i could make you care [OPEN]

[circumitus]

Who: Rey and You!
What: Over time, Rey is starting to let herself feel again since the Assassin event. But it's not without effort. Bring it on, fireflies.
Where: Various.
When: May 1st-10th.
Warnings: Language and potential assholery on Rey's part.

---

I. Home (Spire Two, 301)

It's been a few days. More than enough time, one would think, to allow oneself to start being human again. The problem is, Rey isn't human. Never has been and never will be, even when she had believed herself to be as such during her past lives she had lived as different women. Those memories, along with the hopes and dreams and aspirations of those women, have been inaccessible for quite some time now. It's just safer this way.

Rey doesn't sleep much, if at all on some days. Most of the time she spends her hours in her apartment, checking up on the fish long enough to feed its stupid face just so that she can leave all over again.

Whether you're there by chance or as a concerned individual, it makes no difference. When she opens the door to leave her apartment, she doesn't expect to bump into any familiar or strange faces, but she does anyway.

"Apologies," she says in the same monotone that's plagued her since she had locked her emotions away. It's become a problem.

II. Fireflies (May 3rd-7th)

The sudden appearance of the little insects (and the lack of lighting throughout the city) do not go unnoticed. Rey has seen such flies before during her various travels throughout the world, but something tells her early on that these are no normal bugs.

Before long, they become an obvious nuisance, oftentimes following her around while attempting to rest upon her shoulders or her head of short mahogany hair. Whether she's taking a reprieve at the park, on patrol, or heading to the bar, the damned things seem to have taken a particular interest in her. And it's no mystery as to why.

Despite their endeavors, the little bubble of happiness they're intended to rouse have no such effect on Rey. That would require allowing herself to feel delight, and she hasn't felt a damned thing after she had almost been manipulated into killing a girl. She can't let that happen again, or give their captors what they want. This includes locking away the good along with the bad.

So, no happiness for Rey. No matter how many little delightful fireflies land on her. From time to time, she can be found with at least twenty of them having perched on her, and she bearing the utmost visage of apathy imaginable. Occasionally she flicks one off an arm or her shoulder, sending an insect spinning through the air before flying away. Other times she just crushes one without any sense of pity or remorse. It's their fault for bothering her.

Perhaps she'll care eventually. Perhaps not. The poor things seem determined, though.

III. Wildcard

[ooc: Want to do something else with Rey for the first half of the month? Hit me up with whatever you desire or I can whip up a super special awesome starter just for you!]

Comments

home

[mismanagement]

Recent events have made it very clear that collaboration is neccisary for their continued survival. Later, Henry made it clear - in his own way - that shutting one's self off from the rest of the world accomplished nothing in the end, and ought to be done away with in all due haste.

Maketh was feeling better. The injuries she'd sustained during the event had been healed She knew someone who wasn't, though.

Thus, she's dressed herself in her uniform - with a new, inferior jacket - and showed up in front of Rey's door with a knapsack slug over her shoulder.

Unfortunately, Maketh is still human, while Rey might as well be the immovable object unfortunately destined to struggle against the unstoppable force. So when they smack into each other, Rey probably doesn't even feel it.

Maketh ends up on her ass.

Well, at least it's not a long fall.

Maketh clears her throat, pushing herself up and attempting - very hard - to present herself with some dignity. "Rey."

[circumitus]

Despite Rey's disconnect, logic still prevails. She knows better than to run headlong into a fray, and pay mind to the lives of those around her.

Physically, there is nothing wrong with her anymore. Carlisle's healing had done a fine job at covering up the wounds she had sustained from the previous widespread incident.

But there are other symptoms of an underlying issue here. Symptoms that is evident in Rey's voice when she looks down at the woman who she had run into, her visage expressionless and her tones devoid of any care.

"Are you okay?"

Rather than asking out of genuine concern, the query comes out because that is generally what one is supposed to say when they've rudely knocked someone down. Rey is on autopilot, speaking only what needs to be said.

If her conversation with Nick has been any indicator, it's that she needs to be more careful. There were a few moments in which her mask almost cracked and she can't let that happen again. Not yet.

[mismanagement]

That's a worrying tone. Maketh dusts herself off, straightening her coat as best she can. She misses the old one, stupidly, but that's long gone. "I'm fine. I thought we might talk."

She pauses. "I brought coffee."

Real coffee, not the shitty instant kind. Rey is a particular breed of stubborn, but Maketh has found that most people respond well to bribery.

[circumitus]

Great, more talking. Nick came to her doorstep asking for the same thing, and that ended... well, not terrible, but Rey knows that the synth didn't walk away from that conversation completely satisfied with her choices. She knows how unsettling it can be -- she notices in Maketh's demeanor as well, but pretends to remain ignorant.

"...All right." She hadn't shut the door all the way, so she just slides back inside, leaving it open. The promise of coffee does sound appealing at the moment. Not too long ago, Rey was back in her own world, drinking coffee and eating pie with one of the few people she could consider a friend. A friend who may or may not even be alive, for all she knows.

But that is neither here nor there. Not right now, anyway. She has to keep herself grounded to the present.

[mismanagement]

It's not a refusal, so Maketh steps inside and closes the door behind her. This is progress, she thinks. She has no idea how one goes about convincing an ally to stop acting foolishly without shouting or throwing things at them - a favorite tactic of her Academy instructors - but she's hardly going to let the inexperience stop her. She's even written a script for this moment.

First, there's coffee. If she offers to make coffee, then Rey can't kick her out until after it's been made.

Maketh clears her throat, shrugging the knapsack off. "How do you like your coffee, then?"

May 3rd

[tongueamok]

Carlisle's curiosity over the fireflies didn't pick up until the third one he managed to catch. The first had landed on him, and he'd thought the slight, but sudden cheer he'd felt was uncharacteristic of him: a brief instant of warmth and happiness was hard to miss when one spent of his time being varying degrees of cold, anxious, and miserable. The second firefly had pushed the correlation between the itself and that feeling into his head, and by the time he got a jar and trapped firefly number three, he had decided he should probably try to catch as many as possible. You know, just to see how good this feeling could get. It was clearly necessary research, and nothing more.

Unfortunately, it turns out that his skills in hunting and trapping animals is as impressive as ever (which is to say "not at all"). What that means is that he's very excited when he sees a flock of fireflies congregating around Rey without a care in the world. He calls to her from a ways off, digging in his bag for one of his jars as he picks up his pace.

"Ah, Miss Rey! Stay right there! Don't move! Don't move don't move don't move!"

[circumitus]

Oh god, no.

It's bad enough that the insects aren't leaving her alone. When she hears a recently familiar voice from nearby, her shoulders just slack. And not even that can deter the fireflies' resolve to peeve her. A couple of them manage to fly off as Carlisle draws near, but for the most part she remains a glowing beacon in the city's dimness.

"What do you want?" Rey asks, not quite putting two and two together yet when she notices the jar coming out of Carlisle's bag. The hell is that supposed to be for?

[tongueamok]

Jar in hand, he slows down as he gets near her, his eyes trailing upward and away as a couple of the lightning bugs scatter. He decides to close the rest of the gap with slow, deliberate movements.

"How do you manage to get them to stay there?" he asks in a hushed tone as he takes a long, slinking step while removing the lid from the jar.

[circumitus]

The fireflies are relentless, still clinging to Rey as Carlisle makes his way over with the promise of jarring a few. Or more.

Even when Rey just shrugs a shoulder, the insects continue to just hold on. "By not moving? Probably?"

Or maybe they're attracted to misery.

[tongueamok]

If they were attracted to misery, Carlisle would have had no trouble getting more than the three he already has. As it is, they don't seem nearly as drawn to him as they are to her. Perhaps apathy is a better bait.

"Well, keep doing it," he says with another step. "I'm going to see if I can't get a few of the ones flitting about you."

May 5th

[unfollowing]

"Wow."

Emily clutches her jar of maybe twenty fireflies close to her chest as she approaches Rey, who may herself not be exuding delight, but is still bathed in it. Since her emotion of choice tends to be anger, Emily is particularly affected by the event, addicted to the feeling that, okay, yeah, life is shit, but maybe all that positive thinking bullshit might actually have some trurh to it.

And if it doesn't, fuck it. This is better than wallowing like a loser over missing Matt and Jess (not that she'll admit the latter), or wanting to murder some random nerd.

"Holy shit." She giggles quietly as she reaches out to touch the light the fireflies perched on Rey emit. "That's so cool, Rey! How are you getting them to do that?"

[circumitus]

There isn't much wallowing or anything on Rey's part. All she's doing is sitting there on the park bench, elbows over her knees and her chin rested in her palm when Emily arrives.

One of the fireflies makes an attempt to land on Rey's face. She waves it off just as it starts to cover her eye, her expression devoid of even the slightest hint of annoyance. But she's also lacking in the happy glow that Emily seems to be sporting.

"Not really doing anything, to be honest. They just keep doing this," she says as she waves off another firefly endeavouring to land on her face.

They're trying. They are trying so hard

[unfollowing]

The fireflies' light feels warm and soothing to Emily, who shuts her eyes and smiles wide for a few seconds, half-listening to Rey. This is nice. This is so nice. Nothing hurts. Everything is going to be okay.

"I wish they'd do that for me." Sighing, she opens her eyes in time to see a firefly aiming to land on Rey's nose. "Oh my god. That's so cute. We had to like, go out and catch them." Her hands shift on the jar, which is perfect for keeping the little things alive for at least a few days. "But they like, love you!"

They could use a cluster of them in the house, lighting up the kitchen and the living room, chasing away the shadows of all the shit she and her friends have gone through in the past few months.

"Hey, why aren't you smiling?" Emily is genuinely concerned, and curious, her frown almost comical because no matter how hard she tries, she can't really stop smiling.

[circumitus]

It becomes apparent that the fireflies' presence is supposed to elicit some sort of euphoria. Carlisle was acting weird the other day (though she doesn't know the man too well to know what is considered normal for him), and now Emily (who Rey also doesn't know that well). If she had only opened herself up to the influences of this place, she probably would be experiencing the same thing as well.

As such, she isn't, no matter how hard the little fireflies of delight make the effort.

"It may help if you stand still for a while." And that is what Rey is doing. She turns her head as another firefly flutters in front of her, as though silently berating her WHY AREN'T YOU HAPPY, GODDAMMIT?

Whether they actually 'love' her or just find some appeal in the emotionless turmoil that Rey has spent the last few weeks in, she can't say. She shrugs as a few of them have mercifully given up and drifted off.

She just stares at Emily for a moment, as though silently asking her Are you serious? Mostly because it isn't a question she gets asked often, and that is probably because Rey doesn't exactly seem to be the smiling type. Which she isn't.

"Does it matter? Smiling won't make them go away."

[unfollowing]

Emily immediately acts upon Rey's suggestion, going still, even holding her breath for a few seconds, and watching the fireflies drift closer to her. The only thing she isn't able to do to keep still is stop herself from smiling as some of the fireflies brush against her cheeks or her hands. This is cool. This is so cool.

It's only when Rey responds to her question that Emily moves again, tilting her head a bit and frowning at her. "So? If they're gonna be around, you may as well enjoy it." As if to prove her point, she smiles again. "They're so pretty, lighting up the dark. It's hard not to be happy."

home

[imobouzu]

You have to look up on your friends once in a while, and Jinbee is the type to be overly invested in his friends. He cares a lot.

Which is why he has dropped by with a gift in hand (because that's the polite thing to do) and the gift is some apples he found, and he was just about to knock when she opened her door. And he gets the door in his face. Oops. But well, no big deal!

"Rey-dono!" Of course he's grinning cheerfully. "I was just about to visit you! Are you busy?"

[circumitus]

Although Rey may not be caring about much lately, she still has no desire to see other people hurt.

So when she opens the door only to smack a kid in the face, she is met with some alarm. It does, however, last for only a moment.

"Not really. Was just planning to do another patrol--" She stops herself before she can say anything more. "Is your face okay?"

[imobouzu]

"May I accompany you then?" If she still wants to go for a patrol. They have gone on them together before so it wouldn't be the first time. "Oh yes, not to worry! I have been hit in the face with things way harder than doors, anyway!" That's a good thing, right? It's made his face sturdy. Well, it hasn't really done that, his nose is still red, but at least he's not bleeding.

[circumitus]

Rey scratches her forehead as she considers Jinbee's offer. "Um, sure."

Don't have anything better to do seems to be her excuse for anything at this point. She moves to close the door behind her.

"Not sure if that's supposed to be reassuring," she says in regards to the boy having been hit by more than doors. Well, she doubts that it would deter him much, anyway.

[imobouzu]

"Thank you!"

Not that one would ever need a reason for accepting Jinbee's company (or seeking it, for that matter). He's always happy to have company.

He looks at her in mild confusion. "Is that so?" He doesn't understand the problem.

Irish Coffee Time!

[mismanagement]

[following this]

Coffee seems to have worked for bribery in previous attempts, so Maketh feels confident about bringing it over this time - and ti mix it with whatever whiskey that Rey has managed to dig up.

It's a social visit. Maketh isn't quite sure how one goes about those. She shows up in uniform just in case, rapping on Rey's door with her usual efficiency.

Or would have. The door has seen better days.

Maketh knocks on the wall instead. "Rey?

[circumitus]

It isn't until she hears the nearby knocking does it occur to Rey that she probably should have provided Maketh with the room number when she had invited her for coffee.

No matter, though. It's just a floor away, as Rey makes her way down the stairwell to find Maketh in front of her old apartment door. Or, well, what's left of it, anyway, thanks to Nick breaking it fairly recently.

"Apologies," she says as she approaches Maketh from behind. "It'd be better if we just go upstairs. It's more hospitable."

Since she still hasn't made the time to clean up the mess she had left in her own abode.

[mismanagement]

"Oh, I - all right."

Maketh doesn't ask what happened to the door. It's fairly obvious someone kicked it in. She can only guess at the circumstances, and it feels like the wrong thing to ask at the doorway. She adjusts her bag, touching it briefly to make sure the coffee is right where she left it. "Did you...move?"

[circumitus]

Rey opens her mouth to say no, but hesitates because she really doesn't know the answer. The state of her apartment, while not totally demolished, isn't in such a wrecked condition that's made it uninhabitable.

"Um. Not sure yet," she says, reluctant, and somewhat devoid of the emotionless inflection she had carried since her last meeting with Maketh. She just turns to head up the stairs.

[mismanagement]

Maketh opens her mouth, but decides not to speak. There will be time for that later, if she can think of the proper words. She nods just once and follows Rey up the stairs.