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[waitingforplayer2]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, CHIAKI NANAMI.

FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX

*** galagamer has joined XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX
<galagamer> This is Chiaki Nanami.
<galagamer> I'll get back to you as soon as I can!

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[action]

[waitingforplayer2]

[ It's early morning. The human workers haven't come in yet - as is normal for fog weeks, the hours have been shortened.

So the door is locked, and it's dark inside. But it's pretty hard to miss the giant willow tree that's appeared in the grass nearby the arcade. ]

[action]

[heyunderoos]

Chiaki-? [He calls out again, only to be met by silence. The teenager stares at the arcade for a moment longer before turning his attention to the very obvious willow tree.

He walks away from the arcade entrance to come to a stop to peer up at the willow tree.]

...Chiaki, you're looking very... tree.

[waitingforplayer2]

[ On the ground in front of the tree, hidden in the tall grass, is a laptop - still open to Peter's messages, where she was talking with him.

Two small openings split open in the wood, partway up her trunk, when he addresses her - as Nanami rouses from the doze she went into after his last message.

The voice is a whisper on the breeze, so quiet that it's almost like he's imagining it. ]

Peter-kun... it's you.

[heyunderoos]

Yeah, I'm okay, I promise. I've been back for a little while.

[Peter starts walking forward again, closing what space lay between them. He reaches out to lay a gentle hand against Chiaki's tree trunk.]

I'm really glad your back.

[waitingforplayer2]

[ The tree shudders a little. Something unwinds deep inside her, at his touch. Like a breath she's been holding for days, that she finally releases.

The branches around him shake. But it's several long seconds, again, before the voice returns. ]

Was I... was I really gone for long?

[heyunderoos]

Yeah, you- kinda were. [He lets his hand linger there for the moment as he peers up at Chiaki's greenery.] Its September now. The fog is rolling in.

[He isn't hesitant about leaning very gently into Chiaki, the closest thing he can do for a hug at the moment.]

[waitingforplayer2]

...Oh.

[ The thick fog in Bavan had meant one of two things, but... she'd kind of suspected.

She didn't really know why - something in the air, in the way other monsters addressed her... it's been more than a few days since she--

The next whisper on the winds is urgent. ]

What happened out there?

[heyunderoos]

[He draws back somewhat, his tail lashing a little at the question.]

The scientists in Haftesal brought almost everyone back. Some people, you, and Steven still hadn't come back yet and... I wasn't sure what was going on. I still don't know where Steven is...

[He runs a hand through his hair, wincing openly.] The fog is different too, it feels like... [He trails off uncertainly.]

[waitingforplayer2]

[ That's not the answer to her question, Peter. Though it's terrible news nonetheless - she hasn't seen Steven on her wanderings through Bavan, either. That's worrying.

She closes her eyes again. ]

With the... the creature on the wastelands. What happened?

[heyunderoos]

[That clarifies things. Peter exhales a little. There is no pride, just a quiet certainty. A tension settles over his shoulders.]

I managed to stop it. I still died while stopping it, but it didn't hurt anyone else.

[waitingforplayer2]

[ She's quiet for a long time after he says that. It's so long, he might think she's gone back to sleep. ]

And Beat-kun?

[heyunderoos]

[Peter is quiet as he waits, letting Chiaki set the pace.]

He died after you did. [The guilt twists Peter up inside. He just tries to stay steady.] I wasn't able to get to him quick enough.

He's back now, safe. He came to see me. [There is relief in his voice at the thought.]

[waitingforplayer2]

[ A little hitch in her whispery half-voice, a quiet noise that might be a sob if it was coming from a human. ]

I'm so sorry...

[heyunderoos]

Chiaki... [He exhales her name softly, once again stepping forward to lean into her. He isn't big enough to actively hug her in this form.]

It's not your fault. It'll never be your fault. Please don't... don't beat yourself up about this.

[waitingforplayer2]

[ She's quiet again, as he hugs her.

She can't not beat herself up about this. And he doesn't have to know, does he? It's so easy to keep her thoughts to herself, to just be still. With her eyes closed and her voice quiet, she doesn't look like a person at all. She's just a tree, separate from him.

But she does care about him. So the most prominent thought in her mind surfaces, and she has to give voice to it. The tree shudders again, a little. ]

You can't die again.

[heyunderoos]

[Peter blinks a little at the sentiment as he peers up at Chiaki again. He doesn't want to die again, he doesn't plan on it, but this place is full of strange bad surprises.]

Will something bad happen beyond the dying part-? Cause the dying part is already pretty bad.

[waitingforplayer2]

[ The eyes on her trunk crack open again, the little invisible flame within them kindling again. This is serious. This is important. He needs to hear her. Even if her voice is little more than a whisper, right now. ]

That was your second, wasn't it? Next time, you might forget something.

[heyunderoos]

[Even with the whisper of a sentiment, Peter can feel Chiaki's determination in her gaze. It's a slight shift, but he can tell at the moment.] Yeah, it was my second death here.

Seriously-? I... hadn't realized. Do you lose a memory every time you die after the first two?

[waitingforplayer2]

I think so.

[ She isn't SURE, that's just what she's heard. But Atem and Ryou count their deaths, and they've been here a lot longer. ]

So you have to be really careful now.

[heyunderoos]

That's... not great. [He exhales a little. The thought of losing memories, pieces of himself essentially is jarring.

How much would he even be Peter Parker if he lost his memories? Would he just be a strange giant rat? A real monster if he loses pieces of himself?]

I'll be careful. [It's a promise he can't quite keep, but he'll try.]

[waitingforplayer2]

[ She hears the uncertainty in his voice. She knows how much danger he's put himself in, time and time again. ]

You have to be. Otherwise you won't be you anymore. I don't know if there's a way to stop it, or undo it.

Please, Peter-kun.

[heyunderoos]

You have to promise too, Chiaki. [He stands pretty firm on that. His tail whips against the ground a little in displeasure. He winces a little at the feeling, managing to catch his tail to keep it from hitting the ground again. The bite from earlier in the day is healing still.]

You can't die anymore either. Neither of us- [His grip tightens on his tail, the pain making him click his teeth together, ears folding tight against his skull.] Neither of us need to lose ourselves here.

[waitingforplayer2]

[ And now she finds - it's harder in the other direction, isn't it? For any number of reasons - because she doesn't know what will happen, because she knows she's supposed to die here, because she's died already and everything since is borrowed time,

But he's waiting for an answer, and she wants to be kind. So the tree answers as honestly as she can. ]

I'll do my best not to die. I promise.

[heyunderoos]

It's all we can do, Chiaki. We can't... pretend stuff won't happen. [He's honest in turn, whiskers drooping. Peter wishes he could ensure none of them ever died again, but he knows he can't.

Realistically, he can't make that a promise either of them can keep.] This place just keeps throwing worse and weirder stuff at us. All we can really do is try to stay safe.

[waitingforplayer2]

Yeah...

[ There's only so much safe they can be.

She's scared they're destined to die, again and again, losing themselves - or maybe dying a different way, returning to the Sea of Stars to drift, like she has for the last two weeks without knowing about the time spent there.

Are there ways out of this that aren't just delaying the inevitable? ]

What did I miss? The last two weeks?