foolishwren | IC CONTACT (Victory Road)

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IC CONTACT (Victory Road)

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"Yo, it's Heather. I'm probably asleep or one of the Pokemon ate my 'Gear or something so I can't answer you right now. But feel free to leave a message or something.
I'll probably get back to you. ... Probably. Peace out."

Click!

[Need to send Heather a private message, or start up any other thread that doesn't need a log or post of its own? Tag here with the date of the interaction in the subject line!]

[(NOTE: The old contact post containing all threads from Route 29 can be found here!)]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Henry is at the park. He's hurt. I'm sorry.

_{[Her reply doesn't come until much later that night-- almost morning, in fact.]

[Obviously her first priority had been to FIND Henry and get him to the hospital. Then making sure he was okay. And, of course, hearing what happened from him.]

[But well, now it's time to find out if Walter's side matches up.]}

What happened?

[ She won't get a reply until about midday, when Walter has to talk to Manaka. He hadn't even wanted to talk but he doesn't know how to ignore a phone that won't stop ringing. ]

I went to the park and Henry was there. He said you didn't want to see me. That I was brainwashing your Pokemon. Things became violent. I left and texted you.

[ No mention of Assumption. He was still praying that Henry had told Heather that he had attacked him. ]

_{[When Walter's reply arrives, Heather is sitting, very tiredly, in one of the chairs next to Henry's hospital bed. The Receiver in question is sound asleep-- it was a long night of making sure he didn't have a concussion, but the Joys had finally deemed it safe for him to get some much-needed rest.]

[Heather's pretty fucking exhausted herself, but she hasn't wanted to go back to the house.]

[She feels responsible for this, somehow.]

[In her lap, Cheryl the Espeon is curled around a very, VERY upset Wolf, who had spent most of the night in literal tears and had finally passed out around the same time that Henry had. His dark-masked face is buried against Cheryl's short, lavender fur.]

[He doesn't stir when the 'Gear beeps and Heather shifts to grab it, but Cheryl does-- she lifts her head with a quiet, questioning chirrup that goes unanswered for the moment. Heather's focus is the 'Gear.]

[When she finishes reading the message, she just sags against the back of the chair for a moment, feeling her gaze going out of focus against the far wall.]

[Henry had said he'd shouted, that things had gotten angry... but he hadn't told her any of that.]

[She doesn't want to believe it.]}

did he really say that?

[ In the field Walter was sitting in, shaded under a tree on Five Island, he exhaled deeply. Assumption wasn't far away but he wasn't himself. More sombre, picking at the flowers near him. He felt guilty when he looked over his Pokemon. It was his fault. If Assumption had a different trainer, he could have all the friends he wanted. He wouldn't have gotten into a fight over someone like Walter. ]

He also said something about Prince not looking at him after getting involved with me. I haven't seen Prince since the night Henry realised I was here.

I don't know why his Pokemon tried to help me that night.

Edited 2017-02-03 21:56 (UTC)

i was on my way to meet you

i dont know why henry was there

_{[Usually in her conversations with Walter, she keeps her tone formal and her grammar proper. She can't muster the energy to right now.]

[She's so tired.]}

i dont think youre brainwashing my pokemon

how did he get hurt

please be honest

_{[She knows it was the Cubone. But she wants to hear it from both sources. That way, she can be sure that it was a Pokemon defending its trainer, and not... well, a killer reverting to his murderous ways.]}

[ Walter was so tempted to abandon the phone. To walk away from the conversation and let it die. But he knew he couldn't run. He never could. He looked over to Assumption, guilt weighing heavy in his heart. ]

Henry hit me. One of my pokemon intervened.

I've never seen him like that before.

I don't want him taken from me. Please, let everyone think it was me. It's my fault. If he had a different trainer he never would have done this and everyone knows my past. Please.

no

a pokemon attacking a person is just doing what pokemon do

especially one who's protecting its trainer

only an idiot would hold that against it

_{[The fact that he's begging her is... god, she doesn't know how to feel about it. But she knows that she at least needs to make her opinion clear about who was responsible for hurting Henry. If that little Cubone did it... well, sure, it was kind of worrying, but from the details she's managed to learn... it was justified.]}

[ Walter hung his head, biting his lip. He couldn't protect Assumption. He shifted, sitting closer to Assumption and gently pulling the Cubone to sit beside him. Assumption didn't resist, looking up at him before leaning against his legs, still picking at the grass idly. He couldn't organise his thoughts as he began to reply ]

I don't want him to be hated. He shouldn't have done it, I told him that Henry will kill me someday but that it's fine, it's. It's just what will happen. But he got upset so I didn't talk about it again. I never thought he would do this, I never thought anyone would ever stop someone from hitting me. I can't lose him.

I'm never coming back to that city.

Edited 2017-02-04 08:24 (UTC)

no one should hate him

he did what any good pokemon would do

protect its trainer

im sorry this happened

He shouldn't have protected me. I wasn't going to protect myself.

I shouldn't have a Pokemon like him. It's my fault he hit Henry. He could have all the friends he wanted if he wasn't involved with me. But, I can't lose him. It's wrong and selfish but he makes me [ Feel loved. Like he isn't worthless. Like he matters. ] happy.

I shouldn't be here. I should be dead. I'm meant to be dead.

[ Walter slumped onto the grass, half curled around Assumption. He felt empty. Hallow. Assumption noticed him move and laid down beside him with a sad little cry. ]

stop

thats not how it works

just stop

It's how it always was.

[ She was a 'cult kid'. He rested his cheek on his arm, looking at Assumption. The Halo of the Sun looked back at him. ]

Most of the children at the orphanage didn't live. I had a friend, but he was taken away from me. I prayed to God that I would die, so I could be with Her and away from the pain. But Valtiel watched over me instead.

I'm not good. I don't deserve this. This second chance, any of it.

it doesnt matter what you deserve, you got the second chance anyway

this place doesnt care who deserves to be here or not

it brought claudia here

she didnt deserve paradise, she said so herself but she was here anyway

its not about deserving

your cubone didnt do anything wrong

henry shouldnt have attacked you

i dont know why he said those things

_{[Except she does. She'd said similar, cruel things to Claudia all those years ago, when Claudia came here. She'd stood in Henry's shoes.]

[But that only made this all the more exhausting.]}

im tired

Edited 2017-02-04 19:11 (UTC)

Me too.

[ He is tired. He's tired of the pain. He's tired of being told his thoughts are wrong. He's tired of being...this.

He's so, so tired.

Assumption peeked at the phone. He recognised that number and looked at Walter with wide, frightened eyes, tearing up. Did his friends hate him? Walter exhaled, touching his head to Assumption's before leaning back to text again. ]

Please let him see his friends again, when we return to Johto. I don't care what you want of me. I'll do anything.

He's scared they'll be angry with him for hurting Henry.

if anything theyre angry at henry

_{[And honestly, she feels like they're right to be. What had he been doing at the park? Why had he said those things? He could have said anything about what Walter had actually done. Instead he chose to say something about her Pokemon. About her.]

[She doesn't know what to think. He's asleep, and she can't get any more answers out of him right now.]

[This is all just so fucked up.]}

I know there are people who are going to be angry.

Do you mean it? That they really want to see him?

I can't go back to Goldenrod. Henry had said that if I returned, he'd do this. But I came back to see other people anyway, and this happened.

[ He came back to see the people who wanted to see him and who wanted to see his Pokemon. And they saw Henry before they got to see almost any of them. He still didn't hate Henry. Henry was doing his Divine job. He just didn't want his Pokemon to suffer and for some reason he just couldn't comprehend, they refused to see him get hurt. ]

of course they want to see him

wolf cried all night

nothing i said or did helped

look maybe people will be angry but im not

i mean i am but

not at your pokemon

i dont know how to feel

youre probably right about not coming back to goldenrod though

[ He thought about his...the people he had met. Manaka. Wrath. Asriel. The empty feeling washed over him and he let it, not even bothering to fight the flood. It was familiar, unlike the more alien feelings of...company.

He didn't like it but he knew this feeling so well. It was normal. It was all he'd ever deserved.

He lay in that feeling for a little while, wishing he could ignore his beating heart and need to breathe. He felt like he should be still. As dead as he felt.

Assumption made a soft sound, gently rousing him from his thoughts.

Is Wolf there?

hes asleep

it was a long night

_{[She knows she doesn't need to say why.]}

Assumption won't sleep.

I don't know how to make him sleep.

[ Walter had released his Pokemon when he finally made it to the HQ on this island before passing out, so they could watch over them while he and Assumption went to bed. When he woke up Assumption hadn't drifted off with him. He was still alert, holding onto his club, watching the door. ]

maybe it will help for him to know that henry is here with me and not going to bother either of you

He says thank you.

I don't know how he does that. I'm too tired to figure it out.

[ Give him a few days and then he'll start worrying about how his little Cubone is somehow communicating with him through soft, ghostly words. Right now, he's too drained to care. ]

yeah

im sorry this happened

_{[She already said that, but she forgot. And it kind of bears repeating.]}

Why are you apologising? This is how life is. How it always was, anyway.

IC CONTACT (Victory Road)

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