video ---> voice; Monday morning

[hexyoutotuesday]

[Jinx is awake. She has been for the past few days. It's still difficult for her to move much, so she's propped up on her hospital bed. Her hair is stringy and greasy, falling around her shoulders. Her face is pale, lacking any trace of makeup. For a moment, it looks like she's about to say something, but her shoulders drop, her lips purse, she

Comments

text;

[gotsomebadnoose]

[what does he say to comfort a mother who lost their child? He doesn't even know if heaven or hell exists...and if they did, what if the kid got lost on the way like he did?

Text. Yeah, text should work. It's better than fumbling over words. He tries to think of something different to say other than the generic 'I'm sorry'. She said she didn't want to hear it, but he didn't even know her. What else could he say...]

odette is a good name

text;

[hexyoutotuesday]

[A text conversation. A topic she can actually manage right now. Even if it makes her so sad to think about, she still wants to talk about it.]

swan lake

tchaikovsky is my favorite

text;

[gotsomebadnoose]

[As long as she's willing to talk, he's willing to listen. It matters little that he doesn't really know her. It's the least he can do.]

think she would've like him too?

text;

[hexyoutotuesday]

she wouldnt have a choice

id make her star n a production of it whether she liked it or not

[Thank god for text. It's so much easier to converse this way.]

video/private;

[paterelohim]

[She's back. For a long time, that's all that takes hold of his brain. She's alive, she's awake, there will actually be somebody home when he creeps awkwardly at the hospital and maybe Gabriel will have a reason to look alive again.

It's on the bus there, when he views the post again, that her actual words get through. Then it's just a punch to the gut.

Because how many people have died? How many deaths does He hold in His head, forgotten by history, leaving no loved ones, remembered only by Him? How many deaths has He remembered and how long has He wanted to take the entire world by its shoulders and shake hard until somebody gets it. For the first time in a long time, Chuck remembers how young she is. She's practically a kid herself.]

Jinx, nobody's going to forget her. Nobody.

voice/private;

[hexyoutotuesday]

[Jinx is young. Too young. She's a girl who had to grow up so much faster than she should have. All this time, she knew she wasn't ready to have a child, but she would sure as hell try. She was ready for that. It's what she told Gabriel when they first sat down to talk about it all. No matter what Odette looked like, no matter what she was capable of, no matter what or who she turned out to be, Jinx would love her.

Now, she'd never get that opportunity. For once, she knew where she was going in life. There was some sort of inevitability. And now, there was just failure. She can't bring herself to turn on the video feed. She just quietly responds.]

It should have been me, Chuck.

voice/private;

[paterelohim]

No. No, Jinx.

[He stops and, unseen, runs a hand over his face. There's no right way to do this, is there? Unfortunately, Chuck doesn't even begin to know how she feels. Never once did He look at one of His kids suffering and truly think it should have been Him. He can't afford to think like that; what He thinks has a tendency to become hard and fast truth, and the universe needs Him at least to hold the place up. He might be absentee, but He's still one hell of a load-bearing boss.

So he can't relate. Not as a parent, and not as a guy. He's sure as shit never been here before.]

I don't even know if "should" applies here. I mean... nothing about this is right. Or would ever make it not completely fucked up.

Video | cuz it's totally the best time for a unicorn to say hi right

[notamare]

[ She never did really figure out how to switch modes on the her NV, so unfortunately for you, you get a unicorn visible in a field by the lake, all relaxed. Though her expression is best described as sympathetic ]

It is unfortunate to lose the ones you love ...particularly when they have yet to live. It does not surprise me the cruelties this world will inflict upon those who do not deserve such.

[ While those who do deserve it get off scot-free. ]

audio | IT'S THE BEST TIME

[hexyoutotuesday]

[Jinx is quiet for a good, long while. The silence is broken by sharp little breaths as she holds back the tears. This. This, of all times, is the time she finally gets to meet a unicorn.]

What do I do?

[Because unicorns have all the wisdom of the world, right? They can make things better.]

video forever | I'll just be calling you Molly now, k' :D

[notamare]

[ They can certainly try. Sorry she can't fit through the doors or she'd come to visit. ]

What you must. It is never easy to say goodbye to the ones you love. It is difficult now, and the pain will never truly depart... but as the days pass, it will become easier to bear. Little by little - keep those no longer here within your thoughts. You have those yet dear to you in this place still. They will be your strength, should you let them, until such a time that you can stand again.

Do not let the your grief destroy you. They are here, as am I, if you have need. [ She may not know the girl, and Jinx is hardly an innocent, but she isn't going to turn away from a poor young girl in pain like that. Plus she chooses who she approaches. Myth was only half right in that. ]

audio forever | jagfklslgkj It would be the last unicorn who came to Jinx. T__T

[hexyoutotuesday]

[That is a lot of wisdom in very few words. Right now, Jinx wishes she could just curl up by the unicorn. Would that make her feel better? She's been waiting for this for her entire life, and now all she can do is cry alone in her hospital bed.]

You promise you won't go away?

Video

[paysdelamour]

[He knows, to her, he must seem like a complete stranger. Just some weirdo that occasionally posted on the network. He's seen her around a few times but never managed to say anything. But now, Francis feels like it's time to say something to her. Not that he knows exactly what to say.]

I will never forget Odette, not as long as I live. And I promise that will be a long time. I've lived almost an eternity already, another eternity wouldn't hurt. [He tries to smile. Tries. Tries to be a comfort in an otherwise sharp and cruel reality. He knows what it's like to have lost a daughter - granted, none of his daughters have ever died, they've just denied him to his face. And that alone might sting just as much as if they simply had disappeared one day.

He changes the subject, speaking a little quieter this time.] Odette... that's a beautiful name. The French diminutive of Odilia, an ancient Germanic name, if I am not mistaken. You chose well.

audio

[hexyoutotuesday]

[No, she doesn't know him. She vaguely recognizes him, but she can't place a name. However, it's nice to listen to the sound of his voice. To listen to someone who can say something without awkward shuffling around his words first.]

It...actually wasn't me. [Her name is easier to talk about than losing her.] Her father chose it after Ahiru... [She clears her throat lightly.]

It's from Swan Lake. My mentor would have loved it.

Video

[paysdelamour]

Oui, the princess. The white swan. And the black swan was named Odile. I've seen it several times, actually. [He was there at the opening performance, with Russia, long ago. And he'd seen it many times on his own, since then. Ballet was one of his favorite subjects.

There's a hint of painful recognition at the mention of Ahiru. He'd been close to her before she also left the port. Jinx's words had rung true, just by the sheer number of people that had disappeared or died in the Port. He still had England's shirts all neatly tucked and pressed in the bottom drawer, the belongings of a lover who never came back. And he had seen a lot in eight months, almost nine; he couldn't fathom how much she'd seen in two years. Was she really going to be only twenty? Francis wouldn't have wished anything like this even on his worst enemy.]

I suppose he chose wisely, then. [Another small smile, trying to be comforting.] I'm not sure I've ever met him. I certainly have never met you, at least not in person, mademoiselle.

[hexyoutotuesday]

He is, sometimes, as wise as his years.

[She takes a deep, calming breath before she continues. Who knew maintaining a conversation could be this hard? Usually, she can run her mouth like none other. Now she's just trying to take it slow so she doesn't break down and cry.]

My...my name is Jinx. I'm not really the type people want to meet, so I won't hold it against you.

voice/private;

[refrigeratormom]

[She sounds muted. Quiet, with just a hint of strain.]

I can't even begin to imagine what you're going through, but I can at least identify with some of what you're feeling. When I thought I lost my boys, I didn't want to tell anyone because I didn't want sympathy. You don't want to be the one to survive, not when they're gone. No parent should have to bury their child. Not ever.

If prayers still meant anything, I would say one for both of you. I would say one for her every night.

I haven't known you for long, but you seem to be a very vibrant person. The kind of person who makes an impact.

I don't think she'll be forgotten.

voice/private;

[hexyoutotuesday]

[In a voice so strained she can barely speak:]

I didn't even get to see what color her eyes were.

voice/private;

[refrigeratormom]

[Heart breaking a little:]

Jinx, I'm s- [Pause. She said she didn't want to hear it.]

It's not fair, is it?

voice/private;

[hexyoutotuesday]

Nothing in life is fair! I thought that maybe, just maybe, I could have this one good thing! And now it's just gone!

[She tries to hold back the sobs, but it's so hard.]