Chapter 2

[thenine]

Who: OTA
Where: Quad
When: Week 2, Day 5 - Week 4, Day 6
Summary: Chapter 2 prompts!
Restrictions/Warnings: Violence, blood, et cetera. For anything surpassing 'R' on a rating scale, please create your own log.
Notes: Please title your subject line in the following format -- Open / Closed | Date. OOC event information can be found here.

Quick Navigation
The Nine
The Company
Westies
True Leithians
Leith
Resistance
The RAC

The Nine: Poisoned Well

With the heir delivered and Lady Derrish returning to health, balance has been maintained amongst the Nine. Swift and efficient - and, some would say, unbelievable - medical attention administered may have steadied the Lady's life, but for those in the ruling houses, the atmosphere of tenuous peace only grows thicker. Land Kendry has launched an investigation - with particular focus on Land Hyponia - into the source of the 'attack' on Lady Derrish's health. Of course, that is only the surface, and some suggest, with hushed voices, that there may be more to Land Kendry's goals than to weed out an assailant. Land Hyponia has long since been in support of maintaining the Seventh Generation Accords, which it defends staunchly against any opposition. One of the most agitated among those in disagreement with the Accords is Land Kendry. Now is the perfect opportunity for them to rearrange the pieces in their favor, and with the information they've fabricated, they'll be able to replace the head of Land Hyponia with someone who is - at least hopefully - more pliable to their agenda. The Derrish have their own suspicions, the cure surfacing all too conveniently timed to have been a coincidence. When Land Kendry's investigation procures evidence pointing to Land Hyponia as the culprits, inflaming the crime with implied - yet vague - ties to the resistance, the Derrish publically accept the accusation. Behind closed doors, the solution seemed to have come as uncannily easily as the cure, and suspicions only rise. But for now, the two houses remain allied - ready to use one another for their own interests. For those among the nobility, it's the time to reevaluate alliances, assuring the old and gathering the new. The more support you have, the safer you are - unless, of course, you chose the wrong friend. Some turn to other members of the nobility, some to the RAC for hired guards, some to the Company to mandate investigations unsuitable for Killjoys, and some may even turn to the underbelly of society to accomplish anything necessary to stay on top. Or to simply stay alive.

The Company: Cleaning House

There will be no accolades, and no rest, for the hard working Company officials following the response to the True Leithan attacks. Assignments shift from one thing to the next, moving from bureaucratic nightmare to bureaucratic nightmare. While there’s always busy work to distract from the intrigue behind the scenes, it’s not liable to be any safer. Some officials will be charged with maintaining peace and order on Leith, as the outbreak of a pandemic slowly spreads over the moon. From helping the afflicted find their way to a place of treatment, to safe and efficient body disposal—burning corpses by the hundreds—to attempting to track down the source of the virus, it's best anyone assigned here take heed ‘lest they find themselves falling ill as well. Westerley, on the other hand, is a different kind of headache. With Harvest Week in swing, most company officials will be reaching for a drink of their own at the end of their shifts. Rowdy workers celebrating their time off, spending their hard earned Joy frivolously, and citizens whisked away by the atmosphere of celebration all mingle throughout Old Town. Property damage, fighting, less than subtle illegal activity, and crowding all become more of an issue than they usually are during this time. It's the perfect setting to lay down the law, or to not be noticed by it. On top of it all, each and every member of the Company's workforce can expect to have their documents double and triple-checked. Those with any suspected ties to Leith are likely to undergo a more serious investigation. One-on-one interrogations become common practice, and whether you're trusted or suspect, you may come face to face with a companion in your duties. True Leithan sympathizers are what the Company review is after, but anything else unturned will surely not be ignored. Cover your bases.

Westies: Harvest Week

Harvest week is in full swing throughout Westerley - visa workers have been shuttled back in droves from their time on Leithian farms, many of whom were willing to take some of their observations to information brokers for a price. Most had superficial information to sell (the state of unease on the average farm due to the impending Accords, the increased suspicion that the migrant workers were forced to endure, the fear of retaliation by the rebellion for the True Leithian attacks), others with reports of increased security and weapons caches on the farms of those whose sympathies lie with the “heroes” of the attack in Old Town. Old Town, however, is even more of a chaotic mesh of humanity with the mass influx of returning bodies. Bars stay busy day and night, the hokk and ale flow almost faster than most can keep up, and many Enforcers and Killjoys alike can make a good bit of extra joy (or free drinks) by moonlighting as security at the more popular locations. Despite all of the fun to be had, there is still the undercurrent of unrest, because Company checks have increased even more and Intake has become a revolving door of petty criminals being held for the smallest infractions. Everyone is on edge as the Resistance grumbles and the Nine search the shadows for something or perhaps someone. The unrest only worsens once Leith is placed under quarantine. And through it all, criminal activity is on the rise. Somehow, despite the strict regulation and transport of migrant workers, there is an increased access to Jakk and Bliss. Norn has an ever growing market, and weapons dealers are in high demand both in Eulogy and by private buyers alike. Something is brewing beneath the revelry, and no one wants to be caught unable to defend themselves, it seems. Not that any amount of firepower can defend against disease when P43X shows up on W3D7--but it can certainly make the symptoms worse.

True Leithians: Second Stage

Wounded and pressed to a corner, the beast rears its head and bares a maw of teeth and ruthless pursuit. The True Leithian organization does not take pause to mend wounds left in the wake of last week’s retaliation, no. They do not seek the comfort of safe haven and recovery. Instead they turn their anger and fear inward, sacrificing their own for what they believe to be the greater good. On Week 2, Day 6, three individuals slip into the crowds of Leith, mingling with the revelers and the families celebrating Harvest Week. They share smiles and laughter, they share conversation and drinks, but most importantly, they share infection. Each of the three is responsible for disseminating P43X, a viral bioweapon designed by Zan Nikora on behalf of the military in years past. During its conception, the aim of P43X was simple: to create a weapon which could demoralize and destabilize an entire population within a matter of days. To create madness that builds in the blood and eats into the brain, spreading through every tier of society. And though its use has long been out of commission, its engineer has lingered. Zan Nikora, kidnapped and held under threat of death not to himself but to those he holds dearest, is made to choose between the lives of his family on Westerley or the strangers on Leith. His choice is obvious, though far from easy. Reassembling the buried curse takes time, supplies, and testing. He is provided amply with the last two but scarcely with the first. But still he complies. When his madness maker is complete and his existence becomes a potential loose end, it’s not freedom that Zan Nikora tastes, but the poison of his own medicine. Only once the voices in his head have risen above whispers and turned to screams, when his mind can no longer hold secrets worth sharing, does he see his family again. It takes six days*. Six days and Zan Nikora stumbles through Old Town, eyes unseeing, mind riddled with disease—infection spreading. Mod Note: *W3D6. Cure and vaccines will be developed and disseminated beginning on W4D3, but will not be fully administered to all locations until W4D5.

Leith: Pocket Posies

Harvest Week in Leith marks a period of joy and relief. Bazaars are open longer, the ordinary bustle of the business day replaced with celebration and festivities throughout the evening hours. Vendors offer games for adults and children alike, the sky is a constant wash of soft pinks, purples, and greens from holographic firework shows, and music fills the air from different stages. All walks of life are welcome to join in the merriment, just so long as they have the right to be there. Anyone suspected of an invalid visa or citizenship papers are dealt with harshly, but quietly. Tucked away into the darkness of a holding cell like all of Leith’s more problematic elements. It is a time of peace and relief, this week, and they will not abide disruption. But within the hallowed days of celebration, a sickness grows, incubating. Spreading. First, it begins with an ache deep within the muscles. The body tires too quickly, the flesh burns with a blanket of rising fever. Whispers skirt at the edge of hearing, unintelligible but audible, filling the audio cortex with illusions and lies. Food loses its appeal, though the body yearns dearly for energy it cannot hold, and breathing becomes tighter, harder. Next the tide of high fevers, of lethargy. The brain devolves into paranoia and mania, the mind races with delusions and hallucinations. Pain follows, a pain that seems to emanate from every nerve without relief or pause, seeping through the muscles and aching within the very bones of a person. Some may wish for death, and for many, that wish will be granted in an unending sleep when the fatigue pulls darkness across the mind, plunges the last thoughts of a person into static slumber. But not all will succumb so readily, and therein is the weakness that ultimately shelved P43X during its initial creation. Its impacts are not uniform—while much of the population suffers dearly, most are sustained with timely medical interventions, and many others recover with the prowess of their own immune system. For Leith, bountiful in money and supplies, most of P43X’s more fatal properties are circumvented or delayed. But even in this lush world of affluence and peace, there are the poor, the underprivileged, and the weak. They are not afforded the same haste of care, the same salvation. Instead, they’re given graves of sanitizing fires, and their bodies turn to ash.

Resistance: Sleeping Dogs

The chaos of the festivities that go along with Harvest Week provides the perfect cover for the Resistance to begin moving once again. New cells need to be formed in the wake of so many executions and new members need to be recruited. Info brokers with Resistance-leaning sympathies have an opportunity to make a little extra joy by putting the disconnected sympathizers in contact with one another, aiding the vetting of Company insiders that need new handlers within the organization. For Resistance members already embedded within, they need to work now to find new locations to store what supplies remain and to begin rebuilding the stockpiles of weapons and supplies re-confiscated by the Company. Some may have heard of abandoned mines or facilities that can be retrofitted out in the Badlands while others are needed to track down rumors of Company made fallout shelters located within the under-city tunnels. For this, Company moles are essential - the only hope of accessing these shelters is with long forgotten Company passcodes. And the Scarbacks, well. Everyone’s heard rumors that there are many within their ranks willing to help with recruitment and contraband transportation, though there’s little the Company can do to restrict their movements at this time. Because of this, Scarbacks may also be the only ones that have a chance of getting into Leith once the quarantines go into effect. Those already aligned with the rebellion will be tasked with coordinating supply movements, making a deal or three with the devil on behalf of those unwilling to back down from the promises of the Accords. Caution and purpose should drive their movements because if the True Leithian attack is any indication… those nationalists are not going to let go of their precious land and status without a long, bloody fight.

The RAC: Holding Pattern

Warrants still flow in with a regular consistency - enough to keep the average team or agent quite busy. Every harvest season there are visa jumpers that need to be caught and low-level warrants claiming petty theft from farms by Westie migrants. The increasing number of disturbances and crimes in Old Town guarantee a plethora of local warrants to capture criminals across the moon or those that managed to escape an Enforcer’s arrest. Some, however, have either been requested by Seyah Kendry herself or volentold by their seniors within the RAC to conduct investigations into the attack on the Nine. And not all of these investigations are on the Lady’s behest. Some of the Nine aren’t quite willing to take Land Kendry’s word as law and have quietly requested their own investigations into the attack in Old Town and the Land Derrish misfortunes. (MOD NOTE: There will be a comment thread for teams to sign up for the specialized plot related warrants on the monthly warrant post, located HERE. Once teams have posted for a plot warrant, the mods will give them a location and focused assignment.)

Comments

[tousei]

[ So she does. To cling on to hope even in these desperate times - she's stronger than him, by that aspect. Especially since she knows that they will one day be enemies and he does not. And yet...

Does he tell? it's hard to voice what he truly feels in most occasions. Keeping things to himself would both preserve his reputation of competency and lessen the worries on others. It's only his problem, after all, and he should solve it himself. ]

I see...

[ His voice is quiet, thoughtful yet hollow. He falls silent afterward, still thinking. ]

[oneirism]

[Lapis has always been the hopeful sort - that life gets better, even if it's painful now. It's something that's helped her keep going, over the past few years.

Her eyes then turn back to him when he speaks, tilting her head as she notes how hollow his voice is. Watching him quietly for a moment, before she speaks up softly.]

If you want to talk about it, I don't mind listening. [Since there's clearly something weighing on his mind.]

[tousei]

[ Hope is fragile in a cruel world.

He thinks still, eyes focused on a spot three inches to her left and far away. If she was anyone else, he might have refused on account of it being only his burden - but he knows that if he keeps silent, she will pursue him eventually until he tells. And with how situations are unfolding all around, the time that they have together will only dwindle.

So it is only after another half-minute that he finally speaks - hesitant, unsure. ]

The... person who raised me did not believe in justice.

[ He can't call her his mother. Not anymore, even if she raised him, because she told him mostly lies. This world is twisted and unworthy. You must cleanse it... my precious son. Burn everything to ash. He had turned away from that when she died. Yet her shadow still follows at every step. ]

How do you find the strength to still hope?

[oneirism]

[Once Lapis speaks, she is quiet again - waiting for his answer, not pushing just yet. There's clearly something wrong, and he's right that she would pursue him until she found out.

So when he does speak, she listens intently - brows furrowing at first, that does explain somethings, if the person who raised him was like that.

But this isn't time to extend judgement over someone she's only just heard of, and instead quietly humming in response, before glancing down to where her hands are clasped in her lap.]

I'm just... stubborn, I think. I'll always believe things will get better. And I've seen proof of that too, which only makes me believe it even more.

[Her eyes focus on him once more, smiling softly for a moment.]

Like that time we met on the ship. It was a bad situation, but it also meant I met you. It's things like that, that give me hope.

HE ANGSTING

[tousei]

[ She says she's stubborn. That in itself implied a sort of belief to begin with. He had willpower, but not much to devote it for. A tool with no direction, much like how he is now. He had found a new superior after his mother's death, but it might not even be a better state. ]

I see.

[ He doesn't return her smile. If anything, he looks unsure. ]

You are still very strange. I don't quite understand why you would stay with me.

[ The reason is simple, but perhaps not to her. Much of his self-loathing had been kept under wraps and perhaps she has no idea; but he's told her bits and pieces. How he's been working for the Company since fifteen, how he never talks about his family (implying they're dead, which is true). ]

You'll be returning to Westerly, won't you? We might not see each other again for some time.

THERE'S ANGST ALL OVER THE PLACE

[oneirism]

[Because she still doesn't want to admit why she's stubborn. Because guilt would eat her alive, that her purpose is nothing - she needs to believe, because she won't be able to handle it otherwise. But maybe she should tell me. It seems like he really needs to know how.]

I could say the same about you. It would've been simple to block my contact and leave things at that. But I like you too much to stop seeing you.

[Lapis does have a hunch. And while Lapis herself has no self-loathing, per say, if only because she sees herself as something of little value. It's why she throws herself into making people happy, because she feels like there's nothing else for her. She was born to help improve humanity, and so she will do so.]

I know. But I still enjoyed our time together, I just hope we can have some more in the future. Even if it's not as often.

[There's a pause, her eyes glancing down at the ground as she presses her lips together. it's the most she's bared herself to anyone ever, but... Maybe this can help. Maybe it will take that weight off his mind.]

But... It wasn't easy at first, holding onto hope. But I found it in helping people, talking to you, seeing a crowd cheer, and so it made me believe. I'm only stubborn because I would break down otherwise.

CRIES

[tousei]

[ It's definitely something she should teach him, then. He, a weapon meant to destroy not only the enemies of the Company but also the entire Quad itself until his body broke or shut down - a fate that was only kept in check by chemicals that left him dangling on a knife-edge of restraint. Perhaps it's a testament to his strength that he's come this far, but even so he can only last so long. ]

Meeting people and helping them... that's a privilege I may no longer have.

[ When they met, he was there only to arrest. In all these years, he's only killed or maimed. Any justice that was served was done out of his sight, out of his interference. ]

I don't know what I will be forced to do. I... I don't want to have to hurt you.

[ He looks as if he's about to say more, his words halting - but then he seizes up completely and hunches into himself, his frame tense with pain. Lapis would also be able to perceive the sudden warning spike coming from his monitoring device - not the simple alarm signal that she had once saw, but something that edged straight into red alert. And then it's gone a second later, the parameter it was monitoring seemingly going back to normal. Julius hasn't moved, however - his expression frozen, as if he was seeing something she couldn't.

Which is, in some ways, true.

"My sweet Julius... truly, it seems you are standing before the Grim Reaper himself."

"I will not give in to death.... not until every last Àr҉a͏g͘a͜mi is purged from this world... How is it going, Rachel? Are we almost finished?"

"Indeed... the G̛ơd ͜Ar̨c ̛S͡o̢l̴d̀iers̸ have absorbed most of your knowledge and experience. They have been molded through your blood and commanded by your will... Soon they will surpass the capabilities of any God͢ ͞E͏atér҉. Your friends will not have to step foot on the battlefield again..."

The memory is over as suddenly as it began, and he's left in the same posture as before - now many degrees more unsure than before. ]

CRIES WITH

[oneirism]

[Lapis can only really imagine what he's been through, to make him think like this. His words enough to get her frown to deepen, and she shakes her head firmly - starting to fail in keeping herself as calm and neutral as she always is.]

Something like that is never a privilege, it's something we all can do! Nobody can take that away or say otherwise.

[Because he met her. He protected her. He could've used her as bait, or tossed her aside, but instead he helped her.

But what he says next causes her expression to become distressed for a moment, not knowing what to say now. She knows he'll listen to his superiors, she knows he won't question them. How can she convince him that he's more than some tool for him, when it's something he's known most of his life?

But then she freezes, that warning spike causing her eyes to widen and for her to shift closer.]

Julius? [That spike goes back to normal, but he's still frozen. Still focused on something that isn't there - it's only after a moment has passed does she reach to place her hand gently on his arm.]

Are you alright? What happened?

she should bring up his alarm now KDLGHSLKH

[tousei]

[ In those moments he's no longer on a moon in a system far away; he's seated at some sort of control room with a sphere formed out of panels drawn up in front of him. Symbols that have lost their meaning scroll past in a wide array, all foreign and with little rhyme nor reason. What he does recognize, however, is the burning in his veins, the disease as it eats away at his body even as his mind willed himself to hold fast.

"I will not give in to death... Not until every last monster has been purged from this world."

He hears his own voice, resolution filled with desperation as his blood roars in his ears and the living dream turns black and the afternoon light of Leith filters back into his awareness. For a while he's still stunned, but then everything comes back into stark focus abruptly and he has to force himself not to jump. ]

... Lapis? Why....

[ ... is she here? He blinks, one grey eye now ringed with gold, his expression shifting from pain to confusion. She's looking at him with a great deal of concern as if he had just did something inexplicable in front of her, yet he doesn't recall her being in that dark room of green and gold. Her question is then something he can't answer. ]

I don't understand... much of it myself. What did I do?

[ Now he remembers. She had asked to see him and they were having a conversation. What he just saw wasn't his memory, and yet it felt so very real. ]

SHE WILL lapis is in hardcore worrying mode now

[oneirism]

[She keeps her hand on his arm, waiting for him to respond - her worry only spiking more and more as the silence drags on. But then he speaks, but he sounds so... confused. And seeing his eye ringed in gold causes her brows to furrow even more.

His question only confuses her even more, and she tilts her head in concern. What just happened here?]

You... [Her words trail off, debating if she should tell him what she sensed. But they're already opening up to each other now, and she trusts him not to tell anyone. So she takes a deep breath, her eyes trailing down to the device on his arm.]

Your alarm went off, almost into a red alert. It went back to normal, but then you just... blanked out, as if you were somewhere else. And your eye is ringed with gold now too.

GOOD slap him until he behaves

[tousei]

[ It confirms the suspicion growing in his now-lucid mind, but not by much. ]

How did you... no. Don't answer that. [ His armlet is supposed to be confidential technology, so it means they probably shouldn't talk about it. Furrowing his brows, he flips open the cover and eyes the display inside. Everything read as normal. If it had truly gone up to red alert, he would probably be dead by now.

Yet, he trusts what she said, and the tingling in his nerves say that it has indeed happened. He closes the cover, looks down at the table between them, and sighs. It feels like she's told him something important to her, so he ought to at least give some information in return.

Plus, if what he suspects is true, then he might not have much time. ]

I.... think I can explain. But not here, it's too open.

[ She's obviously going to press him so it's wise to surrender before the shove even begins. ]

SHE WILL or at least nag at him till he does

[oneirism]

[It's a relief he doesn't ask just yet, instead simply watching as he flips open the cover to examine it - concern still lingering as she forces herself to stay put.

There's some worry, about what he'll say next - but she soon relaxes at his response. Not hesitating to nod as she stands up, glancing around to motion him to follow her.]

My hotel isn't far. We can go there.

[She'll wait to see if he can stand first, offering support of he needs it, before leading the way. At least she was right, her hotel really isn't too far from here and she's quick to lead him to her room.

The room is barely touched and scarce, with a simply suitcase in the corner - Lapis clearly has spent little time here. But she motions him to sit in one of the chairs in the room, going to sit in the one next to him.]

good good

[tousei]

[ Julius is steady enough to walk, though it's in part due to his willpower letting him push on. The curse's echo lingers in his blood still - while it's not too painful to hide, it's still a metaphorical thorn in his side.

He doesn't speak until she's shut the door and both of them have sat down. Then, he sighs. ]

I haven't the slightest idea how you managed to tell. [ He gives a slight wave with his right hand - the one his armlet is welded to. ] You'll have to tell me if you can read anything else off me. I don't want you to be implicated in anything that might have to do with me.

[ He doesn't ask how she did it since he respects her privacy, but. If he has to be hauled in for inspection again to figure out why the poison spiked, he doesn't want her to be involved. It could turn nasty, given his nature. ]

I am cursed. [ In more ways than one. ] In that moment, you bore witness to a part of it.

[oneirism]

[Once they sit, her eyes are on him once more - tilting her head at his words, keeping her expression impassive now as she shakes her head. There's a whirlwind of emotions inside her right now, so all she can really do is try to stay calm under the brunt of it all.]

I can't sense anything else, don't worry. Only that there's some kind of monitor.

[Though she doesn't look too impressed when he says he doesn't want her implicated, but she stays quiet for now. Instead just waiting for his explanation.

Only to then blink. She's certainly heard that before, but what other ways does he mean? There's some faint annoyance at the lack of a straight answer, so she can't really stop herself before speaking.]

Just be blunt about it, Julius. [Okay, no, let's try again with tact.] Is it to do with the device on your arm?

[tousei]

[ Good, she can't sense the second one. That one is highly classified information, even though she should have already seen it in action once or twice - the way his sword and his ship obeys him without any visible gesture.

There's a flash of surprise when she rebukes him, and for a moment the pain slips through his control and shows on his face. Still, he manages to get his emotion under control, and he ends off with a nod. ]

It does. I will try to be blunt... I cannot tell you everything, it will endanger your safety. [ Another long pause, as he thinks of how to phrase it. ] I will not be human much longer.

[ That's still too dramatic. ]

Seven years ago, I was taken in by the Company. The person in charge of me... raised me. [ He reverts back to his old way of speaking - formal, a way to hide his feelings. ] I was destined to surpass the capability of the human flesh. Yet in doing so - I would lose my reason.

[ He looks down now, at his right hand - which he slowly clenches into a fist. ]

The Company supplies medication to keep me stable and sedated. If my metamorphosis ever reaches completion... then it will be the end.

[ "Burn everything, my dear Julius... destroy this filthy world."

Who would he be to protect others from monsters if he was one himself? ]

[oneirism]

[That flash of pain causes her own expression to turn apologetic for a moment - pushing away her own feelings as she focuses on him once more. But the part where he mentions her safety gets a shake of her head - why are people so hung up on that?]

Don't worry about me. [But what he says next causes her to freeze, her brows furrowing. She stays quiet for now, her eyes widening the more she listens - her lips pressing together in a thin line as she glances down at his device. It all makes sense now.

... There's a pain in her head now, and she lifts a hand to rub at her brow for a moment. Not human, why does that - ]

That's horrible. There's really nothing that can be done to help you, besides that medication?

[Because that's all she cares about. Helping him, rather than the threat of what he could become. But those words still stick out, still cling to her. Not human - it sounds so familiar...

The headache becomes worse, her eyes screwing shut as she places a hand to her head. She can hear people screaming and yelling, a dull roaring noise, and she feels discontented. Like she's floating away, because there's something else in her body now, something that's shoved her out, something not alive -

Her head and the scar on her abdomen hurt so much now, she can feel herself double over, as if the wound has opened itself up again. The pain is almost unbearable, but it soon fades - her eyes fluttering opening with a wince, coughing softly before sitting upright again. She doesn't notice how her hands are clenching so hard into her skirt that the fabric is almost tearing.]

Sorry... Just suddenly got a headache. [That scene felt so... real, though. As if it did really happen - she can still feel her scar aching.]

[tousei]

[ She says to not worry about her and it only serves to reinforce his own worry. When she asks him a question, his mind goes to answering it - but then it's her turn to double over in what seems to be pain, and he almost recoils from the sight.

"What have I done?"

All those who are close to him will become cursed, the poison seared into every cell, every facet of his being - ]

Are you alright? I - I'm sorry.

[ He's torn between moving closer to her and distancing himself in case he was the agent that sparked her pain. ]

I could get you some water...

[ It's a way for him to remove himself from her presence, too. ]

[oneirism]

[Even though the haze of pain, she notices his reaction. It's why she doesn't hesitate to reach over and grasp his arm gently - shaking her head as the pain eases.]

Why are you apologizing, you didn't do anything. [She keeps her hand on her arm even as she sits up straight, gold eyes still watching him carefully, yet there's a warm and reassuring hint to her gaze as well.]

I just... had some kind of weird vision, that's all. Maybe I did catch a bit of that illness spreading around, but I'm fine now.

[tousei]

[ He looks as if he's about to protest, but then she takes his arm and he has to pause. She's right, he's probably jumping to conclusions. ]

... I don't want to hurt you.

[ It's all he says after a long period of uneasy silence. A sentence that he's said before with equal amounts of anguish. ]

The medicine does not reverse the transformation, it only stalls the process. Even then it is not perfect. Every day the poison in my blood burns a little stronger. [ And the day of reckoning draws ever closer. ] I am cursed to bring ruin. The Company only lets me live until they can find a way for me to die.

[ Without losing his sanity, he means. Towards the end of his sentence his voice becomes uncharacteristically bitter, though his emotional restraint dampens it greatly as if he was speaking about something that happened to another person. ]

[oneirism]

[That sentence gets her to blink, the anguish causing her heart to sink for a moment - quiet for a few moments, before she simply smiles gently.]

You won't. I know you won't.

[Her voice is firm and sure, convinced that he would never hurt. She trusts him.

And she soon goes quiet once more, her brows furrowing more as she keeps listening. That bitterness in his voice cause her frown to deepen, biting on her lip for a moment as she thinks - the growing disgust she has towards the Company only strengthening even more.]

The one who... raised you, they didn't make any sort of antidote or a way to reserve it? A fail-safe?

[Already her mind is whirling around ways to help him - there has to be something.]

[tousei]

[ How can she be so sure when his purpose was to lose his reason? She can protect herself, but will she be able to protect herself from him once he loses it? Even he does not know what he will become. No one alive does. ]

She... she did not need one. Not for the role she intended me to play.

[ Implying that his transformation was intended to be irreversible. A monster that would destroy anything that came in its path. To become the very thing he had loathed... such divine irony, truly. ]

This is why I said. Do not come too close to me. I am destined only to destroy.

[ His voice settles now, bitterness settled into acceptance, adamantly refusing to meet her eyes. ]

[oneirism]

[Because no matter what, she trusts him. That's all there is to it.

Though his answer isn't much of a surprise, but it's still gets her to sigh - desperately trying to think of what they could do. Every poison has an antidote, even if one might not exist yet.

And his words gets her to frown now, standing from her chair and moving in front of him, leaning in close so he has no choice but to look at her.]

I don't care about destiny. Mine was to be the next step of advancing human intelligence, and yet I was the biggest failure my family ever had. [Her scar throbs as she thinks about that explosion at the lab, yet that memory doesn't seem... right. Not after the vision she saw earlier.

But she pushes that aside. Right now all her attention is on Julius.]

So there has to be something we can do. I don't want to believe that there isn't anything we can do. So I'm not going to leave you alone or anything like that, no way.

[tousei]

[ How can you trust someone who doesn't even trust themselves?

His expression changes to one of shock when she forces herself into his field of vision - a stark contrast from the usual stoic calm that he had worn for so many years, the moment letting his emotions show for the first time in many months. Disbelief, then pain, yet unmoving as if he had been pinned to his seat by the force of her gaze.

Her life sounds more cruel than his. It is more painful to be rejected by a family than never having one in the first place. ]

... I'm sorry.

[ Julius sounds frail, yet less unsure than before. ]

You would put yourself in danger for something that exists only as a possibility?

[ It's a honest question. He doesn't understand, but he won't shoot down her without explanation. ]

[oneirism]

[Because even if he doesn't believe in himself, she still believes in him. He's not cursed, he's her friend.

Seeing how his expression changes like that is surprising, but she keeps her own calm - not wanting to give him a chance to try to pull away. The apology gets her eyes to then widen for a moment, before she relaxes once more. Simply shaking her head - there's nothing to apologize for.

That question gets her to blink once more, before she smiles softly once more - her own voice firm and certain.]

Because it's a possibility to help you. That's worth any danger.

[tousei]

[ He can't trust himself, not when it comes to this. But he can trust her. ]

... thank you. Truly. [ There's a slight shift in his eyes, and some of that uncertainty goes away. Not completely, but he'll make an effort. ] Sometimes, I still feel I do not deserve your kindness. However, I will work hard until that changes.

[ It's in part to pacify her, because his own feelings are still complicated and he doesn't want to talk about them. But maybe, this will do for now. ]

I want... to prove her wrong. I have killed too many to deserve justice, but others still have a chance.