outdistanced | turbo heaven 🌼 chrono

Hah, you got somethin' in mind? [ he'll play along anyway. ] A curse just for me?

[ it's nice and cool :) vegetation :) don't you ever just get the urge to do this with vines (this is me, aaya, asking). despite the nonchalance he'd eaten the grapes with, he is a little wary to watch laurence do the same. but it's fine, so he pops another between his teeth and kind of talks around it. ]

Fresh'ff the vine. [ bite. ] I think this is my favourite place so far, and it's just somewhere I could've visited back home. Is that bad?

[ snorts. ]

I don't have the right things to make it just for you. [ he gave chrono those chocolate coins... ] You'd have to share with someone else.

[ i, ray, would do this, but it makes laurence think of transformation week and how bad that ended up being. he doesn't like it!! maybe he'll just pretend he doesn't see. ]

I don't think so...? Most of the other places are just... strange, in some way. Not all good ways. If you don't think about it being in a train, we could just be back on Earth, but I never would have thought of visiting someplace like this, so.

[ that probably makes it worth it? ]

Mm, not sure I want to share, actually.

[ shrugs. he's not keeping the vine there - aside from pilfering fruits, he doesn't want to break off any of the plants. they're here to enjoy it, not cause any property damage.

there's a small orchard up ahead, where the cliff crests enough to view out onto the ocean. it's fenced around the edges, thankfully, no i am not that cruel ray shut up, and the trees are strongly scented with citrus. seems like oranges. chrono lights up at the smell, and even more at the sight. ]

Oh, wow. I've never had one off of a tree before.

Msybe someone else will do it for you, then.

[ the way i had a whole tag typed and my phone nuked it. cool! anyway. thank god these aren't apples... laurence just gives him a vaguely amused look as he walks by. ]

They're probably better fresh, too, right?

[ but he's going to stand at the edge of the cliff. no fear of heights or vertigo, it's just... fascinating be able to see the ocean waves so clearly. the tower mostly overlooks trees and the city, so despite Seattle being a port town, this is still relatively new, too.

it's peaceful, even if it does remind him of something else that makes his heart ache, a little. it's different enough here that he can ignore that feeling. ]

...You were right. It really is nice here.

Nah, I don't trust anyone else to make it funny enough.

[ that's the only way he will accept it apparently. kicks your phone also

he watches laurence walk past, keeping under the shade of the trees. the silhouette of him against the brightness of the sky makes him smile, small and completely relieved. but he doesn't stand there watching him beyond a moment like a weirdo.

instead, laurence might find him suspiciously quiet for a long moment, and then a rustling sound from above. then chrono's red-mopped head pops out upside-down from one of the orange tree's foliage, where both his hands are occupied with fruit and he's hanging from a branch with only his legs. ]

Sorry, you say somethin'?

Edited 2025-03-18 08:19 (UTC)

[ he's definitely turning to look back when he hears rustling hello? and there is a brief moment of alarm when he can't find chrono anywhere at all - but then he reappears upside-down with fruit in his hands and laurence exhales on a surprised laugh. ]

What are you, a monkey?

[ he grins upsidedownely. ]

Not the first time I've been asked that. [ he chucks one of the oranges at laurence. here catch. ] But usually because of somethin' dumb.

[ he'll pull himself up back into the leaf cover and transfer the hang to his now fruit-free arm before dropping back to the ground. there's definitely leaves stuck in his hair, but he's busying himself with peeling the orange first before sorting any of that out.

he steps up alongside laurence at the fenceline, looking out at the waves with a vague melancholy to his otherwise relaxed smile. ]

...maybe I'll visit the real thing, when we go back.

[ hey?! he almost fumbles it because the lightning burns make it a little too difficult to move like he normally would - but somehow he manages not to lose it over the damn cliff. ]

You could have warned me...

[ rude. he's not that mad, though, just a little exasperated. ]

It's far, right? You'd have to take one of those, uh - airplanes? [ ... ] I wonder if I could teleport that far.

How else was I gonna get down with my hands full?

[ his expression does drop to mildly apologetic, though. he'd forgotten about the electrocution burns.

the orange peel falls away easily, and he scatters the pieces over the fenceline as he leans on the top of one of the posts. he chews idly on a segment, a pleased noise from his throat at the sweetness because man he loves oranges, and then a contemplative one at the question. ]

Yeah. Tokoha lives in France now, though, so I'd probably go visit her first. Come down here and watch one of her tournaments, maybe. [ he turns to look back at laurence, leaning on the post instead. ] You could make it, eventually. Travelling with you would be easy.

[ that's fair. he shrugs and turns his attention to peeling his own orange. ]

That far? [ he knows basic geography that's not like neighborly with japan. ] Then you could all visit Italy together for real.

[ imagine traveling with friends. he can't, really, but it aounds like it could be fun?

also he raises an eyebrow at that comment. ]

Because I can teleport? I haven't gone farther than a few cities before, man. I don't know if it's even possible to reach another country on my own.

[ pops an orange slice in mouf. ]

Yeah. It was a big surprise, when she moved, but she's doing great over there. I'm proud of her.

[ things he could never say to her face without getting teased relentlessly. he expects they all will visit, sometime, to cheer her on. if he ever actually makes it back.

the look he gives is a considering one, not matching the cynicism of the eyebrow raise in the slightest. it's wistful, almost. ]

Sure, the teleportation thing helps, but I meant more... [ he busies himself with the orange for a moment. ] That you'd just be good to travel with. It's nice, y'know, even stuck in these weird-ass places.

[ what's this "if he makes it back" nonsense. ]

Good for her, then. But you must miss her, too.

[ it sucks when a friend just leaves! even if it's the best thing for them! ]

...You did say you don't mind explaining things to me. [ thoughtful... ] I never used to want to travel anywhere, maybe it would be alright. As long as there's less cursed food and stuff.

[ he's not genreblind after five weeks is what it is ]

Yeah, all the time. We talk a lot, still. Group chat, video calls, y'know, but it's not quite the same.

[ he was only depressed for like three months when she left the first time it's fine.

that comment does make him laugh, a little, turning the blissfully uncursed orange in his hands. ]

Definitely less. And I really don't mind explainin' at all, even if I'm not the best at it. [ he pops another segment of fruit in his mouth, then flexes his empty hand. ] Going somewhere we could actually choose. Doing somethin' without all this hangin' over us. It'd be good. Easy. That's what I mean.

[ the look on his face says he does not know, actually, because almost everyone he knows lives in the Tower so there's no real need for long distance communication. based on experience in Heaven with writing those letters, though, he can guess how it is - never quite enough to make you stop missing the ones you care about. ]

You've done fine.

[ he falls silent for a moment, turning that idea over in his head. somewhere they could choose... where would that even be? laurence doesn't know enough of the world to even have an idea of where to start with that. every time it came up before, he'd always dismissed the idea outright. ]

...I do miss when we didn't have to think about all this stuff. [ when the biggest of his worries was an exam in class or how to train for the next race and not... someone being kidnapped or mind controlled, or who would die next. ] Yeah. It might be nice to do something like that, if we could.

I miss it too. Days like this aren't enough.

[ not when one of them was so injured it was only painkillers and bandages keeping him moving. not when there were the shadows of five deaths barely hours behind them. not when there was the promise of more ahead, as inevitable as they'd always been.

not when they were having this conversation as if japan to france wasn't long distance enough. like there wasn't going to be time and space as a barrier between them, once this was over.

his chest aches. ]

...if I did somethin' selfish, like try to reach out... [ he reaches out now, open-palmed. take or don't take, the invitation is there. ] I just hope you'd be able to hear me, somehow.

Edited 2025-03-18 14:01 (UTC)

No, they aren't. Just a few days a week before the cycle starts all over again.

[ absolutely hateful. the most they can hope for is to just... enjoy these few days while they can, and pray they aren't next, by some stroke of luck. even if they aren't a victim, what if they're the next one possessed? then they could be the ones dying right in front of all their friends. the odds grow slimmer every week.

...ahhhh, he really doesn't want to think about this, right now. he takes a deep breath, and tries to push it all out of his mind. therapy later, italy now. ]

I don't think it's that selfish. [ missing a friend. wanting to see them again. if it is, laurence has been pretty selfish for a while now.

so after a moment of consideration, he does reach out to take chrono's hand, holding it loosely in case he wants to go be a monkey again or something. ]

I don't know how it works, exactly, but I hope I'd be able to hear it, too. Maybe I'd be able to do more than that - I don't know.

[ he did tell chrono about that last week... daphnes jumping straight to someone they care about. the question is, how far could that ability extend? it sounds a little impossible to teleport across space-time, but... it's a comforting thought, still. ]

[ the fewer of them remain, the more apples that appear on the fucking tree, the more difficult it became to understand the actions being undertaken by whatever entity saw fit to shove them here in the first place... it was all terrifyingly present. it doesn't take emotionshare to know they're feeling the same way, only hearing the tone and that deep, grounding breath.

he does remember, the detail about daphnes. he'd poked at it just enough to have laurence fluster a little. and there wouldn't have been any blame for him not taking the offered hand - it could've been just a gesture, the way chrono had framed it. but there they go, so... he winds their fingers together. right now he's not going anywhere. ]

I don't know either. I think we could work it out, but just in case. [ he leans into laurence's side, and looks out at the water. ] We need to make the most of now, too.

[ and after a long, thoughtful pause, he'll look back over his shoulder, the way they came. ]

D'you wanna keep going up?

[ you ever just get really codependent because of all the trauma and almost all of your emotional support adults dying (: we're fine. what's a handhold or two in this murder economy. ]

We are, aren't we? [ that time chrono made everyone curry, the parties to commemorate the dead, the ball... ] That's what checking this whole place out is about. And you still have to show me what a festival is like, but we can do that later.

[ for now, he just nods. ]

Yeah. It'd be cool to see the whole place from above, if we can.

[ kind of like home... but a little more free. ]

[ fuckin apparently. we're okay. it's nice to be close, and reassured a little. we're still here. ]

...yeah. Guess we are, huh?

[ it was hard to remember everything, after a weekend of such horrifically low points. but as he looks back through the rows of vines, down the hillside, the excitement he'd felt before he'd dragged it all melancholic again... yeah. making the most.

he shoves the last bit of orange in his mouth and nods. ]

Okay! Back to it!

[ and he'll set off at some kind of mid-pace downhill, still slow enough to be clear he's keeping injuries in mind, but nonetheless dragging laurence with him by the hand. ]

[ he's still munchin and suddenly chrono is dragging him back the way they came. gooby ocean ]

Alright already, I'm coming!

[ laughing a little along the way ]

I think this is the first time I've seen you this excited about a new place.

[ they'll see it again soon!! ]

Maybe it's because I feel less like we've been thrown into a horror movie setup with this one, man. [ especially after last week. ] And it's so big!

[ if he shoves some grapes into his jacket (around his waist, this takes a bit of fumbling) pocket for later no one has to know. ]

I really missed seeing somethin' normal.

Hey, the beach and the garden weren't so bad.

[ he wouldn't call them normal but his perspective is so different from most people's. they were nice. at least the beach was before all the murders there. ]

I still can't believe this is all inside of a train car. [ time and space really mean nothing here. ] You're just going to live here all week, aren't you?

...the garden's still nice, yeah. But it's not like this.

[ the murders at the beach have really soured his opinion of it, though he'd still go walk there occasionally. that's probably going to stop now.

well there's an idea ]

I hadn't thought of that. I could, huh? There's enough buildings for there to be a hotel in there somewhere. [ hm ] But, nah, I'll come back at night still at least.

[ definitely not thinking that this place will only be nice until someone inevitably murders here this week!!! it's always the new locations and the beach!!! wow!!! they better not ruin that perfectly nice vineyard ]

Probably? I don't know, though... Taair was pretty excited about this place, too, so he may not even notice if you did. He's been going on and on about how awesome the ruins are.

[ absolute fucking nerd. laurence is so fond of him. disgusting. ]

[ hah. yeah, he's immediately making a stupid fond little smile as well. their nerd mother hen. he adores taair so much. ]

Yeah, I went over there with him, too. The Roman Forum. I actually know a bit about it [ boys think of the roman empire once a day joke ] so it was nice to be able to help him, for once.

[ but. shrugs, kind of too casually. ]

It's not just because he'll worry, though. I'm still not exactly keen on bein' alone.

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