fifth ♢ private + voice + spam

[versusnurture]

private/voice } ben

[She contacts her warden as soon as Hannibal makes his announcement. Last night, when she checked in, she was distant; this morning she seemed more confident. This afternoon, she's shaky, uncertain, every bone in her body trembling, it feels like.]

Ben. I lost time. [This is an excuse, she knows.]

He made me dinner, Ben.

public } voice

[She cuts the feed on, then off. On/off, on/off, in strange but rhythmic patterns like Morse code.]

[She's fishing. Questions, accusations will come - she remembers that much from last time, with her real father, with Garret Hobbs, the Shrike. She wants them now. She doesn't want to wait.]

public } spam

[She doesn't change her routine, not even slightly. Which is not to say she's not afraid: she's terrified. There's no Freddie Lounds here to publicly doctor this story, to minimize her shame. Even if there was, she honestly isn't sure she'd want that anymore.]

[So she walks the halls and accepts what comes, goes to the art room, goes to lunch, visits Ben on his shift. Sometimes she goes to the CES and forgets where she is and how time passes. Hours and hours go by as she sits under a tree with her knees pulled up to her chest.]

[This is the only vulnerability she shows, and it is accidental.]

private } zane

I know what he wants from me so I can ask him for information if that's what you want.

[It's about the Emperor, of course; she no longer has the privilege, in her own mind, of contacting Zane for any reason other than business.]

Comments

[private]

[halftheman]

Where are you? Are you somewhere safe?

[private]

[versusnurture]

nowhere is safe.

I'm in my room, though, if that helps.

[private]

[halftheman]

[ He feels stupid enough now; Two-Face berates him over the slip, but Harvey reminds him of the point, that Abigail needs-- something. Someone. ]

[ So do they. ]

Can I come to you?

private

[forgetyourusedtobe]

He's the one, isn't he?

private

[versusnurture]

Yes.

[Her voice is shaking, because all of her is shaking.]

private

[forgetyourusedtobe]

Where are you?

Spam CES

[themissingpiece]

[Arkin went completely quiet over the network when the news hit. No public messages, not talking to other people, not even private messages. And he didn't talk to Hannibal at all.

Memories of heavily armed men accusing him of leading them into a trap, trying to kill them, run through his head.

He finds her in CES and is careful about making enough noise he doesn't startle her. He cautiously approaches then crouches down next to her.]

Hey.

[versusnurture]

[It takes her a while to notice him. When she does, she looks up at him like she's looking at a stranger.]

Arkin? [Uncertain.] What time is it?

[themissingpiece]

[He shakes his head, he's not really sure. He doesn't wear a watch anymore for reasons.] Getting into the evening, I think.

[soliterraneous]

[ Is there a purpose to what Abigail is doing, opening and closing the connection with soft clicks?

Aeryn knows the girl is Ben's inmate, so of course she's curious.

Which means imitating her on off on off connection. ]

private

[versusnurture]

[Oh.]

[She doesn't know this person. She hesitates, her breathing shallow, and opens a private voice connection.]

Hello?

private

[soliterraneous]

Hello.

[ Aeryn looks at her evenly. ]

Are you sending out a distress signal?

[private, voice]

[fridgetothefire]

[Neither a question nor an accusation, not just now.]

People aren't going to blame you.

[private, voice]

[versusnurture]

Oh.

You know that.

[Jack Crawford blamed her, and he was right.]

[private, voice]

[fridgetothefire]

It's a very...direct culture, here. He did it, he claimed it, he'll be the target. You aren't his warden, it's on him.

And the community is small. Everybody's connected to someone who killed someone.

[It's a statement about how people will react, mostly; whether Abigail carries some part of the blame in truth or not doesn't really factor into it. She could have told his secrets. But then, so could Ben. It's one of the social rules that makes the barge minimally habitable, the assumption that people will keep secrets, that inmates' crimes will come out in their own times and their own ways.]

CES

[myironeyes]

[He didn't come looking for her, but he finds her. He tends to carry at least a few snacks all the time, and after a few moments of consideration, he drifts nearby, and wordlessly offers her a plum.]

[versusnurture]

[She covers her eyes when she sees - not Marsh, but the plum. It's an inherently childish gesture. But it only lasts a minute, because she hates it and she wants to kill it off.]

[With trembling fingers, she takes the plum and inspects it carefully, turning it rapidly in her hands and squeezing it until she's satisfied that it is what it looks like. Then she holds it close, with no apparent intention to eat it.]

[Private]

[secretasshole]

[David clicks on a private feed more for Abigail's benefit than his, because he has a feeling she's not really in the mood to talk about it in front of everyone. At least, logically, she shouldn't.]

If you're in need of someone to speak with, my schedule is very clear.

[Private]

[versusnurture]

[Her response is instantaneous. She can be theoretical with him, disattached, he won't mind, he won't worry.]

There's a societal taboo in the United States, and most of the world, against cannibalism. Do you understand why?

[warisart]

[The moment Ben saw the announcement, it all fell together like the perfect killing blow: everything suddenly makes sense, everything he should have known and didn't see. In the same instant he knows he will kill this man, he will stand between Hannibal and Abigail, he will make up for having missed the extremely obvious for - how long? One week? Two? Does it matter?

In an extreme, not in the least random stroke of luck, Alex gets to Ben first though, and there is enough left of the X5 to stop when his friend says to stop. It's into this moment of seething, grudging stillness that Abigail's message comes, and Ben pounces on it instead.]

Where are you?

[versusnurture]

In my cabin.

[I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry is what she wants to tell him, but she also wants to let him know that she will rip the skin off anyone who touches him before he gets to her and wear it as a trophy; she wants to tell him that he should stay away, she wants to scream that if he doesn't get here now now now she might explode.]

[In the end, she can't make more than one word come out.]

Help.

Voice

[darknessb4me]

Stop that.

Voice

[versusnurture]

[Nope her communicator is malfunctioning and she has no idea this is happening she is oblivious]

[on/off on/off]

[u_u]

private

[godsays]

What?

private

[versusnurture]

What needs clarifying?