animus_network | [video]

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[video]

[The video switches on and... All anyone can see is a hand trying desperately to hit keys on the keyboard. And then, an annoyed little grunt is heard and the hand disappears, seemingly giving up.

And then, the terminal starts rocking. Lightly at first, and then violently enough that the desk the keyboard was in and the monitor go toppling onto the floor. By some odd miracle, they still actually function.

Now that it's down on the floor, the video shows Stein looking rather pissed off, and kind of like she was playing Twister without a mat. The awkward positioning of her legs and left arm is held in place by some glowing white strings stitched between her hand and feet, and the floor. Weird.]

I'm in the library. I need something sharp.

...Please.

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UM, WELL I HAVE A SICKLE.
I COULD HELP IF YOU TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE?

A sickle? Clearly you're a man after my own heart; I pride myself as a scythe user.

I'm on the third floor library, and I don't mind the help if you don't mind the hike upstairs.

WOW, HARDCORE.
SICKLES ARE A LOT LESS UNWIELDY, ESPECIALLY SINCE I USE TWO OF THEM.
BUT I TIP MY NONEXISTENT HAT TO YOU, SIR OR MADAM.
IT'S MY PLEASURE TO GIVE YOU A HAND, BE RIGHT THERE.

[And here comes a troll, looking for a person stuck to a floor.

As he spots Stein, he approaches him and crouches down]

Hi.

[The second she spots him, she seizes up. Goddamn it not another one of these things. It was bigger than the little children that were running around too, which meant it was an adult like that gigantic one with the hair she got killed by and now she was pretty firmly stuck and couldn't even try to escape - Though once Stein calmed herself down and actually paid attention to this guy's soul, she realized he wasn't hostile in the slightest.]

My hero~

[Signless saw the momentary fear reaction, but smiles without teeth and waits for her to calm and smile back before he pulls a sickle out of his strife specibus. He's interested by the weird metal protruding from her head, but doesn't comment for now.

He laughs at her words and then peers down at the floor, trying to figure out where those little glowing threads came from.]

I'm happy to help. So...what exactly is going on here?

My soul stitched me to the floor and decided to not let me up. I'm guessing it's an emotional response at losing its double. Usually I can control this much better.

And you're more than welcome to be curious about it. [She gestures up at the bolt as best she can currently.] Most everyone is. ...Sorry, I have a feeling that was meant to be a private interest. I didn't mean to be so nosy. [And for once, she meant it, she really didn't mean to be so nosy. Whoops, guess she's got more problems than just being tied to the floor.]

Wow. Well, I wasn't trying to be nosy, either. Why don't I get you out of this, though.

[He pulls his sickle from his specibus and gently cuts at some of the stitches. When they part easily, he moves with more confidence, cutting her away from the floor]

You said your soul did this?

[As he cuts her free, she stretches her limbs out to try and counteract the stiffness she's been feeling for the past while. Her joints pop as she moves in certain ways, but she looks much happier when she stands up, completely free from the floor.]

Yes, it's been going a bit haywire today. I'm not really sure why. When I was a kid this would happen occasionally, but it's been years since this has been such a problem.

And nice sickle, by the way.

I've never heard of a soul going haywire. [He gets to his feet, smiling, and glances at the sickle in his hand sheepishly] Thanks. It's a treasured possession.

[He captchalogues it again and grins at the human woman] Do you think that'll happen again?

[She smirks. If he got that affectionate about an object, she was curious to know how he'd survive in her world where he could actually befriend a sickle.]

Hard to say. I'm not entirely sure what caused it in the first place. I have a theory, but if I'm wrong then it's possible it will. [She tried to ignore how uncomfortable all those teeth made her. At least this guy was quite a bit smaller than the last adult troll she met up with. And his horns were a lot less sharp which was definitely a bonus.] ...You wouldn't happen to know what the fate of people who leave the tower is though, would you?

[This is a boy who hasn't had that many things in his life. He'll get affectionate about things that save his life over and over.]

You mean people who just vanish from the tower without dying or jumping off? So far as I know, they go back to their own time and forget about the tower. Sometimes they come back.

[Stein lets out a breath she didn't even realize she'd been holding.] That's what I'd suspected, but it's still nice to hear it from someone else.

Knowing that in itself might keep my soul from going haywire again. [Famous last words, those are.] I'm Stein, by the way, and I really do mean it when I thank you for coming to my rescue. [She extends her arm out to shake his hand, assuming those aliens have the same sort of introductory practices as most humans did.]

That happened with my matesprit, twice. [He smiles sheepishly] I have to believe she's all right.

[He extends his hand as well, uncertain, but clasps hers. He's seen this done] Nice to meet you, Stein. You can call me Signless. [He beams] It was my pleasure. Not all the time that I get to ride in to someone's rescue, but it's a thing I enjoy doing.

What's a - [She never really got the opportunity to say matesprit, because she was too busy realizing what was about to happen, pulling her hand out of his as quickly as humanly possible, and still managing to slightly attack his soul with hers. It wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been, considering he was still standing and conscious, but it was still no doubt painful, and she still felt bad that she sort of electrocuted her new friend.

And she was pretty resistant to try and do anything like hold him up or catch him if he starting falling or touch him at all ever again.] I am so sorry; are you alright? Usually that doesn't happen. Really.

[He yelped and cringed a bit, teeth bared as he looked up at her. He might have gotten more angry, but she did look pretty apologetic, so instead he took a step back and rested a hand on the nearest bookshelf, pushing himself back up]

What the taint-chafing fuck was that?

Eloquently asked. [Honestly Signless, is that anyway to speak to a lady?]

And that was my soul continuing to go haywire. [She twisted her bolt around a few times, like a normal person might awkwardly play with their hair in a situation like this.] Really, after the stitches started acting up I should have expected this to happen...

[Look, you're not his mom!]

I didn't know souls could do that! [He's mesmerized by the screw, crimson eyes widening a little]

Most of them can't, but mine - and a few other people's are special. That's how I could tie myself down with it too. Mine's bigger than the average one, so it's more powerful.

I'm actually surprised you believed in souls to begin with. Most people I've talked to are quite skeptical about it to begin with. [Her screw thunks back in place and her hand falls back to her side.] And before you ask, turning it helps organize my thoughts better.

I don't really know what souls are... but I'm sure they exist. There's something inside us that makes us, us. [He crooks a smile] And well, you've just demonstrated it pretty clearly.

It organizes your thoughts? Are you a cyborg or something like that?

[She laughs.] Something like that. Really though, I could install one in anyone's head and they would get the same benefits; I'm just the first person crazy enough to try it out.

...Well actually I'm not sure if it would work on anyone's. Does your species have a brain in your head like us, or is it different?

A brain? [He cocks his head] We have a thinking sponge in our heads, is that what humans call a brain?

It's probably the same thing, I'd guess. Though I'd worry about your species horns getting in the way. Yours aren't too bad though. [She actually rather like yours, Signless. They're not sharp, so they probably can't stab her.] I venture to guess you're not about to volunteer your body to science, and that you don't actually want one.

[He laughs and shakes his head] No I don't really, but thanks for the offer. I'm pretty good at thinking, I think... though I suppose I don't know how much better I could be. I think it'd interfere with my cloak.

It would be a difficult adjustment. Though with some tailoring you might be able to make it work. But it's definitely not for everyone, and there is almost no chance I'm going to talk you into it, considering - no offense - the other members of your species I've met have been... Not particularly nice.

Oh? [He cocks his head, smiling, but there's an unhappiness in his eyes] I'm sorry to hear that. There are quite a lot of us who are nice, I assure you. Who have you met, before?

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