( 001 ❱❱ VIDEO )

[coarse]

[The device clicks on the video recorder to reveal a pale man, tired but fully aware. There's always a sense of restlessness and a weight in his eyes that not even the technology of this ship could rid him of, but his current situation doesn't quite invite a lighthearted mood to begin with, does it.

He's been lost, confused for someone else, drifted away from the crowds and dealt with a headache he couldn't control, all the while trying to place a name on the idea that there was someone he was missing. Several hours later Bass has checked the network and tried to use his abilities to make sense of this situation and find out what happened to that someone -- Bonnie.

The tone is deliberately careful and his sentences slow.]

I need to know why we're here. The prophet couldn't do this. The sulfurs couldn't do this, either. [Way too fucking elaborate for a problem that could've been solved by just shooting him in the head.] So I need to know what you want, and I need to know what you did to my sister.

More importantly, I need to know that she's okay. [A beat. Suddenly he doesn't sound so careful anymore, tension growing in his voice.] Because if she's not, you're going to be in very, very deep shit.

[Silence. Having said that, Bass takes on a new expression, brows knitting only slightly, message carrying a much more personal purpose.]

Bonnie, if you can see this -- just say something. [She should know what he means: Call for me, even if it's just in your thoughts.] I'll find you.

[Click.]

[ ooc: Please fill these permissions for future interactions! GRACIAS. ]

Comments

( comment not here. )

[besiege]

[ BITTERLY STARING AT THIS

MAKING A NOTE TO SELF TO PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE SOMETIME SOON ]

( comment not here. )

[coarse]

[COME AT ME NOT!BROSIS]

( comment not here. )

[besiege]

[ WITH PLEASURE DICKHEAD ]

( comment not here. )

[coarse]

[!!!

MEAN]

( comment not here. )

[besiege]

[ PROBLEM?? ]

( comment not here. )

[coarse]

[PROBLEM WITH MY PROBLEM]

text;

[majestyofthethrone]

What did they do to your sister?

voice;

[coarse]

[He's fallen out of the habit of writing many years ago (if it ever was a habit to begin with) and doesn't have the patience to try it now, so voice it is. The feeds clicks on; he answers after a beat.]

I can't find her. They wouldn't have taken me alone.

permatext;

[majestyofthethrone]

Are you a twin?

[coarse]

What? [The end of an exhale, louder after a beat.] No. She's my younger sister.

[Half-sister.]

I'm supposed to protect her.

[majestyofthethrone]

Why would they take you both?

[coarse]

[Reluctance to answer? Reluctance to answer.]

Because she's more valuable than I am. They wouldn't leave her behind.

audio;

[lawofmotion]

[A guy reaching out for his missing sister - Brendan can't in all good conscience just skip over this message without at least offering his help even if it's refused. People get crazy when it's their family on the line and it's something he can understand, something he isn't questioning.]

There's a lot of disoriented people around right now. I'm sure wherever your sister is, she's okay. Do you need some help looking?

[coarse]

You know your way around here?

[Neither a yes nor a no. He's nowhere near predisposed to trust anyone, but... they can still be useful.]

audio;

[lawofmotion]

No, I just got here myself. [Which he realizes isn't that helpful, but the willingness to put himself out is there. There's nothing more important than family.]

Offer's there if you need it.

audio;

[coarse]

... Thanks. [Still not entirely convinced, even if there's nothing particularly defensive about his tone just yet.] What's your name?

audio;

[lawofmotion]

Brendan. My name's Brendan.

[He's open and honest about that because what's the point pretending like it's some big secret? They all have these numbers tattooed into their arms now. He figures it's because someone somewhere has a list of all these IDs.]

Have you tried asking around to see if anybody's got a roster of who has what ID number?

audio;

[coarse]

... I haven't. [beat.] Someone talked about who's in charge of this place?

COMMENT NOT HERE

[purepazaak]

[Wow. This is awkward. First the kidnapping...

You know what. He's going to go find something to drink now. And maybe something to punch.]

COMMENT NOT HERE

[coarse]

[ i tried so hard and got so far ]

video;

[wont]

[ An elder brother, searching for his sister. Sansa had an elder brother once. But he'd died along with everyone one else and so Alayne Stone had buried Sansa along with them.

Still, something poignant stirs in Alayne's chest and so she answers, her expression pinched with the suggestion of worry. Sympathy for a stranger is unwise, but she cannot quel it (nor does she want to).

Alayne does not recognize the name Bonnie, but: ] Your sister's looks— Does she resemble you? Does she share your coloring?

video;

[coarse]

[Her wording is unusual, easily brushed off after a beat. She's a sight he's come across many times before - young people with something heavy in their eyes, something to hide. Just like Bonnie, just like him.]

... Yeah. [He nods, almost absentmindedly.] Black hair, long. Big blue eyes. Southern accent.

video;

[wont]

[ Alayne nods. There are some who fit that description — she has seen their faces on the devices — but none have given nor answered to the name Bonnie. (Though Alayne knows that a name isn't always a truth.) ]

And is she young, a child still? Or is she older? Older than I?

video;

[coarse]

She's in her twenties. [There's a pause. Bass readjusts his posture and starts to walk to the other end of a corridor, eyes searching something in the distance as he continues.] Probably hiding somewhere - she doesn't do crowds. It's better that way, if there aren't a lot of people around.

[Something changes in his eyes then, a subtle spark of focus that brings him back to the conversation.]

Are you a prisoner?

video;

[wont]

[ It's a sentiment that Alayne can understand — wanting to hide, wanting to be away from other people. When she'd first been delivered to the Eyrie, she never wanted people to look at her. (If they look at me, they'll know.) It's easier for a secret to be seen, around other people. She wonders if this brother and her sister have a secret — but then catches herself because that's silly. (Everyone has secrets. Some are just better at keeping them than others.) ] The name Bonnie is unfamiliar, forgive me. There was a girl, once, who looked just as you described. But it has been a long time since last I saw her. [ Alayne looks apologetic. ] We were not friends, so I cannot say for certain.

[ His question startles her. ]

A— prisoner? No, no.