CICONIA: WHEN THEY CRY

[insinning]

It's a holy night. Silent night.

All is calm.

Everything is b r i g h t.

Comments

[dissimulative]

Here, you can lean against me. Get comfortable.

[ Though if Sinclair wants a lap pillow, he can offer. But he won't say it out loud. They have the entire train cabin to themselves... ]

I'll wake you up when we arrive.

[insinning]

Thanks.

[ Sinclair brightens a little. He's too self conscious to even think about the lap pillow so he snuggles into Oria's shoulder. Quick nap here and then back at the dorms]

[dissimulative]

[ To the dorms! Oria leads Sinclair there while keeping in mind that he's not feeling great. They're stopping by Sinclair's room first, of course.

I don't have any events going on so feel free to choose another event and fast-forward or if you want to keep threading out their current location in Sinclair's room! ]

[insinning]

[ As soon as they get back to Sinclair's room, he shoves the note in his desk inside a notebook. He'll deal with it later. His head is still throbbing]

Does your mother have some sort of special 8ms? It was just a moment of static and then...

[dissimulative]

Even if she did, I wouldn't know... but she was a former 8MS researcher, so it could be a possibility.

[ Unfortunately. His mother not playing by the rules and being mysterious in general has Oria unable to give a better answer. ]

Is she the reason for your headache?

[insinning]

I think so. [ Is it a coincidence or purposeful] It didn't start hurting until after she spoke to me.

[dissimulative]

[ Oria frowns and leads Sinclair to the bed. Rest here, blondie. He does this while looking things up as he finally turns his Selcom on. ]

I've never heard of 8MS giving headaches by words alone... I can't find anything in search engines either.

[ But of course, it could be censored by government propaganda. Either way, he's not having any luck. ]

... I'll talk to her about it.

[insinning]

[ Sinclair opens his mouth to demur. For Oria to be careful. But this is Oria's mother and he remembers hearing how devoted she was to her children. So he settles back into bed, reaching out for Oria's hand. Stay?]

Is that why you didn't want to go back?

[dissimulative]

[ Oh.

Oria wasn't planning on leaving so soon, but when Sinclair reaches out for his hand, it feels second nature to just hold onto it no matter what. So he does and sits on the edge of the bed. ]

Because she worked with 8MS stuff? No. It always felt unbearably overwhelming at home and I wasn't about that sort of life.

[insinning]

[ Better. Sinclair looks up at Oria, even though his head his pounding]

Yeah...? Was it just... suffocating?

[ gently prompting, if Oria wants to talk about it]

[dissimulative]

Not just suffocating--very suffocating. It didn't even feel like my life was mine to begin with. I'm sure I would have ended up very differently if I stayed home.

[ Though with how Aria seemed to be, that only seemed limited to Oria and not to her other children. ]

[insinning]

I see.

[Sinclair thinks he can understand that. His brow furrows further and he squeezes Oria's hand. The little note keeps haunting him. But...what did the '89' stand for?]

...I'm glad though. That you could get out of there and be your own person.

[dissimulative]

Yeah! Though I'm sure people wouldn't like that with how obnoxious I am sometimes.

[ He laughs. Oria can admit it, but it doesn't have him feeling down. ]

You look like you wanna say something more.

[insinning]

[Sinclair looks confused about that. Obnoxious? Oria?

(Sinclair might have a blindspot here)

He thinks a little]

I don't know. I was just thinking about what I saw in those files and your mother's words...but I don't want to say anything I'm not sure about yet.

[dissimulative]

Alright.

[ Oria will give him space regarding that even though he wants to know. ]

Do you have any painkillers in your room? I can bring them over if you do..

[insinning]

No. I don't have any.

[Sinclair shakes his head. He doesn't want Oria to go either but... it really hurts, a dull throb that wont leave him]

[dissimulative]

Close your eyes and count to 100. I'll be back before you're done.

[ He lightly squeezes his hand. Oria knows Sinclair doesn't want him to leave, but Oria would also like Sinclair to not suffer when it could be preventable. ]

[insinning]

[Sinclair nearly whines for Oria not to go but he closes his eyes obediently]

Okay...

[One, two...]

[dissimulative]

[ His dorm room isn't too far, but Oria rushes out after ruffling Sinclair's hair. It'll be fine!

He nearly trips on his way out.

Anyway, he actually does return before Sinclair reaches 100 with a bottle of water and painkillers. These are painkillers that contend with numbing the pain of extreme period cramps. Oria think Sinclair will be fine with this. ]

I'm back~

[insinning]

Oh. Already?

[ Sinclair gets up, wincing as his head gives a harsh throb. He feels dizzy now]

Thank you...

[dissimulative]

Told you I'd be quick.

[ He feels satisfied as he gives them both to Sinclair and tries to support his back. At the back of his mind, he wonders if it isn't a physiological pain, but something that alters his mental state... or at least, trying to. ]

It's a fast acting one too.

[insinning]

[ Sinclair takes the medicine and washes it down with water, grimacing. He hates pills but it was necessary. He leans back against Oria, his eyes closing]

That's good...headache was getting worse.

[dissimulative]

[ Oria does his best to make Sinclair comfortable. He's also texting his mother in the midst of all things. Selcom and P3 is so convenient. ]

I hope it stops hurting soon. If it persists, you should probably ask someone in Limbus.

[insinning]

[Oria, please. Well, it's not like he's not doing the same by sending frantic messages to Limbus about the whole issue but ...]

I will. [ He will be good about that. And now that he's had time to think. Lets address this as if he's talking about himself] ... hey, Oria. How would you feel if someone told you that there was another personality implanted in you without you knowing?

[dissimulative]

—Is that what happened to you?

[ Of course Oria doesn't answer, but not for the sake of vulnerability cover, but his concern for Sinclair always comes first. ]