karlach is here sitting somewhere, staring into her box. her tail is all coiled up around her, and there are faint flames flickering through her hair.]
[ oh no... the flames catch his eye because familiar, but the way she's just staring worries him - he makes his way over to her from where he's pulling his cloak over his head. ]
[ good monday! on this fine monday morning, karlach can find rondo out being a jock. by which i mean, he's hard at work swinging his cool sword! if she doesn't see him right away, well... she'll definitely hear him. ]
Haaah! Hraaaah!
[ he may in fact be the loudest man on the planet.
more importantly, when she comes around the corner, she may see there's an ink blotch on rondo's back, sprawled across his cape - Leaving her behind. ]
[god his cool sword is SO COOL. she wants a cool sword.
but yeah! she hears him, so she goes to check out what's going on, and pauses when she catches sight of the words. oof. she'll... pretend she didn't see that, just yet. her own word is visible on her arm: just AVERNUS, with an obscenely huge number scrawled underneath it.]
it's friday! and as of friday, rondo is standing by the pyre, his hands laced together, his eyes closed. it looks like he could maybe be praying, but... even with his eyes closed, his expression is clearly, clearly upset, his brows pinched together in what can only be frustration, his mouth a tight line.
across his chest, the inky tattoos of the week have multiplied - the shadows and ink coalescing in more than one spot, spattering a perfectly white cloak. not being strong enough to protect the people you care for. not being strong enough to protect the people you care for. not being strong enough to protect the people you care for. not being strong enough to protect the people you care for ] ]
[she probably has tattoos, too, but she's ignoring them. she has - better, bigger things to do than worry about her own shit. there's panic in the air, everything is heavy, and.
she can see all that, and she immediately comes up to him and reaches to hold his hands in one of her own.]
Hey. Rondo. [...] Don't take all this on yourself, now.
[ on this fine monday, rondo is out at the island! it feels really nice to see the world at the very beginning of a sunset compared to the dreariness of the village, and currently, he's standing at the sandy edge of the island, boots set aside and pants legs rolled up to the ankles. ]
Wow....
[ with his hand over his eyes like a visor... it's really nice to hear the ocean. ]
[this is exactly the kind of thing she wanted, so she's out here too - her hand is all bandaged and she's a little less cheery than normal, but she's here! she's out here, and she's going to come join him in the waves, though she's very careful to not get her hand wet. daan would kill her.
she'll just leave her boots behind. she really needs like, not this outfit.]
anyway it's later in the evening on wednesday and rondo's no longer at the island ceremony! wow. he's sitting by the water at the beach, curled up - really only recognizable because his cloak's hood is pulled up over his head and the sacred flame symbol on the back stands out like a sore thumb.
it's a very solitary moment, an unusual one for someone who tends to be the center of most social gatherings of the group. he has his arms around his knees, and as you get closer, you might here him... mumbling. ]
... it's just odder to hear you laugh. [ rondo's voice is soft and wet, vulnerable - there's a tiny laugh. whatever he's seeing disagrees, and he flinches. ] Yes, sir. I... no, I can - I can...
[hoo boy. well. she's probably dealt with this, but the second she realized what was happening she zoomed off to go hide. karlach's fine now, but she recognizes what's going on, and carefully, she picks her way over.
she flops down next to him, and immediately wraps an arm around him.]
[ predictably, rondo is at the pyre again after the posters appear. he's got a wet cloth pressed his cheek, and is pretty much just staring into the blue fire, mouth pulled into a tight line, shoulders stiff, though his expression is like - clearly, obviously upset, his brows knit together.
the absolute, visceral pain of this memory is staggering, in the way the grief inside is so guttural it makes rondo's heart break in two. it's the realization of that mechanical, steady thumping. it's her box with the just slightly too large heart at the very beginning, and it's the way she says it.
Because the person I trusted the most - I loved that fucking animal - gave me away to the devil!"
rondo doesn't realize it, but he's crying. tears run down his face, salty and wet, for karlach, for the life that she deserves to have, for her misery, and for the way she just - she just bottles it all up at the end, too. for empathy. for understanding how it feels to have the rug swept out from underneath you and - for the consequences of someone else's selfishness, too.
rondo reaches out when it's over, and just like gale did - he reaches out, and he curls his hand around her arm, and squeezes it. tight. ]
[ can you imagine if i was like he's swinging his sword
anyway no he's not doing that he is resting. the good news is he's healed up a lot! he's also back in his knight clothes, so it's hard to tell the state of him underneath them. however, karlach can see through the open slit in his collar that the skin at his throat is blackened and cracked, and occasionally glows a sort of firey, eerie blue. but he's laying down somewhere, one hand resting on his heart, eyes closed. they open when he hears footsteps, though!! ]
Karlach... [ hi ]
Edited (this heal effect is sexy ) 2024-06-27 20:37 (UTC)
rondo's really good at bouncing back from tragedy. he's used to tragedy, he's used to loss, but there's - there's just nothing that could have prepared him for this. for the first time, he's not running around looking for people after death has struck. today he's just sitting by the blue, blue pyre on the ground, his arms around his knees.
it becomes very, immediately clear that he's crying. silently, but he's crying. ]
[without hesitating, she comes over to him and pulls him into a hug, resting her head on top of his. she's - very, very warm today, so sorry about that, but she's here.
she doesn't say anything. there's nothing really to be said.]
today, there is... a dog. whoa! dog to dog communication. he looks like maybe he would be a friendly dog normally, but he seems stressed, for some reason? when he sees rondo, he barks, digging his paws into the dirt, growling.]
[ SURELY, I SAID. SURELY IT WILL NOT BE AS BAD THIS WEEK. HONKS MY LITTLE CLOWN NOSE.
anyway!!! rondo sure is in the forest still. he's just sitting by the gravestone, curled up in a ball with his head in his knees, arms folded across them. did he ever even leave? hard to say.
at any rate. if he has company he has not noticed it yet, but even from a distance it is like, blatantly obvious that his shoulders are shaking. ]
when she sees him, she lets out a quiet little sigh - something empathetic, something sorry. she comes over to sit by him, resting a hand on his back. curling close. rubs his arm, whatever she can reach.]
rondo's out by the water after all of that! he's keeping his distance for the most part and letting people come find him, but. he's sitting with his hair down around his shoulders, playing with a ribbon in between his fingers, and is just awfully quiet. even his thoughtshare is just a complicated jumble of black squiggles. ]
[ it's late but we're probably going to backtag this for a few days because EMOTIONS anyway but
once the dust has finally settled a bit, rondo's coming to find karlach. he's got something behind his back, and he smiles at her, tired but no less warm as ever, even after everything. ]
Karlach. Hold your hands out for me, please? And close your eyes.
[she's been trying to get her bearings, so far, so it's probably a bit before she's around. and by bearings i mean she spent like a couple of hours being mysterious unavailable for reasons i'm sure you can guess.
but she's a little more at ease, poking around, and when she sees rondo, she stops. hesitates, just a little, but does as he says.
wandering, this place is so fucking huge what the fuck!!! i don't know where we are maybe she's outside of the phone store. actually, yeah, she is, just staring at it - there's a little bit of a twisty sad emotion in her.
she's got keychains that she's just attached to her belt - gojo, vin, mathis, kate, gale, and astarion are all settled there, for now. ]
[ after everything, rondo's emotions are a little more subdued than usual around karlach. they aren't bad, per se. they're warm, still - caring, happy to see her as herself, happy to see her in general - but there's an underlying thread of something worried, something soft and sad underneath.
all of those emotions are reflected on his face as he smiles at her, setting his hand on his heart and bowing gallantly in greeting, as always. ]
[ rondo's alive this friday! he's making his rounds after the death announcement and everything has all settled in, making his way back from depositing something in the mailroom. when he spots karlach, there's a little emotional swoop of concern and genuine worry, something a tiny bit guilty, but he makes his way over. ]
[she's more healed today! her tail isn't gone and she's not actively bleeding, though she's scarred up... she looks like shit, also, she's pale and sweating. there's a faint nauseated sensation coming from her as she just sits down wherever, taking a break. it looks like maybe she was trying to go back to the apartments and just gave up.
when she hears rondo, she looks up.]
Oh - hey. Rondo.
[there's a whirl of emotions, but it kind of all settles on... acceptance, maybe?]
[wanders around... eventually finds the dojo, and comes in.
she's a little uneasy here, but not enough that it matters. she's kind of fine just watching rondo train for a bit, because she's still so on uneven footing. but. she's not detoxing, she's not seeing dead bodies, and she's only a little hungover, now.]
[ rondo is all over the dojo pretty much every day. this place has become something of a hallowed ground for him, and there's nothing that works better for clearing his mind than his daily sword training. when karlach comes across him, she'll find that he is not using fisteralda, but rather, a plain broadsword from the selection in the dojo. he's loud about it like always - ] Hah!
[ and can be heard from a good distance away.
when he finishes with the practice dummy he's attacking, he exhales hard and sets the sword tip town, checking over his handiwork. his emotions are... an even keel, actually, sort of just. at peace, and as he lifts his hand to wipe some sweat from his brow, he realizes he has company.
he turns! and the emotions wobble a little bit - concern at first, and then a little guilt, but they settle into something warmer, and he gives her a little smile, pressing a hand to his heart and bowing as always. ]
[ roth is a good place to be! one of rondo's favorites. he's out and about exploring, or maybe picking up books from the library - either way, when he spots karlach, he wanders over. ]
Karlach? [ peeking... polite, though. ] What are you up to, over here?
you can find her just beating the absolute shit out of a punching bag in the dojo. just with her fists. it has been a day and she has a lot of feelings about everything that happened, none of which are neat and tidy.]
if he was a different person this might be scary but thankfully it's just rondo and he's also full of incredibly buzzy bad energy. he sees this and leaves....!!!
... and then comes back with a water and sets it down on the closest table, and quietly watches, picking up a practice sword himself, but just kind of holding it in his hands. when she stops, he says - ] ... Karlach.
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w0, SATURDAY
karlach is here sitting somewhere, staring into her box. her tail is all coiled up around her, and there are faint flames flickering through her hair.]
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[ oh no... the flames catch his eye because familiar, but the way she's just staring worries him - he makes his way over to her from where he's pulling his cloak over his head. ]
Is everything alright...?
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week 0, monday
Haaah! Hraaaah!
[ he may in fact be the loudest man on the planet.
more importantly, when she comes around the corner, she may see there's an ink blotch on rondo's back, sprawled across his cape - Leaving her behind. ]
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but yeah! she hears him, so she goes to check out what's going on, and pauses when she catches sight of the words. oof. she'll... pretend she didn't see that, just yet. her own word is visible on her arm: just AVERNUS, with an obscenely huge number scrawled underneath it.]
Hey, holy roller! Nice sword!
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week 0, friday
it's friday! and as of friday, rondo is standing by the pyre, his hands laced together, his eyes closed. it looks like he could maybe be praying, but... even with his eyes closed, his expression is clearly, clearly upset, his brows pinched together in what can only be frustration, his mouth a tight line.
across his chest, the inky tattoos of the week have multiplied - the shadows and ink coalescing in more than one spot, spattering a perfectly white cloak. not being strong enough to protect the people you care for. not being strong enough to protect the people you care for. not being strong enough to protect the people you care for. not being strong enough to protect the people you care for ] ]
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she can see all that, and she immediately comes up to him and reaches to hold his hands in one of her own.]
Hey. Rondo. [...] Don't take all this on yourself, now.
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week 0 saturday
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she's curled up in the corner holding something.]
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w1, monday
Wow....
[ with his hand over his eyes like a visor... it's really nice to hear the ocean. ]
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she'll just leave her boots behind. she really needs like, not this outfit.]
Enjoying yourself? [tail wag...]
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week 1, weds
anyway it's later in the evening on wednesday and rondo's no longer at the island ceremony! wow. he's sitting by the water at the beach, curled up - really only recognizable because his cloak's hood is pulled up over his head and the sacred flame symbol on the back stands out like a sore thumb.
it's a very solitary moment, an unusual one for someone who tends to be the center of most social gatherings of the group. he has his arms around his knees, and as you get closer, you might here him... mumbling. ]
... it's just odder to hear you laugh. [ rondo's voice is soft and wet, vulnerable - there's a tiny laugh. whatever he's seeing disagrees, and he flinches. ] Yes, sir. I... no, I can - I can...
[ it doesn't seem he's noticed he has company! ]
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she flops down next to him, and immediately wraps an arm around him.]
Hey. [gentle.] Hey, Rondo.
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week 1, friday
it's fine. everything is fine! nothing is fine. ]
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she sits down, and doesn't say anything.]
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w2, MONDAY
tadafrog]
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the absolute, visceral pain of this memory is staggering, in the way the grief inside is so guttural it makes rondo's heart break in two. it's the realization of that mechanical, steady thumping. it's her box with the just slightly too large heart at the very beginning, and it's the way she says it.
Because the person I trusted the most - I loved that fucking animal - gave me away to the devil!"
rondo doesn't realize it, but he's crying. tears run down his face, salty and wet, for karlach, for the life that she deserves to have, for her misery, and for the way she just - she just bottles it all up at the end, too. for empathy. for understanding how it feels to have the rug swept out from underneath you and - for the consequences of someone else's selfishness, too.
rondo reaches out when it's over, and just like gale did - he reaches out, and he curls his hand around her arm, and squeezes it. tight. ]
Oh, Karlach...
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w2, THURSDAY
where you at what's your status.]
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anyway no he's not doing that he is resting. the good news is he's healed up a lot! he's also back in his knight clothes, so it's hard to tell the state of him underneath them. however, karlach can see through the open slit in his collar that the skin at his throat is blackened and cracked, and occasionally glows a sort of firey, eerie blue. but he's laying down somewhere, one hand resting on his heart, eyes closed. they open when he hears footsteps, though!! ]
Karlach... [ hi ]
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w2, friday
well
rondo's really good at bouncing back from tragedy. he's used to tragedy, he's used to loss, but there's - there's just nothing that could have prepared him for this. for the first time, he's not running around looking for people after death has struck. today he's just sitting by the blue, blue pyre on the ground, his arms around his knees.
it becomes very, immediately clear that he's crying. silently, but he's crying. ]
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she doesn't say anything. there's nothing really to be said.]
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w3, MONDAY
today, there is... a dog. whoa! dog to dog communication. he looks like maybe he would be a friendly dog normally, but he seems stressed, for some reason? when he sees rondo, he barks, digging his paws into the dirt, growling.]
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Oh! Hello, sir.... where did you come from? Easy, easy...
[ surely his dog to dog communication will help??? rondo gentles his voice and holds out his hands... ] It's okay, what's the matter...?
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w3, wednesday!
Karlach! Hey, Karlach, I have something to show you!
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karlach glances up from where she's - idk, she's probably practicing whittling again, and grins a bit. she is slightly. hungover. it's fine.]
Hey, holy roller. What's up?
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w3 thursday
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idk where she is, she's hanging out in the village or something. what's up.]
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week 3, friday.
anyway!!! rondo sure is in the forest still. he's just sitting by the gravestone, curled up in a ball with his head in his knees, arms folded across them. did he ever even leave? hard to say.
at any rate. if he has company he has not noticed it yet, but even from a distance it is like, blatantly obvious that his shoulders are shaking. ]
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when she sees him, she lets out a quiet little sigh - something empathetic, something sorry. she comes over to sit by him, resting a hand on his back. curling close. rubs his arm, whatever she can reach.]
Hey, sweetheart.
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w4, MONDAY
Did you see the big place with the games and lights on the ocean? Let's go.
[someone is excited!]
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[ WHY ]
-- I mean, yes, there's so much food, and there were so many things to look at, I could hardly believe it!
[ sparkling.... he's also excited!!!! he will absolutely let her drag him. TO THE CARNIVAL ]
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w4, tuesday
rondo's out by the water after all of that! he's keeping his distance for the most part and letting people come find him, but. he's sitting with his hair down around his shoulders, playing with a ribbon in between his fingers, and is just awfully quiet. even his thoughtshare is just a complicated jumble of black squiggles. ]
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You're a good person. [she sees that ribbon.] Quit beating yourself up or I'll do it for you.
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w4, sun
once the dust has finally settled a bit, rondo's coming to find karlach. he's got something behind his back, and he smiles at her, tired but no less warm as ever, even after everything. ]
Karlach. Hold your hands out for me, please? And close your eyes.
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but she's a little more at ease, poking around, and when she sees rondo, she stops. hesitates, just a little, but does as he says.
hands held out, eyes closed.]
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w5, MONDAY
wandering, this place is so fucking huge what the fuck!!! i don't know where we are maybe she's outside of the phone store. actually, yeah, she is, just staring at it - there's a little bit of a twisty sad emotion in her.
she's got keychains that she's just attached to her belt - gojo, vin, mathis, kate, gale, and astarion are all settled there, for now. ]
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all of those emotions are reflected on his face as he smiles at her, setting his hand on his heart and bowing gallantly in greeting, as always. ]
Good morning, Karlach. What'd you find...?
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w5, friday
...Karlach?
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when she hears rondo, she looks up.]
Oh - hey. Rondo.
[there's a whirl of emotions, but it kind of all settles on... acceptance, maybe?]
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w5, SUNDAY
she's a little uneasy here, but not enough that it matters. she's kind of fine just watching rondo train for a bit, because she's still so on uneven footing. but. she's not detoxing, she's not seeing dead bodies, and she's only a little hungover, now.]
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[ and can be heard from a good distance away.
when he finishes with the practice dummy he's attacking, he exhales hard and sets the sword tip town, checking over his handiwork. his emotions are... an even keel, actually, sort of just. at peace, and as he lifts his hand to wipe some sweat from his brow, he realizes he has company.
he turns! and the emotions wobble a little bit - concern at first, and then a little guilt, but they settle into something warmer, and he gives her a little smile, pressing a hand to his heart and bowing as always. ]
Good evening, Karlach.
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w6, TUESDAY
she is writing a letter! slowly. but she's doing it.]
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Karlach? [ peeking... polite, though. ] What are you up to, over here?
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w6, SATURDAY
you can find her just beating the absolute shit out of a punching bag in the dojo. just with her fists. it has been a day and she has a lot of feelings about everything that happened, none of which are neat and tidy.]
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if he was a different person this might be scary but thankfully it's just rondo and he's also full of incredibly buzzy bad energy. he sees this and leaves....!!!
... and then comes back with a water and sets it down on the closest table, and quietly watches, picking up a practice sword himself, but just kind of holding it in his hands. when she stops, he says - ] ... Karlach.
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w7, MONDAY
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