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

BEFORE

[theferryman]

[For questions/comments/clarifications with The Ferryman, and psyching-up with each other.]

[blindluck]

[Nagito listens with his usual smile on his face, as calm as he almost always is. Then, without any hesitation, he pulls off his jacket, beginning to fold it neatly.]

Remember, Sunny-kun, you're already dead. This isn't actually dangerous.

[solitarynote]

[…was that supposed to be comforting?

Maybe it was Nagito’s own brand of comfort, but between that, the Ferryman’s reminder, and the verifiable graves in the ground… Sunny can already feel a nervous sweat make its way down his back.

Maybe it’s just the heat. Hopefully.]

Can still be… scary… [A reminder of his own, an admission. Saying the words out loud, a deep breath in and out… like he’s releasing their control over him. (Hopefully.)

Even in dreams, even when he wouldn’t succumb and his friends could be revived with some jam, even then… things that are dangerous still have a cost.]

[blindluck]

I suppose that's true. [Now that his jacket is folded, he removes his shirt. Nagito is thin enough his ribs are visible, and his torso is covered with various scars, but he doesn't seem to care about being seen shirtless at the moment.] Let's see, how about--this is only temporary! You don't have to do it forever, just long enough to get things done.

[solitarynote]

[That sounded easier. Just enough to ‘get things done.’]

OK…

[Sunny could do that. Treat it like a quest of some kind. He had volunteered. The Ferryman needed their help and… Sunny couldn’t just sit back and do nothing (well, he could, as he had been sleeping a lot here, but still…).

Nagito was getting undressed, which left Sunny to look down at his own clothes. Did they have to…?] Off…?

[blindluck]

Oh, it's up to you! [Nagito, having put his clothes in a pile, now pulls off his prosthetic arm along with its silicone padding, revealing long, nasty scars that contrast the clear professionalism of the way his arm ends.] I'd just rather not wash mud off of everything later. Especially this. [He indicates his prosthetic.] It's very resilient, but there are so many little spaces for mud to get in, I'd be washing it for days.

[solitarynote]

[Nagito made a very good point. If Sunny kept his clothes on, he’d get muddy. And then he’d have to wash his clothes. And Mari would fuss over him until he did…

At the same time, the thought of the mud touching bare skin sounded like an unpleasant sensation. And it seemed like he might be having a lot of those during this current task…

Sunny took a long, silent moment to think, then took his vest off. That left his shorts and short-sleeved button down but… one less thing to wash later.]

Hinata… might be upset… if it got dirty…

[It took Sunny another moment to remember the name of Nagito’s talented classmate - he had a lot of those - but… focusing on something other than their present made it a bit easier to get his hands to stop shaking.]

[blindluck]

[Nagito's smile softens at the mention of Hinata.] He would. He'd demand to know just what happened to get me so covered in mud. And he'd probably sigh at me the whole time I was explaining it to him.

[He sounds incredibly fond as he talks about Hinata, his voice warm and soft in a way it rarely is.]

And then he'd probably insist on taking the arm and opening it up to clean himself.

[solitarynote]

[Sunny nods, that fondness in Nagito relaxing him somewhat.]

Need to… take care of it… then…

[He almost feels determined. Ferryman would look after the arm, right?

While they…

Sunny’s gaze trailed to the ominous dug-out portions of mud and salt.]

[blindluck]

[Nagito follows Sunny's gaze.]

Don't go in slowly. You'll overthink it. Go all at once, so it feels like wasted effort to back out.

[Should Nagito be giving advice on this? Debatable. But he's familiar enough with doing things others would find unthinkable that maybe it's useful.]

[solitarynote]

Like jumping in a lake…

[Except for the fact that Sunny hadn’t been as problems with that too, least of all because it was effectively a body of water

The last time he had tried… and the time before that… it hadn’t worked out so well. He’d needed saving then.]

What if… I can’t…?

[The possibility hurt so much that it was almost physical. He had been the one to volunteer, wanting to help the Ferryman. Wanting to help everyone that had helped him too. But what if he disappointed them all…?]

[blindluck]

I could push you in. [Nagito offers immediately, but then a vaguely concerned look crosses his face as even he realizes that maybe that's not something a normal person would offer.] ...If you want?

[solitarynote]

[‘The thought is appreciated’…

That’s what someone would normally say, right?

Except for the fact that Sunny couldn’t even do that. (Mostly because, if Nagito did, then they would fail. Sunny would panic so badly that he wouldn’t last a minute under the muddy surface if so.)]

N-no… it’s fine…

[blindluck]

Alright. [What else can he offer, then? Nagito hums thoughtfully.] Well, it's better that we're doing it than someone else, right? I'd gladly bury myself in the mud if it means Naegi-sama doesn't have to!

[solitarynote]

[Sunny took a few moments to consider that. It was true - even if Makoto would be brave and smile through something like this, Sunny didn’t want him to have to go through anything bad again.

Kel too.

So…]

It’s better… we do it… We can.

[Maybe that would be considered mildly insulting to Nagito. Maybe it was a dig against Sunny himself. But… Sunny had been through horrors already. And he needed to help.

In some strange, roundabout way, Nagito’s words had given Sunny courage.]

[blindluck]

Exactly! So let's get it done, okay? [Nagito is on the same page here, for better or worse when it comes to their respective levels of self-esteem. He's also pleased he actually said something that worked instead of making people look at him with varying levels of distrust and alarm.]

I think this can wrap up the Before portion! ^^

[solitarynote]

[Sunny nods, actually turning towards the mud pit with a… determined(?) expression on his face.]