[ That was clear enough just by looking at the guy... You may as well drag a delicate rose through a briar patch. ]
Visits. I had to go in one mine at a time, joining the group already working there for a while before moving on...
Didn't find jack in the first twelve mines. The last one on the list was crossed out for some reason, and I was sure there must be something good hidden in there...
[ .....that was a lot of mines to go searching through, holy shit. ]
Was that true? Were you able to find something good hidden?
[ But, he had a feeling that wasn't to be the case. Call it some form of intuition, honestly. intuition he wished could've pointed him in the direction of the killer, he noted sullenly. But he forced his attention back to the story, which was actually serving as a good distraction. ]
[ He frowns, shaking his head. ] I don't know what got into me there... Into all of us, maybe. The deeper we went, the more desperate we got. We just knew there must be gold or silver in that cave, and we wanted to get our hands on those riches one way or another...
... [ He looks up at Huaisang. ] You know what dynamite is, right?
It's a kind of bomb. An explosive. [ That should explain enough. ]
It was beginning used to blow out chunks of rock in mines... But we got careless with it. We were so impatient that we snuck it in where we shouldn't have just to get to the gold faster...
[ There's darkness in his eyes as he admits this much. A fresh look of fear as he recalls the disaster that's been haunting him. ]
Last thing I fully remember was lighting the fuse... It went off... And I was lying there in pain as the whole damn cave came crashing down on us...
As he's listening, and he mentioned something about the dynamite being used when it shouldn't have been...and he had feeling that it wasn't going to be a situation that ended well.
He was proven right when the other finished being in a bad position. He kind of had new respect for miners who would go through all of that, to be honest. ]
[ He'll look down. He won't tell Norton not to blame himself. An individual's harshest critic was oneself, and in the end, he had in fact made a mistake. It'd be folly to insist he hadn't, and Huaisang wasn't so soft to try to insist as much. ]
I appreciate you telling me this, though. Like I promised, I'll keep this to myself. There's really no reason for me to go around spreading a story like this to anyone.
[ That's a little surprise, but he didn't think it a bad one! ]
Anyway, I'm glad you decided to speak about it with someone. Holding onto things like this can be a heavy burden...I'm sure even having me listen helped soften the blow a little bit.
[ He... Hadn't considered this. Then again, he never figured people really cared enough to listen. Last time anyone actually spoke to him about it was when he was recovering in the hospital, and even then it was just some acquaintances and bosses saying "My condolences" or some hollow shit like that.
And then, nothing. Hardly anyone got this close to him again, and he's pretty sure they had some crazy ideas about him after that. Not that he really felt that bothered by it... So he told himself. ]
... Maybe it did. I don't know.
[ A part of him was sure this might have been a mistake, but screw it. He really needed someone to talk to... ]
[ ... To be honest, Huaisang was actually a little happy the other man had decided to come to him for it. A lot had happened today, and besides the show of trust, it had allowed him to get his thoughts off of the result of the trial.
So really, this whole discussion was beneficial to the both of them. ]
Hm, well, regardless I didn't mind it at all. So if you ever feel the need to, you can seek me out anytime.
Now, maybe you'd like to spend some time reading some fun stories with me?
[ A slight smile lit up his face as he said that. ]
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no subject
Visits. I had to go in one mine at a time, joining the group already working there for a while before moving on...
Didn't find jack in the first twelve mines. The last one on the list was crossed out for some reason, and I was sure there must be something good hidden in there...
no subject
Was that true? Were you able to find something good hidden?
[ But, he had a feeling that wasn't to be the case. Call it some form of intuition, honestly. intuition he wished could've pointed him in the direction of the killer, he noted sullenly. But he forced his attention back to the story, which was actually serving as a good distraction. ]
no subject
I found... Something. But...
[ He frowns, shaking his head. ] I don't know what got into me there... Into all of us, maybe. The deeper we went, the more desperate we got. We just knew there must be gold or silver in that cave, and we wanted to get our hands on those riches one way or another...
... [ He looks up at Huaisang. ] You know what dynamite is, right?
no subject
[ But Huaisang was listening, as he wondered what that 'something' was, honestly. But then he'll pause at the question, tilting his head a bit. ]
...Dynamite?
[ That probably said a lot, yep. ]
no subject
It's a kind of bomb. An explosive. [ That should explain enough. ]
It was beginning used to blow out chunks of rock in mines... But we got careless with it. We were so impatient that we snuck it in where we shouldn't have just to get to the gold faster...
[ There's darkness in his eyes as he admits this much. A fresh look of fear as he recalls the disaster that's been haunting him. ]
Last thing I fully remember was lighting the fuse... It went off... And I was lying there in pain as the whole damn cave came crashing down on us...
no subject
As he's listening, and he mentioned something about the dynamite being used when it shouldn't have been...and he had feeling that it wasn't going to be a situation that ended well.
He was proven right when the other finished being in a bad position. He kind of had new respect for miners who would go through all of that, to be honest. ]
...How did you even get out of that?
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no subject
...I'm sorry, that sounds difficult. [ ... ] Do you...are you still blaming yourself for that?
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What do you think?
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[ He'll look down. He won't tell Norton not to blame himself. An individual's harshest critic was oneself, and in the end, he had in fact made a mistake. It'd be folly to insist he hadn't, and Huaisang wasn't so soft to try to insist as much. ]
I appreciate you telling me this, though. Like I promised, I'll keep this to myself. There's really no reason for me to go around spreading a story like this to anyone.
no subject
Thanks.
You know, you're actually the first person I've actually talked to about that mess.
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[ That's a little surprise, but he didn't think it a bad one! ]
Anyway, I'm glad you decided to speak about it with someone. Holding onto things like this can be a heavy burden...I'm sure even having me listen helped soften the blow a little bit.
no subject
And then, nothing. Hardly anyone got this close to him again, and he's pretty sure they had some crazy ideas about him after that. Not that he really felt that bothered by it... So he told himself. ]
... Maybe it did. I don't know.
[ A part of him was sure this might have been a mistake, but screw it. He really needed someone to talk to... ]
no subject
So really, this whole discussion was beneficial to the both of them. ]
Hm, well, regardless I didn't mind it at all. So if you ever feel the need to, you can seek me out anytime.
Now, maybe you'd like to spend some time reading some fun stories with me?
[ A slight smile lit up his face as he said that. ]
no subject
[ Quite a change in demeanour from yesterday... It's amazing what a horrible trial can do to people. ]
What the hell, why not. What have you been reading there?