Scene #7852: The Lodge: Epilogue

Owner	Pose
Go Shijima	March 3, 1989 Palmer Residence Twin Peaks, WA 12:00PM The town of Twin Peaks has always had a kind of darkness about it. In the 50s, a group of citizens cognizant of this darkness formed the Citizens Brigade--which would later become the Bookhouse Boys. Due to the proximity of the Black Lodge to the town, that darkness will always linger in at least some fashion. In recent years, however, it swelled, with the presence of an interloper. A loathsome spirit enamored with the pleasures of violence and the flesh gathered allies from across the Multiverse to swallow first the town, then the world. The actions of a motley investigation crew have burned away the shadows which threatened to overwhelm this sleepy mountain town. Their intervention was more than just a grand, sweeping kind. More than just the classical dragon-vanquishing heroism that captivated the mind of a troubled young man. In their time here, the investigation team has grown close to several of the townspeople. They have reached through the darkness to touch hearts, and today, those people have reached back. The Palmers have suffered greatly under this darkness--Leland, under the control of a disgusting, hateful entity, and Sarah, terrorized by what she imagined was her own husband, the both of them burying their pain under an increasingly fragile facade, all the while driving a wedge between themselves and their daughter, until that fateful night. Today, the Palmers try to step out of that darkness--and they have invited the investigation team, family friends, and others close to Laura for a remembrance. But today is not a day for grief--it is a day of thanks and of warmth. To remember fondly who was lost, and to carry that love forward, with new friends. When Muramasa had entered the Palmer residence, there was a sickeningly familiar pall over the place, which falls over spaces where disgusting evils dwell. Today that pall is banished as if shadows by sunlight. Golden afternoon rays filter in through open curtains. Portraits of the Palmers and their daughter smile warmly out at you, knick-knacks tell little stories from their nooks and crannies.
Go Shijima	The living area has been rearranged to serve as a place to socialize, with extra chairs brought in from the kitchen as music plays. A spread of food, sourced from a wealth of small-town American ancestral recipes, some dating back to the Depression or further, lies colorfully arranged on quaint beige countertops, overlooked by a novelty clock in the shape of a cat. As new guests arrive, food is added to this spread. Broccoli-mushroom casserole, from General Briggs. Pimento cheese deviled eggs, from Norma and Big Ed, James Hurley's aunt and uncle. Carrot salad, from the Pulaskis. There's other food here, too--samples of tamagoyaki from Mari (adjusted slightly for 1980s rural Washington's lack of mirin), steamed rice from Keitarou and salted almon from Takuma. Surprisingly,even the shut-in Harold Smith is here, though much like Takuma, he's off by himself in a corner. The slightly dim but big-hearted Deputy Andy checks in on him every so often to make sure he's not feeling overwhelmed. Two older gentlemen have a quiet, but firm argument near the radio, while General Briggs and Sheriff Truman make some difficult explanations to the Palmers about just what happened, each of them offering comfort and reassurance as they can. Lucy, the operator for the Sheriff's Department, twirls a lock of hair around a finger, fondly regarding Andy's concern for Howard. James, Bobby, and Ronette are with Audrey Horne, having a different, equally awkward conversation.
Hamada Haru	Hamada Haru is both moderately tired of small town U.S.A. food and is keenly aware that it is rude to show up to an event with food without contributing any food of your own. In one of the larger displays of personal wealth he's exhibited, he's simply hired an off-world sushi chef to cater for the occasion. This has not, however, stopped him from sampling what the Palmers and others have already provided. Coincidentally, the lack of mirin is corrected by this inclusion-- though perhaps too late for Mari's purposes. He's particularly curious about the Depression-era foods. Whether he is disgusted, disappointed, or simply finds it acceptable but not preferable, he doesn't actually express-- though he doesn't linger on any one item for very long. For the most part though, he ends up lingering in the general vicinity of Takuma. "You're too easy to bully," he remarks, out of the blue. "Next time some sociopath woman shows up to push you around, just lie and say you can't transform anymore. Or find somebody to push you around in a more benign way."
Hellwarming Trio	In certain areas of the world, youkai may be known for getting pretty crazy at parties. A remembrance, for better or for worse, is not a party, but it is a time for celebration of sorts. Whereas rowdiness is a staple of parties, the same can't be said for what's happening today. That's why, when the odd pair of the raven and the cat arrive, they're actually staying in their animal forms at first rather than appearing in their more familiar human forms. Rin: "You sure we ain't supposed to be lettin' loose?" Utsuho: "Uhuh." Rin: "Even though they've got music and food and everythin'?" Utsuho: "Uhuh. It's like one of those... Not-fancy parties, but fancy enough that we gotta behave." Rin: "Oh! Like a ceremony or something." Utsuho: "Uhuh." It does not stop them from talking like they're in their human forms. They're sticking close to their more human-looking companions, at least, so it could a least be explained away as a weird ventriloquism thing if need be, but the big orange eye on Utsuho's chest and the second tail of Rin might still give something away. Rin: "So... I guess we can't take the-" Utsuho: "Nuhuh." Surprisingly, they don't beeline right for the food. Instead, they veer over towards where James, Bobby, Ronette, and Audrey are to intrude on their awkward conversation in the only way weird animals can: Talking like people anyway. Utsuho: "Hey." Rin: "Yo!" Utsuho: "So what's gonna happen now?" Rin: "You got any plans on what to do after all that stuff?"
Shinnosuke Tomari	Shinnosuke Tomari hasn't been able to get in personal contact with Dale Cooper. That's not a great feeling. But today is a day of remembrance for Laura Palmer, so he can step out of previous skin and enter a new one, after facing down Type Pursuit. His arms are full as he enters the house, and he asks the nearest adult for help. He's carrying cakes. They're purchased, but high-quality. Different flavors, and even some for different health needs such as gluten or vegan. Once the cakes are set up, he briefly greets those he knows, and grabs a plate for himself. Sure, the Japanese food is what's familiar, but that's not what he gets. Casserole and eggs, and mac and cheese if there is any. Once he has his plate, Tomari drifts towards Harold's corner. "It's good to see you. Do you mind if I stay over here?" His tone is warm, as he waits idly for a response.
Tamamo	Though it's already March, here, it had been January, elsewhere, and in a northern clime, in both cases. Tamamo's arrived with some recognition of this fact, and an apparent mind toward respecting foreign standards, to the limited extent she can. Stockings and a ribbed, white sweater make up part of that attempt, though still paired with golden hairpins and little bells, as if too used to the fancy look. Bringing some of her own cooking supplies represents another part, and further, what she's decided to do with them. After speaking briefly with the chef hired by Haru, she moves on to speaking to Sarah Palmer. Between them, she acquires some space to work, and enough extra supplies to cover any mistakes. Once ready, she makes it an open invitation -- though she's not sure if this sort of thing will attract folk like Bobby, who she believes could use a productive distraction -- to take 'literally anything Sarah has in her pantry' and roll it in (previously prepared) sushi rice on top of nori seaweed and the little bamboo mats to create their own makizushi. Tamamo, herself, forgoes any traditional ingredients, being more interested in trying something that looks 'American,' from her own perspective. If others won't work up the courage to try rolling them, at least they might suggest ingredients to try, while Tamamo talks about sugar and salt and vinegar and soy sauce and umami.
Lilian Rook	"The way this house feels . . ." ". . ." "No, I refuse to learn any additional lessons." ". . . This still better not be what they meant about me though." Lilian cannot cook (anything presentable for a gathering) for shit, and she is also entirely unsure of what expenditure would still be tolerable to 80s American tastebuds, and so she has mostly restrained herself to bottles she is pretty confident in, and sourcing up small group catering plates with nothing more especially exotic than salmon and samphire, and letting Tamamo handle the rest of that. Once she's entered the house, dropped everything off, and greeted the Palmers, she appears before Takuma like a bad omen, in the midst of his talk with Haru. "So, speaking of the devil." she says, in lieu of introducing herself. "I managed to get around them in the end. This is yours now. Don't ask how." Without further explanation, she palms something distinctivly Key-related off on him with both hands over his. For a moment, it seems as if Lilian is about to disinterestedly melt back into the crowd, but then she reluctantly hangs around just a little longer, glancing back and forth from Takuma and the crowd like a distinctly uneasy cat. "Maybe that should be a foregone conclusion by some standards. But a lot happened. And then a lot more happened. I'd tell you who to thank, but you'll never meet her, so just thank Xion twice instead, I suppose. And . . . thank you, for showing up when you did, if nothing else."
Xion	Twin Peaks had always been a dark town, but that didn't mean it couldn't feel joy. For a time, it was denied that. For a while, it was a battleground. Orphenochs, and feelings, and the flash of resolve against despair. And for all that, after many feelings, Xion is... Late. Eventually, she 'arrives' -- expressed only as 'Xion is findable in the Where's Waldo of the Party' instead of 'Xion is not at all present'. She smiles at people, and her plate changes contents and state with some regularity, and a glass bottle is sipped at.
Go Shijima	Takuma laughs at Haru's abrupt remark--enough that the passive unease about him briefly subsides. "Maybe I should have tried that with Nadine," he adds. "Saeko... was an opportunist," explains Takuma, rubbing a bandaged wrist. "A scavenger, finding people at their worst." With a nod towards Big Ed, he continues. "His ex-wife took the split very hard. Of the Orphenochs Saeko turned as distractions, Nadine... was the most hurt. The most easily twisted." Takuma frowns, stuffing his hands into his pocket. Apparently, a lot happened in town, besides just what the investigation team uncovered. "I don't imagine, after everything that's happened, she'll come here today. Ed was never happy, and really, she wasn't, either. This is for the best, but it..." He removes his glasses and wipes the lens. "Can be hard to see that, in the thick of things." "why do people do that, Haru? Keep soldiering on in unhappy lives?" Audrey, nursing a glass of water as one would a few funders of whiskey, raises her brow at the duo. "My father's idiot brother is gonna be in the hook for all kinds of stuff, I imagine," she begins. "Be interesting to see if his lawyer can get him out of it." "But... what about your father?" asks Ronette, arms crossed, frowning. "You're not... upset?" Audrey shakes her head. "Not really. For a minute, I thought that talk about being part of the family business was real. Then... well, you guys know what happened."
Go Shijima	"Anyway," says Audrey. "I'm not gonna lose any sleep over what happened. He deserved what he got--and he had it coming a long time before he joined up with those Blue Rose guys. I guess right now..." What does happen now? "I've always wanted to run something of my own," she admits, one hand stroking her cheek. "Maybe I'll go to college next year, work towards a degree." Harold, meanwhile, relaxes slightly at the sight of Tomari. "No, Officer Tomari, that'd be fine," quietly offers Harold. He's picking at a plate of the Pulaskis' carrot salad. "I... wanted to thank you. For being honest with me. For not trying to trick me. And for having Andy come and check in on me." He can't make eye contact, in this place. "He even offered me a ride here," says Harold with a weak smile. There is indeed a hearty plate of mac and cheese, courtesy of Sheriff Truman, who's currently spending time with a dark-haired, smartly-dressed woman he hasn't introduced to any of you. The man bakes a mean mac, though. Harold offers a paper bag to Tomari. "Strawberries," he says. "From my greenhouse." Sarah and Bobby make for good partners in the kitchen. The latter, because of many fond memories shared there with her family, the former, because Tamamo is right about his need for productive distractions from awkward conversations. Compared to how they were just weeks ago, Sarah is tired but relieved as opposed to medicated and distraught. Bobby's sullen armor is absent here, the young man willing to be sincere and vulnerable with others after several heart-to-hearts. He even seems to be on better terms with James, after helping curtail the Orphenoch distractions yesterday. "Tell me something," says Sarah to Tamamo when Bobby is out of earshot. "Are you an angel? After everything that's happened... you've kept this... air about you. You have a grace--a dignity--and it's hard not to notice." Washing her hands at the sink, "Thank you so much for everything you've done." Takuma has something foisted upon him. It wouldn't be the first time. He blinks, placing his glasses back on. "I will. But I'll also thank you, Lilian Rook." He bows his head. "For relentlessly pursuing your justice. You've brought back a lot of smiles." As he raises his head, "Xion's allowed me to start moving forward. You've given me something to aspire to. We're not alike--but I admire your resolve and your courage, very much." Xion is here, in point of fact, and so Takuma waves her over with a bandaged hand. "Xion!" The Hero of Everyone's Hearts is presented with a gift. A book, wrapped. "Imagine how happy I was to learn this town had a bookstore. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did." After a pause, "Thank you for believing in me."
Shinnosuke Tomari	"You were an instrumental aid in our investigation, Harold. I should be thanking you." Tomari says, genuinely, as he accepts the strawberries gracefully. "I know this alone is a big step. But I hope you can become closer with the townsfolk, someday. And if you ever need anything, the Sheriff's Office has my contact info. Don't hesitate to ask." He lingers for a bit to eat his own food, and then excuses himself. "I should make a phonecall." There's no cell service, so Tomari asks to use the Palmers' phone. Once he has it, he looks through his own phone (two phones!) for the information he jotted down, and moves to contact the FBI, trying to get through to someone who would be able to put him on the line with Dale Cooper once more. One last try. It'd be a shame if Cooper didn't get to share in the fruits of their labor too, right?
Hellwarming Trio	Rin: "Lawyer?" Utsuho: "The ones with the suits and the big words." Rin: "Oh. Wait, how's that supposed to help?" Utsuho: "Human stuff." Rin: "Oh." The pair finally take on their human forms as they remember that there's food to devour, but they're actually fairly chill about doing so since there's actually STUFF to listen to and talk about. "How could his lawyer get him out of whatever happened if he did it, though?" Utsuho asks, sounding confused despite being the one to explain things to Rin just a moment ago. "I mean, you know what happened. All of us here know what happened. Should be getting out of..." She pauses. "... What's 'it'?" Rin, meanwhile, circles around Audrey once before starting to gather up some food for herself and Utsuho. "Yeah, he was kind of a jerk. But hey, now you've got plenty of other folks to hang out with!" She chimes in with all the subtlety and awareness of a brick. "I mean, now you can just hang out with people you actually like instead of someone that's j-" Rin finally quiets down once Utsuho smacks her on the back of the head, working about as well of a signal to shut up as any other. "College is one of those schools after the first couple of schools, right? That sounds..." Utsuho can't come up with anything better to say than 'annoying' no matter how long she looks from side to side, so she just doesn't say anything. Instead, she just moves right along. This /is/ supposed to be a remembrance, after all! "Do you remember...? Uh. Hm." Okay, small talk is escaping her as well. Time for plan C: LYING. "If we see him while we're working back home, you want us to say anything to him?"
Hamada Haru	Haru glances over towards Xion, eyebrows lifted. But Takuma calls his attention back, and he replies, "The world isn't tailored to make people happy. Rider Services, too. In order to achieve happiness, there is always a necessity to reach for it. That isn't easy for anyone, even though it should be. The question is always, 'What does it cost to get there?', whether that cost is money, dignity, or both. Even though I was critical of it, it's natural for a group like the Orphenochs to make the decision to organize like a corporation. That is where the world's power concentrates." "Most people do not buckle under the weight of unhappiness because happiness is still something they can imagine within reach. But some people manage to convince themselves that the reality they already endure is close enough," he concludes.
Xion	Xion looks up, from her just-in-frame presence, at her name being called, uncertain not of speaker, but of intent. Takuma's 'imagine how happy' gets a gentle laugh, and Xion accepts the book with both hands, hugging it to her chest and looking up at the Orphenoch. "I'm glad that there was a bookstore too, then. And for some other things." She nods. "You're welcome. It's a lot harder to live for something than to die for it, so I knew you were very strong already." Haru's glance is returned with a head-tilt past Takuma, but Xion doesn't know how to interpret Haru's eyebrow. She shrugs, instead, and lifts her drink to toast him emptily with a sip.
Tamamo	There are about as many things one can wrap in rice and nori as there are things one can place atop rice, which makes for quite a few. It's not so different from experimenting with stews, in that way, if quite a bit faster, given that you have things cleaned and prepared. And if one makes a small mistake, that's just part of the learning experience. Vegetables are a generally safe choice, once sliced up, and Tamamo has brought a good kitchen knife of her own, so as not to bother anyone for theirs. Lacking voluminous sleeves in her current outfit, it appears from within a purse that is very definitely bigger on the inside than the outside. Tamamo smiles at Sarah's question but does not, in fact, admit to being from Takamagahara. She's not a messenger, anyway. "I suppose I did come down to Earth from elsewhere, but that is no matter of importance." Having casually confessed herself to be an E.T., "You are most welcome. I have benefited from this journey, myself, if in an unexpected manner, but is that not the usual way of things? Those trials that are survived do shape a person. Ah, but perhaps that is too simplistic, and too macabre a lesson to take, though it remains a true one." She finishes spreading cream cheese over some of Takuma's salmon, before making another roll, and deftly slices the end for Bobby to try with a, "Here, how is this? Rather sweet, perhaps?" Thinking a bit more on it, Tamamo adds, "Much has occurred, and perhaps not all of it was good, and some could have been avoided. But that, too, is the way of most things. For what has been averted, and those who have been saved, I believe we have done rather well, truly. Not all great and strenuous efforts will receive their due rewards, but I am pleased to see that ours have been so blessed."
Go Shijima	Tomari reaches an operator. She's clearly a little uncomfortable by his request to speak to Cooper--he gets the 'let me put you through' nonetheless, but it isn't Dale that Tomari reaches. He is connected, instead, with Cooper's supervisor, Regional Chief Gordon Cole. "HELLO? DETECTIVE TOMARI? GORDON COLE HERE!" He's not angry--he's just that loud. Loud enough that even people away from the phone can hear him. "BUT I'M DAMN CONFUSED! YOU JUST MISSED COOPER, DETECTIVE. HE CAME IN ABOUT AN HOUR AGO AND GAVE HIS TWO WEEKS, CALM AS YOU LIKE! AFTER A REAL HUM-DINGER OF A DRIVE, TOO! I AM COMPLETELY PERPLEXED BY THIS PHENOMENON!" Audrey answers Utsuho. "My father owned half the town--and he was starting to branch outside of the country, too," she explains. "There's a lot of money in that kind of business. And money... one way or another, it can keep you out of trouble, if you're smart with it. My father was the smarter of the two of them, but Jerry's smart enough to get a good lawyer and maybe even shut his mouth." She glances towards her purse, set down near a chair, but thinks better of it. "As for what 'it' is... human trafficking, for one," she says casually. "It turns out that Horne's Department Store is a pipeline to One-Eyed Jack's. Then there's money laundering, a laundry list of gross stuff..." She shrugs her shoulders. "Tell him... no. Don't tell him anything," Audrey decides. "I think I'm ready for life without him. Besides... these two aren't that bad." "Thanks for the vote of confidence," says James flatly, though not without amusement. In the kitchen, Bobby obliviously looks up from his work at the offer of food. "Huh? Oh... wow, that's nice! Thanks!" He must like sweet things. Sarah, meanwhile, nods. "Not all of it was good," she agrees. "I don't know if I'll ever not think of Laura. Or if I can look at Leland the same way, even after what Sheriff Truman and General Briggs explained. I feel..." She frowns, dabbing at her eyes with a sleeve, before electing for a distinctly American choice of vegetable, celery. "So awful, about that." With a sniff, "Some of it hasn't been good -or- bad. Just... strange," ehe notes. "This town's always been a little strange. But after everything that's happened, I feel like my eyes have been opened to something I can't ignore anymore. Do you have much experience, with things like that? Or... any advice?" Xion's response to Takuma causes him to look away. "There's something else I should thank you for," he says. "It's for letting me help in the way I wanted to. And for not dangling some reward in my face. I want to live for people's happiness, I've decided, for however long as I'm able. Perhaps I'll even stay here," he muses. "James, Bobby, Ronette... I have so much faith in them." "Haru," he asks. "Do you think it's possible for there to be some other way the world works? That one day, it might be a little easier for people to be happy?"
Xion	In the forest, Haru had traded places with her, and they denied each other's dark reflection. At the Palmer house, Xion decides to jump on Haru's question again. "A few days ago, it was a little easier for Itsuro Takuma to be happy. So I think you prove that." She offers. Then, a retreat. "Sorry. I know you were asking Haru."
Go Shijima	"By all means," says the well-read Orphenoch. "You seem like someone who wears happiness more easily than most, anyway," he opines, hands folded before him. "Or maybe, as the Hero of Everyone's Hearts, you know the most about finding it."
Lilian Rook	"Brought back a lot of smiles." Lilian repeats back to Takuma uncertainly. "That's not usually something I get accused of. Though I suppose all of this was . . . a little unusual overall. Well, I won't play the 'don't thank me for' game. I'm glad that trusting you turned out to be the correct choice, and that was your doing." A pause. "And take Hamada's advice about women. Really." As she drifts back, Lilian makes a sound vaguely proximal to a cough; one that was probably suppressing more of a laugh. "Yes, I remember hearing you say that back then." she says offhandedly to Haru. Obviously it left an impression. "So . . . for those sorts of people, how exactly is one supposed to tell the difference?" Granted, that's the one answer she's really invested in hearing (no matter the amount of boredly looking around the room for show), first she needs to make a surprise appearance right behind Tamamo, within clear view of Sarah, one eyebrow dangerously high. "Hmmm? An angel? I wonder where you might be going with a line like that." she says. A glance goes sideways to Bobby. "Especially from someone who seems perfectly occupied already." However, she is also here to hover around Tamamo-made sushi, out of secret deathly fear of the country and era that could invent 'jello salad'.
Shinnosuke Tomari	Gordon Cole's response gives Tomari a long pause. He's shocked. Cooper was the type of man who stuck to this job like Tomari did his. Why would he just leave? "He didn't tell me anything, Chief Cole." He's speaking at a level volume, putting up with the shenanigans. "Didn't leave any personal contact information, either. If you ever get a chance to speak with him again, please thank him for me for his work in Twin Peaks - I hope to do so myself someday, as well." This is supposed to be joyous. A party. But something doesn't add up. And it's gonna bother Tomari until it does. So, once the call is over, he steps into a quiet corner and just sits, trying to wrack his brain on what could have happened to Cooper during their voyage to the Black Lodge. Maybe he saw something that was too much to work through...either way, Tomari doesn't look very approachable right now.
Hellwarming Trio	Utsuho: "So what you're saying is..." Rin: "His brother wasn't smart enough to hide everything." Utsuho: "Or smart enough not to traffic... Wait." Rin: "I think I heard this one before." The duo put their heads together (figuratively) as they stuff their faces (literally), but their minds are just as full as their mouths. With Jerry's involvement in human trafficking also still a thing that's actually just been spelled out for the pair, they exchange slow glances towards each other before swallowing their mouthfuls of snacks. "Nothing for your dad, then.. Got it." Utsuho nods slowly as she strokes her chin, furrowing her brow for a while. "But his brother... Oh. I guess that makes him your uncle? Do you care if we go after him? Since we aaare..." Utsuho looks over at Rin who's content to just keep eating while seeming clueless about the cue. "... Junior detectives." Utsuho finishes with a much flatter delivery. "If you want, we could even do it the 'right' way that humans like with all the processes and... Um. Laws and... Stuff. Teach knows how that all works." It's clear she has no idea what those laws are, but at least the effort is being made, and that she's probably just going to try roping Shinnosuke into that if the offer is taken. "You've got a good crew now, though. Hell, maybe we'll see you all around sometime busting some other weirdos." Utsuho suggests with a laugh, looking towards James, Ronette, and way over at Bobby in the kitchen.
Go Shijima	Sarah, thankfully for Lilian, is oblivious in the way only a sheltered straight can be. "Oh," she says, smiling tiredly, with a conversationally dismissive wave of her hand. It seems to have taken her out of her reflective state, anyway. "As a little girl I used to love things like that. Otherworldly people. Angels, ghosts, fairies--anything even in the same neighborhood, really. I guess I just like the thought that we're not totally alone," she further explains. Leland has made an appearance downstairs, and shares the couch with General Briggs, who's attempting to console him with one of his characteristic drawling heartfelt talks. Several of the townspeople appear to offer him shows of support ranging from words of condolence to outright physical embraces. "Junior detectives?" Audrey can't conceal a smile. "Sure, no skin off my back." Another glance towards her purse, then back towards the duo. "You two got a light?" "Audrey," chastises Ronnette. "Don't smoke in someone else's house!" "I'm not," she says. "They've got a patio, after all." James nods at Utsuho. "Maybe," he says. "This is our home. I didn't think I'd feel that way about this place, but I do. And now that I do, I want to keep it safe."
Tamamo	While she's not sharp enough to catch Lilian when she's sneaking up behind her, Tamamo's tall ears are up catching a too-loud telephone. The unusual nature of it causes one ear to turn outward for a moment, catching part of Cole's explanation. "Oh? After his victory, I wonder what could have possessed Mr. Cooper to give up his position. Did he tire, once the excitement had left him, perhaps?" But she lets it pass, other than that. The ways of detectives aren't so well known to her. "Celery, is it. Hmm, would these carrots go with it? Ah, I wonder if we can get these sesame seeds to stay inside. The rice should be sticky enough, perhaps. If not, the cream... Oh, Lilian. Here, try some of this cheese, would you?" It's not as if she's especially quick, but Tamamo keeps her hands moving with hardly a beat missing. "I am no 'messenger,' of course. A 'questioner' would be the opposite, perhaps?" That said, she can still think on an answer to Sarah's question. "How one should treat those new things that one sees does depend on what is seen, of course. I do have some experience, in seeing things that most do not. My dear Lilian has some, as well -- in related fields, no less. Imagine one who can see a color that others cannot. How can such a thing be described, when a word for its appearance has never been needed? It is a hard task one would face, to explain such a sight, but to say 'look here, there is something that is different, though I cannot say what it might be,' this is not so difficult. Should more eyes be drawn to it, perhaps the reason for its color will be noticed. One would be remiss in turning away entirely, and giving up on explaining the mysterious, yet one may still allow that not all things that are mysterious need also be cause for alarm. Oh, but I do ramble, at times, even when I know not as to what the topic may have been."
Hamada Haru	"The world changes based on the people in it. The people have to be convinced that happiness is preferable to a lack of change. That is something that can be brought about, but the easiest way to do it is the one where you will face the most resistance on principle. It's not something I think you should be looking towards on a grand scale, because people will get the wrong idea," Hamada Haru says. He turns partway towards Lilian, and nods. Xion can probably tell he's a bit uncomfortable. "For what it's worth," he adds, "I don't think it's ever pointless to try." With regards to Lilian's question, though, he shakes his head. "What you know is what you know. Greater availability of information helps, but the more normalized the problems around you are, the harder it is to see that you've been tricked into locking yourself into a cage of your own mind." "Individuals have hardly figured this out yet. Society is incentivized not to, in most places," he says. Inclining his head towards Xion, he adds, "She is the sort of person who is good at helping unveil these things. Even though I can observe them, my ability to show them to other people is very limited." And, it goes unspoken, that he's not certain enough he isn't trapped in just such a scenario himself to tell anybody how to worm their way out of it. At the very least, Haru is giving himself a bit too little credit. He certainly showed Bobby just such a thing. But the fact that he can overlook that sort of thing might be exactly why he doubts himself.
Hellwarming Trio	Utsuho: "Junior detectives." Rin: "... Huh? Oh. Did I miss it?" Timing issues aside, they both seem eager to get that matter taken care of (eventually). When the light is asked, Utsuho raises a finger and creates a small flame that's still rather intense for its size. It takes a bit of straining to get it down to a more reasonable lighter-esque flame, but she does get it going and ready for Audrey. "We'll have to see if Teacher's up for it, though. Or... Hm. I mean, we could do the 'wrong' way, too." Rin, meanwhile, answers James in Utsuho's place. "Nothin' wrong with that, bro. Me and Okuu never thought we'd be workin' with humans and above-ground types all formal like, but..." She gestures around the room vaguely, then at Tamamo in particular. "Here we are. Heck, the first time we met that one, she was fightin' us! Separately, though, and with a whole crew, but we put up a pretty good fight even with just us against her and twenty other pals." It's not hard to guess that she's embellishing a little. "... And now, we're workin' together on stuff like this! Who knows? Maybe you and the rest of the crew'll end up with us one day, eh? "
Go Shijima	"No," agrees Takuma with Haru, "At this point, I don't think it's pointless, either." On the sofa nearby, the discussion between General Briggs and Leland comes to a close, with Garland planting a broad hand on the other man's back and rising, giving a handshake in parting. The general approaches Haru and Xion, hat tucked under his shoulder, formal even in this informal setting. "Hamada Haru," drawls the general. "Xion. For the first time in years, my son and I are talking. The... topic of discussion," he continues in that soothing twang, "Often involves yourselves. Bobby is proud to know the both of you. Happier than he's been in a long time." "My greatest fear in this world is that love is not enough. Your intervention in the lives of these people has assuaged that fear, as much as such things may be assuaged." There's a glance behind him, to Leland, the latter locked in introspection. "Truthfully, I cannot say whether it's enough for the entire world, but in the matter of individual lives, I have come to believe that it is." "If there should come a time when I or my son might balm your fears," he says, offering a folded note with his phone number, "You have but to ask. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for reaching my son. And, Mr. Takuma..." "I'll make a few calls, if you've a mind to make your stay here in permanent." Takuma is taken aback by this offer, nodding in quiet surprise. "I... thank you, General Briggs." "Of course."
Go Shijima	Audrey accepts Utsuho's light, patting her for the effort. "Thanks! I'll take it outside, since Ronnette's such a square." "Maybe," says James. "But you know, believe it or not, I think Bobby'd take you up on that sooner than I would. He's been talking about 'making something of himself' lately. Me... my suit might be shiny, but..." There's a glance towards Haru and Xion, and a smile, leaving the rest unsaid. It tracks, when you think about it--the aloof biker joining the Watch, the on-the-mend bad boy joining the Paladins. "I'll keep it in mind," says Ronnette. "And when I've had some time to sort things out, I think I could really get behind working with you guys. You've all been so nice, you do good work, and..." "And?" asks James. "And I'm gonna miss them," admits Ronnette with a wan smile.
Go Shijima	"It doesn't sound like him," says Bobby to Tamamo, with a hint of confusion. His own culinary efforts are crude and sticky, but he's having a lot of fun being included like this. "That guy drank coffee like it was water. Maybe he saw something that scared him in the Black Lodge?" "Well," says Sarah, "I can hardly blame him." With a thoughtful expression--and a silent nod of approval for the addition of carrots (because it's the late 80s she's even got a cursed unitask utensil specifically for finely slicing them)--Sarah listens to Tamamo's advice. "I... no, it's no trouble, Tamamo, really," she says, after the former mentions rambling. "It's good advice, and I suppose trying to ignore things that were right in front of me is... how things got this bad in the first place. You know," she adds with an upwards inflection, "There -are- people in town I could ask about those colors." "The Log Lady," says Bobby absently. "Bobby, dear, she has a name," says Sarah, lightly scolding. "...your father, too. And Deputy Hawk always seemed like there was more to him than he let on. I think," she says, sampling one of Tamamo's creations, "Learning to see and describe those colors is one way I can move... not 'on,' but 'forward.'"
Hellwarming Trio	"Is she? But she looks more round. Or... Tri-an-gu-lar." Utsuho replies with a clueless lilt in her voice as she looks over at Ronnette, wriggling briefly at the patting. "But... Yeah. You'll do fine. And we've got our own stuff to take care of and learn. We'll figure it out, and then we'll all get even stronger after that. Before anyone knows it, we'll be the ones calling the shots." "Yeah, he kinda reminds me of a young me. Not as smart or anythin', but he's alright for a human." Rin sorta-compliments-sorta-insults bobby with a laugh, raising an eyebrow curiously when James looks over at Haru and Xion. She doesn't quite seem to get it, though, as she just keeps looking between the Watch members and the biker a few times before shrugging lightly and turning to Ronnette. "Heh. Of course we do! I should be able to pull some strings for ya, so don't be a stranger!" She laughs at that admission, but it's less of a mocking laugh and more of a way and more of an overcompensating sort of way. "Besides, it ain't like we're not gonna see each other again. Humans can live a pretty long time, and nobody's turning white yet, so all of you'll be fine~ And even when you do, I might just be the one to pick-" Once again, Rin gets shut up with a smack to the back of the head from Utsuho.
Hamada Haru	Hamada Haru considers General Briggs. His posture and bearing isn't friendly, even compared to the one he adopted towards Takuma so far. A part of it is just residual tension, but mostly, there's something about the General that he doesn't care for. He nods, curtly, to the first bit of what the General has to say. But he does accept the slip of paper, put it in his cell phone, and then pass it to the next person who hasn't done so yet. Evidently, he doesn't think that the physical note is his to keep-- or he simply doesn't want to. "Large, singular efforts after the fact," he says, "don't matter. Highways need to be maintained." That's all he has to say to the General, apparently. It is at this point that he wanders off, in search of Bobby. The house is large, but it doesn't really take much time to find him. There's only so much ground to cover. He nods towards Bobby, and says, "Your condition... I don't know how much it's been described to you in detail, but it is something that's being looked at back home. I don't know exactly how relations between our worlds works, but the warp gates link up alright. My regular posting is in Tokyo if you or the other new Orphenochs need to be directed to a pertinent facility."
Lilian Rook	Back in the Haru time period: "Invisibility by accliminatization, is that it? That's a rather unfortunate answer. But I can't imagine you're entirely wrong about it." Lilian sighs in response. "Even more than that, there's the issue of trusting the information to the contrary, then whether you're going out of your way to find it because it's suppressed or because it's just unnatural, whether the people telling you something to the contrary can be believed . . ." She cuts off and just smiles in Xion's direction instead. "Well, no need for that little self-serving tirade here. You're certainly right about that much. It's hard to go wrong with Xion. Well, I'll leave you to it." She waves vaguely on her way out. "'Figuring it out', that is." Blessed Sarah misses what Lilianw as getting at, but that's for the best. It tells her everything she needs to know anyways. "Hmm? Is that so." is, at first, her only, and equally dry-neutral response, but Lilian flinches just the tiniest bit at 'fairies', and goes quiet. ". . . Yeah, I used to read books about those kinds of things when I was little. I was hooked on them." admits Lilian half-truthfully. "That thought, even if it can be a little scary, has to be better than thinking that there's nobody else like you at all, right?" she says, quarter-truthfully. Tamamo sushi shuts her up. Being called 'my dear Lilian' in front of them causes her to briefly choke on it. "The General knows more about 'things that are hard to describe' than you might give him credit for." she tries to topic hotswap to Bobby. "The Chief, even moreso. But then it's within their job descriptions not to air those kinds of thoughts openly, so you'd be forgiven." She just makes a contemplative sort of face at the news of Cooper. "That one was always playing his own separate game. By the time I was giving him credit for what he was up to, he'd already moved on to something else; I suspect it's probably more of the same now. I'm certain there's something he wants to do, that he can't as he is now. He never waited around for people to acknowledge what he was already doing before he'd try something new." She glances just a bit sidelong at Tamamo. "Not that I'd blame anyone, if it simply came down to the Lodge."
Xion	Addressed by General Briggs, Xion's blank smile finds a threadbare texture at the older man's words. Thinning and complex, the expression is broken by words. "You can keep talking. The things that stop you can be moved. The topics can be found, anything. Communication can just be listening, and knowing. You can find some other things you share, with this other person you know named Bobby." Reaching to touch the general at the elbow, Xion nods slowly. "Treat him no worse than someone you'd meet out in the world, and you'll always have things to talk about." 'Highways need to be maintained.' "If you make it your rule, to not forget to speak, General, you won't falter. Make it a duty upon your chest..." She taps the breast of the General's front, where his medals would go. "And wear it proudly. Your valor for another's smile. Try, and they'll notice." Xion gets up, after that. "I'm sorry, General. This is actually something I don't have a lot of practice in. The... celebration part. Nobody here needs help smiling. I feel... Restless." She turns her head and raises it, and gives Lilian a gentle - if apologetic - grin that carries off towards Tamamo. "Thanks for saying really nice things about me. Does it make sense that I don't know how to feel about that?" She asks, in a happy-fighting-queasy tone.
Tamamo	Tamamo quietly sweeps away the contents of some failed sushi rolls onto a plate that now contains a mixed-rice dish of various ingredients. It's still perfectly edible, even if it's not sushi. After blithely spreading peanut butter onto nori, herself, she makes a face, and a comment to the tune of 'perhaps a taste that could be acquired.' This would surely be to someone's preferences. After noticing their gesture, she passes half of the PB-cored makizushi to Utsuho and Rin. "Please have some," smiling pleasantly. "It was a significant ordeal, there in the Lodge," she says to Bobby, "and I did not see just what he faced, though I could hardly see what was brought against any other, myself. My own trial was... ah, but those are quite personal stories, and not so well-suited to gatherings as these, perhaps." Presently, "I did have such an impression of Mr. Hawk -- that is, Deputy Hawk, as well," Tamamo nods to Sarah. "Though many are reluctant to mention whether, or in what ways, their own lives may have departed from the most well-trod paths, it seems you may not lack for others with whom to speak, after all." Tamamo puts a hand on Lilian's back, before she finds her voice again, asking, "Are you alright?" She's been calling her 'my Lilian' for a long while, so, 'that' being a possible cause doesn't cross her mind. "Might you tell me more of that, later? I am sure you will have noticed more than I, in this regard. I admit to having been often distracted by, perhaps, a more distant picture of events. I feel as if I have mentioned, sometime recently, about the difficulty of viewing a matter from both a far distance, that takes in its entirety, and a close one, that sees the ground upon which one trods. Having done one, I might wish to have done the other." At Xion's attention, Tamamo a smile tinged with the sort of concern one can't find the words to express, though she does find words. "When one attempts to achieve something, and then does so, it is natural to be happy in success. For some, 'to be wished well for one's efforts' is such an achievement. If a thing is achieved without an attempt, then the result may be, instead, one of confusion. I suppose I have never asked you, Xion, what it is you consider your 'objective,' let us say. 'That thing that you wish to achieve' is not 'to be spoken of,' is it? It does make sense to me, then." Afterwards, apologetically, she adds, "Please pardon my directness," and offers a slice of salmon, leek, cream cheese, and mayo. This one's (probably?) fine.
Go Shijima	"Thanks, man," says Bobby to Haru. He brings it in for a hug. "Itsuro explained it to me. He, uh... yelled at me, actually. For pushing myself too hard. Said I was taking years off of my life." Releasing Haru, he scratches the back of his head. "So... maybe I'll take you up on that sometime." In the living room, General Briggs excuses Xion with a nod and a quiet smile, then excusing himself to go and speak to the elderly bank teller, Mr. Mibler. Not because there's anything of great import to be said, but more because he appears used to functions of this general level of formality. "Garland said that... the Lodge isn't something that will 'go away,' when I asked," admits Sarah to Lilian with some discomfort. "But he also said that it isn't something that exists for a malicious reason. It's like a test. And if you make it through to the other side, you passed." Sarah smiles, as she offers up a suburban-mom version of sushi. It's not at all sushi in the traditional sense, and it would make a hardline traditionalist scoff, in fact--but she does know her flavor profiles and textures. "Whatever your test was, Ms. Rook, I think the world is better for you having passed it--and whatever of those 'colors' of Tamamo's sent you to us, I hope to see it someday." There is the natural progression of events, for a party like this. Sheriff Truman, acting as a kind of organizer to take weight off of the Palmers, gathers everyone up to share stories about Laura, or about those close to her. Above all, the spirit here is one of inclusion, however, and you have all apparently more than earned your place in this town. Here, you are not 'the investigation team,' you are friends. When it comes time to leave, there are a few teary-eyed goodbyes still left to be made. Only one occurrence of the town's usual unusual happens--with Audrey as the only witness. A man with a magenta (she was very firm about this) camera had been standing on the opposite side of the street. When she asked him who he was, he'd simply said, "I'll see you again in 25 years." It hadn't elicited much of a reaction--save for the Bookhouse Boys present, who glance between each other and Lilian with expressions ranging from confusion to interest to concern. It's probably nothing.
Hellwarming Trio	If it's supposed to be sushi, the youkai certainly don't seem to notice or care. All they know is that it's a personally prepared meal, and they accept Tamamo's offering with bright laughs. Utsuho: "Whoa. Thanks, Ama... Wait. You prefer Tamamo, right?" Rin: "Thanks, sis! Didn't know you were good at this cookin' stuff, too." Utsuho: "Remind us to try making stuff for you sometime. You like meat, right? Or... Is fruit more your thing? Might not be as good as this, though." Rin: "Anything's better than that grape thing." Utsuho: "Definitely not the grape thing. Uh. Unless you like the grape thing." Whether or not the fact that they're actually enjoying the peanut butter filled rice and seaweed roll should be concerning is up to the viewer in question.
Lilian Rook	Lilian nods in lieu of being able to speak for a moment when Tamamo touches her, coughing down the last stubborn grains of unfortunately disrupted American sushi roll. "A-ah, I'd be happy too. Though . . ." Lilian thinks back to when she'd seen Cooper off. "It's a little strange he never came back for his sidearm." she says, slightly uncomfortably, fingering the patch she'd received from Hawk absentmindedly. She dovetails to a practiced, 'don't worry about it' laugh for Sarah. "It's one of those things. Far older than Twin Peaks. It'll be here when these buildings aren't anymore. That makes it all the more important to take care of it. 'The boys' have done a fine job so far, and they have just the right talent; knowing when to call out." The teeny tiny smile after is a little less rehearsed. "It was . . . something I didn't see coming, thought I would have, and probably should. I'd say . . . the experience was enriching, but I'd rather not do it again. Stories are nice, but there are reasons that we mainly keep to other humans." said, somehow convincingly, while shoulder to shoulder with Tamamo. Lilian has also now acquired Xion's attention. She waves her over to come chill in the Girl Talk Zone, and pulls her in to inclusion distance with an incredibly heterosexual arm around the back of the waist. "Feelings don't ask us if we get it before they make themselves felt. Don't set your hopes so low, Xion. I, at least, still owe you more than just saying nice things. After all, it's not as if it's exactly difficult for me to gush about you here and there~" . . . . . . Lilian clutches the patch in her pocket. She glances over to Truman. "I'll check twenty-fourteen myself." she says, without any more elaboration than a slow nod.
Xion	'I suppose I have never asked you, Xion, what it is you consider your 'objective,'' Drawn into the jaws of the Girl Talk Zone, Xion is baited with words and hooked with a deeply Heterosexual arm around her waist. Without bottle or tray of food, she's looped in close, and her fingers coil about their mates in an unsettled slow-working roil. "You two... know my three rules. Remember? I said them not too long ago. For an objective. . ." Her head falls, and her bangs close in. "I told Lilian, or... remember... -- it's not important. Lilian knows the way I am is... A bunch of small wishes. 'I want', scribbled on a dream, and cast into the wind. Could something become from just those scraps of paper? If enough people wrote 'I want' onto dreams and wished and hoped and set them free, could they all find a home?" Her words bubble uncertainly. She's speaking from a place that does not follow the same logics as the rest of the world. "I don't... belong here." She finally speaks, and she flinches away from the words. Quietly, she tiptoes around the next ones. "I didn't really want to come. But it would hurt people, for me to not be here. I've restored them. I don't... exist here, any more. Do you know? If a dream stops moving, it stops living, and then, realized or abandoned, it's dead." "I don't exist here. There's... nothing for me to do. But I have to be the hero, and smile, and accept it all. Don't I? I have to let them do it, before I move on, or it will hurt." "Forever." "This step's always the hard one, for me. I never know what to say. Even the memories I've found, been given, there's... nothing about -this-. If it's a fight, I know what to say, if it's a pain, I know how to help." Her eyes come up, seeking, pleading. "What do I do when nobody needs anything? I'm supposed to... to go, right?"
Hamada Haru	Once again, Hamada Haru meets Bobby's approach with a certain amount of awkwardness. He allows it to happen, and he isn't displeased with it, but it is unnatural, for whatever reason, to him. He does manage to -- fairly naturally -- pat Bobby on the shoulder. Regarding what he's done to his own life, he says, "What you can do, and what you can't do, these are things that are difficult to change about one's self. But one thing that most of us have in common is that if we have the ability to do something about a problem in front of us, especially one causing pain, we want to wield that power. Your life is yours to spend. I doubt that you will think it was wasted, even if your condition remains exactly as it is." "People who do things like this," he says, "don't live as long as those who don't. That is simply how it is." He doesn't stick around for the lingering goodbyes that many of these things are for the people who attend them. Once everyone has meandered outside to the phase of things that is standing-in-the-driveway, he raises a hand to say goodbye and takes off. As he walks on down the road towards nowhere in particular, Haru takes his phone out and snaps off a text to Xion. He wasn't about to directly interrupt the ongoing conversation that she was having, and he's certain that she'll only check her phone once she's comfortably disengaged. Even if that happens to be in the middle of the conversation. It says...
Tamamo	"I remember hearing them," Tamamo says, "though I was not listening very well, at the time." Her ears should have been focused, then, but it had been a difficult moment, and a pained one. She recalls the words, now, clearly enough to consider them. "The third rule... but I will ask you about that one, later." Tamamo reaches for one of Xion's hand. She'll settle for an arm, if she has to. Contact is the point. "I shall be somewhat impolite, now, Xion, for which such words, and such thoughts as these, may call. Please forgive me this, as well." What she's doing might be cheating, if only because it's 'something that human cannot,' but for Tamamo, that's the opposite of a difficulty. It's the pretense of 'humanity,' as much as she values it, and as many reasons as she has to cling to it, that's difficult for her. Cheating is more like letting go, for just a little bit. She loosens her grip, just slightly, on something unseen, like she has so many times before. She doesn't tighten her grip on Xion, because she doesn't need to. The warmth is something unreal, that doesn't flow from her hand, but suffuses the entire body at once. "You 'have to,' and yet, they need nothing? I can believe the former, but of the latter, I wonder. Together, is that not a contradiction? Perhaps you could say, 'they need nothing of me, though they want something of me.' If you distinguished it in this way, you could be so compelled, and you could arrive at this conflict in your own feelings, of staying and leaving. Wishes, that is to say, 'wants' compel you, is that not so? So you have been brought here, and so you are, and so you have been called, to stand with us." 'Then what's the problem?' she doesn't say. Obviously, there is one. There's a difference, even if Tamamo is glossing over it. Or rather, she's denying its importance. 'If they want you to be here, then isn't that a thing for you to do?' It is and it isn't. 'Just being' is too easy to deny as 'a thing to do, for someone else's sake.' But it's more difficult to deny, outright, that what Tamamo's saying should be enough. That Sun's warmth she emits fills empty space in words and minds, and pulls in the whole body at once, the harder to escape the closer one gets to it. Being only a small Sun, her touch doesn't burn. She's sized as she is with human hearts in mind, in the first place. "And yet, I would not say, even now, that only your presence was needed. Perhaps none would be lost, were you to say nothing at all, but does this mean you can be of no help? Were I strong enough to continue without you, would you not, then, stand by me? Were I to have no crisis, and to make no wish, whether to see or not to see, yet have it be known I would enjoy your presence, only to speak of trifling matters and the enjoyment of a meal, would that be too little?" Her smile turns a few shades to sadness, as she admits, "Perhaps it would, then, and I would not blame one who thought, 'toward others of need, I shall focus myself.' Such may be how a hero must think, and to ask otherwise is a selfish thing. I have chosen to be selfish, in fact, though I shall not at once defend it as a virtue." Maybe Tamamo should feel guilty, for using a Charm with a capital letter, where others would only have the other kind, and a body warmth that can only tug at subconscious instinct, speaking of closeness and acceptance, with lesser force. Perhaps she should, for not relying on pure reason. Despite her claimed apology, she doesn't. It remains, tugging attention, and even spirit.
Xion	Many words, and feelings more, crash against Xion. Hand held, waist looped, a feeling bright and glowing is pressed into the corners of her eyes. For a moment, the tips of her hair drinks a summery bronze. Nodding, though, it is the sadness that finally gets an answer, more than simply rolling her over with sentiment and seeing her press into the shape. "It's a bother, though. I--- I can't..." She 'wants' to be happy. She wants everything. Pressed into a shape, though, it doesn't even escape her like air from her lips. She turns to go, but there's an arm there, so she just hangs her head again and grows quiet, with the tips of her bangs bronzed with summer-light.
Lilian Rook	"Hey . . . Xion . . ." Now, suddenly, it is Lilian's turn to be at a loss for 'the right' words. The correct way to feel and the sensible thing to say. Of course, she could choose not to be. It'd be simple, seamless, impressive to everyone, if she went and took her time as she usually would in a difficult situation like this, to piece out what she thinks the best thing for Xion to hear would be. It would hardly be the first, nor certainly the last, conversation Lilian would spend in a private psychological repair workshop, analyzing and tuning up her delivery to get the most 'end this discussion now' healing value out of her words. But that wasn't how it went with 'the other Xion'. And at this point, between Xion and Tamamo, Lilian's failure to do so is, in of itself, a special kind of gesture. One only a handful of people can understand. "I think that . . . sometimes the thing you have to do, is just to 'be'. I know you're not motivated 'to have everyone's dreams come true' like that. But it's still . . . An officer standing on the street corner, saying hello, looking alert, playing the part, is still fulfilling someone's need to feel safe, even though he's not doing anything. By being there, surely fewer people would do frightening things in that vicinity. By leaving, he might encourage those things to crop up behind him. 'Just being' there isn't . . . actively working to make people safer, but it's helping realize that want for a safe world. Does that make any sense?" "I don't think people want to overcome these kinds of things, fight the monsters, catch the bad guy, make up with people, and then just go home and act like it never happened. What motivates people, especially otherwise ordinary people, through times like these is . . . the thought of how happy it'll be at the end. The little celebrations, the talks, the congratulations, the quiet contemplations; the point is just to 'be there, together'. To help it sink in. Otherwise people have a way of being unable to believe that they got what they wanted. More than just 'I want Twin Peaks to be safe', the unspoken part is . . . 'I want Twin Peaks to be safe and for all my friends and loved ones to be there at the end of it to share it with me'." "Hah . . . Maybe that's really not your speed. And that's fine. If it's boring, it's boring. But nobody here was dreaming of saving Twin Peaks so that you wouldn't be here. It sucks, that people would probably notice your absence than they would appreciate your presence, when there's nothing dramatic happening, but I think these little denouements have to be here. Everyone wants you, me, Tamamo, here, in this boring place, because they want to be able to feel like it's okay now." ". . . Sorry. If you really want to go, don't worry about it. But please don't for a second think that you being here isn't valuable. Like 'sharing a room with Xion' isn't a little wish on someone's piece of--" Lilian winces at her own choice of phrasing, but bravely finishes. "--paper."