Distillation: 40 | Russell

[spagyrics]

[The feed snaps on with a crash, the video spinning dizzily as the device falls. It was obviously just thrown and now it tumbles to the floor, its impact with the wall having turned it on. Russell is kneeling in the corner of his room, the door at his back, head bowed and he looks like he's trying very hard not to cry. Trying... and failing. The

Comments

[defendswithapen]

Russell...

[Well, isn't this wonderful. First they drown (proving all of Fakir's stubborn optimism wrong), and now Sakura's gone. It was a blow, but Fakir hadn't been nearly as close to her as Russell had.]

[spagyrics]

[He just shakes his head, looking miserable. Hey Fakir if you look closely at that list you'll see your own name on there, though it was crossed off when you came back.]

She makes fourteen.

[defendswithapen]

[He sees it, and he frowns.]

... She's somewhere better now.

[spagyrics]

[He made the list as soon as he got back... then you came back so he had to scratch it out.]/i>

Everyone says that but... we don't really know do we?

[defendswithapen]

[Silence, because he doesn't know the answer to that. Instead, he gets up from where he's sitting and starts walking.]

[spagyrics]

[He honestly doesn't realize the silence, too busy wrapped up in his brooding to pay any mind to the device when someone wasn't directly speaking to him. Instead he just starts shredding the scattered papers into tiny little pieces. It's almost an idle gesture, not quite violence one would expect from anger, more methodical.]

[defendswithapen]

[It doesn't take long for Fakir to find his way to Russell's room, still silent as he enters and shuts the door behind him. A sleek black take is lashing about behind him, but he doesn't pay it any mind.]

[spagyrics]

[Russell looks up when the door opens, blue eyes startled for a moment before he realizes it's Fakir. He opens his mouth to say... something... anything... but what can he really say? Instead he just snaps his mouth closed, giving the other teen a nod of acknowledgment before returning to staring listlessly at the piles of shredded paper scattered over the floor.]

[defendswithapen]

[Fakir crosses the room, taking a seat on the floor beside Russell. There's not really much to say, so he'll just sit, a silent presence in case Russell needs him.]

[spagyrics]

[Russell reaches out for another sheet of paper and when he leans back against the wall he might just scoot over a tiny little bit, just enough for their shoulders to brush. The newest addition of paper to the floor was done slowly with precise little tears. When he finally gets to the last corner of the sheet he drops the confetti-like paper to the floor, glancing over at Fakir but refusing to look at him. Sakura and everyone else he could do nothing about what he should've been doing was looking after the people he could and yet... he'd just failed spectacularly at that mere hours ago.]

I'm... I'm sorry you had to die.... because of me.

[defendswithapen]

[Sigh. He was afraid of this.]

I didn't die because of you. We drown because some moron destroyed the city.

[spagyrics]

[Russell shakes his head, scowling hard at the floor.]

No it was my idea... If I hadn't have held you up or if you'd gone with someone else.... you probably would've... been... fine.

[He takes a deep shaky breath, pulling his knees up and crossing his arms over them. Dammit he's not going to start crying again but... he just feels so useless.]

[defendswithapen]

[He frowns, his tone becoming a little more commanding.]

Stop it. It was my idea too and I chose to go with you.

[spagyrics]

[Russell just winces at that, looking over at Fakir, blue eyes just a little wetter than h would've liked. Not going to cry again, dammit. He's really really not.]

I know you did... I just can't figure out why.

[There were other people... people with much more likely options and yet Fakir had gone with him on his little half-assed scheme.]

((OOC: whaaa sorry Ningi, work was eating my soul. Have a verah late tag? idk you can ignore it if you want *fail*))

[defendswithapen]

[Fakir meets his eyes, serious and unwavering.]

That's a stupid question.

[ooc: No worries~ ♥]

[spagyrics]

[Not the response he'd been expecting... not by a long shot. He scowls a little, confused and not liking it.]

Why the hell is that a stupid question?