driftfleet | voice;

Who: Okita and you!
Broadcast: Yes
Action: Goldstone
When: October 6th and subsequent days

[Action: Oct. 6th]
[It hadn't been a particularly "heroic" way to go. Certainly, he'd done things as the final ships fled the surface that would warrant being called that, but a dying man could not ask for a seat to safety that could be used by the living. It was simply logical. By the time the last ship failed, he'd already run himself ragged and the demon in his chest was beating against its cage. He couldn't trap those people, already about to lose their home, with a man about to cough blood. So he'd given away his seat to a child and told them he'd find another way home.

Then he'd spent his last moments alive watching the comet come and the last ship flee. The shuttles disappearing through the clouds as the planet hummed in his ears, giving him a sense of peace even as the coughing and the blood racked him. The sight of the massive rock breaking the atmosphere, a blazing streak against the sky, pieces breaking off and slamming into the planet, had been so bright it was almost impossible to watch, but knowing that all of the shuttles had made it away was enough for him. This was a good death.

He only wished he'd been able to say goodbye to people first.

The impact then darkness, a flash of pain and panic, then? Nightmares. It wasn't what he expected from death. Faces he couldn't recognize floating in inky, icy blackness sitting on the edge of familiarity before slipping away again. Paralyzing isolation, screaming, fire that froze instead of burned and then--

Okita shot up in his bed on the Marsiva, hands clutching at his chest as his breath fogged against a medical ventilator. He barely had enough time to guess where he was before he felt reality bend and he was dumped into a hallway on the SS Goldstone, ventilator still strapped to his face, the tube detached from the machine and now trailing uselessly at his side. The jingle and the shower of confetti marked his arrival and then he collapsed in a heap as the fever overtook him.

Welcome...back..?]

[Voice: Later on the 6th]
[He's still so tired by moving around with a fever isn't unfamiliar to him at this point in his life. He bundles himself up the best he can and turns on the communicators, his voice rough and strained, but still managing to sound cheerful despite it all.]

I heard all of the natives made it safely off the planet? Thank you, everyone, for working so hard... I know it wasn't easy, but you saved them. Thank you.

[He takes a moment to catch his breath.]

I also have a confession to make that some of you may already know. It seems silly in comparison to everything that has happened...but I haven't been honest and I apologize. [What good is dying for these people if he can't even trust them with such basic information, right?]

For those who know me as Soujirou, you can continue calling me that if you wish, but my true name is Okita Souji.

[He pauses again because he's already reaching his physical limits, but he doesn't want to end on a downer note.]

So! Does anyone else have a confession to make? It can be silly or serious. It seemed like a good time to start anew.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I confess to being ... what is the word that folk use now? Ah... a language "geek". So do not feel you must!

I worry because I care. [ Maglor says firmly ]

Please do not neglect yourself, Okita!

[He laughs again, but the sound hitches in his throat.]

I'm afraid I don't know what a "geek" is, but I think I get the gist.

Once I'm better, I promise to teach you what I can.

You really do not sound well. [ Maglor worries ]

Are you sure you are alright?

What did I tell you about worrying? You're going to turn into a mummy or go white at this rate.

[Maglor worries, Okita deflects, all is right with the world.]

You did mention that! But I cannot quite help fretting, my friend.

I appreciate your concern, but please don't let it vex you. I'll be fine soon enough.

Very well, my friend! I will hold you to that, mind - if you are not recovered, I make no promises about bringing the healers to you, instead!

[ He can ask Mikleo and Sorey, he's sure his captain would approve ]

If it comes to that, I'm sure Crowley-san will either heal me or hit me first and then heal me.

[He's already sort of offered or threatened, one of the two.]

Good! I will have to buy him a drink if it comes to that.

[ Maglor doesn't really know Crowley, but anyone who threatens such things to Okita he automatically must approve ]

Considering the trouble I've caused him, he might appreciate the drink regardless.

Ah, a good friend, then?

[That gets a burst of laughter from him, enough that he ends up coughing at the end and has to take a moment to compose himself.]

I'd like to think so, but I don't think he considers me quite as such.

[More like the thorn in his side that he's come to not completely hate.]

Sorry!

[ Maglor doesn't look terribly apologetic though ]

Well, if he cares enough to offer to do both, I would say so!

[thankfully since this is a video, it's easier to hide the blood on his hand than in real life and he slides his hand off camera without needing to worry.]

Mm, one can hope.

[He'll look off screen for a bit as he cleans his hands off, tossing the tissue away. Somewhere in the background, Saizou can be heard grunting unhappily.]

At the very least, Saizou is calmer now. I'm sure he appreciates that.

Saizou sounds unhappy - he must have missed you dearly, I think. Are you sure you will be alright?

[He leans over out of view for a moment and comes back with the pig cradled in his arms.]

I woke him from his nap with my broadcast. He's been sleeping with me since I returned.

[The pig does indeed look sleepy, but he's also watching Okita like a hawk.]

I'm sure I'll be fine now that I've had time to rest.

I shall hope so too. And with Saizou watching you so, I'm sure you have an excellent guardian.

You won't let him overdo things, will you, Saizou?

[The piglet snorts and turns around in Okita's arms, flopping against his chest in such a way as to trap his owner from moving.]

I~ think that is your answer.

A very good friend.

[ Maglor smiles to see it ]

I am glad the two of you have each other.

[His smile dims as he looks down at Saizou, resting a hand on top of the piglet's head.]

...Yes. I'm glad, too.

[It's not the same as seeing his friends, Hijikata in particular, but it's something. Having Saizou here makes the ache a little less painful, the nights a little less terribly alone.]

Thank you, Maglor-san.

If you need anything, So... Okita, please, don't hesitate to ask. Nor Saizou, either!

Well, Saizou can always do with some new things to chew on or eat, if you're offering anything.

[ Maglor laughs softly ]

Well, if either of you are hungry, Fingon has gone slightly crazy in the kitchen, and there are muffins aplenty!

Muffins are the small cake things that aren't as sweet, right?

[Saizou is suddenly snout-first into the camera, snuffling.]

Ah, I think he would like some then.

They are.

[ Maglor laughs brightly ]

I think he very much does. Alright - I will bring a batch over. I would ask if you have a preference for flavour, but really our choices are all "alien fruit of some sort"

video

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