dappledleaves | CICONIA: WHEN THEY CRY

[ Oria watches Sinclair hesitate and holds back a sigh. He sneakily touches Sinclair's back as if to remind him that he can take over if he wants. If it's too hard. ]

...

[ Sinclair looks back gratefully and steels himself. It's cruel. But what they keep doing to him and Oria... isn't that cruel too?

He knows Oria would be fine with being the 'bad' guy. But he doesn't want to keep putting that on Oria too]

I'm sorry. I don't know what they told you. But the third member of our kette will always be Aria. That's why we're not a kette now. Just...

[ Despite all that, Katherine keeps her head up high.

"I heard about that. I'm sorry for your loss, but I heard that they will be taking away your equipment if you no longer choose to cooperate. If that's the case, it will just be me in this kette instead."

Oria frowns, about to interject, but the coach cuts in.

"Katherine is right. If you two are no longer cooperative, then we'll get someone who can despite your qualifications." ]

[ Sinclair goes very still and for a moment, all he can hear is the blood rushing through his ears]

...will you? Is this you trying to blackmail us now?

[ something dark and bitter rises up in his chest, overwhelming in his resentment. He hated this, hated them]

And what did the Military Research Centre agree to that?

[ In the lab, he heard everything even if he didn't want to. He wasn't stupid. Even among children, there was only so many people who could use their p3 ability without dying a miserable death. Like--

Don't think about that. That's not what happened to her, that was a lie, every single one.

Every single adult here was a liar. And that girl, did she really think she was doing, pulling that?]

[ "I'm not trying to get you guys kicked out! That was just what I heard! If anything, I wouldn't want you two to stop doing what you do, but..."

Katherine looks almost defeated. What would it matter if they didn't accept her anyway? However, the coach speaks up.

"They've delayed it long enough for you two to get your shit together. You're free to grieve about your loss, but not in a way that involves everyone else. Do I need to remind you that the equipment isn't yours, but rental from the government? They won't see the point of lending it to you two anymore if you don't do what they say."

There's not much else to say about that. Oria is aware that the coach is just a mouthpiece to get the government's names across and has nothing against him either. Even if they had been doing a great job as a two-person unit, the government still wants them to be three. There were more than enough kids trying to train to become the next kette member. There's no use for a tool that won't listen, like a gun that shoots despite no one having pulled the trigger.

Would Sinclair have suffered all that for nothing?

Oria holds onto his hand and gives it a firm squeeze. Don't lose your temper here. ]

[ Breathe in, out. Carefully. He squeezes Oria's hand back in turn. He doesn't want to go back there, to those labs and end up

stop stop stop

His expression remains dark and he lets out a slow, breath. Take those thoughts. Fold them down. Put them away. And then...

Logically, he knows neither Katherine or Coach are responsible for this. But if Sinclair had always been logical, he never would have ended up where he did.]

You'll all just do whatever you want in the end, wont you? Whatever you say, sir.

[ The coach looks like he's about to say something, but then-- ]

Well, since you'll do whatever you want, we will too! Consider this our advance notice, Coach!

[ With the hand that Oria is already holding, he leads Sinclair out of this place. He thinks everyone needs some time to cool off after that interaction. There's no need for heightened emotions to ruin everything right now. Once they're out of the building, Oria finally looks back at Sinclair. ]

... Hey.

[ Sinclair lets himself be pulled away and he doesn't bother looking back to see Katherine's aghast expression or the Coach's mixture of resignation and fury of being dismissed by a pair of kids. He focuses on Oria's hand in his, a warm anchor that keeps his thoughts from getting too dark. It doesn't stop him from chewing at his thumb nail, an awful habit he thought he got rid of when he cut them short.]

... thanks. I don't think I could...

[ Keep his cool. Avoid getting shocked by whoever held his leash now. He doesn't want Oria to see that. Aria held that before, but she used it to keep him safe from the higher ups, to make him look like a perfectly tame weapon]

... do you really think they'll stop us from being Gauntlet Knights?

I dunno.

[ He'll be honest with him as he always has. ]

We've been rebelling enough for them to feel justified, but I think we could try to appeal to the government about making us a rotte instead. Obviously, this won't be easy and we got that huge mission looming over us. If anything, they won't make us quit before then, so we got some time.

... that's right. It's soon.

[ He chews harder at his thumb, nerves taking over again ]

We work better as a rotte than a kette with a stranger anyway. Trying to force us to change and adapt... surely they'll see it's worse for them?

[ Not that Sinclair had any intention of killing any of the people he had come to see as friends despite everything. Don't kill or be killed. A simple oath to get him through everything.

But he couldn't help but think... everything so far had been too clean. Too simple. That maybe the adults

Ow. He's bleeding again.]

We already had to adapt to working as a rotte anyway.

[ So if they can adapt to that, surely they can adapt to being a kette again. But that's neither here nor there when Oria takes Sinclair's hand. ]

Maybe I should buy you some finger sleeves so that you can stop biting your thumb.

[ Hehe. ]

Wha...that would look really weird. How would they even stay on?

[ But he really does need to stop this habit. He lets Oria take his hand]

... maybe I'll start wearing gloves.

They have some elasticity at the end, so they stay on! It's good for touch screen gaming.

[ Oria looks proud of that for whatever reason, in which he also implies that he has some already. ]

But in the meantime, here.

[ He has a little band-aid for him. It's has a Hanamaruobake design on it. These aren't Oria's usual style, since it was Aria's. She liked carrying bandaids with cute mascot characters on them. ]

[ There's a familiar pang when he sees that bandaid because he knows Oria's style by now...

But hm. Touch screen gaming. It was nice go old school sometimes and not worry about sharing your head or anything like it]

... maybe I should get some after all. Or at least gloves with the tips with a grip.

Yeah? As long as it's not too bulky that it gets in the way of the equipment, you should be good. That said, wanna go shopping?

[ It's a date.

Sure.

Well, they're both ditching practice and no one is coming after them. ]

...yeah. Lets get out of here.

[a date? Well, good thing Sinclair's prior good record means he can leave without question with Oria. The guards tend to like him...one of them even slips him candy. Something about his face...]

[ He sees that. Well, it's not like he hasn't seen it before, but seeing it in action again leaves Oria to reach out and lightly pinch Sinclair's cheek. ]

You make the guards play favorite soooooooo much.

Ow. Hey. I just like talking to them so they're nice back--

[The candy goes into his pocket for later. Maybe he'll share (he'll eventually share). He wiggles a little]

Quit grabbing my cheek.

[ He will look forward to the shared candy. In the meantime, he laughs a little before releasing Sinclair's cheek. ]

People usually don't talk to security, you know. It distracts them from doing their jobs. Not like they need to do anything anyway!

[ Oria fully believes they're for show. ]

Ah, but isn't it a bit boring just standing there all day without anyone to talk to?

[ Sinclair was shy , but even he worked up the nerve to say hello every now and then. And from there, it worked out]

Yeah, that's why you see me signing up to be a Gauntlet Knight instead of a security guard.

[ He never had any choice to begin with, but he thinks it paints a clear picture. ]

But I dunno, it was a bit hard to picture you saying hi to others, especially adults, when you're soooo shy. Should I congratulate you on your progress?

[ Sinclair pulls a face and gently gives Oria a shove]

Quit teasing me. I'm not like that--

[He is like that]

You are so like that.

[ Oria laughs. ]

Let's get out of here. We can get you some gloves and fresh air, sponsored by 8MS!

[ We can move onto the next event or have them have shopping time for more "building". ]

[Sinclair's sulk doesn't last long because it really is nice to have fresh air (since he's not allowed out on his own, being you know, a prisoner technically)]

Yeah. That sounds good.

[There's a lot of fun to be had shopping, maybe playing in those arcade games...]

[ They take the bus, because it's nice to pretend being normal here. The mall isn't too far, so they get there relatively quick.

Oria looks around, looking at the variety of gloves. There are all sorts. ]

Thick ones, fingerless, the kind that doesn't cover your thumb all the way, only having finger sleeves for two and the thumb, leather... they have a lot. Which one strikes your fancy?

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