[Nona comes and finds Lacus a few hours after all the issues with the body have been sorted out. She's a little glum. Not as devastated as she thinks she should be but she's... sad.
Lacus seemed worse.
With her arms behind her back, Nona cocks her head and speaks evenly in a voice that wasn't designed for offering condolences.]
Are you in grief? Do you need a hug? Do you need Noodle?
[ For a moment, Lacus doesn't know how to reply. There's a lot of people here who aren't as shocked about Merlin's passing as they should be (Lacus counts herself among them, having shed no tears), but this is...
It's odd, because everything about it seems wrong and discordant but that is exactly what makes it read as genuine. Why would someone bother pretending, if they were this terrible at it?
Having settled on this assessment of the situation, Lacus can relax. ]
[ They're the same way, but sometimes Nona feels very child-like. Lacus thinks back to the kids she took care of back on Earth, scarred by the war and not always sure how to adjust to life after.
She smiles softly. ]
I'm sad but I'm going to be okay. How are you feeling? Maybe a hug would be nice for both of us.
I don't think I'm as upset as I'm supposed to be. I expected the killing to start. I hope it doesn't last too long...
[She wraps her tiny arms around Lacus, her friend, and squeezes her with them. She knows how to hug. She's been hugging Camilla all her life. It's one of the skills she's most proud of developing.
She's used to people looking at her and seeing a child. She doesn't mind so much, most of the time.]
I hope you don't die, Lacus. I love you and would be really upset.
[ Lacus squeezes Nona tightly in return. Hugging is comforting, she finds. She can't let go and allow herself to be truly vulnerable, but it's still good. It's good to feel they're both alive. ]
I have a place to go back to... I'm not allowing myself to die here.
[ She'll believe that until she can't anymore, there's no benefit to doubting herself now. ]
I don't get hurt like most people. [She says with absolute certainty.] But I'll try my best anyway.
[It's her job to take care of the class if nobody else is around to do it and while Lacus might be the same age as her and from an entirely different planet and not enrolled in her school, she thinks the principle is the same.
She can tell that Lacus isn't allowing herself full vulnerability. That's fine. At least she knows she's helping.]
[ That's a hummed affirmative, before she figures out how to best explain this in actual words. ]
There are responsibilities I have to fill in my world, so that is one thing... But 'home' is a person to me. Long ago he promised me that he would return to my side, and he's lived through countless difficulties since to keep his promise.
I will likewise always return to him - it's a promise too sacred to break.
[ The exact nature of the bond she shares with Kira is difficult for outsiders to grasp and even Lacus herself struggles for actual verbalization of it. ]
[She thinks she understands. Palamedes and Camilla... they have a kind of love that neither has ever attempted to explain to her, but she's sure that it's the same kind. When Palamedes had her kiss Camilla's hand and say it was from him, it was the first time she'd seen Camilla's cool demeanor slip.
She knows that Palamedes died, and only returned because he really wanted to see her again.
She nods, understanding to the degree that she understands anything.] You love him. [She doesn't actually mean this in a strictly romantic sense.]
Promises are important. Breaking a promise means you get fired from Hot Sauce's gang back home, so I understand.
[ Lacus is not going to argue that description. She does love Kira, and she owes him everything. Their connection can't be severed anymore, and even despite all the guilt she feels towards him, this gives her comfort. ]
... that's a cute nickname.
[ Before addressing anything else, she's giving her approval there. ]
I want you to get home to your friends [ gang? ] at home as well. Do you have an idea of how we would help each other with this?
[Yes, a nickname. That's definitely what that was.]
...I'm not sure yet.
I don't think we can swim. I can't fly a spaceship. Maybe Raptor knows. [Not Ho-oh apparently, she's decided Raptor is more trustworthy.] But he won't tell us. At least not yet.
But no matter what happens I'm going to keep trying.
If we had a spaceship available, I would be capable of giving instructions as to how to man each position on the bridge.
[ They don't have one and Lacus doesn't foresee the possibility, but... it'd work, if so. It'd be kind of nice, even. ]
Rapt0r is quite forward as a person. Talking to him is interesting - I don't believe he's consciously trying to lead us astray at least. Have you also chatted with him?
Mostly about Pokemon. He doesn't like nice things, I think he's probably pretty fragile and is cruel as a result of that. But I like him. It's harder to understand him when I can't see him.
[Oh, that reminds her. She takes a drawing she drew early in the week out of her bag and shakes it before presenting it to Lacus.]
I did draw a Raptor, though. [It's a photorealistic drawing of a raptor, with detail and shading that a professional artist couldn't hope to match. She's never seen a Raptor before in her life.] I thought maybe it would help me understand but it didn't.
[ That is... Lacus is not sure what this is, because 'impressive' doesn't seem to cut it. Lacus has to take a moment to look at it up close and admire the the work. Coordinators are designed to be more skilled than normal humans, but even in Coordinator society art skill on this levels would be considered very rare. ]
My... you're amazingly skilled at drawing!
[ That also feels like the understatement of the century. ]
I wonder why he chose the raptor as his namesake... Though I imagine it was because they were such deadly creatures? He seems to pride himself on his destructiveness.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
WEEK 0, SATURDAY EVENING
Lacus seemed worse.
With her arms behind her back, Nona cocks her head and speaks evenly in a voice that wasn't designed for offering condolences.]
Are you in grief? Do you need a hug? Do you need Noodle?
1/2
It's odd, because everything about it seems wrong and discordant but that is exactly what makes it read as genuine. Why would someone bother pretending, if they were this terrible at it?
Having settled on this assessment of the situation, Lacus can relax. ]
no subject
She smiles softly. ]
I'm sad but I'm going to be okay. How are you feeling? Maybe a hug would be nice for both of us.
no subject
[She wraps her tiny arms around Lacus, her friend, and squeezes her with them. She knows how to hug. She's been hugging Camilla all her life. It's one of the skills she's most proud of developing.
She's used to people looking at her and seeing a child. She doesn't mind so much, most of the time.]
I hope you don't die, Lacus. I love you and would be really upset.
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I have a place to go back to... I'm not allowing myself to die here.
[ She'll believe that until she can't anymore, there's no benefit to doubting herself now. ]
You take care, too. I don't want to see you hurt.
no subject
[It's her job to take care of the class if nobody else is around to do it and while Lacus might be the same age as her and from an entirely different planet and not enrolled in her school, she thinks the principle is the same.
She can tell that Lacus isn't allowing herself full vulnerability. That's fine. At least she knows she's helping.]
Where do you need to go back to? Home?
no subject
[ That's a hummed affirmative, before she figures out how to best explain this in actual words. ]
There are responsibilities I have to fill in my world, so that is one thing... But 'home' is a person to me. Long ago he promised me that he would return to my side, and he's lived through countless difficulties since to keep his promise.
I will likewise always return to him - it's a promise too sacred to break.
[ The exact nature of the bond she shares with Kira is difficult for outsiders to grasp and even Lacus herself struggles for actual verbalization of it. ]
no subject
She knows that Palamedes died, and only returned because he really wanted to see her again.
She nods, understanding to the degree that she understands anything.] You love him. [She doesn't actually mean this in a strictly romantic sense.]
Promises are important. Breaking a promise means you get fired from Hot Sauce's gang back home, so I understand.
In fact, I promise to help you, Little Lake.
no subject
... that's a cute nickname.
[ Before addressing anything else, she's giving her approval there. ]
I want you to get home to your friends [ gang? ] at home as well. Do you have an idea of how we would help each other with this?
no subject
...I'm not sure yet.
I don't think we can swim. I can't fly a spaceship. Maybe Raptor knows. [Not Ho-oh apparently, she's decided Raptor is more trustworthy.] But he won't tell us. At least not yet.
But no matter what happens I'm going to keep trying.
no subject
[ They don't have one and Lacus doesn't foresee the possibility, but... it'd work, if so. It'd be kind of nice, even. ]
Rapt0r is quite forward as a person. Talking to him is interesting - I don't believe he's consciously trying to lead us astray at least. Have you also chatted with him?
no subject
[Oh, that reminds her. She takes a drawing she drew early in the week out of her bag and shakes it before presenting it to Lacus.]
I did draw a Raptor, though. [It's a photorealistic drawing of a raptor, with detail and shading that a professional artist couldn't hope to match. She's never seen a Raptor before in her life.] I thought maybe it would help me understand but it didn't.
no subject
My... you're amazingly skilled at drawing!
[ That also feels like the understatement of the century. ]
I wonder why he chose the raptor as his namesake... Though I imagine it was because they were such deadly creatures? He seems to pride himself on his destructiveness.
no subject
Thanks, I think I did a pretty good job. I think this is what a raptor looks like anyway.
[Moomin right along.]
Maybe he just likes velociraptors as well. They dine on flesh and blood.