fourth. text.

[torrefied]

In the interest of having it completed some time this century, I'm taking over the project to create a guide document for new arrivals.

[And he's starting it from scratch, no thanks to Chris.]

If you can tear yourselves away from telling ghost stories long enough to reply, I'm interested to know what information you found most helpful when you first arrived, as well as what you would have liked to know sooner rather than later.

Comments

text

[torrefied]

Are you asking me, or are you saying that's something that should go in the guide document?

text

[enchangement]

both
directory for those who want it
an answer for her

[torrefied]

The directory is available on the phone.

The answer for her is that it's none of her business.

[Mello doesn't have friends. No one is surprised.]

[enchangement]

so few to none
they're useful
better than allies

private voice.

[torrefied]

[He does have one friend - Matt, who isn't here. Matt, who he's been told was killed as a result of helping him enact his final move against Kira.]

What are you getting at?

private voice.

[enchangement]

[ River sighs. Is it really that hard to understand? ]

Other people come and say how terrible you are, means that new people won't trust you. Make some friends. Allies ally for their own gain; when the odds are no longer in their favor, the dice are stacked against you.

permaprivatevoice.

[torrefied]

I don't care what other people think about me.

[He shouldn't be trusted. By design, he is not a trustworthy person - bred to keep secrets, to lie, to manipulate and use and discard people once they've served their purpose. He has already committed one murder in the time he's been here, lied countless times. Even now, he's lying; he does care what people think about him; he's just convinced himself that with only a few notable exceptions, what the people here think of him doesn't matter.]

Why do you?

[enchangement]

[ River snorts, the way someone does when they've heard something ridiculous and know it. Everyone cares what others think of them, on some level or another; the highly intelligent and driven care even more because they take the time to craft a first impression, a lasting impression, over and over again. ]

No answer she gives would be complete. Truth is a matter of perspective, the first person or down the sights.

You don't care about others. Why put this together?

[torrefied]

Because it needs to be done, and no one else is willing or motivated to do it.

[She's not wrong. Truth is malleable, and written by the victors.]

Do you know long it's been since people were first brought here?

[enchangement]

You base days on the light of an invisible sun? [ River hums; time is a complicated sort of thing for her on most days, and she isn't sure there's a calendar. ]

The collective memory is not very long at all.

She's asked Fear how long it's been a God.

[torrefied]

Good luck with getting a straight answer on that out of Fear.

[He's remarkably straightforward about some things, in Mello's experience, but not with others.]

The measurement of days is arbitrary, and the artificial light cycle is as good a basis as any. My point is, I was told the first group was brought here eight months ago when I arrived, and I've been here for at least three. That means people have been here for almost a year, and nobody's come up with a sufficient introductory document.

[And he might not have cared so much about it, except that L had asked for one, in the most recent round of new arrivals, and Mello was embarrassed to admit no such thing existed.]

[enchangement]

[ River shrugs. Any answer is better than none. Besides there's nothing lost in the asking. ]

Oh.

Then it's better that you do it to reach for exacting standards and useful information.

[torrefied]

... Why do I feel like you're mocking me?

[Probably because you're a paranoid asshole, Mello.]

[enchangement]

You worry too much.

[ No, she means it. His attention to detail will probably help the project along. ]

[torrefied]

I worry because I have reasons.

[enchangement]

Everyone has reasons. Still. Too much.

[torrefied]

How do you quantify what's too much versus what's enough when it comes to reasons for worrying?

[Show your work, River.]

[enchangement]

When she makes fun of you, you'll know.

[ River rolls her eyes. ]

Always a threat, always a danger. From the air breathed to the neighbor's trigger finger. Do you still breathe? Do you still sleep?

If not, then too much worry.

[torrefied]

Maybe the reason I still breathe is because I worry.

[Because he's always on his guard, always alert for danger. After all, the last time he let his guard down, Bianca killed him. It's not difficult to find cause and effect there.]

[enchangement]

...maybe.

No more arguments, they produce the counterproductive.

What else do you need to make this work?

[torrefied]

[Well, she's not wrong.]

I don't know. Probably just a way to get the document loaded on the phones once it's finished, but I'm guessing Hope would need to do that, since he's the one who distributes the phones to begin with. Why - is there somethig I'm missing?

[enchangement]

An explanation of the Gods. Examples of what they've done.

Otherwise, no.

[torrefied]

[That's something no one else has mentioned yet, actually. He murmurs a quiet, wordless agreement.]

That's a good idea.

[And then he adds, almost begrudging, nearly an afterthought:]

... Thanks.

[enchangement]

Welcome. [ River grins. See? Friends are helpful. ]

What name do you answer to?

[torrefied]

... Mello.

[It's not the only name he's ever answered to, but Mihael Keehl feels like a boy he used to know a lifetime ago, and none of the other names he's answered to since then carried the weight that this name does, a weight built with blood and determination.]

You still answer to River?