[F1-PP] Missing time

[Freyd 0]

"You left out the third reason," Freyd added, as Kodo made to stand and bolt in the slowest possible manner towards the exit.  "To remind you of what... or who... killed them."  Neutral tone matched neutral tone.  Freyd wasn't one to appeal to others on emotional grounds, and he suspected that straightforward honesty might actually earn him a little credibility.

"I'm sorry for your loss, whoever they might have been.  I'm also sorry for whatever stage of grief calls for retribution, because I'm guessing that you haven't hit it yet.  When the time comes, and it will, find someone to talk to instead of stabbing in search of solutions.  Reach out to Freya or another friend, even myself.  I've seen far too many players self-destruct to the tune of grief in this world."  Freyd almost hadn't volunteered himself, but something about this man had struck a chord inside him.  Though he's never truly lost anyone close to him, it was mainly because he never let anyone get there in the first place.  

"Get your rest.  We can lock you in if feeling like a hostage makes things easier."

[Kodo 0]

"My mind kept me in captivity for far too long, so no, it would not," he says before walking up those stairs. The first room on the left... He still felt weak, but the food helped a little. This man really wanted him to stay. It started to cross his mind that he had no where to go, no home, no friends to turn to, no one he could trust... He had literally nothing... Opening that door, it creaks open. It was very empty, just a bed frame and a small end table sitting to the side. Walking in he shuts the door behind him with a deep sigh. From this point on it was going to be rough. Kodo had always counted on his twin to know what to do, his goals that were made outside this game was thrown into the garbage for obvious reasons. They did not matter here... He had to start completely new. Sitting on the edge of this bed, white sheets covered the lining. It felt like cotton, at least this place was cozy. Laying back, staring at the ceiling, his heart started to ache. Where did people even go when they died here. He holds a cress that hung around his neck. It was something that Kaylee made him in this game. Told him that no matter what happened to her, that this would always give him hope. Eventually he passes out.

6 hours pass...

Waking up in a sweat, sitting in that bed, his cheeks were full of emotion. It was what he feared if he actually fell asleep. Kodo takes some time to calm himself, wondering if that man was still downstairs. If he actually stayed, and if he did, Kodo would not look like a tragic mess.

After a few minutes, thoughts were racing through is mind. It was better than the alternative. He had to figure out where to go from here. Kodo refused to just have stuff handed to him, working harder than ever to get what was needed. Taking a few strides toward the door, closing it behind him. Steps down those wooden flooring, he finds that man sitting there, papers being shifted around. Taking a seat next to the man, blank face. Opening his HUD to check the date. It had been 3 years... A small inhale, then exhale. All that time gone, he had been stuck in his own mind. Closing his HUD now, he had to start somewhere. "Trusting another is hard for me. I will refuse to get handouts or freebies." He just comes right out with it. Everything he would get will be earned, this was the one thing that he would stand by no matter what happened. "I am sure that Freya said something, Kaylee is my twin sister." Without say too much, he was still unsure if something like this should be shared to one he didn't know. It was a very sensitive topic, hard to speak about. Kodo was eager to hear what Freyd had to say, he would eye this man reaction.  

[Freyd 0]

The sheets in his hand drooped upon hearing Kodo's words, as if sharing in his grief the only was they could.  Freyd's thoughts immediately went to Quip and Dingo, and the self-destructive whirlwind that nearly led them to their own demise when Maeve, their younger sister, had been lost.  Had it not been for the thoughtful actions of a friend that pressed him into service to save them, two more souls might have been taken by the tower.  Here, Freya was offering this man the same help.

"Tell me about her," Freyd asked, unexpectedly laying the papers flat upon the table.  They would not withstand the outpouring that was sure to follow.  Cowl resting upon his back and shoulder, Freyd set aside his work and gave Kodo the space and attention he needed and deserved in order to deal with this.  How many others had he watched floundering against the tide of their own mired emotions?  Rather than offer some cliché as counsel, he gave him something more meaningful and valuable.  

"And please, take your time in the telling.  We're in no rush."

[Kodo 0]

Kodo looks away at this point and narrows his eyes. That day rushes through is mind, that kid pops into his head. Eyes close, head tilts slightly as that pain set in again. "I don't..." he says through a cracked voice. His chest weighs heavy with guilt, like there was something that he should have done to prevent what transpired. "I can't..." a tear down his cheek. A rough inhale as his eyes look to the ceiling. A voice in his head again,

I don't want this to be how you remember me Kodo, think about the happy times...

Kodo still couldn't figure out if that voice was his self conscious talking, remembering the way she was and thought or it was actually her. How could it be though... A sniffle as he wipes one of that tear with his sleeve. Closing his eyes, "Kaylee put everyone's needs before her own," taking a deep breath again. "That smile, it was always there, even at the worst moments of our life. Always thinking positive, never down... Told me that if you only think happy thoughts, then everything else would seem so little." Swallowing hard, "You would look into those eyes and just know that every would okay." 

A pause, closing his eyes again. Thinking about nothing but her, another tear... "That beauty easily showed on the inside and out, she didn't even have to try. By far the sweetest, most kindest soul you would ever meet. Kaylee was flawless..." Keeping those eyes closed, you could swear you saw a very small inch of smile on Kodo's lips.

[Freyd 0]

"Then remember her as those things," Freyd offered.  "Grief isn't so much about the people we have lost or the injustice of their passing.  It's about learning to live with the absence in our lives, as people who go on.  This is the key: going on, and holding on to the memories of those already passed as they would wish to be remembered.  Hold on to these things about your sister.  Make them part of yourself.  In doing so, you honor her."

Freyd didn't know from whence the words had come.  He'd been waxing philosophical a lot, lately.  Ever since Morrighan, and stuff, things had changed dramatically.  His eyes and heart were opened and accessible to him in a way that he never imagined was possible.  He could care, even if most of the time he still chose not to.  Pragmatic Freyd was hardly gone.  It was more like he'd been re-forged and tempered into something new, folding in traits that had been lacking before.

"I need a helper," Freyd offered, falling back on the comfort of old transactional grounds.  "You need purpose."  Tilting his head to look upon the weary man, Freyd asked a simple, subtle yet all-important question: "What should we do about that?"

[Kodo 0]

The words he spoke were simple yet understanding, but it was something that he had yet to think about until now. "You might be right. This scar will not heal overnight though. I know it will take time, and as painful as it may seem right now, I have to move on." It was very strange. Words that sounded greek to him at first. Simply because he never talked this way. It was most likely from recent events, Kodo was changing and he knew it. Unsure what to think about this, "A man like you needs assistance from me? I am not sure what I would be able to do, being low level. The variables do not match to most of what could be done in my position." He wanted to leave, but there was something about this man. It was an odd feeling for sure. Sharing his feelings like he did, Kodo never did that before unless it was his sister. Never would have admitted to pain as deep as he did. Why this man... Why now...

A slight roll of his eyes with a small sigh, "Fine, what did you have in mind?" Kodo did not understand this, and he might never but what else could he do. Wander the town until something came up on change that he could actually do that one thing. It was better that the worst... 

[Freyd 0]

Thread Summary:

8204 words / 30 = 273*5= 1365*Tier

Freya receives:

12285 EXP (Word Count [X*9])
1842 col (1842 [Laurel, +15% of EXP as col])

Kodo receives:

1365 EXP (Word Count [1365*1])
400 col (400 [1 page])

Freyd receives:

19110 EXP (Word Count [1365*14])
2866 col ( [Laurel, +15% of EXP as col])