(no subject)

[powertotearer]

Characters: Eiji and Ilda
Date: Late May
Location: Around Aifaran
Situation: Dealing with guilt and annoyingly persistent parasites
Warnings/Rating: Dead and dying children (from their canons), survivor's guilt


When the space parasites were first noticed, Eiji was quickly isolated and decontaminated, killing his infection before it could cause any problems. Or so he'd thought. The problem was that his Talent for restoring recently rotted organic matter to life? It also applied to the parasites. He was just as infected as he'd been in the beginning, except he had plenty of reasons to be in denial about it.

And that denial was why he was still wandering through the city, looking for a little girl that he knew had died a year ago in his world. Someone he'd failed to help. But it was easier to be in denial and insist he was okay and so was she, rather than face the truth all over again.

"Alfreed? Are you here?"

Comments

[ilda]

Ilda notices his hesitation. Well, if I was looking for a dead girl... yeah, I wouldn't want to ask around, too.

She tries to not make it look like it was a big deal, if only to ease his discomfort. "Then let's not. We should be able to find a clue or two somewhere. Although I suppose I should really stop talking so I can actually do some looking. Let's go?"

[powertotearer]

Eiji nods, relieved.

"Thanks for believing me."

[ilda]

This time it's Ilda who hesitates, because she doesn't really believe him. And it makes her feel kind of bad. She isn't really leading him on, is she? She's still helping him, just like how she's helping Yato, even if she's not completely into the point of her friends' endeavors.

"Of course! What are friends for, right?" She grins, hiding her conflicted thoughts. "Come on, we better get started."

[powertotearer]

"Thanks."

He leads her back toward the soup kitchen, through the alley he last saw her.

"I saw her run through here before. I don't know if maybe there's somewhere in here that she's been staying?"

[ilda]

Ilda frowns. "Maybe, but we might have to call out her name or something to draw her out... not what you have in mind, right?" It would be faster, yes, but it would also draw attention to them, and that's one thing Eiji doesn't want to happen. She respects that.

She puts on a smile. They need to stay positive! "What else do you know about her? My twin and I play hide-and-seek a lot, but I always catch him because I know what he's like! Like he's afraid of the dark, so he never hides anywhere that's really dark." Ivarr would probably have something to say about that, but he's not there to challenge what she's saying.

[powertotearer]

Eiji shakes his head. Honestly, he just wants to withdraw into himself, away from everyone. But Alfreed needs him, and he can't just disappear.

The day of her death replays in his memories, the way it always does. The school had become a makeshift hospital, helping care for them until they could safely be evacuated to the actual hospital in the capital. She had been crying, but too dehydrated for any tears to form.

"She...she was hungry. And thirsty, when it happened. I think she might have come here, looking for food?"

It makes sense, right? And maybe she'd seen Eiji and run away because she thought he'd died, just like he thought she had.