middleofsomewhere | Event: In Pursuit of Knowledge

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Event: In Pursuit of Knowledge

The day after the Voidtrecker speaks to the voidtreckers they arrive at the voidhub.

"Approaching Voidbase now. Prepare for docking."

There is no shaking, not leaving the void: instead those who risk looking out of the windows will see a large structure ahead of them. The void turns to metal around them as they enter the structure, and for a moment, there is nothing outside the train but darkness.

"Welcome Voidtreckers." A voice speaks over the ICPs. Not the voice of the train, this is a male voice, sentient. "The filtration process takes a few moments, so please be patient. Meanwhile, I am sending some information about our void base over to your SCA's."

They will receive a small pamphlet on their SCA's explaining about the void base, that it was set up as a research base and has been expanded to provide living quarters for some of those rescued from system #78961112094711. It explains that they had made the decision to invite the voidtreckers there to further unravel the mystery surrounding them. They would be quartered in ministry sleeping areas, and have free access to the ministry part of the base. Anyone who wished to visit the citizens of system #78961112094711 could do with good reason.

It's not too long before the filtration process is completed, and the doors of the Voidtrecker Express open. They are greeted by a group of ministry workers. Among which are Lia Nine, Ten Nank, and Anan- who isn't strictly a void ministry worker, but is there to greet them nonetheless.

IN PURSUIT OF KNOWLEDGE

22-29 RABBIT ~ VOIDBASE INFO ~ OOC INFO ~ NETWORK
SCA EXPERIMENTS ~ COMBAT TRAINING ~ REACHING OUT ~ ARCHIVE RESEARCH

SETTLING IN

They are shown to their sleeping quarters first. They are in small suites, which match their room assignments on the train. They will be given time to unpack and rest, and told that their SCA's have been programmed to allow them access to the general ministry parts of the base.

Their time here is their own, And though the ministry hopes that they will help out with the various experiments and research programs they have going on, they do not need to. If they wish to take the time to rest and enjoy the amenities, they can.

1. MULTIMEDIA. There are a few types of lounging rooms, chairs and cushions, tables for sitting at. Slim televisions sitting on walls, a few tables - that can be lowered or raised - joined with screens that can be more privately watched. Shows and movies are available in some rooms, gaming equipment in others. There is also a more quiet room for lounging in, with access to e-books and screen readers for them, audio options also available.

Relax, or get into a multiplayer game -- games that break friendships are available in the void.

2. FITNESS AND SWIM. For those looking for more activity in their 'rest', there's the fitness gym and swimming pool. In separate rooms but nearby, the fitness gym is larger than the train's gym, and more well-equipped. Muscle training, speed; there will be a Ministry worker to show how to use the variety of equipment, so that nobody has an accident.

The same will be for the swimming pool, with a shallow and deep end. Balls, floating pads and more can be grabbed. It's a swimming pool - what's not to love?

3. TRAINING. Beside the pool and fitness gym is the combat gym, where they will find small groups already exercising in a variety of fighting styles. Voidtreckers will be left alone to train if they wish, but any who take interest in partners will be allowed to join in with the ministry training. Magic, energy, weaponry; some of them use special batons, Ministry-issued, and the Ministry workers will show how to use them. If a Voidtrecker becomes well-trained in how to use one by the end of their stay, they can be given one to use on void missions.

The Ministry fighters will also introduce them to a special training tool, the hard- and holographic courses and 'dummies'. Quite a few fighting styles can be set to a holographic opponent, or even one made to mimic a voidtrecker after fighting them - they're surprisingly quick to adapt. The hard-light partner can listen and read sign-language, and will change on command. Want them to move faster, focus on attack, dodging? Now they will.

4. GREEN THUMBS, OPEN AIR. The last room in the relaxation area is a curious one, reading simply 'GARDENS AND SIMULATION' on its front. Opening it will lead to a simple and long corridor, five more doors on each side. Four devoted to gardening, labelled Hydroponics, Hot Houses, Ice Houses, and Land. Entering, each space will be larger than should be possible. But it is, with each an indoor type growing space except for land, which mimics a farming field. There's a sky above, a wind in the air; sometimes, it might be raining when you enter.

It might be a shocking experience for some, the first time round.

The last six rooms simulation rooms are less specific, but with plenty more options. Rooms of prayers, beaches, cities, open valleys; with some time spent learning the menu, people can recreate a realistic area. The rooms can be set to private, but some people may leave the spaces they've created - on purpose, at random, or on accident - free for others to wander into. Sharing is caring, and there's only six of these rooms, you know.

TESTING AND EXPERIMENTING

Anyone who wishes to take part in the experiments will be given their options, and led to the appropriate rooms. Health checks, tether scans, combat training; each one is voluntarily, and Voidtreckers will be be granted their results.

There is much to discover, as well to ensure the health and safety of the Voidtreckers. And what can they learn about the Voidtrecker Express, the lost tethers, and the anomaly known as the World Eaters? Time may finally tell...

1. SCA EXPERIMENTS. For those who wish to help out with the SCA and health experiments- be that through taking part in experiments or helping conduct them- they will be shown to the labs. There are a few different labs, doing different things.

The scientists are generally friendly, if very no nonsense. They will answer questions and explain their research, and are open to listening to new ideas and theories. All ideas are on the table. This situation is unprecedented, there are no easy answers.

They will put any voidtreckers to work who wish to help- be it washing beakers or recording data. They will teach as they go- as long as someone is willing to listen and learn, it won't matter if they have no experience in science.

2. REACHING OUT TO THE VOID. At the top of the void base is an area with a clear domed roof, allowing in the light of the void. Here voidtreckers can attempt to reach out, to strengthen their connection with the train and through it try and find those that have left the train.

It's a slow learning curve. Their first few hours of attempts will be meditation that goes no where. but eventually most should be able to tap into their connection with the train and the other passengers.

Reaching out further is harder, often feeling as if they are falling through the void. It's exhausting, not quite so much as anchoring, but similar. It's easy to get lost in the void, though the room has ministry workers who are highly trained and will be able to help anyone who needs it.

They do say it might be easier to go in pairs, to meditate together and help guide each other, using each others tethers as a touch point. Anything is worth a try.

3. ARCHIVES. For those who prefer old-fashioned research, there is plenty to sink their teeth into here. Books, articles, message boards. Everything needs cross-referenced and checked and verified. What is a rumour? What is true?

It's a buzz of activity at all hours, though there are quieter areas for those who need silence to concentrate. For those less skilled at research, there are always notes to copy up neat.

OOC NOTES

~ Questions.
~ This event runs until the 26th June (Day 29)
~ There will be a concluding post on the 25th to wrap up the memory restoration.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

She could feel the resistance; hesitated; then made sure to lean up and kiss him - soft and fleeting - before she fully retracted.

"I will be swift, I promise." She murmured, hurrying off to pick up the books, set them back into place, and then gather all of her notes. Usually she would be more careful about how she set them into her bag, but urgency assured she lost her place for the time being. Oh well, she would figure it out later. Right now Rezo was her priority- everything else could wait.

Returning to him a few minutes later, she reached out for his hand. "Come now, darling. It is not too far a walk to the lounge."

The kiss, as light and soft as a feather, may be brief, but it leaves an odd ache in its wake, the sense of it lingering against his lips even as he can clearly hear her busy on the other end of her work table. He notices, vaguely, that her motions sound hurried- she really is trying to be swift, and he feels a little sheepish that she’s so concerned.

Maybe she sees something in his face that worries her. The thought gives him the usual pang of self-pitying gloom. At least she’s by his side again soon enough, her hand on, then in, his. He focuses on the feeling of her pulse in her fingers, trying to banish his moody thoughts.

“Alright,” he says again, nodding slowly at her suggestion. Why are they going to the lounge? Never mind, if Lioriley thinks that would be a better place for them to go, they can go. Rezo gets to his feet, the motion clumsy, and follows alongside her, not saying anything unless she prompts him. Her hand, at least, is a comforting anchor, even if he’s clearly spacey as hell right now.

Mirrored cabins aboard the voidbase assured that neither of their beds would be a good place to rest, and since it was late enough that most were already settled elsewhere, the chances of the lounge being empty and relatively private made it the ideal place to try and lull Rezo back to sleep. At worst, he would just reject the idea outright. But it couldn't hurt to try.

She held tight to his hand as they walked; noting the heavy silence, and the fact that Rezo had said so little since he appeared in the library minutes before. Something was definitely off, and she had to wonder just what types of nightmares could plague him to the point that he would be so disturbed.

"Ah. Here we are." She finally said, her voice soft; thumb rubbing along Rezo's knuckles. "All to ourselves, too. What luck." She tugged him inside the lounge area. And even without anyone nearby, still moved toward one of the rooms off to the side just to be safe. A few chairs, a large couch, and a television across from it filled much of the space. She directed him toward the couch, making sure to set her bag down first. She took both his hands again afterwards.

"There should be plenty of room for the both of us here." She murmured, stepping backwards until she hit the edge of the couch; easing down slowly until she was sitting up with her head against one of the arms, legs outstretched. She encouraged Rezo to follow, her intentions set on getting him to lie down between her legs with his head resting on her chest.

They’re alone together. That thought settles into the rest of the disorder-

Are you sure you’re alone?

Has he ever truly been alone? But the Dark Lord is at least dormant again, in spite of how, only a little while ago, Rezo had vividly reexperienced the sound of the mazoku’s voice, tearing through him as a knife rips through fabric. Rationality tells him it was simply a dream, as he is standing here fully intact, that terrible voice faded to only a memory.

But it’s a memory that is impossible to ignore.

He continues to allow himself to be led around, only vaguely aware of anything other than his own thoughts and the feeling of her hand quietly contrasting his anxieties. He’s left to stand by a piece of furniture for a moment before he feels her grasp both his hands and pull him along again- but this time she pulls him downward, towards a couch, and his attention is finally grabbed by the downward trajectory.

“Lioriley?” He halts, leaning over her, one knee in between her legs, the other still planted on the floor. He assumes- wrongly- that her intention is for them to lie next to one another, but while the couch is large, it’s not that large, especially not with the position she’s in. “Where did you…? Ah… How did you want me to…?”

Whatever she wants him to do, he realizes, they’re going to be very close to one another. The thought makes him increasingly conscious of the way he’s looming over her, the positioning of his hands and legs- Lioriley will have a good view of his expression shifting from ‘visibly dissociating’ to ‘increasingly flustered.’

She probably should have explained, or even asked if he was comfortable with such closeness in what was still a very public area. Even if it was late, the place was quiet, and the chances of them being walked in on were slim to none. Not to mention the fact that she hadn't intended to do anything but sleep.

"Mm?" She hummed, looking up to see the flush of color across his cheeks. The realization of their position and what it might suggest not entirely lost on her as violet heat bloomed over her own face.

A laugh, suddenly nervous, but still distinctly full of mirth, exhaled while she gathered her thoughts. "Lie down, darling. I promise you will not hurt me." The distribution of weight would make it easy enough to remain comfortable. She reached up to gently grasp Rezo's shoulders, tugging again to try and guide him down. "Rest your head on me." A beat. "Unless such a position is, ah...too much?"

“It’s fine,” Rezo says. It’s a lot but he’s not exactly against the idea of being so close to her, it’s just. A lot. But they’ve been getting physically closer for a while and they are officially lovers now, so…

Lioriley moving her hands to his shoulders, besides pulling him in further, leaves him fumbling to find a place to put his hands. One winds up next to her head, the other on the back of the couch, sliding downwards until it winds up resting against her shoulder as his head finally settles against her chest. He’s not sure if the pounding he hears is her heartbeat or his own reacting to the closeness and the fact he is lying on top of her.

(...Amongst the myriad of sensations he’s experiencing, one of them is Oh, her breasts are really small, aren’t they?)

“This is fine,” he mumbles.

Surprisingly, her heart - and, subsequently, her leylines- wasn't beating all that fast for once. Despite the brief flicker of embarrassment a moment before, she was making a point to try and be calm; to soothe and comfort as much as she could so Rezo did not feel a need to be so tense.

She only adjusted a little once he started to ease down, looping her arms around him so one hand could rest between his shoulder blades, and the other tangled into his hair. Almost immediately did she start petting the stubborn strands down, letting her fingertips brush over the back of his neck.

"Are you certain?" She asked, just to make sure he wasn't uncomfortable and, for whatever reason, unwilling to just tell her as much.

Rezo shifts lightly as she wraps her arms around him, settling into a comfortable position. Well, comfortable, even if he’s still a bit flushed.

(It’s probably better than how pale he was when she found him.)

In response to her query, Rezo easily says “Yes,” and even he’s a little surprised that he doesn’t hesitate. True, he feels awkward as hell about this, but her hand against his back, the one stroking against his hair, these are nice. He definitely can't think of anywhere he'd rather be.

“I may not have specifically intended this, but I wanted to be near you.” His voice is quiet, but clearly audible, especially with how close they are. “...Just don’t let me crush you if I am too heavy.”

"You will not crush me." At worst her legs might fall asleep after a bit, but her healing factor would probably counter it. That would be a small price to pay for her beloved's comfort for the night anyway.

A soft hum rumbled from her chest as her fingers continued to glide through his hair; pushing the strands down and smiling when they flipped back up again. Stubborn things. The hand on his back kneaded gently, pressing into any knots she may have found to carefully massage them out.

"It is a shame we must spend our nights apart so often." She sighed, suddenly - for once - wishing they had been given more private quarters. Although there was always the option of upgrading to the double cabin. She wondered if he would be inclined to join her in one eventually. "But you are always free to find me. And if we are aboard the train, we can at least spend what time we are able together."

Lioriley could not more clearly mean that in a literal sense but as Rezo is in a self-deprecating mood he wonders if she would still say that if she learned more about his past. He has continued to let her live in blissful ignorance of his crimes, constantly split between worrying that he owes her brutal honesty and the thought that what she doesn’t know surely won’t hurt her.

He shivers lightly when her hand begins kneading at his back, reminded of how she’d tended to him on that beach only a short while ago. He’d been embarrassed by how strongly he’d responded, and utterly certain his interest was one-sided, only to be blind-sided just a little later that day by her confession.

And here she still is, holding him in her arms, still caring for him and offering up her time and attention so freely.

“I don’t understand how I managed to be this fortunate,” he murmurs. In his experience, everything comes with a catch- for everything built, a sacrifice must be made, for every bit of good fortune, a calamity accompanies it. So what will be the trap in all this?

Probably him, he realizes. He cannot ever be part of something straightforward and good for the simple problem of his presence rendering everything… less than perfect.

Rezo sighs. If only he were half the person Lioriley seems to think he is.

But rather than voice his maudlin thoughts, Rezo eventually asks, “What were you working on before I interrupted?”

Truthfully, he isn’t deeply interested in what she was doing per se, but he wants to keep listening to her voice. It is much more pleasant than any of the ones inside his head.

“‘Tis what you deserve, for one.” She said, living in that blissful ignorance and unknowing of the horrible things he had done. To her, he was a man who had lived far longer than most humans would - or should - and had suffered a great bit of loss. Along with the obvious chaos of his world that he often spoke of, she truly believe he deserved all the kindness and ‘good fortune’ she offered him, and often thought- “I only wish that I could do more.”

Lioriley shrugged, fingers carding idly through his hair. “Searching through the archives for older messages between previous voidtreckers. Did you - were you able to see a portion of the train’s memories, by chance?”

What does he deserve? Rezo’s expression tightens briefly at her words, but it gradually softens again as she continues to play with his hair. Deserved or not, it’s impossible not to like the way she touches him, and lets him press against her.

“No,” he says. “I… Did not intend to search the caves at all.” Which, he realizes, probably sounds deeply selfish without the context behind it. It’s the same reason he hadn’t helped with the displaced individuals on Ciyesia, although he’d been able to get away with pretending it had been his exhaustion that prevented him from helping.

“Did you see anything?” They’d been a little distracted at the time, so they hadn’t discussed it much.

It was a risky endeavor, and Lioriley would not blame anyone for not venturing into the memory caves. If she was not so hungry for knowledge and unlocking the trains memories for a variety of - assumed - useful benefits, well, she certainly wouldn't have gone in either. And she had been lucky that no one else saw anything that originated from her mind.

She twirled a few strands of hair around her finger and nodded, their closeness assuring her chin brushed against the top of Rezo's head when she did so. "Not much, but I saw a woman in orange named Xela speaking with another woman in blue about discussing a plan. I have been trying to find who the other woman might be - they both seemed rather... distraught. And exhausted."

Xela and the unnamed woman both have Rezo’s sympathies.

“I have caught… bits and pieces of information from the records, and from the conversations of others. From what we have gathered, it seems the original crew had good reason to be distressed.”

Rezo thinks for a moment. He’s usually so caught up in his own situation that it’s hard for him to appreciate the gravity of the situation that the entire crew is involved in. Before Osiga he hadn’t thought of it as important at all, really, except for how being taken by the train affected him.

Shabranigdu, however, is at least contained thanks to the accursed seal in Rezo’s eyes. That is more than can be said for the world eaters that they’re all trying to deal with.

"Indeed." She agreed, tempted to speak more, only to stop herself when she glanced down to Rezo. He had come to find her for comfort after a difficult night's sleep - one would imagine speaking of world eaters and the fate of the train's previous crew likely wouldn't help him sleep any more soundly.

"But let us speak of other things." A very blatant attempt to change the subject. Lioriley squeezed his shoulder once before resuming her idle massaging of his back, her other hand still playing with his hair. "My combat training is going well. Though I am glad you cannot witness it - I am all but a fumbling fool through most exercises." It was probably obvious that physical exertion through non magical means was...weird. for her. Maybe he'd find it amusing though?

Rezo frowns slightly, wondering why she brought it up if she was going to change the subject- then again, he’d asked about her work first… Either way, as long as she keeps talking to him and touching him, that’s what matters. And the massaging is a very physical reminder that he is in the shape he ought to be.

He makes a weak attempt at a laugh. “You cannot be much more uncoordinated than I am when I try to swim.” Which he has been trying to keep up with while they’re here. If he has time, he flails his way through a few laps in the evening before he takes a shower and prepares for bed.

“This training. It’s so you can protect yourself if we ever visit a world that suppresses your magic, isn’t it?”

She chuckled. "You do not do as terribly as you think." Granted, he had the benefit of not drowning when he was with her and given the gift of water breathing, but still. He hadn't done poorly when they had their swim out in the water, even if the lesson had not been as long as she had intended for obvious reasons.

Another nod, this time her head tilting so she could gently rest her cheek atop his head. "Yes. I have never been without my magic, and more martial combat I oft leave to others. If there is a chance I could be without my abilities...I do not wish to endanger anyone, or burden them with my uselessness."

Rezo’s hand curls gently around her shoulder. “You would be of more use than I would,” he says. There is no doubt in Rezo’s mind that his blindness would render him an utter liability without his magic. It has been his one exceptional skill since he was young, the only thing that stood between him and beggardom.

If he ever lost that… And if Lioriley ever had to put up with him under such circumstances…

“Even with my skills in magic, it must be quite troublesome for you to be a blind man’s lover.” Wallowing as deeply in self-contempt as he is, it does not occur to him how appalling this statement might sound.

"You sell yourself short." Or have too much faith in her. Either way, she was certain that Rezo would be able to hold his own without his magic - then again, she wasn't thinking about his blindness as a factor in that; just assuming he was skilled enough even without his sight to survive any harrowing situations.

So it was especially odd to hear that comment, and for a moment all Lioriley could do was lift her head and stare dumbly down at the priest.

"...Pardon?" Surely she had misheard him. Did he just suggest that it was troublesome to love him because he was blind? "Of course not. I do not - why would you think that? You have not caused me any trouble, and I certainly do not believe your blindness a deterrent." Clearly.

Rezo is about as surprised by her confusion as she is by his initial statement. He lifts his head and shoulders, bracing himself on one hand and tilting his face towards her, his brows furrowed.

“Lioriley…”

It’s so self-evident to him that his blindness is an issue that when Lioriley dares to question that, it actually takes him a moment to put any thoughts into words.

“We have only been together for a short while, so perhaps it has not had time to wear on you yet. But there are many things I cannot do as well as ordinary people can. I cannot read without casting a spell first, and if there are illustrations I have to ask others for help to understand them. Without my staff or someone to guide me I could get lost or trip and injure myself. It isn’t even safe for me to run on my own.”

(Countless scraped knees and palms from when he was growing up could attest to that.)

“I cannot see you smile, or tell you that you look beautiful without it being a bad joke.”

After a visible hesitation, he even admits, “Sometimes, I am shocked that you are not repulsed by me. My body is less than whole. Anyone would consider that undesirable.”

"Repulsed?" She repeated incredulously, even more dumbfounded by the series of self deprecating comments he had made. And maybe she should have been more offended that he so wrongly assumed she would ever think less of him for something he could not control, but all she could focus on was how deep his self loathing seemed to be. And she wondered, briefly, if he had suffered these thoughts his entire life.

"Rezo." She said as sternly as she could manage, shifting so she could cup his cheek. "Perhaps you should consider a few things before speaking so ill of yourself. For one, not many blind folk could claim they can read whatsoever, and you have devised a spell - I presumed on your own - to allow you the ability. And perhaps you do need assistance at times, but I have seen you move with as much poise as a sighted man would. You have survived this long without your vision, and you will survive even longer because you are strong and intelligent and passionate enough to push through your limitations."

As for the part about her. Well. "I do not need your compliments and praise on my appearance. You accepted my affections because you care for me, do you not? If those feelings are true, then I do not need anything else. You are enough."

Well, she wouldn’t be the first person to feel that way about him. Generally, it doesn’t come up, since most people- including Rezo himself- view the Red Priest as a wholly sexless being, detached from even the most innocent of human desires. But when he was younger he and his eventual wife had endured more than a few… unpleasant comments.

You have survived this long… If only she knew. Although, it wasn’t his blindness that led to his death, but his desperate desire to be rid of it.

Agitated, Rezo shakes his head.

“I do care for you, Lioriley. Enough that I fear I have done you a great disservice by accepting your affections. I don’t understand how you can say such things. I…”

His fingers curl tighter and tense; realizing this, he lets go of her shoulder and snatches at the back of the couch, pulling himself up so that he’s seated partly upright on top of her.

“If I have managed not to be a burden, it’s because I have spent my entire life fighting to be less of one. To be worthy. But it gets so tiring having to go above and beyond just to stay on the same level as everyone else.”

As Rezo pulled back, the hand still resting against his back gripped a little tighter, tugging on the fabric clenched between her fingers; fearful of him moving too far from her.

"Because it is the truth. I would not have said it otherwise." Rezo surely knew by now - or could at least guess - that Lioriley was not a woman inclined to lie. And maybe she was laying it on kind of thick then; but everything she said was genuine. She did care about him, she believed him to be strong and resilient and smart. And she could not understand why he seemed to doubt her so. And more over, why he seemed to doubt himself.

Her expression shifted again, and it probably would have looked strange to an outsider; him half hovering over her and her frowning and clearly confused, leylines flickering wildly across her dark skin.

"I..." she almost said 'I understand', because she did, in a way. Lioriley had all of her senses, but back home, once she had left Moon's Refuge, she had always had to try harder than anyone else to prove she was worthy of their time and attention. Just because she was a Lunari, because she was different, she was not good enough even to those with the same qualifications. But was that truly the same thing? She couldn't compare her own hardships to his, when he clearly suffered more for his inability to see.

"I am sorry, my love." She said, her voice low. "You deserve so much more than I can give for all the hard work you have done. But what I can offer is my assistance to help ease your concerns, and the promise that you do not have to be anything but yourself when you are with me. You will never be a burden. If anything - I worry I may be one to you with my sudden demands for affection and your attention."

Rezo visibly struggles to respond to her promises. There’s a temptation there but does she really know who- what- he is, under the veneer of the Red Priest and Great Sage? Rather than argue right away, it’s easier to address the end of her statements, albeit haltingly.

“You’re not…” he starts. “I have always been clumsy with these things, but that does not mean I dislike it. The fact that you, Lioriley, the woman I admire and adore, seem to enjoy my attentions, is deeply flattering. I may be busy at times, but being able to spend time with you, to kiss you and call you silly little pet names is… It isn’t burdensome, it is an honor.”

Having said that, Rezo is silent for a long moment afterwards. Mulling over what she’s said about simply wanting him. He’s voiced a fraction of the thoughts that plague him on a constant basis, but he knows there is more. Things that he has deliberately avoided telling her. Things that are starting to spread around anyway. Things he has to explain if he truly intends to explain himself.

Finally, something inside him cracks.

“Lioriley, my beloved… I haven’t told you the cause of my blindness.”

He reaches for her wrist, gently taking it in hand and tugging, trying to make her let go of him so that he can move off of her. He has a feeling he shouldn’t trap her underneath him when he lays everything out.

'Then why do you not believe me when I say the same of you?' Is what she would have said next. But then she felt his hand on her wrist, and for a split second he would feel her grip tighten again before she finally - reluctantly - let go.

She sat up a little straighter, even if the sudden weight in her chest made her want to sink down and into the couch; to avoid whatever he wanted to confess to her. Even if the initial comment didn't make much sense - it didn't take a genius to figure out he was going somewhere important with it.

"You were born without sight." He had said that before. "...were you not?" Obviously.

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cw: rezo's internalized ableism being esp. blatant

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