[closed] there is no bad, there is no good

[quixotically]

Who: Elle and Chara
When: between the 25th and 30th of April
Where: the Safe Space
What: Elle's first one-on-one session with Chara
Warnings: uh. Chara things. and probably general Fallout things. specifics TBA as we go

[lyrics]
there is no day, there is no night, just paths around the sun
we sit here drawing charts of light
he’s pulling out his gun
where is the romance? the subtle imperfections
i think i know too much

The Safe Space looks like it always has; it hasn't fully sunk in to Elle yet that it's her workspace, so she's allowed to change it. Even if it had, she'd feel weird about doing it so soon after Eric... well. After Eric went... missing. Gone, even in the directory. Elle has heard enough by general word of mouth to know what that means. There are other people who could've, would've, continued with these sessions. She knows the arbitration officers handle this, too.

But... still. This is just like her, isn't it? Her and her timing. She doesn't know if it's good timing or bad timing, but it certainly feels like it's put her in the right place all the same.

Elle hasn't spoken to the child named Chara yet, hasn't met them. She's been brought up to speed about why they've been assigned therapy sessions, but... She can't help but feel a little nervous. She didn't have much time to learn things from Eric. She hopes she can do this.

When the time ticks around for Chara's appointment, Elle makes herself comfortable, not in the office space, but in the lounge. She sits cross-legged in one of the chairs, boots off and on the floor next to her pack. Even now, there's still desert sand on them, crumbling away from the leather to litter across the white floor. Since she's on duty, she's actually wearing her work uniform, with her Pip-Boy secured over the long sleeve of her left arm. While she's waiting, she's messing around on her MID. (She's so grateful there are games on this thing, you have no idea.)

Comments

[heart_breaking]

The familiarity of it all hits Chara like a wet towel when they open the door, and for a moment they can't tell if he's really gone. This isn't a fond hope: their jaw feels like it's set with concrete. How much trouble would they really be in if they turned around and left?

Too much. It's not worth it. For all his faults, Elle's predecessor may have done her a favor by impressing on Chara the importance of showing up.

There's no real time for them to measure each other up before Chara appears at the lounge's opening. One moment they're in the 'hall', and the next they're getting an impression of 'small', 'lady', and 'scars'.

"Hi."

She doesn't look like a witch. That doesn't mean she isn't one.

[quixotically]

Elle hears the door when it opens, which gives her time to pause Whalaga. Which means Chara doesn't take her entirely off-guard in the middle of a game. Thank God for small mercies.

"Hi, there." She unfolds her legs and stands, because, well, it's the polite thing to do. "You're Chara, right? It's nice to meet you. My name's Elle." A beat. "Uh... You can sit wherever you want." No, wait, that isn't what she should say next. But if she fumbles too badly, she's going to look stupid. Keep it together, Elle. "I guess I don't really need to explain that I'm taking over for Eric."

[heart_breaking]

"Nice to meet you." They couldn't look more underwhelmed.

Their eyes flick to the boots by her pack and the lack of force in her speech, but neither of them get a comment. Instead Chara goes to the chair across from her, putting their shoes on the cushion and scooting back as far as they can. They could be a child this way: their feet don't even come close to the ground, and when they're not watching with the wariness of a cornered rattlesnake, they actually look their age.

They look up again, and the illusion cracks.

"You don't need to explain."

[quixotically]

The wariness is familiar. Very... unfortunately familiar. It makes Elle's chest ache. She's seen people back home with that kind of look. She's seen her friends with that kind of look. Seeing it here? On someone this young...? They really could've fit right in, in the wasteland. Elle doesn't know how she feels about that, but she doesn't think it's anything good.

"I, um... I was brought up to speed with why you've been assigned these sessions, but I don't know anything about what went on in the ones you had with Eric. But, there's something I wanted to make clear, before we think about really getting started." She draws in a deep breath through her nose.

Her expression shifts from awkward friendliness to something more serious and self-assured. "What he did, with the network post. I'm assuming he didn't have your permission to do that, based on the way he was talking. I want you to know that I'm never going to do something like that. If, for some reason, I end up feeling like I want to talk to people who know you, I'm going to ask if it's okay first."

[heart_breaking]

Chara's lips thin and they look at Elle very shrewdly. She's serious, and could almost seem reliable, but that won't mean a thing when this session finally starts proper. What's she going to do to try and exert her authority? Toss them in the hold? Do some kind of magic of her own? She's supposed to fix them, and she's going to do anything she needs to, whether Chara likes it or not. Does she really think Chara's going to believe that she won't?

"Alright..."

The drawn out word is condescending, and Chara watches her closely.

[quixotically]

With that tone, there isn't any doubt that Chara doesn't believe her. Thankfully, though, that's a familiar enough feeling. Elle offers them a small smile. "No, really. I mean it. Look..." She spreads her hands. "I know earning your trust isn't something that's gonna be easily done -- if at all, even. I'm going to do my best, but... That isn't the only reason why I said that.

"Even setting aside the issue of privacy, which is an important one, don't get me wrong, but... The thing is, if I don't earn your trust, I'm not going to turn around and ask other people to betray it. I can only see that hurting your connections to them, and it'd only do you more harm than good. And that's... the exact opposite of what I'm supposed to be doing, here."

[heart_breaking]

"Yeah? So what are you supposed to be doing?"

'Fix them'. 'Make them better'. Chara doesn't know what she's playing at, but trust or good connections weren't requirements for either of those, and if she thinks Chara's going to put up with mincing words then she has another think coming. (What if she follows through with that promise, though? How long could these charades last? Would Chara naively believe her, only to have Elle change after those guards were lowered? Of course Chara won't ever, but what if...)

[quixotically]

Elle doesn't think it's a normal reaction to feel more grounded the more she's questioned like this. But this situation is normal to her. She's used to this. She just rests her hands in her lap and smiles softly.

"I'm supposed to help you." She lets that rest for a second, but then expands on the idea, her smile fading. "From what I've been told about your trial... You struck back in retaliation, right? That... well. Where I'm from, that kind of thing is more than understandable. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't done it, myself." Elle will reach up to tap the scar on her forehead. "So... I guess, as a result, that's not really the part I'm worried about. It's that in context. All the fights you've almost gotten into, the general hostility levels..." She pauses, picking through her wording options. "I don't want things to always be like that for you."

[heart_breaking]

For once Chara doesn't have a fast response. They turn her words over for a few long seconds, before setting them to one side.

"Okay..." There aren't any answers written on her face. Chara searches her anyway. "... What does that mean about what you're going to do now?" Is she going to try to change them by force somehow? Can she do that, can anyone change another person's personality by magic or science? The idea is too unbelievable to stir up anything more than dim caution, and it probably says something that the second idea they imagine is of misguided but harmless sessions of constant, gentle talking, kept up every single day until their sentence is finally over. That's what used to happen to some kids back home, right? To different kids, anyway.

[quixotically]

"Well... To start out with, I figured we'd just talk. Maybe play a couple of games." Elle's grin is a little more earnest, now. "Get to know each other, mostly. I don't know what's going to help you the most, or what's the best way to talk to you, and... I don't wanna waste our time trying to, I dunno. Talk to you like I know who you are, when I don't. Not that I'm expecting to get you to completely open up, or anything, and I'm not really going to ask you to spill all your secrets. But..."

Elle has been starting to talk with her hands, and now she kind of flaps them as she tries to sort through her words to find the right ones. She wants to know how to talk to Chara in a way they'll actually listen. She wants to know how to explain things in a way that'll appeal to the way they think. ... aha, that's it.

"I just wanna be able to figure out how to talk to you. Does that make sense? I can't really... change anything if I just spout generic crap at you. I want it to be meaningful. So... If that means spending a couple of sessions just hanging out, I'm okay with that. I know a few card games. You can ask me whatever you want, we can talk about stuff going on in the ship, just... Anything to get us started."

[heart_breaking]

"... Okay."

Chara doesn't like her. That said, they don't want to like anyone on this ship but Frisk, and what she's suggesting here sounds more than easy enough to deflect. After the barrage of their last session, this sounds downright peaceful. They relax very, very slowly into the chair's cushion, and the hostile coals of their eyes dim.

"Tell me more about the world you're from."

They look past her, but their attention hasn't strayed anywhere. It's a test.

[quixotically]

"Okay, sure." Elle crosses her ankles and leans back, hands settling on either side of her in her chair. "Well... Where to start. I'm from Earth -- one of the Earths, anyway. I guess there are a lot of them. But, mine... Two hundred years ago, all the governments started fighting. And it got bad enough that there was a nuclear war. The entire planet was affected, I think. But... People survived. And two hundred years later..." She shrugs. She'd say, here we are, but that's not the best phrase right now.

"I live in an area called the Mojave Wasteland. It's... dangerous. Everywhere is, really. Between the mutated animals, and the people, and the heat, and the radiation. But, it's dangerous everywhere. The Mojave actually... didn't get bombed as hard as it could've been. Someone worked really hard to protect it." She starts picking at her lace glove, eyes dimming. She falls silent for a moment before she catches herself, and she starts talking again. "But, that's why I said what I did, about how striking back in retaliation is really common where I'm from. The wasteland as a whole is a very... violent place." She sighs quietly.

[heart_breaking]

Chara's eyes flicker as they try to picture it. Some vast wasteland, full of twisted, tumor-ridden creatures that scuttled or dragged on as well as they could, and homes populated by tough, despicable humans... Is it bad that their first thought is that it would suit someone like them? They wouldn't ever want to go there, but it's no less than they deserve. Would they be able to kill everyone there, or would they be kicked onto the streets to starve in their first week? No, someone would probably just slaughter Chara before they did anything, just because they' be too small to fight back.

"Does that mean no one cares about murder at all?" As far as they're concerned, it sounds as though everyone does it.

[quixotically]

"There are a lot of people who care. But there are... even more who don't, yeah." Elle sounds dejected about it. "And a lot of times -- most times, I'd bet -- it... goes unpunished. Mostly, it's because of raiders. They're... well. What it sounds like, I guess. They're gangs who attack other people. Sometimes, it's for resources, but it's also... for fun, a lot of the time. The term 'raiders' is usually used to refer to the people who are especially nasty.

"But... Raiders aren't the only ones who murder. Tribes will clash, governments will struggle against each other for territory... It's... Honestly, it's really hard to escape. I don't think anyone really gets to escape it forever. Sometimes, on rare occasion, you'll find pockets of people who are peaceful. There's this tribe in a place called Zion, named the Sorrows, who didn't know how to fight humans. They hunted for food, but they'd never fought people before. But the problem is... when the people who are good at it find them."