Fortieth Hex - [Written/Action]

[hisdarkmark]

[When he first opens his eyes, he's immediately blinded by the sunlight and he hisses loudly, rolling over in the dirt to shield his eyes. He doesn't move for a moment, barely bothering to take in what was going on. It was obvious he was back. His clothes were still torn and disgusting from the last draft, and he had a few dried scabs on his arms, but otherwise...he seemed fine.

Sitting up, he gropes around the area for his journal to check the date.

Shit. Just how long was death supposed to last in this place? He supposed it wasn't too entirely unusual, considering how long Arumat was gone when he had been murdered. He adjusts himself on the ground, shifting the way he's sitting and reaching in his pocket for a pen. The writing is scratchy and scrawled, but the words are legible.]

So that's what it's like.

[He doesn't care. He doesn't care to read through everything and find out what he's missed. He's on his feet and carefully walking toward house 25, already knowing that Tsuzuki and Hisoka were waiting for him and most likely could kill him again for being dead for so long.

The thing was, however, was that he couldn't figure it out. He couldn't seem to wrap his mind around what he's lost as a penalty. Maybe he got lucky and they didn't take anything at all. That would be nice, wouldn't it? But it seemed highly unlikely, especially considering the nagging in the back of his mind that something was missing. He'd just have to work it out later.

Hmm...hello house 26. You seem awfully familiar, and not in the way that it was the house some of Draco's friends live in now. He used to spend a lot of time in that house, didn't he?

No. Maybe not. He couldn't imagine why he would...must be mistaken.

It isn't until he's almost at his front door that he takes his journal again, scrawling out a few more words.]

...am I the last one to come back then? Suppose they really do save the best for the end.

[ooc: Death penalty explained briefly here]

Comments

Witten

[spohkh]

Greetings Mister Malfoy. Are you in need of any medical assistance?

Written

[hisdarkmark]

[Give him a few moments to ponder that. He doesn't seem to be hurt, right? And everything seems in tact, no tarnished limbs this time.]

I believe I'm in one piece, actually.

Re: Written

[spohkh]

Very well. You have been missing for quite some time. I heard that your situation was most unfortunate.

It is well to have you back.

Written

[hisdarkmark]

Thanks. [A pause. Wait. Wait, who the hell's been going around announcing he's been gone?] Who did you hear that from?

[written]

[keyandstar]

That's what what is like?

[written]

[hisdarkmark]

[If what Spock said was true, then the deaths of the draftees wasn't really a secret at this point.]

Death.

[written]

[keyandstar]

Oh. What is it like?

[ She suspects it's not as it is in her own world. ]

[written]

[hisdarkmark]

Quite boring actually. Sort of just like being suspended in time.

[video]

[stillplaying]

[She had gone back, at some point in the past week, to look at journal entries written during the draft. It had seemed... important, especially after hearing both Teddy and Clove's recounting of the event. This draft, what had gone on, had sounded far worse than the one she had been forced on. The death tolls much higher. She doesn't envy the draftees. Not one bit. Dying herself had, in a strange way, spared her from their horrors.

It's in thinking of that that she reads Draco's entry. Her... friend? Could she call the strange boy with the magic powers that? She's not certain. But with Peeta gone, the desire for friends, not just allies, has grown just a little. She had a taste of what it was like to not be alone. She misses it.

The video feed is turn on . She's curious. Maybe too curious for her own good.]

What happened?

[video]

[hisdarkmark]

[Hello there Katniss. Draco just gives a short, slightly awkward wave before settling on a shrug.]

Suppose they felt like keeping me on the other side a little longer than everyone else.

[video]

[stillplaying]

[How long had it been for her? A week, a week and a half? She wouldn't have ever known if not for Clove's post, if not for the dates in the journal. It had felt like no time at all. There had been nothing, nothing at all. She tries not to think of it too often. Because thinking about it reminds her of that moment of weakness. That moment she let her grief overcome her own, normally strong sense of survival.

She frowns a little, trying to push those thoughts aside. But she can't, not really. How long had it been for him?]

Did you die?

[video]

[hisdarkmark]

[The thing he's always liked about Katniss is how she doesn't dance around subjects.]

Yeah. Yeah, I did...back in the draft with a bunch of the others.

[1 out of many]

[idealism]

[That voice sounds familiar. Can it be? Tsuzuki grabs his journal to make sure.]

[2]

[idealism]

[IT IS. Draco's finally returned from the dead!]

[3] end for now.

[idealism]

Draco! You're back! We were so worried.

[He looks to the side, away from the video, all excited-like.]

'Soka! He's back!! Come on, you've got to come out and say hi.

/threadjack that doesn't need a reply

[cynicism]

Tell him to go fuck himself.

[Not even a little bit worth coming out of his room for that.]

[ written ]

[herotypical]

[ well. the subtext is unmistakeable. it's practically text.

so: ] Was it everything you'd hoped it would be?

[ written ]

[hisdarkmark]

Actually it seemed a little anticlimatic if you ask me.

[ written ]

[herotypical]

I suppose it just doesn't have the same drama in a world where we don't bury the dead.

[Action if he wants it]

[cynicism]

[You know what bro? Friends don't run off to get themselves killed. It's selfish and stupid and a complete betrayal of all the trust Hisoka's ever given him.

SILENT TREATMENT. Have a lot of it. He will not be welcoming Draco home, nor will he be emerging into the house proper when it sounds like Draco's using common spaces. SO THERE.]

[Action because even if he doesn't want it I do so there]

[hisdarkmark]

[Oh for fuck sakes. Why, oh why, did he have to pick a drama queen as his best mate? He really wanted to know the answer to that. He lets this go on for a few...hours though before he decides that trolling him is the best option.

So. Have some apparition going on right into Hisoka's bedroom.]

[Action because ALL RIGHT THEN.]

[cynicism]

[WHATEVER. Apparate away. Hisoka will flip to the next page of his book and continue IGNORING. YOU DON'T WANT TO EXIST, DRACO? NOW YOU DON'T EXIST. See how you like it.]

[Voice]

[lostinmyway]

[There's the sound of fluttering pages, and then Grune exclaims:]

Draco! You're back!

[It hadn't been all that long since she had learned from Tsuzuki that he had died. That particular piece of accidental information had been quite the surprise to her, and a part of her still had trouble believing he just hadn't been on a vacation.

But, well....]

Are you all right?

[Voice]

[hisdarkmark]

...'lo, Grune. [Sob. Hello Grune. There's a brief pause as Draco thinks of how to handle this, if only because he actually doesn't want to upset her.]

I've had better days, I think, but I'm fine. How are things here?

[Voice]

[lostinmyway]

Oh, everything is very good here. [And then she actually hesitates.] Are you sure you're feeling okay?

[Normally, she would never question what a friend told her, but--well, she's worried. Between what Leonhardt had told her and the shape Kain and Steve had returned in...she has reason to be.]