I'm used to dorms, but not really sharing a bedroom. Don't they usually separate us based on age? [ that's how the tower does it ] I don't usually fall asleep in weird places, anyway. I'll be fine.
[ anyway, he goes to set his other stuff on the bed. phone, egg(????), lightsaber, scarf... the weird little bird. penny takes it upon herself to climb up the side of the bed to helpfully sort through everything. ]
What exactly do you do that you're so used to things like this, anyway?
[ yves smiles at the arm... hell yea penny you're doing your best! he's glad they're getting along better!
puffy just glug glugs in his lil bowl. very helpful, puffy.
yves starts stowing some things way, but laughs a little at the question ]
Ah, proper introductions then? I'm Yves! Owner of Courrune, which you could call a guild of handymen. We take all requests as long as they're helpful to others—bodyguarding, carpentry, repairs, babysitting, finding lost items... you name it.
On the side, I worked in the Corps alongside Adolphe—a people's militia to protect the town from troubles.
[ are they getting along... laurence is just ignoring her. ]
That kind of makes you sound like the guards at the Tower. Try not to overwork yourself, though. With this many of us here, we can probably help each other out. [ ... ] I'm not used to doing much outside of school, but I can try, too.
Good. [ a satisfied nod. what would he even do about this anyway? ]
I like running. You know, races and stuff. [ and hugs but if anyone learns that he will simply have to kill them. ] Reading, I guess. I've never had to do anything like you do... handyman stuff.
There are jobs for anyone who's able to work, but we don't start until we're at least twenty. As far as I know, it's just normal stuff for running the Tower... cooks, instructors, guards, and stuff. I have no idea what I'll be doing yet.
Well, it could expand if we ever felt like taking on more help... though our line of work can be a little difficult.
[ so guild... with room for growth....
but wow... he looks so awed.... being able to wait until you're 20 to decide a career! ]
That's amazing. Well, I guess you can think about it while you're here. There's all sorts of folks we can learn different skills from since we have the opportunity.
Some people like difficult, though I never understood why.
[ if you can have an easy life why wouldn't you go for it? ]
Is it...? [ amazing?? it's just normal. ] I guess there are a lot of different people here. A lot of them. And nobody's even heard of demiflora, either.
[ sometimes you want something so much it doesn't matter if it's difficult... but yves hums softly at that, settling on the bed once he's done putting things away ]
... I think I've heard people talk about magic besides demiflora too, which I never thought about. I know Arpéchéle is isolated but.. it's not that out of touch, I think.
Time is... behaving strangely too, in some ways. Some people I know who just got here... For me, they died years ago.
[ his gaze wanders back to penny where she's dutifully sorting things on the bed. ]
...I guess not.
[ haha anyway! he looks glad for a different topic to focus on. ]
Arpéchéle? That's where you're from? I've never heard of it. [ doesn't mean a lot though, there's probably loads of small cities or countries he's never paid attention to. doesn't matter when you live in a tower. ]
That's insane. [ alarming!! ] But if it's true that we're... you know. Dead. Maybe they were already here and just asleep, or something?
[ maybe he should be relieved that iris isn't around, actually. ]
It's an isolated country - for a lot of reasons. There was a curse on our lands until recently and then there was [ a beat ] some turmoil that made it dangerous.
[ so there's a lot of reasons why no one could know it. but they might just be from different places entirely? ]
... maybe. There's a lot of questions for sure. There's also people I thought I'd see here who aren't so maybe... the arrival isn't so linear.
[ he almost wants to ask about the turmoil but actually, no he doesn't. sounds scary and also none of his business. ]
...Maybe. If it is the afterlife, I'd have expected to see way more people than there are, too. There's not that many of us here for something that applies to everyone eventually. It's really strange, isn't it?
[ for a moment, he just stares at yves, clearly taken aback. glances at penny, where she's stopped moving on his bed, the egg, all the strange surroundings...
and gives a shaky little laugh. ]
How could I not be a little overwhelmed? Last I knew, I fell asleep in my room and woke up here where we're all supposed to be dead, in a place none of us recognize, and Iris's dumb arm is here and I don't know if that means he's supposed to be dead or not, too. I don't even know where to begin processing all of this.
that sounds about right. it's even scarier to think that his death came so suddenly that it's even more of a shock to just wake up dead. yves walked headfirst into his death - it's a blessing, in a way, in comparison. ]
... c'mere. That's a lot.
[ and he's just going to lean forward and give laurence a hug, because that's a lot for anyone to process. ]
[ surprised, laurence stiffens at the touch. it's not often that the elders in the tower reach out to him in comfort, everyone too focused on living normal lives and behaving as the tower tells them to bother. and he's seventeen, after all, just a few years out from adulthood in the tower's eyes.
...he melts into the hug easily a second later, quietly relieved to have someone who cares enough to even try. ]
I... I don't know what I'm supposed to do here. At least back home, I could try to help someone, but my powers won't even work here.
[ when laurence melts into the hug, yves easily adjusts his hold to make it all the more comfortable for him. he gently rubs his back, making a soft, understanding noise ]
It's okay.
You don't need to know right away. It's alright to take a second just to gain your bearings before having to worry about how to look after other people. You can let yourself be looked after for a bit.
That's what balance is. Helping others when they stumble, but knowing it's okay to stumble too.
But I don't even know how to do that - look after other people. The last times I've tried, I...
[ well. it's hard to get the words out, ashamed as he is. ]
I wasn't there for someone when I could've been, and now he's gone. That old lady wouldn't even answer me anymore... and now we're in this weird place. How are we supposed to look after anyone if we're already dead?
[ when he struggles a bit, yves gives him a little reassuring squeeze in the hug. brief, but a little like he's trying to help hold him together. ]
Because it's not over yet. [ softly ]
But it's okay. Really. Or... it'll be okay, eventually. You can take your time to feel everything you need to feel, without worrying about the future right now.
[ softly. mumbled, more than anything, because it's a little embarrassing and he feels kind of childish for needing to be reassured at all. but it's just so much to process. ]
I don't get it. How are you so optimistic about this? It's not like we can back if it's true we died.
[ it is so much to process, especially if you already haven't experienced what seems like 'the outside world'. if all you've ever known is this tower, how can you process death and chaos and such little explanation? ]
Just 'Yves' is okay.
[ he pulls back a little, still keeping his hands on laurence's shoulders but offering up a smile ]
You might think my reasoning is a little simplistic... but I was prepared for death to be fire and brimstone. Or worse, I thought it'd be so, so lonely. [ and that scared him so much more ]
But... this isn't that. And even if things don't make sense, I've gotten to reunite with some people I really wanted to see. I got to meet you, even though I'm sorry the circumstances aren't better.
But we have a roof over our heads and comfy beds and food. So... I'm choosing to be happy about that, before tackling what's next. Because even in life, I didn't always have all these things.
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[ goes to check the door! it locks! ]
No, probably not. So that's good. Just be careful about where you fall asleep, but that goes for anywhere.
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[ anyway, he goes to set his other stuff on the bed. phone, egg(????), lightsaber, scarf... the weird little bird. penny takes it upon herself to climb up the side of the bed to helpfully sort through everything. ]
What exactly do you do that you're so used to things like this, anyway?
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puffy just glug glugs in his lil bowl. very helpful, puffy.
yves starts stowing some things way, but laughs a little at the question ]
Ah, proper introductions then? I'm Yves! Owner of Courrune, which you could call a guild of handymen. We take all requests as long as they're helpful to others—bodyguarding, carpentry, repairs, babysitting, finding lost items... you name it.
On the side, I worked in the Corps alongside Adolphe—a people's militia to protect the town from troubles.
So I guess I'm adaptable?
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That kind of makes you sound like the guards at the Tower. Try not to overwork yourself, though. With this many of us here, we can probably help each other out. [ ... ] I'm not used to doing much outside of school, but I can try, too.
Not that there's much to do here, still.
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but yves laughs a little at that, giving laurence a warm smile ]
Thanks for looking out for me. I'll make sure not to push it too hard.
But... what do you like doing outside of school? If there's something you want to learn, I bet I can teach you, too.
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Good. [ a satisfied nod. what would he even do about this anyway? ]
I like running. You know, races and stuff. [ and hugs but if anyone learns that he will simply have to kill them. ] Reading, I guess. I've never had to do anything like you do... handyman stuff.
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[ easy breezy ]
But that's still fun! Do you have jobs in the Tower? Things that you get to do when you're... older?
[ said a little confused because he doesn't know how other societies normally run when they have their whole life to live ]
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[ partner?? ]
There are jobs for anyone who's able to work, but we don't start until we're at least twenty. As far as I know, it's just normal stuff for running the Tower... cooks, instructors, guards, and stuff. I have no idea what I'll be doing yet.
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[ so guild... with room for growth....
but wow... he looks so awed.... being able to wait until you're 20 to decide a career! ]
That's amazing. Well, I guess you can think about it while you're here. There's all sorts of folks we can learn different skills from since we have the opportunity.
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[ if you can have an easy life why wouldn't you go for it? ]
Is it...? [ amazing?? it's just normal. ] I guess there are a lot of different people here. A lot of them. And nobody's even heard of demiflora, either.
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[ sometimes you want something so much it doesn't matter if it's difficult... but yves hums softly at that, settling on the bed once he's done putting things away ]
... I think I've heard people talk about magic besides demiflora too, which I never thought about. I know Arpéchéle is isolated but.. it's not that out of touch, I think.
Time is... behaving strangely too, in some ways. Some people I know who just got here... For me, they died years ago.
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...I guess not.
[ haha anyway! he looks glad for a different topic to focus on. ]
Arpéchéle? That's where you're from? I've never heard of it. [ doesn't mean a lot though, there's probably loads of small cities or countries he's never paid attention to. doesn't matter when you live in a tower. ]
That's insane. [ alarming!! ] But if it's true that we're... you know. Dead. Maybe they were already here and just asleep, or something?
[ maybe he should be relieved that iris isn't around, actually. ]
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[ so there's a lot of reasons why no one could know it. but they might just be from different places entirely? ]
... maybe. There's a lot of questions for sure. There's also people I thought I'd see here who aren't so maybe... the arrival isn't so linear.
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[ he almost wants to ask about the turmoil but actually, no he doesn't. sounds scary and also none of his business. ]
...Maybe. If it is the afterlife, I'd have expected to see way more people than there are, too. There's not that many of us here for something that applies to everyone eventually. It's really strange, isn't it?
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[ but he's truly trying not to scare laurence too much, so he'll only give information where asked.... he's just a lil guy ]
But... you're right! So I'm not sure if the way they process souls is... different? Maybe in batches...?
[ that's how they did it in the institute... ]
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[ for whatever happened with the curse. he's only read stories about such things, but they never seem to end well. ]
Maybe. I... don't really know much about souls or afterlives.
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It's okay.
[ and then earnestly: ]
I'm not gonna baby you, Laurence. You're clearly a smart guy with a good heart.
But if this is getting overwhelming, you can tell me so. And we can take a second.
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and gives a shaky little laugh. ]
How could I not be a little overwhelmed? Last I knew, I fell asleep in my room and woke up here where we're all supposed to be dead, in a place none of us recognize, and Iris's dumb arm is here and I don't know if that means he's supposed to be dead or not, too. I don't even know where to begin processing all of this.
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that sounds about right. it's even scarier to think that his death came so suddenly that it's even more of a shock to just wake up dead. yves walked headfirst into his death - it's a blessing, in a way, in comparison. ]
... c'mere. That's a lot.
[ and he's just going to lean forward and give laurence a hug, because that's a lot for anyone to process. ]
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...he melts into the hug easily a second later, quietly relieved to have someone who cares enough to even try. ]
I... I don't know what I'm supposed to do here. At least back home, I could try to help someone, but my powers won't even work here.
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It's okay.
You don't need to know right away. It's alright to take a second just to gain your bearings before having to worry about how to look after other people. You can let yourself be looked after for a bit.
That's what balance is. Helping others when they stumble, but knowing it's okay to stumble too.
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[ well. it's hard to get the words out, ashamed as he is. ]
I wasn't there for someone when I could've been, and now he's gone. That old lady wouldn't even answer me anymore... and now we're in this weird place. How are we supposed to look after anyone if we're already dead?
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Because it's not over yet. [ softly ]
But it's okay. Really. Or... it'll be okay, eventually. You can take your time to feel everything you need to feel, without worrying about the future right now.
I've got you.
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[ softly. mumbled, more than anything, because it's a little embarrassing and he feels kind of childish for needing to be reassured at all. but it's just so much to process. ]
I don't get it. How are you so optimistic about this? It's not like we can back if it's true we died.
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Just 'Yves' is okay.
[ he pulls back a little, still keeping his hands on laurence's shoulders but offering up a smile ]
You might think my reasoning is a little simplistic... but I was prepared for death to be fire and brimstone. Or worse, I thought it'd be so, so lonely. [ and that scared him so much more ]
But... this isn't that. And even if things don't make sense, I've gotten to reunite with some people I really wanted to see. I got to meet you, even though I'm sorry the circumstances aren't better.
But we have a roof over our heads and comfy beds and food. So... I'm choosing to be happy about that, before tackling what's next. Because even in life, I didn't always have all these things.
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