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]

He's taken over before to talk them out of...some things. But he did it in a way that none of them realised I'm a CPP.

[ Sinclair fidgets, looking up at the ceiling.]

Mostly, it's more like...if someone tries to hack into my selcom or anything, he's there to protect me.

[dissimulative]

He even acts as your firewall? That's a really impressive personality.

[ He sounds like another helper AI like Keropoyo, except he can affect real life things too. Wow. ]

He cares about you a lot. I'm glad.

[insinning]

Yeah. Sometimes I think it would be nice if other people could meet him properly.

[They would 100% like him. Demian isn't unsettling and dangerous at all. lol. lmao]

...also I'm sorry about your head.

[dissimulative]

[ tfw I can't tell if that's sarcasm or not

Oria squints a bit. Why was his head hurting... ]

What did you do? I have such a headache right now.

[insinning]

Um. I headbutted you.

[ Confessing to his sins]

[dissimulative]

[ Oria considers this. Sinclair is a test experiment and wondered if he put in his all into doing that. ]

... I'm so glad my skull isn't fractured.

[insinning]

[ Hey!]

My skull isn't that thick...!

[dissimulative]

[ Oria gives Sinclair a flat look. ]

Then what the hell is mine supposed to be in comparison?? Also, you're strong.

[insinning]

[ Sinclair squirms a little under Oria's look]

I-I didn't mean it like that. Just...

[That's a fair point]

Um. I still think that's just all headbutting...

[dissimulative]

Okay, Emil.

[ He remains unconvinced, but it's nothing serious anyway. ]

I would like you to take account of my such delicate bones next time.

[ lmao ]

[insinning]

I really am sorry.

[ even though it was a little deserved]

[dissimulative]

It's fine. I'm not really fussed about it.

[ He just likes messing with Sinclair for fun. Yeah. ]

I just don't remember how that happened.

[insinning]

[Even if he knows he's being messed Sinclair flusters]

...you don't?

[dissimulative]

No...? I didn't even know about your arm injury.

[ He assumes that happened at the same time or close.

Oria is not as much of a control freak here, so he's... just kinda stewing in the implications here. ]

[insinning]

...

[Sinclair looks down, rubbing the blanket between his fingertips as a self soothing gesture]

... something took over you, I think. Like... something to make me worse. I was trying to figure out how to snap you out of it.

[dissimulative]

[ Oria is quiet for a while, some parts surprised but not. He still doesn't have his glasses on, but at the moment, he doesn't want them back on. ]

It was designed to make you worse and you subdued it with a headbutt.

[ A small smile breaks out on his face. Typical Sinclair. ]

Well, now I'm not allowed to get mad about it.

[insinning]

You can. [ His hands go to his pocket even though the little note sits in his room burning a hole in him every time he looks at his notebook] It's not like you wanted any of that to be done to you. I really was just panicking.

[ Oria can probably see his (useless) messages too]

[dissimulative]

I can tell you were really panicking about it. I saw all your messages...

[ His voice trails off. ]

Hey, Emil. Is there something you want to do about all this?

[insinning]

[ He fidgets a little]

About all of this?

[dissimulative]

Yeah. It looks like you're the center of all of this, so I want to ask you... if you wanna do something about it.

[ His serious expression lightens up a little. ]

If you do, I'll help you. No matter what. It might be weird because I have... that thing in me that hurts you, but I sincerely want to.

[insinning]

[Sinclair is quiet for a moment. Then he's sliding out of the bed, carefully tugging the machine with him to sit on the edge of Oria's bed. He takes Oria's hand with his uninjured one][A pause]

And no matter what, you're the one I trust the most. Even though there's someone that put that projection in you...I know you never wanted to do any of that.

[dissimulative]

[ Oria still doesn't know what that is supposed to be, but he knows that he needs to accept it. The faster he can accept things, the faster he can move onto dealing with said thing.

It makes him a little happy with a side of dokis when Sinclair sits on his bed and holds his hand. Oria squeezes his hand in return. ]

You should stop me when that happens again.

[insinning]

Even if it means headbutting you again?

[Not that Sinclair is even sure what Projection K is meant to be. The name 'Kromer' stirs up a distant anger in him. It was a dangerous and cruel thing, from what he could tell. But what he has read still doesn't quite match to his blank memories]

[dissimulative]

Yeah.

[ He won't be awake to complain?? It's fine. ]

That's so weird though... it I'm a CPP, then I should be aware of what the projection should be doing, but I'm not. I just black out.

[insinning]

...that's right. I always know what Demian does when he takes over. [ He squeezes Oria's hand a little] But for you, it's like...you're overridden. It's happened twice now. Once when I snuck in to see you in the hospital, and then just now.