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[maximumlegend]

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0:20

You have reached a MAXIMUM LEGEND!

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[maximumlegend]

We're too far into the forest now. Going back would be just as dangerous as going forward, so we might as well go to the store. [ Not that going to the store should still really be a concern in the face of what they're dealing with here.

But maybe Fabian is trying to downplay it all a little. Because if he thinks too hard about it, then he's going to start worrying about whether he could get influenced too, or Gorgug could lose his mind again, or he'll start feeling bummed about the sheet Riz personally made for him now being totally unusable.

And there's no time for any of that. If Fabian doesn't keep a cool head right now, then they might be fucked. Especially when he has no idea what they're dealing with here, and when it sounds like Gorgug is on the verge of panicking all over again.

Fabian has to stay calm. He has to be in charge of this situation, or they'll let this place get to them all over again, and he's not going to let it. He refuses. ]

We will just have to be careful. [ He bends down, starting to pick up the ripped pieces of his battle sheet. Fabian isn't even sure it can be saved at this point, but it feels respectful towards his other friend to just leave them lying around in the middle of this - apparently crazy - forest. ] If you see anything weird again at all, you have to do your best to stay calm and let me know immediately, okay?

[ .. It's kind of weird though. Fabian sounds so.. un-Fabian about it all. Fabian freaking out sounds like Fabian, or even Fabian keeping a cool head in battle in order to impress other people sounds like Fabian, but everything he's saying right now sounds so lifeless. There's no spirit. It's like a reluctant resignation, more than anything else. ]

[tinflower]

[ Gorgug's watching Fabian, since what else could he be doing? Standing up, helping his friend, and the latter does cross his mind. But it's the way his friend is speaking, the way he sounds so despondent that stops him from touching anything.

You did this to him before, his thoughts tell him, keeping his hands from making the movement to help. You got upset and ruined his shit. He's going to hate you. He can't trust you.

Gorgug's watching Fabian, until he isn't. The thoughts are true: he keeps doing this to his friend. He loses it, and then Fabian has to (literally) pick up the pieces? The reality of the fact douses over him, sinks deeper than any cold could get under his skin. He has to stay calm so he doesn't become a destructive mess like he's been his whole life. He has to be better than he is. Show he can be a friend.

Before Fabian thinks he isn't one. He can't keep screwing up. ]

... Okay. [ He answers slowly--but calmly. Sucks in a breath through his nostrils and tells himself what he's going to be. Not someone who panics. He's going to be normal, picking up the pieces of the battle sheet near to him, trying carefully not to damage it any further.

And if Fabian reaches for it, wants it, he'll be ready to hand it over without hesitation. ]

I'm sorry. I, I'll let you know next time. Okay. Thank you for snapping me out of it.

[ He'll stand up once he's picked up the parts that he has, doesn't walk or move. Fabian's the boss here. He'll follow his lead. ]

[maximumlegend]

[ Fabian does reach out for the parts of the ripped battle sheet that Gorgug is holding. Not even necessarily because he doesn't trust the other with them - though honestly, who knows if they'll manage to make it through these woods without either of them getting affected again, Fabian isn't so sure they will - but mostly because he wants to make sure to keep all the pieces together. He opens the bag they were planning to use for the groceries, putting all the pieces in there together.

He even looks around them for a moment, just to make sure they aren't accidentally leaving a piece behind. The battle sheet is just that important to him! Riz made it for him, and Fabian is never one to ignore a gesture from a friend like that.

So it's only when he seems absolutely sure that there's nothing left on the ground that he turns back to Gorgug. ]

It's fine. [ He says - and though it doesn't sound like a lie, it's not quite as warmly reassuring as Fabian can be, most of the time. That bit of spirit is still missing for now.

Even as he turns to start walking again. ]

It's not you. It's this dumb place.

[tinflower]

[ There's a weight he can't get off his chest, a guilt that feels too heavy for what he's otherwise telling himself it should be. It wasn't him, it's this dumb place; Gorgug knows it should be true, but there's a tickling in the back of his head, an Is it? that makes him doubtful as he stands there, hands empty. ]

Should we go now? If I look at the ground... [ and he does so, as an example, ] --I can't see anything weird. Nothing can spook me.

[ He's being sincere, as silly as it might seem. But they have to keep going, right? And what if it's going to happen again? Gorgug can't shake off that feeling, either. Won't it just come back? Trick them again? ]

[maximumlegend]

[ It is kind of silly, isn't it.

But on the other hand, Fabian doesn't know what else to tell Gorgug. He isn't sure how the other got influenced at all, or what influenced him in the first place. It's got to be something in this forest, but how is Fabian supposed to tell? If only Adaine was with them, maybe Detect Magic could have helped out right now. It really feels like the only thing he can let the other do.

.. though.. ]

Gorgug, you know that it could do plenty of spooky things to the ground as well, right? [ Gorgug, have you never seen horror movies!! ] If you are that worried, you should just close your eyes entirely.