driftfleet | (no subject)

Who: Eithan Paine and YOU!
Broadcast: fleetwide
Action: the SS Blue Fish - proceed with caution
When: After the latest shuffle

( video - fleetwide )
[ He wants to stick to text. He's been crying, sobbing okay he'll admit it, since he found out. but... they deserve better than text. So Eithan sucks it up, collects himself long enough to turn on the video feed, and addresses the fleet. His eyes are typically red because of the whole demon thing, but well, now they're a completely different kind of red in addition. ]

For those of you who knew 'em... Belthazar Spellscry and Allen Walker are gone now. Looks like Atroma sent 'em back.

[ He looks like he wants to say more, but... He doesn't know what. Aside from: ]

... Miss 'em already, honestly.

[ Okay. That's probably enough. He turns off his camera, but leaves communication open, just in case anyone has anything to say. ]

( action - ss blue fish )
[ Eithan is very, very, very far from okay. First they take his best friend, then his other friends, then his crew and his boyfriend? Goddess...

Anyone who manages to find him near his room will get to see him moping, for very obvious reasons. He keeps picking up his guitar like he's gonna play something, anything, to take his mind off it, but he never manages to play anything for long. And with frustrated cursing, he'll just put the thing down and curl up on his bed instead - or pace through the hallways.

He stops by Belthazar's former room quite often. And he'll stare at the closed door, for longer than he really should, before he can bring himself to look away - usually with tears in his eyes all over again.

And for those who catch him in the cargo bay, he's currently got a bottle of rum, and he's sitting on the floor with his back against the ship wall, drinking straight from the bottle. There's a pack of cigarettes at his feet - for later. And he'll share, if anyone wants - booze or smokes. Or just company. ... Fuck, company would be great right now. .... Fuck. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ No announcement needed, honestly. He looks to her as she settles down next to him, and when she pops open that bottle and takes a drink, so does he - almost in perfect sync. Fucking cheers, man.

Her comment does get the faintest exhale of a would-be laugh out of him, and he cracks a sad smile. ]

Heh. Yeah. I was... pretty infatuated, huh?

You two seemed sweet. It was nice to see.

[She can't imagine what it must feel like, almost having something so good, only to have it ripped away so callously.]

Is there anything I can do?

[ He has absolutely no idea what to say to that, but he does smile a tiny bit more, for a second. He can feel tears stinging at his eyes again, and he just... lets it happen, takes another long drink followed by a deep breath. ]

Honestly, just... hangin' out and not bein' alone for a minute helps. So... thanks. [ He nods to her. ] What about you? Anything I can do for you?

[ Crew is family. And he's already protective of family, but fuck if that hasn't been ramped up tenfold after all this. ]

[She says nothing about the tears. Maker knows she's shed more than her fair share of them the past several days. Ten to one, more are yet to come, even if she doesn't want them to anymore.]

That's just it, isn't it? There's nothing that can be done. Just a matter of riding out the grief.

Yeah, pretty much. [ He takes a deep breath - a little shaky, around the tears. ]

But hey. You don't have to ride out that grief alone if you don't want to, yeah? I've got your back. 'Course.

[ He inclines his bottle toward hers. Cheers, friend. ]

[His smile is answered with a shaky one of her own as she clinks her bottle against his.]

To those of us who remain.

[Their departed friends, if sources are to be believed, are known the wiser of what they've left behind. It's the ones who remain that have to suffer with the losses.]

Thank you. I think we'll all have to lean on each other in the days to come.