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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 10, 2015 14:02:38 GMT -5
Talk about a long day...
The island was bathed in warm blends of red, orange and purple as the sun sank below the horizon. The treetops glowed with golden auras, a vast palette of crisp autumn colors. As the cool evening breeze stirred up portal park, two young lovers strolled through the clearing, idly sipping coffee and making light conversation.
They certainly needed it.
Evan took a swig of his espresso before chuckling and bringing up a new topic. "Remember when you and Nat accidently got transported to Niagara Falls? And Pat and I had to teleport there to find you? And we all got mixed up with that weird werewolf pack?"
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Nov 10, 2015 14:24:02 GMT -5
"HA! Yeah, that was crazy!" Swift laughed between sips of her caramel macchiato. "Those guys were cool. That demiurge they were fighting, however, was not... And of course, after being teleported to Canada, surrounded by werewolves and forced to fight a reality-manipulating demon, what does Nat complain about? Friggin' MGM Plaza! 'Guys, which way are we going? I don't wanna accidentally look at it!' ...Heh. She'd kill us if she knew we were talking about that."
After another sip and a twitch of her ear, Swift continued, "I'm trying to think of that story you told me. You know, when Chris and Cole electrocuted you and you passed out and woke up in their dream world or something."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 10, 2015 14:33:43 GMT -5
"Hey, she can laugh at herself for it," Evan chuckled. "She created a character based on that lion just to make fun of herself!"
His smile turned awkward at Swift's next remark. "Oh yeah. That. Yeah, kinda hard to forget waking up in a world of miss-matched colors, computer chair surfing on a strawberry juice ocean, having Cole explode out of you Xenomorph-style, and being turned into a giant. And you guys probably still think I'm crazy."
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Nov 10, 2015 14:48:04 GMT -5
"Hey, you're no crazier than the rest of us," Swift giggled, playfully shoving Evan's arm. The right one. Didn't want to scratch the new tattoo on his left. "Wish I could've seen it. i mean, half of the stuff you described sounds pretty fun. Don't know how to feel about XenoCole, but..." She nuzzled up against him. "...I'd still love you even if you were five stories taller than me."
Swift stared out at the horizon with a glimmer in her amber eyes. "You know, now that we're talking about them... I kinda miss Nat and her team."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 10, 2015 15:03:27 GMT -5
"Well, that's good to know," Evan laughed, wrapping an arm around Swift. "Let's just... not bet our cards on that happening, alright?"
He followed Swift's gaze, mulling over her comment. "Yeah. Our new friends are great and all, but it'd be nice to get the NES team back together. I'm sure they'd get a kick out of this place."
At the mention of their new friends, Evan felt like he had found an appropriate place to segue into the real problem at hand.
Ever since encountering Kendall and Forsaken while getting his tattoo, Evan's day had been dominated by thoughts of SBURB. From the dream he had that apparently took place on Prospit, to the knowledge of his alternate self's involvement and death in a session, to the proposal of kick-starting a session, and now the revelation that Dimensional Island might play a bigger role than originally assumed. In the span of a few short hours, Evan had gotten himself and his friends wrapped up in something that he knew was well beyond him or any of them.
And now that the hype had died down in favor of a cautious, deductive approach, Evan realized that maybe he had acted too quickly himself.
He let out a sigh, his smile fading. "W-Why don't we sit down for a bit?"
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Nov 10, 2015 15:11:25 GMT -5
"Yeah, we should bring 'em here," Swift agreed. "Fun stuff..."
She looked up at Evan with concern. It seemed the time had come to discuss the elephant in the room.
"Y-Yeah, sure..." she murmured, looking around for a place to rest. There weren't any benches nearby, so she settled on sitting in the grass.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 10, 2015 15:22:25 GMT -5
Evan sat down next to her, huddling close but keeping his eyes averted. How to approach this...
Well, it was pretty obvious that Swift was upset, even if she had managed to cheer up over the last few hours. Not that Evan could blame her. He was essentially dragging his whole team off to war simply out of his own desire to help Forsaken, and even though he knew the others had his back no matter what, this was a lot to drop on them all at once. Taking this into consideration, he figured this was as good a place to start as any.
"First of all... I guess I should apologize. I know this mission is a dangerous one, understatement though that may be, and in my eagerness to help a friend, I feel like I dragged you guys into this whole ordeal without really taking everyone's wellbeing into consideration."
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Nov 11, 2015 12:52:29 GMT -5
"What?" Swift's ears drooped and she pulled closer to Evan, wrapping her arm around his. "No, no, it's not your fault. We've been thrust into danger plenty of times before, and half the time it was with even less warning. I know you only want to help, and I refuse to believe that you would so willingly take on a task this insane without the intent of protecting us. You... You aren't in the wrong, Evan. My only concern is what you're getting yourself into. We can handle ourselves just fine, but the way that witch was talking, out of our group, you'll be in the most danger."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 11, 2015 14:24:27 GMT -5
"I guess..." Evan shrugged. "You know I only had the best intentions in mind, hasty as they might have been. I understand the risk I'm putting myself at, and I'm willing to face it so long as I can keep you guys safe."
He looked deep into Swift's eyes. "And even though this is something I really want to do, something I honestly believe will have an even greater purpose than we fully understand... I don't want to see you so broken up about it. I don't like seeing you hurt. I can do everything in my power to keep you from being physically harmed, but this emotional turmoil is no less unsettling, and I need you to work with me so we can find a happy medium."
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Nov 14, 2015 11:54:58 GMT -5
As she stared into Evan's eyes, Swift's ears drooped even lower. She eventually had to look away, too ashamed to maintain contact with those soft pools of brown. "Evan... are you mad at me?"
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 14, 2015 12:40:18 GMT -5
"Am I mad at...?" Evan blinked and slowly shook his head. "No! No, of course I'm not mad at you, Swift. I'm just frustrated, is all. I know you're upset and I know you only freaked out like that because you're concerned about me. I just wish that whole scenario could've gone down a bit more smoothly. You know, with you not yelling at Beth and me not being so quick to act with so little understanding of the situation. No one's in the wrong here, but no one was exactly in the right either."
He pulled Swift closer, gently stroking behind her ear. "What matters now is that we sort everything out. Our plans, our emotions, everything. So let me ask this... What do you want me to do?"
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Nov 15, 2015 16:41:17 GMT -5
"What... do I...?" Swift contemplated for a moment, soothed by Evan's tender touch. It was hard for her to ask anything of him, really, and she knew too well that the thing she wanted most was not only something he definitely would not comply with, but perhaps was also a tad selfish. It was one thing if she restrained him from doing something foolish, but Evan believed he was doing a good thing, and he more than likely was, regardless of the risk he was putting himself at. Keeping him from something this important, something that could lead to good things for a lot of people, seemed to be an impossibility.
"All I want is for you to be safe," Swift eventually sighed. "Th-The way Forsaken was talking... the way she pretty much explicitly stated that you were guaranteed to die on this journey... it just... it scares me."
She wrapped her arms around Evan, burying her face in his shirt. "I don't wanna lose you."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 15, 2015 17:36:20 GMT -5
"I-I know, Swift, I know..." Evan hugged back, gently rocking her. "I'm not going to act like I'm not scared. In a situation like this, it's only natural that I would be. But I want to do what I think is right, and I'm only asking you guys for help because... well... I need you. You make me strong. Jen, Carter, Patrick, everyone... and especially you."
He kissed her forehead and continued, "I promise to do everything I can to ensure that I make it out of this alive, but what matters the most to me is protecting you. So when you get down to it... we're here to protect each other."
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Nov 15, 2015 18:10:49 GMT -5
Swift took a deep breath, simultaneously nodding and nuzzling Evan. "You know I'll do whatever it takes to protect you. If you're so insistent on joining this cause, then... Well, I already promised to go where you go. I just wish that the chance of losing you wasn't as high as it apparently is."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 15, 2015 18:20:30 GMT -5
"I-I know, Swift..." Evan looked into her eyes again. "I also know that you and the guys have my back no matter what. I can hope that things will turn out for the best, but I need you to have a little faith in me."
He smiled, that prospect suddenly giving him an idea.
"Does that sound reasonable? Just to have faith?"
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