#who are standing next to eli in the same panel in same lighting. who are obviosuly paler than eli cause they're white and he's not | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

whispersafterdusk · 4 years

Text

Lost in Time - ch 5

"OW - son of a bi-"

Selene looked up in a hurry at the sound of an electric discharge and Eli's cut off swearing. "Are you all right?"

The Dubei woman had the thumb of one hand in her mouth, was holding two wires apart with the other, and was glaring into an open power panel; they were down on floor...was it 37 or 38? At this point the builder had honestly lost count, and she knew from Pauline's report that this place had a total of 85 floors (with 19 of them being in the shaft they used to get in and out of this place - everything else was deep underground).

"Found a bare spot the hard way," Eli grumbled. "Hand me that epoxy and I'll get it covered." ((Continued below cut))

Selene pulled the battered jar out of her toolbox and passed it over; over the last two weeks Eli had been steadily getting stronger, and was beginning to focus on guiding them on doing repairs down here to get at least auxiliary power levels restored -- she'd been blunt by stating not everything would work, or it wouldn't work properly, with just "aux level" but it would at least let them get through every door so they could locate all the skeletons and get them out of here.

Gale had been very adamant that he only wanted a select few knowing Eli existed, for now; at first Selene had expected to be moving slowly through here without Merlin and Petra but with Eli here knowing which doors should go where, what wires were supposed to go to what, and how to hook things up... Selene loved Old World tech - she loved learning about it, she loved thinking about new ways to use it, she loved recreating or re-inventing gadgets mentioned in the old data discs and piecing together broken relics from the past. She was used to having to do it all piece by piece but having Eli here was just...it was fantastic. It was amazing. Eli knew SO MUCH-

-and it was a constant reminder to keep herself in check because while Eli was direct and honest (or at least seemed to be) when it came to answering questions, Selene had a suspicion that she was on...what was the word...she'd seen it in an old--

Autopilot. That was it. Eli was on autopilot.

And Selene could understand why. It had to be terrible, to stand in the ruins of a city you'd grown up in and loved, to not know what had happened the day she and her comrades had been attacked, and to know that everything else was completely gone - ancient history. Wiped off the map. Not even gravestones left to visit (and she knew how THAT felt - Remington didn't talk about his time in the Lucien Civil Corps much but she knew about his friend who had sacrificed himself to save him...it was very important to Remington to visit that grave every year).

Part of her hoped that, at some point in the near future, Eli would consider someone a close enough friend to open up to -- maybe she was already talking to Dr. Xu about...uh, things? Hopefully that would help; she'd just need to pay attention and see if that autopilot-y, single mindedness relaxed in the future, or maybe that was just a soldier thing? Or maybe just an Eli thing...Higgins could be pretty single minded (if you got in his way or distracted him he tended to metaphorically run you over to get back to what he was doing) so it could be just how Eli was. Or maybe just how people in the Old World were, in general.

Well. Whatever the reason, whether it was Eli's personality or an Old World thing or a soldier thing, Selene still had to keep reminding herself not to get carried away and bombard her with questions (and hopefully Merlin and Petra, when they were allowed to meet her, would show the same restraint). There was still a good chance the woman was just numbed to her circumstances and going through the motions - the less Selene drew attention to everything that was gone, the better (she hoped).

One thing Selene did appreciate as Eli answered questions was the total lack of smugness, or superiority, or pity, or disgust, or -- well, a lot of things. She was...nice, and incredibly helpful, about anything they asked her. If their lack of technology bothered her on a level deeper than the occasional annoyance she showed when she had to figure out how to adapt a tool or route around something they didn't have the tech needed to fix, she definitely was good at hiding it. At first Selene had felt a little embarrassed to be in the woman's presence considering the knowledge gap but not so much anymore.

As Eli daubed the epoxy over the exposed wire she'd shocked herself on a faint scent of freshly melted plastic filled the air; Selene turned back to the panel in front of her -- Eli was handling the door, and she needed to get the lights on. Once they'd swept this floor for skeletons (there were at least 12 unaccounted for when compared to Pauline's logs) they'd move on to the next one, and then the next one, until they reached floor 72 where the All Source AI's installation was where they'd then need to power him and get more in-depth access to...pretty much everything. Eli wanted full administrative control along with all security, hazard, and damage logs -- the woman was confident that once they had their hands on all of that they could move forward with repairs and taking inventory of what was left down here and what was functional.

Dr. Xu had already expressed interest in any remaining medical information and equipment; Petra and Merlin were eager to speak to another All Source AI and see what they could learn from it -- how different would THIS All Source ("his" name was Stewart, apparently) be from Wendy at the Research Center? That there were different types of All Source AIs was recent knowledge gained from Ack and Wendy both; what little Eli had mentioned made it sound like every building in the Old World had had an All Source in it...how weird was it that something so commonplace to her was something so remarkable to them now in Portia?

...oh. Not just Portia. If word got out that there was another All Source... That would be a problem. Selene vaguely remembered Arlo even mentioning something along those lines but it hadn't sunk in until just now.

"-what kind of security systems did All Source AIs have?" she asked into the silence.

"High-level encryption, voice imprints, genetic imprints, passwords and passkeys... Kind of depended on what level and type of AI you had," Eli answered, sounding distracted. There was a long pause before she screwed the epoxy jar shut. "-an AI that ran just a house or business wouldn't necessarily need a lot of security built in but a lot of people tended to buy the best packages just in case. There's not a machine on the-- uh...not a machine left on the planet, that can't be hacked into."

Selene looked up from the wiring at that, brow furrowing - 'hacked' was a term she wasn't familiar with. "What's that?"

"It's...uh... Do you know what coding or programing is?"

Selene nodded at her. "Yep - Mr. Ack explained a little bit about programming and how his works."

Now it was Eli's turn to look confused. "Mr. Ack...?"

"Mmhmm - he's a living AI that lives here in Portia. He's a cook."

Eli stared at her blankly for a moment, then tossed the pliers in her hand back into the toolbox. "Wait wait wait...a living AI is still functional after all this time?"

"He's pretty banged up but he's functional, yeah. He came out of a space station thingy that crashed out in the Collapsed Wasteland."

"Huh... Can we get him here, ASAP?"

"I...uh. Maybe? I know he has a grill set up in the plaza and is staying at the Happy Apartments so he's pretty easy to find. Why?"

"Having an AI interface directly with the All Source AI down here will make getting administrative control a lot easier -- this Ack will be able to fill the All Source in on the state of the world in an instant compared to us having to explain it ourselves."

"I can ask the mayor if he minds if Ack learns about you. I'm pretty sure Ack wouldn't tell anyone."

Eli was silent for a moment, working with the wires in front of her; with a grating noise and a pop the door finally slid open. "There we go. And I'd like it if someone would fill me in on why the mayor is being secretive about me."

Selene blew out a sigh - Gale hadn't outright admitted any reasons but she could guess. "Well... A couple of reasons, I think. A lot of people don't like Old World "stuff" -- they think we're better off without it and the Research Center, and sometimes even me, we get threatening messages from people. The center has been broken in to a couple of times too, some things stolen and a few things sabotaged, and someone once torched the warehouse down in the harbor to protest Portia expanding."

"Right. So I'm basically anathema to certain townsfolk. Go on."

"...anathema?"

"Forget I said it. Keep on with your explanation."

Selene nodded and, before responding, touched the last two wires together. The lights spluttered on but were dreadfully dim; she clicked off her headlamp and Eli did the same. "-so there's going to be people who aren't going to like you, because they hate the Old World. And there's also um...there's a war about to break out, between Duvos and the Alliance. And Duvos is always looking to take, steal, or recreate technologies from the past that will let them take over the world."

Eli let out a loud snort. "Oh good. I get blown out of the start of one war and face-first into another."

"No no, we wouldn't expect you to FIGHT a war on our behalf, no," Selene went on hurriedly. "I just think that...I think the mayor may think Duvos would try to kidnap you. Or maybe people would think you'd go join up with them since they have Old World tech and that's what you're used to. Or something."

"Not happening, on either account," Eli grunted. She picked up a few screwdrivers and a pair of wire snips and returned them to the toolbox, then shut the lids of both the toolbox and the power stone device she'd just wired to the door. "This 'Duvos' would be biting off more than they could chew if they came to town - especially if they came for ME."

Selene smiled a bit. "I don't want that to happen, even if it'd be a bad idea on their part."

"What or where is this Duvos?"

"It's a country - they call themselves an empire - up to the north. They border Ethea and Meidi, and technically a border of The Peripheries touches their border. They've been fighting in and around Lucien and Ethea too...those poor people."

"And all of that is to our north?"

"Yeah. Also up there is Barnarock but they don't share borders with Duvos. Then below that strip is us in the Alliance of Free Cities - that includes Lucien, Highwind, Atara, Sandrock, Portia, Walnut Groove, Tallsky at the southern tip, and a little kind-of-island in the Western Sea called Vega 5. The Peripheries are to our west, and beyond THOSE is the Great Begeondan...but it's hard to get there because the Peripheries is full of monsters. There's also Seesai but they're really, really far away."

As she fell silent again she could almost see the wheels spinning in Eli's head as the woman thought -- maybe she was making a mental map of what she remembered compared to what she was just told. ...actually.

"Do any of those names sound familiar?"

It was a few moments before Eli replied. "Sort of. Meidi and Seesai both sound like places that I kno- that I knew. Meidia was so far south it was snow-covered year round. Seisan was right on the equator. They were known for fruit exports and amazing seafood dishes the likes of which you couldn't get anywhere else."

"Seesai is sort of known for seafood too. Maybe it's a name that got carried through the years."

"Maybe."

Behind them the elevator whirred to life and a few minutes later it opened to let Higgins out; he was wheeling several crates on a dolly and was huffing and puffing like he was out of breath. He steered the dolly up to Selene and let it fall forward with a loud thud. "Here. All that I could collect. It's mostly the blue ones."

Eli nodded and carefully got up from where she sat, using her cane to sort of leverage herself onto her feet. "That's fine. We won't need to leave the power hooked up on every floor, just enough of them to get access to a couple of things."

Higgins rubbed his hands together, looking up and down the hallway; the lights Selene had managed to get on were holding in there but alongside the dimness a few were flickering now - it was just barely bright enough to see what they were doing. "--so what are we doing next?"

Selene swore she saw Eli almost, but not quite, hide an eyeroll.

"Same thing we've done on each floor," the woman replied, her tone patient but bordering on the edge of the tone you'd use when talking to a small child. "Get doors open, sweep for remains, move on."

Higgins wrinkled his nose. "I was hoping you two would've found everyone by now."

"Pauline couldn't get access to personnel tracking logs," Selene sighed, giving Higgins an annoyed look. "She only knows who didn't get out but not where they were last." They'd told him this three times now... Was he really that distracted with a need to start salvaging and emptying this place's resources?

He huffed. "This is taking forever. Why don't I take-"

"-because you don't know how to wire this up and you won't sit still long enough for me to teach you," Eli interrupted. That patient tone was gone now. "If you aren't willing to learn and put the work in then I'm not cutting you lose to wander around. We still don't know where those people are or what even killed them -- I don't care to repeat myself nor do I care for people to try and undermine or circumvent my instructions, and I KNOW you were told about the hazardous materials log because I was there for that meeting. Whether you like it or not whatever got released could still be down here and I'd rather you not blunder into it and get yourself killed."

"But this could take days," Higgins grumbled. "I have so much other work I could be doing right now."

Eli's expression went...well, Selene could only describe it as that sort of look you got when someone's said something stupid and you were too polite to say something directly but not polite enough to simply smile and ignore it. "Then go. Selene and I can handle things now that you got the power stones down here. Let Remington know on your way out that it's just us two. We'll be fine."

Higgins rolled his eyes and turned, heading toward the elevator. "I'll let them know."

They waited together in silence until the sound of the elevator's rumbling was too far away to hear.

"He's such an ass..." Selene growled. She turned her attention to Eli. "I'm sorry. Arlo didn't want him involved either but Gale didn't think I could handle this entire place by myself."

"You couldn't. And really, WE can't. But I'll work myself unconscious before I let that sort of man anywhere near my people," Eli said quietly. "Can't stand the person who won't put in the work but expects to reap the rewards regardless. Can the Civil Corps folks bar him from entering here?"

"The funny thing is he's a really hard worker...just pretty driven to do one thing and one thing only: keep his shop at the top of the regional leader boards. If it's not related to that he doesn't have much interest in it. And as for the Civil Corps they...technically could, I think? At least temporarily. A final decision would be up to Gale but I'm not sure if he would -- all ruins in Portia are open to anyone who pays the weekly fee to go inside and scavenge. I don't think he'd like to be in the position to ban a single person in town from coming in here...it'd be a rather touchy precedent, and might make him look like he's playing favorites."

Eli grunted, and leaned against the stack of crates. "I don't want to see this place ripped apart without any regard to what's being taken. If we're careful we can probably salvage a lot of what's here -- I get the feeling he'd take whatever without worrying about what he's leaving behind, and probably damage things beyond repair or salvage."

Selene nodded; she traded out her screwdriver for the crowbar she'd brought with them, and the wedged the flat end into the gap between the lid and the rest of the top crate. "Not to defend him or anything but the other ruins are sort of...um. Bad. Pieces everywhere. There's not really anything there but bits and scrap that you have to piece together -- not that that excuses him, at all, but finding a place like this that's so intact is almost unheard of." She pulled down on the crowbar and could hear the squeaking of nails slowly prying lose. "--we're really going to have to lock this place down if we want to preserve anything down here," she grunted and wheezed.

With a screeching noise of metal on wood the crate lid came free and she leaned it against the wall; inside was the familiar gleam of power stones - all of them blue, at least on this top layer - nestled in cloth and sawdust to keep them from chipping in transit. A wave of annoyance washed over her as she looked them over - if these were here then that meant the brackets and wires had to be in one of the crates under it. She tossed the crowbar down and, straining and puffing, moved the heavy crate off the stack and plunked it down on the ground narrowly missing her toes.

She grabbed the crowbar again and pried the next lid off, revealing the brackets; Selene offered Eli a hand to help her sit back down between the two open crates as they both set to the task of assembling the brackets and getting the power stones set in place. They were at it about a half hour, by her estimation, when the elevator opened again and Arlo appeared in the weak light of the light fixtures (which were starting to flicker more frequently - they'd need to splice in a second bracket device to help them out).

"Everything all right down here?"

Selene nodded at him, smiling. "All good. Surprised you're down here."

Arlo came over and looked over what they were doing. "--anything I can help with? I know I'm not a builder or know much about Old World tech but I'm willing to learn."

"Remington told you, huh?" Selene asked, sighing. She scooted over as Arlo settled in the floor next to the bracket crate then rummaged around in her toolbox to find a spare screwdriver of the correct size; she handed it to him and then began to pick up the other pieces to show him how it all went together.

"He did. I can't say I'm surprised - I knew it was a bad idea to let Higgins in on this little project. We should have brought in Petra and Merlin right from the start. I just hope he takes Gale seriously and doesn't mention Eli." He paused to look over at Eli, who simply nodded at him.

"I think he knows Gale means business," Selene said. She handed him the bracket and fished out four power stones. "Ok, see those little slots there and there? Those pieces slide. Use that screwdriver to loosen them, slip the stone into the spot - one per - and then slide them back in to hold the stone tight and tighten the screw again. Then, you flip the top of the bracket over and tighten those too. I'll handle attaching the wires, don't worry."

With a nod Arlo started loosening a screw; Selene watched him for a few breaths, then "--so, can the Civil Corps handle having you down here? Won't that mess up the shift times?"

"It will but we can adjust. Everyone already knows about the ruins and we've had several inquiries on when they'll be open to explore -- Paulie's volunteered to take a couple evening shifts making sure no one comes down here and I know Gale sent a courier to the Alliance Council regarding this place."

"A courier?" Selene repeated, blinking at him. "That'll take a week or more to... Why a courier?"

Arlo slid a second stone into place before answering. "After what happened the last time, Gale doesn't want to risk someone intercepting his telegraph, or faking a response. Mint is carrying it to Atara, and will carry the response back."

Selene stole a quick look at Eli to see that she was dutifully assembling a bracket of her own (but was moving considerably faster than Arlo was).

"And was I mentioned in this message?" the Dubei woman asked then without looking up - almost like she'd known Selene was looking at her expecting a reaction.

"Probably," was Arlo's simple answer; he didn't elaborate further and the three of them continued to work in silence as they assembled the power device brackets.

She was grateful that Higgins at least hadn't skimped on screws or quality; it took another hour before they had all of them assembled and the wires attached, and then Arlo carried them up and down the hall placing one at each door as Eli and Selene each took a side and began wiring them up.

Selene found the doors to be fascinating; according to Eli every door here connected to a central server that granted or revoked access to every person in the facility -- most doors would provide access to anyone who walked up to them, opening based on detecting movement as well as weight on pressure panels in the floor beneath the carpeting. Doors with security measures would only open if it detected an access-granting object (usually cards or "key fobs," whatever those were) within a certain distance of its sensors, or else they'd require a hand or finger print on a sensor panel before it would open. And whoever had designed the doors had accounted for times where someone might need to get in somewhere they didn't have access to in a hurry; while the doors didn't have handles they DID have emergency release buttons inside the paneling beside the pocket that the doors slid into when they opened.

Being as the power for the facility was down the doors had no access to their central server so simply hooking up the power brackets she'd built wouldn't work; Eli was instead wiring the power directly to the lines that controlled the emergency releases, which would force the door to open without any sort of access key or central power. The emergency releases were a sort of 'blink and you'd miss them' object inside the walls - Selene had always seen emergency buttons or levers painted a red or otherwise bright color in the other ruins in town but these were all a uniform gray instead with the main difference being the emergency releases were capped with a dull metal that was oddly cold to the touch compared to everything around it.

And of course the emergency releases operated on battery power too when all other sources of power were off but not even the best battery could hope to last 300 years. The good thing was that once they'd used the emergency button to pop the door they could unhook the power and it'd stay open, but they were finding there were a LOT of doors down here -- that was partly why they'd made so many of the portable power stone devices so they could have (or at least the original plan had been) someone placing the devices next to doors, someone coming along to wire them, and then someone else behind THEM unhooking and collecting the devices so they could keep moving at a decent pace.

Of course, with Higgins deciding to take his leave it meant they'd need to find a third person to give them a hand... It was probably time to bring in Petra and Merlin. Petra would go wild over all this and Merlin had a steady hand when it came to delicate wiring and circuitry.

It was, as Higgins had said, going to take awhile to get through this place, but unlike him Selene didn't mind it in the slightest even if they didn't get any more help at all.

----------------------------------------------------

Django had thrown in some fruit salads for free tonight -- Xu had a hunch that the man knew something was up, as Xu had accidentally let it slip that he was paying for meals for a patient of his without the means to do so themselves; charity wasn't a strange thing in Portia - in fact, Portia's residents were well-known for their desire to help their neighbors - but he supposed the number of meals being provided had tipped Django off to this not being a typical patient. He made a mental note to ask Phyllis if she would mind manning the clinic for longer than usual so Xu himself could cook a bit more and see if that made Django less suspicious of what was going on.

...though, there wasn't any way Django could suspect WHO his patient was. Being charitable for the sake of being charitable wasn't a bad thing, and so long as he found out when the rest of Portia did Xu supposed there wasn't any harm in it.

Based on the smells coming out of the containers on his desk it seemed like Django had outdone himself tonight; there was seasoned ribs, bamboo papaya and seafood with rice, two ramekins of fish head stewed in soy sauce, and of course the fruit salads that he hadn't ordered but Django had tossed in anyway. Eli had mentioned she loved seafood and honestly so did he so aside from the ribs (protein and lots of it would be needed to help her regain lost muscle mass) he'd tried to pick a variety of things he thought she would enjoy (and if she'd disliked anything thus far she'd not mentioned it).

He looked up from the paperwork on his desk as the clinic doors opened but rather than Eli, returning from the ruins as she usually did around this time, Xu was surprised to see Gale standing in his doorway.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Xu," was the man's cheerful greeting. "I hope I'm not intruding."

"Not at all." Xu quickly stacked his papers and stood with a smile -- he'd been wondering when Gale would make an appearance here. "I'm sorry to say Eli isn't here at the moment, I'm afraid. I AM expecting her back soon though."

Gale nodded. "Ah, yes. If it's not too much of a bother I'd like to wait here."

"Of course not. Have a seat."

The portly man nodded and came over to sit on a small stool beside the desk. "-how have things been with your patient, doctor?"

"Coming along. The speed at which one regains their health can vary from person to person but she's bouncing back rather quickly."

Gale chuckled. "Good, good. I'm glad to hear that. I hope to-"

They both paused as the doors opened again and this time it was Eli standing there; Gale stood as she came in and Xu came around to the front of his desk.

"Hello, Eli - I'd like to introduce you to Portia's Mayor, Gale."

Gale moved over with a hand extended. "It's a pleasure, Miss Summers."

Something flickered over Eli's face at the word "miss" but it was gone quickly, and instead she offered her hand in turn. "Likewise, sir. I've heard a lot about you."

"Oh? I'm not sure if I should be glad or worried," Gale laughed; Eli smiled at that, at least. "-now, first of all I'd like to apologize for how long it's taken for me to come meet you personally."

"It's not a problem. Mayors are busy people."

"That's definitely true - I've been busier than usual lately, even before you were rescued. I did however want to give you a good amount of time to get your feet squarely on the road to recovery, which is why we're only just meeting now."

"Again, it's no big deal," Eli replied, shrugging. "It's not like I'm going anywhere."

Gale nodded, chuckling quietly. "Indeed, and it's my hope you'll choose to remain in Portia. And, regarding that... How DO you feel, about Portia? About remaining?"

Eli was silent for a long time; Xu watched her carefully, trying to be aware of any subtle hints in her face or body movement to suggest what she was thinking or feeling. Finally she inhaled deeply and straightened a bit where she stood. "Truth be told, sir-"

"-please, call me Gale if you like."

"-truth be told, Gale, I don't see myself leaving unless the general consensus is I'm not wanted here. Portia is sitting on top of Dubei - this is technically still home, for me. Even if it's totally unrecognizable now."

Gale's expression softened. "I understand, and of course you're welcome here. We do need to begin discussing how best to meet your needs - you'll need a place to stay, and a job, and everything else that goes with it. You'll find Portia is very helpful to her people and I know many would be happy to help get you on your feet."

Eli's smile went a bit strained. "Not everyone will, I'm told."

"...ah, well," Gale faltered a moment, looking awkward.

Xu pressed his lips together; he knew of course that there would be some in town who'd want her gone solely because she WAS Old World -- they had a hard enough time accepting any sort of Old World tech, no matter how harmless or helpful, but to have a living embodiment (at least, ANOTHER living embodiment - Ack hadn't been well received either) of the Old World walking around may be more than they'd be willing to tolerate. It was clear that Arlo or Selene, or maybe Remington, had mentioned as much to Eli already, which was a good thing for her to be forewarned about.

"No one in any position of authority will have a problem with you," Xu said into the silence. "Of that I can promise."

"Y-yes, that's true," Gale said in a rush. "Authority within the city's chain of command itself, anyway. There...MIGHT be a bit of a rub with the Church but they don't have the power to order you out of town, and if he thinks of trying it know that I won't stand for my citizens to be harassed."

Almost imperceptibly Eli's eyes narrowed at the mention of "he" in Gale's words; Xu knew exactly who that "he" was: if there was anyone who would without a doubt have a problem with Eli working and living in Portia it would be Minister Lee. Thankfully Lee was rather powerless within Portia - he could preach, guide, and advise all he liked but he held no administrative or official powers.

And with good reason -- Xu couldn't count the number of times the man had thrown a fit over Old World tech, even simple things like tools made out of new alloys, and it was suspected that he had a hand in a few of the Research Center break ins too even if no one could prove it. Xu could already picture the various shades of purple the man's face would turn as he pontificated (again) on the dangers of letting an Old World "relic" walk around.

"Duly noted," was Eli's quiet reply.

Gale took a steadying breath. "...now, then. Along with discussing how we can best help you get established here within Portia I also wanted to see how you were feeling - physically, as well as emotionally." He paused, giving her a gentle look. "I know none of this can be easy, and if there's anything in my power to help ease any burdens..."

Eli shook her head. "Not unless you've got a time machine -- and before you ask, no, we created machines that could take us to space but not ones that could take us to last week."

As she spoke Eli smiled a bit and Xu returned it to her with an encouraging nod; that she was willing to joke seemed to be a good sign.

"Well, don't hesitate to let me know if there's something I can do for you. -- oh, where are my manners. Do you need to sit down?" Gale asked, turning around quickly to look for the stool he'd just vacated. He grabbed it with both hands and plunked it down in front of Eli who sat down with a grateful look. "I'm sorry, I've been sitting all day and it escaped my mind that someone else might not want to stand."

"It's fine - I was technically sitting all day anyway. Easier to reach what we're working on."

"How is that going?" Xu asked quietly. "Do you know when you'll be done?"

Eli shook her head again, huffing a sigh out through her nose. "No. We're still missing 12, and that's only the ones that the AI Pauline had logs for. Patients or visitors wouldn't be on those logs so there may be more. I know I personally wasn't a part of that log list, and the others that were in the same sort of tubes that I was would be on patient rosters that we've yet to find."

With a thoughtful hum Gale rubbed at his chin, falling silent; Xu moved back to his desk and to the little basket that their dinner was sitting in and reached in to pull out a thermos of chilled apricot juice that he carried over and offered to Eli. She took it, opened it and sniffed, then took a careful sip; a moment later she gave him a smile and nod and took a more confident drink.

"I've marked out land to hold the remains, and intend to commission a gravestone as large as needed to hold as many names as we can find," Gale went on finally. "However, names or no we WILL be seeing that their remains are handled with care and respect until such a time that they can be laid to rest properly." He paused again and looked back to Eli. "I...don't know if this is an appropriate question to ask, considering the circumstances..."

"Burial rites, I'm assuming."

"Yes," Gale replied simply.

Eli shrugged and took another sip of juice before continuing. "I can tell you how my religion handles remains and give an idea of how others handled theirs, but there wasn't a singular religion in Dubei that had rites that everyone followed -- in fact, there were hundreds of different religions within city limits alone, and hundreds of thousands spread across the world in general. And it wasn't legal to track what employee was part of what religion either...medical centers would sometimes have that information on hand to make sure they didn't violate a religious mandate for a patient who couldn't communicate it themselves but HR departments wouldn't touch that sort of thing with a ten foot bangstick."

"Ah, yes. That makes sense. Well. When we're at the point where we're ready to lay them all to rest we'll have a discussion on how best to do that."

"Sounds like a plan."

Gale smiled, then looked to Xu briefly. "Just to double check that I'm not taking up your scheduled time...?"

"Not at all, though dinner may get cold."

"Ah. I'll get right to it then: Eli, do you have any opinion on what sort of employment you'd like to secure? I know it's been mentioned you were a soldier -- would you like a position within the Civ-"

"No," Eli interrupted quickly. "At least, not yet."

Gale blinked at her and Xu felt just as surprised as he looked.

Eli looked between the two of them, laughing quietly. "Did I just grow a second head?"

"No no, I apologize, I just wasn't -- I shouldn't have assumed," Gale sputtered.

She held up one hand in a placating gesture while holding the thermos up to her lips with the other for another drink. "Nah, you were right to assume, and believe me I think that's where I'd best fit in. But, to circle back to the earlier point of people not accepting my existence in town I don't think it'll be a good idea to place ME in a position with any sort of authority, no matter how minor, before I'm generally accepted into the community. That'll either erode trust in you and your Civil Corps or will leave me as the sole member that no one is going to listen to."

Gale pursed his lips, letting out a long breath through his nose. "I...hadn't thought about it like that. That's a very good point."

Xu hadn't thought of it framed in that light either -- she was probably right. The more he thought about it the more he worried that it would be a long time before several of Portia's townsfolk would even give her the time of day. "-what about the Research Center?" he asked into the pause.

"Yes, yes, that was my next suggestion," Gale went on hurriedly, pausing to clear his throat. "We certainly have the budget to add another research position at the Center."

Eli laughed as she screwed the top onto the (now empty, Xu assumed) thermos. "Wouldn't that be cheating? Being as I wouldn't be researching anything so much as I'd just be giving the answers away."

Gale laughed as well. "I suppose that's one way to look at it but the offer still stands: it'd be a monthly salary, enough to live on without worrying about anything. And I can just as easily create a position with the Corps for when you feel comfortable enough to step into that role."

"We'll see how that goes. Ideally that's where I end up but...well." She shrugged and set the thermos on the floor at her feet.

Xu returned to his desk as Gale moved on to discussing where Eli could stay - it sounded like an apartment at Happy Apartments would be available for her - and began jotting down thoughts as he half-listened to them talk.

Aside from the facial tics at mention of 'miss' and 'he' Eli had remained pleasant and direct, as she usually was. It was one of the few times that he'd had visual proof that Eli perhaps wasn't as well as she presented herself to be; he didn't want to pry but it was confirmation that there were things she was suppressing, and he wished she would choose to talk about them. Counseling wasn't entirely his forte but he'd received some training on how to handle mental health as well as physical health.

As Gale and Eli talked Phyllis came in; she gave them both a wave but didn't interrupt as she walked over to Xu to place a heavy leather satchel on his desk.

"The latest shipment of painkillers was delayed at Atara but everything else came through. It seems there was a pipe failure at the processing building so everyone is missing this month's orders."

Xu frowned and stood to open the satchel to look through it. "Well...I guess we'll have to be careful with what we have in stock for the time being - we aren't really using a lot of them at least." He pulled out various jars, boxes, and little vials -- Atara's specialists had never failed to get their products out before so whatever the 'pipe failure' was must have been a major problem.

At the very least Portia's residents didn't really need a lot of medicines at any given time and Xu was able to manage a lot of ailments just by using the herbs that grew naturally around the city. Gale seemed to be wrapping up whatever else he'd come to speak to Eli about so Xu was careful as he stepped around his desk and around them to head over to the cabinets to put everything away.

"--whenever Dr. Xu cuts me loose, I assume."

Hearing his own name caught his attention and he looked over a shoulder back at the others. "Hmm?"

"When do you believe Eli will be hale and hearty enough to leave the clinic, Dr. Xu?" Gale asked.

Xu thought a moment - technically, physically, she could go now. He still worried about her emotional well being however... "I would say a week or so, possibly less," he finally answered (more to give them an actual answer than because he believed what he was saying). "You are recovering your strength at a remarkable rate but you'll still dealing with bouts of weakness, correct?"

Eli nodded. "Yeah. And sometimes I feel a bit dizzy if I'm tired."

"All right, hmm. Let's meet again in about two week's time?" Gale went on, directing the last half of that to Eli. "That should give me enough time to get all pieces into place."

"Works for me."

"And for me as well," Xu agreed.

"I shall see you all then," Gale chuckled, offering Eli another handshake before heading out the door.

Eli watched him go. "...animated little fellow."

"He can get quite excited when things are going as they should," Xu chuckled. He quickly put away the rest of the supplies. "I hope you're hungry."

"Wasn't, really, until I smelled it. What're you feeding me tonight?"

Dusting off his hands he returned the leather satchel to its proper spot in the cabinet and then shut the door; as he fully turned around he caught sight of Phyllis making her way out as well. "Ah, Phyllis - would you care to join us? There's more than enough for three."

"Oh. I'd love to, then."

Xu pulled over the little rolling stool he used during examinations, and helped Eli scoot hers closer to his desk as Phyllis came back over; he offered her his chair but she took the stool instead, and as the two women seated themselves he picked up the basket and began placing the containers out on the desk, including another thermos of apricot juice. The last things he retrieved were a set of chipped plates from the bottom-most drawer of his desk and a handful of silverware.

Phyllis helped him start to portion out the food and once he was done and seated he noticed Eli poking curiously at the bamboo papaya slices. "Hmm. I tried to choose things I thought you'd be familiar with."

"It...sort of looks familiar? What is it?"

"Bamboo papaya," Phyllis answered, spearing a slice with her fork.

Eli wrinkled her nose, flipping the slice over on her plate. "Bamboo...papaya? As in both those words are the name of this...uh, plant?"

Xu nodded. "It's a tough-skinned fruit but tastes like bamboo shoots."

"Ah. So both bamboo AND this exist?"

Phyllis bit into the bite and then wiped some of the seafood sauce off to show the bamboo-like patterning of the 'fruit' inside. "It's hard on the outside but soft in the center. It even tastes like bamboo - it just has a slightly different texture."

"Huh..." Eli hummed, then took a tentative bite. "--yeah, that's bamboo all right. Weird. How did they create this? Selective crossbreeding?"

"Um...chemical and biological weapons, according to the history that survived," Phyllis answered quietly.

Xu watched as a few emotions flickered over Eli's face - surprise, anger, and then something akin to resignation.

"Ah," was all she said.

She tried a bigger bite of the bamboo papaya, then tasted the rice and shrimp; when she didn't make any faces or ask any other questions Xu took a few bites of his own and they all ate in silence for several minutes.

"I bet a lot of things I was used to eating are gone too, huh?"

"That...depends," Xu replied slowly. "We don't have any record of anything being wiped out, but there are certainly a lot of records of things changing. Though, I will say that animal life appears to have more drastically changed than plantlife did, according to our history." He studied her face and could see hesitation there -- she wanted to say or ask something but was holding back. "Did you...have something specific in mind?"

She shook her head. "Not really. Just, kind of hard to sometimes really grasp just...how much has changed."

"Would you like to talk about it?" he asked quietly. "Or, anything at all?"

"...not tonight, doctor. I don't even know where to begin."

Xu nodded. "Of course. Just know, when you choose to..."

After a couple bites she looked up and gave him a smile. "Oh trust me, Dr. Xu. There's a lot I want to talk about. I'm just not sure I want to break that particular dam open just yet, because I know once I start it's going to be hard to stop. ...and, I don't think I want to start, until I know what happened to--" she stopped abruptly, sighing heavily and lightly tapping her fork against the side of her plate. "-I really want to know what happened to Dubei. And why I was down in that facility. I know it was sheer, dumb luck that I was far enough away from the ceiling that caved in but why was I THERE? Why were there others in those tubes? Why were we left behind?"

That last question was said much quieter than the others but her general tone remained the same -- no sadness, no remorse, just a quiet frustration. Xu left his fork on his plate and clasped his hands in front of him, resting them on his desk just behind his plate. "It may be a case that you weren't purposely left behind... Didn't the logs say there was an evacuation, and a materials release? From what Arlo and Selene said, you were attached to sensors and a breathing aparatus. It sounds to me as though you, and whoever else were in those tubes, may have been in the safest place at that given moment."

"That's true." She took a steadying breath and tilted her head back, letting the air out slowly. "But then what kept them from coming back? A hazardous material release and even an armed and violent intruder alert shouldn't have kept everyone away forever. Even if -- I've mentioned how poisonous and deadly a reactor explosion would have been. The poisonous part of a reactor is called radiation, and it'd by far be the worst thing that could've been released down there and even then we have suits and..."

She stopped again, resting her elbow on the desk and her chin in her hand.

"...suits?" Xu prompted gently.

"Yeah. Haz mat - hazardous materials - suits. I used radiation as an example but if it HAD been radiation then I and the others in the tube wouldn't have survived if it was enough to cause the entire building to evacuate -- regular glass, or even the tempered stuff used in most medical equipment, wouldn't have shielded us from the radiation. So that part doesn't make sense. But for the life of me I can't think of anything that would be in a medical research center that would mean EVERYONE would have to run if something leaked. Now, had it been a military base or the like I could name off sixteen different things, but...but not down there." She paused, then waved a hand. "Just speculating. But point still stands that I don't want to discuss anything until I figure out what happened."

She went back to eating; Xu did as well even though he'd lost his appetite at this point. At least they were close to her opening up; she was putting on a brave face but couldn't keep it up forever, as he suspected.

They filled the rest of the evening with idle chatter; it was mostly Eli asking questions about food and plants, and about Portia's general history and the layout of town. Xu didn't have any maps on hand and promised he'd bring her one to look at (Lucy at the school probably wouldn't mind lending him one) so she could try and match up what she remembered of the landscape to what everything looked like now. Eli was firmly back in her 'everything is fine' mentality -- no more tics or clues, just pleasantry. But now Xu had confirmation that his suspicions were correct; he'd just need to wait until Eli had her answers, then be ready to help her put the pieces together.

#Lost in Time #lit #Lost in Time - ch 5 #Arlo #Dr. Xu #Builder #Eli #Phyllis #Gale #Higgins #My Time at Portia

8 notes · View notes

twoidiotwriters1 · 5 years

Text

Starcrossed Losers II (Josh Wheeler xReader)

A/N: Loving this thing already, seriously hoping to keep the constant of posting two chapters every week lmao

Words: 2,766

Warnings: Swearing ig

Previous Chapter // Next chapter

Of course. Of course, it was this guy.

Eli fucking Cardashyan, or as I liked to call him, the goblin under the bridge that always copied my answers on every test since we were thirteen. Just like Josh, Angelica and Wesley, I knew Eli from a while back. He wasn’t exactly popular but everyone knew him as the school’s “wanna-be”, I thought he would be dead by now, I’m glad to see I was wrong.

But I can’t believe he’s got the mall for himself. Even worse, I can’t believe I didn’t think of that. The mall was neutral territory, everyone could go and hang out with their friends, so the most logical thing is to say everyone had the same right over it. And is Eli Cardashyan the one who gets to have it all for himself? I call bullshit. This kind of situation is what leads me to believe that there is really no god.

“This is who we’ve been scared of?” Angelica complains, “A light breeze could kick his ass!”

“I thought it was gonna be Hoyles,” Wesley adds in a mix of disbelief and disappointment, “this is... Who is this again?”

“It’s Eli,” sighs Josh, he walks towards the bike and examines it, then lets out a childish laugh, “it’s fine, He’s a knock-off Baron Triumph”

And yes, obviously he was. Eli could be an idiot sometimes but he wasn’t a murderer. He went off on his (honestly weird as hell) speech until Josh cut him off.

“Who else is with you? Where is Sam Dean?” Eli scoffs.

“Do I look like her publicist?”

“Sam’s not here?”

“I’m sorry, it’s just me and my girlf, Mavis” He answers with a smirk.

Josh and I share a look, I shrug and mouth a ‘sorry’, Josh shakes his head, telling me not to worry about it.

“You have the entire mall? You?” asks Angelica.

“Right?! How did that even happen?” I ask in frustration. Wesley mumbles a ‘chill, girl’ that I decide to ignore.

Eli went on and on, and to be honest I think I only understood like fifty percent of what he was saying, part because I wasn’t listening, and part ‘cause the boy has a wild vocabulary. Josh and I looked at each other in annoyance and I knew he was feeling as done as me with the conversation. When I was starting to think this day couldn’t get any crazier, the real Baron Triumph made his entrance.

We all hurl up at the doors and Eli pulls out a set of keys from his pocket, desperately trying to open them.

“Faster, he’s almost here!” says Josh.

“Get your own mall, this one’s mine” Eli grumbles.

“Are you twelve?” I reply, “We’re on the same side here!”

“We’re finna get eaten out here...”

“Not helping, Wesley.”

“Got it!” Says Eli. The other boys pull him aside and practically rip the chains from the handles, “Hey!”

Josh pushes me inside hurriedly before entering himself. The others soon following after. I hear the door slamming shut and I look over my shoulder to see Eli running behind us; we’re all safe.

We reach one of the halls and Josh stops in awe, it takes me an extra second to stop completely cause I’m still wearing my skates, but when I do I’m just as amazed as him. Behind me, I hear Angelica talk.

“There’s power and air conditioning...”

“Everything is so... clean”

“Still smells like cinnabon”

“Am I still alive?” I look over at Josh, “You sure I didn’t die when you hit me this afternoon?”

“I didn’t hit you that hard,” He replies, still looking around like it was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen.

“Solar panels on the roof!” Eli sings, “This is an island of paradise in an ocean of poop.”

“What a fancy allegory,” I snicker.

I’ll allow myself to remember, I don’t do it as often as I’d like...

-Flashback time-

What? You thought I wasn’t going to do this? C’mon, I’m a lonely child. All I have are my memories of the good ol’ times, so you’ll be forced to relive them with me. Sorry, I don’t make the rules. (I do, but I don’t wanna brag about it).

“We should go to my place, there’s nothing to do here...”

“Maya, for the last time,” I look at the girl standing next to me, “we told Alex we would meet here.”

“I know,” She whines, “but Hoyles is here and that guy gives me the creeps. I heard he tried to have sex with Ashley Miller while she was completely wasted”

“Sounds like Hoyles,” I nod in agreement, “but we can’t scatter everytime we run into them. We’re not little kids anymore, he can’t hurt us”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” She points to the opposite corner, Hoyles and his gang are terrorizing a freshman and the people around does nothing but move away.

“Can you belive that?” I start to walk towards them but Maya grabs my arm tightly, “What?”

“Don’t be stupid,” She rolls her eyes, “don’t even try to stop them, seriously, they won’t stop and you’ll get harassed.”

“It’s a freshman!” I insist, “Hoyles is like three times his size! You can’t expect me to do nothing”

“Listen,” my friend raises an eyebrow, “Y/N, those guys are crazy, please...”

I look back at the boys and realize they’re no longer there, I turn to her in defeat.

“I just really hate bullies, okay?”

“Let’s face it, we don’t have the ability to stop them all.”

“To stop what?”

I quickly turn around and see the person I’ve been waiting for: Alex, my best friend since childhood. My mood switches instantly and I shrugg it off, already starting to forget.

“Just the usual dumbassery,” I reply with a chuckle.

“Hey loser,” Maya adds, “you’re late.”

“Yeah, I know” Alex nods awkwardly, “lost track of time again, sorry.”

“What was it this time?” I ask, “youtube or the comic?”

“Youtube,” He smirks, “vine is honestly a national treasure.”

“Sure,” I snort, “too bad is dead now.”

“Those who are great live the shortest lives,” He replies with his ‘wise old man’ voice.

“So,” Maya hops between us and puts her arms around our shoulders, “you want to look around?”

“I wanna go see the skates,” Alex adds, basically vibrating, “they have a new model and I wanna try them on.”

“The skates place, then,” My friend nods and pulls us with her.

------------------------------------------

A loud bang brings me back to the present and I remember why were we hiding here in the first place.

“This way, quick!” Eli tells us before he starts running. I move fast since I’m the only one with wheels on her feet. And soon most of them are behind me. Eli presses a button on the keychain he has, and the metal curtain lifts up enough for us to get in. “Go under, we’ll be safe in here...”

As soon as Josh, Angelica and I get in, the curtain comes back down.

“What the hell?” asks Josh.

“I’m not sharing my kingdom with you, sheep. No one busts into Eli’s mall. And don’t even try to escape.”

“We weren’t trying to escape, you brainless leprechaun!” This is unbelievable, I swear, I just want out of this day, “We’re running away from the monster that's on your side! You won’t make it on your own against Triumph, he’ll find a way to get in and eat you”

“Every door is locked or booby-trapped.” A laugh distracts us from the discussion and I see Wesley next to Eli... on the other side.

“Booby,” He chuckles. He’s been smoking, so you can’t expect him to behave.

Eli groans. Josh steps closer and smirks.

“Wesley Fists lead the state in sacks last season. Take him out, Samurai.”

“To fight someone so obviously inferior would be dishonorable.” He raises a brow. Eli shows us both of his middle fingers.

“Great,” I throw my backpack on the floor and walk away from the curtain, “this is only getting better and better...”

“One punch, Wesley, come on,” Josh insists, “one punch.”

I let out a sharp breath and sit on the bench a few feet away from them to take off my skates. As useful as they are, I’m starting to feel sore and they’re not the most comfortable thing to wear after a few hours of running. While I’m doing so, another memory comes to mind and I’m unable to stop it.

Where was I? Oh, right...

------------------------------------------

“I think these are more you’re style,” I grab the bright, lime-green pair from the right shelf and hand them to Alex, he laughs and examines them for a moment like he’s actually considering the idea.

“I mean, they wouldn’t match any of my outfits but they’d totally be catching everyone’s eye.”

“Isn’t that the point, though?”

“Obviously,” He shakes his head pretending to be offended by the question, “though I think I’ll have to pass this time. I already made my choice.”

He shows me a pair of white-colored ones.

“Dude, are you serious?” I grab the skates and raise them to his eye level, “These are the most boring pair of skates ever”

“Now they are,” Alex moves my hand slightly so he can see my face, “but I bet that you can turn them into a masterpiece”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Please, Y/N don’t play dumb, you know I love your drawings”

I blush at his reply. Sure, I like drawing but I’m no Van Gogh at it. The best thing I ever drew was probably a worm.

“You’re telling me you’d spend your money on the newest model of skates just to ruin them with your best friend’s nonexistent skills?”

“To me, their value would go up by a thousand if they had your drawings in them.”

“Jesus, get a room!” Maya exclaims beside us, she’s sitting on a small chair, trying random pairs of skates out of pure boredom.

“Shut up!” We both respond quickly.

He looks at me and I’m pretty sure he’s blushin but I can’t really look at his face cause I’m too embarrassed to do so.

Oh, right. I forgot to mention that I had a crush on my best friend, didn’t I? No, I wasn’t avoiding this topic. I thought it wasn’t important anymore. And it isn’t! I promise it isn’t. Alex is gone, and with him so are my feelings.

Yes, you can laugh all you want cause I was one of those basic idiots who fell in love with their best friend just cause he treats me like any decent human being should. Can you blame me, though? Compared to Hoyles and his team of dickheads, Alex was a fucking teddy bear.

And the worst part? I’m pretty sure he liked me back.

We never made a move.

------------------------------------------

A loud scream makes me drop my broken skates and I run back to were Angelica and Josh are.

“What the fuck...” I whisper, clinging to the curtain.

“What the fuck is here with us?” Angelica is the first to ask what Josh and I were wondering as well.

“Ooh, a ghoulie witch,” Eli steps closer, lowering his voice, “once upon a time, she was a normal girl who liked hanging out at the mall. But now she’s got mad powers, and she will fuck your shit up. She is unkillable and she is hangry.”

“There is no such thing as witches.”

“Well, a few months ago there weren’t mutant squirrels or ghoulies either.” Adds Angelica.

“That’s right. And when the witch eats your intestines like spaghetti, you’ll think: I never should’ve dissed king Eli...” He walks backwards and leaves us here with fuck knows what.

“I swear every time he opens his mouth I feel like I’m having a stroke,” Now that I don’t have my skates on, I realize Josh’s taller than me. I barely reach the tip of his nose.

“Don’t worry, I’ll convince him to let you out.” Wesley says, “I’mma go full Gandhi on his ass. Hunger strike.”

“Easy there, we don’t want to traumatize him for life” I reply dryly.

Angelica and Josh step back from the curtain and I follow them. We sit on the bench and I look at my skates, cursing under my breath. Josh notices and gently nudges my side with his arm.

“Sorry about that. We can find a new pair somewhere around here if you want.”

“I hope so,” I kick them and they slide miserably on the floor, the wheels almost fully worn out, “I really liked them.”

“You used to skate a lot? Before the nuke,” He asks in curiosity.

“Not at all. I didn’t even know how to use them,” I laugh lightly, “my best friend used to, though. He promised he would teach me one day but... things didn’t go as planned.”

“Is he..?” He leaves the question open but I understand perfectly what he’s trying to say.

“Fuck, no,” I feel a shiver going down my spine just by thinking about it, “we wanted different things, that’s all. He had a plan and I had another. Alex wanted to leave town and travel around the country now that we’re free to do whatever we please. I just wanted to find my sister.”

“And where is she?”

“She turned into a ghoulie, so I... I took care of it.”

“Shit,” He whispers, passing a hand through his hair and looking a little pale, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Again, I’m not gonna talk about this stuff with someone I just met.

“Did I ever meet your friend?” Maybe Josh can tell I don’t want to keep going with the hard topics, and I appreciate his effort to respect that.

“Dunno,” I shrug, softly massaging my feet, “He’s Alex Murphy. Bit taller than me, cool guy...”

“Oh, him,” He nods, then adds, “I have no clue of who that is.”

I laugh louder this time, giving him a gentle push.

“Dumbass,” I shake my head, “anyway, after Alex and I went our separate ways I decided to learn on my own and I think I did pretty well, they’re quieter than cars and definitely easier to control than skateboards.”

“Oh, so you’re still not over that?” He raises a brow, a smirk growing on his face.

“Well, I’m not the one running over innocent people on the street.”

“It was an accident! I wasn’t watching where I was going. I was too busy trying not to get killed by the jocks”

“You sure? Cause so far all I’ve seen you do is nothing but the opposite. If I may give my humble opinion, it's not something very smart considering you’re alone.”

“I was doing well until today,” He sighs.

“I believe you, Wheeler,” I eye him up, “you're not like I'd pictured.”

“Really?” He smiles, “What did you imagine?”

“Kinda like those boys who pretend to be all grown up,” I reply, scrunching up my nose, “the ones that can’t be caught having fun or they’d lose their cool, like some sort of bitter old man in the body of a seventeen-year-old boy...”

“Okay, okay! I get it,” Josh laughs, raising his hands in defeat, “jeez, thanks for the compliments”

“I am complimenting you!” I exclaim, “I’m saying I was wrong and you’re not what I thought you were”

“You did think I was, though”

“Well, at least I had an opinion on you,” I scoff, “I’m sure you didn’t even think of that after we did our school project, I probably just stopped existing in your world or something...”

“Of course not,” It was his time to act offended, “every time I saw you on the hall after our project I made sure to wave at you, remember?”

“How kind of you”

“What can I say? I’m a real-life gentleman.”

I laugh again and pull my shoes out of my bag to put them on.

“Is that the reason why Sam Dean fell head over heels for you?”

The effect was immediate. Josh’s shoulders tense and his smile disappears, he clears his throat and looks anywhere but me.

“Uhm, I don’t really know if she...”

“It’s alright,” I add promptly, “sorry, I didn’t mean to make you sad”

“I’m not sad,” He shakes his head, “it’s just that I keep thinking... maybe things could’ve been different if I had said something sooner, you know?”

Trust me, Josh. I know.

Taglist.

@letsbloodmagic

#twoidiots writing #josh wheeler #josh wheeler xreader #wesley fists #eli cardashyan #angelica green #daybreak #netflix #Starcrossed fic #daybreak fanfic

62 notes · View notes

ryqoshay · 5 years

Text

How to Handle a Nico - Even Under a Love Curse, There’s No Way I Would Be Like This

Primary Pairing: NicoMaki Words: ~1.5k Rating: T Time Frame: Maki is in med school. Nico is working as an idol producer. They are living together as a couple, but not married yet. Story Arc: Stand Alone

Author’s Note: I must thank VNVdarkangel for help in giving a title to this chapter; I was honestly stumped. But this title gives it un certain anime’esque je ne sais quoi, if you will.

“Manga?” Maki asked, glancing over at the tablet her girlfriend was holding. “Haven’t seen you read that kind of stuff in a while.”

“Doujin.” Nico corrected, swiping to advance the page.

“Same difference?”

“In art style, sure, but not in publication.”

“Hrm… Hey, that girl looks like… me?”

Nico giggled.

“And why is she… What the heck?”

Nico laughed heartily.

“I don’t get it.”

“It’s my doujin, Maki-chan.”

“You drew a doujin?”

“Well, no, I actually commissioned it.” Nico amended. “And this is really just a proof of concept, not her finished product.”

“Her?”

“The artist I commissioned. She’s a former school idol, which is how I came across her work.” Nico explained. “One of her friends from that group works with Egao now.”

“Hrm…”

“She’s been drawing her own doujin for a little while now but hit a snag and decided to take a small hiatus. During that time, she opened commissions and I liked her work, so I got one. Uhm…” She scrolled through a folder. “Here it is.”

“You had her draw us from one of our old photoshoots?”

“Uh huh. Cute, isn’t it?” Nico grinned. “Brings back memories.”

“Yeah…” Maki studied the drawing on display. “I remember liking that set.”

“Anyway, the picture gave me some ideas, so I reached out to her again and asked if she’d be willing to work a bigger project.” Nico switched back to the doujin. “And this is what we came up with. Wanna read it?”

“Sure.” Maki accepted the tablet. It felt odd reading a story about a fanciful version of herself, but the artwork immediately pulled her in. “What the heck? ‘How to Handle a Maki’? I don’t get it. What kind of title is that?”

“A fitting one. Nico is left trying to figure out how to deal with Maki’s curse, after all.”

“Curse?”

“Sorry, spoilers…” Nico held up her hands apologetically.

Maki pursed her lips. For some reason, the name bugged her more than it probably should. Perhaps it was because it sounded familiar? But why would it be familiar? Odd…

“And Nozomi is in this too?” She asked after a few pages.

“Yup.” Nico confirmed. “And Eli. And Kotori. Umi, Rin and Hanayo have only been mentioned in name thus far, but they’ll probably appear later. I forget what her girlfriend had planned for Honoka.”

“Girlfriend?”

“The artist’s girlfriend is really into fantasy games and whatnot. She’s been a big help in coming up with ideas for worldbuilding, character design and plot points. There are a couple Easter egg jokes and references to gaming that were her suggestions.”

“I see.” Maki continued to read. “Wait, do I still think you’re younger than me?”

“Maybe?” Nico shrugged. “Not really sure how to take care of that just yet. Maybe it can just happen off panel at some point.”

“And one meal is all it took for me to become obsessed with your cooking?”

“Are you gonna deny that’s what happened in real life?”

Maki deadpanned at her girlfriend, earning a laugh.

“Well, maybe not just one…” The redhead tried to save face.

“Then definitely by the second.” The raven-haired girl decided.

“… Maybe…” Maki conceded.

“Nico knows how much Maki-chan loves her cooking.”

Well, there really was no denying that fact.

“Did they have coffee in medieval times?” Maki inquired a moment later.

“No idea.” Nico admitted. “But I know Maki-chan can’t face the day without it, I figured just alluding to it without naming it might work.”

“I suppose…” Maki furrowed her brow. “Are you trying to scam or cheat me?”

Nico blinked in confusion until she saw the page. “Nico is a professional saleswoman!” She huffed. “She would never cheat a customer. She knows Maki-chan can afford better gear than your average novice adventurer and she knows what upgrades will be most beneficial.”

“Also, what’s a grue?”

“An excuse to force players to bring light sources, I guess.” Nico shrugged. “That’s one of those gamer jokes I mentioned.”

“And the gazebo?”

“Another joke.”

“I see. And why does Kotori have a lion?”

“She’s a Beastmaster.”

“Ok, but again, why a lion?”

“Because she had one in the original photoshoot.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right, she did.” Maki’s memory was jogged a bit. “She was part of the focus pair, with Eli, right?”

Nico nodded. “And you were paired with Rin as the secondary.”

“Is that why I’m friends with her here?”

“Rin? Not really, I don’t think.” Nico shook her head. “I mean, yeah, you two are friends, but through Hanayo. I think they’ll appear in the next chapter and we’ll get to explore how you know each other better.”

Maki nodded and continued to read. “Say, why don’t you call the harpy what it is?”

“Because you don’t know what it is.”

“Yes, I do.” Maki furrowed her brow.

“I mean your character doesn’t”

“Why wouldn’t my fantasy character know what a harpy is when she lives in a fantasy world where they actually exist?”

“Because she was raised in the city and is only now becoming an adventurer.” Nico explained. “She’s not ignorant, she just knows stuff better suited for an urban life as opposed to someone out in the rural areas. Not much different than real life, right?”

“I suppose…” Maki reached the part she had seen earlier and frowned. Her girlfriend noticed and giggled. But upon seeing the next page, she sighed. “Ok, the glomping was one thing, but climbing into bed with you? After having barely known you a day?”

“Two days, I believe.” Nico pointed out, ignoring the deadpan stare directed at her. “And it’s because of the curse.”

“Yeah, but even under a love curse, there’s no way I would be like this.”

Nico smirked.

“What?”

“I should really record you drunk sometime.”

“I still…”

“Oh, c’mon, Maki-chan, I’ve even told you about your drunken clinginess before.”

“Mmm…”

“And your half-asleep clinginess.”

“…”

“And your…”

“Alright, alright, I get it…” Maki didn’t want to admit the memories that were swirling around in her head.

“I’ve always found it cute, by the way.” Nico pointed out.

“You’re not finding it cute here.”

Nico chuckled. “That’s because it isn’t real, it’s because you’re under an idol curse.”

“You mean a love curse.”

“An idol curse.”

Maki rolled her eyes. “Are you intentionally baiting me into making a snarky comment about idols?”

“Maybe.” Nico stuck out her tongue.

Maki sighed. “And let me guess, you’re going to have me be all embarrassed about it later.”

“Well that’s how Maki-chan is in real life. And a flustered Maki-chan is an adorable Maki-chan.”

As if on cue, Maki could feel heat in her cheeks. She really should be used to Nico’s teasing by now, but the older girl rarely failed to get a reaction out of her. And though she wasn’t fond of how predictable her reactions were, she couldn’t really fault Nico for seeking them. After all, Maki also loved Nico’s own flustered expressions.

“So,” Nico asked as the last page was reached “what did you think?”

“It was entertaining.” Maki admitted. “Was this posted online?”

“Not yet.” Nico shook her head. “She just sent this to me for approval. She hasn’t even posted it on her own site yet.”

“Hrm…”

Nico chuckled. “Don’t worry, anyone at the hospital who reads this kind of stuff will like it and won’t think you’re weird or anything.”

It never ceased to amaze Maki how well her girlfriend could read her.

“But we can keep it private if we want.” Nico added.

“No, it’s fine, I guess…” Maki decided. “And you said there was going to be another chapter?”

“Or Two. Or more. Depends on how many ideas we have.” Nico grinned. “Because you know we can’t leave things like this. We can’t let Maki-chan only love Nico because of a curse! It needs to be natural! Just like in real life.” She leaned over to nuzzle into her girlfriend’s side. “Although even if we’re trying to keep things realistic, we also can’t keep the readers waiting for years…”

Maki furrowed her brow as she realized what Nico meant. “I didn’t mean…”

“I know. I know” Nico interrupted, making dismissive motions with her free hand. “Maki-chan’s just a little romantically dense is all. And we figured things out eventually and got together and we’re all good now.” She turned her head and pushed herself up so she could plant a kiss on the redhead’s cheek.

“Uhm… You know it’s getting kind of late…” Maki said softly.

“Hmm?”

“Well, I have class in the morning and…”

Nico grinned. “Is Maki-chan hinting that she wants to climb into bed with Nico?”

“Maybe…”

Nico laughed. “Maki-chan is being unusually shy tonight. She has no trouble seducing Nico but is embarrassed to request a snuggle session?”

Maki pouted, earning more laughter.

“So, to bed it is.” Nico said, pushing herself up and off the couch. “But how about a bath first?” She turned to offer a hand to her girlfriend.

“Alright.” Maki agreed, accepting the help up before following Nico down the hall.

Author’s Notes Continued in Followup Post

#NicoMaki #Nishikino Maki #Yazawa Nico #How to Handle a Nico #Love Live #fanfic

23 notes · View notes

thedistantstorm · 4 years

Text

Project Compass 08

Read Along on AO3 Here

<< Previous Chapter << >> Next Chapter >>

This time: A conversation in Sy Bisti. Thrawn gives Ezra good news.

Next Time: Vah’nya pulls Ezra aside. Ivant gives Ezra some tips on fighting the Grysk.

Shock was a common occurrence among soldiers. Thrawn had seen it in many theatres: space battles with pale faced new ensigns, undercover missions seasoned veterans never fully returned from, ground troops executing an enemy for the first time. Soldiers he could relate to, Chiss or otherwise. Was his presence preferable or soothing? Unlikely. But he knew how to intervene.

Ezra Bridger might be a Jedi, but he was a soldier, too. He'd come of age within the Rebellion's militia-like structure. He adapted well, and Thrawn had not forgotten that he'd infiltrated an Imperial Military Academy, either. Thrawn could deal with talking down soldiers far better than he could deal with Navigators. The question was whether or not his subconscious would register Thrawn as an enemy due to their history.

In Basic, which Thrawn had not spoken for weeks in the other man's presence, he asked, "Is Navigator Un'hee's presence helping or hurting?"

Un'hee shot him a dirty look. He ignored it.

Sitting in the middle of the couch, Ezra's dazed expression didn't change. He licked his lips, swallowed, but no words came.

"Navigator," Thrawn intoned, not gently but hardly rude. "I ask that you leave us."

"I don't want to leave him alone like this." She reached for one of Ezra's hands, and the young man twitched, clenched tightly to his knees.

"I will stay with him," Thrawn said. "I fear your Sight is hurting more than helping."

"I'm being careful," Un'hee argued. "I know how he feels and you know it."

"He also knows how you feel, Navigator Un'hee," The glow of Thrawn's eyes were muted, indicative of his attempt to remain calm, and inspire it in her, too.

"Ivant said he was coming to talk to him," She said, pushing herself up from the cushion to Ezra's left. "After he finished with Admiral Ar'alani."

"I will be sure to expect him, then," Thrawn replied, derailing Un'hee's hope that the threat of Eli Vanto in close quarters would allow her to stay. "Please, Navigator."

Thrawn was not naturally impolite, in fact it was the opposite. But he retained a firm grasp of order, and did not often ask. Un'hee sighed. "If I can help…" She trailed off.

"I will send you a message."

The girl doubted she would receive anything, but still obeyed his request. When the door shut behind her, Thrawn rose. Ezra's eyes followed him without seeing. "I suspect you feel cold," He said. "I will return with a blanket."

The aftermath of a battle tended to hit far harder than the battle itself. The subconscious caught up to the conscious mind, the cocktail of chemicals produced by the neural system of the body dissipated. Thrawn procured two blankets instead of one, taking the top layer of bedding from each of their bunks. Ezra was normally cold.

He considered his datapad for a moment. Then, considering for a moment her surprise, Thrawn balanced it on his lap to send a message to Un'hee.

The door to the suite opened slowly, drawing Thrawn's gaze. The brighter light that spilled in from the hallway was eclipsed by a shadow far larger than that of Un'hee, who he’d been expecting. It had only been a few moments since her confirmation message came through that she’d return with something warm for Ezra to drink, likely caf. Thrawn listened to the first, heavier footfall and was on his feet in a second. Ezra turned his head warily, jolted by the quick motion of the man beside them.

"Captain Ivant," Thrawn greeted, voice hollow. Beside him, Ezra blinked, and attempted to rise, swaying in place. The Commander prepared to keep him down with a hand, but the Captain spoke first.

"At ease," Ivant said in Basic. Despite the darkness in the room, he made no effort to turn up the lights via the touch panel. He smiled at Ezra, much like he so frequently smiled at the younger Navigators, and the young man seemed to sink back down into the cushion. Then, the human’s gaze canted up, meeting Thrawn's. The smile wasn't entirely gone. "Please," He said, directing that familiar drawl and those warm brown eyes at the Chiss.

For a moment, Thrawn could almost pretend there was no bad blood, no uncomfortable tension between them. Then he blinked, and logic won out. "As you wish," Thrawn said tightly. Something in him coiled, making him feel uneasy.

There were three mugs between his two gloved hands. He placed the first before Ezra. Caf, Thrawn realized. Ezra looked down at it slowly, then back up. Ivant tilted his head. "It's way too hot to drink now," He said kindly, hardly expecting Ezra to take it. "Let it cool a while."

The young Jedi’s eyes were hazy and dark, unfocused, but he nodded slightly before a tremor ran down his spine. Ivant didn’t press him on it, nor did he comment when Ezra pulled the blankets wrapped around him closer. Thrawn watched his charge with an appraising eye. Bridger was a special case. He had very little parenting or security in his upbringing. It made people protective of him.

Ezra Bridger also had a big heart and a desire to help. Thrawn clearly felt somewhat indebted to him. Ivant separated the remaining mugs, balanced precariously in the crook of an arm pressed against his side and in his non-dominant hand. Eli moved that one to the dominant hand as to prevent spillage of the last one and held it out to Thrawn.

He eyed it warily, lips thinning. “You did not need to-”

“I did,” Vanto interrupted. His eyebrows went up as he silently appraised the Chiss. “You think he’d talk to me like this without you present?”

Something about that made the discomforting sensation in Thrawn’s core burn. Still, he kept his voice without inflection, true neutral. “He would do as ordered, Captain. As would I.”

Thrawn took the mug and sat. Ivant stepped back, leaning casually against the opposite wall.

It was true. Thrawn is on thin ice, as the humans say. It is an appropriate expression, considering his home world. Thrawn has been on thin ice for a long, long time. Ivant studied him with his brown eyes, pupils dilated to allow him to see as much as possible in the dark. He did feel any embarrassment, there was no heat in his neck, or cheeks, or ears. He was dark in the spectrum that Thrawn could see with his superior biology. He felt lightyears away instead of just outside arms’ reach.

“If I make you that uncomfortable,” The human finally said, his voice lilting with the accent, soft and round, but just as firm, “I’ll leave. The kid can message me when he’s up for talking.”

Thrawn rose sharply, eyes flashing in momentary outrage. Ivant did not back down, stepping forward as well. He held his mug of tea between both hands. “I do not understand,” Thrawn said. He spoke again, but this time in Sy Bisti. Tension made itself known in his forehead. “I do not understand where I stand with you.”

Ivant looked into his mug as though it would hold some secret answer. Then, he lifted his head. He answered in the language he’d been spoken to. “I am your Captain.”

“That is not what I meant, and you know it.”

The beginnings of a smile passed through his face, smoothed out before it ever became anything more than a quirk of his lips. Mirth. “We are not the same beings we were at the start of all this,” Vanto said. “We have both had to make difficult decisions.”

“I am not proud of what I did, not all of it.”

From where they stood, Vanto looking up at him, Thrawn saw his eyes in totality and unobscured: a deep brown, like Corellian cinnamon and tang bark. He no longer held himself like his lack of height was a disadvantage. His chest was pushed out enough to be open, his stance comfortable but lacking arrogance. He did not yield, his stance did not relent, but something in his eyes eased.

“I know, Thrawn.”

Neither of them looked away. An impossible urge crossed through the Chiss’s logical rationale. A desire to reach for the man in front of him. A desire to make a connection. Thrawn wrapped his unoccupied hand around the warm mug of tea, threading his fingers together lest he be struck by yet another irrational proclivity.

Vanto tilted his head. Thrawn saw the lines beneath his eyes, the way the outer corners of them crinkled when half-smiled, bittersweetly. He wanted to dissect each and every micromovement, each like a brushstroke on an evolving canvas. He wanted to ask questions and analyze Vanto's responses, wanted to sit here and drink tea and pretend this was something it wasn't. That it was fine. That they were something more than allies. That-

The Captain's comm chimed on his belt and the shrill beep in the otherwise silent room made Ezra jerk, the mug of caf sloshing when he kicked the table. It brought the young Jedi back to himself, and with an easy wave of his hand he saved the mug before it went crashing to the floor.

The moment, whatever it had been, whatever it might have been trying to be, was broken.

“Ivant,” Vanto said, pulling the device around him.

“I need you aboard the Strikefast in twenty minutes,” Ar’alani said.

“Make it forty. I’m with the Jedi.”

She tutted, not thrilled about the suggestion. “How does he fare?”

The edge in Vanto’s tone was icy. His Cheunh was flawless, Thrawn realized not for the first time. It sounded like he’d been speaking it for his entire life, not three years, give or take. “Not well. Care to explain to me why I’m debating sending him to medical?”

“Recall your first encounter, Captain,” Ar’alani didn’t sound remotely concerned. “He will be fine.”

“Yeah,” Ivant rolled his eyes, half amused as he recalled wryly, “I remember. I don’t think you let me rinse my mouth out before you debriefed me.”

“I was prepared to do so in that tiny refresher in your quarters,” The Admiral’s voice hid a sardonic sense of humor between her words. “You may have thirty minutes. If you are not in my office within the hour-”

“I’ll be there. Ivant out.” He switched the comm off and turned to the Jedi. He gave a tentative smile, trying to shake off his funk. It would be a few days before he’d be back to normal, but he’d be alright, Ivant knew. Thrawn had dealt with this before. He knew what to do, and he wasn’t Ezra’s only resource aboard the Compass.

Ezra coughed nervously. “Did she really?” He asked slowly, testing each word on his tongue.

“Yes,” Ivant gave him a gentle smirk, a little wry. “I’m better for it. But that’s not what you need. We’re going to talk about it. Your reaction isn’t entirely uncommon.”

“I’ve never,” Ezra looked down at his hands, sucking a drip of caf off his finger. “I think I’d rather face Vader.”

Thrawn’s head swivelled around fast, his response terse. “You jest.”

Ezra did not. “At least I can understand Vader’s motives. They-”

Vanto interrupted their bickering. He had a schedule to keep, “There are things in the universe that are simply and purely evil. A warrior does not seek to understand them, or to compromise with them.” Thrawn exhaled sharply, drawing the Captain’s gaze. “He seeks only to destroy them.”

“Eli-”

Ivant’s eyes narrowed, and the serious dark look was back. He addressed Ezra, “Starting tomorrow, you will meet me in the training facilities on the second level two hours before first shift. I will teach you how to fight a Grysk.” He considered Thrawn. That slightest bit of warmth in his eyes was gone, like their former discussion hadn't happened at all. “You are welcome to join us, if your duties allow.”

Thrawn frowned, eyes curiously blank, even for him. Ezra still hadn’t moved from the huddle of the two blankets wrapped around him. He wasn’t shaking anymore, but he still felt shaky and on-edge as he rose. “Yes, Captain,” Ezra said. His voice wasn’t as wobbly as he’d expected.

The Chiss swallowed, then nodded. He did not speak. It earned him a curious, concerned look from Ezra. But Ivant didn't comment on it, didn't rebuke him or draw attention to it.

"I'm sorry I couldn't stay and speak with you longer," Ivant said in Ezra's direction, but something about that seemed off to him. His voice didn't have that quality to it - like speaking to a student, that parental, teaching tone he used with Ezra and the Navigators. Ezra suspected he was speaking to Thrawn.

But it didn't matter. Ivant was gone in seconds, twelve steps in a purposeful stride, the door hissing shut behind him.

Thrawn lowered himself back onto the cushion beside Ezra. They sipped at their drinks in silence until there were only dregs left, and they'd long since gone cold.

"While you were gone," The Chiss began, "Vah'nya allowed me to see an old colleague I served with in the Empire." He still cradled the mug between his hands, as if not sure what to do with them otherwise. "She defected," He clarified carefully. "She did not go to the Rebellion, though she brought news of the Emperor's product, Stardust."

Ezra turned to look at him. "Do I want to know?" He asked.

"I wouldn't tell you now if I thought it would make things worse," Thrawn reasoned. "But I would tell you. You deserve to know."

Nodding, Ezra looked down at his hands, tangled together while his forearms rested on his knees. "They won?"

"They did. I inquired about your friends, but there was not much information. They did not play a large role in the battle."

"Thanks for trying," Ezra's words were weighted with gratitude. "Seriously," He said, as though Thrawn might not have noticed the first time around. The Chiss had. He simply hadn't finished speaking.

"I was given the impression that the Captain would give you more details. However, I did learn why General Syndulla was not more involved, if you wish-"

"Of course I do!" Ezra turned on the cushion, facing Thrawn's right side. He no longer trembled from his earlier experience, his body tense with anticipation. "Anything," He said desperately.

"She was with child," Thrawn said. "A son."

Ezra flopped back against the couch, staring up at the unimpressive ceiling, tinged gray in the dark. For a moment, he layed in the strange, awkward position he'd thrown himself back in on the remaining free cushions. His breaths came soft but smooth. Deep, and centering.

Thrawn almost wondered if the Jedi had fallen asleep. He'd certainly come upon the young man sleeping in creative and very uncomfortable situations.

"Thank you," Ezra said. "For telling me. And for asking."

"You are welcome," Thrawn said. Then, "Jarrus was the father?"

Ezra propped himself up in his elbows, looking at the side of Thrawn's face. "They were best friends. Partners, in and out of battle," He said as if trying to craft a relatable expression for the Chiss, then added, "They loved each other."

Thrawn turned to look at Ezra, not entirely sure what to say. He was no stranger to the concept of love. It was not far from certain aspects of loyalty, dedication, or devotion. Though he doubted very much that he'd felt it, even in his youth, something in the Commander's gut burned at the unspoken implication in Ezra's words. He thought of Eli Vanto’s cool-dark gaze looking up at him, of I know, Thrawn, of the way he held himself like a man who finally started to understand what he was worth.

He never did get an answer to his question.

#Thranto #Eli Vanto #Mitth'raw'nuruodo #Un'hee #Eli Vanto/Thrawn #SW Fanfiction #My Writing #Star Wars

4 notes · View notes

med20 · 5 years

Link

CANNES, FRANCE—As Lions Health wrapped up another year, attendees sifted their notes and pulled out a few common threads. Technology, for one, but not just for the sake of using a shiny new tool. Or as one Sanofi exec put it, "Technology in the service of creativity."

Marketing for good was another: aka, applying sharp communications brains to thorny public health problems. And then there were what Leigh Householder of Syneos Health called "secret messages," exemplified in one campaign using crossword puzzle clues to spread the word about elder abuse in a way abusive family members might not catch—but their puzzling seniors would.

Overall? It's a big world out there, but while appealing to global markets is key for pharma success, sometimes scaling up a creative local campaign is the way to really reach consumers and their doctors. Read on for more.

Tuesday

Doctors aren't robots. Forget the charts and graphs, sales reps. Lead with your heart instead. That’s the message from Attila Cansun, a chief marketing officer at the newly rebranded P&G Health. Adapting a consumer marketing framework dubbed LoveBrands, Cansun and his team use a similar evaluation-and-revamp for the company’s doctor relationships. Story

The trust tour. GW Pharmaceuticals' strategy for promoting its new cannabinoid drug Epidiolex to doctors sounded simple—earn their trust. But that's easier said than done, no thanks to Kim Kardashian and her CBD-themed baby shower. So the company decided to take physicians to the source, namely its massive marijuana greenhouse, and show them cannabis-derived drugs are the real deal. Story

Get out the tissues. In the U.S., when seasonal sneezes come on, there’s no mystery about what to do next: Go to the drugstore for allergy medication. But what if that decision weren’t automatic? For Sanofi, as it launched its drug Allegra over the counter in Brazil, the answer was a mobile, augmented-reality campaign that could outfit users with red noses and watery eyes, similar to a Snapchat filter. It even animated sneezes, complete with droplets on the phone screen. Story

Hemophilia, humor and a hipster host. A reality show about hemophilia? And it's a comedy? That would be Roche’s Genentech and ad agency 21 Gram’s new YouTube series called “Challenge Accepted.” Each 15-minute episode of the show, which premiered last week, features a different patient, coach and lesson targeting boys and young men with hemophilia. And it gets that lesson across using humor—and some magic tricks. Story

Monday

Big winner. It’s been a long three years since a pharma jury here handed out Grand Prix honors. But Monday night, GlaxoSmithKline and its ad agency McCann Health broke through with a mobile app called Breath of Life, used to detect chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in older adults in China. Eli Lilly, ViiV and Merck were among the other pharma winners. Story

No-ad advertising. Marketers need to think big. Like saving-the-world big. That’s the advice McCann Health’s global chief creative officer, Matt Eastwood, offered up to kick off the Cannes Lions Health confab Monday. And what that means to Eastwood is advertising that “may not look like advertising,” he said. “It’s advertising while doing good.” Story

New light on MS. Multiple sclerosis symptoms can be confusing: They differ person to person and even day to day for the same patients. Roche's Floodlight Open app aims to clear that confusion for individuals by gathering personal health data every day and delivering real-world evidence for broader understanding of the disease. Story

Procter & Gamble showed up for Cannes Lions Health—and no wonder. The consumer packaged goods giant recently bought Merck KGaA’s consumer health division and rebranded it as P&G Health. Now, with teams of brand managers and concept demos on display here, it's serving notice—at least to consumer healthcare companies—that it’s in play. Story

Sunday

Shorted shortlist? The Pharma Lions shortlist for 2019 lives up to its name. Just 31 entries cleared the finalist bar this year, down from 53 last year. But it’s still good news for the 12 multinational pharmas in the running—and for the pharma marketers looking to eye the industry’s best at Monday night’s awards. Story

Breakout scouts. As Cannes Lions Health kicked off its sixth year Monday, attendees were looking for some breakouts. As in breakthrough technology, creativity that breaks barriers, groundbreaking global ideas and a chance to finally break with the backhanded compliment that Lions Health work is “good for pharma.” Story

Escaping the same-same. Bartle Bogle Hegarty’s roster of literal A-list clients—Audi, Absolut and AstraZeneca—earns it center stage at Lions Health with a consumer-to-pharma creative crossover pitch. Hint? Brand differentiation is job one, and to do that, drugmakers need to pull cliché imagery out by the root. Story

Heard around the Palais

Winning outside the pharma and healthcare box. Johnson & Johnson and partners picked up the Grand Prix for Entertainment on Tuesday night for the film “5B.” The film about the nurses who founded and opened the first AIDS ward at San Francisco General Hospital, called Ward 5B in 1983 was picked up in May by Verizon for broader distribution and officially debuted June 14. “5B” was created by Oscar-nominated director Dan Krauss and Saville Productions, known for its branded ad and film work. Saville tweeted in May after Verizon picked up “5B”: “The film is an HIV/AIDS crisis doc, commissioned by Johnson & Johnson, & shows how brands can authentically get behind global issues.” The film also won a Lions Health & Wellness silver statue on Monday night.

Stand up for nontraditional creative. Getting the green light for a brand film targeted at physicians at a pharma company is not for the faint of heart. Even the best ideas face multiple hurdles. AstraZeneca’s Lions Health award-winning "The Attack" film from last year highlighted the risk of repeat heart attacks, but was "that close" to being killed, said Kyriakos Konstantinidis, global strategy director at AstraZeneca. That's what his boss told him later after winning four more global awards and industry impact, feedback and successes rolled in. It helped that Konstantinidis understood the vision that ad agency Havas Lynx brought with its ideas—his father had worked in the film industry and he grew up in and around it. Konstantinidis and Havas' perseverance not only led to the creation of "The Attack," but another new disease awareness film about cardiovascular risks around Type 2 diabetes that debuted recently. That patient-targeted film features a fisherman talking about the dangers of heart disease for Type 2 patients while his boat engine stalls, noting, "That's how dangerous Type 2 diabetes is. It can cause your heart, your engine, to fail." Konstantinidis urged the audience and pharma in general to take risks, albeit calculated ones with a strategy meets creativity foundation. "When you're working in the pharmaceutical industry which has a very conservative approach to these sort of ideas, and you have your colleagues and peers coming to you (after the campaign) to say, apart from congratulations, 'How did you do that? We want to copy that, we want to do the same brief. ... What is the direction I need to take internally to make this a success in order to get the buy in?' Then you know you have created a new area," he said.

Fighting fake news. Panelists from Johnson & Johnson, McCann Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tackled the thorny problem of combating disinformation about vaccines. "It won't be a TV campaign," said Seema Kumar, J&J's vice president for innovation in global health and science policy. Social media might play a role, but it's really peer-to-peer and face-to-face that's most important, the panelists decided. How to make that happen? "I'm challenging you," panel moderator Rajesh Mirchandani, chief communications officer of the UN Foundation, told the audience. In another session moderated by Conde Nast’s health chief Jen Mormile, Self editor in chief Carolyn Kylstra said their research found that while fake health news is not new—snake oil has been around a long time—it’s an issue because of social media and the rapid way disinformation now spreads, exacerbated by the lack of trust in authority figures. To combat it, Self is doubling down on health news editing, fact checking and vetting sources including celebrities. Meanwhile, co-panelist physician Esther Choo said doctors can do their part by going beyond traditional journal model of publish-and-done model. Today physicians need to follow up and make sure other scientists are misusing or misconstruing their work, she said.

VR for VR's sake. Too many pharma marketers are making the mistake of recruiting tech tools for jobs they can't do, or just using those tech tools poorly, said Sam Glassenberg, founder and CEO of LevelEx, which makes mobile games for physician training. For example, method-of-action presentations that used to be on big screens have moved into virtual reality. But zooming around a molecule in the virtual world while sitting still in the real one tends to make people nauseous. "The last thing you want a doctor to associate with your drug is nausea," Glassenberg said. The moral of the story is to use VR only when it's the only way to tell a particular story—and when you do, make it a spectator sport, he said.

Real-world evidence and technology are natural partners, said Alex Gilbert, head of partnerships at app developer Medopad, as he ticked off the ways his company’s working with life sciences companies such as Novartis to help collect the sort of patient data that can help drugmakers add new indications to existing drugs. “We’re now creating a living, breathing document of a patient," Gilbert said. “Your health record doesn’t have to be in the hospital. It’s here, created by you.”

Spending on real-world evidence has hit $1.48 billion, according to Simone Seymour, founder and CEO of the biometric textiles company Supa. Real-world evidence is “really hot right now” for personalizing products but “also for understanding how drugs are actually working.” Companies are tapping Supa’s tech—and its network of app users—to monitor and recruit patients for real-world evidence trials.

A GlaxoSmithKline toothpaste made to alleviate bleeding gums served as an example of why design should be at the heart of marketing in one session led by GSK's vice president of design and innovation Andrew Barraclough. "It's all about spitting blood," he noted, and blood imagery appeared on everything from the platelet-like motif on the toothpaste tube to the smartphone screen that started bloody and cleared from there. Then, in the Czech Republic, GSK flipped the idea to promote blood donations. "Don't spit blood, give blood" was the tagline for GSK's #bloodforgood campaign there.

#Cannes Lions Festival #Lions Health #Digital Pharma #Creativity #Health Innovation #Digital Health #SXSH

0 notes

azveille · 5 years

Text

Lions Health wrap: Roche's reality show, Sanofi's sneezy AR push, SRO for Epidiolex and more

Tuesday

Monday

Sunday

Heard around the Palais

0 notes

theemmataylor · 7 years

Text

A Frozen Medley || Sebastian, Gaston, Emma, Evelyn, Alaric, and the Mikaelson Brothers

I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI | XII | XIII | XIV | XV | XVI

The gunman quirked a brow. Even the wolf from this morning hadn't felt that threatening to him, and he'd been snarling and bleeding. But this cat... "Well, I can't just fucking lead you back to them, can I?"

Insane.

You are going fucking insane, Moran.

Might as well embrace it, right?

"One other gunman, five civilians. Film crew. Writer. We... are here for a documentary. I'm here to make sure they are safe. And this morning we woke up to..." He gestured toward the censors that had been deactivated. "And our electric fence down. A rabbit foot hanging from it. Our satellite radio and EPIRB's have all been destroyed. And... I've lost my fucking mind."

I'm out of ideas. I'm running out of hope.

The cat turned back to him and nuzzled her face against one of his hands, then sighed and looked at the markers. She sniffed at it then turned and looked for the next. When she saw it, she turned and started walking calmly towards it, not seeming to care whether Moran accompanied her or not.

He did, surprised that the cat had seemed to... take to him? He wasn't sure. She hadn't bitten him, that was one thing, at least. His eyes lifted back up to the camp site, grateful, at least, that they were in this kind of landscape and he had this kind of visibility from this distance. Even in the still darkness.

Sebastian didn't let his gun relax as it was strapped to his chest. He kept it in hand, though it was no longer raised. For once he didn't speak. He was tired. More so than he would ever admit to being. This trip wasn't supposed to be like this. Hell, after this maybe he needed to just retire.

"The man. Earlier. He had no heat. My glasses... He had no heat."

Evelyn stopped, waiting for him to catch up. When he did, she moved at an easy pace for him to match, letting her fur brush against his leg. When they got to the next marker, she sniffed at it, then went on to the next -- which had the rabbit's heart atop it. The leopard batted at the pole, eyes fixed on the top, and when the heart fell to the snow, the little red light flashed once.

In sequence, the rest of the markers began their periodic flickering.

Turning, she looked up at the tired human. Is this what you wanted? she wondered, and touched her nose calmly to his hand before looking at the camp again.

Sebastian moved closer to the marker and stuck his hand out past it. His watch vibrated with one of the hour markers lighting up brighter than the others. Eight o'clock. Exactly the position they were from camp. Just southwest.

His hand gently pet over the top of the cat's head, carefully scratching behind her ears. "Thank you," he said softly. "It doesn't help us reach out to anybody. But I... feel safer.

"Do you need water? It is all I have to offer you. I can't steal rations from the team."

She shook her head, although offering such human gestures in this form always felt ridiculous. Still, until she saw Emma -- who else really mattered? -- she had no desire to reveal who or what she really was, and so small gestures would have to be enough for now.

The snow leopard sniffed the air when a breeze kicked up, but she only relaxed afterwards, seeming to find no threat on it -- at least not for now. Her long tail twined around the hunter's nearest leg and she huffed quietly.

"Okay."

Sebastian made way for their camp, taking his time when he got close enough to do a circle, looking for any more signs of that fucking rabbit tainting their equipment. He checked the solar panels and then finally approached the fence, making sure the cat didn't walk too close.

"Do not ask me how I know she is safe, but she is. The markers are back up. I assume you know that now, since me testing it set off my watch. I'm going to stand out here for a bit. Go ahead and let everyone out for a latrine trip and to get food and whatever else they would like to keep with them until we can figure out these fences. We still don't have radios. But there is at least something to help us for now."

Anyone else and Gaston would have thought they were insane, bringing a damned cat back to the camp. Here they were, worried about predators, and the man had just brought one with him -- but for the first time, the fox showed its face. It came out, sniffing nervously, and darted over to the cat, sniffing at her paws.

She ignored him completely.

Gaston watched this for just a moment, looked around once more, then climbed down and knocked on the cage. "Open up," he said, "your first prison recess is about to begin."

Niklaus was the first out, desperate for a chance to stretch. He groaned as he did so -- and when he saw the leopard he jumped back, startled. "Elijah!"

Elijah came out, looked at her, and smiled with delight. "How strange. Hello there." Walking over, he crouched and let her sniff his hand before he went back to working on his generator.

Yes. Pet the cat. Of course.

Alaric and Kol were the next two out, their joints cracking as they managed to finally extend their limbs. "You know what's not bloody fair," Kol muttered, turning and catching sight of the cat, stalling completely in what he was about to say. "Where did you come from, darling?" he asked, though didn't extend a hand.

She was a cat, sure. But her teeth were doubtless sharp.

"You were saying?" Alaric prodded, smiling in the direction of the cat, but also keeping his distance. Only snapping in Nik's direction to make sure he wasn't forgetting to get his damn camera.

"Is that she is so small that she wasn't cramped in that cage at all. Just laid across both of us."

"It's not my fault you all make a comfortable mattress when smooshed together," Emma teased, striding out last from the cage and looking up to frown at the sky. "Why is it still dark, though. Like, the electronics I kinda, almost get. Maybe the poles screwed with it or something. Or maybe there is some hoodoo magic craziness going on. But why the darkness?"

"Why the darkness indeed," Elijah said. "The reprieve from the cage is not yet permanent. Refill the water bottles, eat, use the latrine, and get what you need to be more comfortable in there should we need to return, please."

Nik had needed the snaps; he went and got his camera, then headed off to piss, obediently using the damned bucket to please Elijah, but he kept looking over his shoulder at the cat. What the hell was a snow leopard doing here? And why did it look so delighted upon Emma's appearance?

The cat had immediately gone up to Emma once she saw her. She rubbed her head against the woman's hips, purring softly, and circled her several times, rubbing against her constantly.

Gaston frowned and looked around, then risked going up to Moran. "Talk to me, please," he said, shoulder to shoulder. "Tell me how you are doing."

Emma practically squeaked with delight and seemed to forget that she needed to use the restroom or that she wanted her notebook. She carefully reached out to pet the cat, leaning down enough to kiss between her ears, and was now beaming.

Sebastian stood tense, watching the cat, still holding his rifle tight. "Well. A rabbit walked toward me. It didn't fucking hop. And then a man appeared out of goddamn nowhere. His teeth spun. He... I don't know what I saw. It was dark. And I...

"Then she showed up. Walked the markers with me. There was a fucking rabbit heart balancing on one of them. She knocked it loose and the damn thing started flashing again. It's still dark. I'm still confused. But for some reason I'm trusting that damn cat. Who... Well, at least she likes Emma."

"Wait, wait. A man? I was watching you nearly the entire time, I saw no man. Is that what you fired at? I saw a bird...?"

"Yeah, well, he seemed to dissolve around the fucking bullet I fired at him and then turned into the bird when she showed up." He nodded at the leopard. "He had no heat register."

"Wonderful. So -- magic is definitely happening?"

Evelyn shifted back once Emma seemed pleased to see her. Her shimmering gray garments fluttered around her, looking far too formal and out of place in the arctic and her thick, silvery curls looked soft and clean and fresh. She was barefoot as always, the little chains and bells around her ankles glittering even in the seemingly eternal twilight, but she seemed content.

Gaston blinked. "Okay then. That happened."

"I'm not sure you'll remember me, Emma, we only met once -- Evelyn? Eli's companion."

Nik had come back over and just stood there, staring, while Elijah did much the same from his position on the ground.

"Magic is definitely happening," Sebastian responded as the woman appeared.

Emma actually did squeak this time and she wrapped her arms around Evelyn, then stepped back again, blushing. "It is so good to see a familiar face. But..." It dawned on her, suddenly, what was happening. "How did you... Why are you here? Not that I'm not so happy to see you. But... How?"

"How? I've been searching for -- you -- do know how long you've all been missing, don't you?"

Elijah stood. "Missing?"

"It's been a month." Evelyn met his eyes a moment, then looked back at Emma. "A friend named Evry asked me to help look for you. They've been searching some... coordinates, but all anyone ever found was an empty camp. This empty camp."

Elijah looked at Alaric.

"We came here yesterday. Flew in, yesterday." Alaric answered, stepping closer to Elijah and placing a hand on his back.

Emma's eyes were wide but she nodded in response. "Yeah. We... Yesterday we had wolves attack our hotel down in North Star. And then we were woken up today because our fence had quit and the markers had somehow been disabled. But we... have been here. Slept here."

"Is that why there is no sunlight?" Kol asked quietly. "It's not witchcraft. It's just... winter?"

"Early winter," Evelyn said with a solemn nod. "The sun won't come above the horizon again for months."

"Have you -- any way of contacting anyone?" Elijah put his arm around Alaric, trying to feel some sense of hope, but he saw the serious look in the woman's eyes.

"No. The spell that... has somehow... separated you from the -- normal world. It was too powerful. I have no magic left, other than enough to change forms." She put her arm around Emma and hugged her close for a moment, then looked back at Elijah.

Elijah's eyes narrowed and he shook his head. "You've stranded yourself in this... potentially alternate dimension as well then? Why?"

"Someone asked me to help. I don't give up on people who need it. I sent word of what I was doing... but whatever happens, I'll be with you." She looked at Emma's face once more then let her go. "Go. Eat. Relieve yourself. The danger is not yet passed, and we mustn't forget it."

Winter. Elijah had to force himself not to let his dismay show. They weren't prepared to be here for a full Arctic winter, certainly not with some strange, magical foe. He licked his lips once, then looked at Alaric, searching his eyes, trying to see just how he was taking this.

Alaric turned to face Elijah, putting the face between both of his mittened hands. He leaned in and kissed him. "We will survive," he replied softly. "We'll make that generator. We'll ration foods. We'll stay in the tents as much as possible. Maybe even move equipment to one tent and all of us in the other so that there is more warmth. We... We've survived a month, apparently. We can make it longer if we have to. But now that... the barrier seems to be down. Maybe someone will find us."

"Nobody is going to believe us," Kol said quietly. "The network. The magazine Emma writes for. They are all going to want to know what happened to us. But who the hell is going to believe that we were just here overnight and suddenly we're in the middle of winter."

Sebastian looked at Evelyn. "Do you know anything about the wolves? I... you said Evry asked you to help. He had been contacted because of the wolves, the same species of the one that showed up at our front gates this morning. They weren't just wolves..."

Evelyn looked over at Alaric. "The barrier isn't down. I'm sorry. I came through it, but I couldn't break it. We're inside someone's spell -- a very powerful, very dark spell." She spared Kol a glance, then look at Sebastian again. "I can't explain the animals yet. Wolves or rabbits. Evry seemed to know, but I lost contact with him. We split up when I felt a glimmer of magic that led me here, and he felt -- something else, calling him away."

Everything in Emma's expression and stance seemed to wilt.

"We're still missing," she whispered, eyes filling with tears. She looked around at all of the boys she was with, and wished she could somehow protect them.

"We have to abandon camp. But we... will never survive out there. Not in the winter. So what? Do we ration out food and hunt rabid rabbits until summer? And then hope that we are even still capable of getting somewhere, to some kind of civilization where we can make a call.

"People will stop looking for us. We're..."

Doomed.

They were all thinking it. Or at least many of them were.

"Doomed," Niklaus said aloud, his voice soft. "The rabbits will all be gone soon. The foxes... There won't be anything left to eat."

Gaston's expression darkened at the hints of despair he could hear.

"Yet we can't walk out. The winter will kill us..." Nik ran a hand over his face. He had followed Elijah into many places, but even with the greatest danger, he had never once thought that this was how it would end.

There was a deep moment of silence, then Elijah shook his head. "We're not doomed. Merely delayed. Arctic explorations have always been fraught with difficulties -- but we have advantages here. If we ration carefully, we can extend our food supply another two weeks, if we huddle together at night for warmth to make up for the reduction in calories. Walking out -- is not realistic." He turned away from Alaric, but put his arm around him. "We'll make an igloo and live in it rather than in a tent; it will be significantly warmer. We're also not far from the sea -- we simply can't see it at the moment, it's frozen over."

"The sea does us what good, Elijah? You want to fish? With the nets and lines and hooks we don't have?"

"Anything we need, Niklaus, we will make. We have tools. We have a set of brilliant minds. We will survive this winter, however long it lasts, and we will see summer again. And I was not thinking of fish, but of seals. They can be hunted with a spear."

Nik turned away entirely and ran his hands down his face. "No. No. We should try to walk out. To go -- somewhere. Moran!" He turned to him. "Talk some sense into my brother."

Evelyn pulled a sleeping bag out of the cage and wrapped it around herself, standing on the thick fabric as she listened.

"I cannot encourage people to walk to their deaths." Sebastian gave Nik an apologetic look. "Besides. Maybe... maybe if one day here was a month... maybe time will keep traveling faster out there. Before we know it, it'll be summer. But we still need to ration our food. Because when we do leave camp, we'll need food."

Niklaus glared cool daggers at Moran for a moment before he turned and confronted Elijah again. "Well, then. Let's put it to a vote. Since we'll all die equally, we might as well have equal say in deciding to."

"No, Niklaus." Elijah shook his head once. "We are not voting on this. We're not breaking down the order of this expedition and turning this group into a democratic proceeding. Myself and Alaric are still the leaders when it comes to day-to-day life, and Moran remains in command when it comes to dealing with outside threats. That is how it is, that is how it will remain. I see nothing left to discuss."

I don't want to die here, Elijah, Nik wanted to say, but he couldn't make his lips move again. He was still for a long moment, then said, "I'll bloody make breakfast. Light fare for all."

Emma had gone to rummage in the tents, bringing out Evelyn everything she could think of to help keep her warm, including a pair of boots that she didn't know would fit. Then, while Niklaus started breakfast, Emma began working to rebuild the tents.

Alaric put a hand on Elijah's shoulder and leaned in to kiss his forehead. "Let's get that generator running. I don't know what predators will be around. But maybe... it will give us some peace of mind."

"So. If a day for us was a month. It's... what? Late October now? November? We'll be here a week before summer starts to hit at that rate? That would give us five weeks of food to try to make it to some kind of shelter and contact the outside world. Even if we travel 15 miles a day, every day... that's..." he was quiet a second, "Five hundred and something miles. Five-twenty-five, I think. Will that get us anywhere?"

Evelyn had thanked Emma but had to decline, although she didn't explain the reason to her. It wasn't something she liked to discuss, that the only thing she could ever wear again was the shroud she'd be buried in -- the beautiful, shimmering dark grey fabric she wrapped herself in so artfully that the nearly transparent fabric fell in layers around her body, looking like some strange, expensive, perhaps Roman-inspired version of an evening gown. She watched the others for a while before putting the sleeping bag back in the cage and shifting back into her furred form. Then, it was no effort at all to leap up to the platform, and she sat up there, watching and smelling around them.

"If a day was a month," Elijah said, "and not just a -- single magical event." He was quiet for several minutes, then moved to get his work, sitting down with his supplies again and resuming construction. "Without a steady food supply, more than we have, we can't afford the calories we'll spend dragging heavy loads of equipment -- which means taking nothing but absolute necessities, and even then. It's not cold enough to be.... it's just the beginning of winter. Otherwise, we would all be much colder. The metal brittle. It's got to be just about zero degrees right now. If we face an average winter, including the wind chill from the winds that often scour this region -- it can drop another eighty degrees on us.

"That being said -- we're.... fairly close... to Alert. We're technically closer to Eureka, by about fifty miles,, but if the ice isn't solid, we'll never make it across to them. Alert can be reached overland -- in roughly three hundred miles.... as the crow flies. Our route will be significantly longer."

Emma quietly walked over to Niklaus, offering him a sad and weak smile. If she cried it would just freeze, she was sure. "Can I help you," she asked softly, putting a hand on his shoulder, trying to offer support. "If you... want to go be with your brother? He seems... I don't think he liked that news."

Who did?

Sebastian approached Gaston subtly, speaking under his breath. "If we have to trek. If things start to look dire... I wouldn't ever lightly ask you to kill a man. But... for sustenance. For a distraction from predators... you make sure they make it to safety. Kill me if you have to."

"You do realize you'll be entirely indigestible?" Gaston replied, his quiet voice teasing, but he gave a small nod.

Sebastian smirked. "Is that a quip about my personality, LeFevre?"

"You're just so tough and bitter." After a moment of silence while he turned his head to watch the group, he asked, "If it comes to it -- do you want to know when it's time? Or do you prefer -- to have no idea?"

There was a thought. Did he want to know?

"Yeah. Yeah you can let me know. I won't fight you on it. I... trust your judgement, LeFevre."

Again, he was quiet. Then, Gaston turned to look Moran in the eye. He held his gaze for a long moment, then pulled him into his arms and held him tightly -- perhaps a bit too tightly, but he thought Moran could use it. "Mon commandant... je t'aime. And this, none of this, you need to know that it is not your fault. You understand?"

Slowly, Sebastian lifted an arm to hold on to Gaston's waist. "I keep racking my brain. Did I miss the fence being off earlier? The hour before you woke. Did I miss it. Could I have..." he fell quiet and shook his head.

Kol walked over and nudged Niklaus, nodding at the gunmen. "I called it," he mused, in reference to their bet that the two were a couple.

"No." Gaston held him tighter. "No. No. You did not. You could not have. Are you a sorcerer who can stop the sun, my friend? You are not. Can you stop time? Speed it up? No. You are only a man -- and that is all you need ever be. You want to be too much, to protect people from everything -- but you cannot protect them from the dangers of a world we do not even know how to see."

Nik had been letting Emma help him, although he stayed quiet and found himself looking at her more often. If this was the beginning of winter, he and Emma would not likely be around much longer... but then Kol was there, poking at him, and he merely nodded.

"So it would seem."

Kol frowned, glancing at Emma who nodded toward the tents. Then he patted his brother on the shoulder and tugged Nik to go to the tent with him. "Come on. Come talk to me."

"I can finish breakfast, Nik. It's okay," Emma said softly. She wanted to help. She wanted Nik to be okay. Survival was so much about mental strength.

"Please, Niklaus," Kol whispered, vulnerability in his stare.

Nik looked at Emma with gratitude, then turned and stared at Kol for a moment, looking at his brother's sweet eyes, seeing his vulnerability and his strength. He nodded quietly, then called out, "Elijah, Kol and I will be in the tent. Tell the gunmen not to panic if they don't see us." That said, he slipped quietly inside.

"Tell me what you're thinking," Kol whispered quietly, closing their tent and then moving to hold his brother by his face after removing his gloves. "You're not going to die, if that's the shit that's going through your mind. Nik. You're not dying."

Nik shook his head a little, but not enough to break it free from Kol's hold. We all will, he wanted to say. We'll never make it to Alert. Elijah, maybe. Maybe LeFevre. But Moran will die before letting anyone else, and then the others will drop off. Well. Emma first. Then probably Alaric, he'll do something heroic and foolish. Sebastian. Me. You. Elijah. LeFevre...

The tears that always shamed him, but which he could never be free of, returned and he just shrugged.

Kol kissed him softly. Not thinking. Not caring. "I can see defeat in your eyes. Please. Just talk to me."

"You have to promise me," Nik said, and hated that his voice shook, "that you'll live, Kol. No matter what. I need to know my little brother is still alive."

#part nine #a frozen medley #one shot #familyispower #bourbonandbrushes #gastonlefevre #theveritasi #v nature doc

0 notes