[RAVEN'S HEART GAME - SESSION FOUR]

[selfpreservationist]

The first thing you hear is the sound of rain faintly hitting the exterior of the house. The soft pitter-patter is almost soothing, in a way, but it’s quickly followed up by rumbling thunder in the distance. You open your eyes, and for a second all you see is a flash of light--at first it seems like it’s lightning, but then you see something. A vision of a man dressed in rags, hunched over, waves of demonic power rolling over him. He howls, and something terrible starts to grow out of him: the bloody roots of a massive tree. An immense wave of panic hits you, and you can’t move, you can’t speak, you can’t breathe--

And then it’s over. It’s over. You’re fine.

The sound of rain returns. (This time it’s definitely soothing, compared to what you just saw.) You’re standing in the foyer of a mansion, a wide open living room in front of you. The door behind you is faintly ajar, leading outside.

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Comments

Re: OUTSIDE

[idolpro]

Vergil looks up from his book and looks surprised.

"Huh...?"

Re: OUTSIDE

[420blazeit]

[ she goes to sit beside him, setting the kitten down in between them. ] Look at this little cutie.

Re: OUTSIDE

[idolpro]

He blinks owlishly at the kitten.

"Where did you... oh!"

The kitten climbs into his lap and his expression just looks stunned. Like he's not sure what to do with his hands. CAN IT SMELL FEAR???

Re: OUTSIDE

[420blazeit]

I found it inside and I figured you'd like a friend, since I doubt I'll be able to stay here forever to keep you company. [ sets a hand on his head and ruffles his hair. ] So... did you find your favorite poem among the bunch in there?

Re: OUTSIDE

[idolpro]

He's just aghast. The kitten is trying to climb on him now.

"I... um, yes, of course. I know that poem by heart."

Re: OUTSIDE

[420blazeit]

[ chuckles. ] I think he likes you! Cute, ne?

Will you tell it to me?

Re: OUTSIDE

[idolpro]

"'Love seeketh not itself to please,
Nor for itself hath any care,
But for another gives its ease,
And builds a Heaven in Hell's despair.'

So sung a little Clod of Clay
Trodden with the cattle's feet,
But a Pebble of the brook
Warbled out these metres meet:

'Love seeketh only Self to please,
To bind another to Its delight,
Joys in another's loss of ease,
And builds a Hell in Heaven's despite.'"

Re: OUTSIDE

[420blazeit]

[ she scoops up the cat and sets it into her own lap, setting a hand atop its head to keep it from moving around too much as he recites the poem. ]

Do you mind if I ask why that poem?

Re: OUTSIDE

[idolpro]

The kitten will attempt to climb up onto you now.

Vergil shrugs. "I just like it."

Re: OUTSIDE

[420blazeit]

Do you mind if I share one of my favorite poems with you?

Re: OUTSIDE

[idolpro]

"... do what you want." He tries to sound standoffish, but it doesn't really work.

Re: OUTSIDE

[420blazeit]

[ no. no it doesn't. ]

[ she lets go of the kitten and so it's probably climbing back over to vergil. ]

Never trust a mirror,
For a mirror always lies,
It makes you think that all you're worth,
Can be seen from the outside.
Never trust a mirror,
It only shows you what's skin deep,
You can't see how your eyelids flutter,
When you're drifting off to sleep,
It doesn't show you what the world sees
When you're only being you,
Or how your eyes just light up,
When you're loving what you do,
It doesn't capture when you're smiling,
Where no-one else can see,
And your reflection cannot tell you,
Everything you mean to me.
Never trust a mirror,
For it only shows your skin,
And if you think that it dictates your worth,
It's time you looked within.

[ sets a hand on his head at some point throughout the poem, tussling his hair and giving him a small smile. ]

Re: OUTSIDE

[idolpro]

He's quiet, and lifts a hand to kind of half-heartedly shove at her for ruffling his hair, but it's barely a token protest.

"... it's not bad."

Re: OUTSIDE

[420blazeit]

[ and that just makes her lean more heavily into him, her smile broadening. ] No, it's not, because it's kind of the best. [ chuckles. ] But, c'mon, tell me what you really think about it, because I hold that poem close to my heart, just like the person it's about.

[ smuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuush. ]

Re: OUTSIDE

[idolpro]

He huffs and shoves her for real now. And steals the kitten when he can.

"It's kind of cliché but it's not bad. Just the kind of sentiment I'd expect from you."

Re: OUTSIDE

[420blazeit]

[ falls off the bench and then just lays on the ground, looking up at him and the cat. ] ...oh? You say that like you already know me so well, Vergil.

I can't help being sentimental. But there's nothing wrong with that. Just means I'm alive and not some... zombie. [ snatches his ankle with her tail and yanks him off the bench. ]

Re: OUTSIDE

[idolpro]

"I know who you are."

He says simply, and lifts his leg out of the way so he can pet the kitten without being knocked off his perch.

:P

Re: OUTSIDE

[420blazeit]

[ WHY YOU LITTLE-! ]

[ but also... she hadn't expected him to know who she is, so she looks a little... stunned... confused... stunfused??? ]

[ sits up. ]

Who am I?

Re: OUTSIDE

[idolpro]

"You're Dva. Song Hana. Just because I'm left outside doesn't mean I'm entirely ignorant, you know."

Re: OUTSIDE

[420blazeit]

[ makes a face and reaches up to flick his forehead. ] I didn't say you were ignorant you little spitfire. I guess I just assumed since you were the tiny version that you wouldn't know me yet or... something...

But I guess that doesn't make much sense. [ snorts, averting her eyes. ]

Re: OUTSIDE

[idolpro]

He just raises an eyebrow at you. "You get that I'm not really a child, right? That this isn't really a playground outside a house?"

Re: OUTSIDE

[420blazeit]

[ she leans against the bench and sighs. ] I know, but, like, sometimes this stuff feels realer than it probably should, and when it's not completely fucken awful it's easy to forget that it's all just a bunch of set pieces strung together in his heart or mind or... whatever.

Being outside a house on a regular old playground is so... normal...

Re: OUTSIDE

[idolpro]

"Compared to everything else that's happened, maybe. But Raven's just a human. And he's the part that holds onto those memories of childhood--the last days when Vergil was truly human."

The way he says it, it's a little dispassionate, like he's stating a rote fact read from a textbook instead of words a child would come up with.

"Those human memories and attachments are what make up this place."

Re: OUTSIDE

[420blazeit]

I get needing to be stronger and more powerful. I mean, like, I... have done some shit because I have felt helpless, and there's no turning back, but... [ she sighs, her shoulders sinking inward a bit. ] I'm glad he's hanging onto them. It's a part of him. And Vergil too... even if he thinks he's better off without him. All this stuff's made him who he is. Who they are, y'know, ...

Re: OUTSIDE

[idolpro]

"Yes."

The boy quiets down, focused on the kitten.