[ 102 ]

[lilyground]

[The feed opens to silence. A long, long silence. When Lily speaks, her tone is an obviously forced, strained calm.]

Where is Kage's ID?

[Another pause.]

Where's B's?

[Here she tries to lock a post to Kage and B, but with no ID to lock to, ShipNET gives her an error message instead.Where are they? I can't - where did they go? They're not gone.

Comments

[wiserthanusall]

[Sigh]

You are not alone.

[Child, you are panicking. Oogway sighs and puts down his comm and goes to find her. She's got potential, but a Kung-Fu Warrior, she is not.

Yet.]

[lilyground]

[Oh, she's locked away in her room, which resembles the aftermath of a nuclear bomb.

Lily can be heard far, far away in the background, mumbling to herself.]

They gave me life and family and I wanted to see real flowers they SHOWED me real flowers they GAVE me real flowers, Kage and B and Even, Even, EVEN and Chase, and Hazar and Tyler and Haine and Giovanni, all of them GONE I am ALONE and, and I am ALONE.

[commentlog? 8D]

[wiserthanusall]

[Oogway knocks loudly on the door. Don't make him climb all those damn stairs and come in by the window. He's old.]

Lily.

Lily Worth.

I am here.

[ EVENTUALLY ]

[lilyground]

[A voice, there's a voice. Lily scrambles over to her comm, praying to Zeshat and every other god she's heard of that it's Kage or B or Chase or -

No. Just Oogway.

Lily curls in a ball around her comm, afraid to let go. Kage might be there.]

Go away I don't NEED you right now OOGWAY.

[audio / commentlog]

[wiserthanusall]

[With perfect patience.] I believe you do.

[And he will sit here, in front of your door, in lotus position, until the ship sinks, or the Shore is reached, or you come out of that room.]

I will not go away.

[ audio / commentlog ]

[lilyground]

FINE.

[Look, it's audible!]

Fine, stay there forever.

[ audio / commentlog ]

[wiserthanusall]

You will need to eat, sometime.

[He might as well be incapable of being angry. OR frustrated.]

I will simply wait until den.

[ audio / commentlog ]

[lilyground]

Leave me alone. Just - just don't, Oogway. Just leave. Just leave.

[At this point in her temper tantrum, Lily's feeling numb. Very numb.]

[ audio / commentlog ]

[wiserthanusall]

My friends have all left me alone, as well.

[He sighs, feeling very very old. Oogway takes his seat in the hall and lays his stick across his knees.]

But I will not.

[ audio / commentlog ]

[lilyground]

[Ughhh. Lily rolls over.]

Then stay there.

[ audio / commentlog ]

[wiserthanusall]

[Silently, he does. Whenever she gets around to seeing him, he'll be here.]

[ audio / commentlog ] CONSIDERABLY LATER

[lilyground]

[It takes a fucklong time for Lily to pull herself together enough to talk to Oogway. At this point in her temper tantrum, everything feels like a dream. So distant that it's not real.

She opens the door and stares at him, blank.]

Master Oogway.

[ commentlog ] This whole log is just. FFFFFFFFF

[wiserthanusall]

[For a little while, he just looks at her. Then, he stands, creaking audibly to his feet, leaning heavily on that twisted stick of his.

then, he looks at her a bit more, and holds out one hand, long claws unfolding like the petals of a lily]

Come.

[ commentlog ] this log will be FFF forever

[lilyground]

[Lily turns her stare to his hand. Oogway's scaly, reptilian hand. Kage, his hands were always rough with calluses. Reptilian in their own way. She takes Oogway's hand and goes with him.]

What - [She swallows once, hard. Holding in sobs.] - what do I do now...?

[ commentlog ]

[wiserthanusall]

Eat soup.

[Oogway is very very old, and of the many things he has learned, most of all he has learned to cope with his friends and beloveds dieing. Perhaps Kage is not dead, nor B. But it is all the same, to Lily.

It is dinner time, and Lily has missed meals. What do they do next? They eat. He leads her gently towards the buffet. Progress is necessarily slow.]

[ commentlog ]

[lilyground]

...

[...]

Soup?

[Soup?]

M - my family is - gone and you want me to...?

[Is this reptile for real?]

Fucking soup?