thecrossing

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[The Crossing is coming again.

There is no advance warning from The Ferryman this time. There is nothing to draw your attention towards the message that appears on your device, whatever it may be, except perhaps the expectation that it should be appearing soon.

Whether you think to check for it or you simply stumble upon it, the words are there just as before:]

A toll to be levied for safe passage
from the desert to ǝɹǝɥʍǝsʅǝ

envision a place of comfort and safety
a haven from the wants and ills of life
be it for a moment or for a lifetime

offer it to The Ferryman
and let go

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Are you undecided? Or thinking of doing something reckless~?

[He could see how Allynbee might go either way on that note. Less reckless for herself and more… she seemed the sacrificial type, from what he could gather.]

I suppose it is reckless, plan or not. What are you going to do?

I’m not giving anything up.

More importantly, I won’t let her do so either.

There are dangers, people have said, but…

[It wasn’t hesitance that made him unable to finish his thought, though it might look that way from the outside. He just… did’t know how much to reveal, who he could fully trust.]

So you would throw your friend into danger to keep her from doing something you don't want her to.

That doesn't sound off to you?

Hmm? Wording, Captain!

I’m not throwing her into danger, I’m simply wanting to make sure she makes it out of this wholly herself. Giving away portions of who she is… isn’t something I can accept.

[He means well, but Hanako has yet to realize how selfish this is.]

Even without these circumstances, people change.

Besides, what happens if she sees it differently than you do?

Then I’d respect her choice! So long as she’s choosing something that won’t put her in danger, and she’s thoroughly thought through it, that is.

[That sounds a bit contradictory, doesn’t it? That he doesn’t want Yashiro to put herself in danger but doesn’t want her to pay a Toll. Oh well. So long as she wasn’t too off the mark of where he thought she should end up, it shouldn’t be a problem.]

[This, more than anything, cements that Hanako may be a long-lived spirit, but he never stopped being a kid. Not really.]

Only "respecting" things you'd approve of isn't respect. You can't try to control people and expect they'll want anything to do with you.

[Truly, Allynbee’s assessment was on the nose.

Still, her message stumps him somewhat.]

’Control’…? I don’t want to control her. I just know… she doesn’t have much experience with these things. I don’t want her to make a choice that she doesn’t fully understand.

[Plus, really, it came down to the fact that Hanako just couldn’t stand it. Yashiro losing a part of what made her ‘herself’.]

Hanako, you don't have experience here either. None of us do.

[There's a delay; finally, another message comes through.]

You know, I had a friend like you.

[Well… that stung. Sure, Allynbee’s words were true - Hanako didn’t have experience here. But he knew more about the realm of the dead than Yashiro, and he couldn’t just sit by and let her…

But Hanako wasn’t able to put that into words. Certainly not over a device like this.

So he let his mind stew while the Captain’s next message arrived.]

Like me?

Yes. She had someone she wanted to protect, so she made a plan to keep them safe.

[There's another pause to allow him to absorb this first bit of information.]

It was hard work, and she knew nearly everything about the situation they were in. Even with help, we had a lot of challenges.

[Hanako could at least absorb this. The information given, as much as it was starting to leave an unpleasant chill in him.]

By your verbiage, I assume it wasn’t outright failure. Or was it? Did your friend fail even when they had prepared so much?

It went well for its kind of mission. We saved her sister.

[Any sort of tension that might have been working its way through him eases.]

Good.Though… if you were trying to get me to change my mind, wouldn’t it have been more effective to tell me a failed story?

[It wouldn’t have been, but better to have her believe that.]

No, mainly because I'm not finished making my point.

That mission only went so well because my friend knew everything about her sister's captors. She knew their operating procedure, how they kept control of people - why they did it.

[There's another pause. She knows that she might hit resistance, but the seed has to be planted.]

What do you know about the Ferryman? The reason why we're stuck here?

Good for her then! I’m going to assume that the information she needed to learn was more readily available, or that she had more means of procuring it than we do.

[Is that sarcasm? It’s really hard to tell over text, even when Hanako himself is typing it out. Allynbee is right - something in Hanako is turning colder at her reply.]

I know you’ve been through a lot, Captain, but you might not know: anything dealing with the dead, apparitions, a place like this… there are more unknowns than answers. Just because I’ve been deceased for a while doesn’t mean I’m given the answers, and there’s no guarantee that we can find more from our captor.

I’m used to this. I will keep her safe or find people to do so if I can’t. Don’t worry about it.

[This time isn’t a request; it’s a warning.]

[Hanako’s chilly reaction grates. If it were his own neck that he were risking being so stubborn, she’d let it go. But he’s acting like some arbiter of his friend’s fate.]

You should at least talk to the folks who Crossed without the Ferryman, so you know what you need to look for.

[Oh, that has him laughing behind his screen, but he still hasn’t returned to Cheerful - it’s something tinged darker, still.]

Give me a little more credit, Captain! I’ve been doing my research. I’ve even been seeing who isn’t going with our mysterious guide, to see if they might help!

[As if any of that is the real problem. Hanako is putting failsafes in place as best he can though.]

[The lack of grace isn’t personal, though she’d be lying if she said his behavior did him any favors. All she can do is hope some of what she’s said gets through to him.]

So what happens if you don’t have anyone willing to go with you two?

Then I do what I can to make sure she makes it out of this with all of her pieces!

[Stated very simply, as if that was a fact of life itself.

Don’t worry - he’s not concerned. That’s simply the ultimatum. There are kind people here, people who wouldn’t want to see Yashiro hurt almost as much as he doesn’t want to.

It was why he had egged the Bachelor on, swaying the man’s soft spot to protect others, in order to ensure he had a higher chance to do just that.

Hanako isn’t going into this unprepared. He isn’t that naive.]

[There is a long pause before the next message. This is the part that Allynbee has always hated about these situations - she’s seen firsthand the ways that people can do everything right with the best of intentions and the way they shatter when something goes wrong anyway.]

I hope things go your way. I really do.

[Hanako doesn’t respond. There isn’t much he can say to that - sure, he could reassure her or boast that they would but… deep in his soul, the boy finds that he hopes for the same thing.

He wouldn’t let Yashiro lose herself. Even if it cost him what else remained of his fragmented existence.]

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UN: No. 7

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OK this made me laugh XD knock him down a few pegs

this is her wheelhouse, i fear XD

It’s perfect XD <3

Re: It’s perfect XD <3

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(Can probably call this one wrapped! TY for putting up with him <3)