reallyfishy | Once Upon PCs

[So, uh. Given how So Much their host's introduction was, Raven opts to sort through his thoughts and visit Alexei early in the following morning. He gently knocks against Alexei's door, as if this were any other day and he's requesting permission to enter his chambers.

It's definitely not that, but it's a sense of normalcy to cling to for the time being.]

[Alexei is and isn't at whatever attempts at unity are being made after the trial; he'll show up, occasionally, only to pace back out again before too long - never leaving the grounds, but not staying too close to any one place in particular with regards to the building.

His thoughts are many and varied, and in some ways he'd prefer to be alone with them; in other ways he's at least mildly aware that being left alone with his thoughts for long enough has historically never worked out well for anyone. Whether he actually expresses them or not, he would prefer to not be completely alone, but he finds that he has no interest in speaking to most at that gathering.

That's what brings him, in the end, to Room 17; the knock on the door is unhesitating but not demanding.]

[After a walk back from the bar spawned the most awkward conversation and subsequent argument of Raven's life, he stumbles into his room with Alexei in tow to continue it.

Closing the door behind him, he briefly contemplates sliding down the back of it, but with Alexei right there it wouldn't exactly do him much good.]

Okay. [He takes in a deep breath as if trying to psych himself up into continuing.] All right, so... I suppose my first question is why?

[At least now Alexei only has to deal with drunk Schwann instead of drunk Raven.]

[The reason he's here is utterly different than the reason he was here last week; he's glad to have some distance from it, to be able to reset himself mentally to the way things were before the...all of that. He's here tonight to check on Schwann - to make sure that everything is as it should be, that's all; anything beyond that is categorically well beyond him and his desire to put much thought into things.

The knock is direct; as usual it's unhesitating without being a demand.]

[Alexei doesn't go down to the dungeons often; he's been here once since he got here, solely to see what was down in this area, and he hasn't been back since.

It should bother him, that he's coming down for this. But he's had some time for himself, time enough to get whatever feelings he may be having under control, time enough to hate himself and let the hatred just freeze everything over, the way it always does.

He isn't sure if it's harder for him to do that nowadays or not. He thinks it might be; he thinks that's a bad sign. Loss of control like that is nothing but a weakness to be exploited; it gets people killed.

If he had done better - if he'd been enough for once in his godforsaken life - then maybe he would be down here instead.

But for now he makes his way down, and he pauses a bit before entering the corridor, before finding the person he's looking for in whichever of these cells he may happen to be.]

Schwann.

[It's cold, blunted. He hates this already.]

week 1 | monday

week 1 | post-trial

week 3 | wednesday

week 4 | post-trial

week 5 | post-trial