dialetheism | ❧ ic inbox. (RYSLIG)

[ There is no attempt to stop her when she is lifted, only a faint wince. Distantly, there is agony. Distantly, there is the awareness that this a monster, and even if she wasn't injured that static screen is the face of death. Each word scrapes at unwanted corners: there was no rule broken, Liv was the that helped her send those initial messages, getting the specific strength she needs isn't something that can be done through connections.

But that last one taps on the wall, just once, and something taps back.

The glare aimed at the static loosens, eyes quickly turning a furious red that Niina remembers, and everything goes still. Words flow like calm poetry, apathetic and unmoved. The determination is still there, but it runs undercurrent to something worse. ]

Painful as you killing me, I should expect. How I would have enjoyed being made aware of your status, so I knew the price of staying here was my choices.

I'm not going to kill you! I just--what if you started bleeding all over the place again? You ever think of that?

[She snarls again but there's... something else in it. She does feel that gaze. She recognizes it. She's pressing against a wall.]

Waking up and finding you were just gone--that shit wasn't cool.

[ Eyes close. Focus on the sounds of the breeze and Niina's own words. It's just her worry displacing itself as anger. Thus, the words themselves are warped. She's worried. And with one aggravated sigh, her hand is placed right on Niina's screen. Light shove. Cut it out. ]

I'm not going to bleed anywhere. They're scars now.

[ Dumbass. Niina's free. Instead, that vengeful streak goes right over her shoulder and hits someone else. ]

In any case, I told Liv to pass on my location if you woke up.

[ ...If it weren't for the computer-screen face and the monstrous red eyes, the scene would be almost painfully familiar. They're just watching from the wrong angle, this time, rather then from inside. But only some of it fits, and the comparison is quietly shelved without further comment.

It's enough to get them to finally speak up, though, head propped gently in the palm of their hand from where they're resting on the table. As cute as it is to watch them worry over each other, it does nobody any good if they actually come to blows. Again. ]

Scars can still re-open under duress, Nogi-san. [ The comment is unmistakably childing, but diluted into something mild enough to soothe instead of irritate. Hopefully, anyway. ] Especially if you fuss at the wound and keep it from healing in the first place.

[ The gaze flicks back across to Niina. Ah well, there goes the amnesty they earned. ]

I imagine the same might be true for steel, but I'm not as familiar with that as I'd like. [ ...is that rude to say? Welp, too late now. ] It doesn't hurt either of you to take the time to rest while you can, or to accept help when it's offered by someone still in possession of all of their limbs, rather then going in circles and lashing out in worry.

You don't know if they're completely healed.

[She snarls these words but she does get the idea. She leans back somewhat, being pushed by that hand. Liv, on the other hand, is going to take this moment and leave. She's not going to get into a fight here.]

I don't have any cuts so I'm fine. [She huffs at Lion before letting go of Wakaba.]

...I guess that makes some sense, though.

[ Hah. You don't know, she says.

Of all things, she gets the smallest smile at that, like someone sharing the worst kind of joke. The start of one word, then dropping it immediately to an expression that's purely dead. What's the point. Nothing more is given until Niina finally lets go. ]

I know myself well, Lion. [ Rasped, at first. Breathe in. That last hit hurt worse than expected. Just shake it off, like all the others. Everything else that follows is the usual relaxed tone. ] I appreciate your concern, and my 'accepting help' is the only reason I'm not resting. My apologies if that was not clear.

[ Next time she'll just get it done alone- mm, no, biased thought. Probably miasma. Let that feeling dissolve without any further acknowledgement. So, next thought on the list is- oh. A small jerk upright, like remembering something you forgot, and then Lion gets read for filth. ]

However- Lion. I fear your secondary meaning may have been too subtle. You can be more open here.

[ It takes a surprising amount of self control not to just immediately bite back with do you, Nogi-san? Picking a second fight when one is actively trying to de-escalate the first is a terrible idea, if a sorely tempting one. But it's at least an instinct they're used to suppressing on pain of death.

Anyway. Wakaba gets a Look, just for a moment. ] It's not subtle, it's tactful. There's a difference, Nogi-san.

[ But the hand not supporting their head drums fingers on the table, idly, in consideration. She's not exactly wrong, either. Fine, if she wants to go for their throat, they can swing right back. ]

There's more then just physical cuts, after... well, a month like that. The heart can be wounded too. And it's not wise to let such things fester untreated. [ A pause. God, they sound stupid. ] ...Which is to say: tearing strips off each other to make yourselves feel better won't do anything except make everything worse in the long run.

[ In a place like this, you need to be able to trust the person next to you. They nearly say that- it's on the tip of their tongue- but the sentiment is bitten back. They don't know either of them well enough to preach that much. ]

[She looks away, stepping away from Wakaba. Her screen just tilts slightly towards Lion before shrugging. There's a long pause, what might have been a wince as her shoulders rise as a piece of rainbow collides with Wakaba's arm.]

... I guess that's fair enough.

[She wants to argue, to continue to spit venom but there's something that keeps her. Being a simulacrum with someone she cares about in the area made certain things hard.]

No use in beating a dead donkey. This is all really unprofessional...

[That's horse. She rubs the back of her neck.]

...I'm Niina.

[ See, Niina has every right to take shots after what happened. Unkind, but fair. She'll take them with a smile every time. Lion however.

A swing and a hit, but harder than expected. Way too hard.

Lion gets turned away from entirely, so they miss how the expression fractures. All misery and anger in equal measure, visibly gnawing at one lip to keep whatever the reaction is inside. It's her own fault - too tired and too pained to keep a better handle on herself. Do better. Niina's few syllables is a few scant seconds, but more than enough time to smooth it back down and stare back with the acceptable level of Mild Annoyance. ]

'Subtle' and 'tactful' are the same thing, Ushiromiya-san.

[ And like nothing even happened, Wakaba sits back down where Niina first grabbed her and resumes being face-first in the concrete table. One long, liberated exhale. How jealous she is of the her ten minutes from now when the drugs start kicking in.

Mm. Something about that phrase feels wrong. ]

...Wasn't it beating the air?

[ Poor Niina. If they knew anything practical about how Simulacrum worked, they'd feel bad for accidentally setting off... whatever's going on there, really. But they don't know anything the guide hasn't told them, and more importantly, they don't know her. The victory is claimed with delighted surprise. ]

They're different things entirely, Nogi-san, but you're welcome to be wrong if you like. [ Wow???? ] And the original expression is 'beating a dead horse', I believe.

[ Their nose wrinkles in faint distaste. They're not a fan of gruesome metaphors like that at the best of times, but it feels worse then usual. ]

It's a rather morbid one, honestly. I'm not sure where it came from. Why would you beat a dead horse in the first place, let alone as an example of needlessly belabouring a point?

[ Says someone needlessly belabouring a point, with zero irony whatsoever. ]

[It's a weakness she'd rather not have known. Better to look like she's taking a fall or giving up. That said, something was very obvious. Wakaba might not have been looking at Lion but that meant she had a view of her expression. There it is. The wall.

That's no good.

Ignoring the way the wind blows against her shoulders, against her back, she sits next to Wakaba. Pointedly, she doesn't between her and Lion. She won't hide her but... Niina puts a hand on her friend's hand.

Aneki is here and it's better to ruin her pride.]

Why would I know? [She murmurs.] A donkey or a horse, it doesn't really matter. It's a stupid as hell thing to do. Why push something that's already dead?

[ Honestly? Getting pedantic over definitions is the dumbest thing to get upset about, let alone take pot shots over. Okay. Well. Positives. The conversation at least confirmed she needs to extend her meditations in the morning. Both eyes close, letting pain and thoughts drift past in equal neutrality; leaves floating downstream.

Lion continues to beat the dead donkey, punctuated by clanking steps - advancing, not leaving. Servos grinding against each other as a presence settles at her left. She's staying? Odd. Probably just concerned. The injuries are still horrible to those unused to them, so it makes sense. And - thoughts still at that last sensation. Definitely concerned. But about something different. A secret for Niina alone; a finger knocks against the palm of her hand in two precise beats. It's okay.

There's no attempt to sit up again, but when the hypothetical question ends is when the head lifts. Still looks like a corpse, but the smile is excited in all the worst ways. ]

To idle one's Life away.

[ The four syllables of the idiom are still said with the same poetic rhythm, but rather than the slight lift of emphasis being placed on the second word - sei, life - it's placed on the fourth. Shi, death. Effectively, it is a horrible suicide pun that roughs out to "Why push something that's already dead?" "To push yourself to death" and it's using extremely archaic phrases as the medium.

It's okay. The narrative hates explaining it as much as you just hated reading it. Suffer. ]

Edited 2022-11-02 10:47 (UTC)

[ The narration was going to make a delightful point here, some long and detailed thing about observers not possessing the right to tarnish such a fragile moment, but no. Lion is, frankly, too deep in the argument paint to even notice it to begin with. What attention they have to spare for non-argument related things is spent on the bottles and boxes scattered across the countertop, gingerly sorting through what Wakaba is keeping and what needs to be shoved back in a bag for Later.

Until the pun, that is. That horrible, perfect pun.

Slowly, they turn to stare at the charred corpse who is far, far too proud of herself. ]

.... This is worse then saying I was named after a one rin coin, you know that? I know, truly, that I shouldn't continue to be surprised that you're such a living fossil, and yet you keep finding ways to remind me of it.

[ Just. Really, Wakaba???

The half-offended, half-incredulous look is turned on Niina. ]

And you asked her to keep an eye on you? Willingly??

[ ......... it's honestly hard to tell if that's an insult or not, at this point. ]

...I like word play as much as anyone else and I like old poetry but a one rin coin?

[Look. She memorized western poetry because she was bored. Fine, make weird old puns. That's all and good. Niina raises a hand to her forehead.]

We all have our quirks, Lion.

['She's a fossil but she's my fossil.']

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cw: terrible puns in hovertext

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