animus_network | ⇝001 // video

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⇝001 // video

_{[the video's dark, but it's definitely video; the screen is completely black. there's the snap and clink of a lighter, but the fire isn't seen on the video, as if he's pointing it elsewhere from himself, or isn't aware the video's on; there's a deep inhalation and a deep exhalation, which sounds more like someone breathing through their teeth. it quickly degrades into soft, under-the-breath giggling. his voice is soft enough that someone might not be able to hear him unless they're trying.]

...eeeeveryone's... gone.

[he keeps that low soft breathy giggling up for a moment, and it almost sounds desperate.]}

That's what it says. It says, everyone's gone.

I've never thought about it. What happens when everyone goes away.

_{But now, now... they're all gone. Gone, gone... gone.

[his giggling starts to get more frantic but it never gets louder; it sounds more and more desperate, and suddenly-- it stops. he makes a quiet noise, his voice low and quiet. for reference, it's the first four or so seconds.]

zhuzhuzhuzhu...

...but still so noisy.}

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

No, he- she must have forced you. There's no way I, and by extension you, would agree to that willingly. Anywhere Medusa is can't be someplace we're supposed to be.

[She's shaking, she realizes. But she just wanted to get him as far from Medusa as she could, and if that meant finding a way to keep him sane then that's exactly what she would do. She couldn't imagine - actually she could, but she didn't want to think about it herself - what he had been through while in Medusa's clutches.]

I could help with the noise far better than any witch could!

I don't... _{I don't think you can.

[he almost sounds scared. sad. he fades back into the darkness.]}

That's what I was told. That's what the other... that's what he told me.

_{Do you hear it? Do you hear the noise too?}

...I don't hear it right now, but I've heard it.

What you were told might be the truth, but we should experiment first to see for sure. Tell me where you are and we can run a few tests. [She definitely knows how to pander to herself, that's for sure. And she also forces herself to smile, act friendly, inviting. That's really the only way she could see him agreeing to the idea of letting her help.]

I don't know. _{I have no idea. I didn't know before. It wasn't here. I don't~ know where~ it was~

[he giggles softly.]}

Alright, how's this sound: Stand outside your room in the hallway and I'll come and find you. Is that okay?

_{[he doesn't make any noise in reply; he simply lets out an amused noise and a little hum. there's a sound like the communicator being sat down on the bed, because it is.

if she feels like wandering upstairs, she might notice him having dragged himself into the hallway, leaned against and slid down the wall beside the door, and lit another cigarette. he's blankly staring at the floor, smoke curling up lazily.]}

[Between her Soul Perception and the fact that she had yet to find anyone else who smoked in the tower, it was honestly fairly easy to track him upstairs.

He looks a mess, and she is suddenly much less confident that she'll be able to help with this. But she's not willing to give up just yet and she sits onto the floor in front of him, trying to not startle him too much.]

_{[his eyes don't focus, looking from her left boot to her right boot. once, twice. three times. four. like he's trying to make sense of them.]}

You're actually here.

_{[slowly his unstable gaze floats up, looking from left eye, to right eye.]}

Aren't you. You're actually real.

I told you I was. [She forces herself to smile at him. God it really is eerie staring into a masculine version of her own face like this, though.]

Would you like to stay out here, or go back into your room?

_{[he doesn't care, so he doesn't bother answering. he'd rather slowly cock his head at her. his hand twitches beside him, like he wants to reach out and touch her.

a low breath, and he breathes out smoke with a soft hiss. he has nothing to say. he doesn't know what to say. is there anything to say?

his hand twitches again, and he reaches up and just barely grazes the edge of her bangs.]

I'm not sure how to tell what's real anymore.}

[She takes his hand in hers before he can pull it away, gently making him touch the scar on her face.]

I promise you, I'm real. Why would I lie to myself?

_{[he watches her, almost confused; his fingers are lax on her face for a moment, before he seems to understand, and touches the edge with a slight curiosity.]Do I look trustworthy to you.} I wouldn't trust me.

Descartes, I think therefore I am. I can't really give you much more proof than that unfortunately. But even if I were a hallucination, I'm merely offering to help.

[She reaches over and gently traces his scar, mirroring him.]

Help.

_{[he nods, his face angling slightly into her hand; she's warm, and soft, and she certainly is the best hallucination so far.]}

Okay. I'll play.

_{Help me.}

Edited 2011-12-07 08:19 (UTC)

[For a second, she considers resonating with him. Maybe it would help calm him down and it's always seemed to help balance her out in the past for the most part, but she has to worry about her own sanity too, and she'd be useless if she ended up as crazy as him as a result.

So she figures out a better idea. Cautiously, she moves her hand up the side of his head, gently curling her fingers around the head of his screw.] I'm not going to hurt you, just let me try something.

It's not going to help.

_{[he bats at her hand weakly, barely touching it.]}

It's not going to do anything.

I know. [She was hoping she might be able to exploit a placebo effect and at least have him feel better.

Stein moves her hand down to her lap, trying to come up with another idea.]

What else have you already tried?

Smoking doesn't help.

_{[he lets out a breath of smoke at these words, and smiles widely.]

I don't need any help. Do I?}

[Stein inhales the smoke greedily. She needed something to calm herself down, and hadn't really wanted to ask to bum a cigarette off of a crazy person. That seemed unfair, somehow.]

What do you think? Do you need help? [She knew what she thought, though, and hoped he would feel the same.] Haven't you tried resonating with anyone? Sounds like the first thing Spirit would have tried. Or was she too worried about what might happen if she did?

She...?

_Spirit.

...I haven't seen Spirit in a few days. _{He wasn't there. Marie wasn't, either.}

So Spirit's not a woman in your world either?

No.

_{What's Marie's name..?}

Martin, he usually goes by Marty. [She slowly stands up, offering her hand to the other Stein to help him up. He'd probably be more comfortable sitting on something other than the floor.] What's Syd go by?

_{[he doesn't look up when she stands, and ignores her hand.]}

..Sid. Same.

Seems like the only one with a major name change is Marty - or Marie, I guess I could say.

[She grabs him by the arm. She was strong, but she probably couldn't just pick him up and haul him off if he really didn't want to move. Stein was just hoping she could get his attention and he would come along willingly.]

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