree that it's better for leon to be the one to share those things when he's ready. but all the same, stahn has no way of knowing if leon would ever be ready to share that with any measure of detail with anyone beyond the ones who were there. a lot happened that led up to it. even more happened in the aftermath, though leon doesn't really know the full details of that part, either. that's something stahn alone carries, with a lot that leon may never know, if only because they both have such a hard time communicating about this topic.
stahn takes a moment to breathe before he flashes another look of gratitude at kashuu.]
Thanks a lot... really. [he goes quiet again for a moment, and then his expression shifts a little. it's sad, still... but there's a different kind of resolve.]
Can I ask you for another favor, Kashuu?
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The question has him looking up again, though. (He's not really sure when his gaze drifted, but it had been fixed at some empty point on the ground near that building.)]
—Mm, you can ask. I'll do my best.
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[it's not something he wants to think about, but he knows it's possible. he knows that people vanish in this place without a trace, and if that happens to him...
he's worried about leon. he's worried how he'll react, how he'll get by... what he'll do. reliving the finality of leon's situation dredges that up on his mind, especially when leon has been so intent on finding a way to get stahn home on his own—it has stahn really concerned about a situation like that.]
Can you look after him? I... don't want him to be alone. Even if Chaltier's with him, I want someone nearby that will be good to him.
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Of course.
[Though he hopes things won't come to that either, he can't afford to live with the naive illusion that everything will stay perfect forever. If he lived like that, there would be no way he'd be able to make it through disappearance after disappearance after disappearance and still keep going forward, so - he accepts the possibility, even if it's bitter on his tongue.]
I won't let him be alone, even if you go away.
[That hard work that's undoubtedly being put into repairing things between the two of them... It shouldn't be corroded by a place like this. There's no way he would be able to support Leon like Stahn, but he can at least be something of a temporary hold, the prop used to keep something in place while it sets and recovers.]
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[because leon never, ever admits when he's in need. which is a problem in and of itself, but not the one that stahn has any intention of focusing on.
dymlos sighs quietly; he's stuck in a place of knowing that stahn is far too attached to leon for his own good (which has been a problem even following his death), and also knowing that he can't stop stahn from worrying about this sort of thing. dymlos can detach himself from human sentiment enough to never lose sight of what needs to be done...
but he does care for and worry about stahn a lot too, which is why so long as it's not impedeing what can be done—and what needs to be done, he doesn't interrupt too much.]
I'm glad... that he'll have someone here at least. I don't want it to happen, but if it does... [at least leon won't be alone. it's unlikely there'll ever be anyone else who cares for leon in the way that stahn does, but he's trying his best here.]
Thanks. [how many times can he say that in one conversation? we just don't know.]
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[He wishes he could do more, honestly. He wishes he could figure out all of the stupid pieces of this stupid puzzle of a city so that people could stop being hurt because they're caught in the crossfire between this or that enemy, this or that lie. But he's only a sword, and strategy isn't even his strong point, so he's stuck with this frustrating feeling of futility. Everything he can do to help will be taken immediately, then, even if it's small.]
But I don't want it to happen, either. So I'll really, really hope that it won't.
[On a more selfish level, he likes Stahn, too. He wouldn't want to see Stahn go away. So many people have already left and he's just tired of it.]
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[there's another small hiss of protest from dymlos, but stahn keeps talking before he can actually complain about what dymlos has to say—what stahn says next is just as much for him as an explanation as it is to convey his thoughts to kashuu.]
I know I have a lot I need to do... I have a duty as a Swordian Master, and I'm not going to forget that.
[got that, dymlos?] But I want to help everyone here too. I don't want to be taken or left behind until everyone can go where they belong.
...Or have somewhere new they can call home. [obviously, that's for leon. it's a pretty obvious silent declaration that he wants to find a way for leon to be able to live a life of his own, free of what his fate gave him. even if it's not their world, stahn could rest easier if leon has somewhere to go.] I can't just leave this behind when people here need help too.
[so he won't give up, and he can only hope he'll be able to find that solution before he disappears... and of course, that his own world won't fall to ruin in the meanwhile.]
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It's admirable, he thinks. That's the kind of person that he would want to be wielded by - that he's lucky enough to be guided by now, really. Haru is similar, and that might be part of the reason that he's endeared.]
You're a pretty good person, huh? [Not even speaking to his sunniness and optimism, which Kashuu can also appreciate.] Wanting to help out like that... Hey, I wanna help too, okay? I have something to do back home, but it would really be too sad for anyone here to get lost on the way.
[So - it makes sense then, doesn't it? To keep moving forward, for now. Because CERES can't stop them here. Because they all have goals to strive toward.]
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I don't feel like it would be fair if I had a way out when others didn't. So... I want to help everyone. [whether it's leon, or kashuu, or otome, or any of the other countless people he's met or even briefly spoken to.
he sucks in a breath; he's trying his best to find his resolve and work past the feelings of pain. it's... not the healthiest coping mechanism, but it's all he knows, especially when dymlos is always telling him not to lose focus on what needs to be done.] Let's work together... to find a way.
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So he latches onto that instead, the notion of working together, and hopes that it will be enough for the both of them for now. The repairs can come later, when immediate danger has passed.]
Mm. So rely on me if you need to, okay?
[He'll do his best to support, which is something he's always done well, if nothing else. And if he can do that for someone like Stahn, that's enough for him.]
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this is fine, because unlike leon, stahn isn't the sort to try and carry that kind of weight alone. he may shove his pain down and sweep it under the rug, he may try to smile his way through a lot in order to carry on and keep his strength...
but he can't do things alone. he's never tried to do things alone, and he doesn't believe in bearing burdens on his own.]
Yeah. It's not something I can do by myself. I know that... I need my friends to do that much. [which is something he sincerely believes. here are so many merits to relying on his friends; he only bottles things up out of necessity when his own feelings are impeding what needs to be done for the better of everyone. it's what happened when he ignored rutee's grief for his own, when he focused so hard on getting vengeance for leon, and when he went practically catatonic following ilene's untimely sacrifice. but for anything else, he remains open and willing to work with others and rely on the people he calls his friends in order to achieve their goals.]
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But no. Stahn is as genuine as he always appears to be, which Kashuu is also endlessly grateful for. His lips quirk upward into a brief smile. Brief, because things are still far too heavy for him to be able to maintain it, but there nonetheless because even now, Stahn is showing that there are still things to smile for or about or because of.
And honestly, it's nice to look at a huge hurdle like the one they all face regarding CERES and think, "ah, we're not alone."]
Then we'll have a lot of working together to do in the future, I guess! It's probably gonna be a long road, but... No way can these guys keep getting away with the things they're doing. No way.
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[and there are a lot of bad and strange things in his world. monsters born from ancient energy sources, an impending war from a thousand years ago restarting, aerial cities that contain technology from those ancient times—a lot of things stahn at one time could never have been able to fathom.
but yet somehow, the things that happened in cerealia seemed infinitely worse, and more dangerous. ways to alter people's perceptions and sensibilities, separating people at a moments notice, moving them against their will to places like where they are now, the power to display memories... it's horrifying to content with. honestly, they're threats that stahn doesn't even know how to face.
maybe that's why he begins to steel himself a bit. without anyone telling him to snap out of it or reminding him of duties, stahn reminds himself: there are people who need help. his friends back home, his family, his world... but also leon, the friends he's made in cerealia, and everyone else that's had their lives tampered with by ceres.]
I don't even know how we'll do it but. I want to find a way. I want to find the best way to help everyone here. [he sucks in a quiet breath, but offers kashuu a small, subdued smile.]
The Aileron family motto is to never overlook a person in need. There are too many people here in need to overlook, so... I'll do whatever I can/
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[There should be more families like that out there, more people who won't overlook others in need. Maybe then humans would finally be able to stand together, even if it would mean permanently putting swords like himself to rest.]
I will, too. ...Do whatever I can, I mean. It's important to take breaks and rest up, but it's important to keep moving forward too, yeah? I guess this is really just like any other war in the end.
[An enemy to fight against, allies to hold he fort with, a cause to fight for, the constant battle of taking steps forward and the costs that come with those steps. He may not be a genius or particularly full of old wisdom, but he's at least familiar with things like that. One foot in front of the other, onward and onward, measuring and cutting losses, knowing when to withdraw and live to fight another day.]
Geez... They weren't lying about that part after all, huh.
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I used to think Gramps meant it just to be helpful to others around us. In our village... everyone helped each other. But it was peaceful, so the things we helped with usually weren't hard.
[but time and experience and finally leaving that small backwater town has taught him that there were a lot more lessons in thomas aileron's words than he let out.]
I never really thought about how much else it meant. He helped people all the time when he was a soldier... he would tell me stories about the heroic things he did. I thought... doing that and helping people like that would be really cool one day. [stahn really didn't intend to talk about this at all—not that it's something to hide, but it's just on his mind now that they're on the topic of helping others and war.]
But it's about a lot more that that, right? I get that part now. It's not about being heroic and saving people who can't help themselves. It's helping the people we fight with... and sometimes even the ones we have to fight against.
That's... something that happens in war, in moving forward, isn't it? [it's a bit thoughtful, stahn's words. he doesn't things about this kind of stuff very much, so he finds himself ruffling his hair and pursing his lips as he ponders it. they can help each other, they can lean on each other for support, but no matter what, they have to keep moving forward to find answers.
it's not that much different than what he's dealig with in his own world in a lot of ways. it's just that the stakes feel higher and he doesn't have the same circle of support that his family and the party members gave him. but with leon, with otome, and with kashuu... it's a start, right?]
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[It honestly feels like it's been days since the last time he properly smiled - and maybe it has been, and this isn't really proper by his standards either, but it's warmer and less stilted than his smiles have been in ages. Even if Stahn isn't entirely certain, there's nothing wrong with that. No one is, he's pretty sure, and the people who are are usually the least flexible when change comes to prove them wrong anyway. That's certainly not a good place to be.]
Protecting isn't just about being able to take a hit for someone who can't wield a sword. [It took him a long, long time to even begin to grasp that, and he still struggles with it, but conversations like this one help him to reaffirm it more.]
So you're not wrong, I don't think. Moving forward means the game changes sometimes, so you gotta know yourself and your strengths and weaknesses to help keep the team going. [He's not entirely sure about helping the enemy, exactly, but he's also aware of the fact that there are some situations where that does apply.]
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[it's okay if kashuu isn't sure about helping the enemy—even stahn only means it in very specific instances. particularly ones where the people he's against aren't inherently bad or evil; the ones who just believe in things differently and stand against him because of a certain kind of morality.
those people don't deserve to die. those people should still be helped. to stahn, he'd rather try to change someone's mind and remind them of the good in the world than just take their lives away. he hasn't had the most luck with that—he's already taken the lives of people he never wanted to even hurt to begin with. that sort of morality isn't black and white, stahn's learned... and while some enemies need to be stopped at whatever cost it takes, many don't. or... they shouldn't have to be.
either way, stahn is able to return that gentle, subdued smile to his lips. it's hardly anything near what he would normally expect to see, but... it's better. it's a lot better than he was just a while earlier, even if there's little doubt that beneath it all, stahn is still very shaken over the things he saw.]
It's what I think, too. There are people counting on me, so I have to be ready do to those things, no matter what. [he says it a little more confidently now; somehow, kashuu is reminding him of all the things he needs to remember without outright telling stahn to just ignore his grief.
this is pretty important stuff here.]
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As things are, he's just happy to see a smile back on Stahn's face, even if it's not as bright as he's used to. That's only to be expected after everything he's seen. He imagines it'll take him quite a while to really get back on his feet, but he won't rush the process. He'll just try to nudge it in a generally forward-moving direction, since that's what they all have to keep doing in the end. Moving forward.]
Y'know, I don't like a lot of things about this city. [A SORE UNDERSTATEMENT.] But I'm still glad that I could meet people like you 'cause of it. It's nice to hear someone say things like that and know they really mean it.
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he doesn't have much of a good response to what kashuu says though; he doesn't really think much about what he says or how he views the world because it's just the way he is. so as he ruffles his hair a bit, stahn shrugs and nods a bit.]
There's a lot I don't like here too... things like this. But... [there are a few things he can say in response, and naturally, he says them both. nobody wears their heart on their sleeve so earnestly like stahn does.]
I know it's not all bad. I get to see my best friend again... and I've meet a lot of good people and made friends. So no matter how bad it gets... I don't think I could hate it. There are a lot of things I'm glad for.
[like kashuu, here and now. and even though stahn doesn't say it out loud, his expression conveys it well enough.]
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["Think" because feelings are such a nebulous and bizarre thing to him even now, but if he had to guess, he'd say he feels the same. That this place is difficult to deal with, and that losing the friends made here can be very hard, but that it's ultimately worth the struggles in the end.
He hopes his opinion never changes, because even Kashuu is aware of how hellish Cerealia could get for someone who couldn't find any good in it.]
I think having those good things makes it a little easier to deal with the bad things, too. So thanks for that, since you're part of the good things just by being here. [Ah, the gushy sap comes out...
But with all of that said and done, and the sound of machinery still stomping along out in the distance:] Maybe we should find a place to rest that's a little more covered.
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so many people he's met do nothing but talk about how bad cerealia it is, how ceres does nothing but awful things—and while he doesn't disagree that their methods are questionable and it's possible they're every bit as awful as people paint them, he wants to believe they're not so bad. he wants to believe there is intent to help them somewhere, and he knows not everything they've done is outright bad. he also thinks that having people around—friends like leon and kashuu—make the worst parts more bearable.
it'll be okay.
probably.
maybe.
either way, kashuu's suggestion earns a nod. the conversation's been enough for him to get his bearings back at least; the feelings may still linger, but he can press forward without feeling like he'll collapse from the shock and crushing pain.]
Yeah, you're right. It's too dangerous to stay out here for long.
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Kashuu's more of the opinion that things are okay in Cerealia despite CERES, but he's definitely holding out on the "things are okay" part of that... Though he also lives with the acute awareness that this could change, and he's certainly not feeling generous after stumbling across the altar, he still likes to think that the good parts are worth it.
But that's something to save for later contemplation, after the huge pile of other stacking concerns and issues have been worked down to a more manageable size. For now, they have to keep pressing forward.]
I saw a building over that way that should have some pretty good cover. If we move fast, I don't think anything's close enough to see us go in.
[He's already pushing himself back up, dusting his knees off, gesturing toward the left.]
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[he trusts kashuu's judgment on this; it definitely doesn't hurt to scope things out and see if it's a safe enough place to try and get a little rest. stahn can fight if he has to; his bearings are good enough for that at this point, which is probably visible enough in how how pulls himself to his feet steadily. he's not anywhere near as bad as he'd been just a few minutes earlier.
he's still worried, of course, that leon will stumble across this building and be forced to see something he shouldn't have to relive. he's worried about leon in general and whether or not he's safe, but he keeps the depth of those concerns to himself for the time being, only letting it display in the way he eyes the area more for a familiar face rather than for a threat to their well-being.]
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But that's fine. Two pairs of eyes means that Stahn can keep most of his focus out for Leon, and Kashuu will keep his attention on their surroundings as they go, keenly listening for anything that sounds like it's coming too close.]
—This way.
[Eventually he'll gesture toward a run-down building off to the side, tucked between a cluster of larger ones. The interior is dark, but it looks like it offers shelter.]
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