mental link; it's a catbus!

[wille]

[ It's an ungodly hour of the night as these things go, with both Misato and Gildor's minds flickering to announce their presence to all. Forceful and unapologetic, for her part, while urgent and unsettling, for his part. They insist on your attention. ]

( Everyone. We found something out there beyond the barrier. It was too dark for us to see much-- )

(Or anything, for some of us, but-- )

( But it's massive-- )

(Big as the shuttles that brought us-- )

( And predatory. At least, it seemed pretty clear that it wanted to take a chunk out of us. Some of you found tracks the other day, right? Let's talk. )
 

Comments

[adamance]

( It's not uncommon for there to be large animals in the wild.

Or for natives to be aware of them. )

[She sounds impatient, as if they're making a mountain out of an ant hill.

(That isn't a phrase she knows, except possibly through being a host.)]

[wille]

( Okay, okay . . .

Look, I'm still looking into your thing. I've got enough hours in a day. )

[ There's never enough hours in a day. ]

[adamance]

( Odd that you choose to defend your activities instead of your misconceptions. )

[wille]

( You can say that to me when you prove me wrong.

Now, what the hell's your problem? )

[adamance]

( Is there a problem, Misato? )

[She assumes the other woman is speaking to something else, as if she's aiming for something deeper than Lexa's initial impatient response.]

[wille]

( Nice try. )

[ This deflecting a question with another question. ]

( Come back when you figure out how to talk straight. )

[adamance]

( You're finding meaning in my words when I spoke plainly. )

[Again, with impatience.]

[wille]

[ That impatience is the bedrock of this conversation. Her response is just as sharpened: ]

( It's funny that you accuse me of misconceptions while you're running off with your unproven assumptions. I'll talk to you when I've got things about your Seconds. )

[adamance]

( Running where? You act on impulse. With reckless abandon. All I've done here is speak. And rather shortly, I might add.

Consider what it means to constantly act upon your fears, Misato. )

[And drag everyone else into it. It's not that she had more than a surface level annoyance with Misato at first. She can handle that kind of impulsiveness, even if it annoys her. But now that she's made a thing out of Lexa being That Person about this announcement, now Lexa is willing to strike out, to make something of it.]

[wille]

( Consider this, Lexa, everyone fears something. It's up to you to decide what to do in the face of that. Thinking you're any different is just closing an eye what you don't like -- which, I might add, you seem to have a habit of doing. )

[adamance]

( What I present and what I do are two different things. )

[The words themselves stem from a conversation with Clarke. Lexa had been frustrated with Clarke's response, but she did have a point: no one can know what Lexa conceals if she continues to conceal it.]

( As for what I fear. ) [There's a sense of her grounding herself in these words, a sense of drama, like she's trying to make a point and draw Misato's attention to it even more firmly.] ( I act to keep these people alive. Just as I did for my people. What concerns me right now happens to be action without consideration. We are prey here, Misato. We'd be wise to face up to it. )

[wille]

[ The mistake here, if it is one, stems from Misato's choice to see herself in Lexa with all the insight and falsity that yields, placing herself in her shoes and attributing her intentions to the other woman's words. ]

( Really? You're gonna use this -- talking about your fear -- to try and work me? )

[ It's a clever tool, to seem as if one is admitting weakness only to win the other person's trust, only to lead them where you want them to go. To talk about fear only to mention lesser concerns. Lexa hasn't shown her any cards, and she thinks that's the entire point. ]

( Save the preaching for after you've taken a good look at yourself. )

[adamance]

[When pushed, Lexa is the last person who would try to claim that she doesn't have a manipulative angle nine times out of ten. But sometimes, she is simply being pointed, being cruel. Where Misato sees only the manipulation, Lexa wonders if she misses the rest: including the part where she suggested that Misato's recklessness was something to keep in check. Or perhaps she did recognize it—in suggesting that Lexa was preaching. It's hard to say, as Lexa doesn't tend toward reckless deeds. On the contrary, she'd prefer that Misato continue to be keen to do that for her.

But more than anything, it's apparent that the miscommunication only seems to layer upon itself. Where she says one thing, Lexa finds that Misato finds another. Misato is right that Lexa hasn't actually chosen to reveal anything—beyond a truth, which is that Lexa is trying to protect them. Having the belief that she's the one who can accomplish that comes with a great deal of arrogance, rather than guilt or what might drive others.]

( Once again you forget the words you shared with me before we arrived here. I know better than to hold that against you now. )

[With that, the disruption and disconnect in the link is abrupt. Lexa doesn't have the mental fortitude to handle Misato like this. Nor does she care to try to attempt it.]

[earthborn]

( Exactly, thank you. )

[adamance]

( We worry when the barrier falls.

And only then. )

[They already have enough to concern themselves with.]

[earthborn]

[These people. These people. Shepard's outnumbered, as usual, but her chagrin is real.]

( You know, I don't like saying 'I told you so' any more than people like hearing it. )

[adamance]

( You assume the barrier will fall? )

[earthborn]

( You think it won't? )

[shri]

(Agreed. Hope otherwise, but we need a plan for the worst events to befall.

Additionally, to find out of the local people know about this, if they do, what plans they have about it. )

[adamance]

( And how they've maintained the barrier up to this point. If this can bypass it, then we must remember that we aren't the only ones at risk.

If it falls, we have to believe that it's intentional. )

[shri]

( Just so.

Prudence is our best course of action. We need to gather information and see what comes of it. )