56 - [video -> backdated to the 23rd]

[blackshadow]

[ video sent to Yuri about a minute earlier ]

[ The video only really shows Estelle's legs and the occasional glint of her blade as Tyr moves back. ]

—ot really! Are you having fun, are you, are you?

[ Or it would just be that if drops of blood weren't just scattered across the sand. ]

Sh-shut up! Yuri! Hurry up and get over here!

Oh, ar—

[ With that, the message ends, just cutting off Estelle's response back to him. ]

[ Public video ]

[ Tyr's neck and the underside of his chin are all that's shown as he speaks in a quiet, somewhat choked voice. As far as location goes, all that's obvious about it is that he's laying in the sand, under the shade of some structure. ]

I, I tried... Sorry... [ And with some more strength: ] Be careful...And save her for me.

[ Some time later, a black shadow covers the entire screen, only to disappear a few seconds later as the device slips out of his hand, showing the sky overhead. ]


[ ooc: Adding to the death count... He'll be around a little while longer for anyone who wants to respond. That shadow at the end would be Tyr's rune leaving his hand to attach itself to Yuri! ]

Comments

[negativegate]

[Feeling his hand grip hers back--however weak--gives her a start. He's still alive. Rita absolutely refuses to do nothing, and fumbles in her pocket for a gel.

It probably won't work. Tyr's going to die. But she can't accept that so easily.]

Tyr...Tyr, eat this! Come on!

[She presses the sand-dusted gel to his lips, nudging them urgently.]

[blackshadow]

[ He doesn't fight at all; he doesn't have the strength left to as much as he wishes he could take the gel. Maybe it'd give him a little more time...

But he can't, and his attempt to say as much comes out as just a breath against her fingers. It's so... It's not right. If he could cry anymore, they'd be bitter tears. How can he be so weak? Too weak to help himself when the medicine is right against his mouth?

Not that he thinks of it too much longer. His hand continues to hold hers weakly, but he's not there anymore. ]

[negativegate]

Come on! Tyr!

[She feels so scared for him. She's ready to just chew the thing up herself and try to get him to swallow it that way--she can't even care if it might be kind of gross at a time like this--and she shoves it in her mouth, giving his hand a squeeze. Is he still breathing? She could hardly tell before; now she isn't sure, and her vision's a little distorted from the tears that form.]

[blackshadow]

[ His chest was barely moving before, but it's stopped now. Like everything else. As weak as he was before, there isn't even any tension in his muscles. He can distantly hear her voice as he slips away, but that's all.

He's dead now. ]

[negativegate]

[As she leans over his mouth, she can't feel his breath at all...Alarmed, she takes a moment to feel for his pulse-

Nothing. He's dead...She was too late. He died and she couldn't do a thing to stop it--maybe even caused it by encouraging him to give her the fire rune. How selfish could she be?!]

Tyr...

[He's dead, so she doesn't say anything else. What would be the point? She just sits there over him, swallowing the gel in her mouth but not tasting it, like she's gone numb. He'll be back, but...he shouldn't have had to die in the first place.]

[blackshadow]

[ Tyr wouldn't blame her for dying even if he gave her his staff. It's completely his fault. If he had been careful, none of this would have happened. But no, he was careless, and it meant nothing in the end. If Tyr ever imagined how he wanted to die, it wouldn't have been like this.

It's pure stubbornness that he pushes himself up immediately after waking up again sometime the next afternoon. Like he doesn't just feel...weird all over. ]

[negativegate]

[She still feels guilty for letting this happen. They should've all been together, not split up...She was so stupid.

--And he nearly gives her a heart attack when he suddenly rises like that. She gasps and stares at him, in the cover of a tent somewhere in the safe zone, and then she moves forward. He's alive again--she knew he would be, but she's still relieved to see him.

She doesn't ask if he's all right. She just wraps her arms around him.]

Tyr.

[blackshadow]

[ He wouldn't have got at all if she were with him. They could have both hidden out and attacked.

Her gasp immediately pulls his attention over to her , staring back. Part of him is disappointed that they're not in the normal City yet, but Rita's here, and they're safe. He's not sure what he would have done if Estelle killed Rita just because Rita came to save him... He clings to her, not even caring about the unsealed rune right now. ]

Rita... [ There are so many other things he wants to say, just like there's a multitude of emotions going through him right now, but that's all he can think to say. ]

[negativegate]

[Even if Rita had been with Estelle the whole time, that parasite never would've gotten control of her...Rita hates regrets, but right now, she's full of them.

She's so, so glad to hear Tyr's voice again and feel him alive and warm--not just baking from the heat of the desert. She can't think of anything else to say, though, so she just holds him tight.]

[blackshadow]

[ He wishes he knew what she was thinking, but at the same time, he knows it can't be good. If she's blaming herself like he blamed himself...

Holding each other is nice as it is. She feels so hot against him; he doesn't want to let go. He's probably made her worry, made her feel everything she shouldn't. ]

I'm sorry...

[negativegate]

[If she were to think about it that closely, it'd be a reminder of how they're often not all that different...

When he says that, replies like you should be and we were supposed to stick together,/i> fly through her mind, but she's not trying to blame him for it, so she bites her tongue as she struggles for what she really wants to say. As she crushes him to her, all she come up with is-]

Don't do that again.

[blackshadow]

[ Even without her saying those things, he already know he should have stayed with her. Sticking together and protecting each other- that's how it was meant to go. And the way she clings to him makes him wonder how much he must have hurt her. He slowly starts stroking her back. ]

I won't... I... [ All he can think to say is that he's sorry. He's sorry for so much right now. How could he be so careless and weak and selfish? ]

[negativegate]

[whoops, that html fail Maybe they're all to blame, a little. But blaming anyone isn't going to fix anything, even if everything's gone wrong.]

You're back, so... [She's glad about that, as worried as she is about how he must feel. She finally pulls back a little, just enough to reach for a plastic bottle she has nearby, which she all but shoves at him.]

Just--drink this. It's water.

[blackshadow]

[ /pats |D; It's not even easy to blame anyone. Tyr's stuck blaming himself. There's no way he can twist it to be anyone else's fault.

But even now, everything is still dizzying. He just stares at the bottle for a minute before taking it in his hands. He didn't realise how thirsty he was until he passed it to him. ]

Thanks... I won't go anywhere now, either... [ And not just for her sake now. He can't even lie and say he's there to protect her.

He's too tired to notice his hands are bare as he opens the bottle to take a drink. The taste of blood in his mouth distracts him from it to a degree. If he just focuses on these physical sensations, it's easier to not think about how he feels. ]

[negativegate]

[/clings And Rita's blaming herself, too...It's just a mess.]

We're stuck here until it's over...

[She's been so worried about him that the rune never even entered her mind, but as she watches him drink, something nags at her. Something...]

...Feel any better?

[blackshadow]

[ /hugs He'd argue with her if he knew. Right now, he's trying not to think of anything.

He's careful to only drink a little of the water and save the rest for later. Once he puts the cap back on, he sets it back beside them and puts his arm around her again. He really, really doesn't want to let her go. ]

Yeah... A lot better, actually...

[ And he really meant it. Physically, now that blood was flowing through him again, he feels better than he had in a way he can't really explain. Dying really shouldn't be a positive experience. ]

What about you? You've been taking care of yourself, right?

[ Or Flynn better have. He did tell Flynn to. ]

[negativegate]

[♥ She knows he wouldn't agree--she couldn't agree when he blamed himself, either.

She makes no protest or attempt to move away, because holding him is exactly what she'd like to do, too. And even if she didn't, she'd let Tyr do it anyway.

She's glad he feels better, even if there's nothing she can do to change the fact that he did die, and makes a slight shrug.]

Yeah--I mean, I stayed with you.

[blackshadow]

[ ♥

That wasn't exactly what he meant, but he can't help but be glad that she decided to stay with him. It really means a lot to him that she didn't abandon him even when he was dead...

She's too good a friend to him. He has to catch up... ]

Thanks... But... I'm talking about you.

[ Unless this really is death and she doesn't need to do anything but exist now. ]

[negativegate]

[That confuses her, because it's exactly what she's been doing--just staying with him, not letting anyone or any monsters do anything with his body.]

Huh? I said I've just been with you...

[blackshadow]

I know that.

[ He pulls back enough to look her in the eye and search her face. ]

But you're been eating, right? You can't just stop at not getting hurt...

[negativegate]

Huh?

[She just kind of stares back at him for a second, which probably says enough.]

I...I didn't think about it.

[blackshadow]

[ It says enough for him. His hands move to hold her upper arms pleadingly. ]

Then you really need to eat, Rita. You need to keep your strength up...

[ Another reason he can't die again. Someone really does need to take care of Rita. ]

[negativegate]

I'm not-

[Not hungry, but his reaction makes her stop.]

...Wait here, and I'll go get something for us.

[blackshadow]

[ That was surprisingly easy. He pulls back to let her go. ] All right...

[ And he's not exactly hungry either. He doesn't even think that him dying would have an effect on her appetite like her and Eagle's had on him. He just doesn't want her to get sick... ]

You know I can walk too, though.

[negativegate]

[They've been through enough. There's no reason to worry him further...and he is right; they need to keep up their strength.

There's also the question of whether she really wants to go off without him, even if it's just to get some food.]

You're not too tired?