► 007.

[culver]

[the only thing that appears on anyone's screen is the text. this is serious business, and nill thinks that if people see her, they won't take her seriously. it's the big blue eyes and angel wings, man. but she's thought about this for a while, and knows that heine is better with guns than other weapons. but after what happened in the genetics lab... well, maybe she won't always have a gun on her, and she isn't that great of a shot anyway. so this is something she wants, which is a lot coming from nill.]

I want someone to teach me to use a knife.

Comments

text;

[tg]

[ whoa ]

how big a knife are we talking

permatext.

[culver]

[except she flips on the video for a moment so he can see the knife sitting on her lap. ad then the video is gone.]

Not big.

[abrahamic]

you mean a cooking knife, right?

[culver]

No. I know how to use a cooking knife.

text ||

[licks]

do you have a knife you want to learn with?

text.

[culver]

Yes.

[video]

[wolfdreamer]

Are you in some danger?

[But in case she takes that for a refusal, he adds:] We could teach you. Robb, or Jon--but we would protect you too, if you needed protecting.

permatext.

[culver]

[oh bran :( no, no that isn't it at all. well, not right now.]

No. I am safe.
I know you would. But I would like to learn.

[video]

[blightphoenix]

[Maya feels inclined to respond, if only due to the fact that the girl on the feed appears quite young to ask such a question. Sure, it wouldn't be unreasonable to think a child might be interested in wielding a weapon ... after all, Maya had trained in combat since she was little, but ...

She finds this situation a little odd. Also, the wings on this girl are intriguing.]

How come?

permatext.

[culver]

[she is like almost 15!! that's hardly a child. at least, she's gone through a lot of things most adults haven't.]

I want to be able to be safe when I am alone.

text;

[redhotsummers]

I think it's smart that you learn.

permatext.

[culver]

People sound surprised about it.

voice.

[nubilate]

... Hey, we met before, right? [ you have a pretty recognisable lap little lady! not that he's... voyeuring up her conversations or anything weird like that. ]

You've never learnt a weapon before?... You have pretty good reason even if it's just as a hobby, considering some of the stuff going around.

I'd like to be of some use, but I'm no good at that either. Hahah, can't even cut cheese straight. But I really hope you can find the help you need!

permatext.

[culver]

[oh of course not heh]

Yes. I am Nill. Hello David.
Can you cook at all?

text;

[idkmybffjessie]

Against people?

permatext.

[culver]

Against the monsters on the ship.

[which could very well come to mean people]

voice; private

[heltersskelter]

Did someone hurt you?

[his voice is soft and low, because Tate knows what monsters are and they aren't always those things in the ship]

text; private

[culver]

[oh that is a tone she knows well]

Nobody hurt me.

[if she were able to speak there would be a heavily implied "yet"]

[wolfinthesnow]

I can teach you, Lady.

But why? Has someone threatened you?

[culver]

I am not a lady. I am Nill.
Nobody has threatened me. I just want to learn. Is it really that strange?

permavoice

[slipperysoul]

Do you already have one?

[ Because the fact that whoever this is, is asking in the first place, is a big deal. ]

permatext.

[culver]

[she's so confused as to why this is such a big deal sob]

Yes.

[northerner]

What do you wish to know of knives, Nill?

[culver]

How to use one. But not for cooking I already know that.

text.

[predictable]

Assuming you haven't already had your wish fulfilled - for what purpose?

permatext.

[culver]

So I know.

text.

[purrfectlycute]

:33 < use it how?
:33 < if you mean fur fighting i can help a bit!
:33 < since i primarily use metal claws itll be diffurent than HOLDING a knife, but theres a lot of the same principles as fur as posture and fitness go
:33 < though if you mean fur general purrposes like skinning meals i can help with that too!

:33 < if i may ask... why the interest?
:33 < no judgement beclaws obviously knives are pretty pawsome
:33 < its just not evfuryones furst choice in weaponry

permatext.

[culver]

I can already use one for cooking so yes I want to use it for fighting.
I do not really know what else I could use. Heine has a gun but it is his.

video;

[willpunchfaces]

...you sure about that, sparrow?

permatext.

[culver]

Yes. Why would I not be?

text;

[swagneto]

why a knife?

[ As opposed to the multiple other weapons out there. ]

permatext.

[culver]

Why not?

[nailed the comeback]

action?!

[chaineddog]

[He's still not sure how he feels about this but for a different array of reasons. It's not that he doesn't approve of her learning; he wouldn't have taught her how to shoot a gun otherwise. It was other things.

He hasn't forgotten that nightmarish trip with the hallways and the manticores or how he had all but shoved a gun into her hands before running off just before the last bit of his sanity had run out. Heine regretted leaving her almost immediately and the guilt that gnawed at his stomach had never left him even after he had found her to see that she was okay but obviously still shaken. He couldn't deal with it even though he knew there were no hard feelings between the two of them so he had done what he usually did when dealing with guilt and situations he could not handle: he avoided them. He picked up extra shifts with SEC, spent more time out of the room but still keeping an eye on her from afar.

This is one of the rare days when he's in their room. He's seated on his bed, cleaning his guns when the text appears and he casts a glance cautiously over at her. He knows that she's been mulling something over for the last little while but he hadn't know it was this. Is he hurt that she didn't come to him to teach him? Maybe a little. But that could just be his wounded ego. The text only reminds him though that she'll always have people to look after her even if he's not there. People that won't be a danger to her. People that won't abandon her when she needs them. That probably stings more than the guilt.

So instead of saying anything he simply sits there, cleaning his guns, doing what he can to pretend that things are okay.]

action!

[culver]

[She knows he's mad at himself--no, he's not just mad. It isn't hard for her to see that he's guilty, so incredibly guilty. Nill is an empathetic person, especially when it comes to Heine. She'd known that not asking him to help her would hurt him--but he had been so absent lately. If he'd made the decision to avoid her, trying to bring him back before he was ready wouldn't help.

Just after she posts to the network, she glances over to him. Don't think she doesn't see him watching her, even if he tries not to act like he is.

She wants him to know that she doesn't blame him for leaving when they were lost in the halls. It was understandable. He might've killed her if he hadn't left. But how can she tell him that without making him feel worse about himself? The situation is incredibly delicate, which is so strange, when thinking of Heine. He's so strong physically--a fragility of any sort is hard to comprehend when thinking of him.

Nill sets her communicator down on the desk and moves over to him. She doesn't want to disturb his cleaning process, so she stands in front of him instead, hands clasped behind her back. And she waits.]