dappledleaves | CICONIA: WHEN THEY CRY

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]

[ Oria fucking wishes. Unfortunately, he has less power here. Can't believe being a child soldier helps him live out his youth as intended more. ]

I'd go there for you.

[ Yeah!! ]

[rip being a child soldier limiting them both]

Yeah?

Yeah!

[ Oria laughs. ]

What do you take me for? Of course I'd go. I even tried that one time, remember? I got turned around because I didn't have a high enough clearance.

[Of course. Sinclair hadn't been aware of it at the time, but...Sinclair ducks his head and smiles]

...I do wonder what it takes to have a high enough clearance. Maybe age...?

[Did Aria have the clearance? She was his "handler" after all.]

Hey, now. Let's not make this about age.

[ If she was his "handler", then probably. Also, Oria will not crossdress as his dead sister to get clearance tyvm. ]

I guess bigwigs.

[ He sighs. ]

Anyway... you feel like talking about things now?

[Please no. One, Oria would be caught immediately. Another, just no]

Ahaha...I'm just making a guess. I think Aria came by once.

[He assumes. A lot of his memories are a mess, especially anything involved in the institute. Then his expression sobers a little]

Yeah...is there anything you wanted to ask in particular? I don't even know where to start.

[ Oria makes himself comfortable in his own beanbag chair next to Sinclair's and thinks for a while. There's a lot that he wants to ask--the things that he missed out on, the things that he felt completely blindsided for. ]

Was Aria kinda like your caretaker?

Edited 2024-11-03 23:15 (UTC)

Mm...she was my handler. [Sinclair leans back a little] My official designation is that of 'equipment'. I don't know how much she knew, but she definitely knew more about me than she let on. She was suppose to make sure I was obedient and um...'safe'.

I guess this stuff is normally under wraps.

[ Because Oria sure as hell didn't know about this, but he's not really offended. This is his time to catch up. Now that Oria thinks about it, Aria's actions make sense. She never really showed her experience in caring for another person until Sinclair appeared in their lives though. Before that, Oria just thought Aria was a ditz with gauntlet knight potential. It's ironic since he isn't upset at Sinclair for hiding these things, but he finds himself increasingly frustrated that he keeps finding out new aspects of Aria that he never knew before. ]

She did well on that front, at least.

She really did. I've been with the Geroy Institution for as long as I can remember, so she really helped me adjust to things.

[Freedom, being human and not a broken person playing at being a weapon...His chest aches a little. Knowing what friendship actually meant. Family]

Really?

[ Oria seems surprised. ]

That long?

[ He doesn't want to think about the conspiracies that lie within Geroy Institution... ]

Yeah, I mean...honestly everything before I turned fifteen is all a blur. All I know is that I was factory born and--

[Sinclair falters a little and he looks down again. Oria might see him differently now, but he wants to be honest. Oria needs to know who he is, even if Sinclair doesn't know himself]

...I caused an incident that let to people dying. I would have been in prison if it weren't for the Geroy Institution making me into a gauntlet knight.

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