malnosso | [video, locked to luceti residents]

[ The message is locked to Luceti residents. It's a unique sort of filter rarely, if ever, seen on the residential journal system.

But, Luceti, you have a new resident. She switches on the video function, and somehow manages to look fairly calm. Those who assisted in her dramatic rescue attempt will perhaps recognize some of the changes about her; there are faint scars around her wrists and neck, noticeable only to the sharp-eyed or those who would know where to look. There is, however, one far more significant thing of note about her appearance: her wings. They are not as small as those of the residents, but they're not quite so big as the full-sized wings Lucetians might be used to seeing on those from outside the enclosure. They're a somewhat awkward medium size, and when she adjusts them with a sharp flap, a few feathers flutter away. They look strangely unkempt considering her otherwise neat appearance.

She sits at a table, the journal propped up to give a clear view of her, in a nondescript location. When she speaks, it's very different - those familiar with her unique style of speech will probably be surprised to hear the very slow, very clear, and very deliberate manner of her speech. Pronouncing words as slowly and clearly as she is may or may not be more irritating than her previous severely pronounced stutter. ]

Hello, Luceti. M-My name is Molly. I d-don't know which of you s-s-still recall who I am.

[ It's been a long time since her introduction almost two years ago, now. So dark, so bleak. She was so young, so scared. She feels so much older, now. Worlds older. ]

I must thank those of you wh-who c-c-came to get me. It was ap-p-p-- [ … ] I am grateful.

You must b-be wondering what I'm d-doing here. This m-may come as a surprise to many of you, b-but from this day forward I w-will be living am-m-mongst you in the enclosure.

[ This won't be the first time such an arrangement has occurred. But it certainly is under very different circumstances. ]

I c-cannot tell you wh-where, for my own safety. [ Her voice is carefully neutral, though it frosts on the outside edges, and her expression is not kind. ] But every so often, you w-will find me in a sh-shop in the central square. The c-c-clothes shop, t-to be exact. Wh-while I am there, I will b-be willing to talk t-to anyone who w-w-wishes to speak to me, a-a-a-- [ A breath. ] And answer your questions.

Those of you wh-who wish m-m-may bring me information you g-gather on your excursions outside of the enclosure. Those who d-do will b-be rewarded with information in exchange.

[ She lowers her eyes. Her hands twitch, briefly, as if she might raise them but thinks better of it at the last moment. She adjusts her head, moving her neck just so -- as if some phantom feeling were there, causing her discomfort.

But the moment passes, and she looks into the camera again. ]

I w-will t-take your questions now, if you have any.

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[ Again, she's silent. She's come to understand that he'll figure it out for himself, and he's exactly right. ]

It's for the best.

[You are so sad, Molly. Shikamaru isn't the type of person to go out of his way to extend his sympathy, but it doesn't mean he doesn't feel empathy.]

I plan on taking down this filter in a sec. If you can answer some of my other questions, the others might as well hear it too. But if there's a subject you don't want to get into here, tell me now. I'll steer around it.

... p-please don't mention the c-c-conditions in wh-which you found m-m-me. [ She slips a little, speaking a little faster, stuttering more. ] I kn-know a l-lot of y-y-you saw m-me, b-but...

... I d-don't want to t-talk about wh-wh-wh-what they did t-to me.

Edited 2012-10-13 02:45 (UTC)

...all right. [Her stutter is back in full swing, he notices.] That's fair.

[He drops the filter and gives her a moment to collect herself.

But there is one person he's interested in. It's skirting a little close to her request, but he hopes Molly can pick up he's not asking for the details surrounding what he may or may not have done, just who he is.]

Your uncle works with the Rogue Faction, does he not? [Bad as it is, he hopes Molly was the niece he was talking about, if only to clear up there isn't another hostage.] Seemed pretty high up. If you could briefly describe him - his name and level of involvement, maybe - it'd be appreciated.

[ She stares at him in open shock.

Shock turns to horror.

Horror turns into something very visceral, like she might be sick. In a whisper: ]

He's alive?

[...oh. This is going to be troublesome, isn't it? He nods, firm.]

Seemed alive enough at the end of June.

[ She continues to stare at him in abject, pale horror for a moment longer before lowering her gaze, and her chin. Numbly, in a mumble: ]

I th-th-th-thought he d-d-died. Th-That day. I-I-In the facility. With everyone else. E-E-Everyone but me.

H-H-H-He's with... them?

[ She presses a hand to her mouth. This is possibly the most emotional she's ever been, at least in front of a Lucetian - she seems on the verge of tears, a breath away from being physically ill. ]

[...please don't cry. I always end up making girls cry.]

I'm confident that was a Rogue Facility. He referred to a woman hostage being set for transport as his niece. You know the rest, after that.

[The train.]

[ She is devastated. Her body language screams it, though she makes no sound.

After all, how would you feel when you discovered that your only living flesh and blood subjected you to months of interrogation and torture? That he had lied to you, hiding himself in a place you had not expected - had not even thought to check - and ... and done...

She finally concedes her weakness and quickly lifts her hands, pressing them to her neck where her collar once was. That fucking, awful collar. He did that to her. The man who raised her.

Her voice is very rough when she speaks. ]

His name is Mikael.

Can you c-c-c-confirm s-s-s-something f-for me?

[Mikael. Shikamaru memorizes that name. Always know your enemy; a name is something more concrete than an organization.]

I'll do my best to.

[It's the least he can do, really.]

... y-you may not know this. Anymore th-than I do.

He w-wasn't there th-that day, was he? Th-The day of the mass suicide. I w-was led to believe h-he had died there, and I l-lost track of his whereabouts in the aftermath.

He never d-died at all, d-did he? [ With some bitterness. ]

[He thought that was what she meant. He goes over the scene of that encounter one more time - that Halloween just less than two months after he arrived - to be certain.]

We didn't get a good look at him, to be honest. He ran fast. But based off what I did see, approximate height and body type... I'm going to say no. He didn't.

[Unless you have another uncle, Molly, or someone's posing as him, it'd be impossible.]

[ She's going to take the filter back off. She's largely recovered her composure, though her eyes are red. ]

I c-can't tell you anything about his p-position, or wh-what he's doing now, or why. I just don't know.

It's fine. [Given obvious circumstances.] We can sort out anything you remember about what he used to do another time. I'll trade you for it, maybe.

[Kind of a peace offering. Talking about it now, when she's taken that kind of blow, isn't going to get him much.

...more so, she's a woman. He was taught better than that.]

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