lifeaftr | hold your pretty head high ( open )

Entry tags:

hold your pretty head high ( open )

Who: Mira, you. A few closed prompts.
What: the eventening
When: throughout the event.
Where: all over Umui.
Warnings: death. gore. will update with more!
Notes: lmk if you want a starter. i'll also match format!

august 5-9.

[ In some ways, it feels familiar. She's not really thrilled about that; the fear of succumbing to something she can't control is terrifying. Something pricks at the back of her mind, flashes of an old memory clawing to the surface--

beneath the ground, surrounded by darkness and decay and the slow sound of something heavy growing closer

--she closes her eyes and shakes her head. Focuses on other things. She doesn't dare go back to Enso; she doesn't know if she'd infect others who, luckily, haven't been. Her food's running a bit low, but she's still got quite a bit. So. If she sees someone around, she'll come over with a smile. She's a little dizzy from walking so much, but she manages to not fall over. ]

Are you hungry?

[ ... of course, aside from trying to take care of people, she's... not doing much of that for herself. Often, she has to take a break to curl up somewhere quiet. Mira's started coughing up flower petals, and that? Seeing the blood-soaked violet petals?

It's terrifying. So much that she's not particularly aware of much else. ]

august 10-16.

[ It's getting much worse.

The flowers grow along her skin, bursting forth around her wrists and throat. She's in a lot of pain, and she doesn't really move from her spot near the mana pool on Umui. She can't move, exactly. Not without a lot of hurting. Still, she puts on a brave face, sits up (visibly wincing, naturally) if she notices someone coming along. ]

How are you doing?

[ It's a foolish question, but. It's fine. ]

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[Nari watches Mira, letting go of her friends hand. She frowns and tries to see where the flowers are coming from and... it's not looking good.]

Violets... How much does it hurt, Mira? Where's the most pain?

[ Yeah, it's pretty bleak. The flowers are centralized on her wrists, her throat, over her heart. And then there's the ring of flowers around her head and near her eyes. Maybe it would be pretty, if not for what they mean. ]

I... don't think you can do anything, [ she rasps. There are a lot of pauses between her words, and she's breathing so, so hard. ]

.... I know I can't. Even if I could, I can't keep you from bleeding out... I can't.... there's only one option and I don't know if I can do it.

[ She doesn't know how to tell her she'll be gone soon. Or, she thinks. It's getting a lot harder to breathe; every gasp is agony. Mira knows she won't survive. ]

You don't have to stay, [ she manages. Nari doesn't have to stay and watch her die. ]

I'll stay..... because I couldn't be there for all the other people I loved who died... because I killed someone I care for deeply... I don't want you to be alone when you die, Mira. I love you too much for you to have such a painful and lonely end.

[If anything, she tries to help Mira to lay down.] Let's get you comfortable...

[ Part of her wants to tell Nari to go find Pyrrha, to be with her. She doesn't know how Pyrrha is doing, but she doesn't want her to die, either. Part of her wants Nari to go take care of other people, to make sure they're okay.

Part of her--selfish, terribly selfish--wishes Nari loved her in a different way.

Nari moves her, and she coughs painfully, rattling her chest. Mira whimpers, quietly, and she feels more flowers burst from within. They bloom over her right eye, and blood trickles down her cheek. It hurts, but to much for her to manage tears. ]

I'm... sorry...

[Seeing the eye go makes Nari shudder. She swallows hard and gently wipes the blood off of Mira's cheek, even if it leaver her hand stained red.]

I was hoping I could find you sooner... Mira... the cure is so simple... [She laughs bitterly, resting as much of her forehead as she could against Mira's.] But I know you. Better than anyone. You're not open, and you hide when you can. But then again, I was never truly open with you, either... there's so many things I never told you because I was scared. And now? It's too late, isn't it.

[ She very nearly lets it slip, then. But this far along, would it even make a difference? No, likely not. The only purpose it would serve would be to break their friendship to pieces. And Mira can't allow that to happen.

Not even if it kills her. ]

I can't. [ It's the strongest her voice has been in... how long? She doesn't know. But it tears her throat to shreds, and she lets out a whine. She wants to lift her arms, hold onto Nari so badly, but she can't.

There's no feeling in her arms, after all. ]

I can't, because I'd... I'd ruin everything.

... you know, I used to have something like that, too. Then I got dragged onto an intergalactic murdershow and that really changed how I viewed things. Wanna know something funny?

[It might not be so funny now. It might be depressing, but since she's being honest about everything else, there's no loss, right?]

I used to be in love with you. And the worst part? I told you, but you didn't understand and said you loved me like a sister. At that time it killed me. I ran. I wasn't a very good friend after that, and for that I apologize... but you were always kind and wonderful even after that...... my family, the one I made, helped me move on, and I eventually fell in love. Twice. Once with what turned out to be the mastermind behind the entire show, and oh boy, that was an awkward reveal.......... My other secret is my abilities. Not so much a secret anymore. But that day I "accidentally" was hit by lightning? Yeah, that was on purpose to see if I would survive that. Sorry you had to deal with that...

[ She doesn't know what to expect, when Nari tells her that. Maybe that she had feelings for her brother, or Aiden. Maybe that she was secretly her favorite author, like Aiden. Maybe that she has some secret powers that'll change things back home. It's something she's always hoped for, deep down.

She doesn't even entertain the idea of... that. ]

I-- I don't remember that, [ she whispers. Because, god, she would have. She would have confessed right back to her. But she doesn't remember, and she certainly wouldn't have told Nari that.

It hurts. Mira bites her lip, hard, and she isn't sure if she tastes copper from that or the petals that spill from her lips as she coughs hard. ]

You... telling me that... or the lightning thing...

[ She could tell Nari. Maybe it would save her. But what difference would it make? It would only complicate things. ]

Yeah... somehow I had a feeling you wouldn't. You're not the Mira I know, or at least the one I know from my world. The Mira of my world married my other best friend, Aiden, but you don't have a wedding ring... I fucking hate this place for that. I thought I had my best friend back, and even though I do, it's not the same.

[She lays down beside Mira, staring at the sky.]

I am an honest person, so I'm not afraid to tell people things. But with you? I wish I could be so much more open, but it feels like I might inconvenience you. That I might say something wrong. And best friends shouldn't be afraid of that, right? Now matter what, I'll love you, and I want you happy........ and I came too late. You're dying and I can't stop it. I can't even make it easier with my powers or knowledge, and I am so sorry...

[ She curls up against Nari, and it's... hard to see much of anything. Her whole body feels cold, but Nari is so warm. If she has to die... then she's glad it's like this. ]

It's... not your fault, [ she rasps. She coughs, turning her head to the ground. She doesn't want to get any of this on Nari. ] It's mine. F-for... being an idiot.

[Mira will find things getting steadily warmer and comfortable. Nari once told someone that a medics job was to make it less painful to die. Comfort was a big part.]

I don't think you're an idiot... being honest is terrifying. I learned to lie just so I could hide some things, and in the end I still told the truth. [She shifts to be closer to Mira.] You can always be more honest in the next life. I'll find you, no matter where you end up. That's a promise.

Th-the next life...

[ She feels so small in Nari's arms. Mira curls up against her, and she can hardly move her head. The flowers are growing faster, spreading to cover her other eye. She inhales sharply, shakily, and she wants so badly to hold onto her. To cling. ]

I-I don't want to die...

[The tears come before she can stop them. Nari tries to stop a sob from escaping, and it makes her chest heave as she shudders.]

I know you don't... but it'll be easier than you think... you're not alone, Mira. Just close your eyes and remember the good times.

Good times...

[ She closes what's left of her eye and tries to remember... but all she can think about is how much pain she's in. How she's hurting Nari. How she can feel her pain, so acutely, so much that it's like it's her own pain. It's always been like that, hasn't it? Even if Nari doesn't realize it, Mira's always felt her pain and suffering more than anyone else.

She tries to move her hand, but she can't. It's like the nerves are dead, overgrown with leaves and petals. They're thick in her throat, too, her lungs. It won't be long until she's unable to breathe. ]

Love--

[ It's all she can manage, before she stops. Everything stops, suddenly, except for the flowers. They continue to spread, taking root in the ground below Mira. They don't stop, even as the color fades from her lips, her cheeks.

What's left is a patch of violets. ]

[This wasn't like any of the other times she's seen the dying and the dead. Mira was different. The keening pain in her chest was so much more than even when she found out Nishitani died. When every Friday someone she loved and trusted died.

Mira was different.

Nari's never had anyone die in her arms like this, in such an awful way. The patch of violets was too much. She sits up and takes a bloom, setting it on fire before crushing what was left.]

As we lived on our flowery words, so now shall we choke on them...... remember that, Mira? I'll burn this place to the ground for you, if the others let me. I'll make this place suffer for your death.

[As she stands, a glare is given to every bloom in the area. Then she leaves without another word, stomping on every flower in her way.]

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hold your pretty head high ( open )

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cw eye horror

cw eye horror

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rest in pieces

welp