[open!]

[falsesmile]

Who: Ves (falsesmile) and general!
When: Day 6, afternoon
Where: The Ruined Hull
What: General exploration post!

[ The Ruined Hull has been unlocked! The go-team has been in the area for a while, the stay-team members who are so inclined have probably meandered over here somehow by now -- time to go exploring, but keep an eye on those suit power levels ♥ ]

Comments

[adamance]

[As someone suffering from the same ailment, it's easy for Lexa to see the reason for him holding himself up. Unaware of what he could be, she still assumes there's a solid chance that there is a man in there. But it's hard to say, and she doesn't have the knowledge to back her up.

What she does know is that he's unsteady, and he did something even more reckless than her. From her own spot on the ground where she's sitting, she eyes him.]

Are you willing to be a burden for everyone else? [Lexa hates admitting weakness, but the more important part here is clear to her: there's a good chance that her weakness is his weakness.]

[exorion]

[Oh good it's Lexa.] You know, it feels kinda like the only things you have to say to me are criticisms.

[adamance]

Not all criticism is meant to hurt the person who receives it. [After a beat, she motions to her midsection, near where the Queen had bit her. Lexa realizes that she had an opportunity to check for the gunshot wound that killed her before she landed here, but she's now lost that.]

We received similar injuries. Does your ... appearance prevent you from being hurt? [It's an honest question. She can think poorly of his ability to take charge, but being a burden is just a basic, common fact. It's why she's sitting.]

[exorion]

No, it doesn't.

[He has a lot of complaints about it. He's mostly healed, but still numb. Still disoriented. Still sore everywhere else. Cayde shrugs a shoulder and sits on the ground next to Lexa with a sigh.]

Figure it affects me different though. I only got numbed up here-- [He puts a hand to his side, but he'd seen how Lexa got downed. More than just the bite, judging by how she had to be dragged outta there.]

[adamance]

Pain should spread. ["Should" may be an odd word. But Lexa always likes to ... be somewhat theatrical when she speaks. She likes holding someone's attention. Her oratory skills are pretty decent in that way, if a bit overly blunt (but her people demand that of her).]

Mine doesn't. I can't figure out why, or whether it will fade. [She reaches out toward her arm, and though it's covered by the suit, she still digs her fingers into it. What ache should be there is only distantly present.]

Pain is how we can keep track of whether we can still fight. It may prove to be a burden if it doesn't return to me soon.

[exorion]

Bug venom must be an anaesthetic.

[It's gotta wear off at some point right. Still, Cayde shrugs a shoulder-- A burden, but not impossible to work around.]

Could be worse. Could be a neurotoxin that sets all your nerve endings on fire. [...] Figuratively. But literally would suck too.

[adamance]

That would be worse, wouldn't it? Constant pain could be the same as the absence of pain—you grow used to it regardless.

[Her people use a number of toxins and antitoxins like this. Their knowledge of "biological warfare" is what some would consider as being advanced.]

Truthfully, we may benefit from figuring out if we can keep ... parts of her to provide temporary relief. If that's possible.

[exorion]

Gotta be a way to drain the venom. [He says it more like he's thinking than speaking directly to Lexa, folding his arms over his chest while he considers it.] If we could find some kinda storage containers in the ship, maybe we could fill a couple up so we've still got some when it's time we move on.

[adamance]

A hull of this size should have enough to store anything we should need. [She looks at it.] And enough that can be emptied if it can't be utilized. [Lexa is aware of supplies to some degree, not just from her people—because they are always dealing in limited quantities—but because of what happened when the people came down from the sky. It was part of why they returned to Mount Weather, and earned the feigned ire of the Ice Nation.

Now she looks on, eyes steady, as she recalls this.]

And if not, then someone who claims to craft weapons may be able to craft something with a lid.

[exorion]

[You'd think a robot couldn't raise an eyebrow, but you'd be wrong. He doesn't know if that's a dig or a general comment, but given the kind of 'weapons' they've been making so far...]

Well, breaking off shards of metal is a kinda different skillset to making containers.

[adamance]

And is that all you know how to manage? I did think too highly of you. You were right before. [Definitely a dig.]

Though I'm not ignorant. We'll need a smith and the supplies of one for anything like that. [She presses on with these words because a dig isn't necessarily meant to guide a conversation; Lexa just sometimes likes to flaunt the thoughts she has.] I do believe that if there's a hull, there should be something as basic as containers. ["Basic" could be a dig, but it actually isn't.]

[exorion]

First things first, we see what's in the ship. What's salvageable, there's gotta be tech we can repurpose or something in there.

[He looks at the ship, arms folded over his chest as he considers it, and tilts his head.]

Course-- If the crew was all haughty children, who knows what's useful in there.

[adamance]

Some people have their hubris for a reason. I consider myself among them. [Why backpedal from her arrogance when she can embrace it fully with every ounce of bravado possible? In her eyes, it's a matter of meeting the challenge.]

There will be those of us, including myself, who won't be able to recognize the nature of the technology within. It may be a poor time for it, but it wouldn't be bad if we could find someone to teach us so we can take pride in how we assist others here.

[exorion]

[God, if he could roll his eyes. He sighs and gestures to the ship.]

If I recognise anything in there I'll explain it, but that depends on it not being alien to me too.

[adamance]

We can only hope that you won't give up on it too quickly. I'm not the only one who would benefit from that knowledge. [Though Lexa fully expects that once his dizziness passes, he'll want to get the hell away from her.

She's very aware that she's annoying him.]

[exorion]

[Wow, is that the impression she's got? lackadaisical and useless, he'll let her think that — in fact he'll encourage it — but a quitter? Unacceptable.]

Don't you worry about that. [wink] I got a great many unflattering qualities, but being a quitter isn't one of 'em.

[adamance]

Ah, and you feel strongly enough about it to ensure that you correct me on the matter. [Which, in Lexa's book, is generally a good thing. It speaks to someone's character.

And of course, she had to frame it as if she was aiming for the correction.]

[exorion]

Strongly enough to reassure you I'm not gonna leave anyone in the lurch.

[He says it with a shrug, totally nonchalant. He doesn't know if Lexa's testing him or something here, but he's not about the let her know he cares or anything.]

[adamance]

[Sorry, Cayde. Everything about Lexa is like a test.]

That sounds like a broader statement than simply a matter of not being a quitter. You seem like you don't want to commit to any identity. [That doesn't mean she's wrong about him potentially being a useless individual to call upon (especially since he's willing to jump into a bug's mouth), but it does mean that he might be along the lines of the reckless and more self-sacrificing sorts.

She isn't among those types, but she can see the value in them.]