closed | salt of the river

[theferryman]

WHO: The Ferryman, Sunny, and Nagito
WHAT: Questin' & Investigatin'
WHERE: On the bank of The River
WHEN: After the next Crossing Toll is revealed
WARNINGS Claustrophobia, being buried alive, mental & physical pain, more as noted

[The Ferryman is as they ever are: watching The River with preternatural stillness, the weight of The Lantern barely swaying in the winds that sweep across the flat landscape. There is no movement in their facial expression or body language, but restlessness hangs over them all the same. Worry. Unease.

They are waiting. Before them are two rectangular holes cut from The River: through the topmost layer of salt, and into the mud below. There's no way around it; they look like shallow graves.

When their two volunteers arrive, before any preamble begins, The Ferryman reminds them:]

If you decide you want to leave, you can. At any time.

Comments

[blindluck]

[The memories hit him all at once. Like a great wave. Like a spear to the stomach. Violence is something Nagito is too familiar with, though it's a little strange like this. He's not exactly in his most right mind while buried in mud, but he's far from in despair, so it all feels a little different even as it feels familiar. He holds himself stiff and still, eyes closed, not breathing as the mud covers his face and puts him in darkness.

Easier to focus that way. And he's going to, because he can be useful like this. He inspects each foreign memory as best he can, with all the care of going over clues to solve a murder. He's trying to hold onto all of them and sort through them even as his mind slips around. But he's worked under conditions that put him close to death before, and this isn't even really dying. He's already done that part. So he tells himself this is easier and he keeps going.]

[theferryman]

[The Ferryman is still, watching, unblinking. To an outside observer, the uncharacteristic tension wrapped around them would be obvious; Nagito and Sunny, on the other hand, might be a bit too preoccupied to notice.

It isn't clear how much information The Ferryman is able to glean from the situation beyond the five ordinary senses. (The Ferryman is, of course, hardly ordinary.) For now, at least, they seem to judge that Nagito has control of the situation. For now.

His approach is reasonable, and, provided he can keep his concentration, works well. One after another, the memories come up against him and then rush past him, seemingly normal, consistent, unremarkable... Until, eventually, perhaps one isn't.]

[blindluck]

[All of Nagito's attention--now as sharp as he can make it--is on the memories. It might be easier that they're not his; it's like reading a novel, a little. He can convince himself of that, anyway, and work as if they're not real. He's often a step or two removed from the plights of others, even when he's trying not to be; it's a problem when socializing, but it might come in handy now. He's kept his focus when he was starving, he reminds himself. He's kept his focus with a knife through his hand and a dozen stab wounds. This is nothing. If he says it, it's true.

At the first sign of a memory that stands out--like an especially talented person, or a potentially decisive clue to solve a murder--Nagito snaps his attention to it immediately.]

[theferryman]

[It takes time and concentration to notice exactly what is wrong with the memory, but once he happens upon it, the inconsistency is unmistakable. Perhaps it's a gap, or a sequence of sensations that doesn't quite make sense. There are only a handful of memories like it, out of the many that Nagito is having to sift through, but once he has a few more for comparison, it will likely get easier to spot the things that make them different.

Above him, The Ferryman is becoming restless. It's not a common experience for them.]

[blindluck]

[When Nagito spots the inconsistency, there's a rush of satisfaction that he rarely feels outside of things like this--of finding decisive clues and spotting the moment someone made a mistake in their lie. It makes him feel useful, and that makes it so easy to want to keep going. If he can get more evidence, he's more useful. He gathers up each inconsistency with increasing confidence. There's pain, there's overwhelming emotions battering him, but it doesn't matter. He turns every inconsistent memory over in his mind so he can report the information back later.]

[theferryman]

[It's hard to know, in the onslaught, exactly how long it's been. Nagito may or may not be able to sense The Ferryman at the edge of his awareness, watching him closely, occasionally stooping over to watch him even closer.

Eventually, after he's gathered a small but significant cluster of inconsistencies, The Ferryman apparently reaches their limit. They reach down with both hands, through the mud, with remarkable strength (or, perhaps, remarkably little resistance) to pull him back up to the surface.]

[blindluck]

[Nagito has definitely lost track of time--it's not too unusual when he's focused on a task, and being under the mud certainly doesn't help. Being yanked out startles him; but not enough for him to resist in any way. He scrubs mud away from his face and blinks, squinting in the light.]

That's--that's enough? [Without the focus that performing a task provides, the circumstances of his death strike again. Now that he's at the surface, he'll try to help pull himself back to shore--though it doesn't really seem like the Ferryman needs help, actually.] There were, um-- [A pause as he searches for the word and fails.] Things that didn't match up.

[theferryman]

[Firmly agreeing:] That's enough.

[The Ferryman studies Nagito's face, their own expression a bit stricken. They scoop their arms under his shoulders in a half-hug, half-carry, to get him back to the bank.]

You found something. [An acknowledgement. They breathe out, understanding and resignation.] That's good. Thank you, Nagito.

[blindluck]

Good. I was useful. [Still dazed from the mud, Nagito comes very close to hugging back, thoughtlessly seeking out even potentially accidental affection.

He is absolutely not going to mention he did this once he's gotten his thoughts back together, of course.]