potentialman | ic inbox.

[ a deliberate pause. ]

I haven't been myself lately. It's just been . . . hard.

Is there anything I can do to help?

[ another long pause. ]

There's something I haven't told anyone. About Lortel.

[ Megumi doesn't ask outright, because if it's something Noah's held back from everyone, it's probably for good reason, and he doesn't want to pry -- especially when the topic of conversation is no longer here to have her say.

But there's a pulse of acceptance from his end of the connection, a non-verbal if you want to tell me, I'm listening. If you don't, that's okay too. ]

[ he's been struggling with this for days now. he couldn't tell ivan or any of the others and the distance between them all feels like a gulf.

with megumi it feels slightly easier to breathe it out. ]

Before she left, she remembered something from her past. Her death.

She died?

That's what she told me.

She seemed sure of it.

[ There are a lot of questions that raises. About what Sleep's done that would cause such a gap of memory -- and to suddenly restore it. About the motive behind doing such.

But first and foremost... ]

You've been worrying about her going back to that.

[ Lortel's disappearance would've hit Noah hard regardless, Megumi's fairly sure, but for it to happen after a revelation like that...no wonder Noah's mood has seemed a bit off. ]

[ the murmur is imperfect. it's not the iris that projects video and audio so clear from the scope of your eye. and yet, the method of communication through the murmur suits noah well and ill. his empathy and feelings always come without fail — and that leaves the deeper waters churning. ]

I'm just tired of watching people slip away.

I'm sorry. That's...a lot to carry by yourself.

[ He can still remember the immense sense of relief he felt when he finally explained to Yuji and Nobara about his sister's coma. Acting as though things are normal when something's tearing you apart inside is sometimes the best way to get through the day...but it still wears you down. ]