foolishwren | 032. Video

_{[Beep beep! What's that, Lassie? An incoming message?! Oh, looks like it's coming from one Hal 'Otacon' Emmerich's PokeGear! How lovely. What does the nerd have to say toda-- .... HEY, THAT'S NOT OTACON!]

[The screen blips into life on a face that's bruised, scraped, and... freckled?]

[Once its owner is sure the thing is on, she withdraws-- making herself a little easier to identify. Sheepish smile and all.]

[Behind her appears to be a standard little camp set up in the woods-- nothing... really fancy. But she's not the only one there-- somewhere behind her, there's.... some shirtless guy wandering around and his indistinct bitching about something or other can be heard.]

[The mat-furred, sleepy Growlithe in her lap just looks content to be there, although it's obvious he's had it as rough as his owner.]}

So. Uh.

_{[Her voice is a painful-sounding croak-- hardly more than a shadow of what it is normally.]}

Apparently I'm a wanted criminal.

... Anyone know what I did? ... Was it awesome?

I love that mugshot. It's so majestic.

_{[Yeah, she's making light of it, but her heart's not... really into it. Though it's sort of hard to tell the difference between that and the plain old exhaustion that's obviously leaking into her every movement and word.]

[... Meanwhile, in the background, Liquid has noticed that the camera's on and has started flexing his manly man-muscles at it in true Photobomb fashion. Heather doesn't notice yet.]}

Uh... anyway... I'm not... sure how long I was gone, and my 'Gear is uh... pretty thoroughly broken-- Hal's off in town getting stuff to repair it with, so... if anyone... like, tried to contact me, m'sorry, I probably didn't get it...

I uh... really hope everyone's all right.

_{[She probably doesn't need to clarify that she's talking about that fog. Now that she knows what had happened wasn't real, and that others had experienced their OWN nightmares... well, let's just say she's really hoping she didn't knock anyone's skull in. ... And the question "DID I knock anyone's skull in?" is implied at the end of her statement.]}

......

_{[And around that time, her Heather Senses pick up on Liquid's trolling behind her, so she reaches out to turn the camera off while looking over her shoulder.]}

Liquid, get the fuck out.

_{[End feed.]}

[Locked to Kaito and Rise]

[Another video feed, a little later than the first one, but not by too long. Otacon apparently was able to fix the 'Gear enough that Heather could receive those two messages that had been waiting a good week and a half to be received by this point.]

[And... judging by her hardly-disguised guilty expression, she's more than feeling the weight of guilt for worrying her friends. Especially since she saw Rise just the previous day and hadn't... even known how ... candid a message she'd left days before.]

[After a couple seconds, she breaks into a sheepish, crooked grin.]

Uh... hey, guys...

... I got your messages...

[Locked to Harry, James, and Mary]

_{[This one's in text, because she knows good and well that James at the very least will be freaking out over how she looked in that video feed, and she's not sure she can take his quiet concerned expressions.]

[But she can't avoid sending this-- if she saw Silent Hill in that fog, then she's... pretty sure that they'd have seen something similar. ... Well, she's not sure about Mary, actually, but given the connection... better safe than sorry.]}

are you guys alright

(typing is hard, sorry for no caps)_

-heather

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

_{[There... wasn't much Heather could do but listen. Somewhere deep down, since she'd found out what those visions REALLY were, that someone like Otacon wouldn't have been able to get through it without... well, something like this.]

[Swallowing, she reached out to gingerly wrap an arm around his shoulders, trying not to press on her own bruises too much... Strictly speaking, she was in no state to do much comforting... not when she wasn't even close to being over what happened, herself, but... what else could she do?]

[... And then a chill ran down her spine at his description of the wheelchair.]}

[Nervous and shaking, he cautiously put his arms around Heather while trying not to aggravate her injuries.]

L-Liquid managed to get me to calm down, but after he lost it and ran off I had to deal with it myself. I kept hearing it no matter where I was, that damn creaking and her voice following me everywhere...I was so sure she was going to show up and kill me and I knew I'd d-deserve it if she did...

... It wasn't real... you just need to remember that it wasn't real.

_{[The words sounded sort of hollow, even to her. Because how do you comfort someone concerning that sort of... apparition?]}

...I d-don't think it'd matter if it was or not. I'm still going to see it again. It was still my fault my father and sister died.

No.

No it's not.

It wasn't.

... It still isn't, okay?

...

I should've saved her.She waited all that time for me and I just...let her die.

... Otacon, it's-- it doesn't work like that.

People die.

You're not a fucking miracle worker, okay?

...

...right. You're...you're right.

I'm more than right.

I'm the damn paradigm of truth right now, you hear me?

_{[She didn't expect him to believe her, not entirely, but ... saying things so firmly that nobody could argue with them had worked for Heather in the past, so...]}

It was not. Your. Fault.

I don't even know what happened, totally.

But I know that.

Okay?

[He couldn't hep but give an awkward smile in response, wiping at his eyes ineffectually.]

...thanks, Heather. R-really...thanks.

You don't need to thank me...

It doesn't cost me anything to tell the truth.

_{[She trails off, looking concerned, then leans in a little and looks up, trying to see his face better.]}

Are you gonna be okay?

Of course. I'm always okay. [He averted his eyes, trying not to show that he might've been crying just a little.]

...I'll be fine.

_{[... When Heather said 'I'm always okay', it was usually with a healthy layer of sarcasm, and carried the true meaning, 'I'm always okay in the end'. So sorry, Otacon, she can tell when that phrase is bullshit.]}

... No, you're not always okay.

But that's all right.

No one is.

... You're gonna be okay, all right?

I...I'm really not sure anymore. Maybe.

No harm in hoping for it eventually.

I guess not. Never hurt anyone to be optimistic, right?

Only in the short term.

You've got a long time to work towards 'okay'.

...yeah. Good point.

032. Video

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