| | Survivor's Guilt | |
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Zoe
Posts : 526 Join date : 2013-09-02 Location : Nacogdoches, TX
| Subject: Survivor's Guilt Thu 02 Apr 2015, 10:06 | |
| After returning Agatha's body to the physical realm and making plans to have her buried back in Nacogdoches, Zoe returns to the Penumbra, where her father was waiting for her.
Her breathing is still labored and racked by the occasional sob as she lowers herself onto on an old log. The two sit quietly for a while as they think on the events of the evening. When Zoe finally speaks her words are soft and broken.
"I couldn't save her, Papa. She was right there and I...I didn't do anything. I didn't..." A sob cuts her sentence short.
"I didn't even speak to her. She was right there and all I could think about was destroying the bastard who..."
Her head drops into her hands as her shoulders shake uncontrollably. | |
| | | The Laughing Stranger Admin
Posts : 455 Join date : 2013-08-29
| Subject: Re: Survivor's Guilt Thu 02 Apr 2015, 13:01 | |
| Tycheros leaned close to his daughter, one of his huge arms gently encircling her in a hug. "You wanted to protect her, Zoe, and you did what you thought best."
"Just as I did." The Incarna Avatar's eyes were shot with pain. "I want you to understand, Chrysaor and his brood did this. You cannot blame yourself for what happened." | |
| | | Zoe
Posts : 526 Join date : 2013-09-02 Location : Nacogdoches, TX
| Subject: Re: Survivor's Guilt Thu 02 Apr 2015, 14:54 | |
| She pulled back just far enough to look up at his face. A moment passed as she considered how best to word her next statement.
"He...he said that he killed her because you led a group of Garou to kill his family. Is that true?"
Silence filled the next few moments. She broke eye contact before speaking again.
"I'm no better than he is."
Another pause.
"When he killed Mom, I could think of nothing other than killing him and all his kind. If I had kept my wits about me, maybe I could have saved her." | |
| | | The Laughing Stranger Admin
Posts : 455 Join date : 2013-08-29
| Subject: Re: Survivor's Guilt Thu 02 Apr 2015, 22:18 | |
| "Although there was some truth to the enemy's words, you can not let that gnaw at you. We had to lure out Chrysaor's puppets. Phillips and his kind are not men; they have become mouthpieces of the Abyss."
The Avatar of Memory looked off toward the water, glinting in the fading moonlight. "Losing your mother hurts us both, but know you are better than them... better than I was. And that's a fact." | |
| | | Zoe
Posts : 526 Join date : 2013-09-02 Location : Nacogdoches, TX
| Subject: Re: Survivor's Guilt Fri 03 Apr 2015, 01:54 | |
| Zoe laughs softly. "No offense, Papa, but you've only known me for a day. I'm not sure that's quite enough time to know what kind of person I am."
She follows his gaze across the water, then glances in the direction she knew their house to be in the physical realm.
"Why, Papa? Why did you and Mom abandon me all those years ago? Was it because of all this?" | |
| | | The Laughing Stranger Admin
Posts : 455 Join date : 2013-08-29
| Subject: Re: Survivor's Guilt Fri 03 Apr 2015, 11:20 | |
| The burly man shook his head and laughed. "Give your old dad some credit; spirits talk, after all. Your actions, on either side of the Gauntlet, have been kind and honorable. You heal others, even when they don not deserve it, and do your best to protect those weaker than you."
A look, old and alien, came into Tycheros' face. "My dealings with my predecessor, Mnemosyne, had many... repercussions. Not the least of which cost your mother her memory. This was not a selective thing, either. It was lost in totality. She did not remember us, at all. My pack was caught up fighting the Wyrmthings, and your mother... she wasn't capable of raising you. We sent you off to stay with some kin down south, while we prepared to make our final assault on Chrysaor's nest."
"This is why you can not blame yourself for what happened." Hot tears crept into the corner's of Tycheros' eyes, but the titanic man did not move, his hands dead limp and frustratingly impotent. "This, all of this, is just you trying to clean up my mess, Zoe. I was not strong or cunning enough to keep my pack or my family safe."
Last edited by The Laughing Stranger on Fri 03 Apr 2015, 12:02; edited 1 time in total | |
| | | Zoe
Posts : 526 Join date : 2013-09-02 Location : Nacogdoches, TX
| Subject: Re: Survivor's Guilt Fri 03 Apr 2015, 11:40 | |
| Zoe smiled slightly, silently scolding herself for doubting her Incarna of a father knew all about her life. Her eyes grew sad, however, as he explained her mother's total loss of memory.
"She didn't even know who I was in the end."
The thought strangely brought her comfort in that her mother did not know it was her own daughter who had failed to save her.
At Tycheros' final words, Zoe grabbed his large hand with hers and gave him the best teary-eyed smile of encouragement she could muster.
"I'm safe, Papa. You kept me and my pack safe, so that we can go keep their families safe now, too."
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