FINAL TRIAL

[petoskeymods]

FINAL TRIAL

And now, you know the truth. Who's behind everything, and why.

And the question that hangs in the air now is - what's next?

It's noon when you all go down to the firepit, the sun hanging bright in the air. Red is there, seated calmly, watching all of you - and Archer is standing up, looking imposing.

It's time to talk.

CAMPERS REMAINING: 7

((REMEMBER: every living camper needs 15 comments minimum in this post to qualify for 'good end'!))

Comments

[le_mat]

[Ren is snickering, watching Tal drape on Nine with amusement]

[linearcrash]

[ And now he has his arms full of Tal. Just going to bump their foreheads against each other. ]

Hey you. [ Reaching around to keep contact with Ren, too. ] You're back.

[ It hits them. They saved them all. They actually pulled it off. He's laughing as he feels the tension draining. ]

[seekingsunrise]

[Gods this is all he has wanted for so long. Weeks of loneliness and having the ghostly sensation of Nine's arms around him and now he can really feel him again, the warmth of his skin, the softness of his hair.

He reaches up to kiss Nine lightly then turns in his arms to tug Ren closer so he can kiss him too.]

Before things get too messy again... [A wary glance at Archer.] I need to get some stuff.

Everything's still in cabin 4 right? [Must. Get. Knives.]

[le_mat]

Oh, got it.

[Ren starts just, unloading knives]

[linearcrash]

[ He returns the kiss. Look it's a real kiss without the gross crying.

He follows the look to Archer and tilts his head. ]

Hey, what's up?

[ Making the rest of Tal's knives appear in his hands to hand over. The one left at the beach and the ones that Stan still had in his possession. ]

[seekingsunrise]

[A body, a real kiss, and his knives. Gosh you boys are too good to him. Ren he's taking his thigh holster back.

Ah... oh no... his long knife got et.]

I don't know but just because we're in these bodies doesn't mean we're free to go.

[And if they're going to have to fight for freedom he wants to be armed.]

[le_mat]

Yeah, we're still negotiating that. But don't start a fight unless we have no choice. Pretty sure Archer could kill us all pretty easily.

[linearcrash]

Yeah, he'd definitely kick our asses, yo.

[ Nine is letting the better people do the talking with negotiations. Turning to just nuzzle against Ren's shoulder, while Tal gets his knives and stuff back on. ]

Think they will let us sneak off for a bit?

[ Cause he's feeling selfish ]

[seekingsunrise]

[Ah... hmmm...

This is something he very much wants but also something they should talk about before they run off for canoodles. He also needs to check on Lance. And he doesn't want to miss anything.

And...]

Gods this was easier when we could see everything going on in camp all the time.

[le_mat]

Calm down Nine, I swear you get one taste and-

Erm, well. Either way, there's still a lot to do, so probably should wait.

[linearcrash]

Everything everything?

[ Hey boyfriend, did you see them being busy? Or the kiss in the rain?

And Nine just gives a smirk at Ren. ]

Alright, I'll wait. You know I can be patient when I want something.

[seekingsunrise]

At least until our bodies gave out. Anything one of us saw the others knew.

[so he saw the kiss but not the canoodling. Though there might have been a startled owl hoot last night when they were sneaking into the cabin.]

[linearcrash]

[ Oh so he might have missed it. Nine just slides his hand down Tal's back. ]

Hey, we can show you later what you missed. You know, if you both want.

[le_mat]

[Ren turns a little red, but doesn't seem opposed]

We can probably figure something out.

[seekingsunrise]

[Ren only turns a little red but Tal's cheeks are burning, all the way down his neck, especially with the slide of Nine's hand which seems even more suggestive than he probably meant.]

Let's see what happens before we go making too many plans... babe.

[Okay he did not quite expect to be jumped immediately, somehow. It's a little bit much. He's been alone and apart from them in so many ways for weeks so to have the banter and the innuendo pick up like nothing's changed. Like he hasn't changed is a little overwhelming.

Tal doesn't mean to make things awkward, even if that's all he's done for weeks it feels like, but he does step back a little, give himself some breathing room. The initial hugs and little kisses were one thing but they're swiftly going well past that.]

[linearcrash]

[ He'll give a nod. ]

Yeah. We still need to have a long talk, huh?

[ To figure everything out and how they fit together. ]

Hey, whenever you're ready.

[ No awkwardness at all. Nine has waited weeks for the real Tal so they can actually talk and learn about each other again. He doesn't mind waiting longer if Tal decides to stay or not. And in the end, it'll be whatever makes him happy. ]

[le_mat]

A really long talk.

[Ren nods, rubbing the back of his head]

If things have... changed, just know that no matter what, we care about you a lot, Tal.

[seekingsunrise]

It's... complicated.

[He sighs and for a moment he just wants to lean into them again and not think about it.]

I don't know... I had a lot of time to think. I mean that's all we did... for weeks...

[And he went a little bit crazy. He knows that. Fuck, Lance can attest to that. And that doesn't put him any closer to knowing what he wants or how he feels.]

[linearcrash]

[ He nods at Ren's words because it's true. They care.

At it's complicated and the sighing, Nine has an itch to just reach over and hug him again. He's keeping his hands to himself and to Ren at the moment. ]

Yeah? Think about what?

[le_mat]

... being in Sol must have been... rough.

[He remembers how grim and shadowy it was in the palace... but he hadn't considered that it might literally be like that.]

[seekingsunrise]

[There's a weak laugh at that, something dark and humorless and probably far more telling than any words he could say.]

Rough... yeah. [He looks down, one hand coming up chew at his cuticles.] It was just... for how many souls were trapped with us most of them were like ghosts, wandering out in the forests. Even some of the other campers from this year just... vanished into the fog.

[He finally pulls his hand away, moving instead to hug himself loosely. It was lonely. Heart breakingly lonely for so very long. He'd have no problems with hugs gods, all he wants is to curl up with them again but they have something between them that he's not a part of anymore and he doesn't know what to do with that. So he'll keep his hands to himself, not make any assumptions about his place in this. At least not for now.]

[linearcrash]

[ There is a tiny scratch of something in the back of his mind.

But there's the whole vanished into the fog that kind of catches his attention. Did they let go? Head back home? ]

Whoa. What does that mean? Go into the fog?

[ He thinks about how they still haven't seen Soma or that Leon guy. ]

[le_mat]

[Ren lets Nine pursue this line of questioning. Instead, he carefully reaches out for Tal's hand, taking it in his own. Kohryu appears and circles Ren's head and he silently heals the chewing.

...and if Tal lets him, he'll just keep hold of it after, too]

[seekingsunrise]

[It's a fresh new body but the expectation for his cuticles to be ragged and bloody is so powerful that they're a mess already. A testament to how stressed out he's been on the other side with Sol. He hates that he's bothering Ren with this already but he accepts it and...

Yeah holding hands is okay, it's nice, grounding, the physical contact a reminder that he's really truly here, not just watching from the outside.]

Where Sol kept us it was like a reflection of the camp. But dark, like dusk, overcast and gloomy and with a really thick fog covering everything and some people just... never came back.

[linearcrash]

Man, that sounds like something out a nightmare, hey.

[ Nine lifts an arm and give a nod to tell him to move closer ]

Come here. Just a hug, alright?

[ He'll behave. ]