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[he can't (won't) argue it further.]
[if he were honest, he's impressed she'd leave his side. Hei must still be in medical - unless he had some regeneration up his sleeve, he couldn't be back in action already.]
[regardless.]
FROM: hinata.shouyou@cdc.org
Southern outpost. I'll see you soon.
[if he were honest, he's impressed she'd leave his side. Hei must still be in medical - unless he had some regeneration up his sleeve, he couldn't be back in action already.]
[regardless.]
FROM: hinata.shouyou@cdc.org
Southern outpost. I'll see you soon.
[ He doesn't need her, doesn't want her there. That wouldn't be enough to drive her away in another instance, only she knows that gathering supplies is also for his benefit. She can be more useful than unwanted company. ]
FROM: amber@cdc.org
See you soon.
FROM: amber@cdc.org
See you soon.
FROM: captain.falcon@cdc.org
Healthy skepticism.
Healthy skepticism.
FROM: captain.falcon@cdc.org
I can deal with unfair. I don't like having my time wasted.
I can deal with unfair. I don't like having my time wasted.
[bag on his hip, knife and bow strung equally in their respective belts (damn primitive, his twenty first century technology-addled brain scoffed, but it was a passing thought and not worth anything), Hinata waits with a hand on a large, yellow bird, of which was saddled and ready to go with as bored of a look as a bird could manage.]
[on spotting the green haired woman approaching, he raises a hand but not a smile. for his part, he looked healthy, rested, well-nourished-- in short, not a sufferer of any internal damage. the only evidence anything may have gone astray was a particularly messy hair day, the tighter set to his jaw and a new brownish-red stain on his boot's side.]
[before saying anything, he assessed her.]
[on spotting the green haired woman approaching, he raises a hand but not a smile. for his part, he looked healthy, rested, well-nourished-- in short, not a sufferer of any internal damage. the only evidence anything may have gone astray was a particularly messy hair day, the tighter set to his jaw and a new brownish-red stain on his boot's side.]
[before saying anything, he assessed her.]
Edited 2015-05-05 19:11 (UTC)
[ Words are superfluous, unnecessary. She doesn't believe they hold much value at all after so many years of telling one too many lies. But sometimes she does wonder how true her viewpoint is.
Havoc's reply gets a smile out of her. A rare one in the past few hours. ]
What was it like when you first tasted it?
Havoc's reply gets a smile out of her. A rare one in the past few hours. ]
What was it like when you first tasted it?
[ Amber doesn't look like she's dying, which is more than can be said of nearly a quarter of the crew. But there's a bruise on her left forehead that's hardly concealed by her hair and she lacks her usual Stepford smile, even if she strides with purpose toward the boy, eyes widening in surprise at the sight of the . . . is that a bird with a saddle? ]
Are you sure you know how to ride that?
Are you sure you know how to ride that?
[Havoc, as a Regressor, had been honest. Painfully quiet, reserved- but honest. Guilt had driven her to never want to lie again, and though she had sometimes held things back, she'd never outright lied. As a Contractor she had done so regularly, but never to Hei, or to Amber. What point would there have been in that?
None.]
It tasted like a home should taste like.
[Even if she didn't really know what she was saying, or why, it was at least honest. Resumed slicing the chicken in to bits, gaze on her work, on the placement of fingers.]
Like what a mothers love is supposed to taste like.
["like" and "supposed", because most contractors didn't really have those, did they? But that's what it had tasted like.]
- it was nice.
None.]
It tasted like a home should taste like.
[Even if she didn't really know what she was saying, or why, it was at least honest. Resumed slicing the chicken in to bits, gaze on her work, on the placement of fingers.]
Like what a mothers love is supposed to taste like.
["like" and "supposed", because most contractors didn't really have those, did they? But that's what it had tasted like.]
- it was nice.
[first: the bruise. Hinata does little more than glance toward the hint of it before his jaw tightens, but -- miraculously and at least for now - he doesn't make a comment. rather...]
[second: the surprise.]
She's a yellow chocabo. [better than 'cocoba,' still wrong. he really needed to work on memorization.] And a much smoother ride than the bahari.
[but then, he may be biased. he smooths a hand over the bird's feathers; she blinks large eyes at him, head craning to look down. he struggled to keep his voice neutral - it dipped into gentled concern when he least expected it, for Amber and the chocobo both.]
Her name's Solvieg. She can't take two, but she could hold what we collect if we get too much, or she can keep pace if you have any super speed up your sleeve. -- Are we going?
[second: the surprise.]
She's a yellow chocabo. [better than 'cocoba,' still wrong. he really needed to work on memorization.] And a much smoother ride than the bahari.
[but then, he may be biased. he smooths a hand over the bird's feathers; she blinks large eyes at him, head craning to look down. he struggled to keep his voice neutral - it dipped into gentled concern when he least expected it, for Amber and the chocobo both.]
Her name's Solvieg. She can't take two, but she could hold what we collect if we get too much, or she can keep pace if you have any super speed up your sleeve. -- Are we going?
FROM: captain.falcon@cdc.org
I don't think that's an unpopular opinion.
I don't think that's an unpopular opinion.
FROM: captain.falcon@cdc.org
No.
FROM: captain.falcon@cdc.org
Upset is a strong word.
No.
FROM: captain.falcon@cdc.org
Upset is a strong word.
[ The point would be to protect them from what they would do given the information. Allowing Hei or Havoc to know about the Syndicate's true intentions early on would have caused them to retaliate, resulting in their demise. She would lie, lie, lie if it meant keeping them safe. Words cost nothing. She would give much more for them than lies and half-truths.
Amber stops her chopping to look at the other woman from the corner of her eyes. If she was capable of it, she would probably feel something similar to jealousy. Like someone with a tongue unable to taste being told about the most delicious dish, knowing all along that she won't ever experience it. It exists to her only as empty ideas. Home. Mother. What do they even mean? How do they feel like?
She swallows and lowers her gaze to begin chopping again, intentionally slow. ]
Warm, I suppose. Comforting. Safe. Maybe we're only grasping at air.
Amber stops her chopping to look at the other woman from the corner of her eyes. If she was capable of it, she would probably feel something similar to jealousy. Like someone with a tongue unable to taste being told about the most delicious dish, knowing all along that she won't ever experience it. It exists to her only as empty ideas. Home. Mother. What do they even mean? How do they feel like?
She swallows and lowers her gaze to begin chopping again, intentionally slow. ]
Warm, I suppose. Comforting. Safe. Maybe we're only grasping at air.
[ Choc... abo... That is better than Cocoabo anyhow.
Amber comes close enough to reach a hand out to touch the animal's neck, eyes fixed on the bird's face for any early signs of aggression. As cute as it is, her paranoia still keeps her mind cycling through the many possible ways she could lose an eye or a hand. The feather is surprisingly soft to the touch and warm. It's comforting in a way she can't quite explain. ]
I don't think super speed is what we need. [ Since really, she's here to pass the time, isn't she? ] You can ride her. I'll walk.
[ That's all the notice she gives before starting to walk off into the light forest surrounding camp, each step carefully placed and body tense despite the lack of threats to justify such a stance. She turns over her shoulder just once to see if Hinata's keeping up. ]
Who put you up to this?
Amber comes close enough to reach a hand out to touch the animal's neck, eyes fixed on the bird's face for any early signs of aggression. As cute as it is, her paranoia still keeps her mind cycling through the many possible ways she could lose an eye or a hand. The feather is surprisingly soft to the touch and warm. It's comforting in a way she can't quite explain. ]
I don't think super speed is what we need. [ Since really, she's here to pass the time, isn't she? ] You can ride her. I'll walk.
[ That's all the notice she gives before starting to walk off into the light forest surrounding camp, each step carefully placed and body tense despite the lack of threats to justify such a stance. She turns over her shoulder just once to see if Hinata's keeping up. ]
Who put you up to this?
FROM: captain.falcon@cdc.org
I am frustrated with the situation as a whole. Is that a good answer?
I am frustrated with the situation as a whole. Is that a good answer?
[The experience of emotions expressed not through concepts like "a mother's love" or "in a lover's arms", like "someone who always has your back" or "e tu brute?", but in the more clinical, physical terms.
Feelings of warmth, and comfort. Safety. Calmness. She's torn between the two, but not fully divorced from either. It makes sense, yet.]
It's like that. Like nothing can hurt you.
[Even though such a thought was illogical at best. A mother's love couldn't protect you, in the end- it was knowing that which made Havoc choose to leave Laura's in the middle of the night, when there'd been word someone had been poking round asking questions.
A mother's love-]
Do you remember any of that?
[The past. A time before the Gate, before the ME.]
Feelings of warmth, and comfort. Safety. Calmness. She's torn between the two, but not fully divorced from either. It makes sense, yet.]
It's like that. Like nothing can hurt you.
[Even though such a thought was illogical at best. A mother's love couldn't protect you, in the end- it was knowing that which made Havoc choose to leave Laura's in the middle of the night, when there'd been word someone had been poking round asking questions.
A mother's love-]
Do you remember any of that?
[The past. A time before the Gate, before the ME.]
[sharp talons, sharp beak, and a reaction time to rival any bird in the air-- Solvieg, well-behaved as she was, did little more than turn her attention toward the reaching woman, head turned to the side to keep Amber in one black eye. Hinata didn't budge; he only knew Solvieg as a gentle, if pushy, creature. the damage she could do had once been on his mind, but as time passed, it faded. there was nothing to fear from the chocobo.]
[when Amber took away her hand, as if sensing her caution, the bird only then shifted on her feet. she was restless. she wanted to run. Hinata got that. a little extra weight and matching a human's slow walk wouldn't do much good. he swung himself up into the saddle (nearly didn't make it: he usually needed a stool) only to give them both something to focus on, nudging her forward to catch up as gently as possible. she gave a start, moving too quick before he reigned her in at Amber's side.]
[hadn't Amber asked him that before? ... or had it been Hei?]
[oh, but maybe -]
Red. [or (and what he thought she meant, but he was being obtuse): no one. forgetting that day in the hallway and her need for distraction was impossible.] He sent out that bit about medical needing more plants. And I figured four hands were better than two, so...
[thankfully, the woods here weren't too dense. it would be easy to spot what they needed, and also for the chocobo to navigate her way. the one down side to the big bird had to be the-- well, the 'big, bright' part.]
[Amber was so tense.]
[when Amber took away her hand, as if sensing her caution, the bird only then shifted on her feet. she was restless. she wanted to run. Hinata got that. a little extra weight and matching a human's slow walk wouldn't do much good. he swung himself up into the saddle (nearly didn't make it: he usually needed a stool) only to give them both something to focus on, nudging her forward to catch up as gently as possible. she gave a start, moving too quick before he reigned her in at Amber's side.]
[hadn't Amber asked him that before? ... or had it been Hei?]
[oh, but maybe -]
Red. [or (and what he thought she meant, but he was being obtuse): no one. forgetting that day in the hallway and her need for distraction was impossible.] He sent out that bit about medical needing more plants. And I figured four hands were better than two, so...
[thankfully, the woods here weren't too dense. it would be easy to spot what they needed, and also for the chocobo to navigate her way. the one down side to the big bird had to be the-- well, the 'big, bright' part.]
[Amber was so tense.]
FROM: captain.falcon@cdc.org
I will. I don't expect straight answers.
I will. I don't expect straight answers.
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