dappledleaves | CICONIA: WHEN THEY CRY

Mmph--[Sinclair accepts the candy, even though he can't actually taste it. He frowns]

I mean...biting people is bad. And causes more trouble. And if they have germs, that'd be gross.

[He says, as if he's learned this off by heart. He misses Aria, but for Oria...that was worse right? Because they were siblings.

Siblings...]

...they'll bring me back tomorrow. I've got a bit of a break now.

Yeah? Where did you even go anyway? You sure get escorted a lot.

[ Oria looks off into the distance with a neutral expression and leans back on the wall. Still his corner. ]

A re---[Sppzzt! Flit! Sinclair seems to blip out for a moment before he returns, looking uneasy]

A re-education camp, I guess. For criminals like me.

[He bites his lip and looks down. He moves a little closer, even though this is all...

In their heads. Quite literally]

[ Oria blinks with wide eyes for a split second when Sinclair seemingly glitches out. ]

Your signal always sucks for reason.

[ Don't startle him like that?? Oria huffs. ]

Well, you're a reformed criminal that's working as a soldier.

[ He say, not knowing Sinclair's crime. Only that he's supposedly a criminal. ]

Ahaha...sorry. I've been trying to get it fi--[There goes his body, changing colours again. Not that anyone else notices until it settles. He suddenly reforms again, panting and reaches out to hold Oria's hand. He's not sure if it's for Oria or himself. Maybe both]

...Maybe they'll decide I served my time if I keep going long enough.

[ Oria frowns and looks at Sinclair, taking his hand immediately. Sure, he's been a little aloof nowadays and he sometimes clashes with Sinclair over small things, but he's still his partner in their once-trio kette. They have been like that for a while. He has no idea what to say to that statement, but... ]

Maybe you should get some rest. The multitasking can't be good for your brain if you're feeling tired.

But---are you okay?

[It doesn't matter he's tired. It doesn't matter it hurts, and they're literally cutting his head open again. A thousand sins and one good deed, they promised. They'll make it work.

But Sinclair doesn't care about their grandiose schemes. What he cares about is--

One of them is dead.

He had to do what he can for this last piece or he really will lose it.]

I'm fine.

[ He says this automatically regardless of his own feelings. ]

We should probably be a lot more subtle in sabotaging the mission next time so that we don't kill one another, or something.

[ Something something order of the public bath. Aria looked forward to such an Order for a long time, and now that she's dead, he figures that this is what he could do for her, in a way.

He'd also talk about the missions rather than his feelings. ]

[ Sinclair glances around the bath house, frowning. It's not "fine" but Sinclair doesn't know where he stands here, with...]

...we just need to hold out a little longer. Until they can get that truce organised.

[ He bites his lip and squeezes Oria's hand a little more]

We're in this together right?

[ Oria's hand remains still for a while, but there is eventually a short squeeze. ]

Yeah, we are... whether we like it or not, with or without Aria.

[ His voice goes especially soft when he says her name. ]

That said, who knows how long the truce will take? They could be delaying it for all we know.

They said they were trying to get negotiations settled with all parties. They're nearly at the end, but...

[It's exhausting on all of them. His expression softens further at Oria's voice when he mentions Aria's name]

...I'm not good at this but...whatever you decide I'll support you.

Edited 2024-07-08 06:49 (UTC)

Yeah? And it's not because of your puppy crush on Aria, right?

[ A joke? Maybe. Oria looks aloof with whatever he's looking at into the distance. ]

These libraries have nothing good about P3 levels. Political propaganda is so annoying to deal with, because I can't find jack shit.

[ So Oria is probably in a library in reality, looking through so many books. He hates doing this in this world too, for the record.

Aria was killed during evasion training when practicing with the other two. Everything was going so smoothly until the rejection shield disappeared from Aria when it was still at full energy. The look of horror Oria saw on Aria's face before she blew up from the missile is something that he still can't shake off to this day.

Faulty equipment, they said despite doing a thorough check before training like they always do. When Oria dug in deeper, he found evidence of Aria's P3 levels plummet to 0. They say it was because she was getting old (she just reached 20 years of age back then), so it's expected.

It makes no sense to Oria despite everything, so of course he's looking into it. However, no dice. ]

[That gets a light punch to Oria's shoulder, half hearted]

Because we're friends. And you're important to me too.

['You jerk' goes implied. Sincere, even now.

He flinches a little as if reacting to some unseen stimuli, biting on the lollipop]

... children's brains are malleable, which means when it comes to p3 levels, only children have the potential to even develop it, let alone increase it. But once our p3 levels are fully developed, short of a traumatic injury...they don't plummet like that naturally.

[Sinclair's voice goes a little distant, strained]

That's why—

[ Oria stops and looks at Sinclair. ]

... Hey, what's wrong?

Nothing. Don't--[His voice changes and he snarls at someone unseen] Don't touch me.

[...there's a moment of silence and Sinclair's eyes go very wide. Ah. Oh no.]

I mean. I was just thinking...if our p3 levels fall suddenly...it'd have to be one of two things.

[ ... ]

First of all, nothing happened to Aria before the missiles collided. And second, turn on your location. What the hell is going on?

[ Sinclair looks down. His location is turned on, but his gps location seems to be odd. Very odd. As if he's in the middle of no where. Or no where at all.]

...nothing. Just a check up.

And you just hissed at a doctor to not touch you? That's kinda what they're supposed to do. You're literally in the middle of nowhere.

[ Oria squints at this. What the fuck. ]

... Do you need me?

I guess I never got used to them...[Sinclair mutters, fingers flexing against the sofa. It felt so real and smooth beneath his fingers. It was really impressive work. Not many people could build a room and make it feel this realistic]

I...[Yes. No. Yes. Is he allowed to ask for help? He pushes himself a little more, willing himself to stay logged in. No. no. no.] A little longer. Please.

You know it's not just one or the other for me, right?

[ The only thing holding Oria back is Sinclair's permission. He won't go unless Sinclair wants him there. Something about privacy. He could just go there without logging out. He can do both things at the same time. ]

[He doesn't want Oria to see this; what must be his body, strapped to a table as they hook up all these machines to him as they open up his head again, flesh and bone split open. What were they looking for? What were they trying to create? He doesn't know]

Mm. They wont let you go far. But it'd be nice if...[He could see a friendly face when he woke up in reality too.

And then Sinclair logs out. In. Out. Out out out. Error. Error. Reboot again.

He's offline now.]

Edited 2024-07-09 01:56 (UTC)

[ Welp. Oria is already on his way despite lounging in the bathhouse. But really, there's nothing to do here, so he eventually logs off as well as he's still going to the last location he saw on Sinclair. Will he get cockblocked? Is there really nothing as the map says? ]

[when Oria gets there, it's nothing but a lone building in the middle of no where, but the drones buzzing in the background and the heavily armed guards at the the entrance signal that it's a military compound. The machine gun turrets lock on automatically but don't fire as the soldiers bark at Oria.

"Identification and your clearance code!"]

[ There's a reason why gauntlets are locked away unless needed. Oria looks at the turrets and gets out his identification. Clearance code? He doesn't have any of that, but he'll bullshit one. ]

GL-017.

[ He's already bracing to get scolded. ]

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