This logfile is imported from aitelogs2 and may contain errors or wrong timestamps.
#Adrasteia – May 22, 2016
The city of Adrasteia comes into view and the shuttle begins to lower its altitude. The ability to fly over the mountain range that separates Freedom Falls from Adrasteia has significantly reduced the travel time, but it's still been a bit of a trip. The city itself isn't much to look at when compared to the sprawling metropolises of more developed planets, but there's a definite contrast from Freedom Falls. At the very center of the city is a (Dante)
large building that takes up an entire block with the word 'Torthus-Cross' emblazoned across a sign crowning it. While not an enormous building by standards set on larger worlds, it stands out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of Adrasteia, a large tower overlooking the rest of the city. The city itself seems to be undergoing large construction projects all throughout the center district, which tapers off towards the edges of the city. (Dante)
Newly repaired buildings give way to ugly prefabs, buildings of old design and warehouses. Some flat out abandoned. It's a strange mess of modern architecture and sterile industrial prefabs all throughout the city and one would get the impression that the former is attempting to overthrow the latter. (Dante)
Jessica has been abnormally quiet during their journey across Aite, but a nervous bouncing of her leg begins as the city comes into view and her eye gains a sparkle that wasn't there previously. She leans against the shuttle window to get a better look. "So much has changed since I left..." she says softly, a nervous excitement in her voice. (Dante)
Yan Sun has activated her omni-tool and turned her focus to it's projections after failing to engage Jessica in conversation for any length of time. She's wearing her usual clothes as well as a black winter coat purchased in Freedom Falls just before leaving - she had come unprepared for the seasonal cold. She turns her attention to Jessica as she hears her speak, allowing her omni-tool interface to fade away. She curiously turns to (Tyranniac
The shuttle continues to come in low, approaching the outskirts of Adrasteia where Jessica had directed him to drop them off at. The buildings in this area are all of old design and the entire sector appears to be mostly abandoned. A few industrial buildings nearby still show the telltale signs of activity, but it seems as if most of the people living in this sector have been moved, most likely to the more recently developed parts of the city. (Dante
A few of the buildings show signs of construction and a few have just been flat out torn down, reduced to rubble to make room for whatever is to be built in their place. The shuttle lowers to the ground in a parking lot of what looks to have been a small store at one point. The windows are broken out and layers of graffiti cover the walls. Grass creeps out through cracks in the cement of the parking lot. Despite the early time of day, the sky (Dante)
Jessica continues to stare out the window. "Just over a year..." she says, her voice still just above a whisper as she studies her home as if it has become a stranger to her since her departure. "This-... It's all gone..." she adds. She seems to snap out of her haze as the shuttle touches down and proceeds to pay the shuttle driver the rather expensive fare with instructions to meet them back here for the return trip to Freedom Falls (Dante)
in a few hours. Dressed in her typical sneakers and cargo pants, she has a heavy, grey pullover hooded jacket on as well as her usual beige cap. (Dante)
Yan Sun continues to look out the window until they've touched down, the sight of the city an oddity to her. After the pilot has been payed she exits the shuttle, looking around the decaying parking lot. "Huh... it's-..." she trails off, and instead asks "What's gone? Your home? It looked like there was a lot of construction happening..." (Tyranniac)
Jessica climbs out of the opposite side and gives a quick glance around, shaking her head at Yan Sun. "My-... No." she corrects with a shake of her head as she studies the store. Even from their current location at the edges of the city the large tower is visible, as if looming over them. Her eyes dart towards it with a frown. "It's just-... dead." she says plainly before rounding the shuttle and letting out a deep sigh. "It was (Dante)
never pretty, but it was always.... alive, mmm?" She glances around, spinning in a full circle as she sweeps her gaze around, the disappointment in discovering what has become of her home clear on her face. She tugs her hood up until only the brim of her hat is peeking out from it and gives Yan Sun a playful little shove as she forces a smile back into place. "Come on, mmm? I will show you my home." she says, her (Dante)
Yan Sun turns in place as her gaze wonders across the neighbourhood, until it finally falls on the looming tower in the distance, studying it with a thoughtful frown, which only deepens as she hears Jessica's words, but the shove snaps her out of it and she nods, giving a small smile of her own. "Yeah, let's go!" she says, taking a big step forward and then holding out a finger and pointing it around as she searches for a direction (Tyranniac)
Jessica gives a roll of her eyes. "You're such an idiot." she teases before a snicker escapes her and she grabs Yan Sun's outstretched hand and tugs her to the north. "Just a couple blocks away." she says. "You know, before I leave? All of this was controlled by [Those Without Fear of Death]." she says, Yan Sun's translator picking up the asari word as Jessica performs a big sweeping gesture with her free hand. She gives a little shrug (Dante
as she continues down the block. "Eh. Well, maybe just a few blocks." she admits with a chuckle, "Still, was nice. Everyone knew us." (Dante)
Yan Sun follows alongside Jessica, still looking around at their surroundings, lingering every now and then on some of the graffiti. Her eye has remained lit up after she left the skycar. She raises an eyebrow and shoots her a glance. "Who is that...? The... group you were with?" (Tyranniac)
Prefabricated homes line the rest of the street with a few prefabricated apartment complexes on the opposite side. They all look as though the large move couldn't have happened too long after Jessica's departure, given the poor state they're in. As they get about half way down the block, a figure rounds the corner up ahead of them, opposite side of the street. A matte charcoal grey hardsuit with the same markings Yan Sun seen on Jessica's (Dante)
armor. He's helmetless, a batarian with a blue-and-red band around his right bicep, a dressing for his armor of sorts. (Dante)
Jessica lowers her gaze to the ground the moment the batarian comes into view, subconsciously adjusting her cap a bit. "Mmm? Yes..." she responds, her voice lowering once more. "We weren't as large as some of the others, but we took care of one another. We cared about one another." she says with a shrug before adding, "....Well, most of us." She seems very mindful of the batarian, purposely avoiding looking his way, her gaze moving (Dante
from the ground to the buildings beside them as they continue. "Is how Adrasteia worked, mmm? You join with those who can protect you, or you become a victim." (Dante)
Yan Sun is fairly quick to pick up on Jessica's reaction to the batarian, and after making note of his armor she too makes sure not to look his way. She nods slightly. "Yeah..." she says quietly, her gaze falling from the buildings to the pavement as her mind drifts. (Tyranniac)
The batarian continues on his patrol, offering the pair a nod despite their seeming lack of interest in him, although it's obvious that he's keeping a close watch on them as he continues in their direction, albeit on the opposite side of the street. Once they're at his back, he continues on his way down the street before disappearing around the next corner. (Dante)
Jessica visibly eases up once the batarian is to their back but doesn't dare glance over her shoulder at him. She avoids commenting on him at all and merely continues on down the block, turning to the left as they reach the end of the street and crossing over in the direction the batarian emerged from. "Is right up ahead." she says, pointing towards a structure that comes into view, previously blocked by the prefabricated apartment (Dante)
The structure is three stories with the shape creating a U in which each end reaches out towards the sidewalk, causing a small courtyard-like area in the center. The structure doesn't appear to be anything special, much the same as the previous apartment complexes they passed up with one big exception: The walls are scorched black on every side of the (Dante)
complex and the windows have long been destroyed. A holographic display is placed across each door with words 'Danger, do not enter' scrolling across it. A modest statue stands in the center of the courtyard. It depicts a single, fully armored figure with the emblem of the Adrasteia Enforcers across its chest. Below it is an inscription upon a plaque at its base. (Dante)
((-first The structure doesn't seem to be anything special, much the same as the previous complexes.*))
Yan Sun turns her head slightly to the side, shooting a quick glance in the direction of the batarian from under her hair. As they round the corner her attention is quickly drawn towards the damage on the building, and then the warning signs. She stops once they get closer, her gaze moving to the courtyard and the statue before going back to the scorchmarks. She considers taking a closer look at the statue, but remains in place, (Tyranniac)
Jessica gives Yan Sun's hand a tug once she stops, pulling her along as she moves towards the statue. Her frown returns as she looks it over. 'Dedicated to those who fell in the pursuit of peace. May we never forget those we lost along the way in hope that it will help us to learn from our past and allow us to rebuild atop the ashes of our mistakes.' the inscription reads. The statue is facing away from the building, gripping an (Dante)
Avenger in both hands. As Jessica reads the inscription, her expression contorts into one of anger and her grip on Yan Sun's hand tightens, almost uncomfortably so. "What a bunch of bullshit!" she says, "They-.... He-..." she stammers before finally aiming a kick at the plaque which does, as one might expect, absolutely nothing. She releases her grip on Yan Sun's hand and marches past the monument, shaking her head as her (Dante)
Yan Sun 's gaze lingers on the plaque for a moment before she looks over to Jessica with a worried frown. She approaches her slowly, her hand reaching hesitantly for her shoulder. "Jessica, what's-..." she lets out a sigh, withdrawing her hand and tilting her head to try and catch a glimpse of Jessica's face from under the cap and hood. "...what happened here...?" (Tyranniac)
Jessica shrugs away Yan Sun's touch, wrapping her arms around herself in a hug to fight back against a cold winter breeze as it sweeps through the courtyard. A quick sniffle escapes her as a tear rolls down her cheek and she steps closer to the building. "When-... When we come to Aite. To Adrasteia, we had nothing, mmm?" she says, another heavy sniffle escaping her before she sucks in a deep breath to wall up anymore tears from (Dante)
escaping. "I was too young to remember, but I heard the stories. Everyone here was looking out for themselves. Just-... just trying to survive. My father goes to the store just for a loaf of bread-..." she nods her head in the direction they arrived from, "...The store right down the street. He tries to charge my father 40 credits! For a loaf of bread! Is robbery, yes? Aleenin was there. She had pity on my father. Tell the (Dante)
store owner to be fair." She lets out a short, sad chuckle, her gaze moving up as she looks over the structure before her. "Aleenin took my father under her wing. She gave us a place to stay. She was here long before many of the others, back before the funding ran out, you know?" she asks, as if the history of Adrasteia is a well-known thing, "She kept us all together. Fed. Maybe [Those Without Fear of Death] weren't big enough (Dante
to stand up to the larger crews in Adrasteia, but we got by and Aleenin didn't let anyone push us around. We all trusted her." Her hand moves up to her chest, rubbing abesnt-mindedly at the scarring. "And then Cross came." (Dante)
Yan Sun seems briefly surprised to see the tear, but her frown never lifts. She moves a little closer, but remains quiet as Jessica tells her story, still leaned a bit to her side as she studies her. Jessica's childhood seems all too familiar to her, despite being about as far from her own as it could possibly be. Her frown deepens but she remains silent, waiting for her to continue. After a moment's hesitation she once again tries (Tyranniac)
to reach out, placing a hand on her lower arm, leaning her head further to the side in an attempt to meet her gaze. (Tyranniac)
Jessica doesn't seem particularly eager to continue speaking, but she does soften up slightly at Yan Sun's second attempt at touching her. Her own hand moves from her chest to her cheek, wiping away at the dampness. She lets out a deep sigh and brings her hand around, patting the top of Yan Sun's with it. "Let's go inside, kitty cat." she says, casting a quick glance towards the door before moving over to the window beside it. She (Dante)
The door quite clearly wouldn't work even if they had wanted to use it. Not only is the door's interface no longer powered, but if one was to get close enough, they would see that the large sliding door is welded shut. The window is lined with a few shards of glass, smoothed by the fire. On the other side of the window, the room beyond the front door can be seen. It's a wide hallway that acts as a lobby of sorts for the complex and turns off (Dante)
in both directions like a capital T. A couple doors line the opposide wall and a large sheet of metal has been placed over an open hole in the middle of the 'lobby' floor. The fire damage is so extreme inside that parts of the ceiling above are missing, melted all the way through. (Dante)
Yan Sun still seems a little surprised at the break in Jessica's facade, even if it's not the first, but it is drowned out by sadness brought on by the tone in her voice. She nods at the suggestion, offering a small smile before following her to the window. "Yeah... I'm not used to this kind of cold." she admits. "Hong Kong is... much warmer." She peeks in through the window, studying the heavy damage inside, the ceiling catching (Tyranniac)
Jessica swings a leg over the window, casting a glance around quickly to make sure nobody is around, or anymore Enforcers are coming down the street, before hopping inside. "Mmmm?" she asks, her gaze instantly wandering once she's inside as she wrestles to put her iron wall back up. "Awww, is the kitty cat scared?" she teases, giving a glance back over her shoulder, "Don't worry, I'll protect you." As per usual, the emotion displayed (Dante)
Yan Sun 's smile widens a bit, seemingly going along with Jessica's shift of gears. She rolls her eyes and climbs in through the window, taking a little extra time to make sure it goes smoothly. Once in she takes another look around. "Mhm... I doubt there are any ice lakes in here though, thankfully..." she says with a small grin as she turns to her. (Tyranniac)
Jessica nods a few times. "Don't remind me. Is cold. But not that cold." She takes a few steps towards the door now that she's inside, running her fingertips along the wall as if looking for something. "Do you think places have 'energy'?" she asks, casting a quick, somewhat-embarassed look back at Yan Sun. "My father was such a-... such a weirdo." she says, tugging off her hood with one hand as a quick chuckle escapes her, the (Dante)
fingers of her other hand still tracing along the wall, "He sometimes would talk about stuff like that. Me and Martin would just laugh. But-... being back here? Here?" she glances around, "It was right here where my life went from vrooot." she lays her palm out flat and pushes it straight ahead. "To vrooooooot!" she sharply turns the angle of her hand and drags it off to her side, another chuckle escaping her, "You (Dante)
know? Just-... turned ninety degrees and took me the other way. And so many other people's lives, too..." She steps back from the wall and places her hands on her hips as she looks it over with a sigh, "Maybe-... maybe something that powerful leaves a mark on everything around it, mmm? You think?" (Dante)
Yan Sun furrows her eyebrows as she listens, her initial confusion slowly fading. She seems a little amused, nodding a couple of times, but by the end she looks around with a small smile and a thoughtful look. "I-... I don't know. I actually, uhm-.." she lets out a chuckle of her own, but it quickly fades. She looks up at the ceiling as she continues. "My-... in Hong Kong, a lot of people believe in something called... Feng Shui. (Tyranniac)
That places have an energy... a quality to them. They believe locations have an inherent power, and when a building is constructed it alters that... flow. The shape, the age, the layout, the interaction with the environment. Corporations spend millions on consultants to make sure buildings are constructed in accordance with Feng Shui. Much more is spent on acquring ownership of locations believed to have good 氣. They do (Tyranniac)
this to make sure positive 氣 flows to those that can afford to live there, to have their offices there." By the way she speaks it doesn't seem to be something she puts too much stock in herself. She soon adds, reluctantly "I learned of this from my father." She turns to Jessica. "I like your version better." she says before reaching out to touch the scorched wall, her fingertips tracing over the damage. "That the history (Tyranniac
of a place leaves an impact...? Yes. I can believe that." she says with a faint nod, her gaze lingering on the wall. (Tyranniac)
Jessica struggles to hide her smile upon hearing Yan Sun's appraisal of her question, almost taking pride in the possibility that her father was right. She returns to the wall, her fingertips pressing against it once more. A few moments of silence pass before her hand stops moving. "When Cross arrived, with his fancy suits and his trained soldiers, we all laughed at him." she says, her eyes lingering on the spot around her fingertips. (Dante)
It's charred black, which makes it difficult to see the gunshots decorating it. She shakes her head and removes her hand from the wall. "He made his intentions clear from the moment he set foot in Adrasteia: It was time for change. But we've had many that came before him. Adrasteia attracts a certain type of power-hungry thug that believe they can just come here, make a show of strength, and the city will bow before them." (Dante)
She lets out a sigh and rotates slightly to look to Yan Sun. "He ordered the larger crews to stop their little wars for territory. We laughed. He offered jobs among his 'police force'. We laughed. Nothing changed. He was nobody, mmm? Just another idiot with a deathwish. But his offers turned into demands, and we were first on his list. A few of our people even went with him." she spits on the ground, furrowing her brow, "They (Dante)
were cowards." She takes a few steps back, taking in the whole view of the war-torn heat-charred wall. "Two Enforcers showed up here, demanding an audience with us." she nods her head towards the wall. "Fancy hardsuits. Demanding we turn ourselves in with promises that it would be in our best interest. It was a threat. Nothing more. When we opened fire on them, they killed six of our people." she says, chuckling humorlessly, (Dante)
her voice small and distant as she recounts the story, "I kept the bitch's hardsuit as a trophy. Always wanted one. We celebrated that night." A warm but sad smile returns to her face as she studies Yan Sun for a moment, "Martin got sooo drunk that night. We all thought it would put us on the map. We thought Cross would run with his tail between his legs when he realized Adrasteia wouldn't just roll over onto its back and (Dante)
we would have made a name for ourselves as the ones who ridded Adrasteia of that annoying little shit." Just as quickly as it appeared, her smile fades, "We were wrong." (Dante)
Yan Sun 's gaze remains on the wall as Jessica speaks, studying the details of the damage to the wall. Her frown soon returns, and it only grows deeper as she continues, the direction the story is heading in only growing clearer. She removes her hand from the wall and glances at Jessica, gesturing back at it. "Cross did this?" (Tyranniac)
Jessica nods slowly. "He did-..." she begins, but quickly shakes her head, "...Or maybe we caused this? I don't know." she says, suddenly looking dejected. "We didn't know better, you know? We lived here. We were used to people puffing out their chest and making demands. There was always a fight, or some drama, or-... you know... was just life, mmm? But Aleenin knew this time was different..." she trails off, turning away from (Dante)
the wall and sucking in a deep breath. "Turned out she was the one who sent Cross in our direction. She knew we would never never give in to him-... not all of us...." she says, although she sounds quite unsure of herself, a question that she has quite obviously dwelled on, "And she knew we didn't stand a chance against him. Something the rest of us were too stupid to realize." she spits, her disappointment in herself quite (Dante)
apparent. She sucks in a deep breath and lets it out slowly, clearing her head before going on. "We were just too proud... Aleenin sold him on the idea that we would either surrender, giving him a few more soldiers in his growing army, or we would fight back, allowing him to crush us under his heel and show the rest of Adrasteia that he's more than just talk. Win-win, mmm?" (Dante)
Yan Sun 's gaze falls to the floor, and she goes quiet, unsure what to say. She gives a faint nod, but still says nothing for sometime. Eventually, as the silence starts to grow uncomfortable she looks up at Jessica. "You were betrayed...?" she asks, the answer seeming clear already. (Tyranniac)
Jessica looks towards the ground, nodding softly. "Yes-... Maybe." she says, at odds with herself as she releases a sigh, "I don't know... You just-... You live a certain way, yes? And then-... and then someone comes along and-..." she frowns, struggling to get her point across and getting frustrated at herself for her difficulty with words. "You don't go to a proud lion and get mad at it for refusing to be a kitty cat..." she finally (Dante)
says, offering a small, sad smile to Yan Sun. "Maybe she didn't know what he would do... I-... I don't know. But she knew it wouldn't be good. Is betrayal enough, mmm?" She lets out a sigh, her eyes turning glassy for a moment but she reigns it in. "Martin woke me the next day. The Enforcers were already inside. By the time we got down here, this entire floor was covered in-... in-..." she groans as she struggles with her (Dante)
words, beginning to get flustered at her continued inability to find the right words, "...Stuff, you know? For fire? Accelerant. They surrounded the building. A few of our people tried to fight back from the windows, but they were gunned down without hesitation. Cross had his people weld the doors shut and-... and poof. They lit it on fire. They lit us on fire..." She turns back towards the wall and approaches it once (Dante)
again, reaching out to place a hand against it. "Good people lived here too, mmm? Maybe-... maybe I deserve this, but my mother? My friends? There were families here, mmm?" she says, emotion beginning to creep back into her voice as she continues. "All dead. Maybe is because of my pride? Can't imagine the funk sway here is very good now, mmm kitty cat?" (Dante)
Yan Sun looks up briefly, but as Jessica goes on she turns to look around again, seeing the building in a new light, the actual description of what happened seeming to have a considerably greater impact than the implication. She winces slightly at the mention of her mother, and of families, looking rather disturbed and hugging herself slightly as she turns in place, looking around. "I-... Jessica, I-... I'm so sorry...." she says, (Tyranniac)
her voice but a whisper. She lets out a sigh, realizing just how empty and useless those words must be from someone who wasn't there. She lowers her arms and braces herself for being rebuffed before turning back to Jessica and suddenly wrapping her arms around her from behind, hugging her tightly. (Tyranniac)
Jessica is caught off guard by the hug. She fights against her initial instinct to shrug Yan Sun away. "Is nothing to be sorry for..." she says softly, her own hands moving over Yan Sun's. "I don't-.... this doesn't keep me up at night, kitty cat..." she says, sounding as if she's trying to convince herself more than Yan Sun, "Like I tell you before. I focus on right now. Not tomorrow. Not yesterday. Just-... just being back here (Dante)
is-..." her gaze lifts up, the back of her head resting against Yan Sun's as she scans up the wall to the ceiling, "...Strange. Was my home for so long, yes? Now it feels-... hollow. Empty." Her gaze drifts over to the hole in the middle of the room. (Dante)
Yan Sun nods faintly, the movement no doubt felt to Jessica. She leans her forehead against her neck and speaks softly. "I can't imagine how strange it must be. To be back. To see it... like this. I know you say you focus on the now, but... you came here to remember the past. It's-..." She lifts her head with a sigh, loosening the hug and looking at the back of Jessica's head. "You clearly love-... loved... your family very much. (Tyranniac)
Maybe it's not such a bad thing to remember them. To look back sometimes. You don't have to-..." she stops herself, feeling like she has little right to speak on this. "I'm sorry. I can't pretend to know what it must've been like..." (Tyranniac)
Jessica closes her eyes, a subtle nod of her own the only response. "They were everything to me..." she finally says after a long period of silence. It comes out in a whimper, but she manages to keep it together. "I'm not ignorant to who they were. Who I am. My father was flawed, this I know. Deeply flawed. He was not a good person. Neither was I, or Martin, and maybe that was father's fault. But-... But they weren't evil. And I (Dante)
loved them so much-... sooo so much..." she says, her voice cracking again. "They knew exactly what they were. Exactly what the rest of the galaxy thought of them... And when that fire started, we all knew there was no getting out of it. Do you know what Martin and father's concerns were when this place became a furnace? Mmmm?" she asks softly, craning her neck in an attempt to look over her shoulder at Yan Sun but unable (Dante)
to given the angle, "Get my mother out. Because we all knew that it was our lives-... no, our choices that were now punishing her. A woman whose only mistake was-... was loving a family that was unworthy of that love..." she says, the last of her words coming out as little more than a squeak as her shoulders begin to rise and fall as her sobbing begins to fill the air. "...They weren't evil..." she repeats as tears begin (Dante)
to stream down her cheek, "...They loved her and-... and each other-... and me.... They didn't deserve this." (Dante)
Yan Sun 's frown returns, a sadness to her eyes as she hears Jessica's voice cracking, and she nods faintly along, staring at her in silence. The crying hits her hard as soon as she notices it, seeing the woman's armor fail so completely both unexpected and heartbreaking. She seems at a loss for words, struggling to process and relate to Jessica's experience. In the moment she wants nothing more than to help her hurt, even if (Tyranniac)
there's little she can do. Even if she can't understand something so awful. She lets go of the hug and gently tries to turn Jessica slightly, while at the same time moving herself. As soon as she's facing her she wraps her arms around her again, giving her a warm hug and offering her shoulder - it is all she can think to do. (Tyranniac)
Jessica is little more than a sobbing mess by the time she's facing Yan Sun. She buries her face against Yan Sun's shoulders as she's pulled into the hug. "I tried-...and-... it-..." she stammers incoherently as the emotion pours out of her, words escaping between gasps of breath but she's failing to say anything meaningful. Her arms loosely wrap around Yan Sun's waist and she presses her face hard against the jacket, a mixture of (Dante)
sadness, embarassment and exhaustion washing over her. Even as the sobbing begins to calm down, her face remains buried against Yan Sun for fear that when she finally looks up, the look she gets in return may be one of pity, the last thing she'd ever want. To be seen as weak. Helpless. "I'm sorry..." she says, her words muffled and it's unclear whether she's speaking to Yan Sun, herself, or just in general. (Dante)
Yan Sun remains silent, resting her chin on Jessica's shoulder and keeping the hug. She quickly starts to tear up as the sobbing continues, and as she closes her eyes tears roll down her cheeks. She moves her right hand up Jessica's back, cradling the back of her head gently, trying to comfort her best she can despite feeling awfully out of her depth. Every sob cuts into her, hitting all the harder with the knowledge of how Jessica (Tyranniac)
usually carries herself. She opens her eyes, staring ahead in silence, and eventually her mouth follows as she prepares to say something. "Hey... hey, it's-..." is all that comes out, followed by a quiet sniffle before she tightens the hug again, burying her own face against Jessica's shoulder, pressing her cheek against her neck. (Tyranniac)
Jessica remains right where she is for a long period of time. Quietly. The sobbing slowly fades into silence but it isn't until it begins to border on physically uncomfortable that she finally tears her face away from Yan Sun's shoulder, her hand shooting up to wipe away at her tears. She blinks a few times as she stares at Yan Sun as if she's awaiting judgement, looking just about as vulnerable as she's ever looked as a few sniffles (Dante)
escape her. She opens her mouth to speak but decides against it, instead choosing to just silently wiping at her eye. "I don't-..." she stammers, feeling more self conscious than she ever has before. "I never told anyone about-... I just... Thank you, mmm?" she finally manages, looking towards Yan Sun's shoes, "...For listening..." She turns her back to Yan Sun, eager to escape her gaze and moves closer to the hole in the floor (Dante
Yan Sun 's expression is one of sadness and sympathy as Jessica pulls away from the hug. It could no doubt be seen as pity by someone searching her face for that. She wipes away the wetness on her own cheeks, and a tiny smile forms at the words spoken. "Any time..." she says softly, affection mixing with the lingering sadness. Her gaze soon goes to the hole in the floor when Jessica moves away, and she follows slowly after. (Tyranniac)
Jessica uses the heel of her shoe to poke at the sheet of metal covering the hole until she has managed to push it completely off, eager to keep her attention on anything that allows her to avoid eye contact with Yan Sun after her breakdown. As the hole is opened up, the smell of raw sewage wafts upwards, causing Jessica to reel back slightly. "I tried." she says softly, making no attempt at clearing up what she's talking about. "I (Dante)
really tried..." she continues, eager to avoid devolving into a sobbing mess again. Or ever again, for that matter. "I made her wear the hardsuit and I knew about these service tunnels..." she says, giving a shrug of her shoulders, "...but they locked the hatch up a few years back after somebody found a body down there. But I wasn't about to let my mother die for a mistake I made, mmm?" She gestures towards a window further (Dante
down in the 'lobby'. "Father and Martin did their best to hold out as long as possible to make sure Cross' dogs didn't try and come in to finish the job..." She glances towards the last place she ever saw her father and brother alive, giving a sad smile as she recalls the image from memory. She reaches up and wipes at her eye, red and puffy from all of the crying she has done. "It bought me enough time to blow the hatch off, (Dante)
but by that time I was covered in-... in-... you know-..." she shakes her head, too exhausted by this point to even care about searching for the proper word again, "...in whatever they used. Explosion went off and-..." she gestures to her right cheek, continuing to avoid Yan Sun's gaze as her attention returns to the hole in front of them, "...Is why I'm so pretty now, mmm?" A humorless chuckle escapes her, an attempt at (Dante)
rebuilding those iron walls that just came tumbling down minutes ago. She lets out a sigh before continuing, "It was-... It hurt so much. I could smell my hair. My flesh. I'll never forget that smell... But the hatch was open. I was okay with dying right then and there, mm? Burning up with father. With Martin. With my friends. My family. Just so long as mother was okay." she nods, "Just so long as she didn't have to suffer (Dante)