week 8, wednesday around midnight

[socloverit]

[Her twelve hours should be resetting soon, if it hasn't already—the robots kicked her out of her room during the evening when it was still Tuesday (they're probably sick of her refusing to leave until she's forced to, every single goddamn day even a week and a half later), and Clover had spent some time flitting here and there and away from the night owls until settling on the viewport, closing the doors behind her, and after she fiddles with the console for long enough, she locks them.

She's splayed herself over one of the couches, the side of her face pressed against he armrest so she can stare blearily out into space.

At some point, she'll get up and move to her room, but not yet.]

Comments

[socloverit]

[She doesn't look at him when he speaks, but there's something shifting unreadably in her expression, and her hands fidget where they're folded in her lap, pulling the scrunchie on her wrist, winding her finger around her pink yarn wristband.

The only thing she has ever known for sure is that she can trust her brother. Even Junpei left her, even if it was the same with Alice she isn't here now, Frankenstein lied to her, her friends here have no idea what there is to do with her now—Light has always been all that she has. They've been through everything together, she's told him everything; there's no one she could ever rely on like she's always relied on him. And now she's alone, she's always going to be alone.

Light asked her to be happy, to move on as she always had. She knows it can't be done. He asked her to stay cautious, but to still find other anchors here, and this...

She looks up at Arumat, and Clover still doesn't have it in her to smile again, but there's softness in her expression, in her voice:]

I kinda figured we were already sorta friends.

[Even if that was the stuffiest declaration of friendship she has ever heard.]

...I'd like that a lot.

[thanatosincarnate]

{ Something in him makes him glad, that he could hear her say that. It was utterly ridiculous -- any of them could die at any time and he was in even more danger than her right now technically speaking. Yet, he wanted the chance to try to bond with someone one more time -- all that's happened is to convince him to move towards making ties with others here instead of going back on his lonesome. Maybe it's because, originally, he didn't plan on being a loner forever after what happened back in his own dimension. }

...Good. I'm glad to hear that.

{ He hated how happy he felt right now, but he didn't bother concealing the way his lips twitched upwards slightly. It seems even if Clover didn't have it in her to smile again, Arumat somehow had found the ability to do so again himself... even if it had been lost at one point. }

I'm sure you will be a quick learner as well. It is almost like wielding an axe in a way.

i just want you to know that i hate you

[socloverit]

[It's too hard for her to smile, but anything that gets her moving is a good sign; Clover's fidgeting as she speaks, shifting her weight where she sits, isn't quite so listless and drained by her misery. Though she's quiet, she twirls a lock of her hair around her finger when she speaks.]

Um, I don't really know how to wield an axe... That was, um. Luck, I guess. [And she folds her hands in her lap, staring down at them.] Adrenaline. [Instinct and fury and vengeance. She looks back up at Arumat.] Um, basic combat training. [The skill as it's listed on her profile card.] I can pretty much just...throw a punch. Kick someone off me. That kinda thing.

[thanatosincarnate]

You have some good luck, but it was not only that, not just adrenaline although that assisted. It was the beginning of a warrior's potential talent burning bright and awakening in the face of a true threat.

{ His tone sounds tinted around the edges of approval -- and that's because it is. Clover is talented in her own right and that should be something to be praised for indeed. }

At the very least I don't have to show you the basics in martial arts, since you've gotten that done. It's just honing them and showing you how to wield a bladed laser weapon.

[socloverit]

...Thanks.

[And she means it, even if she looks away again and sounds a little hesitant—she picks up on his approval and it genuinely means a lot to her, for someone she cares about to hold her skills in such high regard, but...she wishes she never had to find that potential, more than anything. She would rather have her brother still.

But she nods, turning towards him again.] When do we start?