AP TOTAL:
Unconfirmed for Laine
With the rain comes a wave of emotions for Laine, whether she likes it or not.
Characters:Â Laine, Chel, Juniper
Warnings:Â Explicit mentions of an implied past suicide, suicidal ideation, and general themes of death – though the oneshot ends on a hopeful note.
Wordcount: 1,327
Vibe:Â : (
another thinly veiled oneshot again, oops. although this one is a bit… unique? i started it when i was at a very low point, but then wrote the second half when i was feeling better and more hopeful, and i feel like that potentially reflects in things.
ill write something happy/goofy again soon, i hope
âOh, I didnât know you were here, Chel.â
Laine was in the city relations center to do some overtime work, and had expected to be working alone⌠it was the weekened, after all.
Chel suddenly jolted around, having not been aware Laine was even there.
â…Likewise?â she responded, confused.
âWhat on earth are you doing here?â
âWork? The work that needs to get done?â
âYou promised youâd lay off on the overtime though, for your sake.â
…Shoot.
Chel was right. Laine said sheâd still pace herself with work and upholding things in spite of the hole Wasundari left â and though that was, in fact, a bold-faced lie, Laine had at least been half-decent at hiding the fact from Chel.
âLook, donât worry about it, ok? Just a little extra stuff done today means I can have it easier tomorrow.â Laine said, gesturing her hands about.
Chel didnât look very convinced, so Laine decided it was time to deflect.
âStill, that doesnât explain why youâre here.â
Chel paused, then gestured towards a box she was carrying.
âIâm clearing out Wasunâs stuff, finally.â she sighed.
âIâve been putting it off for ages, but the longer I look at her empty desk with everything intact, the worse it feels.â
…Ah.
Laine knew it was a sore subject with Chel, even worse than it was for herself.
Chel was closer to Wasundari, after all.
âIt sounds⌠weird, I guess, but I was going to take her stuff to a graveyard and bury it â considering itâs all we have left.â
Laine nodded quietly.
âItâs not weird, I promise.â
âWell, Iâm just about done, and was going to head out, anyways.â Chel sighed, abruptly changing the subject.
âJust donât stress too bad today, ok?â
Laine gave another quiet nod, and Chel passed by her as she carried the box out.
Sentiments were something for later.
Because now, thereâs work to be done.
…At least, thatâs what Laine tried to think.
Sheâd come into the office in a mindset to get work done, but really, everything had been feeling fuzzier and fuzzier â and the interaction she just had with Chel was the tipping point.
Try as she might, as much as she tapped her ballpoint pen to the page⌠there was no will in her to put anything down. Not even a signature.
Is this how Wasundari felt?
There was a certain place, far from the bright beaches tourists would flock to. Down a dirt road followed by a partially overgrown forest path.
âSongâs cliffâ was its official landmark name â but more commonly, it went by the moniker of the city of lost songs.
To call it just a cliff was almost an understatement â the location was known for being dangerous, both up on its unstable cliffside, and down to the crashing riptides below.
Before the area was properly charted, itâd be the scene to hundreds of shipwrecks â and even in modern days, it still claimed lives of those who didnât know any better.
Or⌠those who knew exactly what they were doing.
Laine had never been as intimidated by the cliffside as others had been, but it certainly felt⌠surreal, staring down at the crashing waves below.
Almost hypnotizing.
But Laine was hesitant.
She wasnât quite sure how long sheâd been staring when the voice called out.
âIs someone over thereâŚ? Hold on, Laine?! Is that you??â
It was a familiar voice, though Laine couldnât quite place who it was â despite the speaker being able to recognize Laine herself by name.
âThe hell are you doing out here?! You know the cliff here is loose, right? I wouldnât trust the ground that close to the edge.â
Breathe in.
Turn around.
Though she stumbled a bit from disorientation, Laine turned and moved towards the speaker, away from the edge.
It was⌠one of Chelâs friends? Laine had seen the two together a bit, so thatâs all she could really assume. The wind on top of the cliff was strong, and had blown the womanâs hair wildly to a point where it was totally covering her face⌠but Laine knew she felt familiar.
âSeriously dude, what got you all the way out here? Was it Chel?â
â…What?â was really all Laine could say.
âWhat would Chel have to do with any of this? Who are you, anyways?â
âGeez, I can barely hear you over the wind⌠letâs head down the hill and chat more, yeah?â
Lained nodded, and followed the pink-haired woman down the forest path that she had arrived from â the massive trees now shielding them from the wind.
With a stretch, the other woman wiped her hair out of her face and gracelessly plopped down on a fell tree.
It was at this point that it clicked with Laine â it was Juniper, a marine biologist who lived just out of town, and worked closely with Chel.
âOh, Juniper. I didnât⌠really process who you were either, with the wind and everything.â
âHey, no problem, man!â Juniper nodded.
âI was out here to get some samples of the particular type of lichen that grows on the cliffside. But Chel was milling about Wasundari again, so when I saw you, I was worried sheâd made you come out here.â
â…Why would she do that?â
âI dunno, I guess my brain thought sheâd sent you to look for remains? Even though logically that makes no sense, given how feisty the marine critters that can tolerate the currents are.â Juniper explained, shaking her head.
âItâs pretty interesting, actually. Thereâs so much⌠death around it, that various creatures were able to build and evolve tolerances to the current in order to take advantage of an otherwise easy meal.â
Laine was⌠aghast, and there was a pause â Juniperâs expressing slowly shifting from one of a carefree nature to a horrifyingly embarrassed one.
âShit, sorry, that was super insensitive, wasnât it. Shit.â
âIt was.â Laine said with a mix of a groan and a sigh, burying her face in her hands.
âI got⌠off topic, Iâm sorry.â Juniper said, shaking her head.
âNever had the best relationship with her, was always on my ass about permits. But a loss is a loss, and it still hurts.â
And for what felt like an eternity, there was a silence.
At least, until Laine broke it.
âYou knew all that⌠and yet, you thought it was a good idea to scale the cliff on your own?â Laine asked, her tone sharp.
âFor what? Lichen?â
âHey, hey!!â Juniper replied defensively.
âI already have Chel berate me for my safety ethic, I donât need another dog barking at me about it too! Iâm just built different, ok?â
âThatâs the stupidest thing Iâve ever heard. No youâre not.â
âWell, itâs not like thereâs someone else whoâs crazy enough to scale these cliffs to help me out.â
Laine huffed and was able to give a weak smile.
âWell⌠maybe itâs a good thing you found me, then?â
âWhat?â Juniper asked in response.
âYou were just calling me stupid for this!â
âHey, I said itâs a stupid thing to do alone.â Laine said, shaking her head.
âScaling a cliff with a partner makes things exponentially safer.â
âWell⌠I guess, yeah.â Juniper sighed.
âHow good are you at it though, anyways?â
Laine shrugged.
âPaws and claws have a pretty OK grip on the type of cliffside rock around here. Iâm no professional, but Iâd say Iâm decent?â
Suddenly, Juniper grabbed Laineâs hand and gave it a firm shake.
âGood enough for me! Letâs get âya harnessed up, then!â
Juniperâs energy certainly was a bit⌠much, but it was almost contagious to Laine. Despite how completely foggy and numb everything had seemed⌠there was still optimism and joy left in the world.
Even over something as small as a rare lichen, someone felt enthusiasm and passion.
Breathe in.
Turn around.
There was still hope left, it was too early to throw in the towel.
Thatâs what Wasundari would have wanted.
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