one day, you will understand. but that day is not today.

[thepull_mods]

Who: Siren's Port
When: The night of Thursday, October 20th into the morning of Friday, October 21st.
Where: In the mind, in the dreams, in the unconscious of the sleepers.
Summary: The final night.
Warnings: These dreams may be considered not safe for work, with violence, gore, death, underlying sexual themes and other mentions of graphic nature.

Comments

[beardedveteran]

[ This is the first night he's woken up gasping for breath, filling his lungs with air free of destruction and the smell of blood. Far from personal injuries, or recognising the faces of loved ones, the sight of this city-- a city he hardly knows, even, filled with terror-- strikes fear into him. Heroes vanquished; goodness eradicated; no hope.

It's also the first night he hasn't spared a single thought to those visions, dressing and leaving the boarding-house as soon as he can after waking, tearing out into the dark early morning with very few set plans. Nonetheless they are plans to distract his thoughts; for an hour he retraces several routes around the city covered in the police orientation, paying more attention to his surroundings than usual, with the final destination of the police station itself.

Being some hours early for today's training session doesn't stop him getting inside and trying to work anyway. Kotetsu dries off just minimally from the rain adorning his hair and hat and jacket and lingers around the office-- obviously almost empty at this time of morning, but waiting for his machine coffee to cool and mulling over yesterday's performance in the shooting range commands enough of his attention that he won't notice anybody entering if they're quiet enough. ]

[proxysearch]

[Re-l comes in a little after ten, exhausted and feeling absolutely terrible. She really just wants to pick up her paperwork and go home but... No, no, that'd be irresponsible, as tempting as it is. She feels like she's going to fall over any second now, though.

She passes by the coffee machine with her own cup already, having picked it up before she left Diego at the coffee shop, and she stops when she sees Kotetsu.]

Rough night, Officer?

[beardedveteran]

[ By this point he's on his third cup, taking a break from trying to figure out the building. He blinks and lifts his head at her voice. Ah- she doesn't look any better off than he feels. Yet she still seems to give off that almost impressive air of professionalism. ]

Could say that. This ain't helping too much, either.

[ He swills the murky contents of the cheap paper cup and, after a moment, sips from it anyway. Better than nothing. ]

You always here at this time, Corporal?

[proxysearch]

I didn't think it would. It's a shame. [A shrug.] Too much caffeine will make you jittery, anyhow, and that's not much better from how everyone's feeling now.

[She sips her drink for a moment, closing her eyes.]

Earlier, sometimes. And I've had a few nights this year when I haven't left the office. I wouldn't aspire to do things like that if I were you, though; those were some extraneous circumstances.

[beardedveteran]

[ He doesn't respond at first, hand lifted to adjust his cap forward some. In a way, he feels that the less the general sentiment those dreams left is discussed, the better. A small smile curves the ends of his mouth. ]

Patrolling or training all night'd be fine, honestly. If it was paperwork, though, I'd be asleep in a heartbeat, so don't you worry about me staying up for that! [ He chuckles quietly, swivelling around to lean back against the machine. ]

[proxysearch]

[She smiles a little.]

You're not the first to tell me that, and you won't be the last. Paperwork is a bore but it keeps my mind focused on something if I have nothing to do.

[beardedveteran]

I'll just have to teach you my extreme paperwork-doing techniques. 's'a good sleeping aid.

[proxysearch]

[She smiles a little more.]

That'd be nice but...I need to stay awake and keep going. I usually have something that needs to be done.

[beardedveteran]

[ He gives a small, weary smile, and takes another sip of coffee. Just watching her is making him feel tired again. ]

Anything I can take over for you, right now? You probably oughta have a break at some point, you know...

[proxysearch]

It's all right. I don't mind the work.

[She shrugs.]

I'm used to running full-tilt when it comes to work. Trust me, though: it's nothing to aspire to be like.

[beardedveteran]

Hey, I'm pretty durable, I might take that as a challenge! [ He jabs a thumb at his chest proudly, then chuckles, dropping the gesture as though to dissolve any pretence he had of seriously taking it up. ]

Can't convince you to take a breather for a minute? Even if you're used to it- you'll still get worn out.

[proxysearch]

[She chuckles as well.]

Hey, I got coffee already. I've taken my break for the morning. I'll take another with lunch, maybe.