Insanity Clinic: Season Two

[Through the Living Hope]

Just now, Ancient Elantrian said:

"I'm wearing a two-day-old charred shirt with bullet holes in it. I forgot to change."

---

"So... she likes you and I'm just here."

"... oh."

~~~

"I don't think she even noticed I was here."

[Through the Living Elan He/Him]

2 minutes ago, Spark of Hope said:

"... oh."

~~~

"I don't think she even noticed I was here."

"Yeah. It's quite the fashion statement. Anyway," He slams the trunk, "Now we drive back."

---

"Huh. Maybe she didn't. She was quite exhausted."

[Through the Living Hope]

Just now, Ancient Elantrian said:

"Yeah. It's quite the fashion statement. Anyway," He slams the trunk, "Now we drive back."

---

"Huh. Maybe she didn't. She was quite exhausted."

"Oh boy..." she muttered. She climbed into her side, buckled, and gripped the armrest and the door handle on the inside with her eyes squeezed.

~~~

"Told you."

It was at that moment that the girl came back out. "Oh, hey, Kiovon. Didn't see you there."

He smirked at Gem. "Morning, Sariel."

[Through the Living Elan He/Him]

1 minute ago, Spark of Hope said:

"Oh boy..." she muttered. She climbed into her side, buckled, and gripped the armrest and the door handle on the inside with her eyes squeezed.

~~~

"Told you."

It was at that moment that the girl came back out. "Oh, hey, Kiovon. Didn't see you there."

He smirked at Gem. "Morning, Sariel."

"Do you get motion sick?" Elan says, turning on the car and exiting the parking lot.

---

"Morning!"

Gem eyes Kio. "Your name is Kiovon?"

[Through the Living Hope]

5 minutes ago, Ancient Elantrian said:

"Do you get motion sick?" Elan says, turning on the car and exiting the parking lot.

---

"Morning!"

Gem eyes Kio. "Your name is Kiovon?"

“That’s a thing?!” She looked at him in terror. 

~~~

”Pppfffffffft, no.”

”It’s Kiovonixedithralfiekoner,” Sariel said. 

[Through the Living Elan He/Him]

Just now, Spark of Hope said:

“That’s a thing?!” She looked at him in terror. 

~~~

”Pppfffffffft, no.”

”It’s Kiovonixedithralfiekoner,” Sariel said. 

"Yeah. I suffer from it. Badly. Thrown up a couple times."

---

Gem struggles not to laugh. It ends up as a snort like a dying pig.

[Through the Living Hope]

39 minutes ago, Ancient Elantrian said:

"Yeah. I suffer from it. Badly. Thrown up a couple times."

---

Gem struggles not to laugh. It ends up as a snort like a dying pig.

“Stop? Please?” 

~~~

He quickly approached Sariel and gently pushed her back. “I told you not to tell anyone-!” he muttered. 

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

2 hours ago, The Aspiring Archivist said:

"Like what?"

She licked her lips. "H- how much life force do you have?"

[The Aspiring Archivist any pronouns]

Just now, Halcyon The Only said:

She licked her lips. "H- how much life force do you have?"

"A lot. But couldn't we just get something from his room?"

[Through the Living Elan He/Him]

1 hour ago, Spark of Hope said:

“Stop? Please?” 

~~~

He quickly approached Sariel and gently pushed her back. “I told you not to tell anyone-!” he muttered. 

"Okay. I'll stop stressing you."

---

"Oh, so there's some beef here too?"

[Through the Living Hope]

1 minute ago, Ancient Elantrian said:

"Okay. I'll stop stressing you."

---

"Oh, so there's some beef here too?"

"Thank you."

She paused for a moment. "I still don't like it, but it's not as bad this time."

~~~

"I wouldn't say beef exactly..." Sariel said.

Kio sighed. "She.. may or may not be my sister?"

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

35 minutes ago, The Aspiring Archivist said:

"A lot. But couldn't we just get something from his room?"

"That wouldn't do much," she said. "That would be for later. I'll summon something. For now, can you just touch the smoke?" 

[The Aspiring Archivist any pronouns]

6 minutes ago, Halcyon The Only said:

"That wouldn't do much," she said. "That would be for later. I'll summon something. For now, can you just touch the smoke?" 

"What would that do to me?"

[The Bookwyrm he/him]

Bookwyrm floated.

He didn't know where or when he was anymore.

That was the thing about this place; it never acted how you thought it would. These worlds, these countless, many worlds...they were a dream. An echo. A memory that shifted with time and distance and thoughts and hopes and visions and the many souls that ventured through them...

He didn't remember when he was. Or where he was. The tides of the dream had swallowed him again. As they had many times before. He felt as if it was going to be a long, long while before he existed again. Then again, who could say...

As Bookwyrm had drifted to the edges of existence, so too had the aspects of the world he'd seen. The structure of existence itself had shifted in his absence, as new souls had carved the face of fate and found a path to their own story. What had once been had passed away, not just into memory, but into nonexistence. No one remembered Kaos anymore, it seemed. Threads that had once been so prominent had all but faded.

Thaidakar...Nameless...Emma...Wizard...Calano...Insa...

They all still existed somewhere, right? Their mark was still left on this world? Even if it had been swallowed up?

Right?

When he was gone, would they leave, too?

I just wish I knew why.

Bookwyrm found himself standing in the lobby of the Clinic. Or...a lobby, at least. No one was around him. The lights were on, the familiar dark wood of the building seeming to welcome him home. Or had it ever been wood? Maybe only to him.

Still, in the center of the room, there it stood. The golden statue. Two men, both dead and yet alive. Wizard and Calano.

...Those were a crazy first few memories, there, my friends. 

He wished he could remember them as well as he used to be able to.

This place really was like a dream...the past that had happened didn't line up with the present that was, and the future ahead wasn't the future that you'd thought would happen.

So much we thought would happen.

I wish I hadn't left.

Why did he feel bitter? This was the way of things, now. His time had come and gone. His story had been told. 

...That's what this place is for, isn't it? It's for stories. He remembered an old conviction, one that was now meaningless, but it still rang true somehow; "it was never about the cure." 

Stories. People. They came and gone, but somehow, in their own way, they each built off each other. 

Would any of them be here if you hadn't been?

And can't that be enough?

Bookwyrm smiled as he gazed up at Calano's statue. "I can't decide if you'd make fun of me for getting sentimental, old friend, or simply stand beside me." It was weird talking to him like that. Calano wasn't dead. He was living happily with his family. And yet...the waves of time and reality had drawn them apart. 

Let it be enough.

"Regardless...thank you, friend. I don't know if or when I'll be back. But this story was a good one, though ours seems to have ended long ago.

"Thank you for making a place where it could be told."

Bookwyrm closed his eyes then, a smile still on his face.

"Until we meet again."

The waves of time and fate took him, and he vanished.

@Medium

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

5 minutes ago, The Aspiring Archivist said:

"What would that do to me?"

"Take some of your life force."

[The Aspiring Archivist any pronouns]

Just now, Halcyon The Only said:

"Take some of your life force."

"How much?"

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

6 minutes ago, The Aspiring Archivist said:

"How much?"

"I don't know. A lifetime's at most." 

[Through the Living Elan He/Him]

46 minutes ago, Spark of Hope said:

"Thank you."

She paused for a moment. "I still don't like it, but it's not as bad this time."

~~~

"I wouldn't say beef exactly..." Sariel said.

Kio sighed. "She.. may or may not be my sister?"

"Yeah. It... you get used to it." Elan says as they pull off the freeway.

---

"YOU HAVE A SISTER?!"

[The Aspiring Archivist any pronouns]

2 minutes ago, Halcyon The Only said:

"I don't know. A lifetime's at most." 

"So, this would normally require a human sacrifice?"

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

2 minutes ago, The Aspiring Archivist said:

"So, this would normally require a human sacrifice?"

"No. Just... something similar. This is the easiest one." 

[The Aspiring Archivist any pronouns]

Just now, Halcyon The Only said:

"No. Just... something similar. This is the easiest one." 

Lerac looked very concerned. "Are there any other consequences?"

[Through the Living Hope]

26 minutes ago, The Bookwyrm said:

Bookwyrm floated.

He didn't know where or when he was anymore.

That was the thing about this place; it never acted how you thought it would. These worlds, these countless, many worlds...they were a dream. An echo. A memory that shifted with time and distance and thoughts and hopes and visions and the many souls that ventured through them...

He didn't remember when he was. Or where he was. The tides of the dream had swallowed him again. As they had many times before. He felt as if it was going to be a long, long while before he existed again. Then again, who could say...

As Bookwyrm had drifted to the edges of existence, so too had the aspects of the world he'd seen. The structure of existence itself had shifted in his absence, as new souls had carved the face of fate and found a path to their own story. What had once been had passed away, not just into memory, but into nonexistence. No one remembered Kaos anymore, it seemed. Threads that had once been so prominent had all but faded.

Thaidakar...Nameless...Emma...Wizard...Calano...Insa...

They all still existed somewhere, right? Their mark was still left on this world? Even if it had been swallowed up?

Right?

When he was gone, would they leave, too?

I just wish I knew why.

Bookwyrm found himself standing in the lobby of the Clinic. Or...a lobby, at least. No one was around him. The lights were on, the familiar dark wood of the building seeming to welcome him home. Or had it ever been wood? Maybe only to him.

Still, in the center of the room, there it stood. The golden statue. Two men, both dead and yet alive. Wizard and Calano.

...Those were a crazy first few memories, there, my friends. 

He wished he could remember them as well as he used to be able to.

This place really was like a dream...the past that had happened didn't line up with the present that was, and the future ahead wasn't the future that you'd thought would happen.

So much we thought would happen.

I wish I hadn't left.

Why did he feel bitter? This was the way of things, now. His time had come and gone. His story had been told. 

...That's what this place is for, isn't it? It's for stories. He remembered an old conviction, one that was now meaningless, but it still rang true somehow; "it was never about the cure." 

Stories. People. They came and gone, but somehow, in their own way, they each built off each other. 

Would any of them be here if you hadn't been?

And can't that be enough?

Bookwyrm smiled as he gazed up at Calano's statue. "I can't decide if you'd make fun of me for getting sentimental, old friend, or simply stand beside me." It was weird talking to him like that. Calano wasn't dead. He was living happily with his family. And yet...the waves of time and reality had drawn them apart. 

Let it be enough.

"Regardless...thank you, friend. I don't know if or when I'll be back. But this story was a good one, though ours seems to have ended long ago.

"Thank you for making a place where it could be told."

Bookwyrm closed his eyes then, a smile still on his face.

"Until we meet again."

The waves of time and fate took him, and he vanished.

@Medium

Quote

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

12 minutes ago, Ancient Elantrian said:

"Yeah. It... you get used to it." Elan says as they pull off the freeway.

---

"YOU HAVE A SISTER?!"

"I'll take your word for it."

~~~

"Eh heh heh..."

"Come on, you didn't tell him about me?"

"I didn't tell you about him either!"

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

9 minutes ago, The Aspiring Archivist said:

Lerac looked very concerned. "Are there any other consequences?"

"No."

[The Aspiring Archivist any pronouns]

Just now, Halcyon The Only said:

"No."

He met her eyes as he reached out and touched it.

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

9 minutes ago, The Aspiring Archivist said:

He met her eyes as he reached out and touched it.

He felt something tug, then slowly leech the life force away. The mist faded, leaving a stone corridor beyond it.