080315MelniaLibby

 -- tumblingThinker [TT] began pestering languidLachesis [LL] at 01:20 --

 [01:20] TT: Melnia is walking down the hall, when she passes by the door to Balish's office. She looks for a moment, before walking forward and knocking on the door.

 [01:22] LL: "Come in." Libby calls from inside. She sounds irritable.

 [01:24] TT: Melnia opens the door, stepping in. "M-Miss Libby? H-How're you doing?"

 [01:25] LL: Libby is surrounded by a mountain of paper. she's running her fingers over two pages at once. "Oh, you're Ryspor's child. The girl. Come in, then."

 [01:27] TT: Melnia steps into the room, eyeing the mass of paper cautiously "O-Oh, I suppose we haven't officially been introduced. I'm M-Mary."

 [01:27] LL: Libby makes a noise in her throat. "Shut the door, Melnia."

 [01:27] TT: Melnia flinches, shutting the door.

 [01:28] LL: "Sit down." She flips the pages onto the piles beside them.

 [01:28] TT: She sits down in the chair opposite Libby. "O-Ok"

 [01:29] LL: "I don't care what name you've gotten the others to address you by, but if you want to work with me, I will expect complete honesty, even when it hurts. Am I understood?"

 [01:31] TT: Melnia flinches again. "Y-Y-Yes M-Ma'am"

 [01:33] LL: She continues reading. "Do you speak and read Twink, yet?"

 [01:33] LL: "Well, read. You speak it well enough, but your accent is atrocious."

 [01:34] TT: "Uh, n-no..?"

 [01:35] LL: "So your father didn't teach you. Hmm..." She flips the pages again. "I can fix that, if you'd like."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:36] TT: "Y-You mean you can teach me t-twink? Wh-Why?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:38] LL: "I assume you're here to work with me. And I am willing, because of the love I bore your father. Unless you're here for some other reason?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:43] TT: "W-Well, I mostly w-wanted to meet you. I mean, y-you're a person, j-just like everyone else, I th-thought it would be nice to m-meet you, and get to kn-know you."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:43] LL: "Get to know me?" She seems confused. "Why would you want to get to know me?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:43] TT: "T-To make friends?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:45] TT: "T-To encourage t-teamwork among us all?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:47] LL: "I'm not on your team, a fact that your teammates have made abundantly clear to me."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:47] TT: Melnia frowns

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:50] TT: "Wh-What happened? If you don't mind me asking"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:55] LL: "Listen, Melnia.." She stops reading and sits up. "A few hundred sessions ago, I'd have been right here with you. I would be braiding flowers into your hair, calling you Mary, using my powers to make you human, and we'd be the best of friends. For Eons, all I wanted was a friend. Then this session came along. I let myself fall in love with Balish, the first Balish. And he was taken from me. I let

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:55] LL: myself fall in love with your father, and he was taken from me. The lessons I learned in my isolation have born out, as they always have. This world is very cruel, so it is advisable to remove any weakness from yourself, or the Incipisphere will do it for you."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [01:59] TT: "I-If you want a friend, I'd be happy to b-be yours, but f-friendship isn't a weakness, as far as I've seen. but I've been trying to work on my weaknesses.."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:02] LL: "Friendship isn't a weakness if you can trust your friends. I trusted Meouet, look where that got me. I trusted Sami, look where that got me."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:04] TT: "I s-suppose I s-see your point."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:05] TT: "I hope one day you can t-trust me. I'd like to b-be your friend."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:07] LL: "I'd like that too." Libby rubs the back of her neck. "I- I miss him."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:08] TT: "I miss him too.." Melnia nods, blinking a few times trying to hold back tears.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:09] LL: "Did he ever talk about me?" She looks at her hands, and the bandage over her eyes is soaking through.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:11] TT: "A few times. He loved you a lot, Miss Libby."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:12] LL: "He loved you, too. He talked about you, and he was so excited about you."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:13] TT: Melnia chuckles a little, then is silent for a moment. "I hope I c-can make him proud..."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:14] LL: "You already do. Just by being yourself, and fighting against the role that your genetics have ordained for you... I find it childish myself, but... it made him very proud."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:17] TT: "...Thank you, Miss Libby."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:20] LL: Libby smiles, weakly. "I am sorry if I seem harsh with you. I am unsure if I can get close to you or not."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:20] TT: Melnia smiles back. "I'm the Sylph of Heart, I'm s-sure it's something we can work towards."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:21] TT: "If... If that offer to work with you is still open, I'd, I'd love to take you up o-on it. It'd b-be an honor to w-work besides you."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:22] LL: "I heard Doir had a run in with something nasty on LoEaD. Do you know what happened?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:24] TT: "These weird... things. They were almost like.. angels of death. One was pale and the other was black, they came speeding over the horizon at us. Doir told us to run and I guess he underestimated their strength. Mari managed to g-get him back in one piece, b-but by all counts he should be d-dead"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:24] TT: "All I know about the attackers is that they were very fast, they were too far away to get a decent profile on them. I'm sure you could ask Doir though."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:26] LL: "I think I will, after he gets some rest. If you go see him, will you tell him to get some rest?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:26] TT: "Since I'm basically h-his doctor, I think I'd h-have to"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:29] LL: "Tell him to. Insist. If he refues, give him sedatives."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:38] TT: "I'm honestly surprised he's able to be conscious at all after all that. But I'll be sure to. S-See you around M-Miss Libby"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:39] LL: "Feel free to stop in again, Me--" She stops, and ponders a moment. "Mary."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> [02:41] TT: Melnia smiles and nods. "And you can feel free to pester me at tumblingThinker if you need." She exits the room, closing the door behind her