► 002.

[culver]

[the video coming on is a complete accident. the hallway she's in is cast mostly in gloom, and only slightly more than her outline is visible. nill is clutching the comm in her hand, the camera aimed at her crooked. she's wearing one of her dresses from the most recent jump. her face is just out of the frame, but her wings aren't. they're standing straight out from her back, quivering. and from just that small movement, a feather falls.

and then nill darts from her hiding spot into the lit hall, and her wings are in full view. they look scraggly, a few thin patches visible. the sudden movement makes another feather come out, and then the video darkens again as she finds shelter in the next dark hallway. the feed cuts.]

think i am sick
heine where are you

[ooc; molting molting molting yeah]

Comments

[soothing]

Thank you.

[ To both of them. To Nill, for turning so Betty could see her wings, for allowing Heine to tell the story. To Heine, for being willing to tell it only with permission from the girl sitting in front of her. Betty squeezes Nill's shoulder once before going to examine her wings and feathers. ]

[chaineddog]

[He doesn't register that the thank you is to him. People aren't normally express gratitude to him and it doesn't even cross his mind that Betty would be thanking him for asking Nill's permission first. But with Nill's permission he begins to tell Betty what he can and what little he knows.]

What you have to understand about our world is probably a hell of a lot more fucke- messed up than yours. She wasn't born normally; she's probably a test tube baby. Her wings were a genetic engineering relic that some sick scientists decided to splice onto her. [A scowl.] And when they add something like that, they take something away or change something and it doesn't take a genius to figure out what they took away from her. I don't know why they make creations like her but they do. Probably for their own sick pleasure.

[A shrug then.]

There's plenty of us running around back home. We're not uncommon. [And then a look to Nill as if to ask if he missed something.]

[culver]

[Hearing it all laid out like that... hurt. She didn't have a mother or father, brothers or sisters. Never had the opportunity to grow up like a normal person. Would never be seen as a normal person. All because she'd drawn the short straw, had been put together from bits and pieces of things she had never even seen. All for the stupid wings on her back, which were molting or whatever and making her itch and ache.

And people thought they were pretty, and she didn't have the heart to tell them the truth. Or maybe it was just her lack of a voice that made her keep it all inside.

But having Betty know... wasn't so awful. She just hoped to God that there wouldn't be any pity, any condolences given. No, she liked Betty too much for that. She didn't want to see her frown or cry because of what had happened so long ago that Nill couldn't even remember it. So she doesn't turn to see the woman's reaction, just keeps her eyes on Heine. Everything he'd said was right and true.]

[soothing]

[ She doesn't look at Heine as he tells her the story, keeps her fingers moving through the feathers. As far as she can tell there's nothing physically wrong short of the fact that the feathers are old, wearing out -- molting, like a bird, and that makes sense.

What Heine says makes sense as well, though she wishes it didn't. ]

It doesn't happen often on my world, and not quite like this, but... similar things do happen to people, [ she eventually offers, carefully drawing away a feather from Nill's wings before it falls to the bed. ]

If she hasn't had any problems with this before, it likely isn't any sort of adverse reaction to the genetic splicing, though if it's okay with you, Nill, I'd like to study some tissue samples -- just a feather and maybe some skin cells, just to make sure. If those turn up looking fairly normal, it's likely this is just natural -- molting, the way a bird would to replace feathers or the way a snake sheds its skin as it grows. The queasiness may be psychological -- worry over the molting.

[chaineddog]

[There's a snort that leaves him although his gaze doesn't stray from Nill. He feels bad about putting it the way he had because he knows it sounds harsh but it's the truth and he has to live with it every day of his life. So he understands what she's feeling and the thoughts that are going through her head. He makes a mental note to make it up to her later on.

Still he doesn't quite believe that a world could have genetic happenings quite like their world. After all, he hasn't met anyone quite like him from another world. Hearing that it's just probably something similar to a bird though makes him feel a little better but he bristles at the idea of Nill's DNA floating around and being studied. His eyes flicker to Nill at the question before asking his own.]

Anything we can do about it?

[culver]

[Betty's hands are soft, gentle, but Nill still fidgets beneath her touch. Her wings were sensitive, unused to contact with anything except clothing and water when she washed. Only Heine ever really touched them, and even those times were few and far between. But now they were being examined and prodded and somehow it felt wrong, but she isn't going to tell Betty to stop. Because this needs to be done, because she might be sick and dying and she couldn't do that to Heine.

But hearing that it's normal for birds (birds, creatures she had never seen except in picture books, things that could use their wings to fly and go into the sky, which she had never really seen either), it helps. Maybe she would be okay.

She agrees with Heine; she didn't want her cells being messed with any more than they already have been. But... again, the fear that it might be something more than this molting terrifies her. So she gives a noncommittal shrug. Betty could take what she liked, but Nill didn't want to hear any more about them, didn't want to see them ever again once they were taken.]

[soothing]

If it is just molting, then preening would help -- cleaning the feathers, pulling away the ones that are going to fall out anyway so that new ones can grow in. New feathers growing may hurt a bit, but if you want any painkillers, I can get you some.

[ She knows Nill hadn't liked it in the medbay when she came to see Betty; she doesn't want her to have to go back there for this. ]

Once I've made sure this is just molting, I'll make sure no one else gets their hands on what I took -- and I won't tell anyone. I'll make sure you know if anything else has to be done, okay?

[chaineddog]

[A nod. He doesn't like the idea of plucking any feathers but if she says it'll help...]

We'll let you know.

[He has to remind himself that he called Betty here to help so snapping or barking at her wouldn't help in the least bit. To be honest, he didn't feel good about this either because he can sense the discomfort written all across Nill's back and in her wings. Heine should say something for her sake at the very least since he's the one who asked Betty to come in and look at Nill.]

I want the results after. [A beat.] And the DNA.

[culver]

[She shakes her head. No, she didn't want painkillers, didn't want to not be able to think. Being in a haze like that could be dangerous, could slow her reaction time or influences her decisions. Even with Heine there, she didn't want to be woozy or lose herself. A little pain was nothing compared to being able to think.

Having Heine speak up is a godsend. Yes, that was good. Give the feather and skin back, they could get rid of them on their own. Probably not conventional, but it didn't matter. Creatures like them were so protective of things like their DNA because it was already so messed up. They just didn't want anything else going wrong. She nods to agree. What he'd said was what she wanted.]

[soothing]

Of course.

[ She can understand it completely, especially after what happened with Bruce. Trying to be cured, and his blood had been replicated, and her father wanted to use him and it as a weapon. Awful. ]

I have a cheek swab with me; I'll just need to wipe it against the inside of your mouth, Nill, and that'll be it. I'll let the both of you know once I've looked it all over -- it shouldn't take too long.

[ She stands up off the bed, pulling the swab out from her pocket, pushing so it emerges from the protective casing. ]

[chaineddog]

[It's only a harmless object and the intent behind it is even more innocent - Heine has to remind himself of that. But this doesn't necessarily stop him from being on edge. A part of him wants to ask what she'll do with it, but at the same time he doesn't. It'll only be a stark reminder of what he came from (what they came from) and he can't handle that. He doesn't trust himself to know.

His eyes never leave Nill's face and he tries to reassure her that it'll be okay.]

You carry stuff like that on you all the time?

[culver]

[Her agreement is good. As long as she didn't really mind, as long as they could get everything back and destroy it and maybe keep this from happening to anyone on the ship, things would be okay. Nobody deserved to be what they were.

Obediently, she opens her mouth so Betty can take her swab. She knows it isn't much, that she isn't really going to be missing anything, but it was still a little unnerving. But Betty was kind, and Nill trusted her not to do anything wrong with the samples she took. Her wings are feeling a little better, now that they'd been gone through and preened a little bit.]

[soothing]

No, I don't -- I grabbed it on my way here, just in case. [ She had hoped their story wouldn't be so familiar, but that had just been wishful thinking. Either way, whether it's illness or genetics, a sample would need to be taken. Probably better this than blood.

She's gentle with the swab and slides it back into its casing as soon as she's done, giving Nill another smile. ] There. All done. I should have the results soon -- I'll let the both of you know then.

[chaineddog]

[He merely nods at that. Heine can feel himself waiting for her to leave the room. The entire time she's been there, he's been pressed against the wall doing his best to stay calm and not freak out because what good would that do?]

Fine with me. Just do it as fast you can.

[culver]

[In a strange way, Nill is proud of Heine. He had done so well with Betty in the room. But she could tell that his nerves were fraying, that she should leave. So the blonde reaches for Betty's arm, gives it a gentle squeeze before looking towards the door and then Heine again. She didn't want to be rude, but she'd really rather not have to calm him down from one of his freak outs. She already knew that not many of her friends liked or trusted him, and she didn't want to make it worse by having him frighten (or, God forbid, hurt) Betty.]

[soothing]

I intend to.

[ But it's time to leave, both to do the tests and because of the way Nill is looking at her. She gives the girl another smile, reaching up to tuck some of her hair behind an ear before standing. ]

As I said, I'll let you know.

[ And then she leaves. ]