foolishwren | 024. Video (illustrated)

Current Mood: shocked
Current Location: Violet City Gym

024. Video (illustrated)

_{[This is it. It's the big day. THE big day. The day Heather said she was going to kick Falkner's feathery butt. A little while earlier, Heather had posted a particularly cocky video in which she stated these intentions with deep conviction and a big ol' smirk on her face.]}

_{[So, how's she faring?]}

_{[Well, the camera turned on about halfway through the battle-- why? Maybe she'd just forgotten, or maybe she'd realized it wasn't filming halfway through. Who knows? But either way, it came on just in time to catch a very battered-looking Arty struggling to stand. She had powered through Noctowl and Honchkrow, but now her little legs were wobbling for once, the normally-bloodthirsty Furret was looking like she'd really rather be somewhere else. And this was for good reason, because about two seconds after the camera came on, a blur of tawny down and glossy yellow and red flashed past the screen and the camera shook-- but the sound of impact was unmistakable, as was the high-pitched hum of a Pokemon being summoned back into its Ball.]

[Also unmistakable? Was the sound of Heather's creative cursing, distorted as it was from the 'Gear being waved around.]}

_{Fricking fu--} Cujo, you try! Take him do-- NO, you-- GO.

_{[The screen swerved down to settle on the happily-panting Growlithe by her side. He stared back up at his trainer adoringly, sloppy pink tongue lolling out of his mouth like a giant fruit rollup. Her commands only made him wiggle with excitement and wag his tail.]}

I-- no. Jesus.

_{[The camera shifted once more as Heather stuck the gear under one arm, pointing off-camera with the other.]}

Arty's down! Go! Fight!

_{[Cujo tilted his head. Ooh! OOH! He knew this one!]

[Panting happily, he sat to attention and lifted a paw.]}

.... No. _{The hell, who even taught you 'Shake'... I thought you just knew how to chase shit...}

_{[... Idea.]}

COOJ! GO GET THE BIRDY!

_{[Insta-attention getter. Cujo's ears stood up straight and within seconds, he was darting into the field, barking up a storm. Somewhere on the other end of the arena, Falkner just shook his head and pressed a hand to his temple. His Pidgeot, meanwhile, focused its golden glare on the Growlithe and, with a few mighty strokes of its wings, went airborne again.]

[The next few minutes of film would be-- slightly difficult to decipher. The battle was high-speed and high-stakes. But the general gist of it was... Cujo was not doing well. And the sound of plastic creaking increased as Heather's grip on the 'Gear did. Her commands had gone from confident shouts to mumbles-- because none of it really seemed to be doing much good. Cujo wasn't being disobedient, he just... wasn't listening and he was getting clobbered for it. None of his attacks seemed to be able to do much against the swift opponent. ... And was that... worry in Heather's voice?]}

No-- no, no, dammit, you stupid mutt, look out!!

_{[A sharp yelp broke the air as the pup was knocked sprawling by a vicious swoop from the bird Pokemon, which was in the process of circling around for another blow, just as Cujo was picking himself up off the ground. Finally, Heather broke her quiet and yelled again, a note of panic in her voice.]}

LOOK OUT!! Don't you know how to do ANY attacks that aren't--

FOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

.........

_{[The camera turns around and there's a brief flash of Heather's face, looking somewhere between... surprised and horrified, before she hits the 'Off' button hastily.]}

_{[ooc: Action for anyone who might have been around to see the battle-- after the video stopped, Heather promptly lost the battle out of sheer loss of focus. Apparently that sudden Fire attack really shook her up.]}

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[He pinched the bridge of his nose to ward off the incoming headache, laughing tiredly.]

[Things were reeeeally starting to wear on him.]

Heather, I have seen robotic ninjas, clones, some blond nutcase flipping around on my bipedal nuclear robot shouting about sunglasses and genetics I could have proved wrong in high school, a completely insane artificial intelligence, a girl who deflected bullets, and a freaking bisexual vampire.

Try me and see if I don't believe you.

_{[Otacon, you are far more patient than most people Heather's dealt with. In fact, that's how she's gotten by this far. By being so deliberately obtuse and stubborn over these things that anyone who might happen to pry at all would give up. And that's what she's gotten used to doing with everybody here, too, apart from a few dropped details here and there.]

[But then came Otacon's infodump of wtf and Heather's brows shot up.]}

.... A vampire?

_{[OH HELLO LAST-DITCH DISTRACTION ATTEMPT.]}

[Otacon was, in fact, INCREDIBLY patient. You kind of learned the patience of a saint when breaking through difficult firewalls. And dealing with Snake. And all the other chaos he lived in.]

[But even his patience wore thin now and then, and at this point he just wanted to shake Heather and tell her to knock that shit off and talk to someone.]

I'll explain if you do.

_{[Heather was aggravating like that. It came from growing up with one person to confide in, screwing that up, and then losing them the moment you started to un-screw it up, and moving on from there on your own. It was... difficult. But she'd gotten used to it.]

[.... still went without saying that she deserved to be shaken a little, though.]}

... Fine.

When I was seven, someone lit me on fire.

All of me.

Satisfied?

[Just. This face.]

[WELL GEEZ.]

[He was trying to help and now he feels like a TOTAL JERK.]

Heather, I...I didn't know, I...

[He looked straight at her, genuinely upset and with that kicked puppy face he seemed to be using a lot lately.]

I'm sorry. I...didn't realize it was anything like that.

_{[She'd folded her arms and was staring off to the side-- the 'Gear apparently was sitting on a desk or something. She doesn't look particularly happy-- and on Heather, 'not particularly happy' tends to just translate as 'mad'. But her tone just sounds... tired.]}

It's okay, Otacon.

Not like it was your fault.

... Anyway.

I don't like fire.

...still, sorry. I just...I get worried. I'm tired of secrets, y'know? My own and everyone else's.

_{[Oh, Heather had plenty of secrets yet...]}

I know you do.

_{[When she spoke, her voice just sounded... old. A lot older than eighteen.]}

I'm just not... good at the whole sharing-secret thing yet.

I like to keep my general reputation as being a sane person.

I understand. Believe me, I do.

But I've been through some messed-up things myself. Enough to drive anyone insane. So I promise, I'll never think you're crazy.

_{[Quite suddenly, she looks back at the screen. Eye-contact, big time. There's a shrewd, sort of calculating look on her face. ... Was he telling the truth?]}

That a fact?

[The look on his face was serious, but absolutely sincere. Otacon wasn't the type to lie, much less go back on his word.]

I promise, Heather. No conditions, nothing. I'll never think you're crazy.

... Hm.

_{[And... she wasn't sure what to make of that. So she went silent for a couple minutes.]}

...... It was a ritual.

_{[Hello vague contextless statement.]}

A...ritual?

[He listened expectantly, wary but curious expression on his face.]

The setting on fire.

It was a ritual.

They believed that by forcing the mother to suffer, the unborn God would grow more powerful from the pain.

_{[Her tone was flat and faithless.]}

That's--!

[Horrible. But 'horrible' didn't quite cover it. Otacon didn't know quite how to phrase it, but the horrified look on his face most likely covered it.]

...'unborn God'?

_{[Heather looked back up at the scientist again, once more looking him dead in the eye.]

[Yes, she said 'unborn god', Otacon. She also said 'mother'. Think about it.]}

But...you said you were seven.

I know.

[Okay. Going to quietly set this very disturbing piece of information aside for a moment.]

...You don't...y-y'know, look like you were burned at all. Is medical technology different for you guys?

_{[She doesn't blame him. And she's actually pretty glad he did. That's not something she wants anyone to ask too many questions about.]

[The question actually gets a mirthless laugh and a shake of her head.]}

No, no, medicine's still exactly the same.

I was burned to a crisp and I stayed that way for another seven years.

[So that would make her fourteen..and she was about eighteen now, right? So-]

-what happened, if you want to talk about it?

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