Twenty-Ninth PSI

[a_gentle_boy]

[action]
[The days of January have passed relatively uneventfully for Lucas.  He's had a lot to think about, and a lot to consider.  For now, though, each time passes much like the rest, and he will take happiness in whatever peace he can get.  His routine is fairly straightforward.

1: Every morning, early morning, Lucas gets on his tea table and delivers his paper. He's still getting used to the hang of it, though. Maybe he'll accidentally smash it into your door, at which point, he'll hurriedly get off to check to see if he damaged anything. Most of the time, he hasn't.
2: After school, he practices piano alone in the music room. By this point, he can be eavesdropped upon without anyone wanting to forbid him from ever touching an instrument again. The songs he plays are strangely melancholy.
3: In his free time, he sits in the park or in his house and practices his sketching.  Most of the time, he's drawing his friends, so perhaps you'll run across him drawing you.]

[voice]
[A phone call is broadcast to everyone later that night.]

Hello?  A-Ah.  This is Lucas.

I've been thinking a lot lately, and there's something that's been on my mind.  I guess I want to ask . . . How long has this town been here?  How long have people come in and out?  Does anyone really know?  But what's more important is . . . does anyone really remember everyone who's been here? 

When people get droned, we think they've gone home, right?  It's the hope we have, and a lot of the times it's true, but can we really be sure that it's everyone? Sergei -- the Russian man.  He, um.  Didn't he say that they were in a lot of pain?  That some people who were droned . . . that they were still inside.  If that's so, then . . . then we can't just forget about them, right?  Even if one person is still here as a drone, we can't forget about them.  And either way, it's terrible to forget the people you've become friends with at all.  To forget about the people who've come to Mayfield and who've gone.

............. I know I've already started to.

Does anyone think we should maybe start keeping track?  Just . . . something so that the people who come here won't ever be forgotten.  Maybe even signatures.  So if you do start to forget, then you can look back and see everyone's name and remember.  Small things like . . . Miss Margot, and how she was always caring for her sister.  Fuuko and how much she loved starfish.  Mr. Zero, and how fun his gym classes were.

It might be a bad idea.  Or too much work.  But . . . Well.  I guess if you don't want to talk about that, maybe we can just share stories of people who've been here and how important they were to us.  I'd love to hear that kind of thing.

[Please specify 1, 2, 3, or voice.  Although the actions are really just default Lucas interactions if your character has no interest in this topic.]

Comments

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

Oh, I have no idea, it's just a saying.

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

Oh. OK.

[pause again.]

Anyway. It would be nice if we could actually have something to celebrate once without the town messing it up.

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

Well, we can still celebrate peoples' birthdays most of the time, at least.

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

. . . Most people haven't mentioned when theirs are. Do you mind if I ask about yours, Kay?

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

[And now, time to make her birthday up since they never actually tell you anywhere! Based on the dates in the games, it's between March and September, so let's split the difference~.]

"Mine? It's in June. I kinda forgot to celebrate it last year, since Mayfield is always so busy."

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

We'll definitely have to change that this year. If we're still here, I mean.

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

Hopefully we'll figure out a way to go home before then, but if we're both still around, that sounds like a great idea!

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

. . . I'll write it down right away so I don't forget.

[Despite his cheerful smile, Lucas suddenly seems a little more melancholy than he had a few seconds ago. ... If he was honest with himself, he hadn't even thought about making it home in a really long time. This, in his head, was calculated in years now, not weeks or months.]

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

...Lucas? What's wrong?

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

. . . We will get out of here. I have to believe that. . . . I think it might take an awfully long time, though.

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's starting to look that way, huh?

But we can't give up!

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[Lucas nods to that slowly.]

We won't.

But, Kay . . . What should we even do now? I don't know if we're getting anywhere.

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

Well, me and a couple other people are going to watch the milkman and maybe check out the dairy sometime soon...

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[Oh. OK. Sounds promising. . . . Wait, what. Gape. Shock. Flail.]

K-Kay! The milkm -- You can't! He . . . He's the most dangerous of all of them. Maybe not including Lucy, but . . . A-And you said you'd tell me if you were going to do anything dangerous again!

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

I'm telling you right now! And we're just keeping an eye on him for a little while. I don't even know if I'm going to try to break into the dairy. I promised you and Takeshi both that I wouldn't take any more big risks like I did back at City Hall...

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

. . .

I'm coming with you. Or at least you're telling me when you're 'keeping an eye on him'.

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

In the mornings, when he delivers the milk. I'm just watching Ricardo and the neighboring streets.

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

. . . Then I'll deliver my papers there at the same time he delivers his milk. And if anything ever happens, just yell for me.

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

Okay, it's a deal. And if he brainwashes me and makes me violent or crazy or something, make sure I don't hurt anyone, okay?

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

. . .

I can take care of that if it happens.

[Lucas wants to say 'it won't'. But denying a possibility doesn't make anything better.]

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

[Kay nods sort of sadly. There's a bit of an uncomfortable silence here, and then she leans over to give Lucas a hug. She feels pretty guilty now, actually, but she's grateful that he's supporting her.]

...Thanks.

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

[Lucas will take the hug without blushing for once. When he thinks about Kay coming face to face with the milkman . . . Perhaps he does flush, but it's due to a small burst of adrenaline rather than embarrassment.]

I'll do everything I possibly can to protect you, Kay.

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

Sorry I keep running into danger like this. I don't mean to make you worry about me.

[a-gentle-boy.livejournal.com]

It's alright. You're just doing what you can to help us get home.

[thief-of-truth.livejournal.com]

Yeah... I have to keep going. It's what he would have done.