tenth. text. (and if you leave me, rest assured it would kill me.)

[torrefied]

[He's put off doing this notification as long as he can, hoping against hope that she'll turn up again, that her physical absence and alias's disappearance from the directory are mistakes, that there is another explanation waiting to be found. But it's been three long days, and no sign of her. She has friends, and they probably deserve to know, too.]

Sharon's gone.

[Yes, he's upset. No, he doesn't want to talk about it.]

I'm taking over maintenance of her emergency supply cache network, but I could use some help.

[Grieving? What grieving, there's work to be done.]

THREE ❢ VIDEO

[firstreturned]

What a nice welcome after such a long time away. You creatures never disappoint with how angry you get.

[Rage is back, back again. Go ahead, tell a friend. She's giving a nonchalant smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes -- it's hard to be pleased about being well fed when you've just spent six months scouting in enemy territory.

In fact, her face goes to neutral as she picks up again.]

First things first: We don't know for certain how the Null were able to find us, but we did discover at least part of the problem: there's a mole in the cave.

[Her voice goes cold when she makes the statement, and it pretty much stays that way for the rest of this post. Also, no, she wasn't trying to make a pun or a clever reference to the city being underground.]

This is the only way for the Null to consistently be able to chase us through space. [And not just because Fear sucks.] Hope and Sorrow's investigation should turn up more information about that. Would that you'd all voted for me, but like my brethren, I'll defer to your decision.

Second, it would seem your strangely shaped bodies have inspired our pursuers. We found them experimenting with bipedal robotic bodies that move the way you do. By the way, that doesn't exactly help anyone's case here. Clearly, they're finding you useful to a large extent.

[She's suspicious as hell, in effect.]

Finally, the Null's objectives have changed. They've constructed prisons capable of containing us no matter the form we take, and not only that, but they'll be able to use us to power their operations. I know some of you will see this as justice, but before you jump to such a predictable conclusion, consider this: our interference aside, the power my siblings and I gain from you is used to keep you alive and comfortable. We're able to coexist. What the Null want is our absolute confinement for their selfish purposes. Think for a moment about what that means. You all seem to like Delight. How would you feel if someone locked her up in a small space to do whatever they want with her?

[She's angrier now, more emotion in her voice and face. The silence after that question is short, but it's long enough for her anger to cool again.]

The mission was too dangerous for us to obtain more information than that. Given we're actively being betrayed by someone here, I wasn't inclined to share any of this with you, but I suppose it isn't fair to leave all of you in the dark because of one person or small alliance's actions.

[She leaned much more heavily towards not wanting to tell the residents, but Delight would tell them, and Rage is the last person who wants to disappoint Delight at all.]

Consider this a gesture of goodwill.

[With that flat, clipped sentence, she cuts the feed.]

002 [ Video ]

[doctoral_bird]

[ It may be an unfamiliar face to many! Malkus is actually appearing on the feed without his signature mask. Even a plague man like him needs fresh air now and then. His sickly facade wasn't far from the norm! That's just... his face. ]

Greetings fellow residents. It has been some time, but with the lull in disturbances I feel now's a better time than any to- ah-... discuss...

[ He scratched his claws against the wood of the bench outside, trying to remember what the hell he was going to say. As the pause grew, he could feel his social anxiety build.

Don't give them dead air, Malkus! The people hated pauses! ]

I am sorry, sleeping outside has left me- e-eh-... melancholic. I'd forgotten what I wanted to bring up. Ah! Yes!

[ He moved the feed to the mask sitting beside himself, placed daintily on a heap of papers and glassware. ]

As it often becomes a point of conversation, I would like to ask my fellow residents if anyone has actually had an epidemic ravage their land. I've come to realize I may be alone in this topic.