#mb&s

Rette: "Very well. We shall discuss. let us begin with the obvious. Present dangers. Precautionary measures have been taken, but all it takes is one tiny error and it is over. It will spread all across this table. So much so that it becomes it."

Mar: "Oh, aye. We would cease to exist as is. But this picture is no longer just stormy skies. His plans bring a possibility that cannot be ignored. If he succeeds, it could be just like a scene from a play. Walking down the garden. Holding hands.”

Mar's gaze turned to Gha who was quietly brooding and staring into the empty seat across, to Mar's left. 

Mar: "... Maybe someone crying or dying in the background. Nothing unnatural."

Gha's faceless face shuddered.

Rette: "His predatory nature will surely persist through the split. Strong on both sides, but only one would pose a high level of danger -- and it is not going to be the real him. Of course, it should be noted that I believe my words to be biased. My pants would catch on fire were I to sat your hopes are not relatable. Or contagious."

Rette nodded to Mar, taking a delicate sip from her teacup. Polished pinkie extended.

With a dislocated succession of faint 'pops' and 'cracks', Gha stood from it's seat. Though a pair of arms were discernible, it's legs slithered and dragged across the wooden floor as if they were one. Another round of ripples and needlish spikes traveled across the hazy suit. 

Gha: "I. Will. S-s-s-show you. Your desires. This is one of it's many. P-possibilities."

Frank tilted to the right. It's thorny body was fantastically bendy.

Behind the empty seat, a scene began to appear. It was prompted by Gha's waving hand. Like a weathered painting, patterns and shapes flourished. A sizable portion of a ship's cabin replaced the empty darkness. Windows revealed both ocean and land in the distance. But before such escapes was a bloodstained bed. The expansion of the image revealed two bodies.

One was a grown human male. He was of shaggy blonde hair and a dark, tanned complexion. He lay face down, bleeding into the bed from the wound on the side of his head. One of his arms was wrapped around the second body. A much smaller one. That of an infant girl who looked to be no older than several months. The child's wound mirrored that of her father's. 

Gha: "This could be him if his plan succeeds. And her. He did. Did not come alone. Or it. Could be us-s-s."

The scene continued to extend, revealing a gun on the floor. A dying lamp swung from the ceiling as turbulent waves began to come around. 

Gha: "The inevitable conclusion of all life. Death."

Gha paced enthusiastically behind it's spot on the board. Mar and Rette steadily watched. One had a teacup, the other a coconut. Where Mar swayed her head, Rette drummed her fingers. 

Gha: "Instead of them outliving us. We. Outlive them. Neither brings good tidings-s-s."

Margharette appeared on the scene, arriving to what would become her last day in paradise. Stricken with grief, she falls to her knees. The woman gasped for air, but her sobs went by silently. The picture was muted. One after the other, her cries went ignored. 

Gha: "There. F-f-fallen. Every good thing once felt. Destroyed. Crushed by loss."

In the recreation of her pain, Margharette began to reach for the loaded weapon on the floor.

Frank swayed left.

Another tendril of Shadows coiled around Mar's shoulders, this time extending to her neck and bare chest. One were now two.

Meanwhile, Margharette's attempts to place the gun against her head were thwarted by a violent quake. Her grip faltered. The heavy piece fell to the ground with a thud as loud as hers. Unlike the others, this sound boomed across the space of those watching. Tightly, Margharette clutched her chest, blue eyes rising to the bodies of her loved ones. She choked. She groaned. But then nothing. 

Gha: "And you couldn't even finish it yourself."

A few more twitches and Margharette's heart was finally done. Broken. Not enough strength to keep her going and away from death's door. Now, it became the key that unlocked it.

Mar: "I can be next in line."

Gha, who had been pacing a little more, froze on it's tracks. Though it's body was turned away from Mar, it's ghoulish head turned around. All the way around. The sound of bones breaking and colliding was as gruesome as that of unseen teeth gnawing and grinding.

Gha: "You. Just like. Me."

Rette took a last glance at the disappearing image, finding the clarity of it's details satisfactory. She then looked between Mar and Gha with a less severe expression, drinking quietly from her cup.

Mar's head swayed from side to side after giving Gha a confident nod. 

Mar: "Our fate is shared. That was something made extremely clear after this catastrophe. The wheel spun and showed us the direction. Now we have it. That was the deal. Two more opportunities, if possible, for the third has already been taken advantage of."

Gha: "Options. There are others."

Slowly, Frank the Cactus tilted to the right again.

Rette: "None that entice all senses like he does. Even YOU will surrender." Unwavering authority composed said words.

Gha: "You defend this because you are infatuated. And because it will not be YOU that endures... "

Gha began to move closer to the table, body rapidly and gracelessly turning to match the direction of it's head.

Gha: " ... t-t-this."

Rette's flowery cup rose, used as a means to signal her agreement towards the creature at her left.

Mar: "We have been in the warm shores of paradise. Many never even see it. And while that may not be the final destination of this voyage, the risk is still worth it. Patience will be worth it. This is not the same Margharette from then. This is now. And if in the future, darkness should encase me, I am comforted by the fact that it will be YOU that stands alone. Radiance in a room of monsters. Means there will still be a chance... And I do like chances."

Mar's shaven coconut rose, mimicking Rette's previous cheering motion with her contrasting fancy cup.

Gha silently stared at the seat across even without eyes. Frail hands settled over it's own seat, but soon, Gha joined the others seated at the table.

Frank veered left, it's spine flexible but unbreakable. 

Gha: "Useless. Your silence. Is not. Or is it... It is. Or... "

Rette: "Banter aside, this companionship has touched us all in one way or another. Most recently, I noted an irregularity during a session. These feelings of adoration... Of love -- they must be carefully woven into the cover story. Too many lies and the story is too weak to stand on it's own. Not enough, and we expose a weakness. One the enemy can and would exploit. Twice, because there are TWO people involved. The verbal foreplay routine when engaged in work will need to be reworked. Rephrased. Refreshed."

Mar: "This discussion has nothing to do with business."

Rette: "Everything can be business if you're gray enough."

Mar stared at Rette for a long and spiteful moment, but the feeling passed. Slid with ease. Like melted butter. 

Mar: "Which is why I am making this call. What needs to be done will be done. That is what I trust you to do if it comes to such blows. Let the winds die now so that we may reach a conclusion and gaze into our future."

Rette nodded, throwing a tiny cube into her refilled cup. Gha only continued to glare ahead.

Rette: "Preparations for many possibilities have already begun. The Crabby Cabin will also be going through extensive renovations. This place will be a fortress. One where both him and her can seek refuge from what comes, given that there will finally be room for more than one person. What truly worries me is the vessel he leaves behind. With any luck, and maybe some bribes, it will be kept busy."

Gha shuddered, it's stable but fluid form vivid and animated. 

Gha: "Miss-s-s. I will miss it. I. Yet. Do not know the satisfaction of making it..." The voice became even more distorted. Wisps of thick Shadows wrapped around it's head, moving in fast spinning circles. 

Gha: "... Submit. In full. Without him being bound. By ch-ch-chains."

Frank tilted to the right.

Mar: "Confusing creature."

Gha: "Remind yourself. No matter how the next fall comes. You. And I. Will look the same."

Mar fell silent, turning to glance at the empty coffee cups to her right. With acceptance, she nodded. 

Rette: "Then it is settled. The chance will be taken. This means that our grip on emotions, and by our I of course mean mine, will need to be better than flawless at all times. Especially when we consider what is happening deeper down the rabbit hole."

Behind Rette's ear, a Shadowy line curved and twisted. After snaking around the back of her neck, it disappeared beneath her golden garments. 

Mar: "Be it by Chance or otherwise, our fates are here. Present. Some of the tails found down this road lead to heartbreak. Others to happiness. To peace. Peace that is violently forged elsewhere. Here? It is made complete by his presence. Fun. Joy. Love. Care. Affection. All siblings. All part of the same thread."

Gha: "Even I feel this. This that you speak of. To not pursue and protect this treasure would be criminal."

The three beings looked between each other and nodded. Mar and Rette rose their drinks and indulged. Gha sat still. And the empty seat remained empty.