( Shepherd leans against Annie, bracing himself for nonexistent impact. And then they're just somewhere else.
Shepherd and Annie don't know it, but it's a perfect representation if their two memories were combined as one. The room they're in is definitely Mouser, the store he worked in after he ran away, but it's lined with bookshelves. And where the glass cases of electronics should be, there are dewey decimal drawers with old-fashioned pulls. Along the walls are fun library posters from what Annie would remember. She'd take Serena to the library when she was younger. There's even a big sign explaining late fee times and consequences.
Shepherd turns around and the light from the sign out front still glows it's ever-dying neon white. The word, 'Mouser' lights up and dies down. He can almost hear the heat coming from it and he has to break his attention completely before turning back to her. He's fine. This is fine.
He shrugs. Down to business. )
We need to find a key.
( So that's what he'll focus on, moving to the first row of drawers. The front door opens and the bell rings with it. He looks up behind Annie, not recognizing the man.
[Annie can pick out the pieces of it that are familiar to her life, the remnants of the library where Serena would walk away with stacks of old CDs instead of books, music always the throughline of her life. When she got a little older and had her own allowance, they would hit a record store instead.
When she hears Bennett's voice, however, she's immediately distracted from the task at hand. It's been years since she's even looked at a picture of her brother, too worried about all the ways she failed him, but he's here? In this?
This can't be real. But in the end, all she can say is:]
("I know you blame yourself. And your sister," Bennett offers, an olive branch. Maybe an attempt for closure.
Shepherd frowns, squinting to see if there's anything on the edges of this memory. He has to be a figment, but he doesn't see the strings. And he can't draw any power from the spell. Not unless he finds a key. )
Distract the spell, I'll focus on the key.
( He speeds up his attempts, pulling drawer upon drawer open and shut, going down one column and back up. )
[Distract the spell. Okay. She can do that. She keeps her attention on her brother, and tries not to run for him, because that way certainly lies danger.]
I think Jennifer certainly deserves some of the blame, don't you think?
[One of them walked away from the confrontation between them, and it wasn't Bennett. Therefore it had to be Jennifer.
As Shep wanders through some of the drawers, a familiar voice curls from over his shoulder, low and enticing. "You always did have a way of getting those clever fingers where they didn't belong."]
("You can't deny your doubt like I can't tell you exactly what happened." Whether it be the magic, her mind, or something else. This works in a twisted way, twisted enough for her brother not to give up what did happen right away. Maybe he just wants time with her.
Shepherd's clever fingers freeze, head rising, gaze narrowing. He doesn't look. He doesn't have to. )
You're not here. You're dead. And before you try and convince me, or guilt me, it's your fault. You didn't give me any information. You used me and then made sure I'd come back. If it didn't work, or maybe because you just couldn't live without me. Either way. You boned yourself.
My doubt is wishful thinking. You and I both know that.
[Her doubts about Jennifer have become quieter and quieter over the years, the longer her sister stays away.]
Wouldn't you rather talk about something else? Your daughter, maybe?
[Let's talk about Serena. It's a much more neutral topic.
Patrick smirks, but doesn't move from his position behind him. If he forces him to look, then that's no fun. If Shep is going to look, he wants him to do it of his own accord.
"Now, who says I want to do either of those things? In the end, you did exactly what you were designed to do. I got what I wanted."
("Do we?" he asks. Stiffening, he flexes his jaw. "She's in good hands. She always has been." Maybe, they both know now he wasn't a good enough father, or none of this would have happened. He knows how she is. He knows she's been raised right. That she's as feisty as her mother and resolute and caring as her father. He's proud of her. But, if that's how Annie wants to spend this time together, what is he going to say. "You went younger," he says, indicating Shepherd.
Shepherd ignores him, or tries as he keeps going drawer to drawer. He doesn't stop. But, the goading works. As far as he knows Shepherd "survived" and stopped his maniacal, shifty plan. )
[Well, they're not. But that doesn't really matter, does it? Bennett's always been better at reading her feelings than she'd care to admit. Benefit of being the older brother, but that's not really the point.]
He's not as young as he looks.
["Oh. You don't know." He's still not looking, but he can likely envision the smile, wide like a shark. "It worked. Godot is out there, somewhere, living the life he was withheld from. I just didn't expect that I would die in the process. Miscalculation on my part, but unimportant in the end."]
("He rattles," Bennett says, observing the interaction. )
And let me guess, he'll find a way to bring you back. History repeats itself. You know, I never really thought about it, but you're very dramatic.
( He slams the last drawer on his side of the cabinets, sighs, and finally looks him in the eyes. He wishes there wasn't a level of fondness deep down. Protection. Twisted kind of love. )
So, what are you two doing here?
("It's about why you and my sister are here," Bennett says, giving her a look, but keeping his distance. "Not us.")
["It's a little bit about us." Patrick grins as he strolls around one of the book shelves, running his fingers along the spines of the books. "Some of us are meant to be enticements. Others, distractions."
Annie, who had looked back at Shep when her brother mentioned he was rattled, goes back to Bennett.]
So we have to choose then? Between the key and you?
Or, last long enough not doing what we should before the spell expels us, and I assume everyone else?
( Is that its' game?
"Maybe you can either listen to what really happened, or help these people who you don't know from Adam. And the - not young one." Bennett's not asking for anything. He has no horse in this race. He let his family down, either way. He left them. )
[Annie lets out a frustrated huff, because she knows that now isn't the time. They don't have the time.
All she really wants is more time.]
Fine. Tell me what you need to tell me.
[This can't be a conversation, so just spit it out. She'll start looking too, shuffling through the boxes as she listens (2). But she is listening, so she doesn't get very far.]
("It's us or the key. It's simple. And there isn't a choice here. Find it and go back to Serena," he says, not helping, but not hindering.
She starts her search, so he resumes his, for real this time, voice be damned. (13) but, apparently, everyone is coming up the same damn number and he has a ways to go. )
[Annie does better this go round (12), but still not enough. She just wants to talk to her brother, but she knows there's business to attend to. So she does her best to stay focused.
Patrick, on the other hand, is going to slide over and continue to be a distraction. "So is she your new sword to hide behind? The person you want to protect you?"]
( He turns toward the wall, moving to rip off the posters on the wall. Maybe there's an opening behind them. He wants to tear at something. He can't stand the sound of Patrick's voice. )
If you even cared about protecting me, you wouldn't have treated me like your sword. Your maguffin to bring back your ex, who's probably a psycho.
( Another poster rips. He starts pulling books down to the floor. )
["Maybe not. But you were certainly content to hide behind me for a while." Patrick can't help but keep goading him into a reaction, wanting to cling to these last vestiges of life before he becomes nothing more than a ghost again. "I was just extracting my fee."]
Keep running your mouth and it's gonna get hit.
[Annie is still struggling with finding anything (6), mostly because she is also sick of the sound of Patrick's voice.]
I don't know the rules of this curse, but I'm really good at loopholes.
[Patrick smirks as his attention is drawn. "What did I say? Always looking for a shield to hide behind."]
[The book does fly right through him - the benefit of being a ghost. But Patrick goes full muppet face as he nods, impressed. "Not bad, Shep. Not bad at all."
Annie, however, wheels on her brother and grits her teeth.]
You've been dead too long to pretend to know what my business is. I came here to help him. I actually like helping. And maybe if we had asked for help when we needed to, things wouldn't have ended the way they did.
[But no, that's not what the Chens do. They pull in on themselves and try to solve it without making it messy by involving other people.
She pulls out another drawer and the key rattles into view in front of her.]
(Well, that is in their culture, too. Would you rather you and your brother and sister were raised differently. Brought up with different values. It doesn't mean he didn't love her, or Annie.
Shepherd charges forward, body checking Patrick. He leans down past him to pick up the book he felt the rattling inside. Swiping it up, he opens the hollowed out book and finds the key. Turning back to Annie, he holds it up.)
You have anything else to say to him, now's the time to say it.
( The front door glows and then shifts, turning from a clear glass to stone, with a handle on the right.
"You're angry. You should be. Don't lose that. I always admired my sister's fire.")
("Tell her I love her. And I'm sorry." Because what else can he say. Move past this. He knows she's thriving. She's doing good. She and Annie have found a new family.
Shepherd leaves Patrick, stalking past Annie and Bennett, planting himself by the door. )
[Nobody's okay, but they'll figure it out anyway. They both turn their keys together, open the door and slip out into the bright light waiting on the other side.]
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everyonelives2025-07-26 07:05 pm
Shep & Annie & Bennett & Patrick | ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ sʜᴀʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ
Shepherd and Annie don't know it, but it's a perfect representation if their two memories were combined as one. The room they're in is definitely Mouser, the store he worked in after he ran away, but it's lined with bookshelves. And where the glass cases of electronics should be, there are dewey decimal drawers with old-fashioned pulls. Along the walls are fun library posters from what Annie would remember. She'd take Serena to the library when she was younger. There's even a big sign explaining late fee times and consequences.
Shepherd turns around and the light from the sign out front still glows it's ever-dying neon white. The word, 'Mouser' lights up and dies down. He can almost hear the heat coming from it and he has to break his attention completely before turning back to her. He's fine. This is fine.
He shrugs. Down to business. )
We need to find a key.
( So that's what he'll focus on, moving to the first row of drawers. The front door opens and the bell rings with it. He looks up behind Annie, not recognizing the man.
"Mei-mei," his voice says affectionately. )
no subject
When she hears Bennett's voice, however, she's immediately distracted from the task at hand. It's been years since she's even looked at a picture of her brother, too worried about all the ways she failed him, but he's here? In this?
This can't be real. But in the end, all she can say is:]
How? How are you here?
no subject
( "I know you blame yourself. And your sister," Bennett offers, an olive branch. Maybe an attempt for closure.
Shepherd frowns, squinting to see if there's anything on the edges of this memory. He has to be a figment, but he doesn't see the strings. And he can't draw any power from the spell. Not unless he finds a key. )
Distract the spell, I'll focus on the key.
( He speeds up his attempts, pulling drawer upon drawer open and shut, going down one column and back up. )
no subject
I think Jennifer certainly deserves some of the blame, don't you think?
[One of them walked away from the confrontation between them, and it wasn't Bennett. Therefore it had to be Jennifer.
As Shep wanders through some of the drawers, a familiar voice curls from over his shoulder, low and enticing. "You always did have a way of getting those clever fingers where they didn't belong."]
no subject
Shepherd's clever fingers freeze, head rising, gaze narrowing. He doesn't look. He doesn't have to. )
You're not here. You're dead. And before you try and convince me, or guilt me, it's your fault. You didn't give me any information. You used me and then made sure I'd come back. If it didn't work, or maybe because you just couldn't live without me. Either way. You boned yourself.
no subject
[Her doubts about Jennifer have become quieter and quieter over the years, the longer her sister stays away.]
Wouldn't you rather talk about something else? Your daughter, maybe?
[Let's talk about Serena. It's a much more neutral topic.
Patrick smirks, but doesn't move from his position behind him. If he forces him to look, then that's no fun. If Shep is going to look, he wants him to do it of his own accord.
"Now, who says I want to do either of those things? In the end, you did exactly what you were designed to do. I got what I wanted."
He winces, before shrugging.
"There were just some unexpected consequences."]
no subject
Shepherd ignores him, or tries as he keeps going drawer to drawer. He doesn't stop. But, the goading works. As far as he knows Shepherd "survived" and stopped his maniacal, shifty plan. )
What do you mean you got what you wanted?
no subject
[Well, they're not. But that doesn't really matter, does it? Bennett's always been better at reading her feelings than she'd care to admit. Benefit of being the older brother, but that's not really the point.]
He's not as young as he looks.
["Oh. You don't know." He's still not looking, but he can likely envision the smile, wide like a shark. "It worked. Godot is out there, somewhere, living the life he was withheld from. I just didn't expect that I would die in the process. Miscalculation on my part, but unimportant in the end."]
no subject
And let me guess, he'll find a way to bring you back. History repeats itself. You know, I never really thought about it, but you're very dramatic.
( He slams the last drawer on his side of the cabinets, sighs, and finally looks him in the eyes. He wishes there wasn't a level of fondness deep down. Protection. Twisted kind of love. )
So, what are you two doing here?
( "It's about why you and my sister are here," Bennett says, giving her a look, but keeping his distance. "Not us." )
no subject
Annie, who had looked back at Shep when her brother mentioned he was rattled, goes back to Bennett.]
So we have to choose then? Between the key and you?
no subject
( Is that its' game?
"Maybe you can either listen to what really happened, or help these people who you don't know from Adam. And the - not young one." Bennett's not asking for anything. He has no horse in this race. He let his family down, either way. He left them. )
no subject
All she really wants is more time.]
Fine. Tell me what you need to tell me.
[This can't be a conversation, so just spit it out. She'll start looking too, shuffling through the boxes as she listens (2). But she is listening, so she doesn't get very far.]
no subject
She starts her search, so he resumes his, for real this time, voice be damned. (13) but, apparently, everyone is coming up the same damn number and he has a ways to go. )
no subject
Patrick, on the other hand, is going to slide over and continue to be a distraction. "So is she your new sword to hide behind? The person you want to protect you?"]
no subject
( He turns toward the wall, moving to rip off the posters on the wall. Maybe there's an opening behind them. He wants to tear at something. He can't stand the sound of Patrick's voice. )
If you even cared about protecting me, you wouldn't have treated me like your sword. Your maguffin to bring back your ex, who's probably a psycho.
( Another poster rips. He starts pulling books down to the floor. )
no subject
Keep running your mouth and it's gonna get hit.
[Annie is still struggling with finding anything (6), mostly because she is also sick of the sound of Patrick's voice.]
I don't know the rules of this curse, but I'm really good at loopholes.
[Patrick smirks as his attention is drawn. "What did I say? Always looking for a shield to hide behind."]
no subject
Take two steps back.
( "Annie. You know better. Pay this man no mind. His business isn't ours." Bennett grimaces. "Yours." )
Shut up. ( Shepherd turns, launching a book at him. It, and the key rattling around inside, careens toward Patrick out of anger. )
no subject
Annie, however, wheels on her brother and grits her teeth.]
You've been dead too long to pretend to know what my business is. I came here to help him. I actually like helping. And maybe if we had asked for help when we needed to, things wouldn't have ended the way they did.
[But no, that's not what the Chens do. They pull in on themselves and try to solve it without making it messy by involving other people.
She pulls out another drawer and the key rattles into view in front of her.]
no subject
Shepherd charges forward, body checking Patrick. He leans down past him to pick up the book he felt the rattling inside. Swiping it up, he opens the hollowed out book and finds the key. Turning back to Annie, he holds it up. )
You have anything else to say to him, now's the time to say it.
( The front door glows and then shifts, turning from a clear glass to stone, with a handle on the right.
"You're angry. You should be. Don't lose that. I always admired my sister's fire." )
no subject
Are you sure there's nothing you want me to tell your daughter?
[Anything at all?]
no subject
Shepherd leaves Patrick, stalking past Annie and Bennett, planting himself by the door. )
no subject
You good?
[Because this isn't over yet, and she wants to make sure his head isn't somewhere else now.]
no subject
( He slides his own key in his lock, blocking out everything else. He keeps her gaze, turning when she does. )
no subject
[Nobody's okay, but they'll figure it out anyway. They both turn their keys together, open the door and slip out into the bright light waiting on the other side.]