niepokonany | Fourth Uprising [Audio, backdated to a day or so after Chopin disappeared]

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Fourth Uprising [Audio, backdated to a day or so after Chopin disappeared]

[[AUDIO]]

[Luceti is surely used to hearing Chopin's music played over the journals by now. This time, though, it's played by a less steady hand-- whoever is playing isn't terrible, but he isn't a genius, or even a professional. Still, there's a lot of feeling in the song, slow and sad as it is.]

[And when it's finished, there's a long pause before he manages to push out the words:]

Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin -- Frederic -- isn't in Luceti anymore.

[What else can he say? Nothing, so he ends the feed.]

[[VIDEO - Locked to House 44 residents]]

So just a heads up, I'm gonna go find my own place.

[He never REALLY lived there anyways, he thinks, just sort of crashed in Chopin's room. And without him there... He's going to have to find ways to make it on his own here.]

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[Ginia listens to the song, recognizing it as Chopin's work. It's not played perfectly, but it's still beautiful and he would be proud. Well done, piano player.

It's the message that comes after that makes Ginia's heart sink a little. Frederic was gone. She didn't know him well, though the fact they were once friends does make things feel a little more bitter. But she did respect him and was enjoying her piano lessons with him.]

Thank you for letting us know. He'll be missed.

Least I could do.

Were you like a friend?

[It's a difficult question. They knew each other, were even friends the last time Ginia was here, but that was the past. Now...]

I was a student. I respected him.

[He's glad this is written, because it gives him time to decide what to say, and he's not always good at that.]

Keep practicing ok? I bet he wouldn't want to see you give up.

I will, though I didn't plan on stopping any time soon.

[...And since it's kinda rude not introducing herself, even if it's under depressing circumstances:]

I'm Ginia.

Ok good.

The Kingdom of Poland.

Poland's fine, though, or "Feliks" if it wierds you out.

[.......Huh. Ginia's... not sure what to think about that.]

It's nice to meet you. I'm sorry it was under such circumstances.

[It's difficult to restrain tears, at this point. Another friend gone inside a week, another friendly face gone. And the house was dimmer for it.]

Of course, Poland. If you need help, I'll be here.

[Even with the benefit of a private feed, he forces a smile, feeling like he's already exposed quite enough of feelings he can do nothing about.]

I should be totally ok, don't worry. It'd just feel weird to the max to keep crashing in his room, right?

[Weird, depressing, same thing.]

I can understand that. When Valvalis left, I moved here. Too many memories.

[And it feels like it was years ago, at that.]

Though, if you'd rather have a room of your own, there are plenty.

[He shakes his head. He's imposed enough, surely...]

It's probably better for me to get my own place, right? Like... Like, my own territory!

...People leave a lot, don't they?

That's your decision, but you will always be welcome here, Poland. The castle has plenty of space to spare.

[She really doesn't care if he does or doesn't, it's no imposition.]

And lately...it's seemed that way. First Makie, then Hinata, then Loki and Frederic.

[He doesn't feel anyone's pressing him to go, but no one here really has a vested interest in him staying, either. It's his own doing-- he's not really good at making friends, and used to not having many, he hasn't really tried hard when he already had an important one around. It's coming back to bite him now, and it's not easy to take.]

I only knew Frederic , I guess. I, um... Would it be cool if I just came back and played the piano sometimes?

Of course. He'd have wanted things that way. Just keep your key, it will let you past the magical defenses in the house.

Yeah, no prob, I'll hang on to it.

...He'll totally be safer anyway, right? Back at France's place.

Yes, he will. As unfortunate as it is for us, it's safer there for anyone who's not a fighter.

[And out of all the people who's left, she's most relieved that he's gone.]

His music though, I will miss it dearly.

I haven't really seen much fighting here? But he's... Probably safer there than at my place at home, too.

Yeah, who wouldn't? Um. He wrote a ton of stuff that's too hard for me to play, but...

Yet. You've been lucky and it's been quiet. War is common enough here, even gods like myself have to fight, and it can be quite dangerous.

What are they even fighting for? We have all the food we need, and nothing costs anything. No one bosses us around all the time. Like, why even bother?

[He's seen plenty of wars, some of them frivolous, but none that have struck him as so pointless. None yet.]

[Her voice hardens slightly, like she can't believe Poland doesn't know this yet.]

We're fighting because outside this barrier is a cult of murderous natives to this world. They mean to kill us and the Malnosso, sacrifice us to some unknown power, and break the cycle of death and rebirth here on this world.

We bother because if we're killed like that, we do not come back. And we do not go home. The Malnosso experiment on us, but they aren't the Third Party. Granted, the Malnosso aren't our allies either...

[Whatever Chopin told him, he was delicate about it, and didn't want Poland to be upset. It was lost in a flurry of other new information, and quickly forgotten when nothing happened to back it up. He didn't go to the Welcome Center with his own personal tour guide so willing to help him out. He's never been very close with anyone else in Luceti at all, and how could he have known to ask the questions that would get him to that information?]

[After all, he's been here four months, and the war has been well in the background the whole time. All he's seen of shifts have been Malnosso World, the kissing thing, a bunch of new strangers turning up and disappearing, and the time Chopin got Mallynapped and turned into a rabbit, which for all that he complained about it was kind of funny. Minor inconveniences, nothing he could see as malicious or damaging, especially not when weighed against a respite from his own wars, a place with no hunger and no permanent death.]

[On the one hand, now he's much happier that Fryderyk is back with France. He wouldn't have wanted him fighting in his condition, even in his own wars, even though Chopin had wanted to stand up for his homeland so desperately that not fighting had been a nightmare for him.]

[On the other hand, he's now questioning everything he knew about Luceti. Whatever conclusions he comes to are bound to be a lot darker than his original ones, and he'll face that new reality without the moral support he's enjoyed so easily from Chopin.]

So what you're telling me is basically that these Malnosso losers drafted us to fight their battles for them.

[Screw that, he thinks. This is just another cage, another barrier to him being free, and if that's the case, he's going to smash it along with the rest of them. He's had quite enough of being forced to fight for other powers.]

Edited 2014-02-05 23:45 (UTC)

[Seeing that dawning realization in Poland is something she'd never really hoped to see. She was never fond of taking away the illusion of safety that people often found in Luceti, but it was a truly necessary thing. Perhaps Chopin had been delicate, but Saori wasn't that way, not about this. So, as much as she doesn't want to, and as much as neither of them need this right now, it's necessary.]

Yes. That is exactly what I am saying. The world pulls us here. The Malnosso put us in here and experiment on us, supposedly to send us home. I am not sure I believe that, but that is what they tell us.

The drafts you may have heard about? The battles? Those are the Malnosso turning us loose to fight their battles for them. They take people, even people who can't fight...sometimes children...and force them to fight. Drafts are warzones, some of them have been nightmares, true nightmares.

I am sorry, Poland. But that is the truth of this place. The food may be free, and we may be left alone most of the time, but there is a much darker reality underneath it.

[ Oh gods that...was painful to hear. Another person gone and again another friend. Helios will bite his lip on his end before replying, listening to the other man speak and finish. He takes a deep breath to steady himself because Frederic was one of many who was like a brother and family to him. ]

You don't...have to leave you know? I-I mean you can stay if you like. The house is certainly big enough. [ He sounds impossibly sad and tired when he speaks. ]

[And for all his usual boundless cheer, Poland sounds pretty exhausted, too. He fidgets with the piano keys a bit, until he can make words happen.]

I mean, like, I don't really know everyone here like he did? And hanging out in his old room is pretty lame...

That's fine then. I-I don't want to force or pressure you of course. But you're more than welcome to stay until you find some place more, ah, suitable.

[ It's times like these that are the worst to spend alone. ] But don't hesitate to talk to any of us if you have to. [ Frederic was like family and he knows how hard it can be to lose someone close like that. He's not entirely sure the extent of their relationship but he can only guess that it was close. ]

How hard can it be to find someplace? There's, like, a ton of apartments, right?

[He hesitates at that offer, feeling something in him ache terribly, unsure how to deal with it. He wants support and understanding, but...]

[But no one needs to see him shaken, do they?]

I... I'm fine, really! It's totally no big deal!

[He laughs. It's a little stilted.]

Ah... thank you for telling us. He'll surely be missed, as a teacher and as a friend.

[Goodness. That means he's the only music teacher now, doesn't it? So much for the students of Luceti actually getting proper lessons...]

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Fourth Uprising [Audio, backdated to a day or so after Chopin disappeared]

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