thisavrou_log | OTA and Closed

Entry tags:

OTA and Closed

Who: Chara and misc!
When: Any time, will probably span as far back as Feb 24th
Where: Training Simulation Room, Library, maybe Medbay, and misc
What: Chara learns things about and in the simulation room, and avoids counseling where they can.
Warnings: General dark theme warnings for Chara! Also Undertale Spoilers.

Training Simulation Room - OTA

The Simulation Room's Default Environment #4 settings reminded them of a magazine cover. Not the interesting kind, but the boring one, with green golf courses and perfect people with perfect teeth. They were in a similar green field right now. The sky was completely blue.

Chara lifted their wrist, poking experimentally. Hadn't there been a note taped to the wall somewhere talking about controlling the room from the inside? It hadn't been very clear, and Chara is distracted for several minutes.

Without much outward warning the field shifts, and suddenly green is mixed with a carpet of yellow flowers. The effect on Chara couldn't be more different: their wrist falls to their side, and they don't seem bored anymore.

It's a sight that could hold them for a long time. They'll probably still be standing that way when someone else arrives.

Library - Closed

Their eyes hurt, and every few minutes Chara catches themself staring vacantly at some shelves beyond the book's top. They're not used to this much reading, and it's taxing them like exercisng a rarely used muscle. Can they really keep this up forever? Probably not. They have't thought that far.

There's nothing long-term-thinking at all about the way they've taken to hiding in the library. Their MID weighs on their wrist like a leaden weight, and they know there's things they should be doing. Screw those things! No one's the boss of them. They turn another page very defiantly, sinking further down in their chair.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Eric hadn't expected himself to ever try and hunt someone down for the idea of helping them. He'd dealt with difficult patients before, of course, those who'd been sent to him by the government- those special cases that required his specific skillset coupled with what he was.

Stalking the halls of a spaceship, however, looking for a child with a penchant for murder? That was so far out of his area of expertise though that he didn't know where to begin- until he got a helpful tip that a certain child with murderous tendencies was in the library. Which is why he found himself pushing open the large door, eyes searching instantly.

For all that they're hiding from the far-reaching arms of justice, they don't bat an eye when peers it through the door. They look up, rest eyes on him just long enough to betray their lack of recognition, then look back down at their book.

Their own book is somewhat more interesting, besides. It looks like the sort of thing found on a livingroom coffee table, with glossy pictures and painstaking detail. This page has a photograph of what looks like a firecracker's cross-section. The next has bullet points and text, and they're tracing the latter with a pointed finger and frown.

Edited 2016-03-13 06:41 (UTC)

He knew them the moment his eyes scanned the room, they'd been broadcasted across the ship often enough that it would be hard not to simply spot them sitting there. He doesn't even approach cautiously, he crosses straight to their table, removes his jacket, hangs it over the back of the chair before sitting down opposite them. He crosses one leg over the other, resting clasped hands on the table in front of them before eyeing the book.

He'd keep the pretense going at least for the moment, twiddling his thumbs as he glances between Chara and the book, blinking slowly and letting his senses expand around him, a feeling of surety enveloping him. "Enjoying your book, Chara?"

Chara stops reading when he sits down, but they don't actually lift their head until a few seconds after he speaks. Shit. Who is he? Someone to tell them they're in trouble, they guess. Their eyes narrow frostily.

"Immensely." Chara's eyes flick from his face to his uniform, then to the mostly-blocked jacket behind him. There's nothing for it, and they're forced to look back at him.

"... Who're you?"

"I'm glad to hear it. Glad to hear you still find enjoyment in things." Because that was important, if they could enjoy something that meant there were things to be salvaged in that mind. He drums his fingers on the table for only a second, glancing around to see who else might be in the library; he'd prefer they were in his offices... they were at least appropriately charmed.

At the question of who he is though he smiles. "Dr. Eric Dufosset. Its surprising we haven't met each other sooner, if you ask me." He wasn't going to tell them what he was a doctor of, not just yet.

"I haven't had to go to the medbay yet," they explain warily. If they haven't met, then he must not have been there when they'd been there anyway. Still, that doesn't explain...

"Did... Someone send you?" Their knuckles prickle, twitching fingers and accidentally calling attention to healing scabs. No, what they punch or don't punch is none of his business, especially since it doesn't need an actual doctor. Why would anyone sic this man on them for something so minor? Is the problem something entirely different? Is he even a doctor?

"I don't strictly work at the medbay... so you mightn't have seen me there, either." Except the bare movement of knuckles does bring his eyes downwards. "Would you like me to fix those?" Because he could, after all. "Its not why I'm here but if they're bringing you discomfort I'd be much obliged."

"No, thank you." They draw both hands into their lap, slouching with a flexibility most spines lose with adulthood. Robbed of its restraints, several pages of the open book drift straight up and fall to their other side.

"Doesn't hurt. Are you here for something else?" He's a problem, to their eyes. The sooner they figure out his goal, the faster they'll send him on his way.

He just nods, then. "Well if it doesn't hurt then there's no sense in altering it." Except he found it hard to believe how someone so young wouldn't be hurt with knuckles as visibly damaged as Chara's.

"I'm not here for anything specific, not really, I just thought we might become acquainted." Which lets them know that he'd sought them out, at the very least.

"Really," they drawl carefully, unconvinced. "Is this...like, something you're doing with everyone, or..."

Their eyes settle on the table, frowning deeply. No one's been talking about any doctors, so that means Chara's special. And the only reason Chara would be special right now is... Their mouth twists like they've bitten a lemon.

"You're here because of my therapy. Aren't you?"

Eric opens his mouth to respond to their question before letting his mouth click shut again, seeing dawning comprehension appear across Chara's face only to be replaced by something sour.

He settles backwards in his chair, entwining his fingers and letting out a short breath of tension. "You're very intelligent, Chara, I must say." It was complimentary, but with an edge, it basically screams very intelligent for a blatant unapologetic murderer.

"No, I'm not," they shoot right back, bristling at the tone. "It's obvious. No one ever just wants to 'get acquainted', and you're a doctor." A hack, they might as well be saying. If contempt were a physical substance, he'd be drenched in the weight of theirs.

"So what are you here for? Really."

One thing's for certain: anyone who wants to find a needle in a haystack should put Chara on the job. They'll pick up every hay strand in the whole stack and set it to one side, stubborn beyond practicality.

"A lot of people would enjoy simply getting acquainted, Chara. After all the Ingress has brought us all here from very different worlds. Getting acquainted with the unknown is an incredibly helpful part of integration." He doesn't even seem fazed by the contempt being fired his way, his mask is one of cool interest and its nigh unshakeable. "Especially when someone's made quite a name for themselves."

What was he here for? That should be obvious, shouldn't it? "You'll hate to hear it, Chara... but I'm here to get acquainted." He was going to draw that word out until it lost all meaning, even if it meant talking Chara in circles.

Chara's cheeks redden, and arguments choke in their throat. He's scraped away enough surrounding confusion that they can hear that clear-bell sound of truth. Will they listen?

Their mental hands are empty, and they open and close their actual hands under the table, feeling the scabs pull. They're back to the start, but they're not done. Is this worth rising up in a fury over? How much do they care about his ulterior motives, and whether his eyes have Chara like an animal in a zoo or like a child sitting outside the principle's office? 'Getting acquainted' is a first step, not a goal. Is Chara crazy to think it makes a difference?

No--but probably. 'There's nothing more to find.' That's wrong. But it doesn't matter. But it does.

They grit their teeth. They're a troublemaker in his eyes anyway, so why try to be otherwise. "Bullshit," they tell him, the word high-pitched from a child's voice. "Why--" They just asked that. 'Why, why, why.' They bite their lip, wishing they could kick the table.

"Fine. You're acquainted. Can you go away, now?"

He watches the mental argument play out physically across Chara's features. The only thing about Eric that moves though is his eyes, taking on every aspect of that body language the instant it appears. He tilts his head to the side when Chara speaks though, thumb pressing just momentarily into his chin before he shakes his head softly.

"Ah, it appears we have very different ideas when it comes to getting acquainted. I wasn't anticipating a simple hello, how are you. If I'd wanted something so basic perhaps I'd have done it across the network." He relaxes again, stroking his hands together for warmth before letting them settle in his lap. "Is there any particular reason you'd like me to go away? I thought I might get to know you at least a little before that."

Edited 2016-03-30 23:28 (UTC)

Baffling. Someone asking why they want him gone? "I don't want you here," They say slowly, like they're explaining how to work a light-switch. Up-on, down-off. "And I don't want to get to know you, either."

The fact that he wants more than just a 'hi-and-hello' didn't seem to have surprised them, just then, and his new definition hasn't cleared whatever the source of their confusion is. The confusion itself is starting to fade: with a child's mercurial attention span, they're losing interest.

Eric just nods peacefully when they mention not wanting him here or not wanting to get to know him. His face hardens only slightly. "Well I'm sorry, but I'm sure we both recognize that what you want in this instance simply can't happen." Even though he knew therapy only worked with willing participants, they didn't have much of a choice here. "I thought it might be easier, at least, if we started with a casual footing." Also known as: sorry Chara you don't have a choice there's literally nothing you can do about this.

Their mouth thins, and this is just so typical of adults that they don't even bother being surprised. It reminds them of why they wish death on every person on this ship, or at least mortal terror.

"Easier for you," they shoot back, more for the sake of arguing than to actually communicate.

Eric can't help but chuckle at that last remark out of Chara. "What I need or want out of this situation is completely inconsequential, Chara, you must understand. I'm here because I need to be. Whether or not my being here is easy for me or difficult for me is no matter, I'm much more interested in making things easier for you. Although I assume that must come as quite a shock."

"Hmmm." Their tone maintains exactly the same inflection as before, though it looks as though they agree.

Despite the wall that their words build, they let go of the challenge in their eyes, and their back touches the back-cushion of their chair. They seem to know they're fighting a losing battle, if not one that's already lost, and this latest move is a withdraw.

He'd expected much more of a fight about it, really, he'd expected things to come to actual violence considering Chara was supposedly rather that way inclined... this was almost an anticlimax. He sits back in his seat, relaxing further. "So, where would you like to begin?" Because he hadn't quite noticed that a loss of defiance didn't actually mean compliance.

Contrary to probable expectations, Chara did not spend most of their earlier years caught up in the juvenile criminal justice system. Things have worsened since then, certainly, but there was a time when they knew to fight quieter versions of war.

Such as this sulk, for example. Chara keeps their mouth firmly shut, glaring at the table.

Now that Eric knows Chara isn't going to become violent he leans forward, propping his forearms on the desk between them even as he tilts his head to the side. If there was one word to describe what he was doing it was analyzing, much like a hawk. The fact that Chara wouldn't even make eye contact with him was telling enough. There's a cool smile on his features when he finally speaks. "What a wonderful starting point."

Their gaze doesn't move from the whorl pattern on the table's surface, but a subtle shift in their eyebrows hints at agreement: this hasn't gone well at all.

If they stand up, he'll just follow. If he doesn't follow, he'll find them later. There's no way they can get out of this meeting forever, and they can't think of any way to make what it's supposed to be endurable. They hate this, and they hate him. Maybe they can stay like this for the rest of the encounter.

Just like before, they don't answer.

He moves, taking a couple of packets of salt out of his pocket and throwing them skyward before manipulating the air current so they form a perfect circle around the two of them. When that's done he flicks a hand and there's a dim flash of light and he tilts his head to the side again, definitely like a hawk this time. "There. Now no-one could possibly hear what you have to say to me. You won't lose face. Care to actually start this time?"

library;

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject