[It's probably hypocritical of Rean to be upset by the sudden radio silence. After all, he's the one who left Crow on read for the better part of a week despite the man's constant attempts to reach out to him. But he'd promised Eren he'd talk to both Crow and Elliot about things by the end of the week. Elliot, he'd managed, and he'd promised Elliot again that he'd talk through things with Crow. That promise was proving difficult.
The first time he attempts to message Crow again, asking just if he'd be willing to talk sometime soon, he's left on read. Which is upsetting, sure, but Rean supposes it's karma. When he tries again, he doesn't even get the comfort of knowing Crow's seen it. He tries again, to no avail. The seeds of worry take root in his heart, but he holds himself together.
There's a million possibilities of why this could be happening, and he's going to exhaust all of them before he lets himself assume the worst.
He cannot and will not give in to despair.
It's not too difficult to find out that Crow's headed down into the layers, all things considered. Crow might be pulling back from other people, but he's still an EMT. And thankfully, it's even less difficult to ask about the tall man with white hair and red eyes – that stands out enough to people that Rean's gotten some pretty solid leads.
Solid enough to bring him to the mountain, and from there, the hardest part of following Crow's trail is the actual trek. He's marked his path with his false name, after all.
The remnants of the research party give Rean pause. He stands before the bones for a while, staring at them with widened, horrified eyes, before he forces himself to continue on.
He cannot and will not give in to despair.
Eventually, Rean finds himself at the research facility, and he steels himself as he pushes forward. If Crow's anywhere on this mountain still, it's here. And given that the markings led him all the way up but he hasn't seen anything to indicate he ever came back down, Rean has every reason to believe he's still here.
Everything about the inside of this place is unnerving, the whirring of machines most of all. It grates at the back of his mind, running like claws down his spine and seeming to accentuate every awful thought that's crossed his mind on the way up here.
Does it even look like there's another soul in here? What makes you think you'll find him here, much less alive? For all you know, you've already lost him. You've already failed him, just like you have so many times in both this life and the last... even if he's alive, you're just going to fail again. Like you always have, like you always will—
Furrowing his brow, Rean closes his eyes and tries to hone his senses past his thoughts, tries to focus on the essence of any other living creature in this building.
Eventually, he manages to make out the feeling of something faintly ahead of him, and that's enough hope to cling to.
He cannot and will not give in to despair.
He follows that weak sensation until it amplifies, feels it grow until he knows whatever he's sensing must be somewhere close by, and—]
Crow?
[He's yet to lay eyes on him, yet to even prove to himself that the person he's searching for is here, but he calls out to him nonetheless. Hoping against hope for a response, or even just some sound that might bring him closer.]
iii, an entire novel just for you
The first time he attempts to message Crow again, asking just if he'd be willing to talk sometime soon, he's left on read. Which is upsetting, sure, but Rean supposes it's karma. When he tries again, he doesn't even get the comfort of knowing Crow's seen it. He tries again, to no avail. The seeds of worry take root in his heart, but he holds himself together.
There's a million possibilities of why this could be happening, and he's going to exhaust all of them before he lets himself assume the worst.
He cannot and will not give in to despair.
It's not too difficult to find out that Crow's headed down into the layers, all things considered. Crow might be pulling back from other people, but he's still an EMT. And thankfully, it's even less difficult to ask about the tall man with white hair and red eyes – that stands out enough to people that Rean's gotten some pretty solid leads.
Solid enough to bring him to the mountain, and from there, the hardest part of following Crow's trail is the actual trek. He's marked his path with his false name, after all.
The remnants of the research party give Rean pause. He stands before the bones for a while, staring at them with widened, horrified eyes, before he forces himself to continue on.
He cannot and will not give in to despair.
Eventually, Rean finds himself at the research facility, and he steels himself as he pushes forward. If Crow's anywhere on this mountain still, it's here. And given that the markings led him all the way up but he hasn't seen anything to indicate he ever came back down, Rean has every reason to believe he's still here.
Everything about the inside of this place is unnerving, the whirring of machines most of all. It grates at the back of his mind, running like claws down his spine and seeming to accentuate every awful thought that's crossed his mind on the way up here.
Does it even look like there's another soul in here? What makes you think you'll find him here, much less alive? For all you know, you've already lost him. You've already failed him, just like you have so many times in both this life and the last... even if he's alive, you're just going to fail again. Like you always have, like you always will—
Furrowing his brow, Rean closes his eyes and tries to hone his senses past his thoughts, tries to focus on the essence of any other living creature in this building.
Eventually, he manages to make out the feeling of something faintly ahead of him, and that's enough hope to cling to.
He cannot and will not give in to despair.
He follows that weak sensation until it amplifies, feels it grow until he knows whatever he's sensing must be somewhere close by, and—]
Crow?
[He's yet to lay eyes on him, yet to even prove to himself that the person he's searching for is here, but he calls out to him nonetheless. Hoping against hope for a response, or even just some sound that might bring him closer.]