khuioduan | voice; a sad announcement

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voice; a sad announcement

[There is silence when the broadcast starts, interrupted only by several shaky breaths like whomever is there is trying not to cry. In making this announcement, Pepper is conceding to the reality of loss that has confronted her for four days. Her voice is small and full of sorrow when she finally manages to speak.]

Bakura's-- gone.

[They both knew they were living on borrowed time, that inevitably one of them would be bereft of the other. That doesn't make the grief any less painful. He's dead in his home world, and he may not come back as her Bakura if he ever returns.]

If-- if anyone sees him-- tell him to come home.

[OOC note: Fear not! Bakura is on Dreaming walkabout and will be back. Pepper of course does not know this.]

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What does he look like?

[said rather like the asker does not realize just what 'gone' means in this context.]

[Neither the voice nor the user information are recognizable to Pepper. It's some time before she sends a photo. Looking through pictures of him is difficult right now.]

He's... hard to miss.

[White hair notwithstanding, Bakura has a definite Presence.]

Probably won't be smiling, though.

[White hair, red eyes, probably not smiling--Antarcticite makes note of each trait. This fellow does not seem overly different from a gem.]

I'll see if I can find him, and will message you if I find anything.

[Pepper shakes her head and then remembers she can't be seen. Trying to elaborate that Bakura has vanished from Aifaran and gone back to his world just makes her chest tight. When she's in a slightly better frame of mind, she will probably tell Antarcticite that the search is fruitless and do something to make up for their efforts.]

That's-- thanks.

Pepper...

[Gene knows this all too well - the feeling like your heart's been ripped clear out of your chest and there's nothing left in the world, like you're suddenly unmoored and untethered.

It had happened to him only a few months ago, after all.]

Where are you? Are you at home?

[Pepper almost doesn't answer with video, but Gene is going to see her anyway so it doesn't matter. Her eyes are red-rimmed from crying and she looks exhausted.]

Yeah. There's-- there's not much point in searching.

[Even though she wants to. Vee can't find Bakura or Diabound or the Ring, and he's not answering her calls. If there is even the slightest possibility that the Dreaming is just masking him somewhere...]

Give me a few minutes. I'll be right there.

[He pauses.]

Assuming you want company, of course. [He'd needed to be alone for a while, but he thinks that Pepper, being more of a social creature than he is, may prefer having someone around.]

Yeah, come over.

[Vee has been staying close, even shedding the ethereal armor so that hugs can be more comfortable. But the ka isn't quite the same as another person, especially someone who understands what she's going through but has had their own experience of it. Vee feels everything Pepper does, and that little separation could be beneficial for both of them.

She gives Gene a tiny, miserable smile.]

Fair warning, it's a mess. [Not an abandoned shack kind of mess, but certainly a reflection of her mental state.]

[Gene offers the same sort of tiny, miserable smile - a familiar expression, because it's one he'd worn quite often in the recent past.]

Don't worry about it. I'll be right there.

[It takes about five minutes, but he arrives with tea and the local equivalent of chocolate. The speed with which he arrives indicates that he teleported; no way he could have walked there that fast. And he stands in front of her door, and knocks.]

[Pepper is curled up on the couch when Gene arrives. Given the speed, he definitely teleported, which she appreciates. She hauls herself upright and goes to let him in, opening the door wide enough that he has space to pass. Her clothes look slept in but clean, and are basically the local version of a t-shirt and sweatpants. Style and fashion is not on her mind at the moment.]

Thanks for coming.

[The townhouse in general isn't a mess, but there are dishes piling up in the kitchen (she's been too tired to do them) and the living room is liberally strewn with blankets and cushions that make it clear Pepper has been sleeping on the couch rather than upstairs.

The door is shut behind Gene, and Pepper reclaims her spot on the couch, clearing away a few cushions to make space for him. She puts her chin in her knees and sniffles quietly.]

What I wouldn't give for Tony's ice cream machine right now.

[Gene understands all of the things Pepper is going through - she looks exactly like how he'd felt. And he knows why it'd be hard to stay upstairs. He doesn't blame her for sleeping in the living room.]

Of course, [he says with a little smile.] What are friends for?

[He sits on the couch next to her and sighs.] Yeah, me too. [The implied "and Tony, too" is left unspoken, even though they both know they'd benefit from his company.]

Chocolate, [she answers, spotting what else Gene has brought. This is clearly the most important thing friends are for at this moment, right? Right. Focusing on that.

Gods, she wishes Tony were here, for both their sakes. They're a family, and right now it feels like it's falling away from them bit by agonizing bit. Pepper tips sideways a little and leans against Gene, resting her head on his shoulder. She's quiet for another while, and her voice is small and scared when she speaks again.]

I don't-- I don't know if he can come back, Gene. Not like he was.

[Gene nods and passes her the chocolate. He's deep in thought for a moment. He knows Bakura's past, and how much he's grown and changed since he's been in Konryu, and how much Pepper has come to care for him. And how much it would hurt to have him be the way he was when he'd arrived.

(That was always the fear - that someone you loved would disappear, but they would return not as who you knew, but as someone else. That would be worse than the disappearance.

Don't think about that.)]

People come back how they were all the time, [Gene says and pulls her close, trying to be reassuring.] We did. And people who disappear sometimes for a short while return how they were, too. [He's not going to say for sure that Bakura will come back that way, or that he'll even return. But he can, and Gene knows that.]

The Dreaming...we both know that it keeps people sometimes. And keeps them how they were, and who they were. We've had friends disappear like that. And they come back how they were. You knew Jackie, right? The guy who ran the Koi? He left sometimes, but he came back how he was. It's possible.

I don't want to give you false hope. [He sighs.] But I don't want you to have no hope at all.

[She's seen his apartment, and his one concession to hope. The person who's neck and neck with Bakura for having the least illusions about life and the world still holds on to hope, the last thing at the bottom of Pandora's box.]

[If Bakura did come back different, if he came back from an earlier time, then... well, she'd have to try to do what she did the first time around. It would be harder; he had mellowed significantly by the time they met in Keeliai, and since then she'd learned more of what he used to be - and still could be - like.

She sniffles and nods against his shoulder, appreciating not only the comfort but the fact that Gene can reach for it and hold it out to her. He's always had that in him, and even though she's devastated she can recognize how much he's grown, to be here like this with her. Pepper nibbles a corner off the chocolate.]

I know. And I probably shouldn't think the worst-- I'm just worried that he might not survive it even if he did come back the same. Solomon kept him alive the last time, somehow. [Bakura's soul was shredded. Gene was powerful, and theoretically might be able to do something similar, but he's not a necromancer.] Maybe-- maybe having Diabound back will help.

I will certainly keep an eye out.

[He knows it's a cold comfort if Bakura probably isn't around to even find, but he means it if there's so much as a possibility that someone you l- cared about was still in Aifaran]

If you would like, we can search together? Two pairs of eyes are better than one.

[It's a poor excuse but sometimes the best thing for it was not to be alone with one's darker thoughts]

Thanks, Klaus.

[No small part of her wants to tear apart the city in a search, even if logic and her ka tell her that it would be fruitless. She's never really let logic get in the way of accomplishing things, however.]

I'll let you know. Not really up for much right now.

[Every time she thinks about going outside, she's faced with people who have no idea how the world has just upended for her.]

I understand.

[He really does. Leo vanished shortly before and he's having some too-late realizations that he hadn't had since Anton had been sent back]

If you would like an open ear just to commiserate, the door is open to you.

[This is the blessing and the curse of being a Dreamfolk: people come and go seemingly at random, and all they can do is live their lives.]

That could be nice. [She hasn't spent time at the cafe yet.] I might take you up on that, yeah.

[In a marginally amused tone:] Is the pseudo hot chocolate better here than Keeliai?

... I’m sorry, Pepper.

[Pepper doesn't reply at first; there's only so much conversation she's up for. But Ilda is a friend, and a very genuine person, so eventually Pepper gets back to her. It's long enough that by now Ilda has made her own call to the city.]

It's-- yeah. Thanks. [What else is there to say?]

I saw Yato's-- missing. [She doesn't have the bandwidth for much more grief, but she's sure she'd feel it if Yato and Bakura's departures were further apart.] If you want to come over... the townhouse is a mess, but it's a comfortable mess.

Y-Yeah, Yato... I hope the Dreaming just... sent him back. Not that he disappeared or anything. [ There's a hitch in her voice at 'disappear'. ]

Do you want me to bring over something to eat? Or drink? [ She's worried about Yato, but at the moment she's more worried about Pepper. She's clearly distressed, and the last time, when Ilda had been the one in distress, she'd come flying in her suit of armor. It's only fitting the blonde does the same, but since she doesn't have armor... food will have to do? ]

[And Pepper knows why that hitch is there. In the back of her mind, Yato disappearing because not enough people believed in or remembered him was always a concern. He hadn't seemed too worried, like he'd dealt with that problem long enough, but it would be hard to tell what happened in a place like this.]

Um, sure. [She's a social creature, and company won't hurt.] Whatever one of your favorite foods is. We've got a lot of tea here. [Pepper includes the address of the townhouse, which is in one of the less dense areas of the city, nearer the edge.]

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