mental link: day 34

[erbier]

[ It is actually quite late when Ilde's soft voice moves through the hosts, her scent of smoke and earth. She is at a club somewhere deep in the city, dazzled by noise and light, something you are free to establish if you look for it. ]

( It has been suggested to me by a hacker named Y that I throw a concert to lure our bombers out again. )

[ This part is forthright, a statement of fact with no value attachment to it. ]

( I believe she is questioning who I really am. If I refuse this idea, I may encourage that. )

[ This may not be strictly true, but it is how Ilde has perceived their conversation. ]

( She seems to know something, but is it worth losing my guise? If not, how am I to refuse this suggestion and maintain it. I do not know if she is a part of the group who contacted us before. She may already know I am false and this is all a game. )


OOC: link & all threadjacking here very much encouraged!

Comments

[nirsighted]

( Maybe we should follow this Y person and get some leverage on her or something... )

[An uneasy, vague suggestion - like he's not completely sure of it himself.]

[erbier]

( I would like to know where she goes, yes. I have only ever encountered her in a crowd. )

[ It afforded a kind of safety, no one wanted to make a scene, did they. ]

[nirsighted]

( Uh I might be able to do it. )

[No he can't. Y's robot friend would spot him.]

[erbier]

[ A pulse. The others are listening, she should not... use Nirad in front of them so blatantly, although it is very tempting to push him to go and do this for her. ]

( You shouldn't go alone. One of the others may have a complimentary skill. )

[nirsighted]

( Maybe if someone can give me a quick getaway, but if they're too close they'll mess with my ability. )

[There's a low, churning sensation - someone chewing their lip, tongue running absently against the backs of their teeth as they think. Nervous tics, indecisive.]

[erbier]

[ A light touch, offering to soothe. Praise and pride that he would offer himself to her goals. ]

( I see. I will inquire among the hosts. We do not want you to be hurt. )

[ And by we she mostly means I, her possessiveness flaring at low intensity. ]

[nirsighted]

( Okay. Just let me know? I should be able to follow her no problem. --How did you meet this person anyway? What are they like? )

[erbier]

( Some of the local children introduced us. )

[ She says children when they're the same age.... ]

( They look up to her, I think they wished to impress me. They tell me she is an excellent hacker, with much significance. )

[nirsighted]

[A tiny spark. Piqued interest.]

( Oh that's neat. I wonder if she's actually any good. )

[erbier]

( I am not sure how to tell, it is out of my depth. )

[nirsighted]

( I might be able to check. I can do some hacking. She might not notice. )

[Pick, pick, pick, the sensation of a nail digging at an old scar. He rolls the idea around. It might be dangerous. He's not really that good, but he cold erase that he'd been there. No one would have to know, would they?]

[vocalis]

What would you need to pull of a uh... quick getaway?

[ He pops in like an unexpected song blaring on a fifteen-year-old girl's blog. Those nerves, that hum, it's rubbing off on him. ]

[nirsighted]

[There's an answering buzzing resonance, an easy warmth. Good. He likes Aoba hanging around in the back of his head.]

( I dunno. A jetpack would be cool. )

[vocalis]

[ The beat of his frequency drops for a moment. He doesn't find the suggestion amusing... okay, maybe a little. ]

Right. I don't think they have those here.

[ As flat as his voice sounds, there's a returned tingle of warmth behind it. He likes Nirad hanging around in his head too, even if he won't verbally admit it. Gotta stay on task. ]

In case we can't find one, I can probably stop anyone from chasing you down.

[nirsighted]

( Sure if you want to. I think it'll be okay but you can come hang out with me if you want to. )

[Not gonna turn that down, even if it means making things a little tougher. Slipping away as one person is easy. Two is kind of hard. But that's okay; he's getting better at doing things that are tough.]

[vocalis]

[ He makes it sound so casual, like they aren't risking their lives trying to track down sensitive information. Like it's a... a... date?

No, he can't allow himself to think of the word. Not in a way that Nirad would hear, anyway. He'd turn red. ]

Okay.

[ He's already turning red. ]

[adamance]

( I agree with this idea. )

[Even if Nirad managed to deliver it in a rather Nirad way.]

[nirsighted]

[A small prickle of pleasure or pride.]

( Thanks. )

[adamance]

( If nothing else, we may be able to shut down their suspicions in us. )

["Shut down" likely means something else in Lexa speak.]

[nirsighted]

( Yeah maybe. That'd be nice... )

[adamance]

( What is it that you want? If you think that's nice, then you may be able to find yourself more solid footing. )

[nirsighted]

( Oh uh. I want everyone to be okay mostly. )

[He's easy enough with that, then-- a small ribbon of uncertainty stitches through the sound, the feel of him in Lexa's mind. Is that the wrong answer? Maybe it is.]

( It sounds like this person could get Ilde into trouble. )

[adamance]

( We are all in trouble. )

[No coulds about it.]

( How can you help us right now? )

[Maybe a more guided question will do the trick.]

[nirsighted]

[That burbling sense of unease deepens, extends: a pool of water, unexpectedly dark and murky.]

( I don't know. I'm good at following people. That might help if we had someone useful to follow. )

[He's not made for this: the making decisions part. He's good at the part where he watches and listens and quietly, carefully tabulates information useful to other people. He likes making lists. He likes watching people. He likes giving them things to use better than he could. But this? This he isn't great at.]

[adamance]

[It's a good thing that she's good at making decisions, then. It comes naturally to her, and right now, it's as if he's granting her permission to do exactly that.]

( We have this woman.

But I would prefer to focus our energy on avenues we haven't made good on yet. We still need to know what Ahtaliah Ven knows, and if you can follow him before we strike, that could help.

Can you do that? )