Pool's Open

[soundsinsilence]

Who: Engineers and merpires and anyone curious
When: Day 126, afternoon
Where: 4th floor, east side—the abandoned swimming pool
What: The marvelous marvels of technology

[With the solar panels fully up and running, and the building's functions picking up (looks guys we have elevators!! don't get stuck) there's finally enough power flowing through the walls to siphon just a little off for a side project.

Those on the fourth floor might hear the definite put put put put vrrroooOOOOM of a motor starting up.

More surprising, though comparatively softer, is the hisssssss of moving water, the splash of it hitting dry, cleaned concrete. The smell of salted water, ever so faint, fills the empty pool room.]


Heeeeh . . . there really is enough pressure to get it all the way from outside.

I wonder what they'll think . . .

Comments

[soundsinsilence]

[She's quiet for a long, long moment, staring down at her right hand. It's turned upwards, palm cupping empty air.]



Lost . . . isn't right.

'Thrown away'.

[tothedepths]

[The response is a dubiously arched eyebrow]

You don't strike me as the type to cast bonds aside so easily.

[soundsinsilence]

[Looks up, dropping her hand, meeting his eyes.]

You're not the only person whose heart died in that place.

[tothedepths]

[He frowns, but holds her gaze.]

Then why are you still here? What are you living for?

[soundsinsilence]

Chrono asked me to.

He gave me . . . something very important, in my 'time'. Giving him this is the least I can do.

[tothedepths]

... What a terrible reason to be alive.

That doesn't sound like living at all.

[soundsinsilence]

And yet, here I am. Alive.

[tothedepths]

Yes. But "alive" and "living" are not quite the same thing, child.

[soundsinsilence]

What else should I do?

You know better than anyone how hard it is.

[tothedepths]

From what I know of him, he would not have you dragging yourself through unhappiness for his sake. You said it yourself--your heart died on that planet. So what do you have left to give anyone?

[soundsinsilence]

I have hers.

[tothedepths]

[Of course you would say that with that face.]

... Idiot.

[soundsinsilence]

You're probably going to need something to keep oxygen in the water, after this. Do you think plants would be best, or a fountain? There's things that could go underwater, too, if a fountain would be too noisy.

[tothedepths]

[There's a very, very long pause with no visible or audible response.

Then, without preamble, he stoops down and sends a small tidal wave over her--almost improbably so, given the depth of the water. Chalk it up to merpire magic.]

[soundsinsilence]

Ahhhh!!

[ker-SPLASH.]

[soundsinsilence]

[As the water subsides, a few things are readily apparent.

One, that white shirts don't keep much in the way of opacity when soaked.

Two, that there's something dark crawling over her skin, banding over her arms and down her sides like layered, latticed feathers.

Three, that she's finally managed to get underwear of her own. It's touched with lace and surprisingly feminine given her normal attire.

And four, that details one through three might not be nearly as interesting to him as the way the sodden fabric slips down, revealing the top portion of some very curious scars over her heart.]

Why . . . ?

[tothedepths]

[Flatly] You were irritating me.

[His eyes go to the scars first, perhaps on instinct, before simply passing them over in favor of the marks on her arms.]

I see you're hiding quite the odd tattoos.

[soundsinsilence]

[Squeezes the water out of the corner of her shirt.]

The water's too cool to see my tattoos.

[tothedepths]

[For his part, he simply takes a seat in the water, apparently no longer interested in maintaining the height difference.]

Then?

[soundsinsilence]

[Looks down at herself, then back up at him.]

Metal.

Right now, it's armour.

[tothedepths]

[He actually stares at it with renewed interest.]

I've never seen armor designed in such a way.

[soundsinsilence]

You probably never would. Most metals don't have enough flexibility for a design like this, and this design usually wouldn't have enough support to stay on unless it was a complete exosuit.

[tothedepths]

[Exosuit??]

... And what is it you plan to do, that would require such things?

[soundsinsilence]

Go outside, sometimes. Or even just leave my room at all.

[tothedepths]

[That... just makes it more perplexing.]

Though this place is certainly rife with danger, that seems a rather extreme precaution.