The refugee camp outside Vintergard had been large, once - filled to bursting with those fleeing Titanius's corruption. Now it was near deserted, the makeshift tents collapsing, the fire pits cold. With news of the great monster's death, many had been eager to return to their homes and begin the process of reconstruction. Most of the people wandering the camp now were just there to clean up the place. Ash had been on latrine filling duty. It was. Uh. Well, he was incredibly thankful to the player who'd offered him a cheap handkerchief to wrap around his nose. This is really what I'm spending his free time on. He was taking a break now, trying to drown out the memory of an entire camp's worth of leftovers in the smell of some incredibly weak beer when he saw the ghost. A male felis clad in armor and covered in familiar sores watched forlornly as it lingered near a family of Felis in the midst of an argument. What looked like a mother and her sons, which must mean... oof. "We can't just wait forever, mom! We want to go back home!" The older of the sons was loudest, tail stiff and ears back as he glared at his mom. "...one more day. One more day, and we'll go," was the mother's response, her voice flat and quiet. "Please, just... be patient." "You've said that every day for a week!" It continued on like that, with the younger children looking too upset to intervene. Ash frowned at the display. Considering the evidence... well, the person the mother was waiting for was back, but obviously not in the state they wanted. Not that they could know that. Did that mean it fell to him to help them? Damnit, he didn't want to, but that was what you were supposed to do, right? Especially since he had some relevant information. But what was he supposed to do? Walk up and say "hey, your dad's dead, I know because his ghost is right there"? Ugh, that sounded horrible. And so Ash stood there, waffling furiously as the argument continued to spiral. @Rivers Asteire @Leona
Rivers had been ready to help rebuild! After all, Mist had suggested that they pitch in to the restoration effort. And far be it from him to refuse her. Rivers had decided to pitch in any way he could! He would be clearing forests! Chopping trees! Building bridges! Rivers...Rivers would be filling latrines. It really wasn't glamorous work. But, it was work for a good cause and that was all that mattered! Probably. Rivers really put his back into his work to make it go faster. It wasn't really working. There. Was. Always. More. Rivers worked and he worked and he worked, but at some point... he had to take a break. As he walked, Rivers rolled his shoulders to try to stretch out his muscles. That's what you were supposed to do, right? Stretch them out? Or were you supposed to stretch them out before the exercise? Who could keep it straight? Rivers walked towards a Caenis whom he'd recognized. Perhaps he too had been pitching in? Rivers walked over and stood next to him. "Hi. I'm Rivers nice to meet you." At this point, River looked towards the family who was wandering. It was clear what had happened. The father likely wasn't coming home. As Rivers looked on, he felt his stomach tie in knots. Sure, these were just NPCs in a video game, but it was still real. As he often did when faced with this issue, Rivers' hand trailed over his eyepatch. He couldn't just decide that NPCs weren't real now. If he did, his sacrifice would be for nothing. Even with his investment justified, Rivers didn't know what to do. Should he tell them to go ahead? Should he try to give them some hope, only for it to only be dashed? Damn! He bit into his lip. What should he say? What could he even say? He'd call his dad after he logged off. Sighing he looked over to his fellow player. Rivers trusted that his fellow player would come up with something definitive that was the right call, but his fellow player didn't seem to be moving. It wasn't just Rivers then. "It's hard isn't it? Fighting Titanius was awful and fucked with all of us. But... I think this is worse. You can't punch these problems. Heh. Sorry. I shouldn't be a downer." Rivers kicked up some dust. He needed to think of a change of topic. Literally, any other topic would do. "So, worked here long? I just started. There's a lot still to do, huh? I wonder if it'll ever get fixed..." @Leona @Ash Vargold
