winddaughter | [El Nysa] IC Contact

That's going to be a hard one. [She really likes telling people when they're being idiots.

She shudders but tries to put on a brave face.] It isn't like this is the first time I've been here. [She snaps, but then she draws back, eyes down.] Sorry. It'll... be okay.

Come on, the door didn't do anything wrong. [This isn't his first adventure with a volatile teenage girl, so he likes to think he has a great handle on this... tact and sensitivity thing. But they are still standing in the hallway.

He shuffles a few feet into the room itself, turning around to look at her.]

You can't make fun of me if you stay out there.

[She blinks, startled, then puffs out her cheeks.

He...!

Junpei!!

SHE FOLLOWS HIM, GOD.]

Only because making fun of you is becoming a great pastime.

[Which really means she needs to find something better to do with herself, but hey.

She passes him again, picking a particular known route for her, and glances over at him.]

You don't have to come. [She holds up a hand, pointing at some random section of pods.] I'm sure you've got some you want to check on.

[Ten points for Junpei, right there. He shrugs, palms up, exaggerated like he totally doesn't know what she's making those faces at him for.] Glad I could provide some entertainment.

[But he got her to come in from the hallway, so that's his accomplishment for the day. The moment she mentions him going another direction his gaze drifts down a particular line of pods - obviously, the path he's already familiar with. His smirk falters, and he sighs.]

Right... yeah, on it. I'll meet you back here in... half an hour?

[He could sit in here all day, but for the sake of everybody's mental health, let's keep it short.]

Half an hour. Right.

[She does actually look at the time on her phone. She really does intend to keep up with that time. She waves him off, heading down through her path, not looking at any of the faces. There's only two that matter, two that are meant to be protected.

And...

She doesn't want to one day look up and see the face of Dewey Novak.

Five minutes, maybe, is what it takes her to find her destination.]

Nothing's changed.

[That's a good thing, right? What was she expecting? That they were going to be awake? That she finally wasn't going to be alone? She shakes her head.

A glance at her phone and somehow she's already managed to be here for twenty five minutes. She scowls and throws her phone away from her, watching it hit pods across from her. She sinks down to the floor, putting her back between the two pods of Dominic and Eureka.

She stays there, legs drawn up, arms folded on her knees, head pillowed down.]

[He'll definitely one hundred percent deny that as soon as Anemone goes off on her own he turns and actually jogs the rest of the way to the pods he wants to see, but - well he totally does do that to save time. The moment he's not distracted enough he's hit with the paranoid thought that he's not going to find the people he needs to see - Akane first, then Carlos, Clover, the other Dcom participants - but once he's made sure they're all still there, he can finally breathe. 9 minutes to locate them all, now for the actual inspection—

With a dozen people to account for this takes him the better part of his half hour, of course, since life can't be simple and put all of the people he's trying to look out for in the same place... Fortunately he can be... not happy, but okay enough with just seeing everyone still as safe as they can be like this.

12 minutes to get a good look, 5 to linger, staring, at Akane's pod and not know what to feel, leaving him with 4 minutes left to fine Anemone before his own time limit runs out. It's almost lucky that she threw her phone and no one else is here, since that pleasant thud of phone against metal and glass gives him a direction to hurry in once he's reached the entrance and realized she's... not coming.

Of course he's going to show up when she probably doesn't want his asinine company. Of course.]

Uh... hey. Time's up, but, you know, whatever.

[She only shifts her head so he can peer at him, and then her head goes back to hiding. Her voice is mumbled.]

Why is it we're awake? The others weren't strong enough--that's their reasoning, right? That somehow we were the strong ones. [She's clumping Junpei in with this, but she's not really talking about him. She knows nothing about him. She doesn't even know if he actually has anyone in these pods or if it's all just words to fit in.] But that's not right. I'm strong, sure, but... but they should be awake. They should be awake. So why... Are they just asleep to keep me in check?

[Her voice drifts off. Her arms tighten around her legs.]

[Oh boy, Junpei thinks, another thing he's definitely not equipped to handle. He doesn't say anything at first - what kind of answer is there to a question like this? He doesn't know why he's awake, himself, instead of the much more competent people he's been spending time with lately...

Well, nothing for it. He sighs, sitting down in front of the pods across the aisle from Anemone, only glancing at them for a moment like these frozen strangers might object to him leaning against the pods.]

You think anyone really knows? [Hm, pessimistic - he frowns.] I mean... we're the ones who are awake, and that's... pretty much all we can know for sure.

[In another time, it's two completely different people sitting here having this conversation and Junpei and Anemone are the ones in stasis, but he's skipping that particular quantum nonsense—]

Do you really want to get stuck thinking about all the hows and whys?

I try to stop thinking about them. It works for awhile. [She shifts a little to lean her head back, but her gaze is directed upwards, not at him.] But then it feels like... I'm not thinking of them.

[As if they'd really care. Dominic would probably be mad at her for consistently worrying about him, but he spent so long looking after her and she took it for granted. She has to look after him.]

How many people in this entire Stasis Unit have just been forgotten about?

[...Well, that's certainly a laser-guided direct hit on something Junpei's put a lot of thought into himself. Living here - well, on the ground - for a few weeks now, it's hard to strike a balance between feeling settled in enough to function and not feeling guilty for not trying harder to do... what? Break everyone out of stasis? Supposedly, that's dangerous.

He considers his sneakers instead of looking at Anemone, so they're both doing great in that department.]

Dunno. It's going to sound harsh, but... that's not really our problem. We have lives to live, too. I don't mean forget about them, but, uh... hmm...

[...] If it was me in there, I don't think I could be that mad if everyone had stuff to do without me. As long as they were okay.

[She doesn't answer for a bit. The issue narrows down its focus in her mind. Forgetting about people, whether or not they'd be bothered. She understands that heart of some of her distress. When she does answer, it's shaky at best.] She's going to be mad. [The pods probably partially obscure the people within, but if he happened to look, the two pods she's sandwiched between have a teal-haired girl, and black-haired boy, both around Anemone's age, give or take a year or two.]

She's going to be so mad. I didn't think what I could ask Darma. I just focused on what was most important to me, but what about--what about her? [Anemone isn't crying, but she's... not doing so hot. She's going to be horribly embarrassed about this at a later point, but the emotions were going to spill out one way or another at some point.] I'm sure he's here somewhere, he has to be, but I can't keep him safe--how could I do that to her? After... after everything...

She... whoa, hang on, who? [He jerks a thumb at the girl in the pod behind her.] Her?

[Okay... okay, he doesn't need the whole backstory right when she's freaking out. He shifts a little like he's considering reaching out to her, at least to steady her total panic, but uh - maybe that would be too much?]

None of us asked to be here, okay? You didn't know—how were you supposed to know? Just- send Darma an email!

[Not sure if that's an option, but- why not, right?] ...You didn't do, uh, whatever it is on purpose.

...we're not even friends though. [Which is... odd to say. But how can someone that you've tried to kill so many times look at you and think you're a friend? Sure, Eureka and Renton helped Anemone in the end but... they barely interacted with each other after. She's not sure what Eureka thinks of her, but Eureka is the... closest thing Anemone might have to a sister.

Circumstantially, anyway.]

I don't know what to do. Maybe you're right. Maybe there's... someone I can message. Right? There must be... [Her voice trails off.]

[He's missing some key backstory here, he knows, but - well, he's big on sending Darma an email.]

Yeah... probably. I mean, they told us they'd give us stuff, so why not let people change their minds?

[Otherwise what if they have almost 200 pissed off people with shifting priorities? This moon base can't stay hidden forever if enough people get up in arms about it.]

I, uh... I think it'll be okay.

[Logic is starting to win over her spiral of emotions. She doesn't want to make any risks with Darma's apparent charitably, but maybe just one more addition isn't enough to break bank. Anemone would make up for it! She just... needs that one last assurance. Not for herself, but for Eureka. In case the girl never wakes up.

God, but she really does have friends here, doesn't she? She's somehow made friends despite how she sometimes treats them.

...Her life used to be simpler than this. It was awful, and a constant struggle, and yet...]

...Thank you.

[Breathe.]

[Junpei can't do anything but wait and see how well his... attempts at comforting are going here, but it seems like they're going okay. She doesn't look as freaked out now as she did—so, good job, Junpei?

Great job. Okay job.]

Oh! Oh, uh- yeah. Any- anytime. [...] You wanna get out of here? Maybe hit the mess hall?

...Well, I didn't grab breakfast.

[She should get out of here. How long has it been, anyway? She startles, putting her hands to the floor and looking around her.]

My phone, where did I...

[Oh great, Junpei didn't get his bagel and now he can!! He pauses, then twists around to reach a little bit under one of these pods and fish around for her phone.]

I think it's somewhere under here. I saw something blinking when I got here...

[She unfolds completely and scoots across the floor besides him to peer beneath, reaching around.]

I wonder if they charge you a fee if you lose one and need it replaced.

[She wonders if anyone has tried to crack it open and see how it works.]

Ah! [She gets a hold of it and pulls it out, squinting up at one of the pods.] Sorry about that. [Because the person in the pod probably REALLY CARES. She pockets the phone and forces a wobbly smile.] O-Okay. Breakfast? [And not talking about her kinda-sorta meltdown.]

Maybe...? [He doesn't intend to do anything to lose it, so who needs to know! Maybe someone else will find out. Junpei braces himself on the pod behind him to push himself to his feet, offering his hand to Anemone once he's up.]

Breakfast. C'mon, I'm starving.

[It could be good to know for other people, sheesh. She takes his hand and nearly yanks him over with the strength of it, but she gets to her feet and brushes herself off. She looks back at the faces of Dominic and Eureka and smiles sadly, but she's worlds better than she was when she came in.

She turns.]

Okay. Let's go see if that creepy guy Roman has anything waiting for us already.

[She leads the path to the Mess; this is something she can do with ease.]

[He's not expecting that much, uh, pull from her, so pardon him while he sort of tilts just for a moment before recovering. He's fine, he's good, it's breakfast time. She can lead the way, he's fine with it.]

If he doesn't, I know where the vending machine is. In case you're excited for powdered donuts.

[He says it like it's impressive, but with a healthy twinge of sarcasm thrown in.]

...Does the vending machine have more than powdered donuts? Are there other vending machines of different... types of sugary snacks? [Oh my god, Junpei, this is important information.

She folds her hands together behind her back and buzzes through the halls with a slowly increasing contentment. The pods may be behind her physically, but they're tucked safely in her mind, with thoughts of maybe finding out where Renton is located and if he can be kept safe under Anemone as well.

It's okay. She can do this. She just... has to accept that for once... she has to live.]

I think I want waffles. With strawberries and whipped cream! [Because why come to the station for something as simple as a bagel!! Especially when it's free food. He can ogle her glorious meal.

...which is waiting for her when they get there.]

That's never not gonna be weird.

They've got... alien snacks? I kinda stopped looking once I saw the powdered donuts. It was easier.

[He was hungry and so doomed himself and company to eating vending machine donuts for several days before he could be convinced to actually try the mess hall food. The gloopy zero-gravity food fight put him off—and for something that was barely a month ago, it feels like so much longer. Living on the planet, making a life and a routine, it's still sort of surreal.

And it certainly contrasts being up here, a stone's throw away from the stasis room. Goddamn it, give him a bagel, alien chef. He just wants a bagel and some cream cheese.

But he does ogle that waffle a bit. Next to that, his bagel looks...] I'm not jealous, but holy shit.

[Gotta eat!! Ah-] Hey, do they do takeout up here? I should grab something for Snake...

[Like another bagel.]

[Alien snacks. Alright then.]

Behold, my glorious breakfast! [She holds her hands over it, and then plops down, grabs a fork, and digs in.]

I donno, maybe? You can always try. [om nom nom] Who's Snake? [She's definitely asking with a full mouth.]

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