(week 13, monday afternoon.)

[erythristic]

[she's been looking for them, after she'd taken the time to check on everyone she had needed to pour her remaining strength into helping keep from bleeding out last night. the safety from infection meant it was a little less difficult, but she was still only one person. her own bandages aren't so neatly done - the ones around her neck are a quick fix, not anything that'll last. still, this is more important than that.

she is tired, but the paper in her hands is folded, kept neat. and she keeps her hands in front of her so they can see she has no weapons, moves at an even pace so nothing might be startling. harmless, as much as she can be.]

Dave. Yuno. Might I speak with you?

[she'd talk louder than a soft volume, but the injury on her throat hurts too much for that.]

Comments

[bloodteller]

[ whether or not yuno needs to lean on dave at this point is up to interpretation. that said, it is her own feet on the ground. it's not her balance keeping her upright, but she's trying; or putting on the act of trying. ]

We're not wild animals, Grell.

[ it's a terse snap from yuno, and her voice has dropped all pretense of the high pitched voice she used normally. this is normal, natural, but just as angry and emotional. ]

You don't need to approach us like we'll attack you. [ ...they probably would, though. yuno's not unarmed; the machete is in her free hand, the one not pressed against dave for support. ]

[parodeity]

[ dave snorts, but...doesn't comment. if yuno wants to talk to grell, she can, but dave's kinda done with the concept of talking to most people atm he tried that during the trial and was more or less ignored and shouted at?

he's not speeding away, but admittedly he can't do that without letting yuno topple over. so. ]

[erythristic]

[good afternoon to you too, Yuno. that she's taken more to Dave is something Grell already expected - the harshness stings, but in a dull sense coupled with the dreams she's been having. you're alone. you deserve to be alone. all of her friends would inevitably understand what she was and run away from her if they didn't die first. Yuno included. it's better this way.

she pushes up her glasses with her free hand, and decides not to press for greetings.]

I wanted to ask...if you could do something for me. I would owe you both.

[extending the paper to them, they'll see the name Adrien on it.]

Would you give this to him? Since I will not force my presence upon him to hand it over myself.

[the letter isn't sealed. it's their choice to take it, and she's already resigned to the possibility of one of them ripping it up in her face and taking her to task for everything she said. but she has to try - she promised him she would say if she was wrong.]

[bloodteller]

[ yuno's quick to snatch the paper up - she's a snoop even when she's dealing with adults, it seems. she unfurls the letter, and holds it up so dave can read it, too. she doesn't ask permission, she doesn't bother hiding what she's doing. her gaze is sharp, thoughtful, and she hums, though it's strained and. cracked. her chest is still fighting against the smoke inhalation. ]

Give it to him, huh. Owe us. Owe us what, exactly? You could have taken it easy on him during the trial, but you know, you really didn't. I heard what you said to Dave, and I still can't believe you spoke to someone I care about like that. He saved my life. If I'd been in that room with Jack any longer, I definitely would have died. And you spoke to him with venom in your words. How cruel...

Sweetheart. [ she turns to dave and all the angles in her expression round out. the smile is sincere and sweet. ] What do you think? Do we need a favor from her? I'm kind of worried that Adrien might blame himself more, you know! I told you, I'm scared for him.

[ yeah, good afternoon indeed. ]

[parodeity]

He's going to keep blaming himself anyway. [ dave speaks and his tone is completely and utterly neutral, like his expression. there's nothing that's going to stop adrien blaming himself, because something about what happened to him in the aftermath is different.

dave's not telling what it is, though. ]

We can tell him you wrote a letter, but I'm not making him read it.

[ adrien probably isn't going to want to, but dave won't take the choice away entirely. probably enough choices have been taken away from adrien agreste for a lifetime. ]

[erythristic]

[Yuno's words hit their mark, to slowly rot in her chest. over time, she knows they'll sink in further, warp themselves until she can see nothing but their hatred. it would take energy she doesn't have to fight, to point out that time and time again, she had refrained from being easy on people because being kind would mean that there was a higher chance people would be scapegoated, that evidence like Adelina's sword wouldn't have been brought up. that she would expect anyone to do the same to her - if Jack hadn't cleared her, then she would have expected them to rip her apart for truth. that it was taking what felt like the last of her sanity to at least reach out to Adrien and that all her vitriol was not for him. never for him. only for that thing that must have listened and delighted in the chaos.

so she doesn't fight. instead she quietly takes Dave being kinder than she expected with a nod of her head, folding her hands back in front of her. that's enough. that's more than enough.]

...Thank you.

[I owe you an apology too, don't I. the words stick in her aching throat.]

[bloodteller]

[ the lack of response to her words leaves her unfulfilled, but she'll give grell credit for not rising to the bait. whatever. she'll have more chances to get her digs in. her attention turns from dave to grell. yuno isn't stupid; one track minded, yes, but she's clever enough to get the point here. adrien's sensitive and if they denied him the choice to read this letter, to know it exists, they'd be no better than the things that hurt him to begin with. dave's so smart, she thinks, so kind and caring. too kind and caring.

grell is selfish and doesn't deserve his kindness.

so yuno holds the letter out for dave, folds it nice and even so that adrien's name is all that's seen on it. ] He'll take it better from you than me. [ she means that, too, they'll both realize. whatever relationship adrien and dave have, she sees it. she'd be jealous if she knew which one to be jealous of. ]

You're lucky Dave was with me, then, aren't you... He's really sweet. He's like a real knight in shining armor. I'm so glad that he was there for me. [ okay, but really. dave might be the object of her affections, but the topic at hand, it's adrien. her smile isn't cold, but it's easy to see the fury in her through her eyes. they aren't unseeing, but it's the same predatory look she gave clover just the week before. ]

Anything that hurts Adrien has to be taken care of. Hey, you realize that your words are more for yourself than for Adrien, right? So that you'll feel better when you go to sleep tonight. Because you realize what you said, and how you made him feel... that was unwarranted, right? You get that.

If you're an enemy of his, I'm not going to hesitate. So... I'll give you some advice, just in case your true face is shown to me before I never have to see you again. You might be the grim reaper, but I'm God. Remember where you are on the food chain, 'kay?