a conversation

[helloneighbor]

[On the night of February 28th, just before midnight, your television set turns on with a pop! Blaring static, the snowy image gradually begins to gain clarity and definition, and the harsh white noise begins to slowly — but not completely — wind down to a dull, hissing drone. Like a radio trying to tune into the right station, two familiar voices in the middle of conversation rise above the noise.]

	—only have one job. How hard can it really be to make sure those idiots stay out of trouble? I'm serious, Dale. Help me understand. Because from where I'm standing, you'd think I ordered you to boil the ocean.
	It hasn't been hard.
	Then how did they find the shelter? Who told them, Dale?
	I think you already know.
	[A sharp crack, not unlike the snap of a branch, rings out. The gasp that accompanies it is swallowed up by the white noise.]
	You've always been so good at taking responsibility. Disappointing. [He sighs.] Well, the good news is the lab was cleared out. Nothing down there anymore. Shame that the test subjects got loose, but... They won't be running laps anytime soon.
	[Thickly:] You should have just killed them.
	Maybe. [There's a faint impression of a shrug through the static.] Probably. Don't worry, I'll be having a conversation about that too. In the meantime, we have bigger fish to fry. What are you going to do about the rest of them?
	Security's been raised around Town Hall, the station — anywhere that could be a place of interest. They're going to go looking for answers, there's no way around that. But they won't get far if we're there to meet them.
	Why give them the chance? Test data showed they responded well to Tranquilization. All they need is one good push over the edge and— [He snaps his fingers.] That's it.
	That's not how I do things.
	Obviously. Well, if you won't, I'll just get someone who can.
	[A derisive scoff.] What, like— [He goes silent. His realization audibly dawns on him.] You don't mean—
	Mm-hmm.
	No. You can't be serious. If you let that freak out, their good will, any chance we have of containing this — that's it. It's over.
	I don't want their good will, Harding. I want them out of my fucking town. If I can't have that, I'll take their brains leaking out of their ears, no problem. Misbehaving children need to be punished. Now, there are a few other... pressing matters that need my attention. We'll talk more about this later. [The outline of Clarke's hand gives a flippant little wave.] You can go.
	[There's a long, uncomfortable moment of silence, broken only by the sound of footsteps. They stop, and Harding speaks up again, his voice very quiet.]
	You never said ş̶̨̧̢̧̥̞͇̪̘͕̪̻̺̼̭͈̹͓̤̖̱͖̹͔̝̳̘͎̥̺̪̠͕̝̝͈͈̼̹̀̀́̈́̕͠ͅṫ̵̢̪̯̟̙͔̜́̿̾̄̈́̽͑͒̍̏̑̂͌͗̉͑̓̊̄̐̊̿̆̈͐̅̇̑͆̃̆͘̚̚͠͠͠a̶̡̨̛̘̬͉̞͉̠̝̺͓͍̤͚̭̝̦͙̘̭̜̹͓̹̺̜̹̳̲̺̦̤̺̤̘̹̎̈̓̽̂̾̽̌̾̔̈̍̈̾̈́͊̊̈́̑͛͌̓̂̂̓̎̔͘̚͜ṫ̸̨̢̨̧̛̗͚͕̻͚͇͖͍͔̺̙͙͇̤̦̙͕̥̺̻͚͈̹̼͈̼͇̳̳̪͕̥̪͗̉̔͒̾̀́̂̑̾͌͛̃̎̐́̆̀̕͜͜ͅi̸̛̛̺̗̦̭̹̫̩̥̲̤̘̲̬̹͊̒͊̎̋̐͌̍̂́̂́͐̅̇͆̃̊͂́̈͆͋̾̈́̍͑̎̈́̓̀͆̈̃́̅̿̊̉̌̈́̑͊̀̓̆̏̃͂̾̚̚͘͠͝͠͝͝͠͝c̶̨̨̧̢͕͙͉͙̗̟̺̝͍͔͎̟̲̺͈̫̥͍̬͔͕̠̩͕͍̰̱̟͇̠͖̮̺̩̯͈̟̲̱͉̖͎͎̝̙̥͍̻̞̘͎̖̲͑͒͊͋̿̒̔̄̈́̈́̉̐̿̀̌̐͛̉̓͌̃̀̾̕͘͘̕͘̚  was there.
	What?
	[As if reacting to the heated tone Harding's voice takes on, the static begins to rise in volume again.]
	ş̶̨̧̢̧̥̞͇̪̘͕̪̻̺̼̭͈̹͓̤̖̱͖̹͔̝̳̘͎̥̺̪̠͕̝̝͈͈̼̹̀̀́̈́̕͠ͅṫ̵̢̪̯̟̙͔̜́̿̾̄̈́̽͑͒̍̏̑̂͌͗̉͑̓̊̄̐̊̿̆̈͐̅̇̑͆̃̆͘̚̚͠͠͠a̶̡̨̛̘̬͉̞͉̠̝̺͓͍̤͚̭̝̦͙̘̭̜̹͓̹̺̜̹̳̲̺̦̤̺̤̘̹̎̈̓̽̂̾̽̌̾̔̈̍̈̾̈́͊̊̈́̑͛͌̓̂̂̓̎̔͘̚͜ṫ̸̨̢̨̧̛̗͚͕̻͚͇͖͍͔̺̙͙͇̤̦̙͕̥̺̻͚͈̹̼͈̼͇̳̳̪͕̥̪͗̉̔͒̾̀́̂̑̾͌͛̃̎̐́̆̀̕͜͜ͅi̸̛̛̺̗̦̭̹̫̩̥̲̤̘̲̬̹͊̒͊̎̋̐͌̍̂́̂́͐̅̇͆̃̊͂́̈͆͋̾̈́̍͑̎̈́̓̀͆̈̃́̅̿̊̉̌̈́̑͊̀̓̆̏̃͂̾̚̚͘͠͝͠͝͝͠͝c̶̨̨̧̢͕͙͉͙̗̟̺̝͍͔͎̟̲̺͈̫̥͍̬͔͕̠̩͕͍̰̱̟͇̠͖̮̺̩̯͈̟̲̱͉̖͎͎̝̙̥͍̻̞̘͎̖̲͑͒͊͋̿̒̔̄̈́̈́̉̐̿̀̌̐͛̉̓͌̃̀̾̕͘͘̕͘̚  was down there. All this time, doing all that sick shit to them. And you never said a word. Was I supposed to find out about that myself?
	Technically, you didn't. I didn't hide anything from you. You were going to find out eventually.
	Not like this.
	[Clarke makes a dry noise and opens his arms wide.]
	Happy Valentine's Day.

[Harding and Clarke's figures fade back into the static. The television switches itself back off.]

Comments

not here, obv

[the_caped_crusader]

[ he's watching quietly; no need to speak much without a tongue, after all. once the broadcast is finished, bruce glances to the notebook on the table besides him... ]

[sploosh]

[After watching the broadcast while standing in her nightgown, Pam finally sits on the couch.]

...I guess even the locals aren't 100% on board with how bad they've gotten... What kind of nightmare d'you think he's talking about releasing?

[it's rare for Pam, but after what happened to Bruce, there's actual fear in her
voice.]

((Let me know if this isn't ok. Just poke me on Plurk and I'll delete))

[the_caped_crusader]

I don't know...

[ bruce's eyes remain focused on the tv even though the broadcast has stopped by now, his brow furrowed with severity and anger. even without a tongue, his speech is clear with the exception of some harder vowels, a boon of decades of vocal training and disguises. ]

But if it's worse than what we've seen so far, I think we should all be concerned.

@kipo, audio

[purplejaguareye]

[Kipo shouldn't be up this late. But how could she sleep with something like that on TV.]

... What.

Is anyone else hearing this?

@polaris

[chromiums]

[ lorna probably shouldn't be, either, but it's not like she'd be sleeping even if she hadn't heard what she did. ]

Yes. [ and she sounds furious. ]

[purplejaguareye]

"If you let that freak out..." I don't know if I want to know what that means.

... We're in trouble, aren't we?

@okuyasu

[righthandstand]

What did he say was down there? I didn't see anyone before they knocked us out!

[What are they going to do with his lung?!]

[purplejaguareye]

I couldn't hear over the static. I didn't see anything but the doppelgangers down there. What could he have been talking about?

[the_caped_crusader]

Go to bed.

[purplejaguareye]

But how can I sleep with that going on TV!

un: FALCOGRICE

[grice]

[ probably after bat dad sent her to bed, but, ]

Are you still there?

@kipo, text

[purplejaguareye]

[She's in bed, but that doesn't mean she's asleep.]

I'm still here. I got sent to bed lol.

action for housemates, un: FALCOGRICE

[grice]

[ falco doesn't sleep as easily lately, even though he's accustomed to sleeping in just about any uncomfortable position (either that or you don't sleep, is what he's learned even younger than he was now). his heart jumped when the nighttime broadcast was interrupted. soon, he comes to recognize names, harding, locations, test subjects— he's missing context, but he's fully capable of being perceptive and fitting pieces together.

something certainly wasn't right in this town, and now he knew for a fact on where to place the detail that there were people who knew and were responsible. he remains in silence on the couch, in a blanket, and it completely betrays how hard his heart beats between his ribs. he's a little too rattled to hide his eyes when it was like something could pop out of nowhere, a presence unseen. but his eyes were shining, reddening, and he fights to hold in a sniff.

for the others, he types publicly: ]

Has the television turned on by itself before?

un: PAPYRUS

[spaghettimonster]

I THINK IT DID.

YEAH, ON HALLOWEEN.
AND THEN TERRIBLE THINGS HAPPENED.

[So, if this follows any sort of pattern indicated by the previous example? This is cause for optimism and hope in a whole lot of directions at once.]

[grice]

What happened? [ a pause. then, considerately: ] If you can talk about it.

un: sans; text

[ribticklers]

happened while you guys were gone too

[Sans is not planning on saying too much on here, considering, but he can fill in that little bit.]

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Cassandra was used to long nights with little sleep. Princess duty in the castle, and life on the road, both perfect places for someone who slept with one eye open, ready to leap up and defend herself against intruders. Helping Falco take care of himself was more of the same. And the sound of static blaring out of their TV? That's enough to get her out of bed.

The first bit of the conversation was lost to her, but the gist came easily as she quietly drifted out into the living room. The small figure of Falco on the couch, blanketed in cloth and static, was unmistakable.]

Falco?

[She calls, quiet amid the sounds of Harding and the Mayor's heated conversation. She didn't want to spook the poor kid.]

[grice]

[ it's hard to hear footsteps in static, but the white noise silence finally ends with happy valentine's day just as . . . he can begin to process it all, and just as cassandra's voice calls for him cautiously. it doesn't make him jump, but it does make him turn his head, quickly, sharp with alertness. it's easier to ease off and show what he was really feeling without being too spooked: the more obvious is crestfallen rather than angry, sitting up in his seat just enough to obscure the lower half of his jaws, to make room for the woman if she wanted to come over.

rather, his eyes were already asking if she could come over. ]

Did you hear all that, Miss Cassandra?

action

[13thcommander]

[Erwin can also fall asleep and then wake up at a moment's notice, so when the tv starts blaring in the middle of the night, he snaps to attention immediately. He listens to the conversation with interest, but he also hears scuffling from Falco's room, and the sound of the boy going downstairs. Erwin lays still and waits, but he never hears Falco come back upstairs. After awhile, he gets out of bed and slips into his bathrobe, trodding heavy on the stairs as he comes down so he doesn't startle the kid.]

Falco?

[No sense in asking why he's up, since they both know.]

Do you want a cup of coffee? [A pause to consider.] Or maybe some whiskey.

[Or maybe both? Kids like coffee and whiskey, right?]

[grice]

[ falco looks up from his seat eventually and, nearly gawks. ]

N-no liquor, sir. I'm too young. [ hrm, ] —Thank you.

[ he doesn't want to start acting like colt when he got his hands on a drink, even though pieck was the responsible adult who also fed alcohol to possible minors just because they asked. after a moment of thought, he does begin slipping off of the couch, with the blanket in tow. ]

Can I have some milk, instead?

[ then they'll drink something together—! very obviously, falco doesn't reject company one bit, especially not now. ]

@gallica

[apodictic]

... well, yes. Leaving has always been the plan.

[ these tragedies aren't even as necessary as this big thing - of course they all want out of town.

but that also means there's an aspect of santa rosita the mayor and harding can't control, and that's interesting to angelo. ]

There's trouble in paradise, I suppose.

@Cass

[feudalladyshandmaid]

If they really wanted us to leave, we'd be more than happy to go.

[apodictic]

Oh, absolutely.

What's the first thing you'll do when you return?

@ELVIRA

[vampirella]

shocking. the men with obvious power and control are secretly involved in something that would require power and control to pull off.

and they're sloppy as shit, too. good to know.

@Cass

[feudalladyshandmaid]

They definitely didn't know better when it came to leaving us be.

Or just letting us go home for that matter.