CICONIA: WHEN THEY CRY

[insinning]

It's a holy night. Silent night.

All is calm.

Everything is b r i g h t.

Comments

[insinning]

Are they normally out?

[He holds Oria's hand firmly as they walk up the stairs. It was luxurious... but it felt empty somehow.]

[dissimulative]

I don't know, since I don't live here.

[ It sure is an empty place, and far too big for one person to live here at most. The vastness of the house, punctuated by the fact that the mother has lost three children whom she dearly loved. It sounds unbearably lonely.

Oria knows this. Even so, he continues upstairs, leading Sinclair and never looking back. They get to Aria's room and surprisingly, it's unlocked.

It's a cute room. It has pastel pink walls with a wide window, covered by a lace curtain with small, hanging decor dangling from it. There are large stuffed animals on the bed, lined up on the wall that it's against. The desk is also clean and tidy, with one of the keys to the drawers hanging from the keyhole.

There are several things inside the drawers if they decide to open it: a bullet journal decorated with cute mascot stickers, washi tape, and glitter pen ink written neatly across the pages. There are also several folders that seem familiar with how the military keeps their stuff. ]

[insinning]

[ Sinclair looks around in surprise. He had heard of stories about rooms like these but]

...her room is really cute.

[ And untouched and clean, despite Aria never being able to return. He touches one of the files and pulls it out.

Ah, that was his name.]

[dissimulative]

... Yeah. I think she was the only one out of the siblings that actually liked cute things.

[ Though Oria also looks through the drawers, pulling out the bullet journal. ]

Why does she have your files here? Weird... I thought people are supposed to keep them at the base.

[insinning]

[Sinclair opens up the files...he doesn't even know what's on his, so he's a little curious.

The first page is standard notes on him. His age, height, personality (wishy-washy? That was rude...), skills...

Oh, his birthplace had been redacted even here]

Mm...I'm surprised it's in physical form too and not a mental tablet. But what would you say is more secure if you had to hide things? The base or here?

[dissimulative]

Since we have hackers that can literally hack into your mind to steal information if you're within range, I think having a physical copy would be best, if you can deal with all the caveat that comes with it.

[ He peeks at the report. ]

Wishy-washy, huh.

[insinning]

Ugh...I guess this is the psychiatrist's assessment[ There is a note on his insecurities (thanks) and his tendencies to be overdependent (that is even more rude); and a psychiatrist noting that the Geroy Training Tactics simply were completely ineffective on him and to take an approach of care and support if the military wished to make the best use out of him as a weapon.

He flips the page over and finds even more redacted.

After the events of [redacted], subject has proven to be very emotionally volatile. Many guards have been injured due to his aggression. Subject has undergone a memory modification process. This should create stability in his nature and make him more pliable to directions.

Caution and care is to be taken when mentioning the names 'Calw' and 'Kromer' around him even after the procedure has been done as it could activate latent memories.

Kromer.

Kromer? His stomach churns a little]

[dissimulative]

[ This report is unbelievably rude to Sinclair. Oria reads it over Sinclair's shoulder too and frowns. ]

They really weren't kidding about trying to make you into a weapon.

[ Oria really hates that and still thinks Sinclair should be treated with respect as a human being. His voice sounds disgusted and a little incredulous over the fact. ]

[insinning]

[Sinclair nods, feeling a little bitter. It's not unexpected but it still stings to read.]

I still wonder why they chose me...

[ There is so much redacted that Sinclair feels dizzy trying to make sense of it but the last few lines stick out.

It is recommended to create a sense of family around the subject to make use of his dependency on others. Despite his actions, his loyalty to his parents and sister is clear. While it is recommended to block off all memories of his family, due to the instability it creates in him, the remnants of those feelings can be used to foster his devotion to the AOU and divert it from the ABN.

...

The paper crumbles beneath his grip]

[dissimulative]

[ The paper crumpling sound is loud when there's nothing else to be heard in their immediate surroundings. Oria lifts his head from Sinclair's shoulder and puts his hand there instead. ]

... wanna take a break, Emil?

[ He knows there's no stopping Sinclair from reading the whole thing, but he thinks it should be paced carefully. ]

[insinning]

...yeah. This isn't what we're meant to be looking through, is it?

[He closes the folder abruptly and sets it down. He's not going to cry. He's not. He's here for Oria, and to find anything that Aria may have left behind on the hackers. He leans back into Oria, appreciating the comfort]

Where does Aria normally hide things?

[dissimulative]

[ When Sinclair abruptly closes the folder, an attached smaller piece of paper flies out of the folder, landing on the ground. ]

Probably the drawer that we just went through, since it had a key to it and all. Maybe inside her bags too. We can look through them in the closet after this.

[ Oria gives Sinclair's shoulder a light squeeze. He'll be here for him, like how he always tries to be.

If Sinclair goes to pick up the paper, he'll be able to read the following:

OS ver 0.089 has been installed with Projection_K and will only start acting when [redacted] around Subject [redacted] in an attempt to start a fuse, should Subject [redacted] full potential be realized. ]

[insinning]

[Sinclair smiles up at Oria in thanks and when he goes to smooth out the papers, he notices the smaller piece on the floor. Oops. He goes to pick it up, reading it in confusion. What did all of this mean?]

Okay. I'll look at the other military files too, just in case.

[The paper goes back into the folder to be studied later, and then he puts it to the side. He can probably take that back and hide it among Oria's things, or take a mental picture of the files later to study

[dissimulative]

Alright.

[ Oria opens up the bullet journal and skims through the contents. They're decorated very cutesy with #aesthetic vibes on every page. Aria seems to have bulleted "significant" events that happened each day along with goals.

...

He'll be flipping through these for a while. ]

[insinning]

...even the way she decorates her journals is cute...

[rest in pieces, Oria. Sinclair will start going through the other military files once he's gathered himself again. Any incidents that might be going on, anything at all...]

[dissimulative]

[ The military files are pretty short, consisting primarily of information on Sinclair. There are old sticky notes all over another page that lists Sinclair's likes, dislikes, and hobbies in Aria's handwriting. It looks like she's been keeping track of what Sinclair likes in general and dislikes (mostly in food) along with suggested food dishes that he might like based on hus preferences. There is even a birthday gift list of what Sinclair might like along with the month and day circled multiple times. She really did her best in trying to make Sinclair feel comfortable with the squad.

In the bullet journal, Oria finds some statements such as "I want to throw this remote away at the ocean", how nice her days are when spending time with the squad, and "he deserves to live as a human".

... ]

[insinning]

[Now his heart hurts in a different way. Despite everything, Aria had tried her best to make Sinclair happy, like he had a place to belong. If only he could have done something to save her in that last moment.

He rubs his eyes discretely and sets the files aside, moving back to look over Oria's shoulder]

Anything new?

[dissimulative]

Not yet.

[ Oria keeps flipping through the pages, skimming things faster and faster... he reaches about 3/4 of the journal before deciding— ]

There are way too many pages... I'm taking a break. Do you wanna read the rest?

[insinning]

I can do it.

[Sinclair nods, reaching out to take the diary. He likes reading, even if it feels a bit invasive to read Aria's personal thoughts...]

[dissimulative]

[ Fortunately, the bullet journal isn't as personal as an actual diary, but it's still pretty personal. While Sinclair reads that, Oria takes a walk around the room to see if he can find anything else.

In the journal, Sinclair will find out that one of her friends, Sungjin, had introduced her to someone named Shion and they all got along, being friends for a while. However, Aria and Shion were suddenly separated due to a heated conversation between them, resulting in upset feelings that neither was in the right state of mind to address them properly. Unfortunately, the details are left our. ]

[insinning]

[Hmmm ]

Oria, do you know anyone by the name of Sungjin or Shion?

[He'll note those names down. It might be a lead.]

[dissimulative]

I know that Sungjin was Aria's friend. Why?

[ Time to look through these bags... ]

He's just a normal citizen from what I know. Dunno about this Shion person though.

[insinning]

Aria mentioned that she met Shion through Sungjin and they became friends...

[ Is there anything else in this bullet journal]

But they had a falling out.

[dissimulative]

[ Oria pauses to think about this. ]

Aria having a falling out with someone would imply pretty heavy things. She's nice, but not a pushover. She forgives easily, but remembers being wronged. She has a high threshold for being "bullied", but she also retorts with heavy sass. This "Shion" guy must be a real piece of work.

[insinning]

I see. [ His time with Aria had been short, relatively, so it feels like he's learning all sorts of new things.]

It says they had a heated conversation but didn't resolve anything.

[ Was it important? He wonders a little]