hadriel | video;

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[Elena Fisher isn't a constant ray of sunshine, no matter what some people say, but she's usually in good spirits when she talks on the network. Even in Hadriel's most difficult times, she's tried to project an air of optimism, or at least determination.

Not today.]

Nate's gone.

[She seems to search for more words before shaking her head.]

I just wanted to let people know.

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[Yeaaah that kinda friend]

Oh! He didn't-- uh.

[DON'T tell a dude's wife "he didn't mention YOU", that's gotta ping somewhere on the rude radar, right? oh no it's already ruined ABORT]

I mean, uh, yeah. K-kind of new. It's nice to meet-- uh, talk to...

...I'm gonna start over.

Hello.

[How does he have any friends, we just don't know.]

[Elena smiles wryly, not that Peter can see it. He might not be saying everything he's thinking, but she's pretty sure she knows all the same.]

Hello. It's nice to meet you.

And it's okay; you guys probably had more interesting things to talk about at the time. Where'd you meet him, anyway?

[oh noooo he hopes he didn't just get Nate into trouble. Not that he's here right now to actually be in trouble BUT Y'KNOW.]

At one of the shops. I'd just gotten here, and I kind of really needed a change of clothes? So I was in there grabbin' pants and when I was on my way out he was all "You gonna pay for that?", and I just about had a heart attack.

[No more trouble than he can get into on his own.]

Oh, lord. You thought he was going to accuse you of stealing? [She actually laughs. There's more irony there than this kid is probably aware of.] Did you know there's not really money here?

[Fair enough.

You know what, getting her to laugh probably counts as a win? He'll take that win.]

I do now, but at the time I was all freaking out because I was in a weird place running from weird monsters and I really needed some pants? I mean, I guess it's kinda funny now.

[Her laughter softens to a more sympathetic smile. Yeah, she knows how she felt.]

A little bit. But I can relate—when I got here, I didn't have shoes, which doesn't seem that bad until you think about how many things there are that you don't want to step on.

Jeez, that sucks. Like, especially in the colosseum, who knows what kinda stuff is all over the ground. That's just tetanus waiting to happen.

That's what I thought! When I wasn't thinking about not getting eaten by monsters, I mean. I'm not afraid of throwing a punch at those things, but sometimes a punch isn't enough.

[Tragically.]

Hey, there's absolutely no shame in running. The last things I saw in there were kind of enormous, like, there was no punching those.

[He totally punched a few of those]

They're different every month. I have to think that once in a while, some of them are punchable, but it's not something I put to the test.

At least they don't follow us out of there. Like having to fight them off in the colosseum is bad enough, it would be a hundred times worse if these things were out roaming the streets too. Unless they have been this whole time and I've somehow managed to miss it.

I'm not gonna say there can't be invisible monsters, but I think we'd know by now if they did anything to people.

And now I'm really hoping we never get any invisible monsters. Like at this point it wouldn't surprise me at all.

And you've only been here a little while, huh? You learn quick.

[Seriously, it's best to expect that absolute bullshit is always a possibility.]

[She can't see it but he's shrugging like it ain't no thing]

I'm kinda used to weird. This place just takes the weird and cranks it up to eleven.

[She can kind of hear 'shrug' in his voice, it's close enough.]

So what qualifies as weird where you're from?

[Mission accomplished]

Alien invasions, people with crazy powers, dude in a mechanical bird suit.

...all pretty weird, yet I find myself most intrigued by the bird suit. What's up with that?

It wasn't like a Big Bird sort of deal, it was more just mechanical wings. Maybe he thought it looked cool? It kinda did, I guess. He was using it to steal stuff to make weapons out of, and then selling them on the street.

Jesus. Aren't there simpler ways to commit theft? I've never known anyone who's had to resort to that.

Yeaaahh. Everyone where I'm from seems to be a little extreme that way. Nobody ever does anything half way.

Boy, you're not kidding. [Still, she finds herself a little envious of his world's journalists. They must get some amazing stories.] Funny—whoever that guy was, he probably could have made a lot of money selling his bird suit.

The guy was brilliant, and he had a lot of smart people working for him. They probably could have gone in a completely different direction with everything and made bank. It really is a shame.

[It's a double shame because that guy was kind of the father of the girl Peter had taken to Homecoming and WOW BUDDY had that complicated like everything]

For some people, it's never really about the money. I guess that's true in a lot of worlds.

It was kinda half money, half stickin' it to the man.

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