6th Recovery Δ Audio/Action for Violet City Φ Forward-dated to this evening

[leftinbasketforfbi]

[He's sticking to audio because he doesn't want anyone seeing him right now, but his Pokemon are mobbing him and he'd have difficulty keeping his hands free long enough to actually type anything.]

Uh, hi there. I, uh, I don't know exactly how many people I spoke to the last two days... [Mostly because the thing possessing him was stoned 90% of the time and he can't remember much of anything.] ...but in case I said any different, my name is Spencer. Spencer Reid, actually.

Speaking of, if I, uh, if I was acting out of character? I was sort of possessed by an animal called a Yamask. Turns out a Haunter thought it would be amusing to steal this Yamask's mask, and then put the mask on me. Said Yamask would actually like to apologize for, uh... rebuking anyone who took her for a man; she didn't realize she was actually in the body of a man. [She's totally not apologizing for anything else. Reid's the only one who gets apologies. Damn kids.]

And... I'd also kind of appreciate it if someone could possibly explain what I did, because I don't really remember all that much? And I'd like to give a blanket apology for offending or being rude to anyone. I'm not--usually, I'm really not like that. So I'm sorry for anything I did or said.

[Private to Albert]
I'm, um, not really sure how reliable my memory is this time, but if what I vaguely remember is real, then thank you. And I'm very, very sorry.

If my memory isn't accurate and you don't know what I'm talking about, please disregard me.

Comments

[remainingtwin]

It's not like you did it on purpose. Some people don't have a high resistance to things like that.

[Mio glances up, looking thoughtful at the answer before she nods] ...Yeah, that's right. I can't think of myself like that anymore either.

[There's a soft sigh and she reaches out to pat Flora lightly, reassuring.] My sister-- [Mio cuts herself off with a pause, surprising herself that she'd started talking. She debates just not sharing the information, but she's already started and really she's started knowing so much about Reid's life... It was only fair, right?

With an apprehensive expression she pulls her hand back to rest on the butterfly bruise on her throat and continues] My sister and I had a pretty strong sixth sense. We had visions and shared them with each other and saw ghosts--all those sorts of things. Her's was strong then mine, but she was weaker to it, so she got possessed easily. I was always chasing her around and making sure she didn't get into something she shouldn't.

It was easier because we were the same build and all, so holding her back was a lot easier. You're bigger then me, so I couldn't stop you at all... [And given how Reid's ended up, she feels pretty terrible about that] I'm really sorry about it.

[leftinbasketforfbi]

[Flora lets out a happy noise when she gets petted, because surprise surprise, she likes being touched.

But then she starts actually talking about herself unprompted. Reid listens quietly, because he knows how rare that is.

So her sister got possessed a lot. Something must have gone wrong with that, something that probably led up to her sister's death. Why else would be be so viscerally affected by the mere sight of a ghost?]

Don't be sorry. You can't be expected to restrain a grown man for two days. [Even if said grown man is very skinny and wimpy, he's still a grown man. He subconsciously touches the bandages around his wrist.] Nothing that happened was your fault. I... I really want you to understand that, okay?

[remainingtwin]

[There's a stretch of silence before Mio nods, once, in understanding. It's not her fault, she knows that deep down, but...Still, wasn't there something she could have done?]

...Okay. [She looked to him then] Can I stay here a while? [Despite his reassurances, she still feels like she needs to make it up to him by helping him out as much as she can now]

[leftinbasketforfbi]

[He gives her a small smile, and nods.] You know, I'd like it if you did. [He likes her company, and he knows she'd feel better if she felt like she was doing something for him.

First, let's see if he can pry Flora off his head, because she's starting to crawl onto his face.] Do you have any idea where Amanda might have put my sunglasses?

[Because he feels a migraine coming on, and he knows that he'll want to know where those glasses are in about an hour or two.]

[remainingtwin]

[She gives him a small smile in return, pleased. There's even a small giggle when Flora starts to climb down his face.]

Sunglasses...? Oh, I'll look for them! I think I remember where they are. [She hops off the bed and looks around a moment before producing the sunglasses from the bathroom, somewhere in a corner behind the toilet where they'd dropped and slid from where Amanda had dropped them at one point.

She spends a few moments expecting them for damage (nothing, thankfully, just dirty) and cleaning them before she walks back] Found them.

[Mio holds them out for him to take, then frowns a little in thought] You're not really going to keep that pokemon, are you?

[leftinbasketforfbi]

[Reid smiles as he takes them, then hang them on the neck of his vest for future use.] Thanks.

[He looks back up at the question, then glances over at the PokeBall holding Amanda, sitting innocently on the bedside table.] I don't intend to. She's not an animal; she's a human soul. I wouldn't feel right keeping her in a ball.

[He finally gets Flora off his face, bringing her down to cradle her in his arms. Elle starts pawing him for more petting, and then he absently starts petting her head. These animals are lucky they're soft and pleasant to touch, or else he'd never be able to stand so much contact.] That being said... I, uh, I think sharing one mind and body with a person makes me know them pretty well, and I'm not sure if she'll want to leave. She feels remorse for damaging my body, even if she didn't know it wasn't hers, and ever since she died, she's been looking for a sense of normalcy, and I guess she wants a purpose now that she has no life to lead. [He chews on his lip, glancing out the window.] I'm not sure if I could really bring myself to force her into leaving if she didn't want to go.

[Hey, hey, the Pokemon don't think this is a good idea. They will make this very clear by all simultaneously looking up and glaring pointedly at him.]

[remainingtwin]

[Mio expression reveals little, except a mild disapproval and uncertainty. She's not sure what to feel about ghosts anymore, and she can't just forgive the spirit for possessing Reid and causing damage like that.

At least his pokemon seem to have the same idea in mind. She reaches out to pet Elle too, frowning] I don't think it'd be a good idea. She could possess you again, even if accidentally. You could really forgive someone who did all this to you, or feel comfortable having them around?

[There's something that suggests this is a weighted question of far more importance then it first suggests. How far does 'forgiveness' go for someone? For Reid, or for anyone?] How far does someone have to go before you can't forgive them anymore?

[leftinbasketforfbi]

[Somehow, he gets the sense that his answer to this will be pretty important.

He works his jaw, then slowly places Flora next to him on the bed. She makes a motion to climb back onto him, but then he holds up his hand, giving her a very clear 'stop' signal. His other Pokemon take the hint and move away to give him a little space, and Elle just climbs off his lap into Mio's. Reid can deal with touching them, but he's about to talk about something personal, and he was starting to feel claustrophobic with so many animals crawling on him.]

To forgive... that would require that I was angry in the first place.

[Flora might be trying to climb on Mio's arm now.]

In my line of work... I regularly see the depths of depravity, and I have to find it in myself to understand why it is what it is, and in doing so, empathize. Amanda isn't an evil person. She was a girl who hurt herself as a cry for attention when she was alive because she felt unloved, and when she did it in my body, she thought the only person she was hurting was herself. She was wrong, and even if she was in her body, she would still be hurting other people by doing that in front of them, but she doesn't understand that because she didn't get a chance to mature before she died.

She made a mistake and I got caught up in it. She feels remorse, and she's offered anything to make up for it. What do I have to be angry about after that?

[Well, besides the fact she was disrespectful towards his friends, but again, teenager. He disapproves and is upset his body was used as a vessel for that, but he's not angry.] So my limit for forgiveness... no, she didn't reach it. Not by a long shot. People have done much worse to me, and they've done it purposefully. To this day, there is only a handful of people I have ever had difficulty forgiving.

[remainingtwin]

[Mio accepts Elle into her lap, stroking her fur and watches Reid as he speaks.

She can't quite understand it, the capacity for forgiveness, but she figures maybe she's projecting or something. After all, if she can't forgive herself--

Hi Flora, welcome to the team. Mio leans her head to rest it briefly against Flora and nuzzle her in a gesture of acceptance--go ahead and use her as a jungle gym it's cool--before she straightens looks at Spencer]

...What did those people do? The ones you can't forgive. [She's curious, sure, and as much as she tells herself that she shouldn't be asking personal questions, how she should be making Reid nap and shouldn't be comparing herself to these situations, but-- Well, the question happened anyway and it's too late to take it back now.]

[leftinbasketforfbi]

[Reid glances at her, his face very difficult to read.] ...I never said I couldn't forgive. I might be able to. I don't know.

[He considers leaving it at that, since this is straying dangerously close to Extremely Personal territory, but... well, he feels compelled to at least give her a gist of it. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Mio is carrying around a lot of guilt over something, so maybe a conversation about forgiveness is what she needs.

He looks away again, staring at the wall, and places his hands on his knees.] I told you that I graduated when I was twelve. A twelve-year-old prodigy isn't generally welcome in a Las Vegas public high school. I would have a very hard time forgiving the people who hurt me when they were old enough to understand how young I was compared to them. I would have a harder time forgiving the people who sat back and watched quietly when it was within their power to stop it.

[He pauses, then he adds,] I also have trouble forgiving my father for leaving my mother and me. [And Gideon for leaving him in much the same way, but that's a long story he's not getting into.

He looks back at Mio, his expression and body language surprisingly calm, considering the subject matter. This is one of those moments where he really and truly feels the age gap between them. Yes, he has issues. Yes, he still has trouble dealing with them. But he's experienced enough to know how to cope, and to know himself. He's already been through his hell.

Mio's still going through hers.]

[remainingtwin]

[Mio's hand that had been petting Elle stilled, her attention focused entirely on him and his explanation.

It was a lot to take in, Mio trying to sort through her own emotions, feeling an urge to talk more about herself (confess more, really, since that's what it felt like). But he must be tired, he needed to rest, really, so she should keep it back for a while longer.

Maybe he'd understand, somehow, deep down. Or maybe he could reassure her-- or even condemn her. Mio couldn't say if she'd feel any better or worse if he did that instead.

Instead she reaches out to touch his sleeve, curling her fingers into the material as if to remind him that she's still there for him and won't be going anywhere anytime soon. Trust.

There's nothing said, just her sitting there quietly offering support and thinking. At length she speaks, her voice quiet and forcing a little smille] ...You should probably get some more rest. I'm just keeping you up.

[leftinbasketforfbi]

[Reid looks down at her hand touching his sleeve, hesitating, then leans into the touch a little. He knows he's got issues, but he knows how to cope, and he knows that he'll always find his way back to his feet, no matter what. He doesn't know if Mio can say the same, but if he has to reveal more of himself to make her comfortable doing the same... he can manage it.

He flashes her a small smile when she talks.] You mind taking Flora? I think she'd suffocate me in my sleep if I left her with me right now.

[Flora makes a protesting noise. She's not that bad!

And then every single Pokemon gives her a Look. Yes. Yes, she is that bad.]

[remainingtwin]

[There's a small giggle--it's getting easier to smile and laugh now--and she turns to take Flora up in her arms]

Sure, I don't mind. [She pets Flora reassuringly and speaks to her] Don't worry, we'll check on him first thing in the morning, okay?

[She stands, taking Flora with her, turns away from the bed...and pauses. Her teeth worry her lower lip and there's an exhale] Spencer... [She pets Flora again, the repetition of the movement soothing. Her throat burns]

If I told you I did something really bad-- really, really bad... Would you hate me?

[probably not the most comforting thing to say when holding Reid's pokemon, after she'd told him he needed to rest. But it's one of those questions that if she didn't ask it'd just eat her from the inside out]

[leftinbasketforfbi]

[Laughs and smiles are always good, and when they're coming from Mio, it makes Reid smile in return. Flora looks pretty pouty when Mio picks her up, but then snuggles up against her chest.

Reid looks up at her back, frowning a little bit. Elle climbs into his lap, but he doesn't immediately start petting her like she probably wants.] ...After nine years of chasing the worst kinds of people out there, I don't think I've ever met someone I hated. I would be very, very surprised if you somehow became an exception to that rule. [It's not an explicit no, partially because he's literal minded and doesn't want to be misleading, but also because he feels he owes a more nuanced answer than a simple 'yes' or 'no'. He of all people knows that guilt and sin, whether one observes it through a religious lens or not, is complicated. It's a personal battle more than anything, and he won't condemn nor forgive. It's not his place to.

His place is just to find out the truth, and then to try to give victims the tools to put their lives back together afterwards.]

[remainingtwin]

[She chews on her lip some more, and when she speaks she sounds reluctant] ...It should really wait until you feel better.

[It's not something simple, not something she can just say and that's that. There's a lengthy explanation that has to be involved-- about the village, the things she'd found out, the hiding and the running. The people. The rituals.

Given everything Spencer's gone through, it'd be selfish of her to talk about it right now. This wasn't about her, after all, and she shouldn't try to make it so.]

[leftinbasketforfbi]

I have time right now.

[Reid doesn't like being taken care of anyway. He makes a living off of listening to people and learning why they do what they do. He does better listening to people than talking about himself.]

But I'm not about to make you talk about something you're not ready for.

[Flora murmurs softly, wiggling against Mio's chest. Mio. She knows that this is a moment, but petting her will help. As well as make her feel good, but she's mostly concerned about helping. Mostly.]

html no this is a srs discussion

[remainingtwin]

[There's are a few moments of tense silence before she slowly sinks to sit on the bed again. She doesn't look at him.]

...If I don't tell you, it'll just eat at me more. [One hand rests on Flora, petting her as she tried to figure out what to say, hear heart pounding in her chest.]

In the woods near my village, there's a legend about another village that disappeared on the day of a ritual. They say that anyone who wanders into the woods becomes spirited away.

[Mio can still see it clearly, the stone markers that announced the border of the village, the dilapidated buildings and shrines-]

...Mayu and I went to see the forest one more time, because they were building a dam and the whole place would be under water soon. We used to play there all the time, so we thought it'd be okay... Even though we weren't supposed to be there.

[There's a sort of hollowness to her voice, as if she's recounting a story she heard from somewhere else, like it just didn't happen to her. She's yet to look up from the patterns on Flora's fur[

I always promised Mayu I'd never leave her, and that we'd be together forever. [A relationship and closeness that hovered just on the edge of being very inappropriate . Though Mayu had always been manipulative and possessive of Mio--facts Mio had repressed and pretend didn't exist.] But she got away from me and wandered in the forest. I followed her and before I knew it...everything was dark.

It was noon, but then when I passed the stone markers, it was suddenly like it was midnight. I thought I saw lights in the distance, like a bonfire, but when I got to them there was no one but my sister there, and an abandoned village.

...But we couldn't leave. The path we'd used to get into the village...it was gone. And I couldn't get close to the edge. It was like something was keeping us from getting out.

But we weren't alone. [The hollowness in her voice gets worse] During that ritual...a girl's spirit went mad and slaughtered everyone in the village. Men, women, children... Those spirits, and the spirits of everyone who'd wandered into the village and were killed; they were everywhere.

[A shvier goes down her spine and her grip on Flora tightens somewhat] ...Her laughter still echoed in the village. I can hear it even now.

[She pauses a moment] ...Do you believe me so far? [Spirits and rituals and ghost-plagued villages all sounded crazy, after all]

supar srs :|

[leftinbasketforfbi]

[Reid is just listening quietly, and it's hard to tell what he's thinking. It's always hard to tell what he's thinking when he's listening to an unsub or victim, and right now, that's the face he's using.

Detachment. Just listen, and empathize with the speaker. Don't allow yourself to get caught up in their grief, though. Just know it. And then understand it.]

I believe you.

[Because seriously. He's in a magical world where there's never-ending music and animals can fit in balls that are maybe five square inches. He'll believe anything.]

[remainingtwin]

[She nods in acceptance. Good because it's about to get crazier]

In a village, deep underground, there's a pit they say leads to hell. When the rumbling starts, it meant the gods were getting angry and had to be appeased, to do things like... bring a good harvest, a good year, things like that. If they didn't, the Repentance would happen, malice would spread from the pit and infect everyone.

...Eventually, the rituals failed. The malice spread. Ghosts turned twisted and violent, humans either went mad or they killed themselves--those that didn't get killed by the ghost, anyway.

Since then anyone who wanders in is forced to do the ritual over and over in the hopes it'll finally work. [Mio swallows hard and her voice become a whisper]

The ritual is...a sacrifice.

[leftinbasketforfbi]

[Reid has a sinking feeling that he knows where this is going.]

What happened?

[Not 'what did you do' or anything like that. Not assigning blame for anything. Just requesting facts.

Now's not the time to interject his thoughts. Now's just the time to listen.]

[remainingtwin]

[There's a long moment of silence as Mio remembers to keep breathing, where her throat is burning and her hand covers the mark as best she can. She's gone this far; she can't keep uiet at this point.]

They believed that twins had special powers, that they were one soul that was split into two at birth. And that by bringing the two halves together would have even more power. So... so the ritual was...

[She's shaking, and squeezes her eyes shut a moment, voice cracking with emotion] One twin...has to strangle and kill the other. The greater the suffering, the more powerful it is. Mayu and I just happened to be twins, so the ritual worked.

...When I got to the ritual room, I wanted to--to escape with her. But she told me we couldn't. That we couldn't be together forever, but that this way...we could become one again.

And she... she put my hands on her neck... And told me to kill her, and I-- [Mio lets go of Flora and hunches over more, pressing her hands to her face. The hollowness is gone, replaced with a raw self-hatred, guilt] I didn't want to! The priests were chanting and it was so loud-- But she told me to, and before I knew it--

[Mayu had been dead and the priests were tossing her lifeless body into the pit]

[leftinbasketforfbi]

[Speaking doesn't seem right. What can he say? 'I'm sorry'? Sorrow does nothing. 'It'll be alright'? He doesn't know that. 'You did what you had to do'? That's not for him to say. That's for her to decide on her own.

Reid's hands twitch at his knees, hesitant, but then he tentatively--very tentatively--wraps an arm around her shoulders, inviting her to hug him or shrug him off, whichever she'd like. It's probably the first time he's actually initiated some form of contact between them, even after traveling for months together.

Reid's there, Mio. If nothing else, he's there, and he'll support you.]

ow my heart

[remainingtwin]

[Mio flinches, surprised by the contact, but she doesn't push him away.

After a brief moment she sets Flora aside and turns, wrapping her arms around him in a fierce hug and sobs. It's the first time she's cried about the incident since it's happened, and it's like the flood gates had opened and sh was sobbing in earnest against him.

There's mumbled babbling between her crying, that she was sorry, that she didn't mean it to happen. But mostly she just clings to him until she exhausts herself and can't cry anymore, sniffling lightly]

it feels like someone's poking mine with a pointy stick ;.;

[leftinbasketforfbi]

[Normally, Reid would flail because oh god there's a crying girl and he doesn't know what to do.

But this time, he feels that while he doesn't know what exactly to do, he has some idea.

He tightens his hold on her, wraps his other arm across her back, and then turns his head downward to rest his face in her hair. The touch is strange to him, but not outright unpleasant as it would have been a couple months ago. He holds her close, not really knowing what to do beyond keep his grip tight and let her cry.

When the sobs taper off, he lightly rests a hand on the back of her head and gently runs his thumb against her hair repetitively, imitating something he saw JJ do when her son was crying. He's clearly out of his element and the motions are borrowed from what he's seen other people do, but he's earnest in his desire to provide some form of comfort, and he doesn't pull away, no matter how unsure he is.

He doesn't talk. If someone breaks the silence or the hug, it'll be her. He wants her to take as much time as she needs to gather herself.]

can't handle these two leave me here to die sob

[remainingtwin]

[She recognizes the movements as awkward, but she appreciates them nonetheless. He's trying and that's what matters.

She doesn't let go of him, but she pulls away enough to wipe at her face and swallow around the lump in her throat. Much like he's waiting for her to say something, she's waiting for something from him. Mio's not entirely sure what she's waiting for--something that would condemn her more, for him to push her away or tell her that she needs to leave.

After all, wasn't his job to catch people like her?]

...What are you going to do now? I'm a murd-- [A murderer. She can't quite bring herself to say it though and bites her lip.]