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" Andrew... What the hell are you going on about..? "
A confused Enchantress sits at the table, listening to a much taller, paler male yap along about something. It wasn't like she wasn't trying to pay attention. She most definitely was. It's just.. the man was talking in heavy stuttering and fast speech that it was nearly incomprehensible besides the few words the Enchantress could make out.
She and this Gravekeeper have been in a relationship for.. about 2 years already, yet they've been fairly skillful in making their status unknown since then. The Enchantress was really the first one to make a move and ask Andrew out, and well, one thing led to another, and they considered themselves as a couple... at least, that's what the Gravekeeper assumes.
His character made him more reserved than the others at the table, who were happily talking with one another without very little hesitation in their voices. Him, on the other hand, was obviously over the edge about every little thing. He was practically a half polar opposite to his girlfriend. Sometimes, he wonders how a beautiful lady such as Patricia could find anything about him couple worthy. It's not like he didn't appreciate it. If anything, he loved and cherished having her around. Getting into a relationship with Patricia was one of the best things that ever happened to Andrew.
" I-I'm.. I'm sorry... I'm just.. scared. We'll be separated f-from each other again... "
It's quite strange for him to admit that he didn't want to separate from anyone here, though maybe it isn't as peculiar when it's the one person who could still afford to put up with him after all this time. Perhaps it was just paranoia for what would happen if one of them ended up getting chased by one of the hunters. Andrew wasn't really kiting material, Patricia was.
Patricia sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder and leaning in close enough to whisper to him, " We'll be fine... We can try to meet up at the boat if it makes you feel any better. "
Patricia didn't quite know what she could say to make her boyfriend feel any better about the situation. She was a little worried herself with how this could all play out. Since of course, one of them could run into one of the hunters and have to delay the time it takes to reach the large boat.
Andrew couldn't help but feel queasy by her suggestion, he has no doubts that he could possibly get her caught and chaired because of him, and that would be the LAST thing he would ever want to happen. The map was annoyingly large and open after all, so there was no way they would be able to blend perfectly into the surrounding of the map without the hunters picking out the out of place color.
But he felt.. confident in Patricia's plan. After all, she did stay in the Manor a lot longer than him, so he thought she knew what she was talking about and decided not to say another word about it. Hesitantly, the man nodded.
" ... Alright. I trust you know what you're doing.... Please get t-there safe... "
Patricia nodded as well, removing her hand from his shoulder and sitting back in her chair.
" I will. I love you, Andrew. "
Andrew was lucky enough for Patricia to look off to speak with Fiona, the priestess. His cheeks grew a light pink hue as he sat comfortably in his chair, crossing his fingers whilst he awaited the game to begin. He took a second to look at the other people who would be joining the match. Tracy and Luca. Shiyi and Memory. Edgar and Fiona. This would count as six if he didn't include himself and Patricia. He couldn't be too bothered on everyone else, though, as he only seemed to care about one person in particular, the same woman who made the decision to consider a simple Gravekeeper.. his one and only.
After about a minute or two of waiting, they finally made their placements inside Lakeside Village. And to no one's surprise, Patricia was nowhere in his vicinity. However, the Gravekeeper could see Fiona in the near distance, standing near the shed. He stood there for a moment, thinking out Patricia's words several times in his head.
Andrew was just about to leave before he came face to face with a short mechanic, Tracy Reznik.
" Hello—? Earth to Andrew? Are you in there? "
Andrew jumped back, startled, and clutched the shovel in his arms. He didn't even notice that Tracy was also there, as he only caught a glimpse of Fiona, who was now in the shed, decoding away as Edgar was soon hit by the Bloody Queen.
" Oh.. uh... Sorry, I didn't see you there... "
Tracy just shrugged it off. It wasn't anything to get annoyed or mad at, so she'd rather leave it in the dirt and keep it moving.
" Anyways, I was just about to head to the big boat since Wu Chang already left, wanna come along? "
Andrew paused for a second as he thought over her offer. A chance to walk along with someone else and actually have someone to talk to comfortably besides Patricia. And besides, he was meant to meet Patricia there anyway, so it could be a win/win situation for him. What he wasn't sure of was how long it would take for any conversations between him and Tracy to get awkward because he chose a bunch of seriously improper wording.
But that seemed far from then, so he felt slightly less uneasy about traveling with someone else that wasn't Patricia. A massive majority of it was still there, though.
Andrew nodded in confirmation to Tracy's offer, and she gave him a thumbs up before staring to run over to the large boat. He took the moment to look around the environment and how.. strangely pretty it all looked. Coming from the sounds of the flowing ocean to the houses that flickered different colors every once in a while.
Andrew seemed at peace for the time being, feeling happy that he'll reunite with his girlfriend eventually enough. That was until... Tracy got a bit too curious and decided to turn to Andrew.
" Hey... what's up with you and Patty? "
Andrew could've sworn he felt his heart drop to the floor, as his eyes grew wide and a terrified expression plastered itself on his face. He seriously didn't even know how he was meant to react to the question or what he was supposed to say in response, hoping his words wouldn't make Tracy even more suspicious of his secret relationship.
He couldn't bear to give an appropriate answer to her question, so he kept silent, hoping she'll drop the topic and they'll be able to go on with the long walk to the boat in a dreadfully uncomfortable silence. But it seemed as if Tracy had other plans.
" Well? Are you gonna say anything..? "
He shook his head, denying there was anything going on between the two beneath the surface. Even thinking of a false allegation to defend his relationship. It wasn't too long, however, as he always predicted this question would come along soon enough.
" ... We're just friends... There's nothing more than that, Tracy. "
The mechanic gave an unconvincing glare towards the Gravekeeper before shrugging her shoulders before turning around.
" Yeah... whatever you say, man. "
He didn't feel as if his words were too convincing to her, though, as the tone that Tracy used in that last sentence was drenched in skepticism. He sighed as they continued their walk towards the big boat. That was until unexpectedly, Wu Chang's umbrella spawned out the twilight, and now standing in front of them; a much taller hunter, known infamously as Fan Wu'jiu, made his presence clear.
The two couldn't scream fast enough before it was cut off by his stun, leading to him hitting Tracy first. Andrew watched as Tracy made a run away from him, yelling at Andrew to make haste while she tried to evade capture for as long as she could.
He took the initiative and ran inside the boat, panting aggressively, and he watched Fan Wu'jiu chase right after Tracy, who was now out of Andrew's view for the time being. He sighed of relief as he weakly climbed up the stairs onto the top of the ship. He sat against the telephone pole, trying to catch his breath that was taken from him in the long run.
He wasn't sweating, but he sure as hell did feel as if he just ran a marathon with how quickly he had to sprint to the boat. At this point, only two ciphers managed to pop, leaving them at five remaining ciphers.
The tall man rose up from the phone, just before his felt another hand grab his catching him to jump back and accidentally hit his head against the telephone, sending him tumbling back to the floor.
" SHIT—! "
The Gravekeeper never yelped that loudly before, so it was definitely new to him that his voice could possess such a power. While he rubbed the back of his head, he looked up and saw... Patricia. As in, his GIRLFRIEND Patricia. The Enchantress, Patricia Dorval.
She seemed apologetic for accidentally scaring him, as she quickly kneeled down to his level and rubbed the back of his head in regret.
" Damn it... sorry, Andrew, I forgot you were a jumpy person. "
Andrew quickly calmed down, seeing as he couldn't bear to see himself get angry with Patricia. It wasn't her fault. He probably just overreacted at most. He looked down to the floor, embarrassed and ashamed for screaming that loudly and for getting scared at the Enchantress.
" I'm sorry... I'm s-such a screw up... "
Patricia sighed as she pulled the man up to his feet, looking straight into the eyes of a man who was too scared to look back at her own.
" It's fine, really. You don’t have to take the blame for something I shouldn't have done. "
The lady takes her lover's hands in her own and continues looking at him without breaking eye contact for a moment.
" Please... stop blaming yourself for stuff that's out of your control, Andrew. "
Andrew couldn't help but begin sniffing softly as he tried to form sentences without sobbing hysterically. He felt even more pathetic as he felt his lover's arm wrap around him for a tight hug. As much as he was hoping he wouldn't, he eventually broke and started crying, bullets running down his cheeks and onto his clothing. He felt awful, she felt awful, and now everyone would feel awful.
Patricia, unsure of what she could really do in that situation, gently patted the taller man's back for some kind of comfort. Maybe it was obvious by the way she looked visibly uncomfortable whilst trying to calm him down, seeing as her grip on him slowly loosened as she seriously started panicking herself.
Sure, she's been in situations that involved trying to help Andrew out with his issues and shit, but he never really got close to crying. Maybe a little bit of whimpering and a few sobs here and there, but never full-on crying. So to say Patricia came prepared in case this would happen... was a major overstatement and a bit too far from the truth. She was always aware of the potential of him having one of these many breakdowns, just never quite pictured herself in them.
Perhaps Andrew caught on to Patricia getting uneasy, hearing as he now tried to shut himself up. This made her feel even worse, to be honest. Seeing him have to stop crying just so she wouldn't feel too awkward just felt horrible. In no circumstance would she want him to suck it up just because she wasn't sure how to properly handle him crying properly.
Quietly, Patricia took Andrew's hand and dragged them down the stairs he came from and towards the basement, hopefully to leave the cipher up there available for whoever came by. The basement was surprisingly somewhat clean for a change. It was just the absurd amount of dust in some of the areas that couldn't really deem it as "clean." That didn't seem to bother them too much as they made their way to the back of the basement and hid behind one of the walls where a chest was placed.
Maybe there were better spots than this, but with a Mary and Wu Chang running around the map, this seemed like the greatest idea in the book for them. And so, she sat them down as they heard another cipher pop. They were already at 2 ciphers remaining, which was a major jump boost from earlier that game. And so far, none of them were killed off besides the Painter and Mechanic being chaired once.
" I'm s-sorry... I couldn't stop m-myself... "
Andrew didn't sound any better than before, not even a little bit. He just continued gripping the shovel in his hands as tears continued to fall onto his clothes, but this time around, just not as much as previously. He didn't know if it was because of him forcing himself to stop, or it was from Patricia attempting to wipe away the many tears that weren't as lucky enough to reach the bottom of his face.
" ... It's not your fault... Maybe this was all because.. of me. My introduction wasn't the greatest, and I ended up hurting you in the process. I'm sorry... "
Andrew took offense to Patricia, blaming herself for his actions, with the horrible feeling that he's ruined everything for them yet again. But this time, he was able to hold himself back from another heavy tear flow again.
He felt guilty, surprised that their relationship had even made it this far in the first place. It was amazing how a woman far out of his league would even take the time out of her afternoon to speak to him, let alone ask to be his girlfriend. In a way, it felt like pure pity. No way anyone here would think of him as anything more than a timid, scarred man, especially someone as perfect as Patricia. She deserved better than him, much better than him.
This led him to ask a question a few seconds later on that he'd soon later regret," ... Do you really love me, or are you just pitying me...? "
Patricia was shocked if anything. The relationship may have had some rocky parts in it, but to assume that she didn't actually love him, actually, kinda hurt her a shit ton. She always thought she made her affection towards him, obvious enough. Apparently, her own boyfriend thought otherwise.
She wanted to feel angry, shout at him, and leave him right there on the spot without giving him a chance to apologize or explain to him. But for some reason...
—...she didn't.
All Patricia could afford to do was sigh, not feeling an inch of anger in herself. At least, not towards him. She felt as if she wasn't actually doing a good job and somehow let him down or something. She didn't respond for a while, which made Andrew worry that he said something wrong and it was stupid of him to accuse the only person who was capable of putting up with his bullshit for two years of not loving him.
Andrew was just about to scream out that he was sorry for his blunt and horrid words, to scream and plead that she wouldn't get mad at him and leave him on the spot. Though, he was stopped by a single hand on his cheek.. Patricia's hand, to be more precise.
" Of course I do. I... really do love you, Andrew. "
In a near instant, Andrew felt his heart melt into a gooey mess. It wasn't as different as any other "I love yous" in the past, but for some reason, this felt different. It felt amazingly different than anything else said to him. Andrew literally had to stop himself from crying again, though Patricia was more than prepared this time around to handle any type of crying from him.
That was... until Mary came alone from around the corner. To say she was expecting two of the survivors she hadn't seen all game to be sitting around in the basement together would be a lie. The Bloody Queen just scratched her head, and she stared at them confusingly.
" ... What the hell were you two doing down here? "
Andrew, now embarrassed as hell that they were caught, turned away from the hunter. Patricia, on the other hand, shrugged.
" Nothing important. How'd you find us anyway? "
Mary quickly pointed to the three crows above Andrew's head, squatting and spinning around in a perfect circle. Patricia quickly looked up and, in addition, spotted the crows.
" The crows drew me here. He didn't decode any ciphers the whole game, I'm assuming. "
Patricia nodded in confirmation, " Yeah, that... would be correct. "
There was an overwhelmingly long silence after that, the two survivors finally standing up from the basement floor as they looked at the hunter expectingly.
" Well... Aren't you gonna chair us or something? "
Mary took it into consideration but then sharply shook her head.
" We already won, doesn’t matter if we chair you two or not. "
Andrew looked up in surprise, seeing as the team was already going so strong. He quickly opened the status tablet, just to be met with not one, not two, but six x's surrounded by a circle.
Mary giggled a bit towards Andrew's reaction, " Well.. you two haven't contributed much. It was a lot easier with just Shiyi being the only harasser actually active. "
Patricia lost track of time and somehow didn't notice that there hadn't been any notifications for the past few minutes. Andrew was just too busy losing his mind to really pay attention to anything, so obviously, he wasn't aware either.
" Well, you can go get the crowbar to open the dungeon if you want, I already let Xie Bi'an and Fan Wu'jiu know you'd probably be leaving. "
And with that, Mary exited the basement, leaving them alone again. Patricia quickly turned over to Andrew to hear what he had to say. Though when she heard nothing come out of his mouth, possibly from shock, she cleared her throat and broke the silence.
" Well, we should probably get out of here, no? "
He didn't verbally respond back, though he held a simple nod. That was enough of a response for her, so they made their way out of the basement and towards the top of the ship, where the same telephone where Andrew had hit his head earlier stood.
Patricia went forward, spinning the small lever on the side and holding the phone close to her ear to make a purchase. Andrew patiently waited while taking the moment to look at the end of the ship. He spotted Xie Bi'an and Mary talking at the gate entrance, probably unaware that they've left the basement. Or maybe they were and just didn't care as much since they had already lost a while ago.
He would have made another thought. If he didn't hear Patricia get off the telephone and jump down with a crowbar in hand, " Alright, time to get out of here. "
Patricia took Andrew's hand as they walked down the ramp of the ship. Apparently, Patricia saw the dungeon conveniently near the beach from the ramp, so that's where they headed next. As they made their way over there, Andrew couldn't help but still feel some kind of shame over what he asked earlier.
" Hey.. Patricia...? I'm sorry for... what I said back in the basement... "
Patricia gave a shrug, turning her head back to face him with a neutral expression, " It's nothing to be sorry about, Andrew. I'm just sorry to have given you that impression of me. "
Andrew panicked once more, with an attempt to reword what he had meant.
" W-Wait! It's not like— "
" Andrew, please, it's in the past now. " The Enchantress quickly replies back, now facing towards the dungeon now in front of them as she attempts to pry it open.
Andrew sighs, knowing he can't really change her mind here, and instead just waits for her to open up the dungeon. The air was tense now that it was only them alive. The ever-growing was horrifically loud. It was soon broken by the creaking noises of the now opened dungeon, the whirring wind from inside it finally escaping out into the open.
Andrew was just about to say something else, more or so a request. But he felt as if he's committed to enough damage to this match than he needed to add on. So he kept quiet. That was until Patricia caught on to what he was planning on asking her before backing down, so she sighed and finished his unspoken sentence for herself.
" Let me guess, you don't wanna be separated after this game either. "
Andrew, still shocked she managed to guess so accurately, nodded his head. Though he felt a little bit embarrassed about it.
" And, you were hoping we could stay in my room until dinner, hm? "
Yet again, Andrew nodded, confirming Patricia's surprisingly correct statements. It became easy to read this man after a full 2 years, so it wasn't too obscene for her to guess what he's thinking.
" ... Sure, I don't think I have anything important after this anyways, " the Enchantress says while she throws the crowbar used to open the dungeon to the side.
" Thank you... I love you, Patricia," Andrew muttered under his breath.
" It's nothing, really. I love you too, Andrew."
And with that, she jumped down into the dungeon, leaving Andrew alone... for 5 seconds.
Mary only just popped up behind him, hearing the last few bits of interaction between the two survivors.
" Oh, so you were dating? "
Andrew flinched at the sudden appearance of the hunter, nearly falling into the dungeon as a result.
" Apologies... forgot you're the jumpy kind, " Mary giggled again.
" It's nothing... I shouldn't have been standing around for so long. "
Mary shrugged, " Well, you should probably get going, the match extended by about ten more minutes since you've been here. Oh! And tell Patricia I said Happy birthday. "
Andrew nodded at Mary's request, now standing at the end of the dungeon. But before he jumped down, he just had to ask, " You...—You won't tell anyone about this... well, what we said, will you?
Mary tilted her head, her stitches becoming more visible as she stared at him in confusion.
" Well, no? I don't feel as if anyone really needs to know about this. It'll keep it to myself, for yours and Patricia's sake. "
Andrew sighed in relief, knowing their secret wouldn't be public knowledge to anyone but Mary. And so, he turned to the dungeon again.
" ... Happy birthday, love. "
And with that, Andrew jumped into the dungeon as well, permanently ending the match.