- no, I should give my apologies. [ hand lowering from his face, he reaches and touches jiaoqiu's arm while the other goes to make sure the pot is pushed back into place. let's not cause any injuries or more messes. ] I should have better announced myself, given the circumstances, especially in here.
[ don't scare a cook when there's an active burner or a knife in their hands. ]
[ a nod of understanding, and he gives a small squeeze to his arm before drawing his hand away and sighing quietly as he just. looks at the pot for a long moment. ]
... I tried looking across the beach, and seeing if perhaps Gabriel was in the Confessional. But so far it's been for naught. And we're not even able to see her for ourselves.
[ good to know we've both met our buddy. jiaoqiu's ears tilt back, and he leans heavily against the counter, wincing. ]
The moment we're allowed to speak with the angels again, I'll be requesting to see the body. If there is one left. I won't accept this without an autopsy and an explanation.
Not a single sign of any angel, although I stopped by a second time to see if perhaps I'd missed them - and a mess had been made of glass and alcohol. I cleaned it up as best I could.
[ it's what charlie would have done, and gabriel had wanted to keep the bar clean. zhongli lifts his head to look at him, frowning at the wince but... overall he's been frowning more obviously all day, already. ]
At least it seems we'll be seeing them tomorrow, if the message about their... "order of operations" stands true.
I'm sure they would appreciate the gesture. [ gabriel, he means. poor angel has been suffering people in their bar all week. ]
They can have their allotted time. All business like this has the tendency to be wrapped up in unnecessary paperwork. [ ... ] In the meantime, it's important to keep everybody calm.
There's already so much going on, I doubted that anyone would want to hurt themselves on broken glass or return to a destroyed bar. [ what a disaster that'd be. ]
As it so often is. [ the least favorite part of being in charge of anything. this is why he never did any of that. ] ... thus far, most I've run into have been calm, if distressed or confused. I hope we might keep it that way.
[ a rueful, humorless huff of a laugh. ] I will endeavor to continue that, but it is not a contract I can make in good conscience.
[ but - he closes his eyes, immediately more exhausted than he's ever been in 6000 years. he says nothing on it, though, because their angry young man is in excellent hands with jiaoqiu. ]
Nor can I. Many theories have been abound, but none are concrete answers with no way for us to see Charlie's condition, even when we know her starting point and her final stop.
[ jiaoqiu's problem now! zhongli will help where he can, but he's just backup here on this one. dan is very different from xiao. ]
To say it's quite the conundrum would be an understatement. It goes completely against the Heaven that was being sold to us upon arrival, and what we were told to expect of our journey to judgement day. I don't imagine that people will remain calm even after we get answers.
[ god damn is he different than xiao you got that right ]
I can't imagine tomorrow won't be... [ just like, all of the energy leaves him at this, as he trails off. whew. ] Tomorrow is going to be exhausting. There is always an undercurrent in a crowd, and this one is liable to spill over violently.
Exhausting, and arduous. To call it an eruption is apt, I think, given the personalities that make up the group. Putting all of them under pressure like this... [ seeing the way it drains jiaoqiu, he extends his hands out to him, palm up. an offering as much as it is understanding in trying times. ] But there are level heads in the group, too. The responsibility to be beared will be quite heavy, though no one stands alone in it.
Answers will be had, and we will do our best to maintain order.
[ it's just... how do you protect this many people? how do you protect people when the place you're in won't let you? it's one incident now. what if it grows?
for a moment, he doesn't give his hands over, gazing at the wall. when he turns his head to look at zhongli again, his ear flicks, and then he... hesitantly offers his own out. ]
Yes. [ ... ] My apologies. I shouldn't be so pessimistic. I will do better.
No apologies necessary, my friend. [ all he does is give one squeeze, thumbs folding over the tops of jiaoqiu's hands after. ] It's hard not to be, but... I will help where I can. Many will.
[ to remind him, or to be an extra set of hands - whether it be at his back, holding him up, or following his lead as a healer.
but they're all trapped in a cage, limited in what they can do. he hopes that it won't continue, won't escalate, lest they all find themselves being eroded until nothing is left. ]
Tomorrow, you need only ask and I will assist how I can. I know that I could ask the same of you. We will do right by Charlie and find the answers of what happened to her.
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[ don't scare a cook when there's an active burner or a knife in their hands. ]
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[ he takes a step back away from the stove. breathes in. breathes out. ]
What a mess.
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... I tried looking across the beach, and seeing if perhaps Gabriel was in the Confessional. But so far it's been for naught. And we're not even able to see her for ourselves.
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[ good to know we've both met our buddy. jiaoqiu's ears tilt back, and he leans heavily against the counter, wincing. ]
The moment we're allowed to speak with the angels again, I'll be requesting to see the body. If there is one left. I won't accept this without an autopsy and an explanation.
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[ it's what charlie would have done, and gabriel had wanted to keep the bar clean. zhongli lifts his head to look at him, frowning at the wince but... overall he's been frowning more obviously all day, already. ]
At least it seems we'll be seeing them tomorrow, if the message about their... "order of operations" stands true.
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They can have their allotted time. All business like this has the tendency to be wrapped up in unnecessary paperwork. [ ... ] In the meantime, it's important to keep everybody calm.
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As it so often is. [ the least favorite part of being in charge of anything. this is why he never did any of that. ] ... thus far, most I've run into have been calm, if distressed or confused. I hope we might keep it that way.
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and to the second part: ] Most I've spoken to have been calm as well, save for one.
[ three guesses as to who, but ]
I can't say that I'm not confused myself.
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[ but - he closes his eyes, immediately more exhausted than he's ever been in 6000 years. he says nothing on it, though, because their angry young man is in excellent hands with jiaoqiu. ]
Nor can I. Many theories have been abound, but none are concrete answers with no way for us to see Charlie's condition, even when we know her starting point and her final stop.
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And past that, it's going to be a hard sell, just going back to normal after all of this. Unleashing the... can of worms, so to speak.
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To say it's quite the conundrum would be an understatement. It goes completely against the Heaven that was being sold to us upon arrival, and what we were told to expect of our journey to judgement day. I don't imagine that people will remain calm even after we get answers.
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I can't imagine tomorrow won't be... [ just like, all of the energy leaves him at this, as he trails off. whew. ] Tomorrow is going to be exhausting. There is always an undercurrent in a crowd, and this one is liable to spill over violently.
More an eruption than a spill.
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Exhausting, and arduous. To call it an eruption is apt, I think, given the personalities that make up the group. Putting all of them under pressure like this... [ seeing the way it drains jiaoqiu, he extends his hands out to him, palm up. an offering as much as it is understanding in trying times. ] But there are level heads in the group, too. The responsibility to be beared will be quite heavy, though no one stands alone in it.
Answers will be had, and we will do our best to maintain order.
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for a moment, he doesn't give his hands over, gazing at the wall. when he turns his head to look at zhongli again, his ear flicks, and then he... hesitantly offers his own out. ]
Yes. [ ... ] My apologies. I shouldn't be so pessimistic. I will do better.
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[ to remind him, or to be an extra set of hands - whether it be at his back, holding him up, or following his lead as a healer.
but they're all trapped in a cage, limited in what they can do. he hopes that it won't continue, won't escalate, lest they all find themselves being eroded until nothing is left. ]
Tomorrow, you need only ask and I will assist how I can. I know that I could ask the same of you. We will do right by Charlie and find the answers of what happened to her.