[Voice/Action/Written]

[skulljokelol]

[Sunrises are beautiful from the top of the Straw Hat's rooftop. Brook makes it a point to see each and every one of them, watching the world around them stir to life as he plays the violin. He's been inseperable from it and his other instruments since everything has gone back to normal. There is so much relief in being able to do this again, and

Comments

[Action]

[tanukipoint]

[When Chopper woke at dawn and heard the blurred sounds drifting in from the window, his first thought was how careless it had been to fall asleep with it open. His second thought came after the sounds sharpened in his ears.]

[Minutes later he's on the roof, hooves clacking softly against the tile in a way that he knows might cause Brook to notice his presence. Unless he is addressed, however, he will simply take a seat and watch their musician, outlined by the oranges and reds against the sky, in his trade.]

[Action]

[skulljokelol]

[Ah, so he has an audience now, huh? Brook smoothly moves into playing this once Chopper is seated, continuing to watch the sunrise, though he'll sneak a glance to the little reindeer every now and then to see if he's enjoying the tune.]

[Action]

[tanukipoint]

[He hasn't the presence of mind to say anything at first, head turning and tilting on its own accord, ears angled towards Brook as the violin's notes vibrate in the air around them. He doesn't know much about music, but he'd heard the saying that it was a window into one's soul.]

[Strong. A melancholy that draws respect; layers of energy that command admiration, strength. The word that replays in his head like a recorder is strong. Just like...]

...Brook.

[Action]

[skulljokelol]

[There's still a few notes left of the song, so the tune continues. He's paying attention though, and he catches that word, quiet as it may be.] Hm?

[Action]

[tanukipoint]

[He hadn't realized he said it out loud. Chopper doesn't respond for several moments; instead, he respectfully listens until the song draws to a close. And even after, in the silence of dawn, he waits for words to come. -]

A lot's happened lately, hasn't it?

[Action]

[skulljokelol]

Ah, yes. Life tends to flow in such a way. It's sped along quite viciously as of late, I will admit. Perhaps now it will be in more agreeable mood. Everything must slow down from time to time, after all - everyone needs the opportunity to rest one's bones.

[Action]

[tanukipoint]

I think the experiments are over now, and almost everyone is okay now...[Him, Sanji, Zoro. There's a question that's hanging uncomfortably in the air, because it's only "almost everyone" until you're okay.]

So maybe...we could...

[Action]

[skulljokelol]

[It takes him a moment to realize what Chopper's asking for. It's a peaceful day today; quiet. The sun has embraced the sky and Brook can feel the faint traces of warmth in it through the morning air, even if he has no skin to feel it by.

And it has been a long two months - one thing after the other, the past two weeks especially. That rush of energy is wearing off again, and he's left remembering just how tired he is. A bit delayed then, this is the part where understanding kicks in, and he tilts his head back down.]

...Ah. [Brook lowers the violin to his lap with a quiet hum. He's long out of excuses, and a promise is a promise.] Yes, now is the appropriate time for that conversation, I think.

[Action]

[tanukipoint]

[Hearing those words makes everything press down just a little less heavily; so many days of pushing it off, pretending it didn't exist, but now Brook is here and he's going to fulfill his promise.]

[And then Chopper realizes that he doesn't know what to say. It's been so long ago, and now only the faint snapshot of an apple being mistaken for bread in his hoof remains, and hushed, fierce tones playing blurred memories in his head. He doesn't know anything, and so there's only one place to start:]

What happened?

[Action]

[skulljokelol]

That's not exactly something I can answer clearly, I'm afraid. The exact nature of it still alludes me to a point, you see. [There was Katie and the tunnel and somewhere... after that he loses the ability to make much sense of it all. That part he thinks he'll keep to himself, though.] It was an accident, I believe, but that is about all I know.

[Enoguh dancing around the subject. He folds his hands over the violin, and his voice lowers to fit the tone of a private conversation.] I was seeing things; hearing things, smelling things, feeling things. It's very fuzzy in my mind as of this point, almost dreamlike. And there are elements missing now... as if I forget parts of it when I wake. But as it was happening, it felt as real as this roof beneath us.

[Action]

[tanukipoint]

There were...hallucinations? [Absent objects perceived as existing to an individual without otherwise proper stimuli - that's an explanation that Chopper can understand. The one given is too broad and he doesn't know what else to do with it. Brook spent many, many years alone on that ship of his lost in the fog; there's always been something a little...unscrewed in his head, but it's never been dangerous, violent to his mental health as this sudden change seemed to be.]

[Action]

[skulljokelol]

No, it was real. [Despite what he's saying, he doesn't sound so sure of himself... Not at first, anyways. But then he recalls one of the clearer incidents. He sounds much more confident the next time he opens his mouth.] Most definitely real.

[Action]

[tanukipoint]

[...he doesn't want to doubt you, Brook. Not when you're finally talking and you seem so sure and everything is so close to being okay. But this isn't - it's not something he can comprehend, and among all of the amazing things the Hito Hito no Mi gave him is the trait of any human: fear of something unknown.]

How can you be sure? T-this is...[He trails off, not knowing where he was trying to take it. The least he can do is meet Brook's gaze.] ...real?

[Action]

[skulljokelol]

[Chopper, he's not even sure what it is that you're asking him. But he needs to do his best to reassure you anyways - things are better for him now, and what happened isn't happening anymore, and he needs to make that clear.

...This probably means bringing up some things he didn't want to admit.] It... For a long time on that Ghost Ship, I interacted with things that weren't there. I had tea and conversation with a cello and a coat hanger frequently.

I'm quite mad, of course. But I know it. There came a point in time on that ship where it was obvious, and from there I taught myself to differentiate reality from illusion as best as I could. More often than not, I can tell the difference. [He's sure he slips up from time to time... the events in February come to mind. But he's not going to bring that up right now. >.>] I can say without the shadow of a doubt that everything happening now is real.

For this same reason, I can tell you that what happened before was also real. [Brook taps his fingers on the violin, long, skeletal digits

[Action]

[tanukipoint]

[That's fine; he doesn't know what he means, either. Just stringing together fragmented, meaningless sentences is better than the choking silence.]

[Chopper manages to keep a straight expression for most of Brook's tale, but there's no suppressing the flinch at the recalling of getting stabbed. That's not a predicament Chopper wants to think about any of his nakama in, especially if he wasn't there to help afterward.]

[There's a moment where that breathless silence takes hold, and his eyes flicker from Brook's empty eye sockets to the roof tiles, and then slowly back.] ...what about now?

[Action]

[skulljokelol]

I'm fine. [He'll say that as many times as he has to to convince him.] I have not seen anything out of the ordinary since I came back from my excursion... aside from a few things out of the corner of my vision in the days after the earthquake. I was hardly alone in that, however, as I am sure you are aware. [Everyone was seeing things then. Heck, he could probably get Nami to vouch for him.]