mental link | day: 36

[wrackful]

[Exhaustion buzzes dimly, resignation a bitter aftertaste. It's a clear sensation that Murphy doesn't want to be doing this, but that somehow, he's ended up feeling it's his best option.]

( I need a ride to the station. Someone who can fly the shuttle. )

[The request is in his tone, even if he doesn't extend a please. And before his teammates can weigh in:]

( It'll be a round trip. Can't miss stage three of the alien crazy death show, can we. )

[The last is absolutely dry as a bone.]

Comments

[inflori]

( You sound like you're having fun. )

[ hurrrrrrr ]

[sistershoggoth]

( The fuck, jackwagon!? )

[wrackful]

( What, like you haven't been watching? )

[wrackful]

( Relax. I'll be back. )

[inflori]

( Sure I have!

So you are, right? )

[wrackful]

( Sure. So much fun my brain's going to explode. )

[inflori]

( Cool! You could make that part of the act. )

[sistershoggoth]

( Famous last words. Why the fuck even bother? )

[shiro2hero]

(I can fly it.)

(What's going on?)

[wrackful]

( Nah, they'll have seen that before. One of those lasers hitting someone's head, or someone falling on a spike. Boring. )

[wrackful]

( Coming back? I don't know, maybe so I can avoid you being a pain in the ass and never letting me forget that time I bailed on you.

And don't try and tell me you wouldn't do that. I won't believe you. )

[sistershoggoth]

( Uh! Excuse you, when have I ever been a pain in the ass. )

[ Besides, you know, always. Her amusement is large, loud, toothy, reverberating in the immense space of her Inside. ]

( And I mean why go in the first place, don't be a fuckin' obtuse ass chimp. )

[wrackful]

( I just need to head back for a while. ) [It's not even entirely a lie, phrased like that.] ( Their shuttles take hours, I'll probably be ripped to pieces for them to sell or something by the time I get to the end of the line. )

[The thrills of competitor celebrity.]

( Look, all I can give you for it is an IOU. But we're brainlinked, so it's not like I can ditch on it. )

[shiro2hero]

(All right. You know where to find it, right?)

[He's assuming so, anyway. But there's a brief mental image of the landing pad, regardless.]

(You don't need to owe me -- I could use an excuse to practice in the airspace around here.)

[wrackful]

( You mean outside of right now? )

[He'd be offended over the obtuse, if he wasn't actually being evasive. And now he needs to lie.

Unfortunately he's never been a great liar.]

( I just remembered I left something up there. )

[wrackful]

( Yeah, well, I'll owe you anyway. )

[No one does anything for nothing is a cynical worldview, but also an easy one. It makes things simple.]

( I'll be there in fifteen.

Thanks. )

[shiro2hero]

(Suit yourself, but it's really not necessary.)

[He won't push beyond that, though. It's important to some people.]

(I'll be here.)

[sistershoggoth]

( Bullshit! )

[inflori]

( ... Yeah, I guess you're right.

So what are you gonna do. )

[travailed]

( Are you okay? )

[Well, like.

She thinks somebody should ask.]

[wrackful]

[It'd be really good to be able to get angry right now. Get cruel. But he doesn't have the energy, and he can't blame Annie for being how she is. And he suspects it probably wouldn't even work to get her off his case.]

( Look, sometimes the whole brain bug experience isn't all happy sharing rainbows. So I'm going to the station, but I'll be back. Alright? )

[wrackful]

( I'm getting a ride back to the station. )

[sistershoggoth]

[ The intensity of her attention is unpleasant. Like a tongue running over the words he's sent to her, tasting them for falsehood, hair raising and wet. But it fades as she accepts what he says. ]

( Is that what you do? )

[ Because fuck knows she and the brain bug are going to have problems. She maybe needs this info for the future. ]

[wrackful]

[It's still kind of a surprise to have anyone asking him that. One, because he isn't used to people caring, and two, because okay hasn't really meant anything for a long time.]

( Sure. We're stuck playing in some weirdass alien game for some mystery special prize, but I'm still alive. Still got all my limbs. )

[It's a low bar, but the bitterness of pointing that out isn't really directed at her. It's just standard.]

[wrackful]

[He's there a little later than fifteen. Bag slung across his chest, he's dressed dark in comparison to the crowds of Shril, hood of his sweater drawn up to avoid getting recognised by any particularly avid followers of the competition. It had gone some way to hide the sleepless state of his face from Bellamy, too. Not that the mental connections ever allowed for much hiding of anything.]

Hey. Sorry. [He says, pushing his hood back as he approaches.] Lines for the tubes were bad.