No Soapbox Required

No Soapbox Required
Date of Scene:	09 June 2013
Location:	Lower Archades
Synopsis:	A short conversation in the wake of the Archades Assault.
Cast of Characters:	Will Sherman, Riku

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Riku has posed:
Riku awoke and left the Alexander some hours ago. He had not been injured by the fall of Upper Archades. He had not been counted as a casualty, but he was still very much the walking wounded.

There was much to do in the aftermath of the calamity and Riku buried himself in that endless list. There was a clamor about the streets of Lower Archades in places and an unsettling silence in others. The entire city seemed still hung on the thorns of shock and fatigue.

In a huge city in which some avenues of transportation have been cut off and city services disrupted. In a city of refugees and broken families and shattered lives there are a many.. MANY.. things to do.

Riku moves towards a shipment of aid supplies, talking with some of the imperial soldiers for a moment before starting to unload the goods. He digs gloved hands under the edges of the box, hefting it up into his arms and carrying it towards the next station. Although the heartless had not played a large part in the cities fall, the yellow eyed drones of the broken dolls were still nightmarish, even in death and so he wears a blindfold over his eyes so he does not freak out the refugees and fellow soldiers. (Although honestly, people could be staring right at him and he would be oblivious as long as there was work to do) But-- it was an allowance. At least until the darkness overdraw fades and he stops feeling -- nothing.

That was what it was. He had woken up on the Alexander, and felt nothing. And unable to know what to do about that-- he started in on work.

Will Sherman has posed:
Will heard about the disaster...and was here as fast as he could. Riku was somewhere...so was Cirra...

Siiiigh.. of course nothing lasts in this world. Will was not sure what to do first...the streets were...bad. He could try and find them, and let fate lead the way.

A day later, Will finally walks out of an alley way, trailing a small child who he pats on the back of the head and points towards a woman in the crowd. Will doesn't stay for the tearful reunion...for every one of these, he's...

The crushed remains of a man who saved the life of his wife and child...

The looting of other houses in the chaos...

...Will shakes his head. People, humans were capable of such things...both extremes...

He turns a corner, and nearly topples into Riku.

Riku has posed:
Riku hears the sounds of breaking windows and movement farther off in the city. Just like he hears the crying. There are a lot of different kinds of it apparently, and all of them would at one moment make him acutely uncomfortable.

Right now. He had other things to do.

And he just continued forwards, relying on other senses to get him around when a familiar and very confusing light pattern comes around at corner at close range. Riku clutches the box slightly tighter, taking a step back before moving forwards to brush past them. "Excuse me." he says in a flat, even monotone.

Somewhere in his head he knows who it has to be, but that part of his mind seems to be disconnected from all the other parts that have fallen more or less silent.

To Will Sherman, Riku's threads are an almost incomprehensible mess. Many white threads have been so intertwined with twisted, crackling static and dark threads. Some of them even seem to have merged together in places, those horrible dark threads and white threads into -- something not one or another.

Riku grinds to a halt a few steps as if finally the recollection has hit the part making him move around. "..Hey Will."

Will Sherman has posed:
"Well hello to you too." Will says, shaking his head.

"I've been looking for you...good to see you're alright." Will says...concerned, but not voiceing anything...yet.

I mean, the blindfold...

"Walk, I'll follow, I do a pretty good job at that." he says, shaking his head. Will's...pretty serious right now, but it's hard not to be given the circumstances. "You're a mess.." he says, "Er, sorry, not probably a nice thing to say, but.." he shrugs, "Not that I can blame you.." He sighs, "How bad are things? I mean...I can only see things at the street level, ho are the upper levels handling it?" Will is already thinking of a plan, he just wished that Manhattan could return the favor to Arcades.

...Maybe it can.

"I know it's not the best time to talk, but when have I ever been good at dramatic timing?"

Riku has posed:
"I tried." Riku says quietly as he continues to move around the corner.

"Everyone I knew would come. You. Mercade. Reize.. Avira... anyone." He says these names as if dropping them one by one down a well. "And.. we didn't really have a chance, did we? The communications were cut off even before the shelling started. They came. They got what they wanted and left. Angantyr got his stupid, useless vengeance." he defines everything with calm, even-handed words in that flat voice that sounds like it should be coming from an deep well or a distant cavern.

"Upper Archades is trying to handle it, but the nobles.." he shakes his head and walks to the aid station where he hands the package off to another aid worker.

He nods to them and then turns right back around to retrace his steps back to the vehicle and the unpacking in process. "The people down here in Lower took the worst hit.. but the pride has been damaged along with a lot of the architecture. --The Senate is gone. The Emperor is dead. " he hesitates, saying each of those words carefully. "That-- leaves a very, very big hole."

Will Sherman has posed:
A hand on Riku's shoulder is what he'd get.

He doesn't say I know how you feel...it's implied, though, but also because it'd be INCREADIBLY insensitive...even if deserved.

Nor does he cast blame or anything...he doesn't state karma or anything else. He just puts a friendly hand on the shoulder of a guy who needs a friend right now.

"I know you did...you and Cirra, I bet tried. I'm sorry I couldn't be there..." he sighs, "But...don't give up." he says, "These people...now more than ever need you."

"I'll do what I can to help too..." but what could Will do?

Well besides the little stuff. He takes a breath.

"So what are you going to do now?"

Riku has posed:
Riku flexes his fingers slightly, rubbing one hand with the other. "No." he says evenly. "I don't think I will. I think.. that is the farthest thing from.." he pauses, then continues.

"What I laughingly call my mind." and there is the faintest snort of amusement. "There is so much broken here. So much-- that has to be set right again." he takes another box and turns back again.

"--It will happen again though. As long as Archades is weak. Any thug can come knock over our sandcastle. All these people will be hurt."

Will Sherman has posed:
Will looks at Riku for a loooong moment.

There are no words... but...

Will gives his friend a BIG hug, because this guy really needs a big hug, or a shake back to reality.

It is platonic.

"Your right. There...there is a lot of bad crap out there. And defending against it isnt' going to be enough when lives are on the line. So.." he says, "I'll help."

Riku has posed:
Riku is squished. There is no resistance to such an action but the incomprehensible mess of threads seize momentarily as if an invisible force were jerking on them. He takes in a deep breath (which can be hazardous in it's own ways) and returns the hug.

When he steps back though, he nods. "Thank you. I --- try not to cringe in horror." The smile that should be there does not come to his face although the faint echo of it is in his words.

"But I can't let myself think about the next time. Or the time after that.. or the one after that.." he gestures to the boxes.

"So I'm keeping busy until I figure out how to /stop/ it from happening. With the very little I know.. there may be just.. nothing at all." He echoes 'nothing at all' to himself with a sigh before continuing along his set walking path.

Will Sherman has posed:
Will sighs...

"Yeah..." scatching his head... "Right now, nothing maybe...in the future...something. It'll work out." He says, "Not just because I'm hopefully optimistic, god help you, but because you're not the kinda guy to stay down." he says, "Now before this becomes a soap box...I think I might actually be able to do something, but I'll keep it under my hat until I can...uh, actually see. I think though, even I can talk this guy into help."

He sighs...trying to be hopeful is hard right now.

"We'll...get who did this, Riku. I swear."

Riku has posed:
Riku turns his head towards Will and says in an extremely dry voice.

"Alright Will. You are starting to scare me slightly. Stop before I trip over a soapbox?" he tchs very faintly.

"Now my /entire/ worldview is shattered." he raises a hand and points at Will, his voice still completely monotone. "I blame you. Excuse me while I go blow something up."

He does not ACTUALLY give any indictation if he is kidding or not.

Will Sherman has posed:
Will pauses...

He stares at Riku for a long moment...

Then he laughs.

Riku has posed:
Riku stares at Will for a few moments and the flicker of a smile comes and goes on his face. He continues unloading boxes, letting a comfortable silence fall and his mind fall back into what he was doing.