reach the residents

[ximilian]

● ● ● REACH THE RESIDENTS

For any questions you want to ask Viveca or Degar and receive an IC response, please direct them here. Please indicate in the subject line who you are trying to contact.

// VIVECA

Hi, what can I help you with?

// DEGAR

Today was gonna be the day, but they'll never throw it back to you. And by now, you should've somehow realized what you're not to do.

▶ NAV

Comments

[blackfire]

（ given the station's tenuous placement in time... he does wonder if degar will one day pass away and leave her here, eternal and unchanging in a body not her own. his grip on her tightens just barely, and then he releases her — one hand lingering in a brief clasp of her elbow before it falls away. ）

If I were to remain here with you both — would it require changing my regret as well?

（ anyone else, perhaps, and that would sound flippant. with him it is only measured, deliberate and calm. ）

[vivecai]

[ the only thing to betray her surprise is the soft exhale — completely unnecessary, yet so ingrained in the muscle-memory of her brain that she can't help it. her tone as she answers him, taking a step back as she does, is equally calm. ]

I'm not entirely sure of that, either. It might... but it might not. Considering your situation. [ given that there is nowhere for him to return to — the orb might just keep him here, even without a regret change. ]

[blackfire]

（ 'your situation' — has anyone ever told viveca she's hilarious, actually? ）

Yes, I imagine being dead would complicate things unnecessarily.

（ couple comedians over here. ）

Even so. I have given this considerable thought. There is nothing for me to return to in my world, and the work you and Degar are doing is important. If it is possible to remain, I would wish to. Even if it means surrendering my regret.

（ he has meddled enough in sasuke's life, has he not? to presume that his assistance is welcome from beyond the grave is only more of the same. his brother lives to at least nineteen. he would be an entirely different man if not shaped by the circumstances itachi wrought for him.

and itachi is — prepared, perhaps, to let that dream go at last. done is done. the only way forward, it seems, is through. ）

[vivecai]

I would know, [ she adds, with a tone dryer than a winter's day. ]

If that is what you want... [ slowly, she gives him a small smile — she wouldn't have wanted to influence him in any way, nor would she think she could; and yet, the thought of him remaining with them is one she welcomes easily. ]

I would be happy to have you with us, my friend. Whether it requires a change in your regret... that is something only the orb will know.

[blackfire]

（ there is a speculative silence. then: ）

Then I suppose I will ask it, when the time comes.

（ he cants his head to one side, giving her a sidelong glance. that smile gets returned in a flicker of microexpression, but does not quite linger. ）

Are you able to see... （ hm. quite unusual for him, to pause as though he is uncertain of how to phrase something. ） Is he （ no question who 'he' might be in this case — it can only mean sasuke. ） happy? In the future.

[vivecai]

I can only see what is happening right now — though, of course, "right now" would be the future for what you remember, as time has kept passing.

[ a pause. ] He's alright. [ happy? no, not necessarily. not yet. another pause. ] It is not your world... but on an alternate timeline, nearly identical to yours... yes. He will be happy. [ and as it is so close to how events have passed, in his world... she believes they will come to pass the same way. ]

[blackfire]

I see.

（ he looks at her, and his expression has shifted. he is so guarded with so many, but he has learned, by degrees, to tear down his walls with her. it has been an act of will more than accident. he lets her see him, as he has seen her. ）

Do you think, if things had not gone how they did for you and Degar, that you would have changed your own regret by the end?

[vivecai]

[ she hopes there was more she could tell him — but this is all she has to give, to reassure him that his brother will, eventually, be alright. happy. ]

To a different one than the one I did change it to? [ a needless question; all she's doing by speaking is deflecting. tilting her head down, she laughs. ]

Maybe. I know what I'd like to think I'd have done. But... who knows? That's the thing about the past, isn't it? Most of us never get the chance to change it. All we can do is live with the choices we've made.