40th metal . just don't kill the rabbit

[godsays]

[ spam - everywhere a nosy animal could get ]

[ There is a rabbit wandering about the Barge.

A deeply stupid rabbit. And a deeply friendly rabbit.

See him nosing around the deck. Snuggling against a door frame like it's his best friend. Hopping right up to your ankles like you're his best friend. He just wants your love.

Don't worry, Zane is in pursuit. ]

[ private to sylvanas - video ]

[ A pause. He's considered several things to say to her, but none seem likely to get much of a response beyond mockery. He considers, and finally he says: ]

Would you like to kill me?

[ public - video ]

For a lot of us, things are different here than they are in our worlds. At home, we're kings and queens, or we're invisible, or we're alone, or we're not alone.

I'd like to know how it's different, for any of you who'd like to tell me.

I don't mind telling you what it is for me.

Comments

[private]

[exnihilo]

You first.

[Not angry, or suspicious. She just wants that safety net, that context.]

[private]

[godsays]

I was a killer, there. A weapon, for whatever purpose those more powerful might have. That was what all Mistborn were. I wasn't treated like I was human, and I didn't understand love, or real connection.

[private]

[exnihilo]

[She looks away. There's no flinch in her expression. She is still what she is. A knife doesn't stop being a weapon just because it's set aside. But she looks away. She thought she understood love, but - if she had, he wouldn't have abandoned her. She wasn't supposed to have connections.

She breathes. She's working up to it.

She is.]

The Gods don't speak to me here.

[Quietly. The first real acknowledgement. She believes, now, that it isn't a test, that they aren't hovering in the ether. Still. The words barely slip out.]

[darknessb4me]

I am still King. Dying can't change that.

[godsays]

You're not King of the Barge.

Spam

[strangehistorian]

[What is this tiny creature doing in her library?

...Chromie's first instinct is to eat it, embarrassingly enough, but she knows if it's here it's probably someone's pet. She'll try to pick it up, instead, while it's sniffing at some random furniture.]

Spam

[godsays]

[ The rabbit perceives no threat whatsoever until he's actually picked up, at which time it seems to belatedly occur to him that this might be a bad thing. He gives a few halfhearted kicks. ]

Kel!

[ Zane's voice, calling the rabbit's name. He hasn't seen Chromie yet, but he can smell the rabbit, with tin-enhanced senses. Kel has to be here somewhere. ]

[Private]

[forsaken_queen]

[Port hasn't left her any happier than it found her, and the inquiry makes her bristle.]

What the hell kind of question is that?

[Private]

[godsays]

The one I'm asking.

[themissingpiece]

I think I already told you what's different. This place is... safer, than home. I was sorta on the fringes of the world even before the serial killer thing.

[godsays]

Here, there are people who care enough to protect you?

Because there's still danger here. A lot of it.

spam;

[ukan]

[Lark had been reviewing the network when he smelled--well. Food. Living, breathing, hopping, furry food.

The fact the rabbit comes up to him anyway shakes away the urge to hunt, though, and he cautiously reaches down to touch between its ears.]

spam;

[godsays]

[ The rabbit relents to the touching, one of its ears twitching in satisfaction.

It's not long before Zane comes dashing around the corner - and goes still, at the sight of Lark.

Hasn't spoken to him since Lark killed him. It was the Mirror Barge, he knows. Wasn't them, wasn't real. He's better equipped to fight, would have a better chance now, better than he had then, injured and exhausted. It's not fear, exactly - just caution. He doesn't know where they stand. ]

Sorry.

He escaped.

[bothfoulandfair]

[This response is delayed by a few days, but once Elsa's feeling more or less recovered from the death toll, she's sort of cautiously responding.]

Why do you want to know?

[godsays]

I like talking to people.

[myresponsibility]

Is some weird combination of the last three things an answer, kinda? [It's complicated.]

[godsays]

...it's not very much of an answer.

[spam]

[synchronous]

[ Dirk is poking through the shelves in the library when he feels something fuzzy against his ankle. He practically jumps out of his skin and almost kicks the poor thing, but luckily manages to look down just in time.

Oh, it's a rabbit.

Why. ]

[spam]

[godsays]

[ Because, Dirk. B e c a u s e.

The rabbit is far too friendly. Freakish mutant friendly, in fact, sniffling along and maybe trying an experimental nibble of - are their pants? If there are pants, Kel-the-Rabbit tests then to ensure that they don't contain hay. Just to be 100% sure. ]

Kel!

[ Rabbits don't respond to names, but Zane is calling anyway, hoping that his voice would at least discourage people from killing and eating the stupid thing.

He rounds the corner and makes an exasperated sound. ]

I'm sorry.

He escaped.

[enchangement]

Don't know yet.

Too many people here, know that much.

[godsays]

Too many people, in a very small space.

[persecutioncomplex]

[It's been so long she can't be suspicious any longer. Syo hasn't been out, been nothing for him to react to, and she doesn't have any reason to hate him for himself.]

Nothing in the broad strokes. The details differ, but I can see what's the same.

[godsays]

[ A long pause, before he responds. ]

I'm sorry, for everything.

You deserve better than how I've avoided you.

spam

[advocacy]

[Daneca looks down at the rabbit that bumps into her ankle in the common room where she's seated.]

Hey there...

[She leans down to pet him on the head.]

You've got the wrong Daneca, I think.

spam

[godsays]

[ He doesn't seem particularly displeased by this. You are a very pleasant Daneca, and the pettings should definitely continue.

There's a little spot on his head that makes his ear twitch. It's hilarious.

He may also nibble in a friendly way on pants, socks or shoes. ]