breakaleginhalf | dataBURST: IC Inbox

[And Gil's immediately pulling them in for a tighter cuddle.]

Shit-- Coda, it's okay, they didn't use it on me, I swear. I'm fine. It's okay.

[He looks back at Artemis briefly.]

Every Kith has a special fancy magic trick only they do. Mine is actually my teeth, I can bite through anything, Coda's is... uh. Bad.

[ Well. So much for any feeling of relief. Artemis shifts a little closer now, at a genuinely loss as to how to help with something that's well outside of what he understands, except - ]

And there's some shittier version that wants to do it on everyone. [ His hand tightens on Coda's again. ] Is there anything we can do about this? Any of it?

If...if they're the sort who wants to use it on everyone, then they ought to be stopped. I shouldn't...no one should use that. I hate everything I was made. Everything I was created to be, and if there's one of me who embraces that, they must be...fucking...awful.

[Coda's curling in on themself hard, shuddering--with anger, with self-loathing, with fear.]

[And now Gil feels utterly horrible.]

Coda-- don't put words in my mouth, alright? I phrased that badly but I didn't say everyone, I only saw them use it on a fucking-- aggressive Hedge monster, thing, they were getting it to slow down so they could finish it off. It was-- horrible, but it was practical, it wouldn't have stopped otherwise.

[Which doesn't feel much better, on the grand scale, but maybe there's enough semantics to help ease Coda's frankly massive anxieties.]

[ Artemis shoots Gil and apologetic (and more than a little panicked) look over Coda's head, trying to find some guidance there. ]

So they weren't hurting anyone with it. [ Whatever it is. ] But even if they were awful, Coda, so what? They're not you.

[There's a bit of a pause, as Coda glances at Gil as well.]

Ah, so that's twice that I've killed you, then.

[It's hollow, devoid of the humor that sentence might have somewhere down the line, after time's made it less immediate and painful.]

I know they're not me. They're...I don't...how can any version of me lean into our kith?

[Sorry, Artemis, Gil's no help right now. His ears are pressed mostly against his head and the look he shoots back when he spots Artemis peering at him is largely guilty.]

They... made a choice. To take whatever powers they have and make the most of them. You do that too, but you're not aggressive about it. You're smart, sly. You're Winter for a reason. And also you have a much better moral compass, evidently.

[ Twice now. Something clicks for Artemis - he could be wrong, but considering the reactions here he doesn't think so. He lets out a soft 'ah' and then his lips press into a thin line in an effort to keep back a million questions about why and how and was their Gil likely to do that? It's a cold, familiar sort of worry that he's doing his best to let go of right now.

Deep breaths. Steady voice. ]

You're just the better clone, darling, that's all.

[Of course, that sentence from Artemis is tucked away. Because it sounds so interesting, hearing it from $1ofakind. But now's not the time for that.]

Better, not sure. I did make a choice. You should know--I didn't...when I arrived, I didn't have my kith blessing. I do now. I went to the Candy Shop. Spent Booleans, to get it back. So I'm, uh, armed and dangerous, again. Like they are, like they're actively being.

[Gil's ears twitch slightly, and he very deliberately doesn't look at Artemis.]

That doesn't make you a monster, it makes you prepared. We all trust you enough to not use it on us whenever it suits you, it's an extenuating circumstances thing. You're allowed to have your secret weapon on hand.

[ Artemis sees Gil not-looking at him, and he tucks that away. He doesn't want to have a conversation about it, even a little bit, but he'll be keeping a slightly closer eye. Because - that would be a shitty thing to deal with, is all.

Resolution made, he's back to the current problem. ]

Not-so-secret weapon, since you just told us. [ Kind of. Not that Artemis has any idea what it is. ] Which means you're probably not planning to use it on the people in this room, so I don't care.

Well, of course I'm not going to use it against you two. For one thing, you're not my enemies. For another...

[No, they can't bring themself to joke about neither of them being sane to begin with. Not now.]

For another, I'm sleeping over and wouldn't want to deal with the consequences overnight.

[Gil can't stop a dry huff at the intense understatement of that. Overnight and another thirty, sure. But it leads so readily to a much more comfortable topic.]

Well, we've already got the blankets in the right spot. D'you think you'll actually sleep this time, or do we start investing in Svelte-brand Nyquil or some shit?

[ Artemis' eyebrows shoot up at the confirmation that Coda's staying, but he feels a deep sense of relief. He doesn't think either Coda or Gil should be alone right now, necessarily, and it's better they're both here to sort each other out.

He can just keep an eye out on them. Make sure nothing bad happens. ]

Pillows. They've got a natural weakness to pillows.

Artemis! You can't just go telling Gil that. [They feign shock and horror.]

Well, at least there aren't any pillows in this nest yet.

Yet being the operative word. [He looks back at Artemis, looking much more comfortable this time, and elbows him in the ribs.] Dude, go get Coda's from their room, I can set up the ones here. Ultra-nest.

Drag the mattresses in here while you're at it. [ Artemis takes a moment to get closer to both of them - a blink and you miss it tightening of his hand on Coda, and a lean into Gil that he'd deny - and then he's pushing himself off the couch and wandering off in search of his shoes. ] And pass over the key.

[Coda makes the briefest moment of eye contact with Artemis, before digging their key card out of their pocket to hand over.]

Don't mess with my roommate if she's in. I promised Robb I'd protect her.

[ Artemis winks in the face of significant eye contact and pockets the key. ]

What do you think I'd even do...?

[ He's mumbling it as he heads off, though, and not waiting for an answer. ]

[Gil just snickers at the muttered comment - not much gets past his ears - but pretty much as soon as the door is closed behind Artemis, his ears flick back a little again, and he slowly unfolds from around Coda so he can gently deliver them to the couch.]

...I haven't told anyone else. [His voice is low; he knows Artemis is gone, heard his footsteps, but he's still feeling self-conscious on such a delicate topic.] Not even Bugsy. But I've been explaining everything to Artemis, and since he already knows this much...

[He's not sure if it's an offer or a request, or even if Coda wants that decision to be in their court. But at the very least, he's asking.]

I'm likely to end up crashing soon. Probably on both of you. But if you want to do the 101 with him on court, seeming, kith...my big line in the sand is that I want to explain anything specific about my durance to him. And...that means you'll be down some info on the 'why' of my kith.

But I think it's already something you know you lack. Been speculating?

Between the Portal aesthetic and the whole Elemental thing, I have... preconceived notions. [It's not like GLaDOS went willingly into her prison, either...] I'm happy to direct him back to you if you don't wanna tell me specifics - I would've anyway for something like that, I didn't even know Elementals could be Moonborn. Always thought that was a Darkling thing.

[Coda shakes their head lightly.] The only other one I've met was a Fairest, actually.

But yeah, if he wants details... or if you do...just, not tonight.

Yeah, of course. [He gives them a soft kiss on the top of their head - a habit he'd forgotten he had, more than anything else - before he stands up and shoves the table as far away as he can so there's mattress space.] Tonight's pillow fort night. Get everyone's heads back in place.

[And he'll start getting mattresses into the lounge. His own on the bottom, with the thoroughly scratched and torn cover face-down, and Artemis's on top, before he goes on the hunt for pillows.]

[ Artemis doesn't knock before he comes back in, but he is sure to make a lot of noise on his way back down the hall - walking more heavily than normal, humming quietly, anything to let at least Gil know that he's on his way. He wasn't oblivious to the way certain things were being talked around, before, and he doesn't really want to walk in to the middle of a conversation he isn't meant to hear.

He opens the door slowly, too, peaking in to see what's happened in his absence. ]

Room service - guess who found some extras?

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