[closed] plant friends gotta be plant friends

[tousei]

Who: Julius and Steinbeck
Where: On the ship Fenrir
When: 10D3
Summary: Plants being plants.
Restrictions/Warnings: Will probably delve into some body horror later on.

[ Things are changing.

Julius' tasks have leaned more and more to outright manslaughter as the weeks moved on, and it unsettles him - though it's not something easily told to others. The accident that befell his work partner gave him some reprieve, as the Dog cannot go without a Handler (or colleague, Julius insists). Since Sui Feng did not have any other important tasks to him, he has oddly a day off.

Time, rare in this tumultous place. ]

Hello, Steinbeck. This is Julius.

I would like to meet you to speak about plants.

[ A simple message, the best he can muster being a person who did not text outside of duty. It's well-encrypted and from a civilian source instead of directly tagged to the Company. Hopefully this works. ]

Comments

[graftage]

It's not about saving.

[He smiles. It's not a very nice smile.]

It's about retribution.

[tousei]

And then after that?

[ Julius, as with always, looks oddly calm. ]

[graftage]

I don't know. Haven't thought that much about the future. I mean, it's highly likely I won't have one.

[He says, almost a little too casual to be comfortable.]

[tousei]

So you wish to become a martyr.

[ It's an interesting perspective, all things considered. ]

Your faith is to take other people's pain on your own. But how will you do it? Do you think the Quad can be changed? Or is revenge your only goal?

[graftage]

Eh, not exactly. I'm not the kind of guy who wants to be held up as a symbol of rebellion or anything. If I die, I die. That's just how it is.

[Steinbeck laughs.] You make me feel like I'm in the middle of an interview or something. I mean, I would like to think the Quad can be changed. But nothing can be done towards that until I punish the people responsible for all this suffering.

[tousei]

[ So it is just revenge. That makes him better than someone who's in it just to be seen. ]

I wish to know you better.

[ They'll probably never be friends, but he would at least like to see some more perspectives before he dies himself. ]

I too would like to think that the Quad can be changed. But it is a difficult task. I do not have the freedom to go where I please; the Company may kill me for any sign of stepping out of line.

[ A pause. ]

I know someone else who wishes to raise a revolution. To change this to a planet where people can live without being exploited. It is... very difficult, definitely. But would it be the same as your vision as well?

[graftage]

Yeah, you've got quite the target on your back, huh? Since you're their tool.

[That's the bluntest way he can put it.]

That sounds similar. Really, all I want to do is live in a world where my family doesn't get used by people who throw around money.

[His vines move around his arm, his fists clenching at his sides.]

I don't want my family to suffer, anymore.

[tousei]

[ Steinbeck says the truth, so there's no reaction from him. ]

Do you know of him? Sion Astal, the director. If you speak to him, you may find efficiency in cooperation.

[ He has his hands tied himself so he can't do much. ]

[graftage]

[Steinbeck's eyes narrow. He knows the name.]

Yes, I do. [He sounds quite hesitant.] Can he be trusted? I mean, he works for the Company too, doesn't he?

[tousei]

He can. He too wishes to start a revolution.

[ And now, for something more personal: ]

He saved me from a fate of becoming a mindless beast.

[graftage]

...Did he?

[He didn't seem too bad, but...Steinbeck was always wary. A nice attitude and charming conversation hardly meant anything. The nicest person could commit the worst atrocities.]

Very well. If you trust him, then I shall follow that. He did a good thing. To help you out, I mean.

[tousei]

[ Julius nods. If the proof was needed, he turns so that Steinbeck can see his back. ]

My curse would have killed me. In place of my corpse would have risen a dangerous weapon. Instead, he gave me surgery to stabilize my condition.

[ The branches come from six ports installed below his neck. He has to tug his shirt down a little - two columns of three holes each. ]

It is hard to find who to trust. [ He knows. ] I consider myself very lucky to have met him. This can be the start of things looking up.

[graftage]

I guess it can.

[Though honestly, he still can't see the point of fully putting yourself in the trust of another. Yes, there are people he likes, but to be this devoted...?]

[Maybe he knew that feeling in another lifetime. Not here, really.]

What is he planning on doing? As far as rebellion goes? Is he going to help take it down from the inside?

[tousei]

[ It's hard to quantify their relationship in words. ]

His priority is to look after those passed over by the company first. He too has to keep a low profile, but when the time comes - that could be a possibility.

[ Sion can look after Steinbeck's people when he's out doing his rebellion thing. ]

[graftage]

Hmm. Well, I guess he can work on things there. It would be preferable to combine our efforts to get the best result.

[He doesn't want to think that Sion and co might be doing something that will go against what they ight be doing on the ground in Hyperion, despite their best intentions.]

Anyways, I guess I can use you as an excuse to say hello to him? He must be a busy guy.

[tousei]

[ Julius has absolutely no knowledge of Hyperion so maybe that's for the best. ]

I can ask him to contact you. I have some modicum of enhanced encryption, for safety.

[graftage]

Fine, then. I'm available whenever I can be.

[He shakes his head.]

But if he goes against me, I won't hesitate to do the same for him, understand?

[tousei]

Of course.

[ There's no reason for him to object. ]

That is all that I have to say. Unless you wish to ask me anything else?

[graftage]

I don't have anything else, no...

[A pause.]

Wait. You said you might become a tree. You really have no way of stopping this? Do you want to stop it? How long do you have?

[tousei]

[ Julius doesn't answer at first, closing his eyes for a moment; long lashes covering grey. When he opens them again, his irises have turned gold. ]

There is no way to cease or reverse the transformation. I can only endeavour to remain myself as my body changes. Two months, perhaps less than that.

[ And not lose his mind, that is. ]

[graftage]

...

I'm sorry to hear that.

[To lose control over yourself, transform into something beyond humanity...]

[Steinbeck recalls a dream, a long-lost dream where his body was changing into something inhuman, his hand a mangled mess of branches and leaves, and the presence of a man who was much like him.]

[He frowns, reaching out to just rest his hand on Julius' shoulder, reassuringly.]

You just have to do whatever you can to fight that fate.

[tousei]

[ Julius nods. He's already promised Sion to live. ]

I will. I will not give in until every last cell is no longer mine.

[ He says this with a deceptively soft tone, but the light in his eyes hardens. ]

Thank you.

[graftage]

No need to thank me. I'm just here because we share a few things in common, it seems.

[Though he's not going to transform into a plant anytime soon.]

...Do you need somebody to check up on you, Julius?

[tousei]

[ There's a few moments of quiet while he mulls on this, grey eyes betraying little emotion but darkened in some sort of way; uncertainty, and a desire to not burden another. ]

I will manage. The situation on Leith will only get worse. It may become unsafe for you to meet me in the future.

[ A beat. ]

But there is still the network. If you need encryption, I can pass some algorithms to you.