Marco's Heart

[peccatore]

You find yourself in a bright white, circular room. It's nearly empty; too bare, almost clinically so. But the bareness of it means that what is visible here stands out:

A podium in the center, where a familiar figure sits, head buried in his hands. Three paths running from the podium to three different spots near the edges of the room - not corners; circles don't have corners - where three doors leading seemingly nowhere stand with no regard for their complete lack of structural support.

It doesn't take you long to figure out where you are, does it? You only have to decide where to start.

Comments

[voidofhearts]

That's...!

[Heart rests a hand against her chest. Over the place where her heart used to be.]

That's not fair. There's a difference between you and a body. You can argue that the difference matters or not— but there is a difference. You can't deny that.

[peccatore]

"..."

He makes proper eye contact with her, this time.

"Please, don't take it personally. I should have died. You are alive. I don't want you to rot."

[voidofhearts]

I definitely died at least once. What I am now remains to be seen.

[She purses her lips]

But you're right that it isn't about me.

[peccatore]

"You said it sounded miserable, didn't you? Being a vampire. I remember."

[voidofhearts]

Didn't I say that about hiding being a vampire?

[peccatore]

"Did you? I don't recall..."

[voidofhearts]

Yes. That's the part I said sounded miserable. Believe it or not, I'm more personally familiar with what it feels like to need to take from others for every single meal.

[peccatore]

"I know. ... I know."

For a moment, he seems to be at a loss for words. His head sinks between his knees again, fingers fidgeting aimlessly.

"You're a good person. You've grown, you know. You've become a good person."

[voidofhearts]

Huh? I've... grown?

[peccatore]

Marco is smiling behind his knees. Unfortunately, nothing else about his posture has changed, so even if she could see it, it wouldn't look flattering.

"Since you pretended to shoot me."

[voidofhearts]

Ah... r-right. I suppose I have changed... an awful lot since then.

[peccatore]

"... Did I make you uncomfortable?"

The smile fades. Marco's shoulders slump, though the rest of him remains tense.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry..."

[voidofhearts]

No, it's just...

[She has no idea how or why she changed and she feels so estranged from her past self it hardly feels like growth at all.]

...We're... not going to get anywhere just talking like this, are we?

[peccatore]

"... I'm not going anywhere. I shouldn't..."

Does that answer the question, by any chance?

[voidofhearts]

[Yeah she's just gonna... sigh and start looking around for anything that might help. One of the doors... Maybe the one with the vampire girl? Yeah, sure, that one.]

[peccatore]

The vampire girl... Do her features soften by a fraction at your approach, or is that a trick of the (incredibly harsh) light?