reach the residents

[ximilian]

● ● ● REACH THE RESIDENTS

For any questions you want to ask Viveca or Degar and receive an IC response, please direct them here. Please indicate in the subject line who you are trying to contact.

// VIVECA

Hi, what can I help you with?

// DEGAR

Today was gonna be the day, but they'll never throw it back to you. And by now, you should've somehow realized what you're not to do.

▶ NAV

Comments

[blackfire]

I asked because I was curious.

（ his tone is mild, politely neutral. if she happens to have struck a nerve, it is not evident. ）

If curiosity warrants wielding my past — which you know by nature of your position, and is not something I was ever given the opportunity to consent to — like a knife to protect your own interests, then I apologize for the misstep. It was not my intention to upset you.

（ hm. it is the most spectacularly human thing he can imagine — that tendency to lash out when one is wounded. ）

I would have accepted you saying it was not something you wished to discuss.

[vivecai]

You consented to coming here, didn't you? This is a job, in a way, that you were chosen to do... and agreed to. It's only to be expected we would background check those we bring here.

[ by consenting to come here, they consent to being known — it only makes sense, in her mind. they wouldn't bring people here they can't trust to do what they ask. ]

I don't mind the question. I was just curious how you came up with something so fantastical. But then, you have a habit of interrogating people, don't you? Like Degar. [ up until now, her tone has been perfectly casual — here, finally, a sharp edge creeps in, the true edge of the knife she flashed before. ]

I don't mind how people choose to speak to me, mistrust or twist what I say — I'm an AI, most people mistrust those like me on principle. But Degar doesn't have an evil bone in his body. He's exactly as he seems to be — and he's working hard, on his own, every day, to make sure everyone here is safe. I don't appreciate those who see him as just someone to interrogate, like a common criminal.

[ a pause. ] Perhaps in the future if you watch how you speak to those who are only working to help you, I'll be more open to answering queries into who and what I am.

[blackfire]

（ this is. a lot. he's feeling a little like he's been smacked on the nose with a newspaper — a curiously novel thing for him. ）

Viveca-san. If I have given you cause to expect I disbelieve or mistrust you in any capacity due to your nature, please accept my apologies. AI do not exist in my world — as such, my curiosity comes from not being aware how they come into being. If you had previously been human, I might imagine that such an existence now holds the possibility of being singularly confining, （ and he knows, doesn't he? how being forced into being something against your nature wearies the soul. ） and my intention was to see if there was anything that could be done or perhaps found on one of our destination worlds to lessen any resultant discomfort for you.

（ he is silent a moment, and then — ）

You are aware of my history, therefore you likely know that such overtures do not come — easily to me. If my method is unpracticed, it is only that.

（ admitting he's bad at something: whew.

is the crux of the matter, then, his engagement with degar? that they are protective of each other goes without saying. ）

As to the Commander — I understand that you find him to be trustworthy, but I may have to ask your forgiveness for being so disinclined. Blind faith in those with power has been a point of contention in my life. I do not think him 'evil', though I am not clear on his motives. He did not endear himself to me by being less than straightforward, but I am aware that is my own issue, and I hold him no ill will. Please understand that if I had been serious about interrogating him, I would have done more than ask him questions.

（ it isn't a threat, it's said far too neutrally — tiredly — for that. he isn't nearly arrogant enough to think that tsukuyomi would work as intended on the man, given his power. it is more a gentle reminder that there are many more things he is capable of than talk, and he made a deliberate choice not to pursue them. it stands to reason she overheard the conversation (and it gives him reason to think that she can, therefore, overhear all conversation) and the fact that his attempt at humour does not seem to have sat well with her makes him grimace faintly. if he had known he was speaking for an audience, perhaps he would have relied on more than a dry tone. ）

[vivecai]

... hm.

[ she does listen to him, and from the considering hum, even takes his words seriously — perhaps rethinking how she took his earlier questions to be, an accusation rather than an unpracticed try to help. ]

Perhaps I've misjudged you. [ she sighs, somehow matching his tired tone. ] My apologies for that.

I understand you wouldn't just trust anyone because they tell you to. Degar's not straightforward, no, but he's also not deceitful. He only wants the best for all of you. And so do I.

[ and out of the two of them, the one who is more used to the kind of ruthlessness itachi perhaps expects from one in a leading position... it's her, not degar. ]

As for why you were asking about me — I appreciate the thought, trying to find... something, for me. But there's nothing you can do. My past is my past. My present is my present. And it's all for a reason. I've accepted that. This is how I can best help Degar — help all of you here.

[blackfire]

You do not need to apologize. You are correct to take my history at face value.

（ he isn't offended or even troubled — he certainly doesn't hold any ill will for what is a very understandable reaction to his messy and complicated past. he's generally just more accustomed to being misjudged by willful intent and action rather than by accident. social grace was not a ninja subject. ）

I understand. I will keep my... theory to myself.

（ her reaction has all but convinced him, but by calling it a theory, he allows for the possibility that he is incorrect without forcing her to confirm or deny it directly. as she pointed out — it isn't his right. he is simply not accustomed to lacking access to information, and did not... anticipate that human emotion would be a factor to consider.

he is silent a moment longer, then: ）

I wanted to — thank you. For the medical textbook.

（ he does not have the words or the capacity to express what exactly it meant to him, to have something so distinctly konoha. to be able to hold it in his hands, a small sliver of history native to the place he loves so well, and died for. perhaps he should have lead with that sentiment — it may have made the nature of his question more clearly identifiable. a lesson for next time. ）

[vivecai]

You're welcome. If there's anything else I can get you, just let me know.

[ that is the one thing she can do easily, after all, and if it eases the homesickness many here feel, or makes it easier for them to be here... then, she'll do it gladly. ]

But let me thank you, too. For... your discretion regarding your theory. I appreciate that. You I can trust to be pragmatic about this, but we have many here on this station who would — act rashly, I fear, in their attempt to help me. [ she sighs, her voice hardening into the steel from before, though this time it is not directed at itachi; it simply is, a steady resolve. ]

All of you are here to collect the orbs. That is what matters, nothing else. I can't allow myself to become a distraction in any way.

[ and if it means hiding certain things because they would not serve getting the orbs in any way whatsoever... then that's what she'll do. no matter the cost. ]

[blackfire]

（ he is silent a moment — most of what she has said does not require point-by-point agreement, and then: ）

In any case, I have taken enough of your attention for the time being. Please let me know should you need anything I am able to provide moving forwards.

（ awkward start to the conversation requires an awkward end?? he's so good at this conversation thing. ）