sixillusions | [catchall] Camille

[ 7:22 PM
Subject: w3 monday
For 48 hours, Camille will greatly dislike Kanda.

Gently sets this pc at 10am....................]

...Bad judgment, probably.

[This is honestly a reaction she thought more people should have. At least someone's thinking clearly. Camille keeps her distance, watching him. Ready to bolt if need be. Injured as he is, he's still a man, and one that knows how to fight.

It's a miracle she got the drop on Cloud at all.]

Aqua got you too, huh?

[lMFKDJHSGK I SAW THIS HELPPPP AAAAAA thank god Kanda is anti-swamp

For now he ignores the question, continuing to stare at her.]

They didn't tell you?

No. They didn't tell me.

[She shrugs, glancing around uncertain]

The veil just lifted. No one even came to say hi.

[He's silent for a long while, at that.

Logically, he knows, he should kill her now. Even injured, he's confident he could manage it--given the energy she's putting out right now, he doesn't even know if she'd fight him off that hard. There's no point in keeping her alive and letting her roam free, as far as he's concerned. If anything, he thinks this is crueler than the alternative: forcing her to live in paranoia of when she'll lose control again, waiting for the inevitable bloodlust to take over once more.

...But ironically, it's something Cloud said to him that holds him back. His jaw works, betraying his frustration, but he doesn't raise his sword.]

Ask them how long you have.

[He doesn't love it, but he's willing to concede that they aren't playing by Akuma rules. If she and the Overseers can pinpoint a date--even a close approximation--then... he can let her live as herself for a little while. Unless they announce they've found a way to seal the impulses, then putting her out of her misery is inevitable: but contrary to how he's behaved to this point, he does have some self-restraint.]

...Yeah, I was talking to them.

[Her sigh is long, fatigued. Camille wonders how quick he'd be to run her through with that blade, even on an off day.

Maybe she should step closer and find out.]

They said they can't maintain a barrier themselves, not like we get on Saturday. Too draining. So they have even less power than we thought.

I asked about rope too, they brushed it off. Sounds like there's not a lot of confidence my monster won't find a way out. I might politely ask to be barricaded in the cellar, but...

Speaking frankly, I'll be shocked if I make it that long. [She shrugs. It's easier to play at non-chalance with him. Several yards apart and no love lost between them. A more productive conversation than she's had with most.] Someone's going to take out an insurance policy. Nip the problem in the bud.

[He has nothing to say about the possibility of someone targeting her, not when he's standing right here and trying to decide if he shouldn't do the very same. She's lucky he isn't the type to seek revenge; for a man who doesn't let others in, losing two people he was fond of this weekend was a rough blow, and only one of them was a killer.

But just as there's no sympathy coming from him, there's no disgust or hatred either. She didn't ask for this. He understands that, and he respects the pragmatism she's showing now, in the face of two awful, terrifying paths that she's currently being forced to choose between. He just isn't willing to bet on her humanity prevailing. If someone else thinks that way too, he won't hold it against them.]

...Did you feel it coming on, before you went out that night?

[If she did, it's something to grab onto. When he last spoke to the Overseers, they mentioned increased aggression and other symptoms, but he hadn't noticed that in anyone in the days leading up to these deaths. If she can convey it on her own, before the monster inside her wins out and causes her to hide her growing bloodlust, then they can work with it.]

Yeah. [She nods.] I did. Enough to meet my partner.

[Chimera rights. Camille sighs, running a hand through her hair.]

Enough to plan ahead a little. Agree to spike a drink at curfew, and whoever was the unlucky winner got to be our guest come sundown. Cloud picked it up. It could have been any of you.

[Strange dissonance, watching silly memories and chatting up everyone at the house while waiting on someone, anyone to take a glass. Now she can see the madness in it. At the time, not so much.]

And before you get ahead of yourself, I can't tattle on my partner either. Same effects as sharing monsters too many times. The words won't come out.

[Briefly, he looks confused, like he doesn't understand why Camille is telling him all of this--but then it occurs to him that most people have probably approached her about this, the hows and whys amidst the threat assessments and sympathy. He shakes his head slightly.]

I don't care about that.

[Well. That's not strictly true. He would have vastly preferred to know about the other person, but he never expected Camille to tell him. And the details about Cloud... regardless of how he feels about it, it doesn't matter now. He's gone.

More importantly--she confirms that she felt it. That's what he wanted to hear. He doesn't relax, because Kanda never really relaxes, but--he seems a little less likely to run her through here and now than he might've a few minutes ago.]

...Tell me if you feel it again.

[This is the best he can offer her. A little more time as herself, until the moment she feels her controlling slipping. A quick death, because he is very, very good at what he does.

He'll still be watching; he knows the monsters have self-preservation, and that there's no guarantee she'll be able to do it. But it's this, or it's death right here and now. He can't bring himself to permit any more risk than that.]

[He's just a kid. So many of them are, and yet each and every one speaks with deadly resolution when push comes to shove. Camille hates it. Who would Kanda be if he'd drawn a different hand at birth?

Someone capable of emoting, maybe. Someone who could appreciate how fleeting youth is. See how desperately sad it is to lose your life to unquestioning duty.

Still. It'll help her, should the need arise.]

If I'm able to, I will. [Depends how strong the embargo on confessing is this time around.] You'll make it quick, won't you?

[If only she knew the half of it.

But, unsurprisingly, he nods.]

Yes. [...] One witness, unless you want more.

[Cloud had wanted this sort of thing to be public, for safety reasons--but Kanda is confident enough in his own strength that he thinks he can spare her that indignity. As long as one other person is there to ensure there's an unbiased report of what happened, or to step in if things go awry, he doesn't mind leaving the rest to her.]

[thinks of the au where he could have respectably executed her instead of [REDACTED]

Camille grimaces. But she gets it. Precautions are due.]

Sure. As long as it's none of the kids.

[Ash or Kate or Mathis. Any one of them having to see this would gut her.

Camille nods at him, giving a small wave.]

You heal up quick, you hear me? We're gonna need you to swing that sword sooner or later.

[From here she wanders off, unaware of what lays in store. Like hate arrows. And spiders!!! Wowie!!]

[catchall] Camille

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Allusions to suicide

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