[Arthur's eyes dart back up at Lewis, but he can't seem to keep looking at him for more than a second or two now. Ironic, after how long he's wanted this. He looks at the ground instead. The Dedenne shoves her way beneath the hand that's tugging at his own hair, urging him into petting her instead.
A cruel question? Maybe. But Arthur's gone through that night a hundred times before - to the authorities, to Uncle Lance, to Lewis's parents. To himself. To Vivi, even, before he realized that wouldn't work. He knows by now how to tell it, at least. Has noted all the details that seemed to matter, condensed away the parts that didn't.]
We, um. We went out there after dark, from - from my place. You drove.
[Already a few things that had bothered him at the time: the petty old thing of feeling left out, and then that old Arthur chestnut of "why can't we just visit the spooky place in the daytime if we gotta do it". But his voice is already going flat, like a recitation, his nerves settling into the old familiar shape of guilt this story always takes.]
It wasn't that far off the road. It had a sign out front, with a skull. There was all this weird green fog in there, but...there were bats inside, too. [So, not poisonous swamp gas? It's come up.] We didn't go in very far before the path split. Vi took Mystery and went one way, and you and me went the other.
[He remembers he'd already been nervous, spooked by the bats and the frankly creepy vibes. Clinging to Lewis. Still, he'd been surprised when they split up the way they did - that the two of them didn't want to go together. But things like that got pruned out of the retelling.]
You were in front, and you had the torch. We kinda went - we went - up, a little bit. [Sorry, Lewis, this is Arthur only realizing just now how this connects to the whole cliff thing. He'd known they went up. He just...hadn't thought that part was important. Hadn't really remembered there was a cliff at the end.] Um. I-it was...really cold in there, in the tunnel, and there was a lot more fog. I - I might've been looking around, or it was too dark or foggy, but I -
[But he didn't see anything happen to Lewis, is usually how the story ends. The last he remembers of him, he was right there and perfectly fine. He didn't see what got his arm either, for whatever that's worth, but that's always been an afterthought. That's over, it's done with, it's not that important now. His hand travels idly again to his stump - his shoulder, again now, his robot shoulder.]
...Vivi. She, um, she says she, uh...she heard me screaming, but I couldn't really tell her anything when she found me. Shock, I guess? She, uh, she got me out of there. I don't really remember that part, I think I passed out pretty quick. She, um. She doesn't know any more than that.
no subject
[Arthur's eyes dart back up at Lewis, but he can't seem to keep looking at him for more than a second or two now. Ironic, after how long he's wanted this. He looks at the ground instead. The Dedenne shoves her way beneath the hand that's tugging at his own hair, urging him into petting her instead.
A cruel question? Maybe. But Arthur's gone through that night a hundred times before - to the authorities, to Uncle Lance, to Lewis's parents. To himself. To Vivi, even, before he realized that wouldn't work. He knows by now how to tell it, at least. Has noted all the details that seemed to matter, condensed away the parts that didn't.]
We, um. We went out there after dark, from - from my place. You drove.
[Already a few things that had bothered him at the time: the petty old thing of feeling left out, and then that old Arthur chestnut of "why can't we just visit the spooky place in the daytime if we gotta do it". But his voice is already going flat, like a recitation, his nerves settling into the old familiar shape of guilt this story always takes.]
It wasn't that far off the road. It had a sign out front, with a skull. There was all this weird green fog in there, but...there were bats inside, too. [So, not poisonous swamp gas? It's come up.] We didn't go in very far before the path split. Vi took Mystery and went one way, and you and me went the other.
[He remembers he'd already been nervous, spooked by the bats and the frankly creepy vibes. Clinging to Lewis. Still, he'd been surprised when they split up the way they did - that the two of them didn't want to go together. But things like that got pruned out of the retelling.]
You were in front, and you had the torch. We kinda went - we went - up, a little bit. [Sorry, Lewis, this is Arthur only realizing just now how this connects to the whole cliff thing. He'd known they went up. He just...hadn't thought that part was important. Hadn't really remembered there was a cliff at the end.] Um. I-it was...really cold in there, in the tunnel, and there was a lot more fog. I - I might've been looking around, or it was too dark or foggy, but I -
[But he didn't see anything happen to Lewis, is usually how the story ends. The last he remembers of him, he was right there and perfectly fine. He didn't see what got his arm either, for whatever that's worth, but that's always been an afterthought. That's over, it's done with, it's not that important now. His hand travels idly again to his stump - his shoulder, again now, his robot shoulder.]
...Vivi. She, um, she says she, uh...she heard me screaming, but I couldn't really tell her anything when she found me. Shock, I guess? She, uh, she got me out of there. I don't really remember that part, I think I passed out pretty quick. She, um. She doesn't know any more than that.