Would You Invite Me In Again?

[unheiring]

[Late in April, a note hastily appears within the netbooks. The handwriting is both shaky and heavy, and there are parts that almost look as if the pen had tore through the page.]

bar is closed.

[Sure enough, attempting to enter The Watchtower is a futile effort. The door appears to be barred, and a similar note has been left on the door. Peering in through the windows reveals an interior that almost looks ransacked. Keep looking, and you might even spot the spirit that would normally tend bar in his absence. The figure simply stares outside, unseeing but mournful all the same.

Linger any longer, and Polaris might swoop down. She won't attack or chase you off, merely tilt her head this way and that. Something has happened. She doesn't understand what.]

Comments

[kingincognito]

[ Not since yesterday evening. At which point Clive had returned home, and then... Then what? Some time in the middle of the night, perhaps, or early in the morning, he'd just... vanished?

Joshua's fingers clench into his palms, and he takes in a breath. It shudders in his mouth, no matter how much he doesn't want it to. ]

He... He must be. He has to be.

[ His mind reels for a moment, eyes darting from spot to spot on the floor. Thinking. ]

When he died, I wasn't able to feel his aether return, not while he was out in the Garden. Perhaps he's gone into the forest. Perhaps the forest is masking it.

[ His hands tremble, just slightly. Clive wouldn't have gone out there without letting him know. Was he taken? ]

[unheiring]

Joshua.

[His thoughts follow a similar line. Clive was tactically minded. He would not go into danger without up. And if he truly felt he needed to, he would have left some sort of sign. He was not a fool.

His mouth feels dry. He puts a hand out, steadying himself on a nearby table. The room feels like it's beginning to spin.]

Will-? [His voice rasps. He forces himself to breathe deep.] Perhaps Clive is with him?

[Doubt twists within his abdomen even as he speaks.]

[kingincognito]

[ Luca's guess is a good one. It would have been Joshua's next attempt at tracking him down, honestly. But he has been able to sense his brother's presence. He's been able to track him down every time he'd gone to Will's room.

That's not the case here. ]

No. I... I would feel him. But it's like I've been completely cut off.

[ He'd think maybe his sense had been eliminated entirely, if he couldn't feel the signature of Bahamut lingering in Dion elsewhere in the Grove, and the faint traces of Ifrit, of himself in Luca's bracelet.

The leather of his gloves creaks as his hands ball into tighter fists. ]

The forest has him. It must. That's the only explanation.

[unheiring]

[It's the only logical answer, and Luca knows exactly what Joshua means. Nevertheless, as the air rushes from his lungs. He shakes his head rapidly, enough for his neck to almost hurt.]

What do you mean, the forest has him?

[His voice is almost a whisper. He looks out of the window. His hands are starting to shake, and it's taking everything in his power to not start running. He'll rip Clive from the Forest's hands himself if he must.]

Joshua, please -

[kingincognito]

That... that thing.

[ There's venom in his words as he spits them out. But it's a quiet fury, like a river that looks calm on the surface but will sooner drag you under and bash you against the rocks than send you floating gently along.

It's all he knows. The only thing he can think of to explain it.

But he can hear the desperation in Luca's voice, and it tempers it all down somewhat. He inhales deeply, closing his eyes. ]

I... Forgive me. I do not mean to unsettle you, I just...

[unheiring]

No, no, it's -

[The table groans beneath his grip. The only reason sparks don't dance along his fingers is the fact that the bracelet on his wrist remains. That reminder prompts him to lift his hand from the table and cup it against the metal circle. He feels its faint warmth, tries desperately to cling to it.]

You... should go. I need a moment. I'm - [He thinks to apologize, but can't force it out.]

[kingincognito]

[ It's... understandable. They're both rattled by this. They may be friends, but they are both taking this in wildly different ways, as any two people would.

They both need to separate. Just for now. Joshua, too, needs space. Or something. Founder, he doesn't know. ]

Right. I--

[ The words stick in his throat. A part of him wants to tell Luca to be safe. Another part wants to tell Luca that he'll return later. But a bigger part, one that clouds his senses and makes the ground feel uneven beneath his feet, eclipses the rest of it.

He swallow, nods, and turns to leave so quickly that he nearly stumbles out the door. He has to find Dion. ]