012✖; (video)

[circumitus]

"Recently, you've all been told that there is a traitor.

"So you should probably know what it was I did."

[She pauses, searching for the words while she lets that sink in for a heavy moment. One might note that her tones are different; she doesn't sound like her usual robotic self when she speaks. Quite the opposite, actually. Rey sounds almost like-human. In her own way, you could say that this her one big "fuck you" to Smiley. You think she wouldn't tell everyone? Well, now she is. Full disclosure. So there.]

"I entered the dark corridors shortly after the DUPRR crew had docked the ship. Before long it became apparent that the things infesting the hallways weren't approaching me with any hostility. Because they weren't attacking, I was able to reach the secondary shuttle bay more or less without much incident. During that trek I made an effort to avoid others, not knowing the extent of the compulsion and whether it would also drive me to harm anyone who stood in the way." [Well, it's mostly the truth she speaks. You're welcome, William.]

"All that remained was the DUPRR pilot, Neson. Needing his trust, I tricked him into coming with me by pretending to be a person who was trustworthy. It's something I've become rather good at, actually -- pretending to be someone else, much like how I am right now. Despite the fact that something wanted me to kill this man, I decided to will against it.

"It didn't work as intended.

"Instead, I took him to the White Room. I opened the door. And I led him through.

"He's likely still in there right now, where it's kept him."

[She stops, still dizzied from the jump. The more she speaks, the more hoarse her voice gets. She hasn't been using it that much lately, and it's clear from her shadowed eyes and worn features that she's been neglecting more than just sharing this information.]

"Apparently, doing this has-- 'stopped the clock', whatever that means.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

Comments

[circumitus]

[...Aaand NOW you have her attention. Curious Rey is curious.]

Is that something you learned how to do back home? How does it work?

[muscovy]

No, it's from the world that I was in before coming here. I got it because I killed some hounds.

They are soldiers made of flame, and I can send them places. But they get tired so they have to go home after a while.

[circumitus]

[Huh.]

How long do they last before they-- "go home"?

[muscovy]

Not very long.

[He isn't going to get more specific than that because that would be dangerous if someone who wants him ill learns of it.]

[circumitus]

[Fair enough!]

...Could you demonstrate sometime, perhaps? Would like to see them.

[muscovy]

Why?

[A bit wary, and is there anything that he would get out of that? But then displaying strength is good, too... But what if she tries to steal his fire?]

[circumitus]

Curious.

[That probably isn't good enough, she knows.]

...

Can make fire, too.

[muscovy]

How?

[His hands tighten a bit, clasped together as they are, keeping himself from reaching for one of the tiny soldiers.]

[circumitus]

By manipulating my body heat, am able to cause myself or things within proximity to overheat or burst into flame. Have a better handle of it now than before.

[Which had proven to be rather useful when she was able to cook a basilisk from the inside. Gross as fuck, but useful.]

[muscovy]

You set yourself on fire to set other things on fire?

[That sounds really dangerous and ...well, he likes warm things, but that is definitely overdoing it a bit.]

[circumitus]

[Well when you put it that way...]

Sort of.

Should probably clarify that fire doesn't hurt me.

[muscovy]

So you can be as warm as you want without it being dangerous?

[That sounds really nice. He's the same with the cold but... really it's not great at all, the cold is just lonely (that the heat can be just as lonely because people can't survive it doesn't really occur to him).

...and he pulls a tiny tin soldier figure out of his pocket.] If I order them to them to do it, they will get big and be made of flames.

[circumitus]

More or less.

[The cold doesn't get to her much, either. When you're practically a walking furnace, freezing to death isn't much of an issue... That she's aware of, anyway. Rey's handled subzero temperatures well enough.

[She peers, leaning in to get a better look at the figure.]

Do you do that using magic? [She will never NOT feel weird saying shit like that.]

[muscovy]

That is what they called it.

[He isn't sure if that is what it is - he would think so, but some other people called similar things power or technology. In the end, he assumes, it is about what people want it to be, and that determines what it is when you talk to them, so he just rolls with it.]

[circumitus]

[It's just interesting to her.]

...Never seen anything like magic before coming here. [Despite what she can do. In her case, it's technology that allows her to be able to do the things she does.]

[muscovy]

But you can make fire.

Maybe you just have a different word for it, like technology or power.

[circumitus]

Yes, those would be more apt descriptions. Was created through various cybernetics and genetic breakthroughs during my time.

[muscovy]

[Nodding.

Not that he actually understands all of it, but the most important things stick.]

Could you teach it to someone else?

[circumitus]

Don't think so, no. Even back home, it doesn't seem that they were able to replicate the same ability with any other synthetics. Was an "anomaly".

[Much like her brother, and a few others like her that were sentient.]

[muscovy]

But you could make friends here, yes?

[Usually, people don't like anomalies, but when everyone is away from home, everyone is an anomaly...]

[circumitus]

[She blinks. We're talking about friends now?

[Okay, we're talking about friends now.]

...Yes, um. Suppose so.

[muscovy]

Places like this one are really nice, because it gets easier to make friends. I made some, too. And more family.

[circumitus]

Same, even though it took a while. [Like, years, for her to start making any really close friends.] Pretty sure they're not going to be happy about this post, actually, but--

[She shrugs. It was her choice, even though Firo wanted her to not say anything at all, or go anonymous, which also just isn't her thing.

[At least they care? That's what friends do, right? Yeah.]

[muscovy]

They didn't want people to come and hurt you because you did a silly thing.

[That makes sense. He wouldn't want his friends to get hurt, either.]

[circumitus]

Wouldn't exactly describe it as "silly", but-- suppose that's fair.

[She'd probably not be very happy if it was the other way around. Even now it's still weird to think that people actually give a shit... Almost as weird as the fact that no one has actually come to hurt her. Yet.]