[Whether he is satisfied or not with this answer, it doesn't show on his face. He looks away again around the room. How quiet he is makes it seem like it's hesitation. His lashes lower over his eyes when he looks at the floor.]
[HE IS DEFINITELY LOOKING AWAY NOW. Not at the floor, but definitely looking away.]
I came because he has a woman and a friend at home. Some people here know him. They said... he had a daughter. [A pause.] And that the woman died. But he fixed it.
But it's probably not the same Royce as the one I know.
[His sigh sounds frustrated, but not at Rupert. Maybe at himself. At the fact he refuses to call it friendship at all.]
...He was supposed to play in the hunts again. Like a Zaroff, the ones who are stuck playing until they get their freedom. [...] I made a deal with The Judge to take his place--because he should've gone home.
[For the woman and the friend.]
But we "won," and Ivan said I didn't have to worry about the deal because there wouldn't be any more games. Apparently, that isn't true.
[He's quiet for a moment, and then he finally looks back over at Rupert. The tail behind him sways low over the ground.]
...No. We washed up on a beach and met a woman at a nearby mansion named Ivan. Found out we'd be hunted for sport by people called Generals. Sounds simple, but after I died, I found out it wasn't just an island or a sport.
We were all already dead. It was purgatory. There was another woman judging our souls for heaven or hell; she was just called The Judge. The only way for us to go back home alive was if the Generals won.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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They took someone from the island.
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Who?
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A man named Royce.
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Are you friends, or...?
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[Birds of a feather...!]
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[maybe.......]
Especially if you care enough to come here for him.
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[HE IS DEFINITELY LOOKING AWAY NOW. Not at the floor, but definitely looking away.]
I came because he has a woman and a friend at home. Some people here know him. They said... he had a daughter. [A pause.] And that the woman died. But he fixed it.
But it's probably not the same Royce as the one I know.
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[to say the least! but, also:]
You realize that it's kind of you whether or not he was a friend, right?
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...He was supposed to play in the hunts again. Like a Zaroff, the ones who are stuck playing until they get their freedom. [...] I made a deal with The Judge to take his place--because he should've gone home.
[For the woman and the friend.]
But we "won," and Ivan said I didn't have to worry about the deal because there wouldn't be any more games. Apparently, that isn't true.
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The hunts? Is that what your past group was trying to do, win their freedom?
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...No. We washed up on a beach and met a woman at a nearby mansion named Ivan. Found out we'd be hunted for sport by people called Generals. Sounds simple, but after I died, I found out it wasn't just an island or a sport.
We were all already dead. It was purgatory. There was another woman judging our souls for heaven or hell; she was just called The Judge. The only way for us to go back home alive was if the Generals won.
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[he frowns.]
I'm really sorry. But - what you did, what you offered for him... That was really brave, Jason.
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[He gestures at this place. He's here! Surprise. It's not a hunt necessarily, but whatever.]
You don't have to commend me. I'm not looking for a medal.
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[him being stuck here, that is. he makes a face at the next part, though, sighing a tiny bit.]
I didn't think you were, but I'm being sincere. Take the compliment.
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Fine, but I don't need it. [The tail swishes harder at the tip. Tsundere.] He just had something to go back to.
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...And you don't feel like you do?
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[though, honestly, he's sorry he ever had to feel like that in the first place.]
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I still have some things to do back home.
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[it's not hard to tell that there's admiration in his voice.]
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...Don't worry about it.
[HE HAS NO EXCUSE HE CAN THINK OF RIGHT THIS SECOND, and he also doesn't want to just tell Rupert to shut up. But it's said like "shut up."]
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[he's making a concerted effort not to sound amused.]
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Tell anyone, and I'll know who to hunt down.
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