<That's... really for you to decide. Steph and Gabby must have friends and family to go back to... but... well... you have friends too. Like me. I'd... really miss you if you went away.>
What if there’s no better word than just not saying anything?Stella is a person. And she don't done.
What if there’s no better word than just not saying anything?-She smiles and nods-
Steph is my friend. And Stella for both.
What if there’s no better word than just not saying anything?(MEANWHILE, OUTSIDE THE ROOM)
Sir, are you sure testing the weapon is a good idea?
(Michael, wearing body armour over his uniform glares at Julieta)
I'm sorry, what?
...I'm saying you could hurt yourself, Sir.
Hah! Nonsense, Julieta. I'm wearing the appropriate apparatus for this test run. I'm sure nothing can go wrong.
(Julieta glances to the side) ...If you say so, Sir.
Clear! (Just before Michael pulls the trigger, Julieta covers her ears, and then KA-POW!)
"We all fail. We all make mistakes. That is what makes us human."Eires flinched, hearing and feeling the sound of whatever it was outside.
Regardless of what it might be, Eires' brain was wired to hear one specific thing out of that range of noise. The thunder and the fury, the destruction and the conflict, the loss and the chaos, it was only and unmistakably the sound of one thing: heavy weaponry.
[forum cryptid: it/it's]-Sandra stepped over to the door, sensing Eires' tension in the air-
-She knocked-
Eires?
What if there’s no better word than just not saying anything?-And with a quick dispersal into mist, she slips through the cracks-
-Sandra is now standing before you, Eires-
Eires, what is it?
What if there’s no better word than just not saying anything?Eires' room seemed to mirror their own turmoil. Even for an artist's studio, or what would pass for one if the artist had no access to their usual materials, it was a mess. A set of speakers seemingly custom-wired to accept a Zune's input jack put out some wicked-weird tunes
quietly over an upturned drawer and clothes spilled out over the floor. The desk in the room was busy, chaotically so, with a few broken pencils scattered around a notebook containing a half-finished abstraction of a sketch.
Eires themself was in the middle of a whirlwind of a bed, blankets scattered like some force had decreed their existence on the bed a particular sort of heresy to organization. They didn't respond to Sandra.
[forum cryptid: it/it's]-She stepped over, making sure she was in sight, reaching out to touch their shoulder-
It's okay. I'm here.
What if there’s no better word than just not saying anything?Were it not for the ever-present blue hair, Eires might as well been someone else; their beanie was halfway across the room on the floor and their trademark sunglasses sat on the bedside table.
Sandra's deft hand seemed to have more effect than her words, shocking Eires slightly, but into a more responsive state.
[forum cryptid: it/it's]It's okay. It's okay, I'm right here. Always here.
What if there’s no better word than just not saying anything?(MEANWHILE)
...You should have braced, Sir.
...The railgun worked, didn't it? Ow...
...Yes... Except you're lying on the ground. Are you sure you haven't dislocated your shoulder?
...It's better than you getting hurt.
Thank you for making me feel appreciated, Sir.
Ich hasse dich sofort.
"We all fail. We all make mistakes. That is what makes us human."-She made careful eye contact-
Eyes on me.
-A slight shimmer-
Follow it. Follow it back. Calmness. Focus.
What if there’s no better word than just not saying anything?You're safe. It's all a passing moment.
-Gently taking their hands, giving a squeeze-
We're floating. We're on a calm ocean, there's nothing that can reach us.
What if there’s no better word than just not saying anything?

<So... that's the last piece of the puzzle solved. That's something to be thankful for. One less thing to worry about.>
-Smiles-
What if there’s no better word than just not saying anything?