skitter | IC Inbox

He catches her right before bed, as he's putting away his laundry into neat piles. And, in true Rags fashion, he doesn't fumble around the issue.

"Hey. Dad wants to take a trip home for a couple of days and he's asked me to go with him. I - told him that I'd talk about it with you."

[Jamil ~~is much more organized than his player~~ definitely sent her occasional messages, keeping her updated on the reason he was unable to commit, just yet, to working on his phobia. The biggest reason, for him, was that he wanted to spend some time in the library. Some independent studying, learning all he can about insects. (And, if she had any recommendations on study materials, and/or some interesting facts, he appreciated them.)

Sometime in June, just a little while after the Port (before he posts his network message), he sends her an audio message.]

Hello, again, Taylor. I hope you're doing alright after the Port. I'm going to be spending a few more days in the clinic, recovering. Would you be alright with meeting somewhere, early next week?

Hey, Taylor. The Admiral warned me there's a possibility powers are going to go on the fritz as we sneak our way through this escape route.

You probably shouldn't be alone until we come out the other side. We've got a living room couch?

[Ten or so minutes ahead of a shared shift--]

Chocolate chip cookies or sugar cookies?

[Someone has been stress-baking.]

Taylor! Hi. Did you see the announcement?

[The network really sucks for trying to communicate with Patients, so instead, Misty just leaves the following note on Taylor's door, as well as every cabin where she stays frequently:]

Are you just going to ignore me forever?

I can see where you spend time, you know.

Taylor, can we talk?

Taylor, my dear girl, would you be so opposed to putting Misty to work in the greenhouse for - oh - most of the day?

I know she has been an absolutely royal pain in the ass but- ha. Royal. Anyway, I need her to work and I need her busy. And I trust you to help me keep her in line.

So. My new temporary warden.

Suspect this will be easy month for you. I have handful of requests for the Admiral and question for you—oh, I have recovered from flood, by the way.

[ His voice is still a little shot but DAMN does he sound smug about that. He lived, bitch ]

The question has been raised of whether to allow Dr. Hilbert to come up with a means to humanely kill the chickens Master Givens wishes to cull from the flock. I was asked to potentially supervise, but I thought it best to check with you to see if you feel as if this will be a healthy exercise for your charge. I offered to provide such a solution myself if you preferred he was not allowed this particular task, so rest assured the work will be done regardless.

Hey, Taylor.

I hear you’ve been paired with Hilbert - the science guy?

I’m not sure if you were aware of it or not, but apparently he filtered a message to Inmates offering them medical services.

Another Inmate told me about it so I figured I’d pass it on to you.

Misty will be with me for the next ten days, so she isn't skipping.

She will come back to work in the greenhouse after that.

Henry just contacted me. He said that Trixie wasn't with him and she isn't with me. She told me she was heading to check on him.

Do you sense her anywhere on board?

[Steve almost makes this text, then isn't sure how much of her powers she'll have.]

Are you safe? For yourself, I mean. Has anyone tried to hurt you since - everything happened?

Taylor? I heard that something happened, and-- well, no, it was kind of hard to miss!

Call me back.

I understand what happened more than you can ever guess. I don't hate you.

You'll always be my meimei.

Shen Wei sits with her for some part of every day, frequently returning two or three times in a day, to simply sit at her bedside and hold her hand. He can't control his own body temperature any more, can't warm himself to human normal and give her that warmth, but he can at least provide the comfort of touch. That, and the soft cadence of his voice, murmuring to her about the ordinary banalities of his day--what he made Zhao Yunlan for breakfast, what they served in the dining hall for lunch, what books he's repairing or research he's doing, how her bugs continue to go about their business under didi's supervision.

Anything more than that he saves for the constant, gentle, and brutally constrained touch of his mind against hers. Reassurance that all is well and all forgiven, that whatever's been done to her, however she returns to them, she will have his support. His and didi's both. That she is wanted. She is loved. That he will be waiting patiently for her for as long as it takes.

Taylor, what the actual hell...

Taylor--

[Misty says, spotting her in a common room and hustling on over.]

I assume that you still can't understand a lot of what I'm saying, but did you know that human infants should be hearing over twenty thousand words a day for their brains to develop properly? The fact that they don't understand doesn't much as much of a difference as one would think!

His list is surprisingly easy, in the end. Once he manages to contextualise what half the words are he doesn't understand. And he gets plenty of seedlings and sprouts to add to the greenhouse, which he's left there for now to come back to later. In the immediate interim, however, he's looking for Taylor. At least it's a safe bet she'll be in Kiryu's room, so he starts there.

Hey, it's gonna be a while on the staff; Trevor doesn't have any of his carving stuff. That okay?

We have never talked about the fact that you were demoted. I am going to change that.

[ because Crozier's very good at badgering Hilbert to admit that he has feelings. ]

When and where do you want this conversation?

Taylor! Oh my gosh; I heard you on the network and you sound so good! Congratulations!

[Misty, in turn, sounds strained, but also genuinely relieved.]

Hey. You doing okay?

[She has doubts that literacy is a thing here, so Taylor gets to hear the full force of her death-tolling voice.]

I was talking to Malcolm, and I got upset about something he said. But I wasn't sure how to tell him so.

Could I try to talk it through with you, please? [She misses having Warren here to sort her out.]

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~mid-June; audio

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audio

audio; post pairings