Sime~Gen Roleplaying: District Controller's Office Scenario
Episode #35: Uncertain Reunion (6/8/99)
Nick watches as Arat wipes the worst of the blood off of himself.
Nick: You missed a spot.
Nick rests a selyn-rich hand gently on a rapidly purpling tooth mark.
Arat finds the sensation extremely nice.
Nick: Here, let me.
Nick takes the towel and carefully wipes the wound clean.
Arat: I was lucky. [realizes]
Arat had previously felt very unlucky in the entire matter of Snake's transfer, but as he has time to think about it....
Nick: Yes.
Nick supposes that either Snake lost her knife in the avalanche, or the channel collection team took it from her.
Nick: Snake can be... very determined, when she's desperate.
Nick: ~~ apologetic ~~
Arat fingers his neck.
Nick wonders if the Tecton has an etiquette for proper Donor behavior when one of one's channels has just tried to murder the other.
Nick: She learned to fight on the streets of Bender Cove.
Arat: Do you want to see her before our transfer?
Arat hopes that it is safe to say they will still be having transfer.
Nick: That would probably be best.
Nick hopes that Snake won't go ballistic again at the thought of having her Donor give transfer to someone else.
Nick isn't sure what he will do if that happens.
Nick: Will you be all right?
Arat: Yes. [automatically]
Nick looks at Arat sternly.
Arat looks a little bit defensive.
Nick: Perhaps I should ask Jeniard to sit with you.
Nick thinks that however scornful Jeniard is of Nick himself, he will see to it that Arat takes care of himself.
Arat: I will be with you.
Nick: That wouldn't be wise.
Arat: I have no choice in the matter.
Arat: She is my responsibility at this point.
Nick: Arat my friend, I know you mean well.
Arat looks at Nick.
Nick: But Snake is hardly likely to cooperate with you, after what you did to her.
Nick: At least, not yet.
Arat: What I did to her?
Arat feels that he has been rather on the receiving end of everything that's happened between them so far, other than the rescue.
Nick: Yes. You kept her from me, and that's not something she's likely to take calmly, at least not until she's had a chance to think about it.
Arat shakes his head.
Nick: And forgive me, you don't appear to be in any condition to take more of her... displeasure.
Arat gestures acknowledgment of Nick's point.
Arat: Nevertheless, I must.
Arat: She must learn that I will not go away because she mistreats me.
Arat: Otherwise I will be no more help to her than any of her oth... any other authority figure in her life.
Arat has actually spent quite a bit of time pondering Snake's case, over the last months.
Arat's interest in it started when Snake first left Bender Cove and the Tecton was rife with speculation as to what she'd do, and then was rekindled when Nick turned up so fortuitously.
Nick: Perhaps what is required just now is not an authority figure, but a friend whom she trusts?
Arat: Perhaps. I am not stopping you from seeing her; quite the opposite in fact.
Nick wonders why every Tecton channel who gets his tentacles on Snake seems determined to prevent them from ever having privacy.
Arat zlins Nick.
Arat: You think I am unreasonable.
Nick: Can you blame me for wanting a chance to talk privately with her?
Arat: No.
Arat: There will be time for that, and soon.
Arat: Not this first time, though, all right?
Nick thinks this offer over, then nods reluctantly.
Nick: Very well.
Nick: You should change first.
Arat pushes back a tangled streamer of black hair that has found its way into his eyes.
Arat: Yes, I would like to.
Arat would really like to.
Nick looks down at his crumpled uniform shirt.
Nick: I should change as well.
Arat rises from the bed, then immediately regrets it as he discovers he's become as stiff as a board.
Arat has wrestled with the occasional recalcitrant patient, but nothing compares to what happened today.
Nick reaches out with hand and nager to steady Arat.
Nick: Take it slow.
Nick: Are you sure you're up to this?
Arat: Yes, I'm just a bit stiff.
Nick: ~~ dubious ~~
Arat: I'm fine. [insists]
Nick: Tell me that again when you look a little less like something the cat dragged in.
Nick: Are you sure you wouldn't rather find someone to treat that?
Arat hesitates.
Arat: Yes, I should. I'll do it after our transfer.
Arat is avoiding it mainly because he doesn't want to know what the damage was. It's remarkably difficult to zlin one's own neck, making denial possible.
Nick inspects the bite one more time, and then the areas of greatest apparent stiffness.
Arat doesn't voice his real concern - that thousands of random infectious diseases could have been transferred from the rogue's spittle - for fear of offending Nick unnecessarily.
Nick decides that Arat is probably in no immediate danger of dying, much as he probably wishes differently just now.
Nick: Very well.
Nick starts for the door, ready to support Arat as necessary.
Arat accompanies Nick back to his room to change and clean up.
Nick changes into the shirt he had brought to walk home in.
Arat makes the mistake of looking in the mirror and at that point has to spend a few extra minutes properly cleaning the wound and applying a sterile bandage.
Nick notes that Arat takes far less time than his father/grandfather to accomplish the task.
Arat has been doing the exact same grooming ritual and wearing the exact same type of uniform (with gradually increasing rank insignia) for the last 18 years so he's pretty efficient at it.
Arat therefore is looking like himself in no time, aside from some pained body language and a white bandage around his neck.
Nick nods as Arat emerges from his transformation.
Nick: Much better. You look yourself again.
Nick's gaze rests on the bandage.
Arat sees that Nick has changed out of his Tecton shirt.
Nick: Or at least, mostly so.
Arat fingers the bandage.
Arat: Have you seen her attack anybody in that way in the past?
Nick: Biting? No.
Arat nods.
Nick is pretty sure that's only because she usually carries a knife, though.
Arat looks at Nick's shirt.
Arat: Are you sure that is the message you want to give her?
Nick: It's the one most likely to gain her cooperation.
Nick is also feeling somewhat less charitable towards the Tecton since Jeniard's earlier remarks.
Arat: It might help her to see a friend in a Tecton uniform.
Arat happens to know what Nick doesn't yet: that Snake's cooperation will not be required immediately, since she is enclosed in an observation room and therefore quite harmless.
Arat: Don't forget, you will not have very many chances to do this.
Nick: Perhaps later, if it seems appropriate.
Nick: As Jeniard pointed out earlier, technically I have no business wearing that uniform.
Arat pauses.
Arat clearly dislikes Nick having brought up the tiff with Jeniard.
Arat: But I wish you to wear it.
Nick: It would not be appropriate, under the circumstances.
Arat: Would it not?
Arat: She has already seen you in it.
Nick: I know.
Arat: To see you in it again would send a message of stability, of a permanent change.
Arat: To see you wear it for me, and not for her, is a message of uncertainty, of flux.
Arat: Which does she require now?
Arat does not wait for an answer, but simply walks out the door.
Nick follows, noting the unSimelike stiffness to Arat's gait.
Nick makes a mental note to make sure that Arat takes a long, hot shower directly after their transfer.
Wise Snake roams restlessly in the observation room: A small room with a bed and other basic necessities, very secure, with a thick plate glass window to the visitor's room and a small aperture for sound to pass through.
Wise Snake: [the room is ordinarily used for crazed juncts and the like]
Wise Snake has already explored it very thoroughly, including the inner workings of the locks.
Wise Snake: ~~restless~~
Arat leads the way to the high-security area where Snake is being kept.
Nick passes Arat as they near their destination and enters the visitors room first.
Nick: Snake?
Nick: ~~ joy/apprehension ~~
Wise Snake looks up quickly and darts to the window.
Wise Snake studies Nick for signs of damage and/or brainwashing.
Nick reaches the window somewhat later than Snake, thanks to his cast.
Arat comes in after Nick.
Nick: Snake, you're alive!
Wise Snake's eyes change as she sees Arat as well.
Nick: I saw the avalanche cover you....
Nick wipes at the tears which seem to be running down his cheeks, for some inexplicable reason.
Wise Snake: Nick.
Wise Snake: They told me you were not buried at all.
Wise Snake looks like she doesn't know what to think about that.
Wise Snake: You've been... here.
Nick: Yes. I understand Prunida dug me out of the snow and dragged me back here. I don't remember it.
Nick: She said you... didn't survive.
Nick's nager flares with tightly controlled fury.
Nick: I expect she didn't even look.
Wise Snake: She wouldn't.
Wise Snake: Has she won, then?
Wise Snake: Do you send her your paychecks?
Wise Snake's voice is bitter.
Nick: No. She hasn't won.
Wise Snake's creepy white eyes travel over to Arat, study him at length.
Wise Snake: Is this the best they could give you? He's not even Zeor.
Nick: This is Controller Arat. You gave him quite a drubbing, you know.
Arat nods to Snake, silently.
Wise Snake: He should have kept his hands to himself.
Nick: Perhaps. But he's not any better at ignoring a potential patient than you are.
Nick: The two of you are really remarkably similar in some ways, actually.
Wise Snake's eyes, and nager, spike fury.
Wise Snake: What do you know!
Wise Snake: You've been taken in, haven't you?
Wise Snake: You've been with him, while I wait here.
Wise Snake: We're all the same to you, is that it?
Nick does not flinch at the display of herpetological temper.
Nick: Not at all.
Wise Snake's eyes shift back to Arat, meeting his.
Wise Snake: You'll stay away from him if you know what's good for you.
Wise Snake gauges his need and grips the window sill in frustration.
Wise Snake: Or are you going to leave here and as soon as you get around the corner, open your arms to him? [to Nick]
Nick tries not to flinch, not completely successfully.
Nick: Snake, please....
Wise Snake's expression lends weight to the old saying, "hell hath no fury like a rogue maniac scorned".
Nick tries to ~~~~ CALM ~~~ Snake through the window.
Arat weathers the shift of Nick's nageric attention from him to Snake, and the buffeting of CALM (er, so to speak) silently.
Wise Snake cocks her head.
Nick is starting to remember why he has been finding Arat such a peaceful, hassle-free assignment.
Nick: Raging will just make them keep you in there longer.
Arat has long perfected the art of the Silently and Invisibly (or not) Suffering Farris.
Wise Snake: What should I do, Nick?
Nick: Survive.
Nick: Use the situation, instead of letting it use you.
Wise Snake's eyes glitter dangerously.
Wise Snake: He coached you, didn't he?
Wise Snake: Tell him to stuff it.
Wise Snake: This is a prison, you're lying to yourself if you call it anything else.
Wise Snake: Ask him if they'll ever let me go. Go on, do it.
Nick looks at Arat.
Arat is studying Snake silently.
Wise Snake: ~~cynical~~
Nick turns back to Snake.
Nick lets his ~~ love and longing ~~ for Snake show.
Nick: Must I lose you again, just when I've regained you?
Nick lets one hand rest against the glass.
Wise Snake looks at him incredulously.
Wise Snake: You're asking me?
Wise Snake thinks, actually, it sounds like Nick is threatening her.
Wise Snake: If that's what you feel, why don't you act on it?
Wise Snake: Get rid of him, and we'll both get out of here.
Wise Snake: Just you and I, alone.
Nick longs for his pre-Tecton days.
Nick: Snake, I have no key to that room, nor could the two of us fight our way out of the security wing.
Nick: All we could do was injure a lot of people trying--beginning with us.
Wise Snake: Make him do it, then. He's in need, you're high field. There's nothing he can do to prevent you, and he can be our hostage.
Nick wonders just how eager the Tecton would be to redeem Arat.
Nick: Snake, the Tecton has a policy of refusing to negotiate with hostage-takers.
Arat reaches out and lightly touches Nick's arm.
Nick looks at Arat.
Arat: Don't take her words literally. Translate to what is behind it.
Arat: She is alone, and afraid. She wants stability, something she can cling to.
Arat: Tell her you will be here for her.
Arat: As a friend.
Wise Snake nearly does a dance, she is so furious.
Nick notes Snake's jitterbug.
Wise Snake would explode at the nearest person, if there were anybody in her actual physical vicinity.
Nick: Snake, I will not let them leave you here to rot.
Nick: ~~ promise ~~
Wise Snake's eyes are bright with betrayal.
Wise Snake: I gave you my life, and you forget it all in two months?
Nick: You gave me your life--and I value it so much that I refuse to allow you to throw it away.
Wise Snake shoots a perfectly murderous expression at them both, and then turns and stalks back to the meager bed.
Wise Snake flops down on it with her back to the window.
Nick lets his ~~ love and pride in Snake's spirit ~~ show.
Arat, who has been under severe self-control ever since Nick's projection of ~~love and longing~~ for Snake, weathers this as well.
Arat, plans to never put himself in this position at this time of the month again if he can possibly avoid it.
Arat of course normally doesn't care about a Donor enough for it to be possible for him to be in this position.
Nick sighs as Snake fails to respond.
Nick starts slowly for the door.
Nick feels much older than 25 at the moment.
Arat, after a short delay, exits the room also.
Nick is leaning against the wall outside the door, looking physically and emotionally exhausted.
Nick zlins rather high-field, however.
Arat stops beside Nick.
Arat looks like he would like to ask for Nick's support back, but isn't sure he should ask.
Arat: It is going to be a long, slow process, Nick. [gently]
Nick shuts his eyes in (well-controlled) pain.
Nick: I haven't seen her so frantic since... since we left Bender Cove.
Arat listens silently.
Nick can't help feeling that he should have known she was alive in the snowdrift.
Nick: I should have been able to prevent this.
Nick: Or at least kept her sane enough to deal with it rationally.
Arat: Sanity goes beyond another's nageric influence.
Nick: But friendship doesn't.
Arat looks at Nick quizzically.
Arat: You are still her friend, even if you do not influence her nager.
Nick: Yes, but she doesn't believe that. At least, not now.
Nick: And that's hurting her at least as much as the rest of it.
Arat: Do not place too much faith in the details of her actions.
Arat: If you behave faithfully as her friend, in the purest sense of that word, she will understand on some level, and remember later.
Arat has always judged people by what he perceived as their inner motivations, which is why he tends to let others do most of the talking when he is evaluating them.
Nick: Perhaps.
Arat: Snake Farris has never had a teacher, a mentor or a parent who has stood by her over the long term.
Nick: I know.
Arat: I intend to become that person.
Nick studies Arat.
Nick: Why?
Arat returns the look with the clear, intense, unreadable expression he usually wears while studying others.
Arat: Because I can. And somebody has to.
Arat neatly sums up the combined effects of a towering ego and a tendency toward compassion for an underdog.
Nick: She's not an easy person to stand by.
Arat: I am not inexperienced in this type of treatment.
Arat: You've met many of them, they have become my employees.
Arat is not an easy person to have standing by you, either, or at least so some would say. Arat would find the statement irrelevant.
Nick wonders how many of Arat's success stories were manic-depressive, pain- and drug-addicted slum kids with a distaste for bathing.
Arat: I do not think you have to have direct control of her nager or her life to help her, Nick.
Arat: You have a special meaning for her because of your past bond. You can help her simply by refusing to not be her friend.
Arat: When the two of you were alone, it was different. But not now. You aren't solely responsible, now.
Nick wonders if this means that they will never be allowed to work together or have transfer again.
Arat shivers, perhaps in response to Nick's nager's changes, or perhaps for other reasons.
Nick absently extends support.
Nick: As long as Snake's hurting and alone, I'm responsible for helping her.
Arat steps carefully back from Nick's unintentional support.
Arat: You were responsible. Now you share a common goal with others.
Nick notes the repeated use of the past tense.
Nick: I see.
Nick pushes away from the wall and starts walking down the hall.
Arat zlins Nick, in an attempt to determine whether he is supposed to follow, or give Nick space.
Arat desperately wants to follow, but also knows very well the foolishness of taking transfer on top of negative emotions.
Nick is feeling rather homesick and abandoned.
Arat hesitates, and then walks after Nick.
Arat: Nick...
Nick pauses, but does not turn.
Arat: I'm not saying you won't be involved. You will be.
Arat: You already are.
Arat: [after some more silence] I... Nick, do you require some time to yourself?
Nick slowly turns.
Arat edges backward.
Nick: No, I can manage. [dully]
Nick tries to get his nager in order.
Arat recoils from Nick's lifeless emotions.
Arat: I think we should wait.
Arat: Tonight, or tomorrow morning.
Nick had started to extend support again, but stopped when Arat recoiled.
Nick: Whatever you want.
Nick: ~~ lonely ~~
Arat: I didn't mean I didn't want to be near you until then.
Arat: I just think we should wait for transfer. Until... until you've had a little time.
Arat edges closer to Nick again.
Nick has too much Narosian in him to seek solitude when hurting.
Nick: Oh.
Arat has learned the hard way that his natural moodiness combined with transfer from a severely depressed Donor leaves him useless for a month and a half.
Arat: Perhaps we should... do something.
Arat: Outside.
Nick: Do something?
Nick: Like what?
Nick is at least speaking more than one sentence at a time, if short ones.
Arat: We could go to the theater. Or the botanical gardens?
Arat must be desperate to cheer Nick up; he has to get tanked to his eyeballs on anti-allergic dope to go within 3 blocks of the botanical gardens.
Nick: I haven't been to the botanical gardens before.
Arat: Would you like to?
Nick: Sure.
Nick is suddenly eager to get out of the Sime Center.
Arat looks down at his uniform.
Arat: I just put this on, but it doesn't seem appropriate for the Botanical Gardens.
Nick: Or, no. There will be too many things blooming at this time of year.
Arat looks at Nick.
Arat: I can take precautions.
Nick: And be too drugged for transfer afterwards.
Arat nods.
Nick: How about the park instead?
Arat has never liked the park - too crowded - but accepts the compromise.
Arat: All right.
Arat: I will change, and then we can go.
Nick starts moving down the hall.
Arat thinks Nick might like him better without the Tecton uniform.