winddaughter | [El Nysa] IC Contact

[That's exactly what he thinks, which just makes him make a face and a noncommittal noise. He'll work on it...!

But once they get to an isolated enough spot, it's all he can do to stand there and watch her... think about it? Uh.]

I'm no teleporting expert, but let's try this... [He holds his arm out.] Probably should hold on, too.

[And so if it doesn't work, they'll just be standing here like idiots, but what else is new?] Try really focusing, and then at the last moment, just... move from here to there. [genius plan] Maybe think about whoever's still up there?

[SORRY. She would rather make her friends feel bad about themselves than appear ignorant--which speaks worlds about her social skills. Still, in the regards of teleporting, they're both ignorant.

So they are standing around like idiots, her holding onto him until it gets awkward. There's a joke in here somewhere about him wanting to just hold a girl's hands. She's too distracted this morning.]

Um...

[But then she actually thinks about what he's said. Her mind snaps to Dominic and focuses and that's what she needs--she's gone, with or without him she isn't sure, until she's stumbling back to the familiar Station.]

[He's used to casually being made fun of, it's fine, his self esteem doesn't take a huge blow from one failed pun. Besides, the issue at hand - standing here like morons while notably not teleporting - is more important.

Truth be told, he isn't taking his own advice. He's just describing something he can already do, SHIFTing - or, well, something he could do before the world exploded in probably more than one timeline - but trying to translate it to moving from one place to another instead of literal time travel. Working under the assumption that it will definitely work... he waits to see if she can make it happen before he even entertains the idea himself.

It would be rude to just leave her here? That's the logic. So he's left standing there a few seconds after she pops out of existence next to him, and takes another minute to follow. His aim is apparently off, since he wobbles into a wall before looking around. Aha.]

Alright, that's a lot cooler than I thought it'd be. [but yes, yes—] You okay?

[She's still getting her balance back. It was... unexpected. She's done a lot of maneuvering while aboard theEND, but still the changing between places... how do you compare that to anything?

She looks up at him and grins.]

That was fun! And it really worked! We're back on the Station! [She does a twirl.] I can't believe it!

[Oh, she's... having fun! That's good, he figures. It takes him a moment to get reoriented with being in space - there's artificial gravity, sure, but it feels just different enough from being on actual land that he needs to get his space legs back.

Fun stuff. Junpei does not twirl.]

Yeah, uh... we did it. [y...aaay] We should get moving, right?

[He says, as he's already started to shuffle in the direction of the pod room. He remembers where that is, for sure.]

[Come on, Junpei, twirling is fun.

She's glad he seems to know where he's going though. All the halls look the same to her, and she didn't explore a lot of the Station. Mess Hall (maybe she should get something to eat while they're up here?), Stasis Chambers, Sleeping Quarters.

And they were all disjointed in her mind, her memory hidden under multiple layers of stress.]

...Thank you, by the way. [She's only dragging her feet a little. She both wants to be here and doesn't. But she... has to?] For coming up here with me.

[Almost the opposite, Junpei knows where he's going for the same reason—stress. He didn't spend much time up here, but he made enough emotionally rattled trips down to this room that he knows the route like the back of his hand. Right, right, left—any mental map from Point A to a door, he's got down.

It's a relatively useless special talent, but there it is. He looks at her over his shoulder as he takes the lead, slowing his steps just a little. He'd like to get it over with, his own dramatic staring at some pods, but... maybe calming down will be better.]

Oh... yeah, of course. Uh, anytime you want, I can probably spare an hour.

Probably? [Ah, there. With that, she can settle into some of the familiar teasing. She needed it.] What, have you actually found a job~?

[She tries to actually pay attention to her surroundings for once. Maybe she could draw herself a map sometime. Just basic guidelines.]

[Oh... okay, he's going to take that as a sign that she's definitely handling this trip to the angst room as well as she can. He shrugs.]

What, I can't have other things to do? I have a life. [weird concept] But for your information, yeah, I'm a working man now.

[Get ready for this one.]

I clean this old man's food stall. [He's too old to do it...]

Well I suppose you're allowed to have a life.

[It's called splitting her focus. pure genius. Mess with Junpei, not think about Dominic and Eureka being in a constant frozen slumber.]

Oh! Do you get leftovers? [It doesn't sound too bad if there is free food after...] I've been helping around with small deliveries in the market, but I've been poking my head into The Silk Wyrms. Hoping to get my foot into the door!

[...oh she recognizes her surroundings more now. That's. That's swell.]

[He scoffs, and even rolls his eyes a little - thank you, that's so generous, allowing him to have a life. But ah, this really obvious suggestion...] I... never asked. I'll have to do that.

[He's just been sweeping this old guy's floors for pocket change and not trying to get free food, like a damn fool. They're coming up on the stasis room shortly, but hey, stalling to talk about their crappy day jobs is a great idea.]

Do you, like... make clothes in your spare time?

[you'd better not starve Junpei, you should be more resourceful]

Well, no, but I [just like pretty things!!] think maybe I could sell stuff alright?

[She steps around him when they get to the entrance of the Stasis Unit and her expression closes off.]

[He has a picky jerk to feed at home, he won't be allowed to go hungry. Instant noodles have already been banned.]

As long as you don't tell the customers what idiots they are. [See that? Friendship bonding.

Junpei sees her abrupt change in expression and approaches the door himself instead, but doesn't go on ahead when the doors slide open. Once again, he looks at her over his shoulder, his tone softer.] Hey, uh... Do you need a minute?

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.

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