seventh ➛ voice

[backpacking]

I'll make this quick. It's Ellie. I've got the guy who was... in the library. He's someone I know, somebody from my world, and he's not a threat to anybody anymore.

[ Probably not reassuring, considering how much actually happened before she was made aware of Joel's arrival, but... better late than never, right? ]

He acted like that 'cause he was looking for me. He thought I was in danger. If you're gonna be pissed at someone, or feel like you need to get revenge on someone, then blame me.

[ Not that she'll lay down her life (or, one of her lives) for somebody pitching a fight, though... ]

I'm watching out for him now. Nobody gets to see him and nobody is allowed to come after him. If you try and do anything to him, you have to go through me, and it'd be pretty shitty to kill a kid over this.

[ They're in a world now where people don't actually kill kids, so she figures it's safe to play that card. With that, and with a decisive sniff, she closes the feed. ]

Comments

voice

[thesamurai]

Do I have to tell you he murdered someone or did he fill you in?

[ The only reason she doesn't text this is because she wants Ellie to hear that she's not being shitty, she's just relaying a fact. ]

voice

[backpacking]

[ "Joel murdered someone." It's the same as if she'd said "water is wet." ]

I know what he did. [ More or less. Ellie swears, under her breath this time. ] I'm not defending that. [ Yes, though, she is, even if she doesn't say it out loud. ] But I'm not going to let anyone string him up over this.

voice;

[krmvgivv]

He set books on fire! [Dipper has never sounded more offended. You don't just burn books. You just don't.]

voice; what if i used the right account

[backpacking]

[ That's the least of what he did, Dipper..... ]

Can't the library just... respawn them? Like the closets?

voice;

[goeth]

Ellie, are you OK? Do you need any help?

[ or, hell. to talk? ]

voice;

[backpacking]

Only if you can keep people from reacting... badly.

[ "Violently," she means. ]

I'm totally fine, but I didn't get caught up in the library stuff. Those people need more help than I do.

voice

[finewithhalf]

That's some company you keep.

[Maya Hart: Princess of Tact.]

voice

[backpacking]

[ Another time, Ellie might have stuck her tongue out. ]

You don't know anything about him.

video

[determinedest]

[Frisk looks like they're pouting a little bit. They're disappointed, okay?]

But we were gonna use the rocket launcher.

video

[backpacking]

[ Frisk........ ]

The fuck? No - [ She groans, exasperated, scrubbing at her face with a hand. ] That's messed up.

[voice]

[mourning_ghost]

[Nageki sounds pretty irritated, but it's not because of the burns he got from that incident.]

Tell him not to set fire to the library.

[Harming books is a crime that Nageki won't easily forgive.]

[voice]

[backpacking]

Definitely on my to-do list, trust me.

[ Hey, she loves books and reading. Despite that, though, these are... unusual circumstances. ]

[video]

[punful]

wow, uh. good thing you got to him before it could get worse.

[Man, Sans finally is comfortable enough to wear his hoodie again and now it smells like smoke. He just can't win.]

[video]

[backpacking]

I'm sorry I wasn't there sooner. Didn't know about it until Henry's message.

[ If he hadn't said anything... Well, she doesn't like to think about it. ]

[Text]

[mypartnerintime]

Ellie...

[Text]

[backpacking]

[ What can she say? ]

It's fine. I've got it under control.

video;

[mandrakes]

I have the distinct feeling that I may have frightened him far more than he frightened me. Do convey my apologies.

[Still so unruffled.]

video;

[backpacking]

Seriously? [ Congrats, stranger; that's hard to do. ] Uh... sure, I'll tell him.

[ But, she's also curious: ] ... What do you mean? How'd you scare him?

[intelligently]

It's not your fault.

[backpacking]

Well, he was looking for me and trying to protect me from... people he thought were dangerous, so... what would you call that?

[ He also would've done a lot less damage if she'd known he was there sooner. ]

Voice

[lightgunhustler]

Ellie.

[Jo is between a rock and a hard place on this one. John is as good as family, but Ellie is her family, too-- in fact, she'd go so far as to say that she feels closer to the latter, considering John's relationship with her own parents.

She exhales slowly, pressing her lips together unseen.]

I want to help you manage this situation if I can. I get that you want to protect him, and I understand why he did what he did. I just don't want this to get out of hand on either side.

Voice

[backpacking]

Neither do I. [ Ellie replies promptly, almost defensively. ] That's why I'm not letting him out right now, or letting other people in.

[ Some people are already making threats. They're mad, at the very least. She doesn't blame them, but she won't let them have their (likely violent) way. ]

... You sound like you know him. The... guy.

[ The dead guy. ]

[voiceinthedark]

{Well, this was a mess...]

Are you okay, Ellie? If you say he's okay, then I trust you. And I mean, this place is disorienting as hell especially for people from places like ours.

Just let me know if you need me, okay? People react weird here.

[backpacking]

[ You have no idea......... ]

I'm okay. [ She sighs, but she's relieved for Sam's reasonable reaction. ] Some people are being dicks about this, but I can handle it.

[ beat ]

Thanks for saying that stuff.

[mulletrock]

Sorry, kid, but we don't care why your buddy was off his rocker. He did more than just issue threats, and you're gonna have to cut him loose sooner or later. The dude's got a body count and I have a picture perfect memory and nothing but time.

[backpacking]

[ Here it comes. ]

I'm not gonna 'cut him loose,' and if you get anywhere near here, I'll deal with you myself.

videWHOOPS voice;

[morework]

[ The response begins with an awkward glimpse of video. Cullen's face, somewhat closer to the colour of chalk than usual, an unflattering wound cutting a red line across his cheek. ]

Ell--

[ Cullen's face, frowning, when he notices that he must have picked the wrong channel. The feed's video turns off. His voice remains. ]

Ellie, who was that?

[ His voice remains that of somebody still not entirely convinced that the man from the library isn't currently holding her hostage to force her into smoothing over his reputation. (A voice which clearly isn't satisfied with just somebody she knows alone.) ]

voice;

[backpacking]

[ Too late, Cullen; she saw the stark white, the red streak, and the unhappy frown is clear enough in her voice. ]

I told you, it's someone I know.

[ For a lot of the others, she'd just leave it there, but... she thinks of their conversation after he'd found her and bandaged her hand, and puffs out her cheeks in a sigh. ]

It's one of the people who was here, and then disappeared. He doesn't remember any of it, though, which... is why he was kind of nuts.

[ No, that part is because he'd been trying to get her out of the hands of sicko, twisted cannibals, but... that isn't something she's keen to share. ]