[right][h2][color=999999]Lost in Translation[/color][/h2][@silver21][@Stanifly][@Auragreedia][/right]

[color=808080]Westbound's face drains of color. He half-rises from his seat, one hand outstretched toward Sirpa as if he could catch the words spilling wrong from her mouth and stuff them back in, fix them, undo whatever just happened.

[i]"Huh."[/i]

The employee appears from behind Westbound, watching Sirpa with raised eyebrows.

[i]"You must be pretty damn empathetic."[/i] Her head tilts. [i]"To let someone else's Catharsis bleed into you that easily."[/i]

She steps toward Sirpa. Leans in, close enough that Sirpa can see the party lights shimmering in her eyes, and says:

[i]"You'll need to be careful. Get too lost in the fog and you won't make it home."[/i]

The employee straightens and raises a palm toward the silver hero and the cybernetic cowboy.

[i]"Not a threat. A fact."[/i] The words come clipped, matter-of-fact. [i]"Got somewhere to be? Help [b]him[/b]."[/i]

She looks at the three of them, then jerks her chin at the venue.

[i]"Is it loud? Find a way to stop the music."[/i] A glance at Teresa. [i]"Walking in circles? That's 'cause you gotta have a destination in mind."[/i]

Her gaze shifts to Westbound. [i]"And names have meaning."[/i]

Morgan says something. So does Teresa. To Sirpa, they sound just like the crowd did before—words twisted into nonsense.

The conversations around them, on the other hand, make sense now.

[i]"—no way, he actually said that to her face?—"[/i]
[i]"—this song is so overplayed—"[/i]
[i]"—I need another drink before I deal with that—"[/i]

The notepad on the table—the same one Westbound wrote in earlier—reads differently now.

[i]My name is Wesley.[/i][/color]

[center][color=808080]━━━━━━ ◈ ━━━━━━[/color][/center]
[right][@silver21][@Stanifly][@Auragreedia][/right]
[hider=In This Catharsis][color=808080]
[list][*] Westbound appears shocked and distressed by Sirpa's condition
[*] The Keeper warns Sirpa to be careful or she'll lose herself
[*] The Keeper gives hints: stop the music if it's too loud, have a destination in mind, and names have meaning
[*] Sirpa can no longer understand Teresa and Morgan, but can now understand the conversations around them
[*] From Sirpa's perspective, Westbound's notepad now reads: "My name is Wesley"[/list]
[/color][/hider]