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Who: Ankh & OPEN for event catch-all. Specific event end prompts for Cole, Hikari, and Eiji.
When: 7/19 - 7/23
Where: Various
What: Memory shenanigans, and then what happens when all the forgotten things come crashing back.
Rating/Warning: Ankh having a total breakdown? There will be a lot of unpleasant memories coming back, so talk of violence and death and things generally going wrong.
Notes: If you're tagging in for general event stuff, ability permissions here and also let me know if you have a preference for memories that are good, bad, or just ridiculous.

Open: 7/19-22 – Around

[Ankh is convinced that stupid little fox is taunting him. Even he can't see where it's hiding most of the time, and for some reason whenever he catches sight of the thing, it's almost always about to go run over someone's foot.]

Oi!

[Too late.]

Cole: 7/23, around noon – Streets, near the zoo

[Ankh hadn't been looking forward to being stuck in a public place that morning, what with the fox liking to cause problems. He manages to spend most of time in the company of just birds, though, which works out well enough. The fox isn't as present today, anyway, seeming fainter every time he catches sight of it.

As he leaves the zoo to get lunch at one of the restaurants nearby, the fox fades out of existence in the corner of his vision – and in the same instant, all the things he had forgotten over the past few days come back to him. Immediately in that moment, this day ceases to be pleasant. He knew he'd lost some things, maybe important things, even, but it had been more than he thought and oh, yes, those were important memories and yesterday was a lie. The things that come crashing back to him now are every reason he had to be wary, every mistake he ever made.

It hits him all at once, and all of a sudden, it's like he can't even keep himself standing. He's by an alley and he staggers around the corner, eyes wide as he slumps against a wall. The only plus side of this is that there weren't many people nearby, and he can at least pretend that no one saw that.]

Hikari: 7/23, after the above - Somewhere in town

[Right now, Ankh doesn't want to deal with people, especially people who happen to have previously talked to him about wiping memories and thinking it's a good thing. When he leaves, he flies, rather than walks; there will be fewer people to bother him in the air. It's only when he finds somewhere that seems presently unpopulated that he lands, collapsing to his knees and trying to force himself to breathe normally.

Unfortunately for him, he's still not as alone as he hopes.]

Eiji: 7/23, after the above – Their apartment

[Ankh wasn't supposed to be done with work this early, and Eiji knows it, but he doesn't care; he's going home. Clearly something happened, because he doesn't even say anything as he comes in, looks at Eiji with a complete mess of not-quite-readable emotions on his face, then climbs up to his bed before falling face first onto it.

No, he is not interested in talking. Leave him alone.]

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[It's hard to say whether Cole had forgotten anything. Maybe he had, but he was always forgetting anyway. It wouldn't have been any different, really. He couldn't remember, but that isn't all that odd for him. All in all, he'd come out of it relatively unscathed--or, at the least, no better or worse than he usually is.

Maybe things are calming down now, too. He still just listens, attempting to help where he can. They don't always let him, but he tries.

He tries to remember people, though, even if he forgets most other things. And he does remember this man. Perhaps that's part of why he appears next to him, seemingly out of nowhere, close enough to reach out a hand to steady him, but he doesn't touch. He knows better.

Then again, it's mostly because he looks, sounds, feels like he needs help, too.]

Stolen and silent, pain that pulses and pounds, plying for playing. They shouldn't play games. Are the shadows gone? Or did they come back?

[Eiji...well, in some ways, he feels like he's back at square one--and all the way back to the way he was when he returned from the war.

But other people have to come first, and it at least gets his own problems off his mind for about five minutes before Ankh wordlessly goes to bed.]

Do you need anything?

[A hand reaches out but instead of steadying him it only makes things worse, because he instinctively pulls away, nearly falling over in the process. Did this person actually appear out of thin air, or was Ankh just so overwhelmed with his own thoughts that he didn't notice him getting close?

He ungracefully steadies himself against the wall again, then gets a better look at who it is as Cole starts talking, his eyes widening... and then narrowing as he practically growls-]

You.

[The words don't make immediate sense and he can't be bothered to try understanding. They managed to have a civil conversation yesterday, but right now the last person he wants to see is someone who thinks painful memories should be forgotten.]

No.

[His tone is sharp in a way it hasn't been in a while, even when they've argued. He doesn't even bother looking over as he says it. What he needs is for the past few days to just not have happened in the first place, but there's no chance of that, so he just wants to be left alone.]

[He only just manages not to flinch at Ankh's tone, if only because he saw some of Ankh's memories, enough of them to understand how bad he's feeling right now.]

Okay.

[Cole isn't really sure what to make of that--it sounds like an accusation, only he can't think of why anyone would accuse him of being himself since he couldn't be anyone else. Shouldn't it be obvious that it's him?]

Yes. You looked lost.

[At least Eiji has enough context to know it's not directed at him. Actually, Eiji is about the only thing Ankh isn't mad at. Which is a little frustrating in its own way, because Ankh would dearly love to be punching something right now.

It isn't long before he ends up slamming a fist into his bed, with a surprisingly loud thud for having hit something soft.]

[There's a lot Eiji wants to say, about how after the panic faded, he'd lost enough memories that he was actually happy, how much it hurts having it all back and how he doesn't know how messed up that makes him that he's still glad to have it back despite everything. But it's not going to help, and he wouldn't know what to say anyway.

And in any case, the doorbell's ringing, so all he can manage is a sigh.]

I'll get it.

[Lost. That's a funny way of putting it. He's pretty sure lost is what he's been the past couple of days, walking around without the memories that made him who he is. Having all those things taken away without him asking, only to have them dropped back on him all at once. Those memories only hurt more that way but they're his and if anything, he resents the fact that something made him forget in the first place. ~~And he won't--can't--admit to himself that he was happier.~~

People hold on to hurt when they should let go.

Cole wants to help. Ankh can feel it, that desire, and he hates it, because he knows from their conversation yesterday what form it would take.]

I don't want your help!

[The most that would do is tell him it's the same for both of them. The unpleasant things were what got lost, and aside from being bothered by the fragments of memories that told him chunks were missing, he was... calmer, at least. But he doesn't want peace if it's a lie. After dealing with Cole, he might find some comfort in knowing that Eiji thinks the same, but otherwise, no, it wouldn't help.

He does glance up when he hears the doorbell, just enough to watch what's going on.]

[As much as he's getting used to that now, it still makes him sad each time someone denies the help that they need. It was easier when they didn't remember him, but they're too much like the Inquisition here. Their eyes stuck instead of sliding, and the memories lingered. He could take them, but that wouldn't help. IT would make them less and he didn't want that.]

Alright. You don't need to take it.

Who would?!

[It's unfair, yelling back to a reasonable response, but Ankh doesn't care about fair, especially not right now. He needs to lash out, and he can tell that even if Cole says he won't do anything, he still wants to, and that means he really doesn't understand at all.]

What good does it do, just forgetting things?!

Edited (icon) 2016-06-14 02:52 (UTC)

It doesn't, always. Not for people. [It does for him, but he's not a person.] But if it hurts they won't look at it again, they won't listen and they won't learn. Sometimes it gets stuck and I help them unstick it. Nothing should hurt forever. I don't make them less and I don't make me more.

I don't hurt people.

And taking away a piece of someone doesn't make them less?!

[He can think of something painful, but he's looked at that plenty. And he did learn from it. It's why he's careful who he trusts. It's why finding someone he could trust was important.]

But that's what you want to do to me. You say you won't but you want to, I can tell!

[He pushes off the wall, and half steps, half falls forward, to grab Cole by the chin, get in his face and yell at him.]

What is it you think I need to forget, then? What's too stuck?! Tell me!

[It's hard to tell whether or not the conversation is going well--it could be helping, but he could also be making things worse. Sometimes yelling helped.

It isn't until the man lunges for him that he really realizes he's done anything wrong, and he vanishes, only to appear just out of arms' reach.]

I only do it if it helps. They don't forget what happened, only that it hurt.

It's...a whisper, a worry, a flicker of fire and rage. It's too bright to hear, to loud to see. I won't look. I don't hurt people.

[He disappears, and Ankh stumbles through the space where he was. How did he-? He looks at his hand, clenched into a fist for lack of anything to grab.]

Tch.

[He looks up, finding Cole again and glaring. He's tempted to really take a swing at him now, just out of frustration, but he doesn't because he'll just move again, and Ankh doesn't have all his balance. He won't connect. He'll just knock himself over.]

That- [The words are cryptic as usual, but this time they're understandable. They make almost too much sense, because it's what he was missing yesterday. Fire and rage and hurt and power and violence. And he was more peaceful without it, less distrustful. But that was a lie. There's a force behind his next words, different from the wild way he's been yelling this whole time. These words have weight.]

That's who I am.

[And as he says it, wings appear from his back with a dramatic explosion of red feathers, because Cole will have something to say to that, he's sure, and he doesn't want to hear it. So with a last glare, he takes off, leaving nothing but feathers in his wake.]

[It's a delivery robot at the door, with two packages, with each of their names on them.]

We didn't order anything, though.

[That doesn't deter it, and it just hands them to him anyway. He brings them inside with another sigh and opens his...

And stops cold at the sight of a beat-up, broken CYbuddy fox.]

[It's the look on Eiji's face when he opens the box that gets Ankh's attention more than anything else. From where he's sitting, he can't see what's inside.]

What is it?

[It's Eiji's turn to clam up, and he closes the box.]

Don't worry about it. But it's probably the same thing I got, so it's not worth opening. I'll get rid of them later.

[It's got something out of him, though. It's that annoying fake smile, but it's a reaction.]

[That smile combined with Eiji saying don't worry about it means it's something worth worrying about, and that's enough to get him to roll off the bed and come over.]

Don't give me that crap, Eiji. What is it?

[Of course, he's not going to wait for an answer, grabbing the box off the table and ripping it open. Some part of him doesn't want to know, but after getting that reaction from Eiji it would bother him too much if he didn't. He finds a broken Cybuddy fox staring up at him from the box-]

.......

[-and only pauses a second before throwing the whole thing across the room, the fox and the box it was in landing separately on the floor after bouncing off the side of his bed.]

I hate this place.

[That was more or less what Eiji was expecting, but he still winces when it happens.]

I'm not crazy about it either.

[But his tone is mostly noncommittal, as he goes to pick everything up.]

[In this case, Ankh would have cleaned up that mess on his own, given a few minutes, if only because he really doesn't want reminders laying around the room. Watching Eiji go clean it up with that dispassionate remark doesn't help much, either, though. This is too much like it used to be--Ankh seething and Eiji putting on fake smiles and seeming half dead--and they don't need to be like this but he's not sure what to do about it.

After a second, he does join him in getting the stuff off the floor, picking up the box and grabbing the Cybuddy out of Eiji's hands to shove it inside and close it. There's some packing material scattered around still, but at least the fox is out of sight now.]

[That's better, and though Eiji doesn't quite thank him, the relief in his body language is a lot clearer.]

I'll throw it away later. I just...I think we need to get out, for a bit.

[It's not lost on him, and it's not much, but it's something. He has no idea how to help either of them right now, so he'll take what he can get. He nods at the suggestion. Much as that goes back to risking having to deal with other people and he's already done enough of that today, the small apartment isn't doing either of them much good right now, either.]

Where?

Maybe fly? We really haven't done that, aside from that one time.

[And as far as he's concerned, the battle that led to Ankh's death can be left as "that one time" before either of them can get upset over it.]

I'd kind of like to do that again, without a battle this time.

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Cole: 7/23, around noon – Streets, near the zoo

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