[The City] IC Contact

[hypnagothic]

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[keepgodwaiting]

Christ.

[ She rubs a hand over her face. ]

I'm -- Christ. I don't know.

[ She wants to express sympathy, or something, but what is there even to say? ]

[hypnagothic]

May we both hope for a more expeditious escape from this place.

[keepgodwaiting]

I'm sick of hoping.

[ A touch of her own rage comes through there, though it's tired. ]

But I'm pretty close to bloody useless here. I've got no books, no supplies -- I'm making everything up from memory and scrounging shit from the grocery store, and the whole thing might not even be magic. And if it is, it's way beyond me.

[ She hasn't said this out loud to anyone. Maybe it's the late hour, maybe it's because he's already opened the door to saying the things you don't say to anyone else. Maybe it's because he's the only person who's seen her flat in most of the last year. ]

[hypnagothic]

[ maybe it's because she knows he's good at keeping secrets without judgement, too. well, too much judgement, and that he wouldn't use such vulnerable moments against her. he glances sidelong at her again, quiet while she spouts off until she's finished. ]

Hope can be a powerful tool as well. You should not discard it so easily.

[keepgodwaiting]

[ Several extremely snarky responses suggest themselves. She glances over and meets his gaze, though, and huffs instead. ]

Sure. I probably shouldn't.

[hypnagothic]

Probably not.

[ he falls quiet while they turn some corner, taking a few steps more before speaking again. ]

Are you still troubled by nightmares?

[keepgodwaiting]

[ Oof. Does she. Constantine takes a deep breath, rubbing her forehead again. ]

I appreciate you didn't go looking to find out.

[hypnagothic]

You mentioned your lack of sleep.

[keepgodwaiting]

Yeah. [ She grimaces. ] I ... was in the mall for longer than a night.

[hypnagothic]

... How long?

[keepgodwaiting]

[ Hey, remember when she was being vulnerable a minute ago? Fuck that. Her tone now is determinedly light and exasperated. ]

Oh, hell if I know. Long enough to see Astra and Rachel again and exchange how-do-you-dos.

[hypnagothic]

And for the woman with you, as well, presumably.

[keepgodwaiting]

She just saw Astra. [ No, that's not fair. She winces a little. ] Just something pretending to be Astra.

[hypnagothic]

As well as your reaction to it.

[ he glances to her again. ]

[keepgodwaiting]

[ Yeah, she's avoiding eye contact. ]

Did you get chased by any of them? I mean, do you know what was happening in there?

[hypnagothic]

I did not, but the woman I came across was already being pursued.

[keepgodwaiting]

[ Flat: ] When they caught you, they murdered you.

[ She remembers the encounter with Kim and amends: ] Or you murdered them. And the people around you experienced it. Hallucinated it with you.

As my counselor used to say, it's the sort of thing that can undo your progress.

[hypnagothic]

I did experience such an occurrence with her. Thankfully, that seemed to bring the event to a lull for the night until we could leave the following morning.

[keepgodwaiting]

--Was she all right? Were you?

[hypnagothic]

She was understandably upset, but a night of uninterrupted sleep aided her a great deal.

[keepgodwaiting]

And you?

[hypnagothic]

[ he tilts and turns his head back to facing forwards in a way that suggests a shrug. ]

It was not dissimilar to dreams of one's death.

[keepgodwaiting]

[ Constantine blinks, genuinely a little surprised. ] Do people have many of those?

[hypnagothic]

They can be more prevalent in certain cultures and worlds.

[keepgodwaiting]

Huh. I think I always wake up before I die. Before I hit the ground, or they catch me ... whatever it is.

You don't dream yourself, though, do you?