hadriel | duel 5. ( anon text. )

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duel 5. ( anon text. )

You know what fucking sucks?
The Speakeasy
The owner is never around.
Just Who Does SHE Think She Is?!?!?!
She can't do shit right around here.
WE HAVE NEEDS!
HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO STAND THIS HEAT WITHOUT MY BOOZE?!

「Hey, hey, Rey's friends... yeah, he's calling you out, come defend your friend, come show you care about her! He needs you... She needs you. Please.
The clock is ticking.

Yep, this is ruse. It WAS HARD, OK?! He feels terrible. It had to be done.」

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[She blinks in surprise as the feed changes, not recognizing the face on the other end. But video-- and speaking in general, makes her nervous, and she shrinks back a bit.]

Well, uhm... I mean, yeah, I think so. I help her run the, uhm, newbie nights. A-At the speakeasy. She's always been really nice to me.

「She's not the only one suddenly surprised at what they both see in the screen. No, it's not the first time he's seen people like her around, there was that dragon lady (who looked more like a lizard!), and now, there she is. She shirks a little and Atem leans over the feed instead, his eye(s) wide as he stares in awe. This... what is she? Not a tiny dragon, no, more like a lizard, but even more like a little dinosaur! The fact is that she looks amazing.

But, he only stares for so long because, right, there are more important matters at hand.」

You haven't seen her lately, have you?

[She raises a hand to her head bashfully, smoothing down her head spines like a human might with hair. She's a lot bolder on text than this.]

I, uhm-- n-no, I haven't. Not since the Null attack. I haven't been out of my lab a lot since then.

[A small pause.]

Is she... okay?

「He can't blame her for for being shy, which is why he gives her some space, so to speak, by looking away fora moment.

The lab, huh? Unless she meant any other lab, he was there once, where he found the shadow that Ravine became during the Null attack. It had been brief and didn't even pass from the entrance. But as she asks him and he cannot hide the worry in his eyes. He shakes his head, followed by a soft response.」

No, she isn't.

「He suppose all he can do now is explain, as he looks back at her.」

Are you at the lab right now?

[As soon as he says it, she's trying to speak again, breathless.]

What's wr-

[Alphys stops abruptly, swallowing hard when he asks. This is... not what she expected, from this.]

I... y-yeah, I am.

I'll explain everything. Can I see you there?

「Not that he's giving her much choice... He does seem troubled, a bit in a hurry.」

I, uh... y-yeah, okay. I'll wait here.

[She's worried, now-- she has to know.]

「He simply nods and cuts out the video. Barely ten minutes pass when he makes it to the Lab, making his way into it and looking out for... Damn he forgot to ask.」

Hello?

[Thankfully, Alphys is pretty recognizeable. She's sitting behind a desk at the far end of the room, fiddling around on her phone, looking distracted. When he speaks, she tips her head up, finally putting the phone down on the desktop.]

O-Over here!

[Alphys moves to get up, sliding out of her chair. She's not much, standing just barely 4 feet tall with her spines and never quite standing up straight, but she tries to greet him nicely with a little wave.]

「Alphys has to be the cutest thing he's seen in a while... Waving at him and everything with her tiny coat and her tiny glasses. So far, she and Rose have been the least antagonizing over this thing, so, he relaxes a little and he waves back, albeit it's more like a half-assed salute.」

Hey, I won't take much of your time.

「He makes a casual movement with his hand, for her to sit down again, and he grabs the closest chair himself, placing it in front of her desk and sitting on it.」

Okay, so... 「Down to business.」 About Rey... 「And all of sudden, all that confidence he seems to be carrying flies through the closest window. He can't help but slouch a little, but takes a deep breath and tries to go on.」 As I told you, she hasn't been doing great. All I was trying to do is to find people who cares about her. Not just anyone, people who... would fight for her. And I'd like to think I found a few.

「With that, he offers her a little smile. In his experience, it takes a lot of courage to stand for a friend. That's what she needs.」

I was hoping that maybe... you could pay her a visit. Let her know she's not alone, that she still has people who cares about her.

[She slides back into her desk chair, obviously nervous. What's he going to say? Is she dead? Did the gods not bring her back, or-- or something?

It's almost a relief to hear she's just not feeling good. But... Alphys knows this isn't the kind of call you make when someone's just sick. She hasn't seen or heard from Rey since the Null invasion, and she's been that person who just disappears for weeks at a time. It's hard not to know.]

Do you know what... h-happened? I mean, I can-- I'm not a fighter, really, but Rey's my friend, I want to do something.

[Maybe if she can go in prepared, she can know just what to say.]

I think you are. Just not that typical kind of fighter. As for what happened, she lost someone very important. She's stopped caring.

「About just everything.」

... Oh.

[Hahaha. Well. Doesn't she know something about that.]

Is... did you g-go see her? Are you her friend too?

I...

「Oh, no one had asked that one... He looks a little taken aback by the question.」

I don't think she'd consider me so. But– I did go see her. I asked her roommate about her, he told me she wasn't doing well. Then I... 「Literally barged in... Wow, now he feels awful.」

I only wanted to see if she was okay. She wasn't. She isn't.

「And then he never left. Okay he did form time to time, but he has overstayed for a long, long time. Days and everything.」

[She pauses a bit, like she's trying to formulate a good answer, and then reaches forward to put a hand overtop his.]

I think... you d-did the right thing. And even if you didn't know her before, it was really caring.

[Not that she knows the circumstances, of course...]

I'll try to go see her. Uh, soon.

「And, again, she's the first one to say he did the right thing.

No, actually, there was someone else. And both of them seemed to know Rey quite enough. He is not looking for any kind of recognition but, he won't deny he feels a little warm inside that she would think so. Same as that little scaly hand (claw?) over his, he didn't expect it to be so warm. It's reassuring.

He nods at her, slowly.」

Thank you. Just– be careful.

Edited 2018-01-28 04:04 (UTC)

It's okay. She w-wouldn't hurt me.

[And she believes that.]

Do you, uhm... need anything else?

「He'd love to believe it...」

No, I got everything I needed.

「She's exactly the kind of person he was looking for.」

Thank you-- 「Oh...」 Actually... May I know your name?

[She gasps a bit. Oh, shit! How could she have forgotten to give him her name! She blushes, sputtering as she taps her claws together.]

Ohmygosh, I'm sorry, I'm-- I'n Alphys. Dr. Alphys.

「He can't help a smile to her reaction.」

I'm Atem. Doctor, huh? One of these days you should tell me more about that, Alphys.

It's nice to meet you! And, I, uh-- I will! I p-promise.

[Once everything with Rey has blown over, that is...]

「Oh, a promise, he likes those. But he's glad she gets the urgency of the situation. He also hopes she can help Rey at all. He stands and places the chair back where he took it.」

I gotta go back. 「He forces a little smile.」 Let yourself in whenever you decide to go. I wish you luck.

「And he turns to leave. He doesn't like this, being so short, so impersonal. It will have to do.」

[She nods, understanding. He's worried. She is now, too.]

Okay! Uh... t-thank you!

[Alphys turns, mind already buzzing. She has a lot to do now, too.]

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duel 5. ( anon text. )

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