[semi-open] did u hear the joke about the dragon

[perfectstrike]

Who: perfectstrike & anyone who might have cause to try to call Peko to check up on her after the CERESTour!
When: just after the CERESTour into the next day (ic: 1/26-1/27)
Where: CERES Hospital
What: Peko got herself injured during the CERESTour and is patently confused as to why people keep visiting her.
Rating/Warning: Warning for blood and talk about injuries, but nothing gorey or gruesome.

---

[Immediately following the tour, Mosley had kindly ushered group three to the hospital for their sustained injuries. Peko, having gotten herself hit with the sharp end of a not-so-virtual dragon's claw, had needed to be rushed to get several nasty-looking gashes cleaned and stitched, along with some smaller burns treated. Swords aren't much good against things that can fly and breathe fire, after all.

Some time later, she can be found in the wing tended to by human and humanoid doctors (no androids here, please), seated quietly in one of the beds with her eyes closed as if she's asleep. The heart rate monitor is beeping quietly and steadily, and there's an IV hooked to her right arm to replenish some of the fluid she'd lost from bleeding everywhere earlier. All in all, though, she looks fine! If the ripped and bloody sailor suit in the corner and the fresh white bandages covering her left bicep and peeking out from above the cut of her hospital gown over her chest are any indication. At least the gown is cute, with happy little robots printed in a pattern along the fabric. To promote organic healing, of course!

Before the Cerevice goes down, though, she'll be answering calls with voice and just generally trying to rest and recover in the hospital. She's fine, though, really--!]

Comments

[impheired]

It's definitely possible. But regardless of whether it's with CERES or some third party we've yet to discover, I sincerely doubt it's on our side. Surely if that were the case, it would have reached out to someone by now...

[LILITH did? So why not creepy ass robot?]

[perfectstrike]

I agree.

[To a point. She hums quietly, then has to add,] Though... we do not know that it has not. There's... still much we do not know, about the people here.

[Such as where are all the criminals?? And other not-so-nice people that are honestly easier for Peko to understand.]

[impheired]

...point.

[They don't know everything, after all. He just kind of assumed... he sighs, folding his arms over his chest.]

We'll figure it out sooner or later. This is the second time it's shown up in as many weeks, after all. Wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing it more after this.

In any case, you're just going to have to use your imagination I guess. Because obviously I can't show you shit now. It was kind of like...a mermaid, almost. Only one you'd expect to find at the bottom of the ocean instead of the pretty ones you hear about in stories. It had tentacles and razor sharp teeth...

Anyway, it suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the tube we'd all assumed was empty. It broke out but this Cerberus jackass in our group attacked it before it had a chance to do anything. It... [He looks vaguely uncomfortable again.] It tried to talk to us while it was dying. It kept making these sounds over and over that you could just tell were supposed to be words but...I don't think any of us understood what it was trying to say. Then it died and Mosley showed back up and escorted us out because of "needless manslaughter". He also mentioned slaughtering of innocents, but I'm not sure if that was in reference to us or another group.

Either way, the thing was sentient and, despite its appearance, I don't think it was going to hurt us...

[perfectstrike]

Cerberus?

[That's a name she's not familiar with... though granted, she doesn't pay as much attention to the network as maybe she should, what with two jobs and a myriad of other interests to occupy her time. Instead, she stays mostly quiet, though her expression only grows more severe the more he explains. That... sounds awful. Maybe it's just because she didn't see said horrifying mermaid-thing herself, but something getting killed right in front of Kuzuryuu like that...

They're no strangers to death, neither of them, but it doesn't mean she has to like it, when it happens. Her lips thin into a line as she shakes her head.]

That is... unfortunate. [Both that potential information had been lost, and something potentially innocent was killed. She exhales through her nose and tries to meet his eye again.] If Mosley returned not long after that... it seems it is not merely our lives that are considered unimportant. ["Our" referring to people who'd been brought out of the code, rather than the natives or the people who visit willingly. Considering that if the... thing's life had mattered, surely a warning would have made sense? But then again... even without Vincere, it is still CERES.]

[impheired]

I don't know if that's actually his name or not, the guy was...off. If you ever see a tall guy with black hair and a gold right eye and a green left one, don't waste your time with him.

[Richter is second only to Archer when it comes to least amount of time taken to make a bad first impression on Kuzuryuu. He won't complain if he never speaks to the guy again.]

I dunno if I'd say that. I mean...he was pretty annoyed about what happened. Not devastated or anything, but...I wouldn't go as far as to say he didn't think whatever it was wasn't important.

[perfectstrike]

Understood.

[Bye Richter, you've just been put into Archer's category of "people she won't talk to without being approached first, and even then she won't be very friendly." It's Kuzuryuu saying it, after all, and she trusts his judgement on these kinds of things.

She hums again to indicate that she had heard him about Mosley, though she doesn't answer immediately. Instead, she uses her free hand to wrap a bit of loose hair around her finger as she considers it.]

Under what circumstances did Mosley leave your group?

[impheired]

He went to go get lightbulbs. [Does that explain why Kuzuryuu has one? Not really, but there's no way it's unrelated.] The hallway he took us down to get to the containment facility was too dark to see anything. But after he left, the stairs gave out beneath us and we slid the rest of the way down.

[Okay, so he might actually have some very light bruises from that but since he hasn't had a chance to get undressed yet, not even Kuzuryuu himself knows for sure.]

[perfectstrike]

[That does explain why Kuzuryuu has one, thanks. Peko does look toward the lightbulb again, this time with a bit of disgust. Even still,]

That's different than our own circumstances. I don't think Mosley intended to leave us, unless inducing vomit was part of his plan. I don't know what he is, but the vomit itself was... odd.

[She nods toward the tatters of her sailor suit.] I wiped some up with a tissue to see about analyzing later.

[That's so weird, Peko. You're weird.]

[impheired]

[He glances over at her uniform, quirking a brow.]

Odd how?

[He's not sure he wants to go digging through her uniform for vomit stains... Gross......]

[perfectstrike]

It seemed more like... oil than anything else. But I cannot imagine something could ail a robot to cause such a human-like reaction.

[She doesn't know, and therefore gathered evidence--!! But if Kuzuryuu doesn't want to see for himself, that's fine too. She just grimaces at the memory, adding,] As a group, we decided to investigate what we could while he was gone, but... I am not certain if anything we uncovered is of any importance. It was a "virtual diary" of an intern, recording the creation of the colony.

[impheired]

Weird...you know anybody who can analyze it?

[If she thinks it's oil, he'd suggest Souda but...Souda's not here anymore so obviously that won't work.]

If you're feeling up to it though, why don't you tell me about what you guys saw. I'll admit I'm curious as to how you managed to encounter dragons in a virtual diary.

[perfectstrike]

There are a few people I can ask, but I'm not certain yet.

[Later, Jaune will let her know about Shiho Sannomiya. But at the moment, Peko's main thought is for Kirigiri or Edgeworth.

She just nods in response, though. Whether or not she was feeling up to it, if he wanted to know, she'd tell him.]

As for the diaries... we were able to enter three of them. The first was labeled "June." It seems that is when Vincere and his men arrived on this planet. We found a deed of purchase that suggested he had bought the land from native people who could breathe fire, but considering the state of the deed -- burned -- I feel like it was not as peaceful a transaction as the intern's narration suggested.

Before long, we were glitched out of the diary and split up. Myself, Jaune Arc, and Kamishiro Rio took the door labeled "September," while Yang and Arthur Kirkland took "July." The years for each of these doors were blurred out, so it is hard to say for certain if they are all the same year, but...

In any case, I have yet to speak with Yang and Kirkland about what they saw. For us... in September, it seemed to have been just a few months ago. I saw projections of Hinata and some of the other people who have been brought here. That's when we fought the dragons.

[Okay, but while she'd been speaking, there's audible fatigue starting to grow in her voice. That's a lot all at once for someone still recovering from severe blood loss, so she has to pause, taking a few deeper breaths and closing her eyes briefly as if to fight against a wave of dizziness.]

[impheired]

[Kuzuryuu listens quietly, steepling his fingers in front of his mouth as Peko talks. When she mentions the fire breathing natives though, he seems to perk up, eye widening in something almost like recognition. But he doesn't interrupt. At least, not until Peko starts looking a little woozy.]

Oi, oi! [Kuzuryuu rises up out of his chair a little, extending his hands towards Peko before seeming to realize he's not exactly sure what he was going to do there. She's already sitting down, she wasn't really making any attempt to get up. So instead he just kind of looks like he's trying to talk down a Pekoraptor or something. This was not well planned, oops.]

[In the end, he folds his arms over his chest and stands up straight, almost looming over her a little bit. He fixes her with a very serious look, frowning slightly.] What did I say? Only if you were feeling up to it, don't push yourself!

[perfectstrike]

[His words of warning have the exact opposite effect, her eyes flying open as she tries to sit up. Is something going on?! She can still fight if she has to! ...before realizing that no, he's just... posturing weirdly to make sure she doesn't get up.

Unfortunately the pain of that sudden jerk has her letting out a bit of a pained hiss through her teeth, as much as she tries to suppress it.]

It's fine. I just... lost some blood earlier. I'll be fine, Fuyuhiko.

[She says, but it's obvious from her voice that it actually kind of hurts, wow.]

[impheired]

[Clearly he had a precognitive moment. He knew she was ABOUT to get up. Yes. That's totally...no. No not even close, he just reacted without thinking. And ended up making things worse. gg, Kuzuryuu.]

[He makes a strangled, slightly distressed noise before just sitting back down. Because she's not fine, but he can at least tell that he's making things worse by overreacting. Holy shit. He's so bad at being on this side of the equation, how does Peko do it? He has a new appreciation for all those times she patched him up back home.]

It's not fine, it could have waited. You're...you're more important than some fucking information...

1/2

[perfectstrike]

[If only she hadn't lost so much blood, she'd be blushing. As it is, the heartrate monitor almost gives her away, the quiet beeping quickening just a little bit more in response. H-he said she's important... right to her face.]

[perfectstrike]

I... see. Please forgive me. I will be more careful.

[She's kind of staring down at her hands, lips curved into a small smile. It feels nice, being acknowledged as important by him. It's almost enough that she really doesn't feel as injured anymore.]

[impheired]

[His attention is immediately drawn to the heart rate monitor when the beeps capture Peko's dokis. Though he doesn't seem to recognize them for what they actually are. Maybe he imagined it? In any case, she doesn't seem to be going into cardiac arrest or something so obviously it's nothing to worry about.]

[Unfortunately, it means he misses the smile. Too busy looking at the heart monitor to make sure it wasn't about to flip out.]

Please do... [Be more careful, that is.] You should get some sleep though. We can talk about this more a little later. Something you mentioned actually clears up something ambiguous that we found while we were snooping around on the laboratory computer.

[perfectstrike]

[What dokis, there are no dokis here. No smiles, either, because when he suggests that she get some sleep, she gives him a bit of a frown.]

What did you find?

[She's not going to be the one talking, she's fine to listen! Until she does actually pass out asleep.]

[impheired]

Quicker you go to sleep, quicker you'll find out.

[Come on just a quick nap? Just a little one.]

[perfectstrike]

...

[Don't be a little shit, bocchan.]

[impheired]

[But it's what he does best! As evidenced by the fact that he's still not elaborating, just continuing to stare at her with an expectant smile on his face.]

[Apparently his mind is made up on this.]

[perfectstrike]

[You're a piece of shit and you should feel like a piece of shit, Kuzuryuu.

But Peko just sighs, because it's not important enough to argue with him about, and reaches back to struggle a little with pulling her pillow down into a less vertical position. She'd gone through all that effort to prop it up earlier, now apparently she has to try to get them back down.

Ow.]

[impheired]

[Here, hold on he'll help. It's the least he can do, since you're indulging him while he's being a little shit. There.]

[He'll just take his seat again once Peko's all situated, crossing his legs and folding his arms over his chest once more. Apparently he fully intends to just sit there the whole time. 0k.]

Sleep well.

[perfectstrike]

Y-you don't have to stay...

[Not that she minds, but what are you going to do, just stare at her for the hour or so while she sleeps? Go do something interesting, she'll be fine.]