Poi 05 - Voice

[firewalled]

...It's Rich.

[Might as well not bother with preamble, though that's certainly odd for him. Odder still that he has the video off, even if there's still the faint strumming of guitar suggesting that he's nervously plucking at strings as he often does.]

I'm 18 now, according to the roster. Guess I missed my birthday. I knew it was coming up, but I was kinda distracted with stuff.

[Like having a mental crisis for the better part of two months at least.]

Anyways, was just wondering like... what's the longest someone's been stuck here before they got to go back home? Maybe, uh, maybe it was wishful thinking? But I was kinda thinking with the whole Ministry investigation and how fucking useless I am on the missions that the train would boot me off by now.

[He's really trying to laugh, trying to make that sound like a joke.]

Just. Was thinking about it. At this point, my friends back home probably assume my dad stabbed me or shit... maybe they'll believe those messages we got to send at that river, but more likely they'll think I'm nuts.

[Just another certified Rich Goranski Comedy Routine. He'll be here all week, folks.]

Comments

[firewalled]

[Rich winces softly. He'd be guilty enough hearing Alice again after how he's treated her over the last little while, but also realizing she has an extra six months of dealing with this stupid place? It's a wonder she can be so kind with him when he's being so selfish and immature.]

...I'm sorry. I didn't know you were here that much longer than me. I can't even imagine dealing with it that long.

[But what if he has to?]

[irrationally]

There is no need to apologize to me. You aren't the one keeping me here.

[ Sure, Alice would love an apology for all of this. Or rather, she'd love an attempt to set all of this right.

But she's pretty sure they're not going to get that from their captor - and she won't allow anyone else to apologize in its stead. Least of all someone who's obviously struggling like Rich here. ]

.. is this what has been bothering you so much as of late though? You have seemed.. off. [ At least Alice can't fully keep her voice even at that. The hint of caring, of worrying about him, does slip into her tone as she says it, way beyond her ability to try and hold it in. ]

[firewalled]

I mean, I guess I'm not. Just... felt bad complaining, though. When you've had it worse off.

[She kind of always has, which makes it even more surprising to Rich that she'd bother trying to sympathize with him. He can hear it in her tone now, and it makes him swallow hard around a lump in his throat before responding.]

Yeah. Yeah, I've been a bit of an ass lately. I'm really sorry, I just didn't think I'd be here this long, I guess? And when it hit me how long it'd been, I guess I got pissed I was being so complacent.

[irrationally]

[ It's.. strange. Alice isn't quite used to hearing people take her own suffering into account, and it renders her quiet for a moment here as she's listening to Rich.

It's kind on his part, sure, but.. on the other hand, it also makes her worry. ]

You know.. Someone once told me that only the savage regard the endurance of pain as the measure of worth. [ Which sounds a little cryptic, but Alice continues, her voice softening around the edges for Rich. ] it does not matter whether another person has suffered more or less than you have. It does not make your pain any less real.

[ That's something Alice fiercely believes in, even as someone sitting all the way down in the terrible experiences pit. ]

You can share your worries with me. We will find solutions together. Is that not what.. [ She pauses.

This part is particularly hard for her, but she's trying. ]

.. is that not what being friends is about?