hugtopia | Video - End of Lasohm/start of Malom, about a day after the breach is resealed

[The city is still in a state of disarray, though the fighting is over. Everyone will surely need to pitch in for some extensive repair work to make Havenwell what it once was. Will is sitting on a somewhat mangled chair on a cafe's patio, disheveled and powdered with stone dust, looking more exhausted and discouraged than most people here have ever seen him--unless, of course, they happened to help him endure the agony of the battle's psychic backlash.

He's doing his best to smile regardless, and holds up a slightly rumpled piece of paper to show the camera; on it are some surprisingly good line art head shots of Akira, Akechi, and Kei done in pen. They may not be exactly artistic, but they're at least faithful to their subject matter; he's even helpfully tagged each with hair and eye colors, since he could only work in monochrome.]

Has anyone seen these three recently? My roommates all vanished during the fighting. I figured they must have had their hands full, and maybe they got hurt and needed to stay with someone, but.....

They aren't answering their tablets, and they're not at any of the temples. I've been searching around town, but I haven't found them yet, and Arche can't pick up any scent trails, either. I'm starting to think maybe they got sick, and..... got worse.

[Anyone who's seen or experienced the strange illness that can grip the newcomers may understand what he's talking about, and why he's so worried--people fading out of existence entirely is a frightening prospect. His voice is quieter now, as he reaches out to end the recording and submit it to the network.]

.....I'm not sure I want to stay in my house anymore.

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There's no way to tell. But why else wouldn't they or someone else nearby answer their tablet, unless something happened?

[What exactly that "something" is, he's not sure--but it must have happened, right? Surely they must need help, if they're still..... ~~alive~~ ~~existent~~ here.]

I don't know, I wouldn't go that far..... But I am just a couple minutes from the house.

[Will pans the camera a little as he walks, to show the familiar street approaching the residential district.]

Perhaps their tablets were damaged in the battle?

[The tablets are pretty tough, but then again, have they ever had to stand up to an actual battle before? Of course, it would be quite the coincidence for all three of them to have damaged their tablets at once.]

Will, you're exhausted. It's all right to admit it.

[Look, it's him. He's hardly going to fault you for it.]

Are you sure you don't want me to come and meet you?

And yet, I'm not the one who's supposed to be on bed rest. Don't you even think about it.

[It might be alright to admit it, but that doesn't mean he wants to, even if he's not necessarily denying it, either. Just like..... he doesn't want to agree with or deny the suggestions. For all three of their tablets to get damaged means they all probably were seriously injured, but the alternative..... he doesn't want to think about either option, honestly.]

It'll only take a few minutes to throw some things into a bag, don't worry.

Too late.

[But if it is any comfort, Regis does settle back into bed instead of continuing to look for clothes to change into.

For a moment, Regis is tempted to bring up how tired Will looks again, but in the end he doesn't. The young man hasn't denied it at least, even if he didn't confirm it.]

I don't know if you noticed when you were searching the temples for your friends, but Cor is recovering in Diacht's. Perhaps, once you have dropped your things here, you can spend some time with him. He may have some more ideas about what happened to your rooomates.

[And, if nothing else, he should have better luck getting Will to actually rest.]

I will sit on you. Yes, again.

[Will points menacingly at the screen, but relents once Regis settles back in, awkwardly juggling his tablet and keys as he unlocks the front door. He heads inside, but there's a noticeable stutter to the motion of the camera as Regis delivers the news.

Regis, you do realize that fussing over an invalid is a complete coin toss on getting him to rest, right? There's no telling whether he'll just sit up at their bedside watching over them, or whether he'll crawl into bed to cuddle them and help them recover.]
Wh-what happened? Recovering from what?

I'm starting to think you enjoy that, darling.

[Look, if they are going to talk about the previous 'sitting upon' episode, they should bring up the silly terms of endearment too.]

It's nothing too serious, but one of the spiders managed to tear open his shoulder. I owe whoever managed to get him to the temple before he passed out a thank you. You know him. He would have worked himself into collapse if left to his own devices.

You make for a very comfortable throne, Deerling.

[Even that endeerment sounds flat, though; if anything is telling about just how out of sorts he is, it's probably that Will can't even manage good, convincing banter right now. He goes to empty out his messenger bag once he's in his room; instead of precautionary weather gear, he'll just put in a few toiletries and an outfit or two before he heads back out.....]

I wouldn't be surprised if someone had to carry him there. The Pokémon that look like those things have debilitating venom.

[Regis wishes he could find the response amusing, but Will just sounds too far from his own self for that to happen. He needs to make sure he gives the young man a long hug when he arrives, even if he will just be off to see Cor again afterward.]

I don't recall feeling any poison effects, but any blows I took were glancing at worse. Cor's wound was obviously worse.

[He falls into thought for a moment before continuing.]

I saw to it that Verstael had some of the corpses for study before I put up the barrier. If they do have venom, hopefully he will be able to work out an antidote of some kind should they return.

If anyone can figure out an antidote, if those things are poisonous after all, it would be Verstael.

[How many people can honestly say Verstael experimenting on things is reassuring? He actually does feel safer, knowing Verstael is studying those things. Will slings his bag back over his shoulder, turning to head back out.]

Did you see any monsters from your world out there? Goofy recognized one of the ones we faced. It sounded more dangerous than even something venomous.

[There is a moment of silence as Regis thinks back to the battle and then he shakes his head.]

I did not, but that doesn't mean they weren't there. While I was holding the barrier, most of my focus was on that. Ask Cor that question once he has recovered some. He was out in the fighting longer than I was.

I'll do that.

[What little he knows about the Heartless is..... unsettling, to say the least. He lapses into silence as he walks, screen showing familiar scenery passing by.]

[Regis watches the scenery as it passes, gauging how long it will be until Will arrives and debating on if he should go meet the young man at the door. As much as he wants to do that, now that the initial burst of energy he got when he saw the post has faded, Regis is definitely feeling tired again and he hates it so much.

At least, Will can go visit Cor after he arrives. It will be better than being trapped here with his worries and a sleeping friend.]

Can you let me know what he tells you? If there are daemons here, that is a big problem for many reasons.

[The least of which is the fact that where daemons are, so too is the Starscourge. Ardyn contains that which afflicts him, but the daemons? They don't care or think enough to do the same.]

Video - End of Lasohm/start of Malom, about a day after the breach is resealed

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