dissimulative | irl meetups & phone

He's...

[ ... ]

Emil... I think he's actually dead.

[There's a hitch of his breath, strangled]

But, Ganymede, back then--couldn't Morgan have gone to the hospital too?

[If there's anything else you're afraid of, you can talk to me, whenever you want.

There's a lot Sinclair is afraid of right now. And Mithrun is a liar]

Regarding Ganymede, he logged out. His avatar disappeared.

[ That's what he gathered from the forums anyway. ]

Mithrun was getting impatient. I think... Sarabi got a wind of his plan and got to him first.

[Sinclair knew that. But he had been clinging onto hope beyond hope.]

So they killed him while he was in the game?

[Anger sparks like a wildfire]

That doesn't, he didn't even have anything. He was [ah, it's too late now, isn't it? To apologise to Mithrun and tell him I have too much to risk revenge now]

...waiting. For me to be ready.

Waiting?

[ For what--Oria thought Mithrun told Sinclair about his revenge plot, but why is Sinclair involved? ]

... Ready for what?

[ Kromer is also in Sarabi-- ]

Were you making a deal with him? To kill Kromer too?

[Ah. He had put away those thoughts, under the giddy rush of being loved. But now they come roaring back, overwhelming in their intensity. It had only been a few weeks ago when]

...he met her once, as the professor's enforcer. Then he saw my memories and it all clicked.

[Softly.]

I was suppose to lure her out. He was going to make sure I had my chance.

[He was going to be used as Mithrun's bait. He can't be anyone's bait now]

[ There's a bit of silence from Oria's end. ]

[ Calm yourself, Oria Severine--he tells himself in his head. There is so much he could say, yet not at the same time. He's not sure what to feel right now. ]

I see.

[There's a lot to be read from silences. Sinclair knows, he had seen it plainly that day in the arena. He can't apologise for this]

That's why, it's so hard for me to believe it was Sarabi. He didn't know how to get to them, without Kromer. Without me. And I...

[Wishy washy, unable to commit, unable to carry through with anything. His voice cracks]

...I was second-guessing everything.

Edited (curse typos.) 2023-09-02 21:42 (UTC)

Emil, listen.

[ Oria won't stand for the self-pitying/loathing right now, so he tries to be as stern as he can without being too lecturing. He's still worried about Sinclair too. ]

I actually talked to Mithrun on Thursday about his scheme. He sounded like he knew what he wanted to do without you. The only reason why he was getting impatient was because his body wasn't recovering as fast as he hoped so that he can carry it out.

[If Oria was here, he'd be able to stop Sinclair from biting his nails. He's not here, so Sinclair's going to bite his thumb hard enough that he bleeds a little.

Ah.

That hurts more here too...]

...but what changed for him?

[He can put away his feelings for later. Dwell on them later. He hadn't found the time to tell Mithrun that - maybe this was reckless. A mistake. Maybe they needed to reconsider. Change their plans.

Mithrun would have gone through with it regardless. But Sinclair wanted to have at least tried]

He said that we was getting tired of being distracted. I think what he meant as that was that... people started falling in love with him and stuff. He said there wasn't any point in arguing about it, so I was telling Mithrun that he has friends now--people who would miss him when he's gone... and--

[ There's a slight pause on the other end. Maybe he's drinking water, but there's a loud sigh after the short silence. ]

... This sucks.

...yeah. Tylor and Hani were telling me how much they loved him. Misteaks was worried. We were worried...

[Sinclair breathes out slowly, shaking. He can pick up on that pause]

I hate this.

[ Hani too... damn. ]

... It would have been nice if Mithrun just stayed distracted, huh? I've seen how much his professor affected his life.

[ Then neither of them would have go through with the revenge pact. ]

What if I just...

[ His voice trails off. ]

Sarabi has a way of eating away at you. It's hard to let go.

[Sinclair knows. Even now, he can feel Kromer's shadow looming near, if he looks to long. He has no reason to look back now.

A tiny frown. It's not like Oria to trail off like that]

...what if you just...?

What if I hired two hits?

[ He sounds absolutely serious too. ]

[He knows Oria is serious. He knows how powerful the Severine family is, and

But Oria is good, too good for]

...it's that easy, is it? [What does it say about Sinclair that he doesn't even blink? Maybe he's seen too much already]

But I don't want this - any of this - to come back on you. If something happened to you too, I'd--[Lose his mind. This was something he'd never come back from, family wishes or Oria's wishes for him be damned. He wouldn't stop until he was dead in an alley]

... I hate to tell you this now, but I get targeted at least twice a year.

[ Only because he knows Sinclair would go absolutely batshit. ]

Hiring a hit is easy... generally, but for ones who'd take on Sarabi?

[ lol. lmao. ]

I'd have to look harder.

[ Sinclair would. Even Oria hasn't quite seen the depths of his anger, and how far it can go. Mithrun had though]

That--I wish that wasn't normal for you. [ Exhaling softly but he can read between the lines. Oria is good at taking care of himself.]

...if it had been that simple then...

[There'd be no shortage of volunteers. It wouldn't have been hard to convince someone like Sinclair either. Put a knife or gun in his hand, point him in the right direction...]

...hey. What if it isn't Sarabi?

... What do you mean?

[ Spill the tea, man. ]

Of whoever killed Mithrun?

It's strange, isn't it? You nearly got disconnected when your sister hit your headset. When I got PK'd, I got logged out for twenty minutes each time. And those marks around his neck...they wouldn't show if it happened outside of the game.

[ He had been staring long enough, trying to make it make sense]

...they could have gotten to him when he visited me a few weeks ago.

[ Sinclair is right on those points, but Oria knows them too, that's why he raises a counterpoint-- ]

We don't know what happens if your headset is suddenly yanked from your head while playing. If your neural network are really connected to the game--

[ ... ]

... Hold on. I'll be right back.

[ It sounds like Oria puts his phone down for a moment. Sinclair is free to think on what Oria said and all his findings in the meantime... ]

Oria...?

[ Please don't do anything?? But he does think about it.

He's not a neuroscientist and high school biology isn't exactly anything to work off. Faust wasn't forthcoming about her research either.

So he'll just wait.]

[ There's a loud commotion... or is that just a lot of background noise? Either way, after five minutes of just that, the call is hung up on. ]

[ What...the hell.

Don't panic Sinclair.

Calling back. And he'll keep calling until someone picks up]

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