Week 5, Wednesday; Hiro

[sylfied]

[ She honestly isn't sure what Serph's letter means-- and she knows it's from him, she'd know that symbol anywhere.

She's also not exactly sure she wants to enlist help figuring out what he's trying to tell her, but Serph is just like her: he wouldn't go through the trouble of doing something if it wasn't important.

So Fie squares her shoulders, wraps her scarf around her neck because that is currently the warmest thing she owns in her short shorts, and goes to possibly regret some things. Besides the weather. ]

... Hiro. I need your help.

Comments

[sylfied]

...

[ Fie wraps the sheets tightly around herself, pausing to take a steadying breath. ]

I just want to send everyone back safely. So at this point... I don't care about my own life anymore. I'm tired of this. I'm tired of being the enemy to people who never deserved it. And I'm tired of being treated like a puppet.

[zerotohiro]

[There's a slow nod.]

Just please be careful for now, okay? It's...I know you guys have to pick a victim every week the longer we play. Maybe you guys have already picked them. I don't know. But there has to be something we can do as long as you and Vriska are alive to minimize casualties.

The game can end if one of those objectives is met, right? I'm not entirely sure how I feel about you and Vriska dying, but I'm also not sure what Vriska's real goals are right now. Plus we have our last Wickie who's supposed to find you guys, I guess.

[sylfied]

Hiro...

If it comes to that, or I'm accused of anything... I'll be careful, but don't try to protect me, okay? There's nothing else I can do for you now.

[ She's been cautious, up until this point, but some things can't be avoided. If nothing else, she doesn't want to get Hiro caught up in it. ]

[zerotohiro]

This isn't fair though! [Well.] I mean I get it, that's the whole point of this stupid game but what about you? I really doubt you're going to be accused of anything since...well. Mera's gone. Where are you staying tomorrow night?

[sylfied]

Probably my hut. Mera's dog is still there, so it's not like I'm entirely alone.

[ but who knows if she'll get dragged off to socialize. ]

[zerotohiro]

...people still cling to alibis. Are you going to tell people that Mera's dog watched you all night? [People shouldn't cling to alibis anymore but Hiro's faith in most of the island has plummeted a bit.]

[sylfied]

If it's anything like what happened with Raven and Ruby, people won't be able to vote for me anyway.

[ ... not that she's happy as to the reason why. ]

[zerotohiro]

Oh. That's actually a good point. [Wait, no.] Look, I...maybe I won't be able to protect you, and maybe I shouldn't, but I'm not selling you out either. I don't know what's happening on Saturday or who's even going to be there, but maybe if we find a way to tell everybody else how we can end the game we can all get out of here.

[sylfied]

... I guess let's just see how things go this week. If the rest of the Sirens already knew, I wonder who else knows by now too.

[ provided people don't come after both her and Vriska with pitchforks, were pitchforks in the weapon box-- ]

[zerotohiro]

[Internal shrieking intensifies.]

I don't know who knows, exactly. Vriska told me she had a lead that she trusts--"the only person left I completely trust." She told me that on Saturday which I'm guessing means they know everything. I don't know who they are though. There's also people who maybe think differently. Jacopo thought Vriska was the item role. That's how I knew she had a role. By then, Kyouko had sent me to talk to Jacopo and make sure he knew nothing.

Vriska and I both lied to him. I don't know who else she might have lied to though and who else might know the truth. With our luck, we might have a whole island full of people who know too many different endings and we pick the wrong one.

[sylfied]

[ Fie is just going to gracelessly flop over on the bed, sheets and all. At least the nice part about not talking to people was that they didn't confide in you, you didn't have to confide in them, and you didn't even have to think about really lying to them. She knows Vriska's lied to a lot of people, and additionally knows that isn't going to end well, and just listening to Hiro now has her wishing she could just scrunch into a ball and sleep the rest of this game off. ]

Ugh.

[ sums it up nicely enough. ]

[zerotohiro]

[There's a short almost-laugh.]

Tell me about it. [He doesn't even seem bothered that she's flopped over and he's sitting cross-legged on the trunk still, seemingly staring at the door while watching from the corner of his eye.]

It'll be over soon. One way or another. I can practically feel it, which is weird. But taking Serph's advice is definitely not the worst thing you could do, I think.

[sylfied]

Believe me, it's not like I don't want to.

[ But from what Hal had said, she's wondering if she's even got a choice here. ]

[zerotohiro]

There's two ways this could happen. Three, maybe, if you believe in fate being a thing. One, you could ask someone to kill you or throw yourself into the volcano. Two, we vote for you and an execution happens. Or three, someone happens to target you on accident and that's that.

...I don't like any of those options though. So I want to maybe think of a new plan.

[sylfied]

The rest of those endings mean more people have to die, though. Or someone else throws themselves into the volcano.

[zerotohiro]

A volcano would be warmer than this, at least. [Look. There's a bright side.] But I know. I know...but let's say you really were okay with your life ending to end the game. Is she? [Vriska, he means. There's literally no point in Fie throwing her life away to end a game if Vriska has another agenda.]

[sylfied]

With all the talking she's done, I'm pretty sure she'll have condemned herself... if nothing else.

[ So that's not really much of a concern. ]

[zerotohiro]

Give someone enough rope, they'll hang themselves. [Giving Vriska this kind of leeway would probably lead to her downfall. She's right.] There's sixteen of us left. I know a few people know her role already, so if we don't out her somebody else will. Especially if they know how the game can end.

The one thing that bothers me is how simple it seems. After everything they've put us through in this game, the ending is very straight-forward. Am I looking into this too much...?

[sylfied]

No... taking things for granted is what made this a mess in the first place. I dont think he was lying about how to end the game, but he didn't say what choice would lead to what end.

... Don't let your guard down.

[zerotohiro]

Then maybe that's what we should use our last question on in the trial. We have one more round of two truths and a lie. It might be our best shot.

And...I know. You've been telling me that from the beginning and I think I might've failed by letting you in in the first place. But I don't regret that either.

[sylfied]

If anyone was going to befriend a Siren, of course it'd be you. I even tried to warn you.

[ and here she is, flopped on his bed. ]

[zerotohiro]

I know. I think that's probably the funniest part of it, if you can still find any humor in this stupid game. ...I ended up befriending three of them, and one of them is the only person on this island who knew everything about me. A weird set of chances, right?

[There's a pause.] But it's not like I can say I'm a completely good person all the time either. So maybe it makes sense.

[sylfied]

Entirely good people are boring. Even if I don't know everything about you, I know that much.

[zerotohiro]

[He grins in spite of himself.]

So what you're saying is I'm not boring. I'll take that as a compliment. [He props his chin in his hand, this time actually looking at her.] At this point? I'm not even sure there's anything left to hide about myself.

[sylfied]

Same here. My past doesn't matter as much if you already know my role here.

[ ... She's a little relieved he's looking at her, at least. ]