dappledleaves | CICONIA: WHEN THEY CRY

[ Sinclair falls silent as he pours over the information. Honestly, what Shion had said to him had been eating away at his conscience but without any clear memories, he couldn't atone, if it was even possible to atone.

And now this?]

... do you think they'll send us ou5?

Most likely. They won't let the chance go to show off what's "theirs", after all. Showing military might as a form of intimidation was always a thing, I think.

[ He sighs, letting Sinclair know what he thinks about that. ]

But government stuff takes forever, so we'll still have time.

[ Sinclair grimaces. He shares that thought ]

I hope so. I know everyone is talking about fooling the higher ups to avoid fighting for real, but...

[ Maybe it's because of what he's been through he can't hang onto that hope]

But?

[ Share those thoughts, Sinclair. Oria is here to listen. He's also pessimistic about the notion, but he's not here to drag the mood down. ]

... they're not stupid. They'll have strategists observing us.

[ Sinclair rubs his thumb over the back of Oria's hand]

They'll never let us get away with it.

You're right.

[ Oria simply responds as if it's a matter of fact and briefly squeezes his hand. ]

They'll find out pretty fast if the strategists are actually doing their jobs and relay it quick enough. Again, I don't have the faith of the government's speed unless they're losing resources, money, or face. But even then, it should buy us time for whatever Bath Order wants to really do. Our goal isn't to keep the stalemate going forever. There needs to a purpose in doing so. Why buy time for something that isn't being worked on?

Mm...we need everyone working towards a treaty.

[And then...hah]

But I don't think any union wants that. We're.. their show of power. They have to prove we can decimate the opposing military.

Yup... Seeing others improve makes them want to do better too, and it's a repeating cycle of who's the best. AOU has you too, after all, and supposedly had the highest P3 level holder.

[ Anyway. ]

So, the truth is, no one with the power to do so actually wants a treaty.

[Sinclair nods, squeezing Oria's hand again.]

If they did...then they wouldn't be sending us these messages. They'll keep trying to find someone to make a kette. And they'll keep finding excuses not to talk things out...

Edited 2024-11-23 21:53 (UTC)

[ Oria squeezes his hand in return again, though his head is really killing him. He should take those meds or lie down to rest. ]

That's the part about being a realist, but not a jerk.

[ Don't have to put that in people's faces, etc. ]

Some people only learn the hard way, and, well, no matter who we're related to, it can't affect the governments as a whole. I heard about Lingji's plea to her grandfather, but that also didn't do anything and they're supposed to be some royalty or some shit. My connections won't mean jack shit either, despite my mom having cut military funding before.

There are people really determined to make a war happen.

[ Sinclair exhales softly. Demian's voice whispers in his head. There is no love or freedom for those tied down by their nations. We can only truly hang onto both if we move beyond them.

But where would they go? What could they do]

As long as they think it's beneficial...I wonder what LATO think.

They would probably be the most opposed to it on the surface, but only because it conflicts with their hidden selfish goals. Everyone's got a stake in this, and that's just how it is.

[ Oria gets quiet for a while. ]

Would be nice if we could just run away from all this, wouldn't it?

Yeah.

[ Sinclair nods, taking Oria's hand again. He remembers the little dents, the completely messed up room that was supposed to be Oria's]

If nothing else, I think we deserve a nice vacation where every adult is behaving themselves.

[ Oria thinks of something similar, but for Sinclair. He could be free from those experiments and be treated as a person without those things interrupting the thought process to feeling like a human. That's really all Oria wants for Sinclair at this point, but even that would prove to be too much. In this world, you leave those sentiments behind like B3W. ]

Adults behaving themselves, huh? A rare sight, if anything. I'd like to see it happen.

[ He laughs... ugh, okay he can no longer bear the headache and just feels around the side table for the medicine. Where is it. ]

Ah. Here.

[ Oh. Sinclair opens up the medicine bottle, placing to pills in Oria's hand and pushing the glass of water closer to him]

Thanks.

[ He takes the medicine and gulps it down with water. Phew. ]

Now I wait... This headache has been soooo bad. I won't refuse more rest.

[Guilt intensifies..]

I'll see if Mr. Dante will get us some peeps to make up for it.

[ He'll gently pat Oria's hair, avoiding the injury.]

Edited 2024-11-24 02:33 (UTC)

[ stop feeling guilty :catgun: ]

Peeps would be nice...

[ He yawns as he covers his mouth with his free hand. ]

Mm. Don't wanna let go though.

[it's either guilt for this or crippling guilt for something else :leaps:
Sinclair smiles, gently petting Oria's hair with his free hand. The nanobots have done their job. He can move his arm without ripping open the healing scar]

Mm... then I'll ask him through the selcom.

[ stop that

Oria lies down with his head near the foot of the bed, since that's where Sinclair is. Properly lying down in a proper position on the bed? Nah. Sinclair is here, and he wants to keep holding his hand. ]

'Kay... g'night...

[ He mumbles and quietly breathes out, relaxing.

We can have next event!! ]

[Oh, this is nice. Sinclair will sit with him until it's time to get up and go.

Neither of them are seriously injured, so they get sent back to the military base the next day. The attempted assassination of two gauntlet knights sends everyone into a frenzy, even though the perpetrator has been discovered and the higher ups use that as an excuse to hound the ABN and COU further, demanding reparations even though they had no proof as to who Shion had been working with, let alone another military group alone.

Tensions are ugly and Sinclair just wants to sink in his seat as the strategists go over their plans. He's been trying to make it less obvious he's avoiding hurting anyone but...

He wonders.

The one bright side is that for now, they've stopped trying to force a third member into their team to form a Kette]</small.

[ Oria also sits here as the strategists go over the plans, looking completely uninterested as they speak. He's called out several times with a "pop quiz" on the spot, in which he answers perfectly (reiterate what they just said five seconds ago) and he gets away scot-free.

When Oria told the doctors about the possible hacker, they confirmed that it was linked to Shion, and they're currently trying to get information out of the prisoner, to which... they're not really being successful. Oria sometimes visits Shion alone. They talk and Oria doesn't get anything out out of him. If Sinclair ever tries... just know that his failure rate is even higher. Sorry, dude.

The strategy meet finally finishes and Oria stretches his arms upwards. ]

Ugh, finally.

[ He doesn't want to know how bad Sinclair has with holding back when he's a defender!! Sinclair!! Pretending is so easy!! ]

Can we go now? Like equip the stuff and fly?

[ Sinclair doesn't do anything as obvious as grab his head. His mental tablet is perfect - diagrams, notes and nothing the military officials could find fault in him over, despite their attempts. But inside, he was definitely sharing a barrage of messages with different knights]

Ugh. Yeah. I think we have time now.

[ Sinclair hadn't visted Shion. He left that to the likes of Faust and Dante. He had been visiting Dr. Ushirono instead, trying to find something to confirm what Shion had told him.

Fragments are returning bit by bit of a childhood he didn't know he had. But it was like being an observer on his own life.]

[ fuyu: I think dying would be great. Need more samples in their near death state.
sinclair:

Oria gets close to Sinclair's side as if to whisper, but he's really just messaging him over Selcom. ]

holding back is soooo hard for me
being destructive is supposed to be my specialty???

[ help

Sinclair leans in too, as if to also whisper but he returns the message]

Maybe pretend your aim is really bad? Or ask them to duck when you tell them to and aim for the tanks and rockets?

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