school: beau

[shaft]

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week 0, monday, pool

[shaft]

[ Claude is staring at the picture of the 50% OFF! poster and trying to figure out why it seems so eerie when he hears footsteps.

And when he sees that it's Beau, he seems to light up in... recognition. ]

Ah, fair lady. What a fortunate encounter!

[disreguarded]

[she kind of just blinks at him?? she is holding a bunch of crayons.]

-- Uh. Sure. Hi? What's up.

week 2, friday, close to the dorms probably

[shaft]

[ Claude likes Beau, so when he sees her around, he'll wander on over. ]

Hey there, looking around for clues?

[disreguarded]

Yeah. Or - well, I was looking for Caleb, but I got roped into clues.

[huff.]

You? [...] You okay?

w2, saturday

[disreguarded]

Hey.
Meet me outside the library if you're not too pissed.

[shaft]

Sure.

[ And Claude will appear in however it long it takes to get there. He doesn't say anything, just raising an eyebrow at Beau. ]

w3, monday

[disreguarded]

[WHAT'S UP coming in hot, claude just gets a memory to start us off yeet

It's chaos.

This dirt road - this isn't how you'd all really planned to do this, so much. The plan is haphazard, but that's how you do things. None of you think, before you jump in. It's cold, the snow makes it hard to see - you can still feel the ache of sleeping on the icy ground in your bones, but you ignore it. You have to, because you're in the middle of a fight, your fists clenched so tightly you can feel the fingernail crescents in your palm forming.

You can't see Caleb - you can't see Nott, either. You're covered in ice from Lorenzo's fucking spell, you're on a horse and you're on your way to Lorzeno, tense, ready to jump off to beat the fuck out of him, but you stop.

Because you hear a thud, and you frantically look ahead of you, as Mollymauk - as Mollymauk stumbles, and drops. Blood drips from his sword, as his knees hit the dirt, and he stares up at Lorenzo with an unfocused gaze. And the bastard - Lorenzo doesn't falter. He strikes.

The blade sinks seven inches into Molly's chest - blood splatters from Molly's mouth, and your blood turns to ice. No, no, no, this won't happen. You won't let this happen, you've already lost some of your friends to this asshole and you refuse to let him win. You try - you try to hit, you swing, and you miss, and he just grins in your face.

Lorzeno looks you in the eye. "An example it is," he says. He's bleeding, Molly is bleeding, scrabbling at the blade in his chest, but when Lorenzo turns to him --

Molly, the son of a bitch, spits blood in his face.

"Respect," Lorenzo says, wiping the blood away with the back of his hand. And then he twists the blade, and there's a crack in the air as you watch the life leave Molly's eyes.

You're numb. You feel numb. Arrows ping off your armor, and with a snarl, you grab one in mid air, catch it in your hand and throw it to the ground. Lorenzo looks up at you with a grin.

"Is it time for another, or have you learned your lesson?"

You should know: I have no respect for authority, you spit at him, voice trembling.

"Then another life it is."

and the memory ends, with beau sort of just. standing there, dazed.]

[shaft]

[ The chill stays with Claude, even as he comes back to his head, fading slower than the residual ache and sorrow in his chest.

He stares at Beau, completely mystified. ]

Molly... He was killed?

week 3, saturday, outside

[shaft]

[ Claude looks weirdly angry as he stops around outside, but when he sees Beau, he hesitates a little.

He's pretty terrible at comforting people, so he's just going to stand close by, ] Hey.

[disreguarded]

Hey.

[she just looks exhausted, mostly, but - the angry look on his face makes her pause.]

... You okay?

w4, monday

[disreguarded]

[here is beau, peeking her head over the top of the rock wall, squinting at him.]

... The fuck are you doing up here. [hewwo]

[shaft]

[ Claude smiles and waves down at her. There's still distance between them, but there's both mischief and fatigue lingering around him. ]

I like to feel tall. You should come up here.

w4, friday, outside

[shaft]

[ Claude is just sitting on a bench outside. I don't know if there are benches, but he's sitting on one, staring up at the sky.

His emotions are muted at the moment, a muddled mix of frustration and uncertainty, but he'll smile slightly when he sees Beau. ]

Hey. Another Friday for us to endure.

[disreguarded]

[she just flops down next to him. she's mostly tired, but.]

Hey. [she glances at him.] ... This has gotta be weird, huh.

week 4, saturday, outside ig

[shaft]

[ The vibes are bad, thunderous as Claude wanders around the campus, pacing and basically unable to sit still.

When he stumbles across Beau, the sudden pang of pain is undeniable, but he wanders over, setting a hand on her shoulder if she lets him.

He doesn't say anything. ]

[disreguarded]

[oh yeah they're REAL BAD over here. same vibes!

she's just curled up, somewhere. maybe a bench. knees pulled up to her chest, hands laced across the back of her neck, elbows tucked in. she startles sharply when claude touches her, and looks up at him -- expression just. kind of wild? and then she reigns it in, and her jaw tenses.

she mostly just feels shocked. doesn't say anything either, just stares at him. hey.]

week 5, monday, athletics field

[shaft]

[ For once in his life, Claude is exercising. I wonder why?

In any case, he'll wave at Beau. ]

In the mood to get fit?

[disreguarded]

Could be, if I've got my athletics back. [she says, amused, watching him do a exercise?? claude.] Are you? What's up with you?

week 5, friday, outside

[shaft]

[ Hilariously, Claude really isn't much of a touchy feely person, but when he sees Beau, he doesn't bother saying anything, just pulls her into a hug.

And, with as much emotion as he can muster, ] Shit.

[disreguarded]

[she's - stiff, at first, when he hugs her, but. after a moment she very carefully brings her arms up and holds at the back of his shirt.

she's holding herself together in that sort of tense, awkward way that people do when they're right about to fall apart entirely. steady, measured breaths.]

I'm glad it wasn't you.

w5, sunday late

[disreguarded]

Hey
Have you talked to Annie today? Do you know if any of the other summers have asked her for info

[shaft]

I haven't. And no, they haven't. Why?

w6, monday

[disreguarded]

[claude is probably just minding his own business when beau just very suddenly drops upside down out of a tree, hanging onto a branch with her legs, and shoots him with a nerf water gun.

SURPRISE]

[shaft]

Wha—?!

[ Say the water hits him in the back of the head, tickling as it trails down his nape and down his spine, so much that he's got his shoulders hunched up when he spins around.

He is also holding a water gun. ]

Found me, have you? Fiend!

[ Shoots her back. ]

w6, thursday

[disreguarded]

[well, once she remembers who the fuck claude is, she's looking for him. thoroughly. she's like, buzzing furiously.]

Claude? [come on, dude]

[shaft]

[ She can find him sitting on the ground, at the base of the tree. He might be throwing up, but it's more like just wretching with nothing coming out. ]

week 6, friday, observatory

[shaft]

[ Claude is here! He looks somber, but not quite like he's about to have a breakdown like yesterday.

He'll look over when he sees Beau. He doesn't really smile. ]

Hey.

[disreguarded]

[she makes her way over! immediately puts a hand on his arm.]

Hey. [Are you okay?]

week 7, monday, outside

[shaft]

[ Claude is standing on campus, staring at one of the unstable buildings, a grim expression on his face.

He'll look over when he notices Beau. ]

I guess we should've expected this. I'd hoped we'd get a chance to all regroup together though.

[disreguarded]

[she comes up to him, hands in her pockets. she glances up at the building as well, and sighs.]

... Yeah. Me too. But we do what we can with what we've got, right? [a beat.] How'd it go yesterday? With all the reveals.

w7, saturday

[disreguarded]

[when she comes to find him, she's got two smoothies in hand. she will give him one. it has a strong booze taste to it.]

So - what do you think of the ending?

[shaft]

[ bless u beau, he will accept it, alcohol and all. ]

It's better than anything I would've expected out of this place. [ He's smiling. ] How about you?