wrecked_egg | IC Voicemail:

Credence glances down at his palm. His scars. Just because the pain goes away, doesn't mean it stops hurting in the moment.

He thinks, not especially rationally, that he would have rather killed those three men than hurt her.

"I'm never going to try."

To kill her. To hurt her.

It's strange hearing him say the words. Saying them like that, with that sort of conviction.

"...I know." A beat before she keeps going. "You want me to help you get them and their stuff back to your room? They like you, and I trust you to take care of them." Whatever version of Credence he might be, he'd never hurt animals. She's got faith in that. "I mean--you don't have to go now, if you don't want. You can stay." With her.

"...I'd like the help. And - you can see my room? I think it must be different now."

He's by no means asking to give up her company.

"I'd like that." Because even if he doesn't remember, he's still a version of Credence, and she's selfish enough to not want to give that up.

It doesn't take her long to collect the cats' food and water bowls, food, toys and a sweater they'd grown particularly fond of using as a bed and put them all into a bag which she slings over her shoulder before bending down to scoop up whichever cat Credence isn't carrying. Kuro gets told to stay, and she waits for him to lead the way. She knows where his room used to be, but it might be different now.

It's in the same place. However, the simple oak has been replaced by grand mahogany with brass fixtures; when Credence opens the door, it leads into the opulently appointed bedroom he was given in Nurmengard Castle. Dark green, handprinted wallpaper; bookshelves, a four-poster bed and heavy swagged curtains over a grand window. Intricately patterned rugs over a stone floor.

And yet he looks uncomfortable, incongruous in the kind of space that fit effortlessly around Grindelwald.

"You can - there's a corner over there we can use for their things," he suggests, lightly setting Goldstein down on the bed.

The door is different, but the interior is even moreso. Bending to set Coldwater down to begin his explorations of the room, Shiro moves to set the bag down in the indicated corner, setting up the food and water bowls, getting everything set before standing again. It doesn't take long, and when her hands are empty, she moves back towards him, looking around.

"It's...really different." And she looks closely at him, distinctly uncomfortable, before continuing: "Are you okay with it? Your warden can change it, if you want something different. I changed my room."

"No. This is fine for me," Credence says, sounding very nearly convinced. "I chose to be here. I just wish I could show you the view."

The mountains, the lakes, the solitude - not just the starry space beyond the ship.

He chose to be here, he says, and it sounds like that's part of a bigger story. All part of whatever's happened since the last time he was here. She wants to ask.

"You could show me in the Enclosure. It can show any place. If you want."

Credence looks up from where he's watching the cats - his cats? - explore the new space.

"It's enchanted?"

"Mm, sort of? Not sure if it's magic or science," she answers a little thoughtfully. "Maybe a little both, like the rest of the Barge. It can make any place you want. Not people, but places are fine. I like using it to visit new places, ones I read about. Have you been yet?"

Credence shakes his head.

"No. I found some locked doors, places I couldn't get into. Is it one of them?"

"Yeah. Some places you need a warden item to get into. The Enclosure, the lounge, kitchens, maintenance closet. Any place with important or dangerous stuff." It's a little awkward to talk about, but it does make sense. "It doesn't mean inmates aren't allowed, just...need someone else with you."

"Because this is a prison," Credence says, voice a little dull. "I understand."

"No," she says, and her voice is a little stronger. "It's not. Not like you mean. It's like--" she pauses for a second, reaching for an analogy that might be easier to grasp.

"Credence told me about a place called Purgatory, the first time we talked. An in-between place, where people could learn to make different choices. To be better. The barge is like that. I grew up in a prison. This place isn't meant to keep people locked away in little boxes forever." She wouldn't still be here if it was--or she'd have been an inmate forever.

"Neither are prisons," Credence points out. "Not most of the time. But I'm sorry someone tried to keep you locked up forever."

Shiro shrugs, feeling self-conscious again. "It's fine. I'm never going back to where I came from, so no one's gonna try again. I just--I know a lot of the people who get brought here don't want to and don't have a choice. I was like that. But--I think it helped me a lot. It can help a lot of people. That's why I stayed. After I graduated, I mean."

Credence nods, a little uncertain, at the same time not wanting to care if he's causing offence and being worried that he has. Best to just move on.

"...Where's the Enclosure?"

Moving on sounds like a great idea. Better than the uncertain place they've ended up.

"Up on deck. You want to see?"

"Yes. Thank you. I'll be back soon," he tells his pets, in the same talking-to-a-human voice he used for both his phoenix chick and his cats during his previous stint here. He straightens up and goes to the door, holding it open for Shiro.

It's another familiar reminder, the way he talks to the cats, and it takes more effort than she expected to not reach for his hand the way she would have before. Instead, she heads out into the hallway, waiting for him before she leads the way up to the Enclosure hatch, reaching out and opening it. The stairs are dark and fade into nothingness just out of sight, and she hesitates in front of the control panel.

"Want me to show you how it works first?"

Credence hesitates, then nods.

"Yes. Yes, please."

Shiro waits for his answer, then turns to the control panel, speaking clearly into the microphone next to the entry pad, asking for a place called Laguna Beach, early morning. There's a faint change in the light at the foot of the stairs and she looks up at Credence, motioning for him to follow. The stairs lead to a different set of stairs, these wooden and weathered, and then down onto a rocky beach front, cliffs all around and nothing but deep blue ocean for miles and miles. Shiro seems more relaxed here, taking a deep breath and letting it out, her bare feet sinking into the sand.

"This is one of my favorite places to come. A friend brought me here once when I first got here. He's not here anymore, but it's a nice place to come and think. Quiet."

Credence breathes in deeply, pushes it out slow. He's seen the ocean, of course - crossed it, even - but nothing this calm and blue and beautiful.

"...I've never seen anywhere like this."

"It's in California, south of Los Angeles," she tells him, moving out a little further onto the beach, closer to the water. "I want to go in person someday. I know there's a lot of people there normally, but I think I'd still like to see it, in the early morning, like this." She loves the way the ocean makes her feel.

"I didn't learn how to swim until a lot later, but now I think I wanna learn how to sail a boat and just...spend months out there. Exploring. See how far I can go, you know?"

"....That would be nice," he says, softly, watching the water. "To go anywhere you want, and just...be free."

He sounds like he's in a bit of a daze.

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