SANCTUM INBOX

[pain_train]

To find out times for the next three station stops of the Pain Train, press 1.

For a list of stations serviced by the Pain Train, press 2.

To leave a message for the conductor of the Pain Train, press 3.

To purchase tickets on the Pain Train, pull some more of your stupid-ass shit.

Comments

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[bothbarrels]

It was true, the hair near her scalp was looking a bit greasy. "They have waterless shampoos, don't they? I wonder why they haven't taken the time to do that."

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[pain_train]

"Probably just too busy and it's too much of a fucking mess to want to deal with it." She probably should just shave her head. "It's all pretty awkward. And... I don't normally like it when people mess with my hair so I... Might have said some mean things to someone who wanted to cut it."

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[bothbarrels]

He could offer to help her take care of it, but...it just seems a little much. He's already visiting her daily and bringing her food."I hope you figure something out."

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[pain_train]

"I'll suck it up and apologize. Or you'll come in one day and I'll have a shaved head." She laughs.

No, she is certainly not asking him to do something like that. It would be way too embarrassing. He already does way too much for her.

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[bothbarrels]

"Your hair would be even shorter than mine," he says, passing a hand over his head. "And this is the shortest it's been in a long time."

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[pain_train]

"If it looks as cute on me as it does on you I'll be in good shape."

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[bothbarrels]

He laughs. "You compliment me enough it's going to go to my head."

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[pain_train]

"There isn't room for it with all the cute hair." She laughs. "What, I just call it like I see it. Nice smile, and hair and pies. So I guess the rest of you can stay too."

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[bothbarrels]

"I'm glad," he says. "It'd be hard to leave my smile and my hair behind and go."

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[pain_train]

"Like a cheshire cat with floofy hair." She remembers Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It's one of the few books she has on her reader. She likes the layers of it, the illogic.

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[bothbarrels]

"What's that?" His parents had occasionally read books to him when he was young but they'd never gotten around to that one.

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[pain_train]

"The Cheshire cat?" Because floofy would be petty self explanatory. "You never read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland? Or Through the Looking Glass? Well... it is kind of an old ebook." She frees her hand enough to stroke his palm with her fingers idly. "There's a young girl named Alice, and in the first story she falls down a rabbit hole, and in the second she walks through a mirror. And ends up in these strange worlds that are... They're like dreams. Edgar Clay did an amazing series of neo-surrealist luminous paintings based off the story. I've got high def scans of them and... Anyway not important. Bit the paintings are... why I decided to read it." Of all the things to remember, though she couldn't say how many years ago this had been. "Because it felt so familiar."

"Anyway, the Cheshire cat lives in Wonderland. He can vanish by fading away, and the last part of him you see is his smile. Well, he only does that when Alice asks him to stop disappearing and reappearing so fast because it's making her dizzy."

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[bothbarrels]

"I haven't read anything like that since I was pretty little," he says. "You remember a lot about that." That's interesting to him, since she seems to have memory problems in general. Perhaps things from her childhood are more enduring.

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[pain_train]

"I have a copy of it. I don't own that many ebooks... Just no time, you know. But I...come back to Alice. I know I must. I guesses i just decide that I'm tired of training manuals and tactics books and then... there she is. I finished reading--rereading the story a couple weeks ago, I guess?

"Then I was going to get my old paintings back out of storage and look them over, but then you guys decided to attack the Hub." She pokes him lightly on the thumb with her finger. "If you're interested, I don't mind loaning it to you."

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[bothbarrels]

He smiles. "That's nice of you. I wonder if Theta would be interested in anything like that."

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[pain_train]

Theta is an AI, so maybe it means he likes math? She'll offer that up. "There's apparently a lot of mathematical concepts in the story. That's what people say. I never really got that, since I kind of suck at math."

Other than 'enemy-head=no longer a problem.'

"If you want, you can grab the reader out of my housing unit next time you're on base. Not like it's doing me any good just sitting there anyway."

Think.

"Oh shit. I think I left like half a sandwich under my bed, too. Oh, ew."

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[bothbarrels]

"I definitely think he'll be interested, then. It sounds like a fun story. Thanks for offering."

He laughs. "Ah, so you need me to clean up after you, is what you're saying," he teases. "I'll make sure and take a member of your platoon and a mop and let them tackle it."

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[pain_train]

Wrath sticks her tongue out at him. "No, I'm telling you that you should go in with full armor and get a flamethrower from Niels cause I don't want you to die." She tugs on his finger. "And the mutated sandwich monster is your own darn fault, you know. I was in the middle of eating when I got dispatched to the Hub."

So nyah nyah. (Teasing is so much fun.)

"So if you want to brave certain death, it's officer housing unit 101. The guest access code is 723599. That will work except at night hours. The reader...it's on the table next to my bed. That's where I always put it."

Oh god. Is there anything else bad in her room? The laundry had all been bagged, right? Shiiiiiit. Too late.

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[bothbarrels]

He pulls his glasses out to take note of the access code. "As long as I don't find some kind of vortex inside I think I'll be safe," he says with a smile. "I've dealt with messes before. My sister and I used to share a room and she can...she can make a mess." The thought of his sister reminds him of what he'd seen in the reflection of the bracket. He only falters for a moment, though. He puts his glasses away again, reaching into his pocket. Their hands had separated when he had gotten them out but now that it's free he doesn't immediately reach for hers again. It's nice to be connected like that but she doesn't really need it now, right? He doesn't want to seem too forward, especially since they're just forming this friendship.

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[pain_train]

"Nah, I'd just done laundry, so you're safe from the underpants vortex."

Oh, his sister. She's not really sure what to do. It must be like poking at a bruise. "I can't really imagine sharing a room with someone. There are other people in my housing building and on my floor, but I don't have to deal with their messes."

Wrath feels strangely bereft when he doesn't take her hand again. Well, it's not like he has to. And who knows, maybe she's gotten annoying with her clinging. She's meet people like that and does not want to be one of them. And definitely doesn't want to get on North's nerves.

But he also told her that if she needed anything, she could ask. Should ask, even. Well, she feels like she needs him, but knows better than to frame it like that. And ultimately, when the choice has been to be bold or to hold back, she's... never believed in holding back.

Finally in a tone that sounds more self assured than she currently feels, she asks, "Can I have your hand back, or would that be annoying? It's okay to say so, I won't get upset. And I'm... not really an expert in the hand-holding thing."

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[bothbarrels]

"We shared a room until we were old enough to move out. It was pretty aggravating sometimes. Whenever one of us was in a relationship we had to make sure that all our visits were at the other person's house." 'Visit' is kind of a euphemism but he's sure she'll understand.

He chuckles a little and returns his hand to her grasp. "It's not annoying. I didn't know if you were getting tired of it."

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[pain_train]

"Wow, that sounds like it could be really aggravating. But wasn't it fun, too? Just like... having someone around, I mean." Oh, she gets the euphemism, and is amused in general and... trying to not think in that direction.

Wrath smiles, closing her fingers over his. "No, I like you and I'm really glad you're here." She licks her lips. "And... I mean, I know I shouldn't be looking for friends but I kind of don't care. You make me really happy and I don't want to forget this."

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[bothbarrels]

"It was fun having someone I was that close to. We could talk about anything. She was a lot different from me; impetuous, impulsive. But she balanced me out, and I enlisted because of her. So I owe her a lot."

He rubs at her knuckles with his thumb, enjoying the affection. "Why do you say that? Friends are important. Having friends...that's part of what makes us human, you know? We need to make connections to be happy and to feel safe."

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[pain_train]

"That sounds really nice..." She never had a family. Or if she did, even the memory is irretrievably gone. "Balancing you out... that sounds important." And now she's gone and might have betrayed him. Which is horrible.

"I..." She pauses, frowning. This it's one of those things that never makes sense in her head, where instinct says one thing, but when she thinks about it, she knows the answer is something else. "Whiskey's my friend," she finally says. "And that makes me happy. And you're my friend now, and that makes me even happier. So being happy is good, right? Or... is it?" This is so confusing.

She licks her lips. Her mouth tastes strange. "It's just when I think about it, I also know that... well, I'm a soldier, and I'm good at my job. My job makes me happy. And... Close social bonds are a distraction from the mission." The words taste like honey on her mouth, don't find like her, but they're out of her head. "And that's as true as gravity. So... I know both of these things. Which one is right?"

Day 152 | Morning | Action

[bothbarrels]

"Close social bonds don't have to be a distraction, not if you don't let them be." His voice hushes a bit on the next bit. "When we left the Project, at first my sister and I were on different sides. I had to convince her to join my side. If she hadn't, I would have had to leave. And I would have, if it had come to that." But thankfully, it hadn't.