Rufus Catch-All

[misstrust]

Comments

Week 7: Saturday

[soulus]

[It's on his way out, not in, that Rufus notices Dorothy by the inn. He stops to regard her silently as he closes the door behind him: After all, there are no certainties to discuss forthwith.]

[misstrust]

[ Dorothy's quietly humming to herself (he knows the one). It takes a minute, to realize that Rufus is not only there, but looking at her, and she blinks back at him. ]

Going for a walk?

[ In this creepy glitchy place? ]

[soulus]

. . . It's too noisy.

[misstrust]

... The entire inn?

[ ... It can't be his room. ]

[soulus]

The house is nearly full. It's easier to be alone out here.

[misstrust]

[ Well, he's not wrong. Dorothy's out here for more or less the same reason, but she regards him thoughtfully. ]

I suppose I've unintentionally thwarted you, in that regard.

[ Can't be alone if he's talking to Dorothy! ]

[soulus]

. . . It's still quieter.

[misstrust]

Happy to be of service.

[ With a tilt of her head and a little smile. ]

It feels a little strange to not have any information to exchange this time around. But we're on the same page now.

[soulus]

Strange?

I would call it a nuisance. There's no telling what will happen tomorrow.

[misstrust]

There's no telling, you're right.

But I won't let whatever happens stop me from doing whatever I need to in order to get us all home.

[soulus]

. . . Does that mean you answered yes?

[misstrust]

I did.

[soulus]

[He looks off to the side at the crumbling existence around them.]

This is the final cycle.

[misstrust]

I know. [ She also looks up, at the darkness filtering through the cracks in the sky. ]

I'm still trying to brace myself for whatever happens.

[soulus]

The Realm as we know it may cease to exist by tomorrow.

[misstrust]

So long as we all leave it safely, good riddance to it.

[ It can blow up, for all she cares. ]

[soulus]

Do you believe it will be safe?

[misstrust]

Well, the whole... [ she waves her hand vaguely at the everything ] ... doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

But I get the feeling we'll be fine.

[soulus]

That's not a fact.

[misstrust]

You asked what I believed, not what I knew.

[soulus]

. . . Whatever the case, we will have no choice but to accept the result.

[misstrust]

That's correct. [ Dorothy closes her eyes, briefly. ]

You and I both did what we had to do.

[soulus]

No. I did what I wanted to do.

[misstrust]

Were they two different things?

[soulus]

There were options.