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Song Two / Ethan Rose

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In a dark time, the eye begins to see, I meet my shadow in the deepening shade; I hear my echo in the echoing wood— A lord of nature weeping to a tee. I live between the heron and the wren, Beasts of the hill and serpents of the den. What’s madness but nobility of the soul At odds with circumstance? The day’s on fire! I know the purity of pure despair, My shadow pinned against a sweating wall. The place among the rocks—is it a cave, Or a winding path? The edge is what I have. A steady storm of correspondences! A night flowing with birds, a ragged moon, And in broad day the midnight come again! A man goes far to find out what he is— Death of the self in a long, tearless night, All natural shapes blazing unnatural light. Dark, dark my light, and darker my desire. My soul, like some heat-maddened summer fly, Keeps buzzing at the sill. Which I is I? A fallen man, I climb out of my fear. The mind enters itself, and God the mind, And one is One, free in the tearing wind.

"In a Dark Time" by Theodore Roethke

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Song One / Ethan Rose

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Journal Entry

Standing up from the balcony he had spent the past few days on, Arthur went back inside and rummaged around in the drawers and everywhere for a few pieces of paper and something to write with. Inside the desk, he was lucky enough to find a few sheets of note paper and a pencil. Arthur set the phone down and examined the map Matthew had sent him and redrew a simple version of it, labelling and marking it. The past few days he had been here the Briton had searched the room over for a map but had been unable to find one. It was a little odd in his opinion, but he could only assume that the precious renters of the room had taken it with them. At least it was something to set his mind steady. Deeming the makeshift map good enough, he turned off the cell phone, wanting to save as much battery life as he could. He had no charger cord for it, and half of the city seemed to be out of power anyway. He quickly set to work on another note for Francis if he were to return.

                   Frog,                        Don’t take it the wrong way, but I couldn’t wait for you                     any longer. I’ve been in this hotel for too many days as it is                     and I simply had to move. Besides, I’ve managed to make                          contact with Matthew and Alfred——they’re fine——                      and I’m going to meet up with them. If you aren’t dead                    by then come join us. Matthew is worried.

                           I’m not.

                                                               ——Arthur

That was good enough, yes? He thought so. And so he made a quick duplicate of the map he made and make it obvious where the boys were and where Arthur would be heading. There had been some scotch tape in the draw with the paper and he simply taped both the note and paper with a crudely drawn map onto the glass door of the balcony, hoping that it would be seen if he had come back. Arthur certainly wasn’t worried. Not in the least. Though hearing from him again and knowing that he wasn’t eaten alive would be a nice relief, he supposed. Only because the only one going to take that frog down was going to be him. Simple as that.

With a sigh, satisfied with the note and map, Arthur set to work packing his things again, double checking he knew where everything was and had everything he needed. The small supply of medical gear; the even smaller supply of food and water; his knife and gun and metal pipe. It was all good enough for the short trip, and pulling up the hood of his sweater he descended the fire escape carefully and made his way down the street. The stench from the few rotting bodies was becoming rather strong and he supposed maybe that should be hint enough to leave the area. Who knows what really attracted those monstrosities, but he certainly wasn’t going to stick around and find out. There were more important things to worry about, like finding his boys and staying alive for his people. It was the least he could owe to them. Glancing down at the paper, he made a sudden right down another road, his quick footsteps light despite his haste.

He realised right about now, he should be going down a long stretch of road, and pausing, he stared down it with critical eyes. Long, open stretches of road were never a good thing, even during the war time he was familiar with. Nonetheless, he hadn’t wanted to waste all of his energy running circles around the city. Just getting to the location indicated would be tiring enough for his exhausted state. Just take it slow; just take it easy. Stay quiet. And Arthur did just that, his steps measured and soft, sticking close to buildings yet avoiding open windows. A few abandoned cars lined the streets and he was half tempted to check them out on his way, but kept going past, not wanting to disturb anything as it was. He would probably feel much better about doing things of that sort if he weren't on his own, only reassuring himself with the idea that if all went well, he wouldn't be for much longer. Maybe things could come to some sort of normality in this hellish hole of a city.

There was a scrape of something rather heavy just behind him, and his steps stopped instantly. His sense of alertness shot up and he listened for anything that could clue him off as to what that was. It couldn't have been anything natural or something simply shifting from the unstable wreckage. No, it was something moving. His hands griped the pipe even tighter. A loud crash of glass and other debris, and Arthur quickly turned around, emerald locking onto a woman. No longer a woman. She looked like she used to be quite a beautiful woman. It stumbled over itself, and its left arm was obviously broken beyond use. It didn't seem to notice, and those dead eyes met his. He took the pipe into both hands and steadied himself. No sudden movements...

                          → Matthew, what is the best way to get inside? I'm not far off. Please be quick. Thank you. -Arthur

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→ I'm very glad to hear that, lad. I certainly don't want to be hindrance. Hopefully Alfred won't mind. It's not like I'm unused to scrounging around on my on, though. But that's neither here nor there. Thank you for the map, lad. I'll finish packing up here and head out as soon as I can. It doesn't seem too terribly far away from here, so it shouldn't take to long.

Journal Entry -- Matthew

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あおぎり

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Arthur looked down at the message a long while, feeling a little calmed by it. It was a reassuring feeling knowing that someone wanted him around, even in this kind of situation. Though he couldn't argue that it wouldn't be rather nice to be with the boys again, where he could at least keep a closer eye on them. It was mostly out of a protectiveness over them that grew from when they were still so little. Maybe he hadn't been the best of guardians, but his intentions were there for the most part. Now his mind was starting to wander to areas he'd rather avoid so quickly set his mind to replying.

→ I think that would be a good idea. If of course, you and Alfred wouldn't mind. I'll do what I can about Francis, but there's only so much I can do, I hope you understand. Now, where was it you were again? And try to be as specific as you can so I can find it on a map. I'm afraid my sense of direction at the moment as been shot.

Journal Entry -- Matthew

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→ That will be perfect. Maybe I can figure out how this blasted phone works and figure something out. If not I'm sure there's a map somewhere in this hotel. I'll figure something out. And don't worry about the transportation for right now. I think getting together should be a bit more of a priority. 

Arthur certainly didn't want to admit that he was worried about the other man, but in these circumstances he supposed he could explain his worry. He had to be fine. Just got himself lost, was all. That was it. Obviously. He had his things with him so he would be fine. Simple as that. 

Maybe he really wouldn't get sleep that night...

→ Yes, he has everything he had with him. He'll show up right as rain, and we can all get on with our happy little lives again. Honestly though, he'll be fine. Always has been. He may be a coward, but he's gotten through the worst of it like the rest of us. 

Journal Entry -- Matthew

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It wasn't that he just wanted Francis to drop off the Earth--yeah, he treated and talked about the idiot like that. But even if they had a rather sour relationship, he was still one of the only people to honestly keep coming back. It seemed more like a rivalry than anything. Besides, if anything was going to bring the frog down, it was going to be him. The phone buzzed and Arthur had to wonder if this was what it was like for kids these days, constantly on their phones. It was still a little odd for him.

→ Yes, that sounds like a wonderful plan. I need to move anyway, so I'll possibly try to find you and Alfred. I'm glad he's there finally and alright. 

There was a bit of a pause between texts.

→ He's fine, as far as I can tell. Ran into him the other day and he decided to tag along, but he's ran off somewhere and hasn't come back yet. I'm sure he's fine, though. He's good at running away from conflict, remember. He'll turn up eventually.

Journal Entry -- Matthew

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He didn't think he'd be able to sleep again tonight anyway, so he simply just settled himself on the balcony, sitting and looking up toward what he could see of the sky. He told himself that tomorrow he had to move location, whether the frog came along or not. He couldn't risk himself being found out by one of those poor creatures from his smell or something lingering here by staying any longer than that. 

The phone buzzed and interrupted his thoughts. He supposed he was a little glad for this turn of events. 

→ I see. That's good. Your location and the incident with Gilbert. I'm sorry I couldn't be of much help. I'd come and find you myself, but I'm afraid it's too late in the evening for me to be running around on the streets. I hope you understand. Tomorrow, maybe. Speaking of which, has Alfred found you yet? He said he was going to. -Arthur

Journal Entry -- Matthew

Matthew took a sip of his water bottle and jumped a little, spilling a bit on Kumajiro who gave the other an unamused look. “Eh heh… Sorry Kuma…” the bear slipped off his lap and decided to talk a small walk. He pulled out his phone and unlocked it. He smiled down at it and adjusted his position to where he can set his leg onto his knee.

[I’m in the gardens all safe and sound. You can say that Gilbert spared me. He looked very depressed when I told him that neither you or Alfred knew Ludwig’s location. -Matthew]

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☆

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[TEXT] Evening Arthur :) -Matthew

Arthur had told himself that he'd start cutting back on the smoking to save what he could, but after those few short moments of finally hearing from people he cared about and then it suddenly being cut off due to some altercation for all he could tell, it was worrying. Even if those boys may not consider it much, but they were the closest thing to a family he had. Fuck his brothers--most of them wanted Arthur dead anyway. The stress of not hearing back from them, and from wondering where that blasted frog had run off to, was getting to him a fag or three was the only comfort he had.

The phone buzzed again, though, and Arthur nearly dropped the cigarette as he hastily dug in his pocket for the annoying thing. A hand ran through his hair in relief at who it was.

→ I'm glad you're alright, lad. Thank you. Where are you? Gilbert isn't with you anymore, is he? -Arthur

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