seasonality ✦ caleb

[commandertoolbelt]

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week 0, sunday

[commandertoolbelt]

[ well! sometime after execution, caleb will find leo at the bonfire! he's fiddling with something idly, occasionally firing off a text because he's still a teenager. he'll give a little wave when he spots caleb, though! ]

I got nothing from the expulsion that you wouldn't already know.

[ he did promise to tell caleb if he did. ]

[katzepaw]

No, I didn't think so. Senseless bloodshed.

[But he wanted to try, so that's. . . fine.]

You thought they were being controller as in a game, ja?

[commandertoolbelt]

[ nodding! ]

It didn't look like they were moving completely on their own, right? Like they kept up the fight against their will. It would make sense if there was a controller somewhere, though how it works, I couldn't tell you. Not without getting a closer look.

[katzepaw]

Hard to tell, but some of what they said made it seem that way.

[commandertoolbelt]

Right. So if that's legit, then we'd want to find the controller, so obviously it's going to be somewhere we can't get to yet. Maybe one of the construction zones, or... the student conduct office? That's where they said the expelled students go, right?

week 1, sunday

[commandertoolbelt]

[ well, that sucked! and leo is useless for medical stuff lmao so he just bails almost immediately. he's just hanging out at the edge of the woods, restlessly fiddling with some stuff - looks like a couple of nuts and bolts for now. caleb just gets a quick glance when leo hears him. ​]

Guess someone didn't agree with you about keeping us younger from getting involved, huh?

[katzepaw]

No.

[He's on his way walking somewhere, fiddling with something in his pocket, but will stop.]

Disgusting enough to try to make her a killer, but to take her life, too. . .

[commandertoolbelt]

I knew Lila could fight, but... killing someone is way different than fighting supervillains. She shouldn't have had to go in there at all. Neither should Manwol, but...

[ they did so badly in trial! they aren't homicide detectives here! ]

Staging it all like a game and not caring who dies for it - it's messed up. I really wish we could throw whoever set it up in there and see how they feel.

[katzepaw]

Agree. I'd like to see this person be burned and tossed around like a silly game.

[Sighing. But he winces also a little, at the way Leo describes Lila, as though he's another story.]

. . . Being young doesn't mean you can't fight, doesn't even mean you can't kill. Should is another matter.

week 2, wednesday

[commandertoolbelt]

[ oh this phone alert. bad! ]

Do they expect us to talk about that like it’s a high school crush or something? What the hell?

[katzepaw]

[. . . Ah.]

Maybe a way to show their control over us, to force us to give away secrets this way.

[commandertoolbelt]

[ for a moment, leo doesn't reply. it's like he's waiting on something...? ]

Well, whatever it is, it's not like the biting thing. I don't feel like I'm going to blurt something out against my will? So maybe it doesn't actually matter.

[katzepaw]

It might have consequences, if we don't. Hard to say. Could be worth risking it, but you could also. . . tell someone what it is, who will keep it to themselves.

[He's not volunteering exactly because that seems presumptuous. But.]

I. . . uhm, I keep things to myself and I do not judge anyone. An exchange. . . just an idea. You don't need to.

week 2; post trial

[katzepaw]

[After trial, Caleb can be found walking out near the dorms. If he sees Leo, he'll stop.]

. . . Hello.

[commandertoolbelt]

[ leo is out pacing restlessly, turning over a bunch of nuts and bolts to keep his hands busy. ]

...Hey.

[ for once, he seems at a loss for words. sure, they did better than last week, but at what cost? ]

[katzepaw]

. . . How are you doing?

[That's about the mood. It's not exactly a victory. They have some answers, maybe, but they're all bad.]

[commandertoolbelt]

Been better.

[ obviously. that's his dormmate, their twink :( ]

I - I'm worried about Rupes. We don't even know if he chose to hurt someone himself, or if he was being controlled. And if he was, then he doesn't deserve this any more than the rest of us.

week 3; monday

[katzepaw]

[Caleb is walking out in the snow; by this point in time, he's trying to avoid other people. But he isn't paying enough attention to avoid crossing paths with Leo when he's focused on getting to class. Once they make eye contact, a memory plays.]

[commandertoolbelt]

[ ah… that feels like something leo shouldn’t have seen. part of him is curious, of course - he knows from their conversation last week that caleb has been through similar experiences as he has, and his mom and dad…

but he also knows how hard it can be to talk about that stuff. so leo sidesteps that entirely. ]

That was a friend of yours? She had some sweet tats!

[ it doesn’t have to be awkward if they don’t let it become awkward. ]

[katzepaw]

[Leo. You're a good boy. He's a little stunned and sad after seeing this memory again, but then he glances at Leo, trying to deflect.

The tattoos are maybe not. . . so sweet. He absently scratches at his forearms, where he has a number of scars scattered lightly, in a similar pattern to the one she had in tattoos. But he tries to smile anyway.]

I'm not such a fan of them. Not a tattoo guy. [He sighs.] But yeah, she was my friend, a long time ago.

[commandertoolbelt]

Yeah, they aren’t for everyone, I guess.

[ he does notice those scars, but. paired with caleb’s words, leo thinks it might be better not to ask too many questions. he’s been nothing but patient and understanding with leo; he owes it to caleb to give him his space. ]

I can respect being able to go back and talk to someone like that, though. [ especially considering how nervous caleb obviously was? ] I don’t know if I’d be able to do that.

week 4, sunday.

[commandertoolbelt]

[ back at the dorm, leo can be found in the game room. he is... learning how hard it is to play with one functional hand, which means he's just emanating frustration.

but he looks up when he hears caleb and offers a small nod. ]

Come for a distraction?

[katzepaw]

[He's honestly a little curious about this room, but he doesn't understand anything about games. More than anything, he's just looking for something to do, so.]

. . . Yes, most likely. It's a bit different than what we had in fall.

[commandertoolbelt]

Well, you came to the right place. Pick a controller, pick a game, and we'll figure it out. Just - not a fighting one? I'm over that genre by now.

[katzepaw]

[He is a ye olde. Just squinting awkwardly at these games.]

. . . A recommendation, perhaps?