Death Comes As the End

[a_gentle_boy]

[Thursday - Extra Fortified Poison]
[When his alarm goes off at 4:00 Thursday morning, Lucas immediately bolts out of bed.  He takes his blankets with him, settling down on the front porch with his head leaning back against the door, his eyes scanning the dark streets for any sign of a whistling madman.  His patience is rewarded soon enough.  He

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[Thursday]

[mute_mystic]

[Maybe Lucas smacking his head against the door frame alerts Silence to the fact that he's been outmatched today - or perhaps he'd just gotten up only a shade later than Lucas to begin with. Either way, he comes out not long after Lucas finishes drinking - which is just as well, since Lucas doesn't have long - and stares down at the boy in mingled shock and alarm.

Today, Lucas beat him. And apparently today's batch was especially bad. The guilt sets in almost immediately - he should have been the one to drink it, not Lucas. He should have tried harder, taking more precautions against the boy's altruistic stubbornness

[a_gentle_boy]

[Lucas smiles wanly when Silence comes to the door, in an effort to convey some measure of strength. ...He wonders, momentarily, how terrible he looks to inspire such an expression of alarm on the face of his 'father'. Perhaps he had turned bright purple.

Lucas doesn't resist being carried - He couldn't, honestly, the only real movement he could manage now were what amounted to uncoordinated muscle spasms. Whatever kind of poison this was, it was slowly shutting down his motor processes. He'll whisper a few words.]

My turn... Sorry...

[mute_mystic]

[Silence makes a low shushing sound - he may not have a voice, but noises like sighs and hisses require only the movement of air, and are within his capabilities.

After a brief pause once he's inside, Silence opts to carry Lucas all the way up to his room. It isn't difficult; the mystic is stronger - and Lucas lighter - than he looks. He lays Lucas down carefully on his bed, kneeling down beside him with wings already drooping in sorrow.

He's seen death come to people before. As much as he would like to deny it, he knows it's coming for Lucas now. Part of him wants to run to Nusakan's, to drag the doctor back here in the hopes that he could do something, but...the more sensible part of him doesn't think the boy should be left alone, not like this. And the brutally honest part of him can't look at Lucas now and truly think that he'd be back in time if he left, anyway...]

[a_gentle_boy]

[Lucas had heard the cliche about his life supposedly flashing before his eyes. He was a bit disappointed that memories from his youth didn't come bubbling back to the surface; it would have been nice to recall things he had forgotten. Instead, he can't help but think how lucky it was that he'd gone a year and a half without ever actually dying. Almost all of the friend he'd made... The Netherlands, consumed in the fire. Margot, collapsed on the street in Westport. Horohoro, killed by the haz-mats; Crowe and Kay, executed after the break-in; Nanashi, sacrificing herself in a vain attempt to distract the Milk-Mech.

And then, all of the times he'd been in such danger. His fight with the Night of Wallachia, his defiance in Soviet Mayfield, his run-in with Billy Smith at the party... There comes a sudden realization that brings a flicker of a smile to his lips.]

My face...

[The shiny scar tissue around his eye would finally regenerate. ...That was something positive, right? What a silly little thing to think about...]

[Saturday]

[mute_mystic]

[Silence's exasperation and alarm at being beaten to the milk a second time is extreme - especially since, for the past two days, the milk has been lethal. But it seems to be for nothing; there's nothing obviously in the milk, such as razors or spiders, and Lucas seems to be suffering no ill effects...indeed, he seems remarkably cheerful.

The song is what tips him off that it's too cheerful. Lucas can be quite happy and cheerful, certainly, but he's a fairly quiet boy even then. Even taking into account the satisfaction of beating Silence, and the relief at a harmless bottle...this seems excessive. And Silence wants to keep an eye on him to make sure.

So he quietly follows Lucas to the park, hardly noticed in the wake of the boy's exuberance. But when Lucas' mood suddenly and dramatically shifts upon their arrival, Silence's eyes go wide.

Apparently his instincts were right, and something is very wrong...although he does suppose there's a slim possibility these extreme emotions are just belated reactions to the week they've had.

[a_gentle_boy]

[He doesn't seem very surprised to feel the touch; Lucas will spin around immediately and bury his face into Silence's chest area. He'll manage a few words in between hiccups and wails.]

I-I-It's not fair.......! I... I should've gone!

[mute_mystic]

[Silence is startled by Lucas' sudden shift; the boy has been almost stubbornly self-contained recently, and - despite his growing suspicion that this was related to the milk - he had almost expected the boy to hide his misery once he realized he had company.

Regardless of what's causing it and why, Silence puts an arm around Lucas' shoulders, the other stroking his hair. The gestures are meant to be comforting, and only the very perceptive would be able to detect a faint undercurrent of bafflement in them.]

[a_gentle_boy]

[Lucas continues to weep inconsolably for a while, mumbling indecipherably all the while. It seems, though, that he is upset about Silence having gone twice in a row...

After about two minutes of this, he suddenly stops and dries his eyes.]

Sorry. What were you saying?