outdistanced | turbo heaven 🌼 richie

Honestly, now it'd feel weird if they don't slip up.

[holes. Richie sighs and cards a hand through his hair.]

I hope they're only talking about the crime scene.

After last week? I'd be surprised if they were. But we won't know until tomorrow, either way.

I don't know if it's better or worse that we have to wait a day to learn what happened.

Ye gods, don't remind me. That was a damn grim scene.

[Both of them.]

...Personally speaking, I think a little buffer time helps keep heads cooler going into the courtroom. I wouldn't want start investigating while still reeling from the blow.

I don't like wondering, though. No.

It didn't sound that bad, at least... [ small favors. ]

Having time didn't stop Mr. Anders last week, did it?

[ granted that was someone very special to him, but there's no guarantee something similar wouldn't happen again. there are other people who care about someone that much. ]

Knowing that some of these places might have been involved kind of trips me up, too. The way that someone can be attacked right over our heads and we wouldn't even know until the middle of trial...? It's insane.

No, but that was also him reacting to new bad news. Namely that his boyfriend did the deed.

It is. I don't get it either, but then again I don't come from a place steeped in bonafide magic. [Not overtly, anyway.]

...You're looking a lot better than last week, might I add. Those vines of yours had me worried.

Some demiflora have some crazy strong abilities, but nothing like that. Nothing that could make it look like nothing happened at all - they could make you believe nothing happened, but not on such a big scale.

[ and it's kind of the opposite problem here, anyway. they know, they just can't see. ]

...If I could have made them go away, I would have. [ bitterly, he adds, ] Maybe I'm just getting too used to people dying already.

Demiflora?

[boy...your lore...give it to me]

...I know the feeling. In a way. [His lips thin as he considers his words carefully.] Were you dealing with a lot of loss at home as well?

I haven't told you...? That's what I am - a demiflora. Someone with supernatural powers.

[ shakes his head. ]

No. I've never... lost anyone. Not like this.

You haven't, no. Geez Louise, I really might be the only average Joe Blow around here. What all does it entail, if I might ask?

[More seriously, however:]

...I'm sorry, then. That this is how you're being made to face it. It's a special brand of cruelty and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

[ he shrugs. sorry, man. ]

Other demiflora species have different powers, but I can teleport.

[ but. yeah. ]

Everyone loses someone they care about eventually. [ pensive, maybe a tiny bit wistful. he may not have seen death before this, but even he's "lost" someone. ] I think the worst part is seeing how this place is messing with our heads, making people do things they wouldn't normally.

[Okay genuinely not what he expected. Colour him impressed.]

No kidding? How far?

[But yeah. That. Richie nods along and feels a sympathy pang in his gut. The biggest crime here is having the kids around. They're not that young, but they're not old enough to deserve being saddled with shit like this.]

I suppose that kind of thing can happen in other ways, other places. Dementia and the like. This is...rotten. It stinks more than week-old road kill in the heat of July.

I do think...you can take a little heart in knowing it wasn't them to begin with. That the people you're getting to know are worth the effort, and it's no fault of their own things have tipped sideways. And if we're to believe the angels, they're not gone. Just...lost. Somewhere.

Well, it depends... I’m still trying to get stronger, but Ms. Needle told me we can go across the country, if we have the right training and coordinates. Maybe even beyond that, if we work with other Daphnes.

...That’s not really the same thing. Dementia doesn’t make you kill people whether you want to or not.

[ but he nods, after a moment. ]

I know. They’re still... somewhere. But it might take them too long to find them again before this is over.

[ there’s still a chance they’ll never see the lost souls again, which really sucks. ]

turbo heaven 🌼 richie

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