dappledleaves | CICONIA: WHEN THEY CRY

...okay. [Sinclair closes his eyes, not quite relaxing, but appreciating the moment. Not much time passes by before someone knocks on the door and a vaguely familiar voice calls out.

"Hey, kiddos, you done here? I can't keep diverting them from you forever."]

[ Oria sighs. ]

You could have just said that you didn't know where we went...

[ He doesn't feel like turning themselves in just yet, if at all. Oria looks around the meeting room. There aren't any windows here, are there... ]

["Haaah, you know I don't get paid enough for that, you know? Besides they'll keep knocking down every door eventually. That kid's special."

Sinclair stirs awake, making a confused noise]

...did I hear Rodya?

Mm. Looks like the guards were covering for us.

[ Oria wants to lessen the punishment for Sinclair somehow. How does one lessen shocks that course through your body?? He knows how to prevent getting shocked by static electricity, but not something like shock collars or whatever is embedded into Sinclair that shocks him. Ugh. ]

... What do you wanna do?

...if I keep putting it off, it might make it worse.

[Sinclair draws in a deep breath]

Rodya isn't part of the Geroy Institution so...it'll be okay if I go with her.

... Alright.

[ He'll trust Sinclair about this, since he knows a lot more about this. ]

Ready to go? Looks like they don't have much time. I'll help you.

[Sinclair draws in a deep breath but he gives a tiny nod]

Thank you.

[Sinclair smiles, as he squeeze Oria's hand, but goes to the door. Rodya and Gregor are there, looking sympathetic, but serious. Ah, he really was in a lot of trouble, wasn't he?]

[ Oria squeezes Sinclair's hand in return and looks at Rodya and Greg. ]

I would like him back whole, please.

[ He knows the two can't do anything about this, but he says that anyway. Oria wholeheartedly believes that Sinclair isn't as broken as they say he is. ]

[ "Haaah, I really don't know what to do with this lovey-dovey atmosphere between ki--" Rodya gets an elbow to the ribs and Gregor mutters something under his breath. Sinclair looks at them both blankly even as Gregor laughs and tries to reassure Oria...poorly.

"We'll make sure he's fine! Don't you worry, it's not like this ever goes on for long."

Sinclair looks at Gregor.]

...Mr. Gregor...you're still so bad at this...

[SO SO BAD]

[ lol. lmao. ]

Oh, come on. If we're still the kids that you believe we are, then you could at least try to make us feel better.

[ Well, Greg's attempt made Oria laugh a little, at least.

He ignores the lovey-dovey comment. ]

[Gregor Tried okay. He's so bad at this so he pats Sinclair's head.

Sinclair accepts the pat to his head, even as he wrinkles his nose. ]

...we're not that young.

[But he's also trying to hide that he is pleased with the headpat too. Conundrum. Rodya and Gregor lead them up to the main hall, where there were plenty of vehicles waiting.

"Looks like your vehicle is here, kid." Rodya nods at Oria, while leading Sinclair away to an unmarked military van. Sinclair glances back nervously. Ah...]

Sure we are! We're living out our youthful days and all.

[ Ugh, he doesn't want to get into those cars. Oria finally turns his Selcom back on and makes a phone gesture to Sinclair and waves a little. Bye... ]

Now we really do sound old...

[Sinclair waves, turning his selcom back on to be greeted by Charon's sulky voice. Oh. Oh no.

But it's a nice distraction for when he gets back in the van.]

[ If there's one thing, he's pleased to know that the guards that Sinclair occasionally talks to aren't with Geroy. Perhaps that rapport Sinclair built with them, or at least some sort of camaraderie was worth it. Oria will never tell him not to talk to security guards again. He watches Sinclair and the two guards leave.

"Lovey-dovey", huh. Maybe it's true, but Oria won't count on Sinclair returning his feelings despite being who they are to each other. Sinclair has enough to deal with... and so does he, himself.

Oria closes his eyes.

The AOU group chat amongst gauntlet knights had Oria spinning fantastical versions of what happened that were so obviously fake, but the others either seemed amused or didn't care. That didn't matter to the one sending the messages though. The others also note that Oria was finally caught by the officers and thoroughly chewed out, but that he bit back twice as hard. Is that true?

Of course it's true, Oria says in the chatroom, followed by chat stickers that convey determination. He says that he's exhausted, so "peace out", fellow Gauntlet Knights. That's what Sinclair will see when peeking into the chatroom.

It takes a while, but rumors circulate fast throughout Geroy and perhaps making it to Limbus as well. There are military staff that seem intimidated by Oria's presence. They say that while Sinclair is the wild physical one, Oria is the one who plays mind games with you to demolish your psyche. They never want to see his blue eyes while in that state ever again. Witnesses say that they truly saw "broken" people that day. Sure, Oria really lets the adults have it when he's annoyed, but would Oria really go that far?

Regardless, a familiar name sits in an empty room in the VR world. ]

[ With everything that has happened, Sinclair doesn't count on mercy from anyone. There are long days spent in a cell, as Geroy and Limbus go back and forth...the leaders of Limbus don't seem to mind at least.

"You wanted a weapon far superior to anyone else. Someone with the strength, loyalty, judgement to make decisions and act upon it."

"Don't bullshit us, the grave mole girls-"

"Ah, those two. Their handler is alive, is she not? I wonder, the girl who was meant to act as his...what happened to her again? We gave you his profile on how to maximise his potential. And yet..."

There's a dark undercurrent there, a territory no one wanted to cross just yet. Sinclair doesn't pay much attention to it, pushing pieces along a chessboard as one of the researchers tries to get him into a game. He doesn't want to be here. He doesn't want Geroy near him.

What he wants is--

Sinclair opens his eyes and finds himself staring at the familiar ceiling of an operating room again. This time though, he's being wheeled out. Had he been under anaesthesia this time?

He closes his eyes, and makes his escape to a familiar name in an empty room. The messages from the other knights? He'll sort them later.]

...Oria.

[ It takes a second, but the person in that lone virtual room turns his head to see Sinclair and gets up to walk over, gently grabbing his shoulders upon reaching his destination. ]

Hey... how are you doing? Did they go easy on you? Are you okay?

I think they did. [Sinclair says, puzzled and unsure. He leans into Oria's touch with a tiny huff]

...I hate being here though. I want to get out.

You "think"?

[ Oria looks confused. What does that even mean!! Anyway, the avatar leads Sinclair so that they can sit comfortably on beanbag chairs. ]

What happened?

Normally... everything hurts so much because they don't want the anaesthesia to cause interference. But this time I just woke up?

[Which was unsettling in its own way, knowing there was a period of time he had zero awareness around. He settles down on the bean bag chair and makes himself comfortable]

Maybe it was a different procedure...?

[ ???

But what does that mean!! ]

How are you feeling now? Nothing strange?

Numb...I can't move my body just yet.

[ Sinclair says, stretching out his hands]

... I'm not sure if they even know I'm awake yet.

So you came here first thing when you regained consciousness?

[ That's so sweet. It makes Oria smile. ]

Here's hoping there's no pain when the numbness wears off.

Mmm. I wanted to see you.

[Sinclair admits. It's only been a few days, but he wants to get out now.]

There isn't normally a lot of pain after, with the 8MS implants they've given me.

[ Everyone has 8MS implants, but— ]

Yours are pretty special, huh? It'd be nice if I could visit, but...

[ He thinks back to his previous "visit". The security was crazy. ]

I don't know if you'd want to...it's a pretty terrible place.

[Though honestly, if Oria came in as a Severine representative and backer, all the doors would be open for him]

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