vii. voice

[firstroar]

–omeone...

[a beat, a breath heavily drawn and shakily exhaled. sentences are punctuated with overlong breaks.]

Help me understand. Not one person I have spoken to recalls this mission...But she is still gone. [breath.] Physis is. Others, perhaps? I don't know. No one has any recollection...

Comments

[firstroar]

[a sharper exhale.] She knows the tides and turns of hearts better than anyone I know. Why she would be singled out, though...

[maddeninghatter]

[ Not unkindly: ]

The tides and turns of your heart, certainly.

[ In a more matter-of-fact tone: ]

Well, that's just the thing - I don't think she's been "singled out," per se. A number of people have disappeared or left in odd circumstances. The problem is to sort out what they've got in common.

[firstroar]

Others... [silent again, trying to fit this into place with his current problem.] Other than simply...being quite certain their absence means their return home, then.

[maddeninghatter]

I don't know about "quite certain."

[ He remains a skeptic... ]

But the usual disappearances seem to occur without fanfare. This recent crop seems somehow premeditated.

[firstroar]

[just a couple breaths, considering.]

I can't be sure of that. But I have to be certain of this. Of where she is.

[maddeninghatter]

[ All this heavy breathing... Hm. He'd assumed this fellow was simply upset, but the more he listens to it.... ]

I say - are you all right? You sound unwell.

[firstroar]

That's not important right now. [biting on the next breath.] But I need help finding her.

[maddeninghatter]

[ Subtle. ]

I see. So you are--

[ He breaks off, feeling the same twinge of suspicion he'd sensed when speaking to Rosette. Someone has disappeared, under mysterious circumstances. And now someone else is asking for people to come look for her, potentially putting the searchers at risk.... ]

Ah. It might help if we had more information, as I understand she has a four-day head start, or something like that, and could be anywhere. Could you perhaps be more specific about Miss Physis' abilities, do you think? Knowing the "tides and turns of hearts" is a bit vague, wouldn't you say?

[firstroar]

[a faint sound comes with his next exhale. he's impatient, balking at having to slow down to explain things. it's easier to search alone...except that it isn't when your body won't endure what needs to be done.]

It is the truth. She is Mu, and our kind all can sense the thoughts and feelings of those around us. It is what she sees, though she can't see with her eyes. [breath, kind of a huff. he has to slow down again.]

Her presence is...distinct. Something understood better when she is there.

Golden hair, reaching the floor. A gentle voice. [Physis.] She is frail, as Mu are. She could be hurt. [he feels as though every second explaining is one spent failing her.]

[maddeninghatter]

[ Without a trace of irony: ]

You let a fragile blind girl go off on a mission by herself? What were you thinking?

[firstroar]

I know my sins! [except he really doesn't; he's beginning to second-guess a lot of things really quickly. he bites off a breath, silent a beat.]

I'm. To blame. [that has to be right, if nothing else.] But I can't stop to reflect...not until I've found her. That's what matters most. That's why–!

[maddeninghatter]

Self-recrimination doesn't do anybody any good. You don't know where she is. You haven't any clues where to begin searching. You're unwell. Going off half-cocked looking for her, and dragging along any other well-meaning, sympathetic souls is, more than likely, going to get all of you injured, captured, or killed.

[ He's aware that he is probably saying too much, particularly if this fellow is involved somehow; but he is too angry. ]

That might make you feel better about yourself, but it won't help her in the least!

[firstroar]

[a stifled sound, and quiet.

a beat.]

Y...you're right. [dammit.]

[maddeninghatter]

[ His tone softens a little. ]

The more I hear, the more I'm convinced this has all been carefully planned out in advance. A coordinated, intelligent response is what's needed.

I suggest you go to the Initiative and report this immediately, if you haven't already. And then--

[ A short, sharp sigh: ]

Get yourself some medical attention, you sound ghastly.

[firstroar]

[coordinate, then, he wants to say. instead, murmured:] Soon.

[maddeninghatter]

Good. Get some...

[ He was going to say, "Get some rest." But he knows you won't, poor man. ]

Er. Good-bye, then.

[ END TRANSMISSION ]