unknownseas | WEEK 1

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week 1

WEEK 1

Well, you've now met the brains of the operation, as well as the shockingly nice-looking young lady in charge of day-to-day business. Now all that's left is to get used to your accommodations - there's 24 other people in similar shoes to yours to meet in this building, you know! And who knows how much longer you might have them...

The daily routine in the facility quickly becomes obvious - the only way to tell time moment to moment is to check the strange device The Professor gave you, but at the same time every day the lights in and out of the facility go up, and at the same time every night they go down. Otherwise, it's almost maddening sometimes, how little happens in here. At least you have a few rooms with enough to hopefully keep you occupied. Who knows what secrets they might hold? And there's always that vending machine, if you can find something that fits in the coin slot...

MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY
FRIDAY | SATURDAY

[ ooc: Welcome to Peace Week! Enjoy it while it lasts. Remember, office hours for The Professor's Assistant are over here if you're interested, while regains can be deposited over here! ]

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I was surprised, too... I've never seen a vending machine quite like this.

[ God. She had no idea what to expect when she put those coins in. This, though, was not it. Like, any of it. What the fuck.

Either way, she looks pretty relieved when Lif offers to help. She's also kind of unsure, but... ]

Are you sure? I wouldn't mind help taking it back to my room.

It's no trouble. I'm used to carrying far more than any of this.

[...Both mentally and physically, but that's beside the point!]

Simply take what you wish to carry, and I can take care of the rest.

[It'll be easier that way, he thinks.]

[ his muscles are so big because they're full of baggage ]

Okay. Thank you--I really appreciate it.

[ She nods and goes to gather up about half of the items, then pauses. ]

Oh-- were you going to use the machine, though? I don't want to distract you.

[Ah...]

It can wait. If the items you have are any indication, I may wind up needing both hands to carry them out.

[...Though.]

I...do admit, that I wish to test one of these coins out, however. May I? I'll simply leave whatever it is here and come back for it later.

[It's not like he's gonna get something important, that'd be silly.]

That's true... but I don't mind. I'm a little curious about what you'll get, to be honest.

[ haha yeah surely nothing meaningful will come out of the machine ]

[surely nothing]

I'll only be a moment, then. Excuse me.

[Just let him go put his coin in the machine here, and after a few seconds, huh! That sure is an interesting little thing. It even comes with some sort of cable...]

It looks like the device that we were given... [Hm. He'll turn around, at least, though it's not registering that this could be someone else's.] But I can't make heads or tails of it.

[ Absolutely nothing!

She watches, patient, and then... well. When she sees it, before she can stop herself, she nearly grabs it out of his hand. She at least stops herself before she can, and she takes a deep breath. ]

... It-- it's familiar to me. May I see it?

[Lif honestly doesn't not see that Mira attempts to grab it from him--practically on instinct his gaze goes to her and his posture goes rigid, as if he's prepared for--

Oh.]

Yes, of course. Here.

[Lif will give it over to Mira then, carefully.]

What is it, exactly? It looks like the devices that we've been provided with, but...

I'm sorry, I-- didn't mean to try and grab it, it's...

[ She takes it, though, and turns it on. Sure enough, the number she puts in to unlock it is her own, and her hand tightens on the device when she sees its background. It's... a little while before she can find her voice, and it sounds like she's having a hard time here. ]

I-it's like the ones we were given, yes, but... it's mine. The one I had, before coming here.

[...Oh no, honey. Lif's look betrays the distant sort of air he wants to maintain; he watches Mira, brows openly knitting in concern. There must be something on there, then?]

Mira. [Lif's voice is calm; he hasn't had to employ this sort of tone since, quite literally, a lifetime ago, when Sharena used to get upset, but--] You don't need to apologize, at all. Breathe, please.

[He doesn't go to look at whatever's on there; if Mira had this bad of a reaction to it, then he can't imagine how much worse invading that privacy would be.]

Do you wish to go elsewhere, so that you may have a chance to collect yourself?

[ It's the sort of kindness she's used to from only two people, and that, combined with what she's seeing on the phone--

All she can do is nod. ]

[...Yeah, she isn't registering much right now. Lif nods his head.]

...Let's go somewhere else, Mira. Guide me, if you wish, or I can guide you.

[If Mira can't move for whatever reason, Lif will at least try to guide her along while carrying everything he can; he...doesn't actually know where Mira's room is, but if she doesn't lead him to it, his idea is actually going to be to go to the library. He's hoping to find someplace where Mira can do what she needs to, whether it's breaking down or whatever she needs to do, but...he is here, if needed.

But really, he'll go where ever Mira wishes to, if she has enough in her to guide him elsewhere. No matter where they go, though, Lif stays quiet and simply stays by her side until she can at least get a moment to gather herself.]

[ She absolutely is not!

She at least manages to lead him to her room--later on, she'll be surprised at herself for letting him in, but... right now? What matters is getting somewhere less open. She just barely manages to get the door open before she just... sits on the floor and starts to cry. And for a while, that's all she does--phone in her lap, face buried in her hands.

When she's mostly cried herself out, she looks up at him, and she looks pretty damn guilty. ]

I-I'm sorry, I-- [ --don't usually cry around people, is what she almost says. ] I didn't mean to... sidetrack you.

[...Oh.

Lif isn't exactly sure what he was expecting when they entered Mira's room, but her sitting on the floor and starting to cry in earnest is doing something to him. He was certain that long ago he didn't have a heart, when Hel took it from him, but he feels something in his chest tighten as he stands and watches. Lif can't just hug her, he's probably cold and he has a distance he has to maintain. Needs to maintain, because if he doesn't--

Well, her apology manages to sidetrack his thought process entirely, and Lif blinks down at Mira with open shock.]

What?

[Oh god honey, no, no--Lif winds up going down to sit with her, but...]

No, Mira, apologies aren't necessary. You didn't sidetrack me in the slightest.

[...]

You're not weak, for finding something on there that's upsetting. You haven't done anything wrong.

[That isn't the right thing to say, though, is it? It's been so long, he's really not sure what he can do to help, except tell her that it's okay.]

[ Maybe it isn't the right thing for some people, but... for her, it's something she didn't realize she needed to hear. It's the sort of thing Noah used to tell her, whenever she'd apologize too much, when she'd blame herself for things she'd have no business blaming herself for.

If she were honest with herself--and, rarely, she is--it scares her, a little. This whole place does, and not just because of those stupid rules. The people here are kind, and that, more than anything, frightens her.

But she pushes that thought far, far back into her mind. ]

I just-- [ She looks at her phone, of the background of her and her brother. ] I didn't think... seeing it again would hurt so much.

...Do you feel comfortable with telling me what you saw?

[It's a gentle question. If she doesn't want to, she won't, he's certain of that.]

[ She hesitates, and... well. The thing is, she's bursting to talk about it. Just... maybe not the whole thing. ]

It's... my brother. A picture of him. He-- he passed away, shortly before I came here.

[Oh.

Lif's chest fucking sinks when he hears that, and honestly, it's hard not to flinch when the force of that hits.]

...I'm...incredibly sorry that you had to be reminded of such awful pain.

[He doesn't know what to say--how much to say, because he certainly can instantly sympathize with Mira in that regard.]

...I understand why you reacted the way you did. It's always a painful thing, to recall even good memories with those you've lost. Isn't it?

[ She draws in a breath, sharp and shuddering, and-- there's something about the way he reacts, the way he says that, that makes her think he really, truly understands. She looks at him, wipes at her eyes, and nods. ]

It's-- [ She almost says it's okay, but it's not. Is it? So-- shaky recovery but: ] I-it is.

I thought... I would be okay, if I saw even just a picture of him, but... [ She shakes her head. ] I-I guess I really wasn't, even if it's a happy memory...

I understand. Sometimes, even the happiest of memories get tainted...by the memory of losing that person. It's as if you can't look back upon them without being reminded of...

[...]

...All the things you could have done better, perhaps.

[ ...

Oof. That's-- yeah. She gets that. She's tried to avoid thinking about it, but... it's hard, when she's got the reminder of what she's lost in her hand. And it's probably the shock of seeing it again, but... now she can't stop thinking about it.

And she can't stop thinking about how Aiden must be absolutely distressed, losing his fiance and with his best friend missing without a trace.

It's hard to keep her thoughts straight. So of course, before she can stop herself, she blurts out-- ]

You... lost someone, too? [ Ah, wait. She winces a bit. ] I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry.

[...Lif should have expected that he was opening himself up to that line of questioning. And honestly, he should leave; he's already risked too much information being let out, and too much closeness besides, but...

That's not fair to Mira, is it? So, despite how rigid Lif goes and the fact that his gaze is anywhere but at Mira--]

It's alright, Mira. It's only fair given all I've asked you, all considered, but...yes. I lost my younger sister, years ago.

[And everything--and everyone else too, but Mira doesn't need to know that.]

...She meant the world and more to me. I never truly realized just how much, until she was gone.

[...]

It's...the same for you, I take it.

[ Oh. Well... she wasn't expecting him to open up. Especially about such a heavy subject; had he not wanted to, she would've understood, but...

She doesn't press him anymore than he'll give her. But it still means something to her, that he'd tell her this. They don't know each other well at all, after all, but she thinks she understands him a little more. ]

It-- y-yes. He... he did so much for me. He gave up a lot for me, more than I realized when I was younger. [ A pause. ] ... I'm sorry, Lif. Losing them, it feels like... you've lost a part of yourself.

[He's only really doing that much because it's fair; no more information than she's willing to give about her own brother. It's taking an active effort to not say more, though, but Lif knows he needs to refrain.]

...Your brother sounds like he was a wonderful, caring man. You were lucky to have him in your life.

[...]

It truly does, though. And the hole they leave behind...it's one that you must live with, for the rest of your days. Whether you wish it or not.

Life is deeply unfair.

[It's not meant to be motivational by any means; Lif says all of that in an entirely bitter manner. Maybe he's projecting a little, but...somehow, he can't help but imagine she feels the same.]

... He was the best person I've ever met.

[ She absolutely does. Mira lets out a breath, shoulders slumping a bit. ]

... It is. But I wish it could have been more fair, to him. And-- I'm sure you feel the same. [ She pauses, looking at him now. ] ... If-- you'd ever like... I'd like to hear about your sister.

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