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[grandbellknight]

[Standing in front of the curtained archways. He's actually dressed up rather nicely - a light gray suit with a white shirt and a black tie. His mask is simple, especially compared to the others he's seen people wearing, but that suits him just fine

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[vengefulagent]

[after a long and very annoying debate with a town resident about his attire, Wash finally turns up in a nice, gray suit and full-faced mask, his armor stored safely between the town hall and sheriff's. (though "safely" in this case means anyone who crosses a tripwire near it will meet with a grenade explosion...) he's still rather tall even without the armor, dark short-ish hair sticking out beyond the the edges of the mask. adding to his annoyances and concerns, just before he removed his helmet, Wash had spotted groups of people going in beyond the archways--only to turn up elsewhere in town. knowing there are random teleports in town aside from the town borders only make him increasingly cautious and all the more aware how vulnerable he is without his full equipment

[grandbellknight]

[Croix eventually does come back through the middle curtain, and it's blatantly obvious that something is very wrong. His expression is intense - narrowed eyes, tight lips... and yes, he's still pale, if you can tell that from behind the mask he is absolutely refusing to let slide away from his face even a nanometer. In fact, every few seconds, he's pushing it back up again - it's worse than a nervous tick with a pair of glasses, and damn straight he's noticed that he's doing it, that's not going to keep him from stopping.

He doesn't recognize Wash at all, otherwise he'd stop and say something - warn him away from the middle curtain if nothing else. As it is, he simply finds a building to lean against and stares up into the sky, rather unfocused but still on his guard.]

[vengefulagent]

[well. that's a different expression than he's seen Croix exhibi, though it does remind him a bit of the look he was given during their expedition to the Mayor's Office. he gives the young man a moment to compose himself before he approaches him, his right hand still casually cradling his pistol in his pocket. his voice is a bit muffled thanks to the mask, but considering his voice is usually filtered through his helmet radio, this shouldn't be too much of a change]

I see you went in there. What happened, Croix?

[grandbellknight]

[Croix watches him approach, still clueless as to who it could be... but when he speaks, the warning bells in his mind stop and he relaxes. A little.]

Washington. [He quietly lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.]

We didn't find the murderer. [A pause] We found a CAT, with a note to play what happens to be recorded on it. I can show you. [A slightly longer pause] And the rest of it was... a nightmare.

[vengefulagent]

[notices that, but isn't entirely surprised the young man is still on guard. still, he nods his head.] Hello again.

I would like to see what was on the CAT, yes, but...what do you mean everything else was a nightmare?

[grandbellknight]

[He closes his eyes, reaching up to push his mask against his face again. he leaves his fingers there a little longer this time.]

I mean, it couldn't have been real, but it was. And now, I can't take off my mask.

[He's pretty sure he's going to have to elaborate, but God, he does not want to.]

[vengefulagent]

Croix, being vague in a situation like this isn't going to help anybody, least of all me. [double standards, he has them.] Now what exactly happened?

[grandbellknight]

[Apparently. Croix shakes his head.]

I guess "Trust me, you don't want to know," wouldn't be good enough.

[So with a sigh, and a visible wince beforehand... he takes off his mask. And with it, his face. At least he doesn't fully turn toward him, but it's still obvious what just... happened.]

[vengefulagent]

[somewhat firmly] You're right; it wouldn't.

[watches him do that and he actually does react, taking a step back and sounding surprised] What?! How is that physically possible?

[grandbellknight]

[He immediately puts the mask back. He closes his eyes tightly - it makes him a little bit sick to even think that it's... real.]

I don't know. It shouldn't be, like I said. It's a nightmare...

[If he didn't know any better, he'd swear he was trapped in someone's Cosmosphere. Someone very unhappy. With a lot of issues. Who enjoys killing people and removing faces.]

((OoC: "This doesn't seem physically possible!!" *shot*))

[vengefulagent]

[he's glad he didn't go through a curtain now--not that he shows his face all that often to begin with.]

It's definitely something, all right. Could be worse, though; the mask could remove everything on your face, like facial tissue and muscle instead of just the defining features. I think then you'd have solid grounds for declaring it a nightmare.

[grandbellknight]

[A pause, where he considers Washington... and yes, he's amused. The amusement just falls a little by the wayside in the presence of the "Oh Goddess, what is going on?" aspect.]

You didn't strike me as the "it could be worse" type, but you do have a point. Though, this is... bad enough.

[He even glances back toward the curtain, briefly.] Everything that happens reminds me just how glad I am no one else I know is here. And how much I need to get back to them.

[vengefulagent]

[he relaxes his grip on the pistol just a bit] No, I'm not, but I figured you could use a little perspective. [i.e. it was his way of attempting to cheer him up]

[he looks at the curtains as well, but he certainly doesn't share most of Croix's worries.] We'll all get where we're going sooner or later. These little 'nightmares' are simply things we have to weather in order to finally succeed in our mission. But yes, it probably is a good thing no one else from home is here. [he suspects if there were, he wouldn't have been able to accomplish a tenth of the things he's done so far]

[grandbellknight]

[He just shakes his head, though that might be the vaguest hint of a smile.] Perspective. ... Thanks.

Right. We'll get there. I think we've made some progress, even if sometimes it doesn't feel like it.