Maybe, but this place hasn't been very nice about privacy, so I forgive you. [...] If you want to pry, you can. I don't know what else to really tell you, but hey. I'm an open fucking ticking book, aren't I.
People are dying, I can't do a whole lot to stop any of that. But last week I danced like an idiot with Aerith and we sang at the top of our lungs, and Vin let me hug her, and this morning I gave Daan the cigarettes I got for him and he actually looked a little happy for once.
That's... really all I can ask for. I'm okay if I've got that.
... good. Happiness is happiness, even if it's small gestures.
[ anyway have a memshare.
It is not rare for you to sneak onto this ship.
Obviously, you have to not overdo it-- even though you're quite confident in your skills in infiltrating undetected, there are enough powerhouses onboard that it would be more of a pickle than you would want to deal with if you were caught by any of them. So, you are careful with your visits, and know to just immediately hit the important places to gather intel, and then leave.
That is usually how it goes.
This time, though, you take a detour. There's a familiar voice down the halls, loud and panicked, and know without even having to see it what is happening. Ah, there she goes again, being naughty. You know that, objectively, Rhodes Island is the best place for her, but there's a pit of concern that forms in your stomach.
You follow her voice.
When you see Ifrit, she's burning. Her flames rages dangerously, scorching the walls of the hall. It's worrisome that no one is around, because you'd think the response time here would be faster than this. Then again, it's good that no one else is here, because Ifrit's fire would likely just kill them when she's in this state. The young girl screams, clutching her head as she slowly walks down the hall, her expression one of great distress. Metal that she brushes past start to melt.
"No," she murmurs, "Sari... save them..."
Well. That's enough.
"Oh dear, oh my, what is going on here?" you say, cheerfully. "Iffy? You can't be igniting in the corridors. Saria would be very upset if she knew. Silence, too."
Ifrit just stares at your direction blankly, like she isn't quite sure what's happening. "No, it's not... you're not..."
"Let's gather up some water molecules and calm those flames down..."
And with that, you douse the girl in water. She sputters, clearly surprised, but her flames that are erupting from her die down to a whimper, before fading altogether. There's still the fire in the corridor, but that can wait for now. It's not like you work here.
She says, "It's freezing cold! What? MuMu...? MuMu! Help me, I don't want to--"
You step forward and wrap the girl in a hug. She's gotten much bigger now, than the first time you saw her. She's put on more weight; a good sign, it means she's finally eating properly. Her complexion is less sunken in. Just the fact that she's talking to you like this. Yes... as much as you might have doubts, it was a good idea to send her here. It's not safe at Rhine Lab. It's barely safe anywhere, for someone like her, with a power that can erupt at any moment if her emotions get too out of hand, and with so many people out there who are ready to exploit something that explosive.
"Shhh, you can't tell anyone I'm here," you remind her. "It's okay. I'll take care of it. Hehe, I'm not worried at all. You're going to be fine. But remember what we agreed, Iffy?"
The girl passes out in your arms. You sigh, before moving to set her down safely before turning to deal with the remaining fire she caused. This is fine. If this was before, it wouldn't have just been this corridor destroyed, but the entire landship. Ifrit is getting better. You put out the rest of the fire. You can tell that her treatment here is working, and trusting her to R.I. was the best move, even if it's sometimes difficult trusting another party for something this delicate. Then again, if you trusted them completely, you wouldn't even be here right now.
There's footsteps.
You hide, making sure that no one can notice you. And then you see them-- the masked doctor, looking around and taking in the damage. They pause when they reach Ifrit, and you watch as they carefully kneel down to check on the girl. Their hand push her bangs out of her face gently, before they pick her up and start to walk towards where you know the medical bay is.
No, it's okay. The place she was at is a landship-- basically just a gigantic ship, but it travels over uh, land, and not the ocean. The company's called Rhodes Islands. Pharmaceuticals, and basically their whole thing is helping people and trying to treat people with Oripathy. They're actually legit, from what I've seen. If they weren't, I would have just kidnapped Iffy from there ages ago.
... but the reason she's like that is because of a lab. She actually ended up completely destroying it. We found her in the rubble.
Sort of, it's... Basically, I don't have Oripathy. My specific issue is that if I get it, it'll kill me in weeks.
[ she points at her ears. ]
I'm an elf, as you can see. But where I'm from, we're as close to extinct as you can get, and it's because we're so weak to Oripathy. It killed my family. I haven't ever even been in the same room as Iffy with my real body, since that might kill me.
[she seems a little surprised to hear the word elf, if only because half the people she's talked to have been like yeah! elves, those are things i have, or it's more like what do you mean elf like santa's elves or
but it gives her some context, so she nods.]
Makes a load of sense. I wouldn't stick around if that were the case for me, either. [...] I'm sorry about your family. That's got to be lonely, being one of the last.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[ there's a pause, and they sigh. ]
That's a lie, I do like to pry, but that felt like something you need to like, knock first before peeking in, at least.
[ sorry for accidentally being rude and seeing your trauma ]
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Maybe, but this place hasn't been very nice about privacy, so I forgive you. [...] If you want to pry, you can. I don't know what else to really tell you, but hey. I'm an open fucking ticking book, aren't I.
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[ they think about it. ]
Are you doing okay? After that.
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People are dying, I can't do a whole lot to stop any of that. But last week I danced like an idiot with Aerith and we sang at the top of our lungs, and Vin let me hug her, and this morning I gave Daan the cigarettes I got for him and he actually looked a little happy for once.
That's... really all I can ask for. I'm okay if I've got that.
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[ anyway have a memshare.
pestilence blinks. ]
Aw, shucks. Could be worse.
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also talk about appropriate memshare, boy howdy. points at ifrit. same hat.
karlach squints a little, at the end of this, and then:]
... Hah. Wyll did that to me once.
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[ pesto you did that too.
there's a pause, before they just sigh and move to take the mask off. you still won't know who this is. ]
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To be fair to him, I asked! I wanted to see if it'd cool me down enough so I could touch people.
[a beat, and then:]
Aw, you're so pretty.
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[ help. she smiles. ]
Thank you. So are you. I do not succumb to flattery, though.
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Didn't think you would! Just a fact. But thanks.
Nice to meet you face to face.
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Same to you. [ ... ] You'd probably like Iffy a lot, but it's obviously good you didn't get to meet her.
[ IFFY IS ANOTHER YOUTH... ]
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That the girl that was on fire? [...] I don't understand all that, what - there was a lab? Was she being held for something?
[america explain but also:]
Guess you don't really have to tell me, since that was private and all, but.
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... but the reason she's like that is because of a lab. She actually ended up completely destroying it. We found her in the rubble.
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Good. They probably deserved it.
[she doesn't know anything about the lab but listen she is going to be on the little girl's side, for better or for worse.]
Oripathy? Is that what she's got? [a beat.] Is that what you've got? With the bubbles.
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Basically, I don't have Oripathy. My specific issue is that if I get it, it'll kill me in weeks.
[ she points at her ears. ]
I'm an elf, as you can see. But where I'm from, we're as close to extinct as you can get, and it's because we're so weak to Oripathy. It killed my family. I haven't ever even been in the same room as Iffy with my real body, since that might kill me.
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but it gives her some context, so she nods.]
Makes a load of sense. I wouldn't stick around if that were the case for me, either. [...] I'm sorry about your family. That's got to be lonely, being one of the last.
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You get used to it! Plus, there's plenty of other people around me, so it's not really like being alone.
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[but saying that doesn't help, so.]
Are you stuck with this cult forever? I know Fam said he agreed to join, but.
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[ she pauses. ]
... although now I realize the problem of not wanting them to reach the goal and that exit strategy...
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Little hiccup in the plan, yeah. I appreciate the fact that you didn't immediately change your mind about sacrificing us all the second you realized?
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[ ... ]
Well, not to the cult, I suppose... hm... I guess that is still disloyalty...
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[ she covers her own mouth with her hand. ]
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Anyway. [a beat.] Thanks for trusting me with your face, even if it was just because of the memory bullshit.
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[ and also hiding from the cult, or whatever, the other thing is more important ]