(voice)

[hexrot]

—This is Jayce Talis. [ that's not going to mean anything, to anyone. this man's voice is rasping, dragging, in between sounded exhausted, heavy and ill. ] I'm a scientist. I researched . . . The Arcane, with my . . . With my partner, Viktor— most of my life.

[ frequent pauses are a must. he almost feels out of breath if he doesn't, and that puffs through the radio, ragged and sluggish. ]

All of us— seem to have a symbol. A rune, on our bodies. If you've been to the Shrine, then I'm sure . . . You have something else, now. Maybe a message. Please, if you could show it to me. I'll be . . . [ another hushed pause, ] Outside the Common Room. There's a truck, with . . . Butterflies, [ the irony in his voice is dry. ] That's— Where I'll be.

If it helps get us anywhere, I . . . Need, to crack it, I . . . [ i promised, he mutters, before swiftly adding, through a strain that's tight in his throat: ] That's all.

(action/flavor)

[ jayce is rebounding hard on his magic sepsis as his first symptom to becoming undead! so he is not visibly well for anyone who wants to come see him, but he is trying deathly hard with the symbols and trying to fight the clock with obsession. the iridescent pick up near one of the camp lights is a mess of papers in the front seats as much as the flatbed behind it, spread out and held in place with pebbles or stones, littered with those very symbols as well as formulas he's trying to link and complete like a map.

it's what keeps him from giving into sleep. ]

Comments

[serialmurderbot]

[Denial.

"Eden" flexes its hand to ensure all that the pieces, organic and synthetic both, are back more or less where they belong, still staring ahead and avoiding Jayce's eyes. It's been doing that the entire time, but still, it's particularly noticable, now.]

And then what. Decoding's fine but for it to mean anything you have to do shit with it.

[hexrot]

Exactly.

[ eden, you are not fooling anyone. but . . . it doesn't feel like it's something— should he say, personal toward jayce? he should ask, but. not right now. ]

If those runes brought us here, they could take us back.

[serialmurderbot]

... Sure, okay.

[It's not like it has a better suggestion for what these humans should be doing. But - it's also done with its errand, so it snags its helmet off the dashboard and starts to climb out of the car. It'll leave Jayce to whatever the fuck he's doing, and -

Something occurs to it, just long enough to make it pause. Since Jayce has seen the mechanical components without too much freaking out, and since he seems at least partially more stable than that first day, it should... probably clear up that initial misconception.

Not going to help Jayce's impression of it, but sooner or later it's going to be caught in the lie anyway.]

Don't call for Eden if you need more images.

[hexrot]

Then who am I talking to?

[ it may just be caught as is; jayce comes off a little more irked than necessary; he's hangry. maybe not the best of answers for someone already anxious, but lying is a recent sore spot for jayce. he's been used too much in lies. ]

[serialmurderbot]

[It really wants to put the helmet on - it glances down towards the black visor of it, held between both hands.

It doesn't, because it's not great at humans but even it knows that will come across as further alienation and cause for suspicion when it's already making itself so trustworthy.]

Me. [Not answering the question he's actually asking, Murderbot, so quit stalling. Not like he knows what a fucking SecUnit even is. For all it knows he'll here it as a weird name, and not the kind of designation that implies thing.] Just ask for SecUnit.

[hexrot]

[ he's a little too tired for this. jayce isn't sure what he should even be arguing about.

secunit is an odd name, but it's not the worst. for now, jayce leaves it at that. he needs to breathe, maybe close his eyes for a bit.

maybe take a trip to the medical wing. ]