hisapprentice | [Puzzle 018]

[For house 48]

[A typical day in this house begins with Luke up and about, making breakfast and tea. Whether Firo shows up to have any is up to him. School's back in session and he needs an earlier start, that's all. This morning is no different, Luke pulls on his sweater while walking into the kitchen, headed for the refrigerator. It's when he pulls open the door that everything gets weird - starting with the whole room losing its household vibe and becoming much more...archaeological.]

[Action]

[Incredulous adventures aside, Luke finds it difficult to adjust to the busier lifestyle that comes with school starting and warmer weather ending. It gets darker, colder, Luke grows lonelier. He's out and about in the autumn sun, off to his usual stop at the bakery (okay, okay, one of his three or four usual stops) when a brownish figure passes him going in the opposite direction.

Luke stops. Spinning left, he sees the figure retreating down the path the way he came, and though all logic tells him it can't be real, he takes off running after it.]

Professor! [Because there is no one else. It must be him.] Professor, wait! Just- hold on a minute, please!

[Luke did not realize a vision from the past could hurt so much. When Layton's back and top hat fade into a false mist and then nothingness, Luke has run himself all the way back across the village, nearer to the rec center. Out of breath and out of spirit, he sits down on a bench to stare at the dirt.

Today is awful.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[One long, hefty sigh later, Luke pushes back his hat and rubs his forehead.]

I know all that. Doesn't make it any easier to do.

[He really is crappy at this.]

No...I guess not. [You can't stop yourself from missing somebody, just like you can't turn off the regrets and what-ifs that rise like smoke every time a memory of that person flickers in front of you, whether it's a shift or something cradled inside your head.]

Think about what your friend would want you to do, though.

He would want me to understand and keep my chin up, of course.

[Luke tells himself that every day. That it won't be forever. That it's good practice.]

[He gives a short nod and flicks a glance aside to Luke before turning his eyes straight ahead again with a dry sigh.]

I'm sure whatever he would say helps more than anything I could tell you. [He knows that words stick around long after the person who spoke them has gone.]

[But he is not here to say it. Therein lies the worst of the problem.]

He would say, "A true gentleman never lets his problems get in the way of his actions," or something like that.

I know...it's not the same when you tell it to yourself. [Underneath the stiffness of his words, because this sort of thing is just hard to talk about, there's a quiet insistence.] But it's-- I don't know, it's a way of honoring them after they're gone, I think.

[Whether gone from Luceti or just gone.]

I should be done thinking about things like this. People...people part ways all the time, you know? But I can't stop.

Yeah...

[It's hard to stop. Even if you tell yourself that you don't have time to mourn, that you have to pick up the pieces and go on, you don't just forget. After a long pause, because he's not sure if there's anything more he can say, he starts again.]

Hey, uh-- If you want to keep sitting here and just be alone...that's fine. But if you want... [He's nudging a thumb toward the nearby Rec Center.] We could find something way more fun to do.

Huh?

[...Jean is trying to make him feel better.

Luke's hands close tight around the edge of the bench and he looks at the ground, very still, before turning to Jean with a smile.]

Something fun sounds a lot better than sitting here being lonely.

[Part of it is that he wants Luke to cheer up a little, and part of it is that he feels clumsy talking about these heavy feelings. Typical teenage boy, all but allergic to admitting to anything like sorrow.

But he puts on a little grin and pushes himself up from the bench.]

Good. [He places his hands on his lower back, stretching a moment, looking over his shoulder at Luke. His tone might be a little forced.] Come on, then!

[Luke's smile is forced as well. The only reason he's agreed is because Jean is trying to hard to make him feel better. He gets off the bench and adjusts his hat.]

Where are we going, exactly?

[Seems like he's following along, at least.]

The Rec Center, where else?

[Puzzle 018]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]