i'm a goddess of vicious precision

[autokinetic]

Because there are so many fewer diversions on this station than on the previous one, Aegis takes to those that are offered with more of an open mind than she might have done before. For instance, she stays after personal combat sometimes, to watch Sue sparring with Howlett. Now and then she takes a turn herself. Today she's just supervising.

Comments

[autokinetic]

There are three minds in this room.

Sue's new best friend gets in a parting shot, dripping with malice. You sat there while I trashed her. She'll remember that.

Now there are two.

[pythbox]

Sue sits down on the floor, leans against his bunk, and waits.

[autokinetic]

The medics arrive, and they split up to check each of the three bodies in the room, and declare Sue's new best friend to be Sue's dead best friend, and they load Aegis onto a stretcher and carry her away.

"You need the infirmary too," says one of the medics, looking Sue over. "Can you walk?"

[pythbox]

He pulls himself to his feet and immediately stumbles, catching himself on the wall.

"Kinda," he says distantly.

[autokinetic]

"Need another stretcher over here," says the medic, and Sue is loaded onto it and carried down the hall after his - friends.

[pythbox]

He spaces out a little on the way. There just doesn't seem to be anything to think about.

[autokinetic]

Aegis wakes up before they get there.

bird?

[pythbox]

He pushes her everything. What happened, what he felt. What the other guy said.

[autokinetic]

my head hurts, she replies, and she can no longer bird, the wall goes back up.

[pythbox]

Sue goes back to his nothing.

[autokinetic]

They're adjacent to each other in the infirmary. The other guy is in the makeshift morgue; he's not the first person to die on the station, although they don't have enough population to have a permanent setup for it.

They're treated for their injuries.

Aegis regains the ability to bird again after about an hour. you okay?

[pythbox]

no

[autokinetic]

he hurt you?

[pythbox]

He doesn't know. Well, yes, but he doesn't know if that's what's wrong.

He makes his confusion available over the link.

[autokinetic]

they say I'm gonna be fine, she volunteers. they got to me quick enough. they won't tell me how you are.

[pythbox]

i showed you what happened, he says. do you want it again?

[autokinetic]

I know what happened. I don't know how you're recovering. I'm not a doctor.

[pythbox]

me neither

[autokinetic]

but aren't they telling you? I want you to be okay

[pythbox]

i don't care if i'm okay.

[autokinetic]

I do!

[pythbox]

why

[autokinetic]

you're my bird. my friend I mean, you're my friend.

[pythbox]

i like being your bird, he says listlessly.

[autokinetic]

you don't sound like you like anything, right now