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equal_shots

This is Kid. Please leave a message and I will get back to you.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

circumsutus

Let's start simple. Should I move towards the pond, or away from it?

From:

equal_shots

[That didn't work. He hopes Stein didn't hear him mumble in frustration.]

Professor...it has been dangerously cold the last few days. You have just been revived. It may be best if you move to the closest building you can inhabit overnight and I start heading towards you. I... [He pauses, hesitant. Guilty. And then:] I owe you this much.

Edited Date: 2016-09-26 03:46 am (UTC)

From:

circumsutus

Kid. Just answer the damn question. I know it's cold, and because of my implant I can't handle it for long enough to wander around searching for a house.

Tell me which direction I need to go.

From:

equal_shots

South to shelter. There is one house, not far from the chapel. It's south.

[Something is shuffling as Kid gathers his things.]

The school is west but it is too far and there is nowhere to stay, not that is within a straight line.

From:

circumsutus

I thought you said you couldn't tell cardinal directions from the map.

From:

equal_shots

You wanted to know which direction to go in. I suggested it was not necessarily safe and you insisted. So, I have told you.

From:

circumsutus

Don't lie to me, Kid. [Stein's voice is a snap over the tablet, the full authoritative tone of a meister and a teacher brought to bear against Kid's obstinance.]

If you're making up directions just to make yourself feel better, I will die again, and I'm not in the mood for that right now.

From:

equal_shots

Make myself--

[He stumbles over his response, in large part because he can't articulate anything more clearly. The rattling cough gives him time to think, at least.]

--it is my fault you were killed in the first place! I would hardly lie about directions so I could get you killed again!

From:

circumsutus

Can you tell cardinal directions from the map or not?

From:

equal_shots

There are labeled walls. West, east, south and north. There is no compass drawn on the map. I've made the assumption that the west wall is to the west end of the map, the north wall to the north, and so on.

[Stein didn't acknowledge that Kid thought it was his fault that he was killed...does that mean that he agreed?]

From:

circumsutus

It's a reasonable assumption to make, and you should have just---

[He cuts himself off, there's a sharp pause and a muttered curse before he starts again, in a gentler, calmer tone.]

It wasn't your fault, Kid. You don't need to blame yourself for what happened.

From:

equal_shots

[He feels too sick for this. For all of this. His chest hurts from coughing and he can't feel his fingers and all he can really think about is how strange Stein is acting. It's altogether unpleasant and he really would rather not.

So he does what any well-adjusted teenager would do. He doesn't!]

If I leave now, I can probably meet with you in a few days. Three, maybe four. It will depend on the weather. If it becomes more hospitable I may be able to travel farther in a day.

From:

circumsutus

Don't risk it. Stay where you are until you have to leave, and then just leave for a night and go back. Right now, I need you to focus on staying safe and warm. One of us has to.

From:

equal_shots

So you are in a position to be hurt or worse, killed, again? [Stein will eventually go back. He'll see Watson's call, he'll see Kid's panic. He might see Kid's reaction to the Admin post, his conversation with Beckett. He could talk with Zell, Jim or Kunsel--find out that he'd been literally dragged into the building and proceeded to be up the entire night, a nervous wreck.

But he won't see that now. All he gets is an obstinate, crabby and sick sounding teenager who seems hell bent on not cooperating.]

No. If I start heading your way, we meet up sooner.

From:

circumsutus

Everyone here is always in a position to be hurt, Kid. I need you to find somewhere safe and stay there. The houses where Clayton set up his clinic are close to the school. They're safe, and have hot water.

I think they're in the opposite direction from my location, but it's more important for you to stay safe than for us to meet up quickly. [Wait. Did he mean to say that?]

From:

equal_shots

[It is as important for Kid to meet up with Stein quickly as it is for Stein to have Kid stay safe. Unfortunately, Kid is doing a very poor job of articulating this.]

...I am capable of traveling safely while also making my way closer to you.

From:

circumsutus

Stay where you are, Kid. That's an order. [Stein doesn't generally give orders. He'll threaten, suggest, guide, or even just tell his students what to do, but an actual military order is rare from the professor. That isn't to say it's not something that Stein can do. He does, after all, outrank Kid in every aspect save species.]

From:

equal_shots

[There's a long pause, before finally:]

Professor Stein, please--

[Now there isn't a hint of the defiant teen, who was trying to suggest that he didn't know how Stein could get to him. Kid is just desperate to not be told to just sit and wait, to hope that Stein is able to travel without getting injured or worse. Stein's instruction to stay put scares him. He doesn't want to be alone, not anymore.]

From:

circumsutus

Dammit. Fine. Don't go too far, head south from the school until you reach the first houses, and then head directly east. Keep moving, but move slowly. I just died for you, I don't want you dying now.

[His speech is that same just-slightly-too-fast speed that it's been for weeks, but there's something in the tone that's less guarded than even his manic ramblings have been. He's frustrated, and worried, and not joking about wanting to keep Kid alive.

(He also doesn't generally curse in front of his students.)]

Is anyone with you?

From:

equal_shots

[Well, that does settle Kid's relatively quiet concern that Stein had allowed himself to be killed for his sake. At least it's now abundantly clear that it's his fault!

The revelation does not do much for his already-poor morale. He's grateful for the feed being only voice.]

...no. I have been traveling alone.

From:

circumsutus

You haven't met up with anyone since I died? I need a physical status update from you, now.

From:

equal_shots

You asked if I was traveling alone. [Kid coughs, and it's the same cough that he'd had when Stein died, if not worse. It's probably right for Stein to be worried, but Kid should get at least some extra points for effort.]

I met up with Zell, Jim, Kunsel and Zach right after. We split up. [He runs his fingers through his hair nervously and chews on his lip.] The...coughing and fever is no better, and has made it difficult to eat and to sleep. But I have minded your instructions the best that I can.

[That doesn't mean he wouldn't still describe his physical status as "fair" at best, but...he's trying.]

From:

circumsutus

When did you last eat, and how much?

From:

equal_shots

Before sleeping. A milk box and an apple. [And before Stein can scold him, Kid hastily adds:] --that has been about the most I can, at one time.

[He is trying so hard, Stein.]

From:

circumsutus

All right. Try and get as much variety as possible. I'll look for food as I travel and I'll make a plan for you if this happens again. Have you been sleeping regularly?

[He knows Kid has been trying, but he also knows it probably hasn't been enough.]