riverview | oo1. ( video - - early hours of october 2nd )

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oo1. ( video - - early hours of october 2nd )

[ The video feed opens to a mostly dark room, a diffused light somewhere in the room providing enough light with which to see Re-L. It’s nearly 3 AM at the time of recording, and yet there she is, lounged on some piece of furniture in her apartment, a small throw rug over her feet, the soft patter of rain in the background.

She leans forward to settle the communicator on a table, pushing a stray piece of bang too short to make her ponytail behind her ear as she straightens again. Many things, of late, have had her thinking. Perhaps a little too much, but it wouldn’t be a day in Re-L’s world without a little over thinking and, perhaps, idle musing. Piling thoughts related to how, maybe, things could have been different in her home world had things aligned different, how exactly she may have landed herself here.. etcetera.

An abandoned book sits beside her, which seems to indicate she’s been up too late reading, thinking a little too much in the rain as a precipitant to this : ]

Does anyone else here ever wonder about how, maybe, things could have turned out differently if only you’d… done things differently? Behaved differently or been.. made a different person?

Perhaps listened to directives instead of blatantly disobeying and following your instincts.. asking fewer questions.. ?

[ Blue eyes narrow slightly as lightning streaks above her, a roll of thunder loud enough to hear over the communicator seeming to distract her for a moment. ]

That’s the problem with questions and finding their answers - - A lie is the truth until you recognize it as a lie, and by then, you can’t take back the question.

That’s the problem with my questions, really, I still haven’t quite figured out how to start taking them back -

[ Re-L stops before completing that thought, a small ‘mrrp!’ sounding as a little kitten with black and brown spots climbs his way up the couch to her, which.. seems to shock her for all of a second before she’s reaching to gently detach him from the sofa material with a tut, the other hand reaching to shut the device off since who knows how long this will take - ]

Atlas, can you not climb every damn thing in this apartment?

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[ He considers her question carefully. There's a lot of things like this that he thinks about. But he also thinks he is pretty happy right now. So, he considers that he wouldn't be if he changed his path in any way. He's here now because of those choices. But, before he answers that, he has something specific to say. ]

He's a kitten, he'll do that. He'll do that when he's grown, too.

[ But he'll answer her next question, too. ]

I think about it, but I also think I would be unhappy with different decisions.

[ Well, since it's Otabek, she'll come right back on video, still trying to pluck his little claws carefully from the couch fabric without damaging cat or furniture. At the very least she's careful enough for that, and soon there's a little mew of protest as she plucks him fully off of the side of the couch to place him in her lap. ]

Hopefully when he's larger he'll just be able to jump... [ The kitten settles in her lap at least - seems he wanted a heater to sleep on. ]

That's .. what I wonder, too. Life is harder, with the path I've chosen, in some aspects but easier in others..

Mainly less convoluted.

Be able to? Yes. Will he? Probably not.

[ Half-smile. ]

And you've managed, it seems.

[ At least from as far as he can tell. He knows that he might have won the gold if he had chosen a different path. But, he also knows a different path could have led him away from Yuri, which isn't something he'd ever want. ]

I'm sure there's no path without its own struggles.

We'll see about that. He's very head strong already... [ Then he's probably chosen the correct person to take care of him, at any rate. Equally hard headed and difficult with one another just for the sake of it. Either way, Re-L seems content enough scratching the purring kitten in her lap for the moment. ]

Mostly... Some days I still feel a bit maladjusted for "normal" life... [ Including air quotes, here. There's no way to make people here understand just how strange Romdeau Dome was unless they experienced it, and Re-L would never go back even if she could choose to. ]

That's the truth. I suppose all of my questioning lies in just how different things could've been... It seems to me that if one or two things had gone differently it could've changed the entire course of the last month of my life on my Earth..

Cats tend to do what they want.

[ Doesn't he know it. He had seven living in his house, and even though Re-L has hers now, another has been added since Yuri moved in. He doesn't mind it, though. Actually - he really loves it. As if on cue, one of the kittens - the small, black one crawls up the back of his chair and peeks over his shoulder at the camera. He reaches one hand over, and gently pets her. ]

Not like it comes easy.

[ Funny this conversation comes so easy with her, he finds. He's never really talked like this with people. She does make him pretty comfortable. ]

Probably would have. Maybe you wouldn't have been here, or where you were before here.

[ He imagines that a large shift at home, could have changed whether or not this place would have been a part of her life. ]

I'll take your word for it, considering how many you've lived with as of late.. [ There's a little smirk there, but not one that's too telling. She likes to tease him when she can, though maybe not for things that he might expect. They were both a bit of a special breed to live with that many capricious animals in the first place so far as she was concerned, anyway. ]

Yes.. I could've done without Eluvio, but I.. might have ended up here anyway.

Romdeau had never been the best fit, for me, despite being my only home for most of my life.

So many. I anticipate the amount I live with shifting a lot.

[ Small smile. ]

And my boyfriend is a cat magnet. I could swear sometime I see cats following him from a distance.

[ He does sound like he's joking a little, but he certainly does sound fond, at least. The fact that Yuri is so good with them is just one of the many things Otabek loves. ]

Why is that?

[ He does sound genuinely curious. ]

Well, be careful not to collect more than you.. adopt, I guess. [ She suspects living with too many four legged animals may not be all that pleasant, honestly, but it's not something that sh can really judge. Her first pet, ever, is Atlas - and at this point she's just fine with having one pet and one pet only. That may change in the future, but for now she's pretty set with him, and Atlas will most likely benefit from the undivided attention at that. ]

If he tends to be precocious they probably see themselves in him. [ Re-L's not met the man for too long, but from what she hears... ]

It... [ She pauses, seems to struggle with the wording, trying to find the best footing ] It found me to be a bit 'too much' with most of.. everything. I know most everyone here would wonder about that, considering I'm.. told I'm a bit cold, but, in the dome I was considered too emotional, too fast to anger, all of that.

Romdeau also never.. felt like home, either. I was always restless to go and do and try new things but grandfather wanted me at heel.

[ There's the smallest chuckle at that. A rare one, for sure. He enjoys having the cats around him. Though he imagines, without Yuri's influence, he probably wouldn't adopt near as many as he does now, nor would he consider adopting more than he has. It isn't for everyone, though. He reaches and gently pets his kitten, who has shifted to the top of his head, and seems to comfortably nestle herself in his hair. ]

A bit. More than that, though.

[ It almost sounds wistful. Yuri's different with the kittens than people, too. He's softer, sweeter, Otabek notices it. But, he knows his boyfriend would probably hate him saying that to someone he didn't really know, so he leaves his comment at that. ]

I don't think you're cold.

[ Maybe it's that he's also seen that way at home. He's seen as unapproachable and almost unfriendly, he's been told. If only because of his preference for keeping his privacy is a thing. Still, he listens. He can't necessarily understand the fact that she couldn't really roam the way he did. ]

It sounds restricting. Really restricting. And limiting.

[ It's funny, listening to people so clearly enthused with their significant other. She's... well, she's learning about that, maybe. Or had been, with Vincent. A strange kind of magnetism had kept her lingering in the same spaces even when she didn't know why, but now it's a bit irrelevant. He's still in their version of Earth, frozen in the spot in time where she stepped away so far as she understood it, while she lived a more comfortable life, here, for now. She knew eventually she'd have to go back, would want to go back, but for now it's a bit of an escape that she's going to selfishly stay here for.

Anyway, it's good to see Otabek in such a way. Everyone deserves that, after all. ]

Oh? No wonder they like him so much, then... [ Says the one who's just as capricious as a cat, but, anyway - ]

You're a minority. [ She doesn't mind either way, if she's honest. Re-L's demeanor is of course a product of many years of hearing how she needed to control herself, and even now that those who always told her, and even the place, is gone, there's still a part of her that very much feels the need to follow that along anyway. Perhaps it feels a little too much of a part of her at this rate. ]

Yes. A bit of a gilded cage, really. All the privileges I could've ever hoped for as the regent's granddaughter but nothing I actually wanted. Nineteen years in it chafed a little too much and I decided I was going to seek things out instead of waiting as I usually did.

Over all a great bit of self discovery just.. the results weren't at all what I was expecting.

[ Otabek is happy. He's never really felt like that before, so he's still figuring out what it means. He's learning, too. It's just another thing that this place has given him the opportunity for that he may not have gotten at home. At least not like this. And at least not with the chance to have Yuri living with him. Especially after dating for so little time. ]

It doesn't surprise me.

[ And it doesn't surprise him that a cat that liked Re-L's company seems to be...a little feisty. He's still learning about her, too, but he isn't clueless.

He knows that it's hard to have any expectations when you go into things blindly. He knows his own experiences are nothing like hers, though. His was traveling a world he was already familiar with. Easy access to finding things out helped him, too. Thank goodness for the internet. ]

Was that a bad thing?

[ Since they're up late talking, he might as well ask questions like this. It's a nice chance to get to know her a little. He's sure she won't answer if she doesn't want to anyway. ]

[ Re-L gives a pensive noise, a little hum rising from the back of her throat as she debates what to tell him. It's late, and she's sure she'll be a little more loose lipped than usual, but on the same coin... she doesn't want to go around blabbing every bit of her strange history. If there's a single way to make every single person in this quarantine think she's absolutely bizarre it's definitely rooted in the way she ended out in the world in the first place, out and about and available for stealing. She does wonder, though, why this place chose to pluck her up when she'd had much more deeply rooted feelings of not belonging and wanting out whilst in the Dome - ]

Depends on who you talk to. I'm sure those that fell with the Dome or died otherwise would say no. I... had been outside before, so I had already been vaccinated and had a better chance than others..

I just didn't expect for the home I'd known to be rubble and my life now to be a small ship with one other sentient human being and two autoreivs. [ She pauses, and then feels the need to amend: ]

They - Vincent, Pino, Kristeeva - aren't bad, just the.. destruction, I'm sure you understand.

Edited 2017-10-16 01:56 (UTC)

[ He understands, sure. As much as he possibly can. His world, he's learned, is shockingly normal compared to so many others. There's nothing like Domes or Androids or non-humans living on his earth. It's just earth as standard as one would expect. And even though compared to others here, his life is pretty normal, it's pretty extraordinary back home. Not many get to compete and travel the way he does. Not many people get to spend time with athletic icons from other countries. ]

I do.

[ At least logically. ]

At least good things came out of it.

[ He's referring to the names she mentions, of course. Something good has to come out of all the bad, he thinks. ]

You miss them?

[ He knows he misses friends and family from home from time to time. And it makes him all the more grateful and glad to have Yuri's presence. ]

Good is relative, in this case, but, yes. [ Good on her terms, but she's sure they weren't great for everything living left behind in the rubble of the Dome. She doesn't spare it much thought - the idea in itself is horrifying. Any organic being left would become ill and slowly drown in their own lungs as she almost had before being treated for it, and it's all a bit too much to think about when it comes to more than few of her fellow citizens being included in that grouping.

Sure, they hadn't been the most welcoming group of people, to her, but.. they were still other people. She got to survive and move on with a few other living, talking beings. ]

Sometimes, yes... Some more than others.

[ Missing Pino is kind of hard to do except in times of extreme boredom. ]

I tend not to miss the perpetually four-year-old autoreiv, but, at times, her comic relief wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to happen to me, either.

[ He doesn't even think about it, and what comes out is almost reflexive. ]

Aw. Four?

[ Wow. He's trying to imagine Re-L with a four year old and that's just...an entirely new thing. In fact, if she hadn't straight told him about it, he probably wouldn't have believed it was true. ]

Children can be great for that.

Yes. And will never grow more mature. It's her programming. [ Pino.. had her merits, sure. But that child like personality was what annoyed the shit out of her more than anything else in the world. Granted, children were not all that common in Romdeau, so it wasn't as though she would have had much experience with them even if she'd liked children. ]

I tend to prefer Kristeeva's company when possible, but Pino has the ability to accurately gauge spacial distance, so.. it's nice to know just how far away something is when you're trying to figure out the logistics of getting there.

... Or when Vincent wanders too far, where the hell he's gotten, exactly.

[ Programming. Oh. For a moment, he misses 2B. She was the first stranger here he befriended, and she's gone. It's weird to him that she is, too. But he had known for awhile that she was intended to leave. Despite the way Re-L talks, Otabek thinks there's something to it. He's not quite figured out all of her cues yet, though, so he knows he can test the waters. ]

They sound troublesome.

[ Only not. He is trying to figure out what she'll say to that. Test it. See what she'll say. Surely, she can't think that people's time spent with her is only valuable based on their merits. ]

Not entirely. Like I said, sometimes it's a good... release of tension. Distraction from .. everything. [ Considering everything was survival in her version of Earth, it isn't really hard to guess what she needs or wants distraction from. She sighs, looking away from the camera for a moment as she watches Atlas scrabble off to play with some thing or another. It's a good distraction to pull out of the subject of 'home' -

Since she's promptly diving down to pull him back in to her lap. ]

Really, the carpet now? I have all kinds of things for you!

[ The corner of his mouth twitches into a slight smirk. That's probably more like he was expecting to hear in response. He's glad, though. Glad that there are people like that for her at home. Everyone needs someone like that in their life, he thinks. He's always been grateful for his friendships away from work. He's grateful for distractions, and he's happy to have who he does in his life. ]

They say you buy cats a ton of toys, and they'l chose to play with the bag you brought them home in.

[ he's found his will play with just about anything. ]

[ Pino was a bit of a blessing and a curse. She helped to keep Vincent distracted with play time and trying whatever hair brained scheme they'd come up with now. Sometimes, she wore on her last nerve, but most times it all kind of evened out where it counted. She was useful for things, after all, just.. less than Kristeeva presumably. Re-L does tend to be a bit harsh with her, at any rate -

The little autoreiv wore on her nerves more quickly than her pride was willing to admit. ]

I'd say whoever this 'they' is they're correct. Thankfully the bag was paper instead of plastic... it's actually still on the floor in my living room because he seems to like it so much.

... I may have to go back and get one of those cave like beds if he keeps up liking it. Give him a place to hide.

Mine have played with plastic bags a few times. Aiman likes to put it on like a cape and run around.

[ Sigh. It's kind of hilarious to watch, actually. He pretty much watches them do all sorts of goofy things like that. They're really kind of adorable. He sighs happily when he hears something in the background. A kitten working it's way up to the counter. He gets up for a moment to move her, returning with Aiman, the little black kitten, in tow. ]

Cave beds are great. They like it. I have a couple and the kittens used to pile on each other inside.

... Are you sure the cat is liking it? I mean, aren't they prone to getting stuck in those things and then scaring themselves?

[ She's been shown cat videos, Otabek... enough of them to know these things happen. Just don't ask the context in which she was shown these things because she definitely won't answer. ]

Atlas seems to like small spaces like that so.. I'll have to grab one on the way back from my grocery shop tomorrow. Provided those.. spirits aren't still lurking around too closely..

They seem to. At least Aiman does. She seems to be less easily frightened and less clever than the others.

[ He loves her, though. Clearly. She heard her name and comes prancing over from play. ]

Ah...yeah. Those. They're troublesome.

[ He almost forgot about it. ]

Less clever, hm? [ That seems like a shot at the little cat, Otabek, but she's not going to call him on it. Instead she turns to watch what Atlas is up to off camera, apparently finding it to be acceptable as she turns back to the screen. Watching small animals was pretty much like treating them like children, so far as she can tell.

.. The circumstances just happen to be that she has little to no experience with either. ]

Yes, very much so. I've been... staying inside as much as possible, lately.

[ He loves her all the same - arguably, she's his favorite of the kittens. It's okay that she's not the most clever and gets into the most trouble right now. ]

She finds herself in much more trouble than the others.

[ Half-smile when he says it. ]

I've been trying to avoid them. I can't stay in as much as I'd like to avoid them.

There's no comfort waiting for you at the end of that path.

[ it sounds harsh but by now RE-L has gotten to know peggy carter, how she dresses her concern in a prickly, practical tone. what hides underneath is softer, but women in her position rarely allow themselves to go for soft. ]

[ Leave it to Peggy to keep her in line and her head straight. Re-L can't help but to be a little amused by it, and it shows on her face as the video opens up, a curious kitten ambling along her lap and headed toward her face.

Apparently she's been successful in getting him off of climbing the furniture for the moment. ]

Leave it to you to keep my head on straight.... Though I don't think there's much comfort at either end, if I'm honest.

[ there's a lot of personal experience etched into the words. Normally, Peggy would try for distanced and professional but some things, apparently, are an exception to the rule.

Or maybe she can trust RE-L to see a wound and not press her thumb and rub into it. ]

You can only learn from your decisions and press onward, always press onward. There might be comfort in that end.

[ Well, Re-L is very capable of doing that, but since it's Peggy and the other woman has given her no reason to rub salt in the wound, she isn't going to. Besides, she herself has many things that were open for salting, when she deserved it, and rather preferred not to send anyone looking, either, if she could try. ]

I'm actually, honestly, hoping that everything I learned in the fall of the Dome I'll never have to use again.

I do hope you will be proven right.

[ but ever since the war, the world has not made any signs of learning from past mistakes. perhaps in light of that, peggy finds it hard to be optimistic.

hell, she misses steve. if there was anyone who could inspire hope in her at all. ]

Adopted a cat, have you?

We'll see, won't we? Provided I don't get whisked away back to the wastes soon. [ There all of her lessons would definitely not come in handy. Survival hadn't been her focus when she'd been pampered for everything she could ever want. She knew she was lucky now.. but at the time it hadn't seemed as such. Perspective was a hell of a thing to gain very suddenly when one was left with limited water supplies and treating ginger ale like a special treat -

Still, here she feels a bit back to normal, nodding as she gives the little kitten a few more fond strokes. ]

Yes. Otabek's cat had kittens and I decided I might as well try out a pet, here, while I could. He's very mischievous, which.. has made life in the apartment much more interesting.

There's so little to rely on. It would be fitting that by the time I make my peace with all this bloody modern technology they'll see fit to send me home.

[ she's not a pet person but - ]

is he useful at all?

I struggled with that, the first.. few months. The idea that it could all be so fleeting so what was the point in an apartment and a job and all of that. But.. I eventually decided that it might be worthwhile to enjoy what creature comforts I could have while I had the chance. [ After all, in her own world she was sharing a small, cramped ship with a man and two autoreivs. Barely any personal space or privacy did something to someone after a while, but without knowing how those descending back to the surface would react to Vincent, much less Re-L herself? Staying by their lonesome was preferable. Still, she can't help a bit of snark - ]

The technology here is so basic, it can't really be that difficult can it?

He's a cat - the short answer is not at all, for the moment. I'm figuring it out as I go.

Carpe diem.

[ she says, half to herself, really. she's been struggling with accepting the notion, herself. steve was here and just his presence was enough of a temptation.

but while peggy doesn't allow herself to accept so easily, she seems fine advising others to do so. ]

Basic. You realize even talking to you like this is entirely alien to me?

Are you reminding yourself, or me? [ There's a half smirk there, half getting a little bit of a ribbing in on Peggy and half.. appreciating the fact that she's taken the time to do this and remind her, herself. Over time Re-L has come to realize she has a penchant for getting lost in her own head, though all she can really do upon realizing it is do her best to pull back. Which.. sometimes she fails at utterly. ]

I've always been able to talk to anyone I wanted to in this way... Hell, communication is even more advanced where I come from in many ways. Riverview isn't too far off, though, which makes it at least passable. Livable.

You may miss it, when it comes time to leave, you know.

Perhaps I am reminding both of us.

[ she's willing to confess to that. hell, it almost sounds emotional. she's going soft in this city, it's all really steve's fault. ]

I miss some older manners of communication, believe it or not.

[ these modern folk, really. ]

I do favour letters, myself.

Whatever you tell yourself. [ Re-L's joking, even the soft tone of the words say it, along with that little sideways smirk. She needs the reminder, knows she does, needs to have it socked in to her head all over again about living in the now instead of lingering in things that had been.. a little much, in the months prior to her arrival in the Quarantine. ]

I'm not surprised that you would miss something that reminds you of home in any facet, honestly. It makes sense. [ She misses some things, too. Mainly the steam showers or just, you know, the level of technology available that doesn't seem to meet snuff here in the Quarantine. ]

Letters? Like hand written?

I've literally never sent one of those in my twenty years of life.

"Made" a different person?

[That word choice seems important, somehow. He'd like to clarify first before he starts offering any thoughts on the matter.]

Yes... [ She pauses and trails off, scratching her kitten as if knowing this is going to be one of those discussions, if only because she's had them previous and they always turn in to something much more than she thought they needed to be. It's a fact of life for a fellow citizen, but she supposes outside of that environment it is a little strange - ]

Fellow citizens of Romdeau Dome are made to fit certain roles that are missing or have been left open by the death of a citizen. So personalities necessary for those roles are made to fill them, each person given a reason for being from the beginning...

[ A pale hand makes a spinning motion in the air, casual even while explaining such complicated and.. disturbing genetic game playing. ] Cog to the wheel, all of those things.

[At first, Ginko thinks he has an idea of what she's talking about; people in villages often expect their children to take over their trades when they pass away, and if someone in an important position like village head or some such is childless, they need to name a successor. But then Re-L goes on, and Ginko's expression becomes successively more confused.]

Personalities are...created?

[It's obvious that this entire concept has gone over his head. He's from the middle of the 1800s okay, shhhh. He shakes his head, nonetheless.]

It's only natural to ask questions. That's part of what makes us humans what we are. Sometimes the answers are unpleasant, but that doesn't mean the questions weren't worth asking.

Yes. I don't know the exact process, but fellow citizens of Romdeau Dome were made with specific temperaments in mind to assure that the Dome would and could continue to work in the best and .. least interrupted way possible. Since the population was so controlled and with the state of the world outside it was necessary. [ At least at first. By the time Re-L was born in to the Dome there's a good chance that the kind of eugenics they were using wasn't really necessary anymore, but there was no sign of stopping or even allowing the people inside the Dome to think of the outside. It's all a little much to share with him, in their first conversation, and anyway.. she doesn't want to lose him any further than she already has. ]

Yes.. I learned that the hard way not too long ago.. [ Her questions had led to... a lot. More than Re-L had ever expected. ] .. I still wonder, though, if maybe I could have asked more.. maybe more subtly and learned more before I had to go my own way.

(Does Lucretia ever wonder what might have happened to her and her friends– and, to a larger extent, the planar system– if she had decided to take things in a different direction? She snorts humourlessly.)

Yes. Frequently.

However, the choices I was afforded at the time were very limited, and I– I think, considering the circumstances, I did the best that I could with what I had. It seems pointless to scrutinise decisions already made.

(She sighs. At least the brief footage of the kitten makes her smile again, chuckling.) Your cat is very sweet.

Well at least i'm not alone in that. [ There's amusement as well as relief in her voice as she says it, listening intently to what the other has to say despite Atlas' little mews for attention. She appreciated the kitten's companionship but the occasional neediness of a kitten was something Re-L would have to grow used to. Granted.. this is her first organic pet, as well, so there's many things to acclimate to in the end of things, isn't there? ]

I think I was.. presented with a sort of fork in the road, for my life. I could either stay along the road my grandfather wanted, stir crazy and wanting something else, or I could've followed the path I did.

It is self-defeating to think about it now that it's all come to pass anyway, but.. sometimes I can't help but think about where I would be, what I would be doing, if I'd chosen to stay instead of following my curiosities. I guess this is what that adage about idle hands, means.. [ Or in Re-L's case, idle minds, really. There's a little smile Lucretia can't see as she compliments Atlas, at least, finally satisfying the little cats requests for scratches and strokes. ]

I just got him a few days ago from a friend. I'm learning to adjust to having a pet as I go..

(Lucretia hums in agreement, tracing her finger in patterns across her desk as she listens.)

I know what you mean. Wondering what you could have done differently is a steep slope. (One that she's personally fallen down many, many times.) I'd suggesting picking up a hobby to keep your mind off of it, but it sounds like you might have your hands full already.

(She's never had a pet before? Lucretia chuckles, amused.) They can be hard work sometimes, but it's really nice to have that kind of company, huh.

Yes. An icy one, at that. [ No matter how many times she's told herself that many people she'd left behind hadn't done anything to deserve thinking of ways to keep them alive and spare them.. there's still a part of her that misses things. Misses the comforts of her technologically advanced home, misses having Iggy around or even Daedalus' snide comments about people he shouldn't snidely comment about -

But no amount of thinking of what could have been done would bring any of it back. Not now at least. ]

A little more full than before, now, for sure. { But not in a negative sense - she'd been kind of hoping that having the kitten would help to make herself less likely to bury in work and .. enjoy some down time. ]

Company that doesn't talk at you and, sometimes, will allow your attention? Yes, I don't mind that at all.

Now if he could stop harassing my plants, he'd be a better house guest...

Agreed.

You... I know it isn't great to say that shouldn't let yourself slide down it, because that is so much easier said than done, but purposefully dwelling on it will always hurt, in the long run. And if it's something that happened in the past, nothing can be done to change it. It's a pointless kind of hurt.

(Funny how she's dishing out this Extreme Wisdom but will absolutely not abide by her own rules, huh. That's humans for you.)

Yeah? Are you working here too?

(Lucretia's thought about getting a dog at one point, but now she has Junior, so that's a moot point. A shame, because she likes the idea of being forced to take a lot of walks.) You're a fan of quiet time? Me too.

It's, uh, quite hard to train cats though isn't it? I was under the impression that they mostly do whatever.

It's not.. something I linger on very often. I suppose it's just the.. ghosts around, and the weather lately that's gotten me thinking about things that are unchangeable at this point. [ Seeing and hearing Iggy again had been... a bit much, for Re-L's psyche. She's stayed mostly in her apartment ever since, not able to justify the risk of being a complete emotional fool in front of other people again just yet. Besides, Atlas needs her near constant supervision so it was a convenient excuse to stay in and avoid the ghosts of yesterday. ]

I am. I'm doing detective work for the Quarantine. [ Not that there was ever anything too gory to look in to, unlike in Romdeau - ]

I prefer quiet to large groups and loud voices.. time alone is just as important to me as time to be social.

Technically, yes. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to at least give it a shot with him. It won't kill either of us to give it a chance.

That's fair.

(The atmosphere certainly doesn't lend itself to staying in the present moment. Lucretia is careful with this next question, as she understands the answers can be very personal in nature.) Have you, uh, been seeing ghosts?

(Perhaps she's been investigating them, if she is a detective. How exciting. Lucretia grins, chinning her hand.) I don't know if to hope you're inundated with work or not; is it going well?

I did, once. [ She's not going to go in to details. It's all incredibly raw all over again, seeing her autoreiv's disembodied head laid out on the pavement as if she hadn't laid what she could find of him to rest in cold soil on her own version of Earth long enough ago that it wouldn't be possible. ] - I've tried to avoid the spaces where they appear most often since. This place.. has a tendency to be too personal.

[ At least when it comes to work she's happy for the diversion to the subject, making a slight hand weighing motion. ]

Good and bad. This place is not nearly as active as home, but that's not a bad thing for the residents. People do generally have petty crime things going at all times, small cases where we're seeking out missing persons outside in the old city.. I actually prefer those.

Exploring the ruins is almost... relaxing in a way.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

oo1. ( video - - early hours of october 2nd )

video; @altin

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video; un: ginko

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audio; @chronicler

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