week three, sunday

[moraled]

[It's after everything... that he steps into the hotel lobby and sees her there. Even if they don't know the outcomes of the votes... she was under suspicion. For a long moment, he's quiet, expression tight--

And then he steps forward towards her, sighing.]

Madam Walken.

I do not intend to interrupt if you do not wish me here.

[He'll step right off if that's the case. But... if not...]

Comments

[tightly]

[ It's not that Chane looks unaffected by the weekend's events. On the contrary, there are faint shadows under her eyes and a certain ghoulishness to her usually pale skin. It could speak of poor sleep, or emotional toil, or just this entire experience. Despite all that, however, she's settled back into her usual chair in the lounge. Her usual chair, her current book, halfway between the window and the fireplace...

Well, it's not wrong to want to be comfortable now.

Barnham hardly goes ignored, though. She knew he was there from the moment he entered the room but only chooses to look up when he approaches her.

...

The book is set down flat. She's giving him her undivided attention. He's even welcome to sit, if he wants.

Not in her chair, though. Get your own, Zach. ]

[moraled]

[He wouldn't take a lady's chair, what do you take him for!!!

He settles into another chair, a safe distance away but not so far that it is a strain to talk, and is quiet for a long moment, brow furrowed. This...has been hard for him. It's hard for him because he has to deal with the fact that in the end, they're nothing but pawns for this game. He was so certain they would find a way to break it. He still believes there's a way--only now, he doesn't know that enough of them will be left alive to celebrate it.

He changes tack, and focuses on something else.]

I would ask...that you absolve yourself of this strange oath you seem to have put yourself under to protect me.

[He's noticed!!! For all of his bluster about justice, he's pretty sharp. And if she keeps doing this... she's just going to wear herself out and be hurt in the end.

Because Barnham knows that while he wants to survive--if it means silencing himself or stopping his pursuit of justice, he would rather die. He's tired, and he's worn down, and Chane has enough to worry about without adding him onto the pile.]

[tightly]

[ She's already feeling pretty worn out after this week, but sad? ... Well. Chane listens to him, fully attentive but also noticeably impassive in her expression.

Three weeks. That's how long it's taken for him to give up living.

Thinking of it that way, she can't help but frown a little. ]

Why?

[moraled]

[He's not going to just go lie down and die, chane!!!]

You must focus on your own health and safety. Already, you have expended energy and concern on me that is not warranted.

I shall look after myself. [And everyone else, let's be real here.]

[tightly]

[ S I G H

You know. If she could.

More writing... ]

And, while you are running yourself ragged, concerning yourself with the well being of every individual in this town, who is going to do the same for you?

[moraled]

[Chane...]

... Another question, then, if you will. What, precisely, possessed you to take up this duty?

[Why him? Why Chane?

(Yeah, he doesn't want anyone risking themselves on his behalf at all.)]

[tightly]

[ Starting at 212 degrees leaves them no place left to go, Barnham. ]

I will answer your question after you answer mine.

[ Hmph! ]

[moraled]

[...Sigh.]

Very well then, Madam Walken.

I do not expect anyone to look after me. I am capable of looking out for myself, and if it causes me to be a target, so be it. I shall handle that situation as it appears.

[tightly]

[ She doesn't argue that. She mislikes it, of course, but he has proved remarkably unwilling to budge, so she doesn't feel the need to argue, really. Anyway, she had asked for no more than an answer and he had given it. A promise is a promise.

Writing... ]

I had have a friend back home. He is the strangest person I have ever met. At his own incomprehensible whims, he decides who he will accept into his life and then never gives up on that person. That's what he did for me.

[ Chane was a mess before Jacuzzi Splot, tell your friends. ]

I suppose I miss him, and it has prompted me to act as he would.

[ Thanks for making her admit it. (nottalking) ]

[moraled]

[... Oh.

That's...not what he was expecting at all. There's something painfully fragile, and yet painfully endearing, about a reason such as that. He frowns a little to himself, contemplative--and then he sighs.

Ultimately... he's still too much of a bleeding heart to decline something like that.]

... I still wish that you would focus first on your own safety.

However... I cannot and would not ever intend to tell you how you should feel. You may...naturally do as you please.

[He might not deserve it, but...that's not his call to make either, is it?]

[tightly]

[ Ultimately, such a vulnerable truth hadn't been so much as a last ditch attempt as just something she felt reasonably alright admitting. That he takes to it -- neither positively nor negatively, but not in resignation either, well.

For the first time in his presence, Chane's able to smile, slight and faint but there. ]

[moraled]

[... Honestly, what a nice smile. It may not be well-deserved, but... he appreciates seeing it.]

I fear I must have caused you a great deal of grief over the past few weeks, Madam Walken. I do apologize for that.

[tightly]

[ Look, her husband is a whimsical manchild acrobat, and her father a calculating mad scientist with immortality. You're underestimating her ability to cope with the trials of others.

Still, because she senses it's what he wants to hear (for a given definition of the word) -- ]

I accept your apology.

[moraled]

[Chane please.... he wouldn't have been fussed if she didn't accept it!

But he does accept that with a nod, simply, and changes the subject.]

How are you holding up?

[after...all of that disaster.]

[tightly]

[ Some things are just good manners, okay. Even if she's not always exercised it, she was brought up with proper rules of etiquette!

His subject change is accepted without fuss, ]

I am fine, for now.

[ Well aware that something could happen - to her, to Claire - that could change that in a split second. ]

[moraled]

[He knows as well .At some point... All he can do is pray for the best.]

... My hopes shall be with you as well.

[Please stay safe, Chane :'(]