Sprace: Nero

[perfectpower]

Comments

[perfectpower]

I haven't tried it here on the ship yet.

[He pulls a pepper shaker out of his pocket though. He is Ready to try.]

Wanna try now?

[Puppeteer talk in a moment, stupidity first.]

[perfectdistance]

[ A blip of frustration. He's worried about you, you idiot! ]

Brad, are you listening to me?

[perfectpower]

Yeah, I'm listenin'! He mentioned a puppeteer and then ripped his damn throat out!

[He's a little freaked out too. He feels vulnerable without his magic.]

I talked with some others yesterday too. It might be the nanites' fault. Someone- a puppeteer- might be takin' people over with their nanites.

[perfectdistance]

Shit. We don't have any protection against that.

[ It's the opposite of ideal. Nero's not a Westerner, and he's given up his Northern status for years.

That doesn't mean he wants to be puppeteered around and forced to kill somebody he doesn't want to. Killing is fine, if he's the one making the decisions but if it's ripped out of his hands his whole being hates the idea of it. ]

... If it happens to you, just kill me. [ It's already something Nero's given him. His life has already been promised. This time Nero won't run away. Better him than somebody else on the ship. Right?

There's no guarantee this would even happen. ] If I come after you, you should also kill me.

[perfectpower]

[Bradley feels the same way: he's fine with killing as long as he is the one making the decisions. Fuck being puppeted.]

...yeah. I will.

[There's a pang of heartache there. He would do it- he promised, after all- but he had thought that it would be years, if not decades, before he had to finally kill Nero. He still wants to...

...

This sucks.]

But we already knew that's what we would do. The bigger problem is what we do about everyone else.

[perfectdistance]

[ The heartache is mirrored, but there's a sense of relief alongside it. There's at least some sort of plan between them that's something. ]

Thanks.

[ How grim is that? Thanking his former partner for a kill he may or may not be committing. ]

Don't think anybody's safe from this thing.

[perfectpower]

No, they're not. And if someone kills you or me, then that's gonna complicate things.

[If he dies, he can't kill Nero, and thus Nero can never die.

If Nero dies by someone else's hands, Bradley will lose his magic (and his shit).]

So we need to find a way to stay protected, if it happens again.

[perfectdistance]

[ You really should kill me.

If Brad dies no promises about what happens to anybody on this ship. There's one person he wants to protect with his entire life. Everyone else is nothing but noise. ]

Seems like things get unlocked when whatever it is begins to act up. So staying in a room wouldn't do anything.

[perfectpower]

[Not yet.

He wants to reach out and smooth Nero's hair, take his hand and reassure him, maybe even kiss his forehead. But he knows they need to talk first, so he clenches his fists and holds off for now.]

We need to find an actual door then, and barricade it. We should also assume that if someone is being puppeted, we will be controlled to be weaker and easier to kill too.

[perfectdistance]

[ Don't be stupid.

A tall order and he knows it. It's part of the reason Nero threw him into jail.

Even then, he doesn't think the cells in the ship itself are going to be good or protected enough for Thursday nights. They don't know if it'll happen again, but if it does, they'll need to prepare. ]

I don't know about that. Dahut seemed like he was fighting back with what he could. Tch. I need better utensils.

[perfectpower]

[Too late.

He is the "I may be stupid" meme.

The cells aren't a bad idea but Bradley would refuse them on principal. He's been in jail for too long already.]

Maybe we can get you somethin' better at this planet we're goin' to.

[perfectdistance]

[ Idiot.

This stupid wizard that Nero cares about so much. ]

Better utensils. I didn't get mine when we got here.

[ Emotional support wheat save him.

Save him emotional support wheat. ]

[perfectpower]

[But you still choose me, each and every day.

This is your stupid wizard, Nero.]

We need to get you a kitchen knife at the very least. If we can't buy any, I'll break into a kitchen there and take one.

[perfectdistance]

[ A squiggle of guilt. Now he does, but he didn't for a century and that's why Bradley ended up in wizard jail. ]

There's knives in the galley, but I don't know if they keep track of those. Might be better to take it from a planet.

[perfectpower]

That's my thought too. If we take it from the planet, then nobody's tracking it.

[It will be easier for Nero to get away with it if he has to self-defense kill.]

[perfectdistance]

Just a matter of seeing what we can source.

[perfectpower]

Yeah.

[After a moment's hesitation, he reaches out to take Nero's hand in his own.]

We'll get through this. One way or another.

[perfectdistance]

[ Lets this happen and stares down at their hands. The guilt is back. ]

... ...

[ He feels like Brad will get through this. He's always been better at dealing stressful places. ]